#hopefully my momentum isn't slowing down too much

[liminalpsych-in-teyvat]

Notes for A Matter of Duty - Chapter 5: The night wind's sigh

Thoma's Vision quest has the quote: "Ten years ago, when the Yashiro Commission's Kamisato Clan was losing its power. Kamisato Ayato, who was embroiled in the dispute over the succession rights of the clan due to the death of both parents…"

The Hiiragi family (Kanjou Commission) and the Kujou family (Tenryou Commission) have subordinate clans who assist them in their Commission work. That's called out specifically in Ayato's story quest and in Raiden's story quest. Theoretically, the Kamisato family also has subordinate clans (the Kaedehara Clan was one such family), but none of them are named. The only NPC serving the Yashiro Commission who has a family name is Madarame Hyakubei (the one in the Kamisato Estate who handles reputation quests).

So I had to make up some more subordinate families, and some relatives, because otherwise who else would be a candidate for succession of the Kamisato Clan? We only know about Ayato and Ayaka and their deceased parents; no other relatives are mentioned.

Hopefully the political infodump wasn't too tedious! I will now return to your regularly scheduled porn in Chapter 6.

No research links this time, because it was all just me poring through the Genshin wiki. For hours.

Summary of the fic itself with content warnings, tags, etc so you can decide if you want to read it or not before you click on the link.

A Matter of Duty

"Back then, I had no choice but to accept the position I was in. While I desperately looked around for powerful supporters, I endured smear campaigns and attempts to exploit me. I had no other choice… I didn't mind what became of me, but my family… No one can ever be allowed to trample over my precious family."

How Ayato secured powerful supporters, endured exploitation, and weathered the storm of the years following the death of his parents… and how Thoma helped him contend with a bunch of self-serving, degenerate public officials.

And how, after much stilted fumbling and well-intended sacrifice, they learned the truth of one another's hearts.

Note: Mind the tags. More specific content warnings will be given at the beginning of each chapter, and the story tags will be updated as needed. All characters involved in any sex scenes are adults.

Rating: Explicit. It's porn with plot. Porn as a vehicle for plot, or plot as a vehicle for porn, you can interpret it either way. (I prefer: porn and plot as a vehicle for ~feels~)

Tags that I'm not actually turning into tags here, but it gives you an idea of what you're in for: Kamisato Ayato/Thoma (Genshin Impact), dubious consent but not between Ayato and Thoma, slow burn, sex ed, first time, self-sacrifice, humiliation, exhibitionism, oral sex, anal sex, bdsm, bad bdsm etiquette, rough sex, breath play, impact play, bondage, service kink, abuse, sadism, codependency, shame, guilt, jealousy, possessiveness, trauma, ptsd, dissociation, political sex work, or sex work for political maneuvering, or political survival sex work if that’s a thing, exploitation, blackmail, political machinations, political intrigue, no aftercare, maybe someday some aftercare, hurt/comfort, mostly hurt for a long time but eventually comfort, oblivious disaster gays, for such socially savvy people they are terrible at personal relationships, dominant Ayato, submissive Thoma, top Ayato, bottom Thoma, Ayato is incredibly parentified, Thoma has no sense of self-preservation, self-sacrifice isn't a contest but don't tell Ayato and Thoma that, it's like the snipe-the-check game at restaurants but with sex and politics, Kushiel's Impact, no really this was in my drafts for the longest time as Kusheline Thomato Fic, everyone's an adult in this timeline except Ayaka, she gets protected at all costs, original characters out of necessity, finding appropriate existing Inazuma npcs for some of these roles was impossible, no beta we die like ayato's parents

Full fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47604337?view_full_work=true

Chapter 5: The night wind's sigh: Thoma gives his report, learns more about the political situation, and finally puts together some painful puzzle pieces.

Chapter contains: allusions to sex work, vague allusions to past dubious consent, hangover, arguing, angst, and politics. (Relatively mild chapter, really, compared to the others.)

[gctchell]

@damnedrainbows asked:

Befriending(?) Lucifer has made Alastor see the benefits of these things. Truthfully he doesn’t really know what Lucifer means about ‘neurodivergent tendencies’ when it comes to his little lady, but both are from a time that the clinical terms are nearly unheard of. What Alastor does know though, is she needs to get some energy out some days, in a way that isn’t destructive or just over obsessive cleaning.

He reaches and fastens the daisy chain with a tendril, allowing the red and black spotted cotton to hang down. Why does he have a feeling this beam will snap by the end of the day? “Alright my little ladybug, one lady bug….swing…thing, for you! and only you,” he stresses out. “Have at it, let’s see what the fuss is about!”

Niffty had seen one of these things in the King's room whenever she did her clean sweep of the week on his floor, and sometimes she had even seen him sleeping in it after disappearing for part of the day. She didn't know what it was, she assumed it was just a bird's nest thing-y for napping demons & devils alike.. Except it spun, too. It'd spin slow in the air as the occupant simmered down inside, and it fascinated her. Curious thing, that humanoid slingshot.

Imagine how delightfully surprised she was when Alastor turned up with one of her own, and with little dots to match.

Niffty was very patient, waiting nearby with arms twisted together and body anchoring this way and that as the Radio Host went about setting the Sensory Swing in place, hooking it up and making sure it was nice and secure, and hopefully going to survive the little lady it's meant for. Hopefully.

Once he gave her the go ahead, Niffty brightened up with a gasp and went skittering across the floor at wound-up speed - and too excited to shoot straight, she zigzags around before shooting herself into the opening mouth of the swing and sending it immediately into motion. Her legs stick out and kick around, and there's delighted giggling from the inside.

The maid sinks a little low, her weight being so light that it doesn't really affect the swing as much as it would a normal-sized demon like Lucifer (normal in her eyes, mind you). Still, she feels.. swaddled, and she feels hugged by all sizes of the stretchy fabric, her hands reaching up to cling to the sides.

It's twirling at a decent speed, rocking around like a bell. However, it isn't going fast enough. The King didn't really test the limits of his own swing from what Niffty had witnessed, and now personally being able to see just how stretchy it is, and feel how much flexibility it had? She really wanted to take it up a notch and see how fast this bad boy could go. So, she began to rock and roll around on the inside, around and around, tucking her legs in to add further weight for gravity to pull and do its thing. The polka dotted swing began to gain momentum, and gain some more, and gain even more, Niffty's demonic energy transferring well into the object as she hedgehogged all around the inside, sending it into trajectory.

It swung.

It swung.

It really swung.

And now it's a helicopter blade.

"THIS IS SO KEEN! YOU GOTTA TRY IT WITH ME!"

Two little hands reach out from the propelling force of sensory mayhem, flailing around for Alastor.

[norabrice1701]

The Cloverfield Pyramid - Ch. 4

A Schmidt x Fem!Reader Lost Ruins/Archaeology Expedition AU Fic

Link to Ch. 3

Link to Series Master List

Chapter Summary: In which mysteries reveal themselves with grave consequences.

Chapter Warnings: Explicit language, fairly-graphic horror violence, body horror tw, character death, repurposed quotes from the film

A/N: Caught a free night, so two updates in one week, wahoo! Y'all's support for this story continues to brighten my days - thank you so much! I hope y'all continue to enjoy, and now, back to my mac'n cheese, wine, and other WIP that's competing for headspace....

My love to @raniiaaa and @janine-007 for their support and contributions!

Cheers, Nora

Chapter 4: Day +6 - Part I

“Not gonna lie,” you said, decelerating the ship. “This feels like something from ‘Legends of the Hidden Temple’. Like the first one who finds the Cloverfield sign should get a full Pendant of Life."

A light chuckle rose from the assembled team on the bridge. Kiel allowed himself a smile, glancing over. “Don’t age yourself like that, Skip.”

Volkov scoffed. “More popcorn-ized debasement of history for the mindless masses. They claim that show was Mayan-inspired, but it’s about as Mayan as I am.”

Mundy lifted his binoculars. “Actually, there’s more fact to that show than you would think. Not saying it’s a paragon of accuracy, but I applaud their creative liberty and ability to get kids interested in history.”

You didn’t hold back a smile, catching Schmidt’s gaze unintentionally as you looked down at the navigation console. “Alright, we’re coming up to the coordinates for the Cloverfield channel.”

A tense energy filled the bridge as the moment of truth finally arrived.

“Slow, slow now.” Kiel stepped up beside you with binoculars of his own.

You continued to ease back on the throttle, feeling the engine vibrations fade away under your feet. Through the windshield, you could see the fork in the river emerge through the dense greenery on the shore. There didn’t look to be anything remarkable about it – it looked like any other fork in the river that you’d already passed. But even Volkov stepped forward with a look of obvious interest as Kiel continued to scan the landscape.

Mundy wet his lips, staring out the window. “Hopefully the markers aren't impossible to see.”

Volkov sneered indignantly. “We should be on the shore.”

“No one goes ashore without my say.” Kiel’s words brokered no argument.

Ava shook her head gently. “We don’t want to risk interfering with any uncontacted peoples – that would be a massive violation of our permits.”

“Not a risk I’m willing to take just yet.” Kiel confirmed, lowering the binoculars as the ship inched forward with minimal speed and dwindling momentum. “Take us in, Skip.”

“Here we go.” You turned the wheel, angling the bow into the narrower channel. It wasn't too narrow as to cause concern for the ship, but it certainly didn’t give you much wiggle room to avoid any oncoming river traffic.

Volkov sighed, shaking his head. "Hopefully this big tub can reverse if this channel isn't the right one. If we get stuck, this expedition will be a failure.”

Ava looked at him, unimpressed. “Then, no one will hold you responsible and your reputation will remain intact.”

You glanced down to the navigation console again. “Water depth has decreased – now holding at 65 ft.– but nothing of concern." You looked to Kiel in confirmation before turning back to the windshield.

The lush trees seemed thicker here, somehow. You couldn’t explain it – but the surrounding jungle seemed more suffocating, more encroaching. Of course, it made no sense, but the feeling crept down your spine nonetheless. Maintaining the slow speed, you kept a fleeting eye on the water depth readout and your southern GPS trajectory.

“Holy shit…,” Mundy’s stubbly face broke out in a wide smile beneath his binoculars. “Is that what I think it is?” He glanced down at the printout of the stone map before returning to the windshield. “Holy shit, it is. It's the same symbol!”

Every eye on the bridge turned in the direction of Mundy’s gaze, looking at the shore and the emergence of a structure from the dense foliage. Composed of layered stones, the crude obelisk took shape in shadowed, bygone nobility. A weather-worn carving curved across multiple stones facing the water to reveal the same unusual mushroom shape that you recalled from Volkov's initial presentation.

“Oh, man.” Mundy shook his head, his smile impossibly wide. “That’s pretty. The sign of the lost Cloverfield tribe, my friends.”

Acosta exhaled in wonder. “Just look at that – and a second one.” He pointed across the bridge and you swung your gaze around. Sure enough, a second obelisk rested along the opposite bank, the top-half crumbled but still majestic and unmistakable. Paired together, they looked eerily like a gateway. A point of no return. The thought raced a chill down your spine as the ship’s bow drew up to them.

Ava shook her head with a skeptical edge, her mouth upturned in a contemplative frown. “That doesn’t make sense…these are so easy to see. How is there no record of them?”

Mundy shook his head, words flowing with rushed excitement. “Perhaps recent changes in the river, or in the jungle plants…oh man, I have to run out and get a photo, note the coordinates – slow down, Skip.”

You pulled up on the throttle as the obelisks passed out of the windshield's view.

A high-pitched, trilling alarm sounded and you instinctively scanned the bridge consoles. It certainly wasn’t any alarm sound you recognized.

“Kiel,” Schmidt’s voice carried over the alarm before it fell silent. "We have a massive spike in electromagnetic energy.”

“That was you?” Volkov snapped. “Assaulting our ears for no reason?”

Schmidt gestured at his watch. “I’ve had an EMF meter running the whole voyage, taking background measurements, and I was able to program an alarm to my watch for any surges. And this one…,” he shook his head, consulting the alarm readout, “is off the charts.”

You looked back at the bridge display screens, doing a double-take when you saw the navigation console. The compass display started to rotate, turning the north arrow towards the south. You stared at it, dumbfounded, watching the arrows realign. Of course, you’d seen loss of GPS signal before but what sort of instrumentation failure was this to show the Earth’s magnetic poles reversed?

You could hear Kiel speaking, but you didn’t listen. “Kiel,” you interrupted, “we have an issue with the—”

Your words died as all hell broke loose.

Glass console screens shattered in brilliant sprays of tempered glass. Your arms flew to protect your face, the errant shards grazing your bare skin as you cried out. You heard others echo cries of alarm but you couldn't react before the floor fell away.

Kiel’s voice cut above the fray. “What the hell is happening?!”

Impossibly, you smashed into the ceiling, seeing everyone else thrown similarly – scrambling to understand, struggling to grasp at the recessed ceiling lights. Without warning, you dropped through the air, crashing against the bridge floor with a dull thud, groaning loudly as gravity returned and…wait.

Where the fuck did gravity go in the first place?

Your mind reeled from the implications of what just happened, unable to understand it as adrenaline pumped through your veins, hearing the others groan from impact.

“What the fuck?!” Volkov shouted, rolling to his side. “What did you do, Schmidt?!”

“Me?” Schmidt’s voice burned with indignation as he scowled at Volkov, pushing up to his forearms. “You can’t blame me for this!”

“You’re the one talking of energy surges being off the charts!”

“Enough!” Kiel bellowed, pushing to his feet. “How’s the Shepherd, Skip?”

With a groan, you rose to your knees, struggling to ignore the throbbing ache in your skull as you took in the minefield of broken glass around you. Fuck, you needed to focus – Kiel had asked you a question. “I’m on it.”

Bracing against the captain’s chair, you found your feet and surveyed the damaged consoles. Only one remained intact – the drivetrain console, thank god – but the readings were haywire. It didn’t make sense that oil temperature was frozen, yet the pressure was on the verge of explosion. It didn’t make sense that the fuel gauge read full and the odometer was redlined when the ship stood still. You queued up the menu to kill the engine when an alarm blared. This one you recognized.

“Shit,” you said, “we have a fire. Engine room.” You switched to the fire suppression controls with no response. “Someone – anyone! – manual aux control for the CO2 system is located on the bulkhead outside the engine room. Turn it on!”

The rushing of feet sounded behind you but you didn’t turn to see who heeded your call.

Kiel appeared at your side. “Did we hit something?”

You shook your head. “I don’t think so. We still had at least 60 ft. of water, and we were on course….”

Ava’s voice shook as she stood, wrapping her arms around herself. “That wouldn’t explain why we hit the ceiling. Gravity doesn’t just disappear like that.”

Acosta stood up with a groan. “Perhaps something is off with the gyrostabilizer? Though, even that wouldn’t explain such a dramatic roll.”

“No, it wouldn’t.” You agreed, turning to look at the doctor over your shoulder. “If the ship had rolled enough to throw us all to the ceiling, we’d be underwater with the propellers in the air.” You turned back to the damaged consoles as the fire alarm fell silent.

“Fire’s out, Skip.” Schmidt’s voice came from your watch.

“Whoa…,” Mundy’s voice followed. "Too much smoke to see the damage right now, but we’ve got the ventilation fans running.”

You opened your watch's com link. “Copy that.” Shaking your head, you blew an uncertain sigh. “At least that’s one problem solved, but I don’t understand why everything just blew….”

Kiel nodded. “What help do you need?”

“Not sure yet,” you answered honestly. "Once the smoke clears, I can start to assess if we’re dead in the water. Assuming the engines are still good, we have navigation contingencies if the GPS is beyond repair. Gauging water depth will be a problem, but we can depth sound usin-”

“Kiel.” Ava’s tremulous voice interrupted, her eyes wide with concern. “I’ve lost all external communications.”

Kiel’s brow furrowed in confusion as he lifted his arm, punching at his own watch. “I don't have signal, either.”

Volkov’s jaw tightened. “What the fuck does that mean? We’re on our own out here?!”

“Going this deep in the jungle,” Kiel clarified, “that was always a possibility.”

“No, that is bullshit,” Volkov countered. “I’ve spent more time in this jungle than any of you – there are always ways to stay in satellite range and this ship is nothing if not top of the line. Something is royally fucked here – admit it!”

A rough, ragged, distinctly feminine sobbing cry filled the bridge, catching everyone – including yourself – off guard.

Acosta’s face pinched in concern. “What…who was that?”

The anguished sound came again as you scrambled for the source, startled to realize it came from your expedition watch. You suddenly remembered the open comm link.

“Ach du Scheiße!"

“What the – who the hell are you!?”

Another desperate, gasping cry of pain sounded over your watch, garbling Schmidt’s and Mundy’s words.

“Monk!” Kiel called out. “Get down there!”

Ava followed quickly on Acosta’s heels. “I’m going, too!”

“This isn’t right,” Volkov continued to press, “whatever that physicist was doing with his meter – he fucked something enough to throw us off.”

“Not now, Volkov.” Kiel fixed him with a sharp eye. “Stay focused on solutions, or leave the bridge.”

You turned your attention towards the damaged consoles, reaching in through the busted display screens to the wires and circuits. God, what a jumbled, scrambled mess. Half the circuits looked shot, and several connections were blown. You couldn't possibly repair such extensive damage.

Voices continued to filter over your open comm link, adding to your shocked confusion.

“Oh, god!” Ava’s voice carried a note of obvious panic. “We have to help her!”

“We don’t even know who the hell she is!” Schmidt responded.

Acosta cut in. “We can’t just leave her in the engine room.”

Mundy groaned. “God, is that a fucking wire? Grab the cutters!”

You half-listened as you stooped to take off the drivetrain panel cover.

Acosta directed the team in calm tones over the woman's continued agony. “We need to get her to sickbay."

Kiel placed a hand on your shoulder. “You’re under control for now?”

You heaved an anxious sigh. “As under control as I know, at least…still assessing.”

“Keep going – let me know what you need and when. Let’s find out how badly we’re up the creek.”

Nodding, you turned to offer Kiel your reassurance. “Yeah, I got this – go.”

He barely returned your nod before grabbing Volkov and both of them departing for sickbay.

As much as you wanted to know about the mystery woman who somehow wound up on your ship in the middle of the fucking river, you still had a job to do. There were six others who could care for her, and you weren’t the doctor.

You exhaled another deep sigh, squinting up into the drivetrain cabinet, staring at the tangled nest of wires.

How else could this day get any fucking worse?

----------

You stretched your arms overhead, fighting back a groan as your tired muscles pulled. You thought you were in decent-ish shape, but the last three hours of crawling over the ship from stem to stern, running between the engine room and the bridge had made you ache. And not just physically - you’d never had to triage such extensive systems damage before.

A yawn tugged at your lips as you watched the rest of the team assemble in the main cabin at Kiel’s direction. You didn’t blame anyone for not standing too close to you - smoke clung to your clothes and sweat dampened your hairline, not helped by the rising temperature in the cabin.

“Alright,” Kiel said, offering an encouraging smile to the uncertain group. “Let’s find out what we’re up against.” His gaze settled on you. “How’s our girl, Skip?”

You nodded your head slowly. “Not completely dead in the water, fortunately. We still have propulsion, but it’s like all the controls have been reversed. Navigation is completely shot with no spare circuits, but we have a backup compass and charts, so we’re not lost."

You glanced around at the team, pausing for a breath. “The engine room fire appears to have originated from the water treatment equipment – ironic, I know – but we’ve lost our ability to treat greywater. Fortunately, the blackwater system still appears to be fully functional.” You wet your top lip. “But I’ve had to cut non-essential power to so many circuits - the workout room’s dark, and air conditioning is a thing of the past - in order to keep our water supply system online, as well as the galley equipment.”

Kiel nodded. "At least we can move, that’s the big ticket.”

“The most perplexing thing by far, though - aside from the obvious,” you didn’t need to say any more about the mysterious woman who just appeared in the engine room, “is the missing flywheel from the gyrostabilizer.” Your eyes met Acosta’s across the room. “We’ve enjoyed a smooth ride so far, but with the missing flywheel, we can all expect to earn our sea legs now.”

“This flywheel,” Ava asked, “could it have broken loose? Rolled somewhere, or under something?”

“No,” you answered, “it weighs upwards of 500 pounds, designed to rotate at 9,000 rpm in a vacuum encapsulation. And the whole assembly is just…gone.”

Kiel nodded. “So, we load up on Dramamine if we need to �� a rough ride doesn’t compromise crew safety, correct?”

You nodded. “Correct.”

“Then, the gyro’s a luxury we can no longer afford.” He sighed, looking over at Mundy. “We’re seven days out from Manaus, and two days from our destination. I don’t want to turn around if we don’t have to.”

Mundy looked crestfallen. “We can’t – we’re so damn close.”

Ava nodded. “Not to mention the hit the museum would take for this failure.” She motioned to her wristwatch. “I still don’t have any line on external communications – everything from our watches to backup satellite phones just register static.”

Kiel turned to her with a sympathetic expression. “Then, we’ll make do with what we’ve got, so long as safety isn’t compromised.”

Nothing in Volkov’s permanent scowl eased as he spoke, gaze boring into Schmidt's skull. “Why don’t you ask him if safety is compromised?”

Schmidt sighed, shaking his head. “Now is not the time, Volkov.”

“If not now, then when?” The Russian countered. “One minute, you’re talking about the ‘off the charts’ energy surges, and the next, our ship is blowing apart around us.” His glower intensified, arms folded tight against his chest as he seethed. “You know, I never trusted you.”

Schmidt’s face hardened with tense frustration. “Energy surges of that magnitude are a natural phenomena. Those levels were comparable to that of a lightning bolt throwing off EMF radiation that’s known to overload and fry electronics.”

“Except without the goddamn lightning bolt!” Volkov roared. “This is your responsibility, and you know it!”

“Of course, you’re blaming me.” Anger burned in Schmidt’s eyes. “You’ve had it out for me since day one.”

“Who else made this happen, hmm? You’re the one talking about overloads…what else do you know that you’re not tell-”

“This is getting us nowhere!" Kiel called over Volkov's words. "We have to stay focused and we have to keep our shit together. That goes for everyone here.”

Volkov shook with visible fury. Or was it fear? It made you wonder. Was all this posturing and blustering to hide the fact that he was terrified? Hell, you could read it plain on Ava’s face and you could freely admit to fear in the face of such uncertainty. But was Volkov letting it get the better of him, despite his obvious disdain for Schmidt's presence on the expedition?

Kiel turned towards Schmidt. “This overload…do you know what caused it? It certainly wasn’t a lightning strike.”

Schmidt blew an uneven sigh, shaking his head slowly. “I can’t be sure – the overload shorted out the primary and secondary meters, so I don’t have the data prior to the alarm. And we also won’t be able to see a second spike coming now.”

Volkov shook his head disparagingly. “If it isn’t already upon us – or surrounding us.” He threw up a hand in visible frustration. “The ship’s limping along. We’re tampering with forces that jeopardize not only a pristine archaeological find, but now it seems our very lives. A woman appears in the engine room. We’re definitely not in Kentucky anymore.”

Mundy shook his head gently. “Kansas.”

“Kansas? Really?” Volkov glared dismissively. “Who gives a shit?”

“People from Kansas.”

Kiel glanced at Acosta, obvious hesitance on his face but there was no escaping the elephant in the room any longer. “How is she, Monk?”

The doctor looked up, concern heavy in his gaze. “The woman’s stable and sedated for the time being. It’s hard to tell how much internal damage the wires did – if any – and she doesn’t appear to have any effects from smoke inhalation.”

Schmidt scoffed. “This is madness – like she just appeared in the engine room after the fire? Like the suppression system dropped her in the room instead of CO2?”

Kiel turned to him in clear warning. “Calm down.”

A spike of fearful panic erupted on Mundy’s face. “We’re trying to stay calm – but it’s near bloody impossible with that woman lying in sickbay!”

“Who is she?” Schmidt shook his head, jaw tensing. “And what the hell is she doing here?"

“She knew my name.” Ava swallowed with stressed, unsteady nerves. “That's impossible.”

Acosta whispered a hushed prayer under his breath, shaking his head heavy with contemplation. “What if we’re all going mad? It's possible there's something in the air, or an unknown pathogen…."

Kiel stood strong. “I’m not going to say this again – we have to stay focused. We have other problems to deal with. Take it one at a time, team.”

Volkov fixed his scowl back to Schmidt. “Starting with the most obvious – I want answers, Schmidt.”

“I don’t answer to you, Volkov.”

“Then, who do you answer to? Tell me – why were you already measuring your energy levels? Did you know something like this would happen? Did you just decide not to tell the rest of us about the risk?!”

“There’s no conspiracy here against you or this expedition." Schmidt fired back. "We’re up against something that none of us understand – that none of us could have predicted!”

“That’s your damn job! That’s the only reason why you’re here!” Volkov looked pleadingly at Kiel. “Will you do nothing to make this man give us straight answers?”

Kiel shook his head. “Volkov, you’re out of line.”

That’s when you noticed it – the spastic twitching of Volkov’s right eye, the tremor in his shoulders. He looked so tightly coiled, his cheeks red as his eyes blazed. Was it all just from overwhelming anger? You glanced at Acosta, noticing the doctor similarly sizing up Volkov with confused worry.

Volkov fumed, drawing a deep snarling breath. “Fine, then if you won’t take action – I will.” He reached behind his back for the waistband of his trousers, revealing a gleaming, black handgun.

Everyone in the room drew a collective shocked gasp, and you instantly threw your hands up in defensive surrender. Your heart pounded as Volkov raised his arm, aiming the gun at Schmidt with an unsteady hand.

“Put the gun down, Volkov.” Kiel’s voice carried above the rest.

“A gun? Why is there a gun now?” Mundy raised his own hands, pleading. “Volkov!”

Schmidt’s eyes widened with sheer disbelief behind his glasses. “Are you crazy? Put that gun down!"

You spoke before you knew it. “Please put the gun down!”

Ava and Acosta echoed your cry as everyone continued to appeal to Volkov.

The tremor in his arm increased as he shook his head with a clear look of distress. “Tell me what you know! Tell me what is happening!”

“Volkov, please!” You continued to add to the frantic pleas.

“Volkov,” Acosta cut in gently, taking a tentative step forward. “You’re not well. Let me help you, please.”

“I don’t need yo-your help,” Volkov’s voice caught in his throat, “I ju-just need him to tell…to admit the tru-tru….” Volkov’s words dissolved into gut-wrenching gurgling sounds and foam oozed from his lips.

You watched in stunned horror as the archaeologist continued to foam at the mouth, eyes rolling back in his head as he collapsed to the cabin floor. His whole body started to convulse with uncontrollable spasms as cries of alarm rang from the rest of the team.

Kiel rushed to his side, prying the pistol from Volkov’s hand and sliding it across the floor. “Ava - throw that gun into the river.”

Ava picked up the gun with clear distaste, moving for the sliding door as Acosta knelt down pressing a reassuring hand to Volkov’s trembling shoulder. “Easy now, easy.” He said, looking over the archaeologist’s prone form with open fear. “I don’t know what’s happening to him.”

“Let’s get him to sickbay.” Kiel motioned for Mundy and Schmidt to step forward, each kneeling as they took hold of Volkov. “Alright - on three.”

You inhaled sharply as the men heaved to their feet, hoisting Volkov from the floor to leave smears of foam behind.

“Gah!” Mundy groaned. “He’s far heavier than he looks.”

Schmidt grunted under the strain, moving forward under labored steps. “Too heavy.”

You ran ahead of them, pulling the sickbay door open. The unknown woman's sleeping form greeted you from one of the two beds in the room’s dim light before you stepped aside to let the team through.

“Come on!” Kiel encouraged. “Almost there!” He heaved with a grunt of relief as he settled Volkov’s shoulders against the medical bed. The others followed, each man breathing heavy from obvious exertion.

Acosta shook his head, looking over the now-weakly convulsing man. “That doesn’t make sense…why should he be so heavy?”

“Whoa, whoa,” Mundy jumped back with wide eyes, pointing to Volkov’s stomach. “What the fuck is that?”

Everyone turned wide eyes to Volkov’s abdomen, watching in terror as it...expanded. Your mouth fell open at the unexplainable sight of his distended midsection, his shirt pulling tight, seams ripping as the skin beneath continued to stretch and grow.

Acosta stared down with wide, alarmed eyes. “I don’t know what this is….”

Mundy shook his head. “What the fuck is wrong with-”

His words drowned under a startled cry as Volkov’s abdomen burst. The shirt fabric and skin ripped apart, blood and viscera thrown by the eruption. You slammed your eyes shut, quickly turning your head away.

“My god,” Acosta pleaded, “what is that thing?”

You forced yourself to turn around, tears stinging your eyes. Acosta’s clothes were covered in splattered blood as more seeped to the floor around dark pieces of internal organs - organs that had up till now kept Volkov alive. You forced a hard gulp, drawing a shaking breath as you took in his body - and nearly choked. Of course, it was covered in blood, but you would recognize the hulking flywheel from the gyro anywhere.

You didn’t listen to who was speaking before interrupting. “Guys, that’s the flywheel. That’s the missing piece of the gyro.” Your hand raised to your mouth and nose, trying to block against the smell that permeated the room. “But there’s no fucking way that should have been inside Volkov. He couldn’t have swallowed it...he couldn’t have….” Your words stalled, knowing there was no way for a human to physically fit such a large object inside their body. Though, that was exactly why his torso had split open. But god, why...how…?

An awful silence fell in the room.

Kiel sniffled softly. “I suppose we won’t be able to move him with that...thing there, will we?”

Acosta shook his head solemnly. “I don’t know where we would move him to. We’re not exactly equipped for this.”

“Do your best with what you have to clean him up.” Kiel shook his head slowly. “We owe him at least that much.”

Mundy sighed sadly. “And we can’t even properly explain it - how does an object that weighs upwards of 500 lbs suddenly appear in a man’s stomach?”

Schmidt wet his top lip. “At least, that would explain why he was so heavy to move, if it was already...forming inside of him somehow.”

You shook your head, meeting his gaze. “Except an inanimate object like that has no business forming in a man’s midsection.”

Acosta glanced around the room. “If you insist on continuing this discussion, then I insist that you leave. After the horror of his last few minutes, let the dead now have his peace.” He passed a hand over Volkov's face to close the man's eyelids before closing his own eyes. “‘Eternal Father, strong to save, whose arm hath bound the restless wave. O hear us when we cry to Thee, for those in peril on the sea’. Amen.”

Link to Ch. 5

Tag List: @apparrio @charistory @somethingthatsaysbubbles @everythingbeginsineternity-blog @scuttle-buttle

[polar534]

Jersey Stealing Pt. 4

Titan, this was a lot longer then I had ever planned on it being. I started writing Jersey Stealing I want to say MONTHS ago. You guys have only recently seen the parts that have been sitting done for ages. I guess it's just a side effect of this being my secondary, recovery project. Something fun I can write up while I'm at work.

Anyways, I'll stop babbling now and let y'all get to the well deserved end to this arc. This one is long. It's got a lot of loose threads tied up and it's also got my first instance of me ever typing out 'I love you' in any sort of writing... so that's a thing. Hopefully I did it alright.

(If you like this/want to read the other parts/want to figure out what the heck this Hockey AU is in the first place, consider checking out the MasterPost.)

***

Amity tapped her fingers, the sharp sound echoing loudly throughout the empty house. Sighing, she pushed her chair out and set aside the homework she was working on. The quiet nature of the house was almost physically bothering her as she walked to the window.Opening up to the sounds of the street below and woods behind, Amity took a deep breath and let the sounds comfort the growing restlessness creeping into her bones. Normally on the days she didn't have practice, both her and Luz would spend the evening in the Boiling Isles, visiting Lilith and Eda at the palace. There was always something to do, and Eda in particular was always looking for some excuse to sneak away from her duties even for just a little bit. It was something they both looked forward to. A time in which everyone could catch up, Gus and Willow included, outside of school or Willow and Amity's games.

However, today was different. Luz had a lot less shine in her eyes as Amity said goodbye to her at the portal, something that rarely happened. It only furthered Amity's resolve in her decision to stay behind and find some sort of resolution to the incident that now had been plaguing her girlfriend for almost a week.

The itching in her bones began to crawl into her skin as Amity felt her restlessness increase. Moving to the bed she grabbed some shoes and slid them on, making sure to grab her stick and jersey on the way out the door. Even if it was late, she knew Luz wouldn't be home anytime soon, and there was no telling when Camilla would be off of work. Equipment in hand, she moved down the street quickly, the daylight slowly fading behind her.

***

Crack!

The slam of the puck against the stick offered little resistance to Amity's swing as she continued the course she had designed for herself. Lapping the rink she crashed into the football training dummy she and the team had borrowed (stolen) from the local highschool. Feeling the weighted dummy barely move against the slick ice had her hitting the next lap even faster then the first.

Crack!

This time the swing was straight through the puck, almost as if Amity was merely cutting through the air with her motions. The puck flew through the air and pushed the netting of the goal to it's limit as the witch ducked her head down and lapped the rink a second time, building up speed to once again charge the dummy. Her chest heaved as her feet slowed in their steps, the ice now almost like water under her skates. There was no more traction to be gained and she instead allowed her body to continue it's momentum as she practically soared towards her goal. Her mind emptied as she plowed into the object in front of her, shoulder out, intending to cause as much damage as possible. This time, the metal sled holding the dummy up slid effortlessly through the ice as it flew backwards. The force of her impact wasn't clean though. Losing her balance and with too much speed to stop, Amity careened around the edge of where the dummy had stopped and she hit the ice hard. The green-haired girl barely registered the pain as her stick flew from her hand and she was left spinning out on the ice.

The witch panted heavily as she lay on the frozen rink, completely dazed, her heartbeat thudding so loudly in her ears that she could barely think.

As the pain of her fall caught up with her, so did the emotions she had tried to outrun for the past week. She wasn't aware of the first tear that slipped down the side of her cheek, but the many following after had her face almost bitterly cold in chilly temperature of the arena. A question repeated in her mind over and over.

Why?

The tears didn't bother her. Neither did the reason she was shedding them.

Why?

What bothered her most was Luz. Why was this the thing, this hope, this person, the one thing to break Luz like Amity had never seen? Why did this emotion, this defeat, seem to haunt Luz like a ghost that was all too familiar? Amity's heart broke for Luz, and maybe she was finally allowing herself to feel the pain, the burden she had tried carrying since she had seen it. Her mind raced to fill in the gaps and answer the questions as the adrenaline from her training began to crash and her body melted further into the ice.

She thought about all she knew and had learned about Luz's history in her own world. This world that Amity now had become a part of. It seemed like every day was a struggle for Luz, her wild and dangerous ideas being so obviously unappealing to others. Forcibly being isolated, even when you are trying to reach out was a lot different from how Amity grew up. She was always welcome, but never felt like she belonged… never wanted to.

'I think that’s why Luz held on to the hope that one day they could be friends'

It was Luz's connection to Amity that severed the last chance of her bonding to her past. It was the step over the line for Sasha, the person Luz had hung her last hopes on before she met Willow, before she met Gus, before she met Amity.

The adrenaline was gone. Her body aching, Amity crawled her way to her feet feeling more hollow then ever before. Slowly, she slid the training dummy off the ice, and grabbed her stick. Her eyes glanced to the puck that was still in the empty space of the goal as she packed the last of her equipment away. Glancing at her phone she saw that there were missed messages.

-I'm home now.

Missed Call from Luz

-Amity?

-Where are you?

-I hope you're ok.

Amity took one last look at the ice behind her before she tapped out a quick response, slinging her jersey off and over her shoulder as she walked out of the building.

-Sorry. I was practicing.

-I'll be home soon.

***

Amity crept up the stairs and to the bedroom. Peeking open the door slowly she saw that Luz was curled up on the bed, wrapped up snugly in a blanket and using a small lamp to read by. As soon as the door opened her eyes shot up and the ghost of a smile lit up her face in the relative darkness.

"Ahhh, there she is!"

Amity smiled back as she wormed her way further into the room and set her equipment down. Kicking off her shoes she sat down on the edge of the bed as Luz set her book down and clung onto her back, her head resting comfortably in the crook of the witch's neck.

"I'm sorry I was late." Amity mumbled quietly as she leaned her face into Luz's, enjoying her girlfriend's warmth as it chased away the bite of cold that still lingered from the rink.

"I am too." Luz rumbled back into her ear as she squeezed her arms tightly around the witch's torso and pulled her fully down onto the bed.

"Oh? Miss me much Noceda?" Amity teased as they both wrapped the blanket around them and settled in, Luz in Amity's arms.

Luz merely responded with a low growl as she snuggled further into the other's girls embrace, making sure her face was buried into Amity's chest. After a moment of enjoying being close and together again, Luz finally lifted her face. Her eyes were tired, but they held the shine of curiosity that Amity was used to. Deep in those wide brown eyes there was a flicker of the Luz she knew and loved.

Then that flicker faded.

"So… you were out pretty late."

Amity nodded. It wasn't an accusation, just a comment. It didn't stop the guilt from rushing in however.

"I know. I'm sorry. I was caught up in practicing and didn't realize the time."

"Lokte's brother stopped by earlier." Luz said calmly.

Amity's blood froze. It wasn't as if she wanted to hide what she had been up to for the last few days, but rather didn't want to worry Luz any more then she already was. It was too late now though.

"He wanted to apologize. For what happened at the game. He looked pretty spooked. Guess Lokte didn't go easy on him."

"I wouldn't either." Amity growled stiffly. It may have been a genuine mistake, but that didn't mean the threat didn't bother her. What was worse was that Luz still seemed completely calm. Amity didn't know what to expect. Would she be mad? Or just disappointed?

Silence fell between the pair.

"You talked with them today… didn't you?"

There was another moment of silence before Amity nodded. Luz continued to face away from her, but the witch knew that her girlfriend knew the answer before she had asked. After a few more agonizing seconds, Luz finally faced her. The smallest sliver of a smile crept it's way on her face, and the light in her eyes seemed to come back ever so slightly.

"Sooo… just how obnoxious is Bryce?" Luz asked, gently teasing. Her light voice instantly broke through the stiff air between them.

Amity let out a sigh of relief as she laughed a bit to herself.

"I have no idea how you put up with him at all. He's got to be one of the dullest people I have ever met. I told him multiple times I was your girlfriend and he still couldn't take the hint! He kept trying to ask me out." The witch growled lowly, unconsciously squeezing Luz tighter.

"Oh. Huh..." Luz hummed thoughtfully.

"Luz there was no way I was going to say yes. You know that right?"

Luz sat up and waved her hand as if dismissing Amity's thought.

"Yeah of course I know that." She assured the witch almost like an after thought, now looking curiously out the window. "It's just weird. Bryce isn't the type to ask girls out. He just hasn't ever been interested in dating before."

"Could've fooled me." Amity grumbled unhappily, Byrce's aggressive way of flirting still very much prevalent in her mind.

Luz turned back to her with another smile, this one supportive and warm.

"Oh Ami. He's still very much a trashbag." Luz said slowly, her distaste for Bryce very barely hidden. "You didn't have to go talk to them for me you know." She added after a pause, her voice growing quiet.

"Well. Let's see, they threatened you, called you a liar and then tried to go on with their life as if everything was ok. As if there wasn't any consequences." Amity listed as she stared at the ceiling and counted on her fingers. After thinking for awhile she stared hard at Luz. "Yeah. I wasn't about to let that happen."

Luz's smile grew a little more genuine as both girls looked at each other. She leaned back up against Amity as they settled back down into the bed. There wasn't anything more to say.

"So practicing huh? Did you use the football dummy?" Luz asked suddenly and excitedly.

Amity couldn't help but smile, it had been Luz's idea to use it (steal it) in the first place.

"It was a little weird to use, but honestly on the second try I sent it flying."

"Awesome." Luz breathed. "I demand you take me along next time."

Amity laughed. "You've been spending too much time with King." She teased gently as she sat up to lean against the bed frame. Luz promptly flopped across her lap and uncovered her book from earlier to flip open.

"Nonsense." The human girl dismissed as her eyes began to scan the pages again.

"What are you reading anyways?" Amity asked after a pause told her the conversation might be over.

"Shhhhhhh." Luz reached over and lazily flopped a hand against Amity's face in an attempt to gently shush her. "I'm almost done with this scene."

Raising an eyebrow, Amity patiently waited, unaware that she and Luz would soon spend the next 2 hours getting into the first book of a brand new series. After thoroughly researching to find out that yes, the rest of the series was available at the library, the two girls settled in for the night. As they were drifting off, Luz holding Amity tightly to her chest, the witch had almost completely forgotten about the trials they had both been through. The weight of their trauma seemed so far away, lost in the warmth of the blankets and her girlfriend's arms.

No matter what happened, if every day ended with Luz right beside her, Amity knew they could and they would survive anything that life threw at them.

Above her, Luz buried her face into her hair, breathing in deeply as sleep overtook her.

"…mity…" She mumbled sleepily.

Amity couldn't help but giggle a bit. Luz hated falling asleep, always clinging to her consciousness despite how exhausted she was. Always finding some excuse to stay up just a little longer.

"Yes?"

"… thanks."

Amity's ears twitched before a small smile appeared on her face. She snuggled into Luz further.

"Anytime." The witch reassured her as she heard her girlfriend sigh happily above her. The room grew quiet once again and Amity was almost fully asleep by the time Luz spoke next.

"I love you."

The heat rushed to Amity's cheeks, as it always did when she heard those 3 little words. Her heart skipped a bit as it beat faster in it's desperate attempt to return the affection.

"I love you too Luz."

***

Luz didn't return to normal right away, though the night clearly had an effect on her. However, it never took long for the unbreakable spirit of Luz Noceda to rear it's head again and soon enough, The Otter's hockey practice was once again filled with the sounds of rambunctious applause and cheering. The entire team seemed to be effected by the return of their number 1 fan as they all began to work harder, feeling the hope return. After all, they were 4-1 and were still riding high on their winning streak.

Amity and Lokte especially felt the effects of Luz's return to form, not only on a personal level, but also with the renewed gusto of their team.

Which is why, on the last practice before their big game, everything came to an almost halt as the door of the rink opened and a stranger appeared looking very lost.

It wasn't as if the majority of the team knew this new person, but they recognized the bad news this person brought as their star player completely froze. Amity recognized the figure immediately. She was already furiously skating off the ice as they started to approach Luz, Lokte quickly calling for a 5 minute break behind her. Up in the stands, Luz looked up, surprised to see a face beside her in the usually barren stands. She was even more surprised by just how familiar the face was.

Beside her, Sasha was clenching tightly to her arm, looking absolutely everywhere but at Luz herself. She looked like she was trying to form a sentence as the commotion on the ice finally caught up to them. Both girls turned to see Amity, desperately pulling off her skates in the players box, her face furious.

"Wait! Wait! I can explain!" Sasha called out as they watched Lokte skate up next to Amity who growled out a quick response. Now both players seemed set on heading up to the stands, completely uncaring about the former bullies cry.

Luz didn't know what to do. Her mind had frozen when she saw Sasha and not knowing what to think, she didn’t know what to say. Her eyes were locked on Lokte and Amity as they started climbing the stairs to where she was, feeling almost grateful that she would have some sort of backup in just a few moments.

It wasn't that she was scared, but her chest seemed to ache the same way it had the last couple of days and she was acutely aware that she seemed to shrink in Sasha's presence. Luz knew that she hadn't been herself in the days following her encounter with Sasha and Bryce before. It had taken a lot out of her, and although she always wanted to look for the best in people, she wasn't keen to repeat that experience.

Especially with how worried Amity had been.

"Ok. Well since it definitely seems like I'm about to be chased from this place," Sasha spoke up, interrupting Luz's fleeting thoughts and quickly turning to her with wide eyes. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Really. I'm not looking for any sort of forgiveness. I don't… I don't deserve that. Not yet. Maybe not ever. I just… I was hoping we could talk."

Luz merely blinked, her mind swirling. She was still very much aware of her girlfriend closing in on them, and Sasha's already flighty behavior. She knew she needed to make a move to stop something from happening but she couldn't think past the girl's words.

'I'm sorry'

"You… wanted to talk?" Luz finally choked out, finding some sort of sticking point to allow herself to speak again.

Sasha almost looked a little sheepish, her fearful eyes darting back and forth between the hockey players quickly coming up the stairs and the girl she had hurt.

"Yeah. For all the years I've known you… I realized I know absolutely nothing about you." The blonde haired girl laughed.

The laugh was so genuine that Luz couldn't help but laugh with her. After all, everything she said was true. They had known each other for a long time, but they were still practically complete strangers. It was Luz who had always wanted that to change, but Sasha had never made an attempt to fix anything between them before. Time was running out however as Sasha turned to leave, clearly afraid of the players coming up the steps.

She was quickly stopped by Luz's hand on her arm.

"Hey! I thought I told you not to go near her again!" Amity snarled, now being close enough to yell.

Luz could feel the shiver of fear that shot through Sasha as Amity bared her fangs. Again, she couldn't help but smile, after all, Amity was pretty terrifying when she wanted to be. Looking absolutely ready to bolt, Sasha turned to Luz with wide eyes, clearly praying that this wasn't some big trap. Luz only winked as a response.

Letting her arm go, Luz stood up and put herself between Amity and Sasha, holding her arms out to the side to fully block the girl behind her.

Amity froze as Lokte stopped on the steps below her, their arms crossing in frustration.

"Luz?" The witch asked tentatively. Her voice was full of concern and worry, all traces of anger almost completely fading as she stared at her girlfriend in confusion.

Luz took a deep breath.

"It's okay Ami. She just wants to talk."

Amity bristled in anger, but she did her best to remain calm. "Are you ok?"

Luz glanced behind her and took note of Sasha's wide, shocked eyes. Her face was blank as she turned back around to face her girlfriend.

"Give me a stick and I'll make sure she doesn't get too out of line." Luz smirked after a short pause.

A startled gasp from behind her had Lokte and Luz both laughing while Amity merely rolled her eyes. Taking a step forward she planted a kiss on her girlfriend's cheek.

"Let me know the moment she starts bothering you, ok?" Amity whispered. Luz caught her hand as she backed up again and held it tight as she flashed a confident smile.

"Of course." Luz grinned at her as she swung the witch's hand and let it go. "You just get back to practicing. No need to stop on my behalf."

"I could name several reasons." Lokte interjected, still looking rather distrustful of the girl tentatively peeking out from behind Luz.

Despite their reluctance, Amity nodded at Luz and dragged her friend back down to the rink. Luz watched them leave for just a bit before turning to Sasha with a grin.

"Alright. Crisis adverted." She laughed playfully. "Just be grateful she didn't jump at ya from the ceiling. I've seen it happen. It's not pretty."

Sasha laughed nervously. "So… does this mean we can talk?"

Luz laughed again as she fearlessly grabbed Sasha and forced her to sit next to her on the bleacher.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting to hear you ask me that?"

…

Amity slid into the seat next to Luz as she watched her teammates wrap up on the ice. Sasha had left only a little while ago and the witch could see a noticeable slouch to her girlfriends shoulders. Despite that, Luz barely moved as Amity gently reached for her hand.

"How are you doing?" She asked quietly, weaving her fingers through Luz's own.

After a short pause, Luz squeezed her fingers back and looked up at her with watery brown eyes. Amity immediately tensed. She didn’t trust that look and if Sasha had hurt her again…

Well the girl hadn't left that long ago, if she hurried, there was still a definite chance that the witch could catch her. She was preparing to grab her stick and hurry out the door as Luz finally spoke.

"We aren't friends yet…" Luz stated slowly, the light in her eyes vibrantly bright as she spoke.

"But it's a start."