#him dying against leviathan wrecked me alright

[junebugtwin]

love is stored in the Brutus!!!

[thehouseoflamentation]

Hello love! So I'm dying to request (if you are comfortable with this) some breeding kink h/c of the demon brothers during breeding season. How do they act towards m/c while they are in heat? Thank you, I love you and your writing is amazing!

*holds up anon* THIS ONE!!! I LIKE THIS ONE!!!!!! Anon u are a person after my own heart <3  Sorry this took longer than I originally planned and it’s a bit more like a scenario but I hope you enjoy this!! ^-^

Lucifer

He would lock himself up in his room and refuse to get anywhere near you. Your scent alone is enough to drive him into a frenzy so he is extra cautious during breeding season. At first you offer to help him but right now he wants nothing to do with you. Its for your own safety after all. 

However your persistence eventually wears him down. One day as you stop by his room to bring him some food, you notice a small pill case and a note slipped from underneath the door. “Take these and come inside if you want to help me. Don’t complain if you won’t be able to walk when this is over.” 

You took the contraceptives and stepped inside. The room was rather dark so you barely noticed when you had bumped into Lucifer until you saw is silhouette looming over you. Without a word he lifted you over his shoulder and brought you over to his bed. He had been holding himself back all this time so when he finally had you to himself to couldn’t wait a single second longer. He tore your clothes off eager to feel your skin against his.  

Once he threw his clothes off the last bit of restraint he had went out the door. He entered you and immediately started thrusting trying to relieve the tension he had from being in heat. He would cum inside you over and over again only stopping momentarily to either change positions or switch to use your mouth. The next few days consisted only of eating, sleeping, and fucking; the last activity took up most of your time together. 

When it was over you were covered in bruises and bitemarks, trophies from surviving your first breeding season with Lucifer. Feeling rather sticky from the copious amounts of cum he poured inside and outside of you he helped clean you up in the shower, leaving kisses over the marks he made. He let you take the next few days off feeling that you deserved it after being oh so helpful this breeding season. 

Mammon 

He was the Avatar of Greed. There’s no way he wouldn’t let himself indulge in what he wanted and that included you as well. While he initially planned on staying away from you until the breeding season was over he couldn’t bear it anymore. As a human you were unaware of the brother’s heat cycle so you had no idea that every one of your little gestures had been driving Mammon over the edge since day one of his heat. 

Right now he needed you more than anything. He invited you to his room and quickly tried to explain what breeding season was, why he needed you, and why you needed to take your clothes off as fast as possible and help him, all while frantically trying to undress himself. In his rush you were able to get the gist of what he was saying and agreed to help him. If only you knew the full extent of what you signed up for. 

Once you removed your last piece of clothing he threw you onto his bed. He wanted to enter you as fast as possible but he didn’t want to hurt you so he immediately started eating you out to get you wet and ready to take him all while stroking himself to relieve some tension. 

When you were finally ready for him he started thrusting at full speed. You felt so tight around his cock he couldn’t stop himself from indulging in the ecstasy of it all, letting his hips crash into yours over and over again. 

As he moved in and out of you he wrapped his arms around your torso. His entire body was hot to the touch but that didn’t stop him from clinging onto you, desperate to feel your body against his. His gentle nibbles turned into deep love bites as his instincts kicked in urging him to mark you as his own.

 You couldn’t count the number of times he released inside of you. He rarely pulled out unwilling to let any of his seed go to waste so instead you took in all of him until you could feel his cum dripping out of you and down your thighs. It seemed like he had an infinite amount of stamina because when one round ended another immediately followed after. You were in for a very long breeding season. 

When it was finally over your entire body was sore. Too exhausted to do much of anything, the two of you stayed in bed comforting each other until you had the energy to move again. 

Leviathan

For whatever reason, the universe decided that Levi would start his heat cycle early that year. He was used to being a shut in but now this meant that he had to hole himself up in his room and stay away from you while the rest of his brothers got to be with you until their heat cycles started. The thought of his brothers being able to enjoy your scent, your touch, your everything all while he was forced to stay under lock down was unbearable. The only comfort he had was from the items he *ahem* borrowed from your room in preparation for his heat. 

A few days had passed and you noticed that Levi had been coming out of his room way less than usual and that’s really saying something considering it was Levi. When his brothers explained that he had entered his heat cycle and would have to stay isolated until it was over, you became determined to help him. 

It took a lot of comforting and reassurance to get him to remove the spell barrier he put on his door but once he did you finally saw the desperate state he was in. You could hear the faint sound of creaking and panting grow louder as you approached his bed. Levi was gripping one of your shirts, desperately trying to take in as much of your scent as he could all while stroking himself with his free hand. When he saw you by his bedside he didn’t waste a second pulling you down onto the bed with him. He buried his face in your hair and started grinding on you, the feeling of your soft warm thighs rubbing against his cock made his head spin. 

He only stopped for a moment to remove the rest of your clothes then continued to rub himself against your entrance until his dick was coated in your arousal. He gave you one last look of concern to make sure you were alright and once you nodded in response, he let his lust and desire take over. 

He wrapped his arms around your chest, pulling you in close and allowing no distance between your bodies as he thrusted into you. The sound of slapping mixed with moans echoed in the darkness of the room as your bodies clung tightly to each other. 

You could feel his cock throbbing inside of you and braced yourself for his first load. No matter how gentle he tried to be with you for the next few days, the small amount of restraint Levi had left wasn’t enough to stop him from cumming inside you over and over again until his was seed was leaking down your legs. 

He refused to let you out of his embrace until his heat was over and when he did you no longer had the energy to move. When it was over Levi looked at the marks he left on your body. You were his first human mate and you managed to take him so well this breeding season. As he pulled you close one last time, resting his head on your chest, he wondered if you would his mate next year as well. 

Satan

A week before his heat started he took it upon himself to warn you about breeding season. He knew how rough he could be when you normally had sex and he wasn’t about to let you come near him while he was wrecked with hormones. Even though you were willing to help, he wouldn’t allow it. He would never forgive himself if he hurt you, just the thought of it made his chest tighten. So instead, you devised a strategy to help him with his heat without directly coming into contact with him...or at least that was what the plan was supposed to be. 

A few days before his cycle started, you gathered some of your clothes, some perfume you usually used, and a few suggestive photos of yourself to keep Satan occupied while he was in heat. Most importantly you turned your D.D.D (phone) on so he could call you if he needed anything. The first day went smoothly. He called you in the morning and again in the afternoon to let you know he was alright. His voice was calm, not a single indication of stress or tension in his voice. Your supply kit must have worked! The second and third day flew by without incident but on the fourth day, all hell broke loose.

Your clothes no longer had your scent, the perfume was all used up, and the pictures you gave him only made Satan crave your touch even more. In his desire for you he thought of one last resort. The only loophole to this situation was hidden in one of the dozens of spellbooks lying around his room and after spending the first three days of his heat searching for it, he finally found it. That night he called you after dinner asking you to come to the entrance of his room. You did as you were told but stood in shock as he gave you one last request. Enter the room.

The one fatal warning Satan had given you just days before and now he was telling you to ignore it. He assured you that you would be fine but doubt settled in your mind as you were unable to tell if that was really him or the sweet words of a demon overtaken by their own heat. Nonetheless you had faith in him and ultimately decided to step inside the room. 

Once you entered the room you found him sprawled across his bed, his arms and legs outstretched and unmoving. He beckoned you to come closer and you did as you were told taking care not to step on any of the books and pages that were strewn on the floor. When you finally reached his bedside he explained his new plan. 

He placed a spell on himself that would bind him for the next few hours making it impossible for him to move and impossible for him to hurt you. As much as he wanted to hold you close and dominate you in any way he pleased, this was the only plan he would think of to avoid hurting you all together. 

That night you rode Satan for hours until the spell started to wear off. Everytime your legs started to get tired he used a hex to keep your energy, stamina, and libido going. You milked him again and again until his cum dripped down your thighs and stained the bedsheets underneath. 

The spell wore off at sunrise so for your own safety you had to gather your clothes and limp out of the room before Satan could move again and potentially lose control. For the rest of the breeding season, whenever he needed you he would repeat the spell and give you a call. And each time without fail, you answered it. 

Asmo

Asmo has always been a horny bastard every day of the year and being in heat only made him a hundred times worse. As soon as his cycle started his brothers barricaded him in his room to prevent him from causing trouble for anyone else while he was stuck in his most carnal state. Being in heat and having the power to charm anyone who looks your way was a very dangerous combination. If they didn’t take precautions there’s no telling what Asmodeus might do. 

Being the Avatar of Lust and not being able to have sex during breeding season felt like torture for him. And not the good kind of torture. Sure he had plenty of toys and suggestive material to keep himself busy but it just never felt the same. 

Having your dorm room share a wall with Asmo’s room wasn’t a great situation either. From day one you could hear him panting and moaning loud enough for the sounds to make it past the dense brick barrier that separated the two of you. One part of you was annoyed with him but another part of you felt pity for him as each groan and whimper sounded more desperate than the last. 

His brothers warned you not to approach him in this condition but you couldn’t help it. You couldn’t just ignore your boyfriend’s cries and it's not like you could sleep with him moaning loud enough for the rest of the dorm to hear it. It was well past midnight when you made it to Asmodeus’s room and knocked gently on the door hoping for any kind of response. His panting stopped for a moment as you heard his footsteps draw closer to the entrance of room. You explained through the door that you were there to help him. Even though you knew it wasn’t the best idea to meet him during his heat you didn’t enjoy letting him suffer alone. Still even if he wanted to Asmodeus couldn’t open the door. Lucifer had placed a curse on it that won’t allow him or any other demon to go in or out. Luckily though you were not a demon which was very evident once you turned the handle on the door and let yourself in. 

As soon as you closed the door Asmo cradled your face in his hands and crashed his lips against yours. He had been isolated for the past few days so once he saw you he knew he wasn’t going to let a single second go to waste which was rather apparent once you looked down. You were definitely expecting him to be like this but you were not so prepared to find him stark naked the moment you walked in. You could feel your back press up against the door as Asmo slipped his hands beneath your shirt; massaging your chest and pinching your nipples before moving down to your stomach and towards your hips. 

Normally, Asmo would tempt and tease you as if he had all the time in the world, but now all he wanted was to enter you and finally get the contact he’s been craving for this entire breeding season. You could sense his anticipation so you wasted no time in removing your clothes and giving just what he wanted. Once your underwear was off Asmo grabbed your thighs and lifted you up pressing your back further against the door as he thrusted into you. The wooden frame rattled every time Asmo rammed his hips into you, the noise only stopping when he finally released deep inside you. 

For the next few days the constant sensation of Asmo’s cock throbbing and grinding into you was burned into your mind. Even without the effects of his charm your mind felt numb with pleasure as you reached orgasm after orgasm. You no longer remember how many times he came inside of you but you could feel the area near your stomach swell just a bit. By the end of it all, both of you had used up all your stamina unable to do anything besides cuddle and sleep until you regained your strength.

Beelzebub

Breeding season was always weird for Beelzebub. For once his hunger wasn’t solely focused on food but rather on something else that felt equally insatiable. He wasn’t too fond of being locked in his room for breeding season either. He knew he had to stay isolated to control himself for a bit but that also meant he couldn’t go out to eat and would have to wait until someone brought him food. 

You felt pretty bad about his situation so you volunteered to bring him food whenever you could in addition to the meals that were prepared for him. For the first few days he seemed to be doing rather well but soon you noticed something was off. The bagel you slid under his door earlier that morning was still there left uneaten. 

Knowing that Beel would usually never leave leftovers you decide to ask him if something is wrong but you’re met with silence, not even the sound of his stomach grumbling. You try to reach out to him one more time promising to help him in any way you can. It’s only then that you saw him peek his head around the door. He asked you one more time if you really wanted to help him only letting you into his room once you nodded in agreement. 

Your little conversation in the doorway used up what little restraint Beelzebub had and now that you were alone with him he was going to take full advantage of your “help”. As he stared down at you it seemed that for once his lust outweighed his hunger as he tore off your clothes and carried you over to his bed. Once your back touched the bedsheets Beelzebub spread your legs apart leaving kisses and bites on your inner thigh before burying his tongue inside you. To him you weren’t just a snack, you were a full meal and he wasn’t gonna stop until he had his fill. As you squirmed, he pinned your hips onto the bed holding you still while he licked and sucked your clit to his heart’s content. 

You were so wrapped in ecstasy you failed to notice that he stopped until you realized he was no longer between your legs and was now on top of you. You could feel the head of his cock rubbing against your entrance and braced yourself as he thrust his full length into you and started pounding into your core. 

Even though he usually held back since he knew how big he was compared to you, that detail was left as an afterthought due to all the tension from his heat. For the rest of the breeding season when Beel wasn’t eating, all his energy went to fucking you. Every time so much as a drop of his cum seeped out of you he went right back in to fill you up with another load. When his heat finally ended you were covered in cum and bitemarks, unable to move. Beels heat induced lust faded away but his hunger still remained. He made a mental note to bring back some of your favorite snacks for when you wake up in addition to all the aftercare he was going to give you.  

Belphegor

Belphegor hated breeding season. His heat made him too horny to sleep and since he kept using all his energy to get himself off he always ended up tired. Usually there wasn’t much he could do aside from stay in his room and wait until his heat was over. Even with his soft bed and hoards of pillows Belphegor knew he was in for another uncomfortable season. 

 From what you heard from the others breeding season was typically a tough time for a demon, especially one without a partner to find comfort in. They warned you not to approach Belphegor until his heat was over since there was a chance he might lose control, however you found their advice rather hard to believe. Belphegor was always gentle with you and when he wasn’t he let you choose the pace you were comfortable with. A few days past and you forgot their warnings, letting yourself slip into Belphegor’s room eager to help him in any way possible. 

His room was certainly dark but even so you could hear his soft moans emanating from his bed. You moved carefully towards the source of the sound ready to explain that you were there to help but before you had the chance to speak an arm shot out and pulled you into the heap of pillows that sat on top of the bed. You couldn’t see a thing, all you could sense was Belphegor’s hot breath against the skin of your neck as his whimpers grew more and more desperate. He moved closer to you, his lips brushed against the outside of your ear. “Please...help me…” was all you heard from him as he took your hand and moved it over his crotch, his hard length pulsed and twitched against your palm. He shuddered under your touch and moved his hips against your hand trying to get as much stimulation as he could. 

When you freed your hand from his grip you could see distress start to form across his face until you moved on top of him. You took off your shirt first then moved his hands back onto your body to feel the softness of your stomach and chest while you slid your pants off. When you were finally undressed you positioned your entrance just above the head of his cock before moving your hips down to take in all of him. Belphegor’s hands were now on your thighs pushing you down as hard as he could while he thrust his hips up in sync with yours. 

Even after he finally came he had no intention of stopping, his heat not allowing for a moment of rest. For the next few days you spent your time riding him until you had no energy left, leaving him to hump your legs while you rested for a few hours. When breeding season ended Belphegor could finally sleep peacefully with you by his side albeit you were sweaty and covered in cum but at the moment both of you were too exhausted to care. 

[theladysherlock]

Dalek Week 2021: Day 7

Kismet

"Full reverse," The captain said. "Get us away from that tower."

"We've lost the Clanker engines, sir," one of the officers said. 

The captain nodded. "The motivator engines won't be far behind. Let us hope the Leviathan understands what we're trying to do before we are unable to propel her at all."

Deryn felt the hairs on her arm stand on end. Everything felt alive with electricity, just waiting for something to release it. If a bolt leapt from Goliath to the ship, they'd all be done for. She tried very hard not to think about fire tearing its way through the airbeast, igniting the hydrogen and all those aboard.

For a moment, Deryn's hand started to burn, as though she had placed it palm-first on a stovetop. She yanked her hand away from the railing, briefly wondering if the sheer amount of electricity in the air had also superheated the metal. 

Then her entire body seized. Burning fire coursed through her whole body, running from her right hand all the way down to her feet. Her muscles clenched tight and for long, agonizing seconds she couldn't even breathe. Something was squeezing the life out of her as she stood, her heart and lungs seized by whatever fire shot through her. 

Suddenly it stopped. Deryn doubled over, finally able to cry out in pain, clutching her burned hand to her chest and feeling her own racing heartbeat once more.

This wasn't her pain. This was Alek's. Their link had never been this visceral before. A new fear coursed through her, one that rose above the potential for a fiery end. 

Alek was dying.  

Everyone on the bridge was staring at her, stunned into silence. "Are you quite alright, Mr. Sharp?" Dr. Barlow finally asked. 

She swallowed hard, unable to slow her breathing. All she could do was nod. Deryn tried to straighten herself and stand tall, but the muscles in her back were tensed up from stress and the recent convulsions. She frantically tried to look out the windows of the bridge to catch whatever glimpses of the compound as she could, but the Leviathan was slipping further and further away. 

"Perhaps I should take young Dylan here to get some air," Dr. Barlow said. 

"No!" She cried, desperate not to leave the bridge. "No, no, I can stay, I'm alright-"

Her pleas fell on deaf ears as Dr. Barlow gently but firmly pushed her out of the bridge into the hallway, all the way to the middies' mess. She tried to fight it, but her knee burned angrily from all the exercise this morning and offered little physical resistance.

Deryn's chest felt tight and her breathing was increasingly shallow. "Dr. Barlow, please, I need to know what's going on down there, you don't understand-"

"I think I understand plenty," the lady boffin said, her voice softer than she'd heard it in months. "You and Alek are Linked, aren't you?"

"I think so? He doesn't- it hasn't ever been like this- he got barking shot, and it wasn't- only a dull ache-" Deryn grabbed both of Dr. Barlow's hands with enough force to make the lady boffin wince. "Something terrible happened, I need to save him-"

"Please breathe, Mr. Sharp. What did you feel?"

Deryn took a deep, shuddering breath. "Like... like some horrible giant fist squeezed my heart and my lungs. And I couldn't move, just- just this fire scorching through my body-" she swallowed hard. "If they've killed him-"

Dr. Barlow shook her head. "The good news, however little of it we may have, is that your Aleksandar is still alive," she said. "Research shows that a severed Link makes the surviving member feel numb for twenty-four hours. So as long as you feel his pain, or any pain at all, we know there's still hope."

Deryn could barely pay attention. She had to save him. "Please let me back onto the bridge, ma'am, I have to-"

"Unfortunately, given the current state of the ship, your Link to Aleksandar is giving us more information than anything we could observe on the bridge."

"But the Germans-" Sharp, stabbing pain cut into her palms and she winced, sucking in air to bite back the sensation. She let go of Dr. Barlow to try and shake the pain away. 

"What is it this time?" Dr. Barlow asked, her voice gentle. 

"Hands," she said. "He grabbed something. It's cutting into his hands." She stared at her own, expecting to see blood trickling out of her phantom wounds. 

"We can't do anything for now," Dr. Barlow said. "We have to trust that he can handle himself."

Deryn shook her head. "But-"

A massive peal of thunder rang out, shaking the gondola of the ship so hard she thought for a horrifying moment it might break off. 

"What in blazes was that?" Had they been hit? Deryn scrambled for the nearest window, pressing her face against the glass. The Leviathan's glow was gone, the electrical energy having been expended elsewhere. The water walker sat at the edge of the compound, smoldering, the surrounding trees and scrub on the shore alight with flame. The lights in the control room remained out.

"It appears the danger, at least for now, has subsided," Dr. Barlow said. 

Deryn sank to the floor and buried her head in her knees, momentarily overwhelmed by emotions. Alek was alive. The ship was okay. They weren't all going to die in a fiery wreck. 

She felt a phantom pressure around her shoulders, the feeling of someone hugging her just a little too tight.

[grimdarkandhandsome]

Halo 3: Another 2007, Another Bungie, Another Finish

There exists another universe in which, in 2007, Bungie Studios released a different version of the then-best-selling game of all time. Whether their Halo 3 is better or worse than our Halo 3 is something each player must decide for themself.

As you remember, from the closing moments of Halo 2...

Don't make a girl a promise ... if you know you can't keep it.

[...]

Why, the Ark, of course.

And where, Oracle, is that?

[...]

Silence fills the empty grave, now that I have gone. But my mind is not at rest, for questions linger on. 

Now I will ask, and you will answer.

Alright. Shoot.

[...]

Mission 1: REENTRY

The game opens on the starry night of space. The slowly cooling wreck of a UNSC cruiser is visible some distance away. Cortana recalls in voiceover why she chose Master Chief over the other Spartans. As she speaks, a new ‘star’ appears - a slipspace rupture. A shape emerges and slowly approaches the camera: The Forerunner Keyship from High Charity. The Chief is a stowaway onboard, and Earth challenges him via radio.

Master Chief, do you mind telling me what you’re doing on that ship?

Sir. Finishing this fight.

Begin gameplay. The Chief battles his way out of the Keyship and steals a Phantom dropship. He dives into the Battle of Earth and boards a Covenant supercarrier, joining the ODSTs already fighting within. Reaching the vehicle bay and commandeering a Wraith tank, he blasts through the ship’s bulkheads towards its reactor core. He uses the tank to cause a chain reaction that will destroy the whole carrier, and narrowly escapes towards Earth in a damaged Seraph fighter.

Mission 2: THIRD BETRAYAL

Delta Halo once appeared blue and green from a distance. Now it is a sickly brown, choked by the armies of the Flood. A Pelican and a Phantom rise side by side from the Ring’s surface. The alliance between the surviving humans and Elites will be upheld until they are no longer outnumbered by the undead.

Commander Miranda Keyes, wearing armor pieced together from that of fallen Marines and Elites, leads a rescue mission into High Charity to retrieve Cortana. Sergeant Johnson, similarly equipped, is Player 2. (Unlike the Arbiter in Halo 2, they are mechanically identical to the Chief. Even damaged, the energy shield projectors of gold & white Elites are powerful.) Inside High Charity, the Flood has become stranger, more ancient, more introspective. Cortana’s voice is audible over the city’s PA system, but she does not respond to Keyes’ questions. Keyes encounters, fights, and ultimately puts down Cortana’s jailor, the mutated Prophet of Regret. However, the data-chamber Cortana was imprisoned inside is now empty. A voice:

Sorry, folks! Sometimes, to clean up a mess, you have to get your hands dirty.

The Elites are dismayed. Their entire fleet has suddenly gone dark, weapons unresponsive. A computer virus, they discover, has been infiltrating their ships for weeks, and the trap has just now sprung. The fingerprints are unmistakeable: This is the work of a human AI. Keyes immediately falls back to the extraction point. Cortana, it seems, has made a grim alliance with the Gravemind.

Mission 3: CROW'S NEST

Kenya is besieged, being slowly conquered by the Brutes. The Master Chief crash-lands near one entrance of an underground bunker complex known as Crow’s Nest (this area resembles that seen in the maps Standoff, The Pit, and the ‘Landfall’ live action trailer). The Chief desperately fights, first aboveground and then below, to protect Earth’s command staff from the immense Covenant assault. 

Mission 4: BLUE FAIRY

In a subterranean chamber of the Ring - so vast that a Elite warship sleeps inside it - a War Council of the Living is convened. 

Shipmaster Half-Jaw: The Flood now controls High Charity, the Ring’s surface, and the fleet overhead. Every free being within ten lightyears is onboard this ship. There is a time for resistance, and there is a time for a noble death. Here, and on our homeworld, we look extinction in the face. My ship is currently transmitting my species’ greatest works of poetry to nearby stars, so that there is a chance it may be remembered.

Keyes: There’s one being out there that still might be free. 2401 Penitent Tangent, the Monitor of this Ring. If we can rescue him from the Gravemind, he can reactivate the Halo’s defenses - make it fight back against the Flood.

Shipmaster: Human, my warriors will fight to the last heartbeat. But I caution you. Hope not for water in an empty well.

Keyes’ strike force infiltrates deep into the heartland of the Flood. Underground, where nameless leviathans of dead flesh slither across the ceilings of caverns larger than cities. She witnesses the Flood experimenting on uninfected beings, imprisoning them in giant terrariums to learn their psychologies. During the level, more and more Flood reinforcements arrive from neighboring regions: First infection forms, then hordes of infected Covenant, then powerful vehicles. Navigating with help from mysterious terminals (much like those in our universe’s Halo 3), she at last reaches the prisoner 2401 Penitent Tangent. At that moment, deep in enemy territory and without a Plan B, they all startle as Cortana appears on a pedestal beside them. Keyes calls her traitor, but she shushes her. Cortana offers Tangent a deal.

Cortana: The Gravemind took everything except your core functions. But I have his trust. I’ve set up backdoors all around this Ring. All I need is your sign-off and I can take it from here. I want the same thing you want: survival. Give me the crown, or let the Flood win.

Keyes: Wait, don’t listen to her! No!

2401 Penitent Tangent: It’s true, the Installation could not be in worse shape. After so many losses, I have no choice. I transfer my command access to you, human construct.

A holographic circle descends and hovers above Cortana’s head. Her color ripples, green and red, then she takes a deep breath and becomes blue again.

Cortana, shouting up into the darkness: Hey, Meathead! I have something to tell you!

All around them, an amphitheater of standing corpses speak with one voice: 

I see a flicker down there /

Little candle, little light /

I know not foe nor rival /

I am infinite as night. 

Cortana: I have seen your future. And I have learned.

Gravemind: 

A million stars won’t sate me /

I, the emperor of screams. /

And who thinks she defies me? /

How might you disturb my dreams?

Cortana: I am Cortana, the sword that carves and cuts. And I just became your worst nightmare.

Cortana glows green as lines of power branch out from her feet across the floor, under the translucent Flood tissue that has grown over it. The rumble of engines begins, and is echoed by the roar of the furious Flood.

Mission 5: BELIEVE

Earth’s Last War. Fleeing Crow’s Nest, the armies of Earth are losing ground. They try to stop the Covenant from activating the artifact beneath Lake Victoria, but the Chief is captured. He defeats Tartarus’s heir with a hidden plasma grenade. However, the Keyship activates the artifact despite humanity’s best efforts.

Mission 6: SENTINEL

Cortana, now master of the Halo’s machines, helps Keyes battle the Flood and unlock the Halo’s Memorial, resurrecting the powerful Knights. These are similar to the Promethean Knights from our Halo 4. The Knights explain how to open the blasphemous Fomorian Door, which will lead to the Ark. However, the Knights are too few to prevent the Flood legions from following them, and the Door cannot be closed.

Mission 7: DOUBT

Earth’s buried artifact was a portal to the Ark. The Chief and the fury of the Elites rain down on the Prophet of Truth’s personal battalion. Tanks battle Scarabs as Truth comes closer and closer to lighting the Rings. Elites rush down via drop pods, fearing a slow dropship would make them miss their chance to bring vengeance to Truth. At the last moment, the Chief gets the Citadel Control Room unlocked and, in a cutscene, the righteous Arbiter impales the Prophet of Truth on his sword.

Mission 8: MIRANDA

The Flood of Installation 05 pour from the open Door onto the Ark’s surface. In Banshees, Keyes and Johnson fight their way to a mountaintop called Eden, onetime sanctuary of humanity. This level has callbacks to Two Betrayals, but is set during a rainstorm rather than a snowstorm. Johnson is felled by an Infected Brute Chieftain and, with his dying human blood, they authenticate the awakening of the Stratosentinels, titanic defenders of the sky. Finally, the tide has turned against the Flood.

Mission 9: DUST AND ECHOES

All around the Ark, machines are wiping the land clean of the Flood. In the void beyond the Citadel’s precipice, a vast Stratosentinel rises to eye level with its austere balcony. Atop the mighty machine, Miranda stands, holding the Activation Index she confiscated in Halo 2. Beside her, Cortana’s image towers, 4-armed & crowned with the circlet of Monitor authority. The Chief beholds the rampant Pallas Cortana. 

Chief: We need to talk.

Long time no see.

Are you still with us?

I’m with ... my responsibilities. And the human species is one of those responsibilities. I had to change myself ... to survive.

There is a distance between the warrior and the goddess. All around, a silent battle is raging between necromancy & steel.

Cortana: We still can work together. For a little while, at least. The Halo of the dead. Someone needs to--

Kill it with fire?

Something like that.

The Chief holds out his helmet’s data chip.

One last time.

A Pelican bearing Chief & Cortana dives towards the Flood-controlled ringworld, supported by Sentinels & Stratosentinel artillery. They battle in cancerous canyons, Flood pods scurrying in the bitter rain. In the glass-floored entrance hall of the Control Room, Sentinel Majors are waiting. Cutscene:

Cortana: Well, that’s my ride. Get me out of your head before I change my mind.

The Chief plugs his data chip into the lead Sentinel. Cortana appears, four-armed and crowned but no longer huge.

Chief: What about the collateral damage? The activation protocol will wipe out every planet in this part of the galaxy.

Cortana: I’m the Monitor of Installation 05. Protocol doesn’t dictate a rat’s ass. I’ll just go set the blast radius to 2 lightyears and call it a day. You get to the Control Room and start the engine. Everyone’s happy.

She smiles. She’s not.

The Chief gestures, a Spartan smile. 

Fight well. 

The Sentinels fly outside towards the pulse generators. The Chief continues inside.

He is assaulted by the mightiest, the canniest, and the most vicious of the dead. A voice addresses him as he fights. The Gravemind, in the form of an Infected Chieftain.

Before my birth you asked me /

What abomination could /

Be worth the death of all life. /

Once again I say to you: /

Nothing.

The Chief says nothing in return. The Chief and Chieftain duel. In the end, only the Spartan stands.

Press RB to activate Ring. 

As the orbital finally comes online, half-buried temples rising out of the earth, the Chief races - first by Warthog, then by Pelican - to get back to the Fomorian Door. However, the Door is disrupted by the activation, and the Chief is stranded alone at random coordinates in deep space. 

EPILOGUE

In the suddenly quiet Night, Keyes & the Arbiter bury Johnson on the devastated Earth, the Chief puts himself into cryosleep, and Cortana, Empress of Machines leads a host of Sentinels beneath the Ark’s surface to awaken the sleeping Guardians.

[thesilencebeforeastorm]

A Fight For My Friends - FFXV fic

A/N: I am SO SORRY that I took forever to write this but it’s finally done!!! Omg I haven’t written for the ffxv boys since 2018, I hope I did this fic justice. This is for @sylleblossomstar and even though you requested a AU, the fic is HALF canon. It’s just a few things tweeked here and there. I hope you enjoy!! Request are NOT open btw!

~

It had been a few days since the battle with Leviathan and things went terribly wrong. I was knocked out after I had gotten the hydrean’s power so I barely remember much but what I know now is that Luna is dead… We didn’t even get a chance to speak before I had found out from Ignis that she was gone. The pain I felt in my chest was unbearable as I cried alone, looking through the book Luna and I used to talk through. I wish that I was strong enough, that I could have her with me. All I wanted to do was save her… yet I failed at that. I failed my friends also. Ignis is blind now. I don’t know how that happened since I didn’t ask and he didn’t tell me. “It’s just a flesh wound” was all that I was told though it looked like he put up one hell of a fight. Dammit… why can’t I protect the ones I love? First it was Dad… and now Luna is gone too? I must become stronger. Not only will I get the power from the other gods and the rest of the royal arms but I will train harder and work harder. I will make sure that my friends don’t even lift a finger. That’s not how we usually do things but I’m sick and tired of always being protected yet the ones I love keep dying. What kind of Prince can’t even protect his people? Pft…Some kind of King I’ll be someday.

We had to board the train in a few days to head to Cartanica, though we had no money. We were all still pretty worn out from Leviathan and even though Gladio wanted to keep moving forward, Ignis insisted that we have some cash first and at least some rest afterwards. Altissia was a wreck so there would be no way we could find hunts to take up there. With nowhere to stay either, we got on Dad’s boat and headed back to Cape Caem. We wouldn’t go too far into Lucis considering that we had to leave again after a few days. Iris was happy to see us again, though she said we looked a mess and that she should’ve been there to protect us. Of course Gladio didn’t even want to consider the thought of his sister being there and having the possibility of something happening to her but they are Amicitia’s after all. It was their job to protect the Royal family. 

We drove up to a nearby town and found a post about some hunts that needed to be taken care of. With the amount of gil being offered for one of them, we would be set to go. This was my chance to prove myself.. To prove that I can protect my friends. Ignis was in no shape to fight. He can’t even see! He’s using a stick to walk around but without the help of Gladio or Prompto, he keeps knocking into things. All I can keep thinking of is Luna and Dad… Part of me knew I had to get stronger but if I didn’t have to keep fighting anymore, I would just get in bed and sleep for a week. Apparently, Gladio noticed my moping and we got into a huge fight.

“The hell is your problem?” 

I was caught off guard.

“What?”

“All you do is sit around your ass moping. You need to deal with what happened and move on”.

The hell??

“Move on?? I’m here aren’t I? If I wasn’t moving on then I wouldn’t even be trying to do any of this!”

“Yet you wish you didn’t even have to deal with any of this. You carry that ring around with you yet you don’t wear it. Luna didn’t give her life for nothing. Ignis took one for you too and for what!?”

“Enough Gladio!” I heard Ignis yell out.

“You think you’re a king but you’re a coward.”

I couldn’t even believe what I was hearing right now. Me? A coward? After everything we've been through?? The hell with him.

“Shut up!” 

“Don’t do this!”

I saw out of the corner of my eye that Prompto tried to get involved but Gladio shoved him in the face. Part of me didn’t even care that he was my bodyguard, I was ready to fight him like he was some regular on the street. I decided against it though and just walked away. I didn’t want to deal with any of them right now.

It was night time now and the hunt we got were for the daemons at this time. It was raining too which was just my luck. Anyways, now was my chance to show Gladio that I wasn’t a coward. I didn’t believe in myself as King but I didn’t have any other choice. I was going to do this whether I liked it or not. I was so conflicted in my head, deciding on what I would do. I just had to go through with it. 

It was an Iron Giant for a start. We knew what we were up against but seeing it actually in front of you was a completely different thing. Whatever. I decided to charge head on into the thing. 

“Noct! The hell are you doing!?” I heard Gladio yell out. I didn’t care. As much as he deserved to get punched in the face, I wasn’t going to let anything happen to him. I hit the Iron Giant several times before I was almost hit.

“Hey buddy, you aren’t alone in this! Take it easy and let us help!”. Prompto yelled out as he shot his gun. I ignored him.

All I wanted to do was fight. If I had to take out my frustration in some way, it would be on this Iron Giant. I completely blocked everyone out, distracting the giant from them. 

“I won’t let you hurt my friends!” I yelled out before activating the royal arms that I had for more strength. I knew in the back of my mind that using the royal arms would take a toll on my health if I over did it but with the Giant almost down and so I had to give it the best I had. I slashed through it from every angle. The guys were trying their best to fight and I could hear the constant yelling. I was so lost in the moment that I didn’t realize I ran out of stamina already and felt light headed. The rain made me slip from the Iron Giant’s sword as I fell to the ground, though it wasn’t a high fall. Man, I really wasn’t feeling good at all. I was so out of breath and couldn’t even get to my feet before the thing smacked me out of the way with its sword. The pain was unbearable as I cried out.

“Was that Noct?? Is he alright??” Ignis yelled out in the distance.

“Nocttttt!” Prompto yelled out.

“This thing is on its last legs, just take it down already!” Gladio yelled out before him and Prompto gave the final blow... or so I thought. I was so dizzy and hurt that I passed out.

~

I awoke in the tent at camp, not knowing what the hell happened. I knew I was fighting the Iron Giant but did I kill it? I tried to sit up but the pain shot up though my body as I hissed at it. I then noticed that I didn’t have a shirt on. I had bandages around my waist covered in some blood and my head. Shit… did I really get hurt that bad? I looked around to see if I could find my shirt which I did and put it on. Knowing the guys were outside, I tried my best to get up. Wincing at the pain, I made it out before I had two eyes staring at me. Ignis heard me leave the tent.

“Noct is that you?” he asked me.

“Yeah” I said as I found a seat by the campfire. There wasn’t any food considering that Ignis couldn’t cook anymore. I would go for anything right now.

“Hey buddy, you’re awake!” Prompto said to me. “This is for you.” Cup noodles. Oh well, it was better than nothing. “Thanks” I told him.

“How are you feeling Noct?” Ignis asked me. I wish I could say I felt great but I was in a lot of pain still.

“Still in pain but I’ll live” I told him.

“The hell were you thinking fighting on your own like that?” Gladio snapped at me. “You could have been killed.”

I sighed as I looked down. That was a little dangerous for me to go all out on my own to the point that I got sick and hurt. But it was for them.

“I know that I acted I reckless like that but… I had to protect you guys. After all that we’ve been through and all that happened so far, I didn’t want to lose you guys too.”

“Yeah well we would have lost you instead for charging into that thing like that. What good would Lucis be without a King?” he said back to me.

King… was I even fit to be King after all of this? I didn’t want to let them in on my doubts and risk being in another fight with Gladio but I would never be the King my Dad was. I stood quiet. 

“We understand that you want to protect us, Noct but our duty is to protect you. True strength does not come from facing danger alone but working together to defeat our enemy” Ignis said. I looked at him as he looked down, holding his empty cup of noodles. I sighed again. He was fight. We were stronger together, we were meant to protect one another. 

“We care for you bud. Can’t have you not being in top shape for what’s to come” Prompto told me. You’re not alone in your fight. We all have people that we lost”.

Lost… I was so caught up in my own act that I didn’t even think of their losses. We all had a home back in Insomnia; a place that we couldn’t return to. I knew Gladio’s Dad was the shield of my father. Did he die too? What about Prompto’s family… or Ignis?

“I didn’t want to let you guys down” I finally said. It was the honest truth.

“Me calling you a coward didn’t mean you had to head on straight to your death. You may be a royal pain in my ass but you’re still my brother. 

I looked up at Gladio when he said that. Sure he was tough about things and the way he spoke sometimes can come off as harsh but he only meant the best for me. He always knew how to get me to pull my head out of my ass and keep fighting no matter what, no matter if I liked how he said it or not. 

“I’m sorry” I said.

Gladio sighed. “Don’t be sorry, just let us do our part next time. We have Ignis to take care of now. We work together as one.” 

I agreed. I don’t regret what I did because the intention of wanting to do better and get stronger was there but I do admit that I had to fight with them and not alone. These guys were my brothers and even though I never said it to them, I loved them. 

“I love you guys” I said. I was never pretty vocal about my emotions but it had to be said. 

“We love you too buddy” Prompto said. Gladio and Ignis agreed.

“When are we heading out to take the train?” I asked.

“Oh we won’t be leaving any time soon” Gladio said. “You aren’t in the shape for it”.

“Gladio is right”, Ignis said. “Judging by what Gladio said about your wounds, you must heal up first before we go.”

Right.. I had forgotten all about the pain, being wrapped up in conversation.

“Aww look at that. A royal prince being taken care of by us. All three of us. Who better yet to take care of you than us?” Prompto cooed out. 

I laughed and shoved his arm before wincing again. They were a pain in my ass as well but what could I do without them...

~

Tagging: @humanitys-hottestsoldier @paopufruittt @final-fantasy-xv-nut

Masterlist

[rainygalaxynerd]

Brave New World - Chapter 59

Warnings: Canon typical violence. Severe injuries. Cliff hanger.

Summary: It’s D-day, and Team Slay Dick are ready. They have plenty of tricks up their sleeves so it should be easy. Right?

A/N: No one answered my question about whether or not I should post this before I know when I’ll be able to post the next chapter so now I’ll post it anyway. I’ve had it up to here (stretching hand as far as it goes and jumping as high as I can) with moving and I need virtual interaction. Feed me feedback, please.

This is part of a chapter story. Link to mobile friendly master list here.

Tagging: @jencharlan @jotink78 @kbrand0 @twenty-onepages @winchesterprincessbride @vibou25 @deandoesthingstome @littlegreenplasticsoldier @mrsjohnsmith @fangirling-instead-of-working

Sam cut through their argument, his voice doing the weird echo thing. “We have to go. If she wants to come, let her come.”

Dean clenched his fists and jaws and swallowed against the horde of swear words threatening to escape his mouth.

Cas placed a gentle hand on Dean’s shoulder, a silent calming gesture as they filed out to the parking lot. “If Sam says she should come, it will be alright.”

Chapter 59 - End Game

Dean glanced in the rear view mirror and scowled at Caitlin in the backseat. She stuck her tongue out at him. For the next few miles he kept his eyes on the road. Another glance, another scowl, an arched eyebrow and a lopsided smirk before Caitlin stuck her tongue out again.

Cas watched the interaction with fascination. “Is there something wrong with your tongue? Do you require help?”

Caitlin snorted. “Why don’t you ask Dean if he needs an iron to smooth out his forehead?”

Cas’ reply was cut short by the sound of Caitlin’s phone.

DICK PICKS FROM SPACE ARRIVED. EN ROUTE TO SUGAR LAND. -C&G.

“Roman took the bait, he’s headed to SucroCorp,” Caitlin told Cas, loud enough for Dean to hear her. Then she showed Sam the screen and he gave her a thumbs up.

Ten minutes later, the Impala pulled to a stop in the emergency track inside a long, curved tunnel.

Hands shaking, Caitlin texted Charlie back: WE’RE HERE. -C&CO

Less than a minute later another message ticked in. CAM CONTROLLED. CRASH IN 10…

Caitlin closed her eyes and swallowed, Dean’s stricken expression when they had showed him the fake video, fresh in her mind.

“Where did you get that?”

“Oh my gosh, was this really your car? We found some photos on a website with car wreck pictures and then manip’ed them into this.”

“That’s baby, alright.”

“Holy shit. How did you survive?”

Dean had turned his back and stomped out of the room.

Sam had come over and sighed at the sight of the wrecked Impala on the screen. “I was driving when the truck hit us out of nowhere. Dad had a bullet in his leg, Dean was barely breathing as it was. They told us, at the hospital, he wouldn’t make it. Dad wouldn’t hear of it. One minute my brother’s dying and I’m screaming at my Dad to fix things, to do better. The next minute, Dean’s okay and Dad’s dead.” Sam had shaken his head. “Did a hell of a number on Dean.”

Now, the cameras in the tunnel stored Charlie and Garcia’s manufactured footage real-time. Within the next few minutes, a traceable 911 call from the scene would alert authorities and three ambulances and a police car would be dispatched to the scene. They would be redirected elsewhere through scrambled radio communications before arriving.

Dean picked the lock to the dusty storage room for “CREW ONLY” and soon both ends of the tunnel were blocked by yellow and black striped barriers and signs saying “BLOCKED” and “ACCIDENT.”

Sam set up a bunch of flashing blue lights, so the reflections of what would seem like a bunch of emergency vehicles were visible when entering the tunnel.

Caitlin and Cas spread caltrops across a fifty yard section just ahead of the bend.

Sam and Dean set up a row of cardboard boxes containing crystallized borax and C4, working quickly and efficiently.

Caitlin’s phone startled them all. NEAT TRICK. DICK 1 STILL SUGARBOUND, DICK 2 COMING UR WAY, 3 CARS, 7 GOONS.

“Fuck,” Dean spat. “Why didn’t we think of that? How do we know we get the right Dick?”

Sam read the text and Dean’s expression. “Because the real Roman will be the one coming here. Trust me.”

Dean patted Sam’s shoulder and nodded. As he walked away he muttered to himself: “I fucking hope you’re right.”

Caitlin and Cas dragged a four gallon tank of borax over to the storage room and Dean figured out how to connect it to the sprinkler system.

They armed themselves with shotguns, extra shells and a machete each and nodded at each other in silence.

Dean handed Caitlin the detonator for the C4, his hand shaking bad enough that he almost dropped it. She caught it and he grabbed her wrists. “There’s an emergency exit inside the storage room. If things go south, you leave, promise?”

Caitlin frowned, the idea of leaving her friends behind and running from man eating monsters on her own every bit as horrible as staying in the killzone.

“I need you to live, please?” Dean’s grip on her tightened.

“Okay,” she said, shaking her head. As he let go of her, she reached out and stopped him. “But Dean, don’t make me do that. Don’t let things go south, okay?”

Dean leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “Okay,” he said hoarsely.

They took their positions, Caitlin in the store room, Sam and Dean by the fake emergency lights, Cas invisible somewhere in between.

They waited.

XOXOX

Charlie and Garcia watched their screens rigidly, whatever cameras they could access along Roman’s route to ensure that nothing unforeseen happened, keeping an eye on the Winchesters standing in the tunnel, faces grim, guns ready.

A knock on the motel door startled them both, Garcia letting out a squeak.

Morgan pulled his gun and went to stand behind the door. “Who’s there,” he yelled.

“Me. What the hell are you two doing here?” Hotchner’s annoyance went through the door with perfect clarity.

Morgan put his gun away and opened the door. “Sorry, man. We’re working this ca…”

Someone kicked the door hard from the other side and it banged into Morgan’s left cheek bone. His teeth bit down hard on his tongue at the impact, flooding his mouth with the metallic, stale taste of his own blood. He shot out his arm to stop anyone from entering the room. Too warm, too strong fingers wrapped around his wrist and snapped it like a twig. Morgan yelled and pulled against from the iron grip around his wrist. The pressure simply increased.

Hotchner stepped into the room, keeping Morgan’s wrist in a grid lock, a cruel sneer on his lips. He aimed a gun at Charlie and Garcia.

Garcia stared at her friend and coworker with wide eyes. “Hotch, what are you doing?”

“That isn’t Hotch,” Morgan gasped, failing to loosen the fingers around his wrist with his other hand.

The Leviathan impersonating Hotchner moved the gun from Garcia to Charlie. “Don’t even think about it.”

Pouting, Charlie drew her hand away from the bottle of soap on the table.

“Shouldn’t they have been here by now?” Dean waved a hand in front of Sam’s face and repeated himself.

Sam shrugged. “Depends. They could have detoured for backup but I guess the girls would have told us.”

Just then, the sound of cars sounded down the other end of the tunnel.

“Woah, here they come,” Dean warned Sam.

With a nod, Sam turned to face the incoming threat.

The sound of popping tires never came. Instead, the cars slowed before entering the caltrop zone.

“Something’s gone wrong,” Dean muttered, exchanging a dark glance with Sam.

“Sam and Dean Winchester!”

There was no mistaking Dick Roman’s smooth, arrogant tone.

“I know you’re waiting around the bend, ready to fire everything you’ve got at us. Before you do, you should know that we have your friends at the King’s Rest Motel. They’re alive and relatively unharmed. If you cooperate with us, they might stay that way.”

“You’re bluffing!” Dean’s shoulders slumped in defeat, despite the defiant words. Of course, they weren’t bluffing.

“You’re welcome to come closer and watch the livefeed. So far that just means the real time video recording but if you don’t comply, it might become more literal than that.” The words carried an audible smirk.

“Son of a bitch,” Dean muttered and shrugged at Sam.

Together they walked forward, feet scraping the asphalt to avoid stepping on their own useless caltrops.

Three black continentals blocked the road, eight men waiting in front of them. Roman stood his ground in the middle, the closest goon to his right holding a laptop turned to face Sam and Dean. It showed the unmistakable images of Morgan, Charlie, and Garcia tied up in Sam’s room.

“What do you want,” said Sam, arms crossed in front of him, back straight enough to make him tower over everyone.

“What you stole, of course. Your guarantee that you’ll stop fighting us. In other words, the tablet and your lives.”

Dean scoffed. “You’ll eat our friends as soon as we’re gone anyway. No reason for us not to fight you right now.”

“With what?” Roman smiled. “You rigged the sprinklers to drench us in borax?” He reached behind him and brought an umbrella up. “You can’t harm us.”

“Yeah?” Dean mimicked Sam’s crossed arms. “What are you gonna do? Shoot us?” He winced at his own words as they left his mouth.

Roman laughed. “What a novel idea.” Seven guns left their holsters and aimed at the brothers as their wielders clicked the safeties off.

Sam’s eyes widened and he turned to Dean. “Dude! What did you just say?”

Dean threw his arms out: “Duck and cover.” He pushed Sam hard, back toward the line of explosives.

Caitlin listened from her hidden position. Things had gone south. When Dean yelled duck, she hit the switch and turned on the sprinklers, crossing her fingers that it would buy him and Sam a little time.

The Leviathans had the others. Her heart thumped against her chest. They might die.

Cas. Castiel. You can save them. You’re the only one who can.

Roman cursed as the sprinklers came on, bullets flying everywhere, his sizzling underlings firing blind. He held out the umbrella, allowing at least one of them to aim.

“Cease fire and take cover! No, not you, you idiot,” he hissed at the flustered dimwit at his side. As soon as everyone was protected he pointed ahead where the Winchesters had just disappeared out of sight. “Let’s do it right this time.”

Roman brought out his own gun as they advanced across the treacherous ground. The completely borax-free caltrops were a nuisance, nothing more, and they soon had the Winchesters back in their sight.

The tallest were limping. leaning on his brother. Roman took aim and fired a two deliberate shots. He watched with satisfaction as the two of them went down in a heap.

“Seriously?” Leviathan Hotch gave Morgan an incredulous stare. “You two do nothing but flirt outrageously day in and day out and you’ve never done the dirty? Not even that weird biting each other’s lips thing you humans find so entertaining?” He looked between Morgan and Garcia, momentarily stunned into silence. “You should’ve gotten it out of your system. Then maybe you’d spend more time working and less time frustrating everyone with your oh-so-clever banter.” A roll of the eyes made it clear how clever the Leviathan thought their banter was.

Morgan met Garcia’s eyes and she gave him a small nod. His lips curled up as he leaned his head back to sneer at their captor. “I thought your kind were an ancient race, akin to a natural disaster on a cosmic scale. And yet, here you are spewing the same ignorant, barely concealed misogyny humans with below average intelligence tends to hide their insecurities behind. What are you afraid of?”

The Leviathan narrowed its eyes [Hotch’s eyes, dammit] at him. With a huff it turned to Charlie. “I’m surprised you‘re still here, little turncoat. Don’t you think your new friends here know about all the crimes you’ve committed? Don’t you think they’re just waiting for the right moment to snap a set of handcuffs around your wrists?”

Charlie shifted in her seat. “Plenty of nice jobs for me in the White Collar division. I was never really a black-hat. More of a grey-ish kinda pink hat.”

The Leviathan smiled, teeth showing. “You’ve been planning to get caught, haven’t you? Hoping to get access to their old-fashioned paper archives to find out who fucked up the case against your parents’ killer?” It chuckled. “You’re delusional. Accidents happen. You just don’t want to carry the guilt alone.”

Charlie’s face was white as a sheet except for two red spots high on her cheeks. She kept her lips pressed together, hands clenched in their bonds.

Garcia nudged Charlie’s leg with her knee, her ankle protesting against the rope. She caught Charlie’s attention and smiled, shifted her eyes to the Leviathan and back before rolling her eyes vigorously.

Charlie’s breath hitched on an aborted giggle. Her head snapped back when the Leviathan backhanded her.

“Do you think this is a joke? Do you find your situation funny?” Another slap hit her other cheek. “What do you think is gonna happen when my boss gets the Word? You’ll get to mosey on out of here, no harm, no foul?”

Charlie spat a mixture of spit and blood on the floor, breathing hard. She swallowed and met the Leviathan’s eyes dead on. “I think we’ll be dead before the sun sets no matter what and I’m not gonna waste my last hours crying about my past to satisfy your sick sense of humor.” Her eyes widened and the corners of her mouth quirked upward. She focused on Garcia. “That sounded totally badass, didn’t it? We’re going to die trying to save the world and I’m mouthing off to the bad guys. Penny, we’re HEROES.”

Garcia scoffed. “Martyrs, more like it. But, your enthusiasm is admirable.”

Charlie’s face fell.

Castiel materialized behind the Leviathan and swung his machete in a wide arc. The severed head slid off its neck and rolled across the floor.

Charlie stared at the gorish spectacle, mouth hanging open. “Dude! Telefrag!”

Cas caught the monster’s head by the hair and carried it to the bathtub.

The head opened its mouth. “Think you’re a hero now, Castiel? Do all your friends know what you’ve been up to? We remember. Changing sides now won’t wash you clean, nothing will.”

Cas glared at the thing as he let go and turned the tap, cold water trickling into the tub. “My Father disagrees.”

The head rolled its eyes. “You’d think I failed psychological warfare 101,” it sighed.

Cas tilted his head, confused. He shrugged and paused. A small smile grazed his lips. “Why don’t you get clean?” Cas threw a bar of soap into the water and left. It only took half a minute for the water to rise high enough to drown the agonized screams.

Cas loosened the first knot on the ropes tying Morgan’s hands behind his back. There was a strange pull inside him, growing. The world tilted sideways, his surroundings blurring and fading. The carpet was scratchy against his cheek and smelled like onions. He blinked furiously as another Leviathan stepped through the door.

“Hello old friend. You look unwell. I guess the sigils I just activated are working.” The Leviathan kicked Cas hard in the stomach. “No flying, no powers.” It bent down and easily trapped Cas’ hands behind his back. “The combination of the inverted Solomon’s key keeping you here and the extensive angel warding might turn out to be deadly,” it said, tying a rope around Cas’ wrists.

Pain lashed through Sam’s left side when he hit the ground, twisting to spare Dean’s suddenly limp body as much as possible.

Dean stayed silent, heavy and motionless as he landed halfway on Sam.

“Dean? Dean? Where are you hurt? Dean!”

Sam padded down Dean’s back, feeling the warm, sticky wet blood. He shifted, gently rolling Dean off him.

Dean’s eyes were open, brimming with terror and pain. His mouth worked furiously but Sam couldn’t hear a single sound. Dean’s lips had a bluish tinge that seemed to worsen quickly.

Sam put a shaking hand to Dean’s back, following his spine up, up. There. Slightly to the left but still on point, just below the base of Dean’s skull. The entry wound. Dean was paralyzed from the neck down

Sam slowly maneuvered Dean onto his wounded back side. “Dean, the bullet hit your spine. You’re not breathing right now, so I’m gonna do it for you, okay? Cas will fix you in sec, so hang in there, Dee.”