#i do like how his parrying move is just taking a bullet to the gut

[zincbot]

bathearst is the best problem sleuth character

[lailannajacobs]

An Unexpected Fight and a Fated Death | Counterfeit Criminals pt. 7

Pairing: loki x fem!reader

Chapter Summary: An unexpected fight comes to you, hitting harder than either of you realized. 

Warnings: Lil bit of violence/blood and some angst 

Word Count: 3.6k 

A/N: So far this has been my favourite chapter to write, I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do! I always love to hear your thoughts! <3 

Counterfeit Criminals | Part Seven

The ringing in yours ears was deafening, and you slowly blinked the world back into focus. Everything spun as your tried to lift your head, the landscape blurring. Something grabbed your arm and you shrieked, scrambling to get away.

“You need to get up, Midgardian. Now.”

The words were barely more than a whisper, but you had a feeling he was shouting at you. Stumbling you somehow managed to find your footing, leaning on Loki to keep you upright. He practically ripped your arm out of its socket as he yanked you out of the way of another series of shots. You winced in pain, stumbling along with him. Your senses were coming back too slowly, and you couldn’t risk letting go of his hand. You swore.

Another blast nearly threw you off your feet and Loki lifted you upright without missing a beat. Before you knew what was happening, he pulled you into a tight alcove within the wall of rock, pressing your bodies in. The space was crammed, your chests were almost flush up against the other with barely enough space to tilt your head back. Another shot sent dust flying into the alcove. You ducked your head, coughing as you tried not to breath in the debris. For a moment, nothing happened.

“What the hell, Prince?” You growled.

He opened his mouth to answer but flinched away from the splay of rocks ricocheting from a nearby shot.

“Loki!” You yelled, “Why are we getting shot at?”

He turned so fast you barely saw him move. He shoved you against the back wall, shielding your body with his as the shoot exploded beside you, the sound deafening. His face was inches from yours, his hair forming a curtain, closing you off from the pain of the world around. You tilted your head back to look him in the eyes. They were bright green, dancing with far more amusement that you thought appropriate.

“What did you do?” You glared, your breath brushing aside a dark strand of hair.

He inched closer, his nose practically touching yours, “I may have angered some people.”

“You think?” You scoffed.

You shoved him back and tried to step past him, but he grabbed your arm.

“What are you doing, Midgardian?” His voice had lost some of its amusement, though none of its cocky edge.

“Fixing this mess,”

He raised a brow, “It’s not safe out there.”

“And who’s fault is that?” You pulled a gun from your waistband and shrugged him off you.

Firing a few shots around the corner, your retaliation provided enough cover for you to sprint across the valley to the nearby boulders. Shots whizzed past as you dove behind the boulders, the rocky terrain tearing at your palms. You scrambled to a crouch and checked the cabin of your gun, realizing you were going to have to make do with the five rounds and the daggers you kept in your boots. You’d chosen to wear protective gear before you’d left the ship because of Loki’s cryptic comments and you were damn glad you had. From what you’d seen, there were five of them, which meant that, unless they had backup, there was no room to miss. You swore as another shot blasted into the boulder, missing you by inches. You looked up to where Loki stood in the alcove, an unreadable expression on his face.

You flipped him the bird knowing he understood exactly what it meant.

A deep breath in and out calmed the adrenaline enough so that you were able to form somewhat of a plan. You grabbed a rock and threw it into the clearing. Shots echoed off the valley walls and the moment the firing stopped, you peeked your head over the boulder and fired at the first man you saw. You ducked before you could get a good look at what you’d hit, but you were pretty sure he was down.

You popped back up and find another two shots, one of their bullets singeing your ear as it whistled past. Ignoring the pain, you watched another man go down and slid back to a crouch. You’d missed the other one. Lifting your fingers to your ears, you swore as you came back with blood on your hand.

Before you could decide what to do next, you were jumped from the side, your gun skittering across the ground. You grit your teeth, wrestling with the man to get the upper hand. He knocked the breath out of you with a blow to the stomach, but you managed to stay standing long enough whip the dagger from your boot. Moving on instinct, you blocked and parried until you buried the dagger in his thigh, his cry of pain deafening. He doubled over and you kneed him in the face, the crunch of his broken nose a relief as he crumpled to the ground.

Panting, you whipped around, knowing you weren’t done.

An image of yourself striding across the clearing gave you enough cover to approach from the far end where the fog was thick and low. You caught the last man by surprise, but he was stronger and faster than the last one. He threw you to the ground and you scrambled to your feet as another punch sent you back down again. His dagger came down with blinding speed, but you rolled to the side just in time to see the metal embedded in the rock beside you. You kicked his legs out from under him, and rolled on top of him, your legs tightening in a chokehold until he passed out.

You shoved him off you with shaky legs, breathing hard as you pushed yourself up to a stand. Wiping the sweat from your brow, you searched the body for any hint of who they were or why they were here. There was no way you’d get a straight answer from the Prince, so you needed to find it yourself. You didn’t recognize the race of the attackers and there wasn’t a shred of evidence anywhere on him.

You placed your hands on your hips, taking a moment to breath now that the fight was over. Then you heart dropped in your chest, fear spiking through your body.

Four men. Four men had gone down.

You had counted five. Where the hell was the last one?

You ran through the fog, eyes straining to find the last man or Loki. Skidding a stop and the edge of the clearing, your head whipped around as if it was on a swivel, desperately trying to find either one of them. Then you spotted him.

Loki strolled out of the alcove, hands stuffed into his pockets, his eyes darting around as he looked for you. Fear exploded in your chest and you almost screamed at him to move but caught yourself at the last second. Yelling would only compromise both your positions.

You searched the fog, the backs of your eyes burning from focusing so hard. Maybe you’d counted wrong.

But you hadn’t. You spotted him too late, watching as he fired so close to Loki that even his god-like speed couldn’t stop the bullet aiming for his heart. You were frozen in place, trying to scream but nothing came out. The impact knocked him to the ground, a horrifying thud echoing off the rock walls.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, at the first sight of the blood pooling around his body, everything came back into razor-sharp focus and you flung your dagger at the man. It sunk clean into his hand and he stumbled back in surprise. Blinded by rage, you closed the remaining distance and knocked the man out before he even knew what had happened.

You gasped for breath, choking out sobs as you reached out for a nearby rock to keep yourself standing. You wrapped your other arm around your stomach, refusing to look back at his body, every breath harder than the last. You were too late. You were too late. You were too late. The words echoed over and over again until they were the only thing you could hear. You hugged yourself a little tighter. Eventually, your breathing slowed, and the words subsided.

The man groaned as you ripped the dagger from his hand, and you turned around slowly to face Loki. Your gut clenched all over again and for a second you thought you were going to throw up. And then the feeling was gone.

You rolled your shoulders back and tried to force all the tension from your body, strolling through the clearing to where the Prince’s body lay sprawled on the ground.  Blood pooled beneath his chest where the shot had gone straight through his heart. His eyes were open, unblinking and unseeing, and his skin had already taken on a blueish hue.

It wasn’t real, you promised yourself, the naive hope keeping the gut-wrenching sickness at bay. It wasn’t real. This isn’t real.

“If you ask me, this is all a little too theatrical for my taste, and quite frankly, a little unnecessary, but I will admit that it wasn’t entirely useless,” You nudged him with your toe, horrified by the solidity, holding your breath as you waited - hoped - for it to shimmer away. When that familiar green light surrounded the body until there wasn’t nothing but purple dirt under your foot, you started breathing again, filled with relief you couldn’t show him, “I mean, this way I did get the last guy and now that I’ve guessed your illusion, I can get my dagger back. Our little deal still stands, right Prince?”

“All this and you didn’t shed a single tear,” His voice drawled from behind you, “Should I be insulted?”

Even though your theory had been confirmed by the shattered illusion, seeing him standing behind you, hands stuffed into his pockets, head tilted to the side with that infuriating sly grin on his lips, made your knees weak. You almost ran to him, either to stab him or to wrap your arms around him you weren’t sure yet, but you forced yourself to stay still and impassive.

“Maybe you should be flattered,” You shrugged.

His head titled a little further as he inspected you, “How so?”

You shrugged again, not sure what else to do with yourself, “You taught me well enough to know it was an illusion.”

The corner of his mouth pulled up a little higher. The several feet between you suddenly felt like miles as you stared at each other saying nothing. Every inch of you felt drawn to him and your muscles itched to move, as if standing still was a million times harder than taking the few steps to close the distance between you. Those bright green eyes were all you could see, and he looked at you as if you were the only thing on Morag.

Then he took a step forward. Your feet reacted before your brain could until you were standing a foot away from each other, your gazes locked tight.

He opened his mouth to speak but before you realized what you were doing, you slapped him across the cheek as hard as you could, watching as he barely registered the hit. Instead, that roguish grin spread across his lips.

“I should have shot you myself instead,” You whispered, “You…You almost got us killed.”

“But I didn’t,” He leaned in a little closer and continued in a conspiring whisper, “And you took care of those inconveniences quite brilliantly I must add.”

You almost slapped him again at the words ‘inconvenience’ but you kept it together, answering coolly, “And you only faked your death.”

“I’m glad we know our roles,” He chuckled, as if he found this whole thing particularly amusing, “And you can’t blame me for using illusions. They work every time.”  

“You’re infuriating,” You ground out.

“I’m-” Whatever he had been about to say died on his lips and his hand immediately went to your arm, “You’re hurt.”

Your hand fluttered up to your ear, “Yeah, it’s nothing. It’s just a scratch.”

“No,” He shook his head, brows drawn over worried eyes, “Your arm.”

Confused, you glanced down at your arm held gently in his hand. A long gash had cut through your protective gear, blood still leaking out. By pointing it out, the adrenaline disappeared, leaving you with nothing but the pain, and you almost collapsed. The only reason you didn’t was because he held you upright.

“Sit,” He pulled you along to a small boulder.

“Loki, I’m fine,” You protested, trying to ignore the tingling sensation in your hand, “It’s just a scratch.

Your other protests died at the glare he shot your way. It wasn’t every day you were on the receiving end of that look, and it was enough to keep your mouth shut. He sat you down and crouched in front of you so that you were now at the same height.

“Take off your shirt,” He ordered.

You glared at him, “Not when you say it like that I don’t.”

“I won’t be able to clean the cut, and we need to,” He snarled, “If you don’t take it off, I will.”

You crossed your arms over your chest, not caring that the motion made you want to cry out. His wince was enough for you to know that he was aware of how much it pained you to do it.

“You will not do anything like that unless I say so,” You growled back, “Ever. I don’t care who you think you are, Prince. Ask nicely or I’m walking the rest of the way to the ship by myself and leaving you here to rot.”

He closed his eyes, taking longer than you thought he’d have to to steady his breathing, “May you please take off your shirt so that I may clean your wound, Midgardian?”

You grinned, “Yes, Prince. I may.”

You moved to take off your sweater and immediately realized that crossing your arms had only drained what little energy you had left. Lifting your arm above your head to slip out of the stiff, protective sweater was going to be impossible. You sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, hating what you were about to do.

“Prince?”

“Hmm?” His eyes lifted to meet yours.

You forced yourself to say the words, “Help me out of my shirt?”

His lips spears into a slow grin that sent shivers down your spine. You weren’t sure if you wanted to stab him or close the distance between you two. Both were equally appealing.

“When you ask so kindly, how can I say no?” He said, eyes bright.

You rolled your eyes, “Just get it over with.”

“Midgardian,” He purred, “You’ll need to let go of that dagger first,”

You realized you were still holding the dagger and had it pointed in his direction. He eyed it warily as if he didn’t trust the idea that you weren’t about to stab him with it.

The thought was comforting.

You tried to muster the energy to put it on the rock beside you, but the dagger clattered onto the ground. Loki inspected your face even further, eyes searching as if he had a feeling he’d missed something the first time around. The look was so raw and captivating that you forgot about the pain for a moment, leaning forward slowly. He did the same until the distance between so you so small that it felt electrically charged. It would be so easy to close the distance and got lost in his comfort. But it was never that easy.

“I swear,” You warned, somehow remembering yourself and pulling back, “If you try any of that telepathy voodoo on me right now…”

With an arm out of commission and your energy level at an all time low, there was no way he didn’t know that your threats were empty, but if felt good to say the words anyways.

He narrowed his eyes, “I won’t have to if you tell me everything that’s wrong.”

“Can we just get this done and over with?” You muttered, looking past his shoulder to avoid eye contact, “I don’t have the dagger anymore if that’s what you’re worried about.”

With a sigh, he shook his head and mumbled, “That’s not what I’m worried about, Midgardian.”

His hand slid down your arm to your torso, fingers curling around the hem of your sweater. Pausing, he looked up at you for confirmation before easing the material upward. The movement was slow, almost delicate as he paused before and after movements that had you sucking in sharp breaths of pain. He pulled the sweater over your head ever so slowly, the material tickling your cheek as it brushed past. Teeth clamped tight, you focused on those green eyes as he pulled the sweater from your arm. When it was off, he gently placed your arm down at your side and you let out a shaky breath.

“I would have cut it off if you had something else to wear,” He whispered, eyes brushing over your sports bra and bare skin.

If it had been anyone else, you would have described the look on his face as sheepish, but this was the Prince, and you knew you had to be imagining things.

“Are you afraid I’m going to catch a cold?” You snorted, trying to hide how exposed you suddenly felt.

He rolled his eyes, “Forgive me. It is hard to remember exactly how fragile you Midgardians are.”

The Prince materialized medical supplies and began cleaning out the gash on your arm, working gently and methodically. He stopped when you hissed in pain, your nails digging into his arm to try and stop from passing out. Only when your grip loosened did he keep working. You were lucky he kept any medical supplies with him at all…but nothing with the Prince was luck.

“Loki? What are you doing with basic medical supplied in your magical pocket or whatever you call it?” You asked in a small voice, focusing on the movement of his fingers wrapping the bandage around your arm, “I know you don’t need it for yourself.”

He didn’t say anything, which was enough of an answer. He didn’t need the supplies, but you did. You had no idea when he had stashed it or how exactly his magical abilities worked, but he had done so on the off chance you got hurt. Or maybe it wasn’t an off chance. Maybe this wasn’t him showing that he cared, but rather a glimpse into another dangerous scheme of his that would most likely result in you getting hurt in the crossfire. And now that you thought about it, that was exactly what happened. Whatever it was he needed you for, he couldn’t have you die on him before he accomplished it. But you wouldn’t be blindsided again. This time you, you were going to figure out what exactly he was planning.

As if sensing your anger, he spoke up, “I couldn’t have the captain of my ride dying before she returned me to Asgard. It pays to be prepared.”

You shot him an unimpressed look, “Not pissing people off also pays off.”

“Like you would know,” He smirked, “Midgardian, know that I speak with all honesty in my heart when I say that you are wanted on more planets than I.”

Against your will, a smile tugged at the corner of your mouth, “All the same planets?”

“Unfortunately not,” He replied, that sly grin falling away into one a little more natural - more familiar.

You chuckled, “I doubt there’s a place in the universe that’s safe for both of us.”

“Your ship is welcoming,” He mentioned, lifting your arm gently and helping you back into your sweater.

You poked your head out and swatted his hand away so you could do the rest yourself, “We’d better find that missing piece and get back there before more of those people come after you, and by association, me.”

He nodded to the side, directing your attention to a black mass a few feet away, “It seems our little fight may have led us to it.”

“That doesn’t let you off the hook for your idiocy,” You pointed out before he could take credit for finding it, “And then you’re going to explain to me what the hell you did to piss them off so much.”

He stood and slipped an arm around your waist, helping you to do the same, “Can you walk?”

“Of course I can,” You scoffed, stepping away from him despite it being the last thing you wanted to do, “I cut my arm, not lost a leg.”

His hand lingered on your waist even though you were standing steady, "I'm certain you would have walked back even if you had.”

You grinned, “Damn straight I would have.”

“Midgardian,” You had no idea how to read his expression; the slight quirk of his lips at odds with the seriousness in his eyes, “You would have wreaked havoc if you had been Asgardian instead of mortal.”

“I would have been quite a match for you,” You replied, comforted - and honestly a little flatted - by the thought.

You turned back to head to the ship knowing he would take care of the piece. You were already a few steps away when you through you heard something like “You already are,” but dismissed it quickly as a trick of the wind.

[anangelicday-mrwolf]

Wolfsbane : Noblesse Fanfic (post-ending)

(previous chapter)

Chapter 55 – Crisis

“Hmph... So it was more than pure luck that you took out Aris.”

Kornel mumbled through ground teeth, his voice seething, his face kissing the dirt.

Or rather, he was trying to get his behind back up, during which he inevitably got his mouth plastered to the ground.

Kornel was more than eager to wage himself against Takio. He was not alone, and Helga officiated that he is welcome to beat the snot out of the purple-haired sniper, so he played a bull met with a red flag as he chased after Takio.

To his utmost humiliation, Kornel has lost his count on the number of times he was forced to wipe the floor with his body.

He chastised himself that he should not have assumed Takio would be helpless in hand-to-hand combat, based on the pair of guns he was clutching.

Which was not the main reason why he was at disadvantage.

“Damn it, just what kind of drug has he been on since his departure from the Union? He’s too strong!”

Kornel did not stand a chance against Takio, perfectly equipped with agility in motion and action, precision in shooting, and qualified close combat skills supported by his bladed guns.

Because of which Kornel could not dare to lunge towards Takio, even after completely getting on his feet, to instead glare at the sniper poised on his feet.

However, Takio was not poised at heart, as he stared back at Kornel.

Their battle was as good as settled, but that was not the case with Helga.

‘Just what is her power? I could not land a single attack on her.’

In consideration of the situation, he took much more care than we could ever muster to pull the triggers, recalibrate his steps, and swing his guns.

All of which Helga reacted to cleanly.

She even twisted her body before he could point or lift his guns to fire.

Given that Takio’s responses were much faster, nevertheless, Helga could not avoid getting slashed on skin by his bullets from time to time.

Notwithstanding, the fact that she was in all unscathed was enough to render him wary of her.

‘And unlike this guy, she’s prudent, grounded, taking her time to put herself against me and pushing and pulling at me just about right to keep me rooted in this zone. It’s a wonder I had no idea such agent existed during my time at the Uni... Ugh!’

And in the meantime, he had to stop or shoo away modified civilians from engaging in battle royale or being a hindrance-slash-nuisance for him.

Of course, Helga and Kornel did not give him time to teach a lesson to the meddlers, which involved the biggest problem for Takio.

‘Is it just me, or does she see every movement I’d make in advance? Though my speed does not allow her to leave a mark upon me, somehow it feels like she can predict every coordination I will make.’

Everything about her – her blue eyes blazing with artificial glow, the direction her shoulders and knees would take, and the weight and air stirred by her body whenever she moves – was all pre-calculated to where Takio would prepare an attack, evade an impact, or devise a counter.

‘I would have suffered at least dozens of slaps and thwacks if I didn’t happen to have grown much faster and stronger.’

Even with Takio’s somewhat-recognition, Helga did not deem her standing better than that of Takio.

Just like how he internally pointed out, she could not connect a single attack to Takio’s body, and she could see that Takio has more than improved in terms of combat capabilities and specs.

And she did not have to meet his fists with hers or strike up a deathly waltz of kicks to realize that she was now no match for Takio.

She could not guarantee whether she could stand against him, even with Kornel and the rest of very few remaining combatants of Union by her side.

‘The fact that he did not manage to diagnose my power is serving as a shield for us. Along with these modified humans. Which is more than good for us.’

She knew that otherwise she and Kornel would have already hit the road to the afterlife.

‘Not to mention apparently he did not even use his powers to maximum. Considering how Aris and her gang were the type that enhances powers through meds and employs a variety of equipment, he must be leaving his pills for the next stage. Which I didn’t even get a glimpse of. Damn it, just where is that man when we need him?!’

With the battle caught in the tense, unpleasant balance, Helga was naturally reminded of her accomplice.

An accomplice she told to stand by, since it would be preferable for their foes to learn about his betrayal as late as possible.

An accomplice who should be watching what was going on.

But how come he is nowhere to be seen?!

Kornel gaped at Helga with crumpled forehead, packed with inches-deep creases, his mind probably in synchronization with Helga’s mind.

“Guess we don’t have a choice. We’d be basically admitting that you are way out of our league, but we’re in no situation to place our pride above our purpose.”

Helga’s fiery eyes flashed in sinister blue, and Takio automatically grasped his guns, only to withdraw them in bafflement the next moment.

“Kraaaah!!!”

A modified citizen stampeded towards Helga with his mouth wide open, whom she grabbed and flung towards Takio.

Out of gut reaction, Takio stretched out his bare hands to safely pluck the man out of air and gently push him away, and as soon as he straightened himself with pow and wham Kornel and Helga punched his chest and kicked at his abdomen, respectively.

He raised his arms in defense before he could suffer legitimate blows, but as a result his balance was toppled, which Kornel and Helga were not satisfied with.

“Krgh!”

“Krah!”

The two Union agents were now fervently ripping away and pitching the nearby civilians, and Takio was in frenzy to save them and thwart Helga and Kornel’s blitzes.

“Ah-ah-ah! I wouldn’t move if I were you, unless you want this fella’s head cannonballing towards the sky.”

To top it off, whenever he attempted to fight back when the opportunity was given, they snatched one of the modified people as hostage to still him.

“Goddamn it...!”

Now no longer upper-handed in the battle, Takio furiously grit his teeth.

*****

Meanwhile, in the area off-limits

“This gear is much more useful than I had presumed.”

Deneb snickered, having accomplished a feat of staying alive against the head of the Kertia clan and faring pretty well.

Rael could not even move his lips to his taunting comment.

Without his Grandia, he could not flaunt his art of stealth or go all out against Deneb.

And since Deneb was to be captured, not butchered, he could not even exercise proper assaults.

Nonetheless, the dilemma lay with Deneb, not him.

Whenever he targeted Deneb’s shoulders, back, or waist with his bare hands, the Illiness responded each time, to very narrowly swivel and curl his body to nullify Rael’s thrusts and slices of hand.

Yet given that Rael is the fastest of all nobles, his clan being the genesis of assassins among mankind, nobody would have denied that what Deneb managed to pull off was worthy of a boast, the reason being the gear he was using – extrasensitive thermal detector.

Rael could make out from its title that the gear could detect his location by locking upon his body temperature; he supposed the gear in fact did more than picking up body temperature, since with the gear Deneb could react right at the moment when Rael was about to move.

Short in knowledge in terms of machinery, Rael did not even hope to dissect in his head what exactly the gear could do.

After all, what truly mattered at the moment was to figure out how to defeat Deneb.

‘If only I had skills in ranged melee, like Regis.’

He knew he could try out an adjustment he practiced at Yuhyung’s lab when he put out the fire.

Too bad Deneb was seemingly wary of Rael’s potential ranged attack, for he had not moved a bit from his in-a-way-battleground, with Yuhyung at the background.

No matter how deadly Rael was with his aim, he did not know and did not want to find out if Yuhyung’s human body could stand through the aftermath of his attack.

He would have been grateful if Yuhyung would step aside, but the man was impeccably frozen, after a series of shrieks and shouts into his device.

And Deneb added much more to his trouble.

“Humans are not so useless, after all. I’m so glad I could get enlightened before it was too late, unlike you.”

Unlike you.

Rael wobbled at his spot, his determination wavering at the brief statement.

Swirling just enough to stay safe from Deneb’s attacks, Rael did not even feel like parrying.

His head was too complicated – too distraught for the job.

‘Just what do I have to be... In order to be like me?’

With his soul weapon absent, with a number of conditions he could not fix at the moment, with the battle not making any progress unlike his prior experiences, and with his body and mind too fatigued, Rael could not collect his mind together.

Each time he endeavored to piece together the thoughts drifting within him, the memories struck him hard and corrupted his will.

I have never been recognized by the patriarchs of my clan.

I have never prevailed superb with a task for the QuadraNet Project, other than escorting Yuhyung.

I could not even keep my soul weapon safe.

I could not even realize we were hosting and housing an enemy with lethal goal.

And I could not stop this from happening.

As he thought of have-not’s and could-not’s, Rael eventually stopped moving.

His body growing heavy with cuts and bruises, to ultimately roll over dirt, Rael plunged deeper into the swamp of despair.

Maybe I was never meant to be a head of my clan.

Maybe I never should have thirsted after the title of the head of the Kertias.

Maybe I don’t deserve to be dubbed the son of Rayga Kertia. Or the brother of Razark Kertia.

Maybe this is where I should give up on Grandia for good. I have done nothing correctly ever since my return to Lukedonia.

Rael’s knees were glued to the ground, and he stopped altogether.

Not missing his chance, Deneb drove his pointed hand towards Rael’s heart.

*****

Somewhere in the far ocean

Splash!!!!

As many souls were flustered and jeopardized by the circumstances they could surely handle but could not, a watery thud broke through the salty surface and whisked up a bloody mist.

The werewolf’s eyes were already half-lidded as she was wrapped and dragged by the foams and saltwater.

‘No... I can’t let this... End here...’

Much to her devastation, her body did not cooperate.

Raising her hands towards the surface of water she was so sure she could rise through if she tries just a little bit more, Lunark sunk deeper and deeper into the endless dark and blue of the nether region down below.

(next chapter)

Sorry I posted this past the usual time I upload my fic. I was supposed to post this after attending something for a bit, but I had no idea so much time has passed. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again in the future. :’(

There is trouble everywhere - but in order to take a leap into the sky, one must first crouch. And I promise the crisis won’t last long. :)

[evien-stark]

✧I Need You✧ Chapter 100

Lunch with Steve was nice, as you expected it would be, and ran a little long. Which was also nice. And it quelled the storm inside you if only for a nice few moments. He said he had somewhere he needed to be, and seemed a little lost as he did. You tried to invite him back home- back to New York, anyway, but he seemed made up to stick it out here. If only for a little while longer. With that, the two of you gave each other a nice squeezy hug and then you let him be on his way. 

Happy escorted you into the car and then got in front. “Airport?” 

“Yes, please. Thank you.” Finally you slipped off the tinted glasses you’d been wearing, perhaps having grown too accustomed to them. They were nice, after all. Rubbing the bridge of your nose with one hand, you brought your phone up in the other. Only one person to call. And he picked up first ring. “You get all that?” 

“Still going through all the data.” In fact, you heard a lot of click-clacking going on. He was typing furiously. “And- hey- if you wanna try and sue a shadow organization, I’m all for it, by the way.” 

Sinking into the backseat, you heaved a sigh. “I don’t know what to do, to be honest. This is… nuts. Even for SHIELD. What is Fury thinking?” 

“He wants to be the biggest guy with the biggest gun. I’ve met a lot of men like him- you have, too. It’s probably why you’ve never liked him. You have fantastic intuition.” 

There was a twitch of a smile on your lips, much as you didn’t want to be in a smiling mood. “I had no idea the guns were this big.” 

He was the next one to hum out a sigh. “Just… come home. We’ll parse through it all. I might have a good chance at cracking this. We can shut it all down. Downloads are still coming in. It’s gonna be a while.” 

“Yeah.” What more could you do? This couldn’t go unpunished. Unanswered. It was a mistake, showing it to you. You still had no idea why he would have. Maybe to invite you to try. Who knew. 

The sound of sirens lit up the air, and you watched Happy readjust his mirror as the car came to a stop at a red light. He looked at you first and then cast a look out his window. “Got a lot of cops headed this way.” 

“DC’s no stranger to trouble.” You looked out your window, holding the phone to your ear. “We might be stuck in traffic. Looks like there’s a parade of police headed our way.” 

“You could always just fly home yourself. Thirty minutes tops, if you really push it-” 

A chill hit the air as you saw a black SUV ram through the other line of cars- the reason the police were speeding through the roads- and then when it didn’t stop and swerved as another car clipped it, you drew in a breath that expelled immediately. “HAPPY WATCH OUT!!”

Literally nothing he could do as the SUV rammed the back of your car, sending you in a tilting sideways bank right into another car. No seat belt on, moron that you were, you were thrust all the way to the opposite side of the car right against the door in a crush. Pain flared hot in your lower joints, especially your hips. Tony’s voice was somewhere in the mix as those sirens got louder and then sped past. 

Trying to shake some sense back into yourself, you reached a hand forward, grabbing a hold of Happy’s shoulder. “-talk to me, Happy- are you okay?” 

“I’m okay- I’m okay- you okay? Hey-” 

“Honey, talk to me. I’m set on your location. Paramedics are on the way.”  Tony, proactive, coming to get you no matter what and having already called for assistance. 

“I’m okay, Tony-” Windows had been shattered and the back and side of the car were wrecked- “LUNA get me police scanner info- what the hell is going on?” 

“Scanning now!” 

Moving to the opposite side of the car, sweeping the broken glass out of the way, you gripped the handle of the door and shoved it open, climbing out and stumbling a little onto the sidewalk, now shaky with new adrenaline. 

“Ma’am there is no reported police activity in the nearby area!” 

“What?” You heard both you and Tony ask this. Settling your hand on Happy’s door, you opened it, offering it to him to help him get out of the next. He was rambling about something, trying to check you for wounds but you held him at bay. “I had my phone up- did you get a scan of the car going by us?” 

“Assessing!” 

“Honey, stay out of it. I’m on my way.” 

Your head was pounding. 

“The plates on the car are registered to SHIELD headquarters!” 

Something in you told you. You just knew. There was no way that wasn’t Fury. In an hour- maybe two (just how long had lunch run, anyway? You suddenly couldn’t remember), he’d gotten himself into something shady. And something serious. If those weren’t cops, then who were they? And why was he running? 

...should you care? You’d just said goodbye to that man. And not in a good way. You should really heed Tony’s advice. Stay back. Do not get involved. Yet that wasn’t really how you operated, was it? What sort of person would you be if you just ignored this? 

That thought alone broke the fuzz  swirling around your brain. “I’m sorry, Tony. I have to.”

“No you don’t!” 

But you did. And that was why you unzipped your jacket, double tapping on the Heart Reactor. Suiting up. With comms online, you chucked your phone into the backseat, along with the forgotten specs you’d come in with. Turning to him, “Happy stay here. Tony said the paramedics are on their way.” And then you activated your helmet. 

“Where are you going!?” 

“I have to deal with this.” 

One step into the next and then you jumped, igniting your thrusters to take into the air. “LUNA light the way.” 

“Yes, ma’am!” 

Tony’s face appeared on the left side of your screen. “You just told Fury off and now you’re gonna go get involved in whatever he’s undoubtedly brought on himself?” 

“You bet your ass I am. So I can rub his face in it later.” Even without LUNA’s help, you could see the path of pushed aside cars and disgruntled drivers yelling on the road. And then even further still, the over turned cop cars- Fury was doing a number to the guys on his tail, maybe he didn’t need you after all- 

But an explosion up ahead told a different story. Rounding the corner of a building you saw the car he’d been driving swerve upside down and then roll to a crash, stopping on its roof. And standing a yard away was a man clad in black, long brown hair, back to you, holding a very large gun. Smoke was pouring out from Fury’s car. 

Instincts kicked in. Firing up the jets for an extra boost you sped past him, coming to a heavy land in front of the car. The attacker up ahead stopped moving, presumably sizing you up. You only spared a very quick glance back at the car. “Get out of here.” It made no difference if he couldn’t. You had no idea how hurt he was. Probably very, given the bullet holes lining his car. 

“Seems like you can’t trust anyone these days...” His laugh sounded wet. Full of blood. You kept your back turned. “Anyway- thanks for the escape route…” You didn’t see him as he spoke these words, and it didn’t matter. Your attention went in full to the man suddenly advancing. He had a full black face mask on. 

“LUNA let’s go full on the defense.” Getting the sense you were going to need some serious protection. 

“Defensive mode activated!” 

Then, pitching your voice out, “I assume you don’t wanna talk? Fury’s not my favorite person either, but-” 

He threw the gun at you, curbing your casual sass (covering for your fear, no doubt), and you brought your hands out to catch it before it landed. With you distracted, he jumped forward, landing a quick blow to pin you back against the car. You dropped the weapon, bringing your knee up once, and then again, and then held a hand in the small space between you to get a shot off. 

It knocked him off kilter enough for you to rush him, angled low, sweeping him off his feet and to the ground. Getting off a one-two punch in succession, but then he raised his arm and grabbed your right hand on the next swing- crushing you with ease- even through the armor- 

“Ma’am structural damage imminent!” Red lights started flashing on your screen. A moment too late, as you felt your wrist break as he twisted. 

So you brought the other one up after the initial cry and shock of pain to blast him right in the face. It got him once, and then he rocked up, forcing you off balance. Getting enough leverage to throw you over his shoulder to the pavement. Too late in your stand as he whacked you in the back of the head- and again- 

Fighting through the haze and the fear that had gripped you so suddenly- not to mention all the warnings going off inside the helmet- you jettisoned forward and out of striking range, scraping along the ground until you could curl up and round off in a ball before landing on your feet. You had to be quick to stand, as he ran at you, meeting you one blow for the next. Stopping your kicks and parrying your, now, one-armed punches. 

You thought you had him, when you landed one right on his jaw, but after the connect he grabbed your arm on the follow through, twisting you around until another literal bone-shattering crack hit the air, punching another cry from your gut. He held you there too long, as you wound back and jammed your other elbow into his stomach. When he keeled over you grabbed him through the pain to throw him down on his back. 

One stomp. Then two. Then three. And then he grabbed your leg and twisted. Thankfully no breaks this time, only serving to rip you from the earth and to the ground. But that wasn’t enough as he rolled to stand and then reached down to heft you up and then throw you back down into the ground. 

“LUNA-” Air wheezing from your lungs. Feeling a crack in your ribs as he jumped once, letting gravity bring that fist hard down into your chest. You felt a little electrical flurry- maybe your brain was imagining things- more warnings started going off- he was breaking the Reactor-

You feared he was about to do it again- and perhaps explode your heart- but instead he suddenly became very calm, reaching down to wrap his hand around your throat. Squeezing while you writhed beneath him, trying anything- trying to roll up, to twist- to push up and out- but he just held you there with a force no normal human could own. Just as your vision was going blurry and panic was hitting high, a shot rang off in the air. Unable to move, you could only look sideways, seeing Happy standing there with a gun in his hands. Firing off yet another shot that just seemed to hit- and then ricochet off your attacker’s shoulder. Enhanced for sure- but in what ways? This dude was a menace. 

He turned, away from you, and seemed like he was getting ready to run for Happy. So, through the pain, you swung your broken arm forward, grasping his leg. He stopped to barely glance at you, and that was when you held both hands up. In a wheeze- “LUNA give me everything we’ve got!” 

The blast that close was so bright it was blinding. The mysterious attacker went flying, several feet in the air, thrown back at least a block, landing on what sounded like a car. 

You laid there for a long while. Looking. Looking into Nick’s empty car. Well… you’d told him to run. But… to think he’d really just… left you there… You just needed… a moment to reset… 

A smart and careful touch deactivated your helmet, eyes unfocused, but catching the sight of Tony’s face above you. He was talking, but the words weren’t really hitting your ears. You focused on the way his mouth moved, the look in his eyes. 

And when finally you made out- “What happened?” 

You made use of the few words you had. “I got my ass beat.” 

“We’ll call it a draw.” These ones you heard. Very kind of him, even though he was biased, considering you were completely outmatched. “Where’s Fury?” 

“Took off.” 

“Smart. Because he was next on my list.” He held you steady- you weren’t sure that you’d moved- probably just a reaction- only realizing it when the pain swelled and he started talking again. “Don’t move. What weapons was that guy packing? Your suit is damaged- you’re damaged.” 

“I dunno.” It hurt to breathe. “Super strength, maybe…” The only thing that made sense. 

“Great. And this is why I told you to stay out of it. Who knows who Fury has pissed off now.” Though he was admonishing you, it was in a worrying way. “Don’t move. Paramedics will be here soon. Like I said before. If you’d just listened.” 

“I’ll be okay.” At least there was that, right? You’d heal. 

“That doesn’t mean you can just do whatever you want.” 

“Look who’s talking.” Brokenly smiling up at him. 

He returned the expression, pain in his eyes. “This is definitely a do as I say, not as I do situation, alright?” 

Consciousness was fading. You felt a blackness coming on. But before you could go- “You got the guy?” 

“Gone before I got here.” 

How absolutely unfortunate. Guy like him, going after Fury? You’re sure he had a lot of stories to tell. And probably not an enemy you wanted lurking around.

                                                  -------

It was lucky for you that the hospital was not too far away. It was doubly lucky that SHIELD had its own private wing (and triply lucky no one had reported your quitting the force just yet). Less to explain. Doctors more trained on dealing with enhanced individuals and looking the other way on certain things. After resetting your bones (not the most comfortable experience in the world), they set your right arm in a sling and your left wrist in a splint. Things you would not need, hopefully, after the day was through.

But once they cleaned up the rest of the cuts and bruises, of which there were many, you were sent to a quiet small room where it was assumed you’d probably just leave. It was when you stood that the room spun out of balance and Tony put a practiced, gentle arm around you to guide you back down to the bed. 

Your brain had been rattled around pretty hard. Healing powers or not- right then… “Do you mind if I just… rest. For a little while.” You felt pretty hard out of sorts and in no condition to be walking around yet. 

“Doctors gave the green-light. Take your time. I can work here.” And he was going to have to, because your suit had been wrecked. Whatever punch that dude was packing, it was meant to be lethal. Probably would have been, without LADY and LUNA. And Happy. Lucky you. 

You only expected to drift off for an hour, maybe two. But when you came to- to the shrill ring of your phone somewhere- it was pitch black outside. Your room was also… empty. Shifting up, you found it a little easier to move, and reached outside of your sling to grab your phone off the beside table. 

“Hello…?” Voice a groggy mess. Disoriented would be putting it mildly. 

Steve’s voice was tight and cold on the other end. “Where are you?” 

“I never left DC- I’m in a hospital right now. Should’ve called- I’m sorry- I got wrecked- someone attacked Fury-” 

“Stop talking. You’re in the SHIELD sector?” 

“Yeah-” The line cut. “Nice talking to you, too.” Unable to help the smart remark to nobody, head pounding. Getting up, you found your footing wobbly, the room wasn’t spinning as hard, but still not quite steady yet. Ripping the velcro from your sling, you rounded your arm up and down. Pain was fresh, but at least you could move. 

Before you could take off the splint, you heard Happy’s hushed voice in the hallway. “Good to see you, Captain.” 

Then your door opened as he let in a very dark looking Steve. Confusion came first- second quickly to his arms opening, scooping you up into an unimaginably tight hug. Then more confusion. “Steve-” 

He projected his voice, “You’re not looking so hot.” And then, quieter into your shoulder. “Something’s going on. Fury’s dead.” Dropping these two facts in quick succession like you should just absorb them and not make a big deal about it. 

Except- how were you supposed to react to something like that? First by wriggling out of his grip, hands on his biceps, holding him at arm’s length. “No- no- I- he got attacked but I kept the guy busy-” However, that guy had gotten away. 

Was this your fault? 

He set a hand on your shoulder, bringing you in close again. Voice very low. “Guy with a metal arm? He finished the job. At my apartment. I had no idea you were caught in the middle- look-” He made his voice a little more known. “You should go home.” 

“Fuck you- I’m not going home-” Finding your sharp edges quickly, because being demanded to stand down never sat right with you. And- Fury was dead? Was he serious?? “How do you know? Did you-” “I watched them lose him on the table. I saw the body. It’s in the other room. You wanna go look?” Tone hard as he kept you from reeling back any further by two strong hands on your arms. “Listen, this is a lot to take in- and I’m sorry you got hurt- but listen to me when I tell you I need you to go home. Go back to the Tower. Something not right is going on. And I’m gonna find out what it is.” 

“Let me help you. Whatever it is, we can figure it out together-” 

He startled you with a small shake and a quiver ran up your spine. “Stop.” You’d never seen Steve like this before. Never seen that icy look in his eyes, heard his voice this tight. Like he was barely gripping with his own control and about to snap. “Look at me. Listen to me. Any other mission and I’d be glad to have you watching my back. But not for this one.” You stayed in startled silence, watching him as his head dropped. “I think SHIELD-” 

“You mind not rattling her around so much? She already got her martini shook on the freeway a few hours ago.” Tony’s voice was a welcome reprieve, a break in these stormy clouds. Especially when it got Steve to immediately drop his hands away from you, like he’d been burnt. Tony made a point of pushing the door closed. “What’s going on? I step out for coffee for one minute and I got Natasha charging at me down the hallway and now you’re in here pretending you know how to play it cool? I thought we went over this.” 

Meaning-

He was easily heard out in the hall. 

Steve pressed his lips together, a swelling feeling of anger taking hold of him for a few seconds. But there was more fear there than anything else. Even as his hands balled into tight fists. He looked at you one last time before turning to Tony, finally finding his quiet voice as he leaned in and murmured a string of sentences that had Tony’s expression change from curious to troubled within a matter of moments. 

Then they exchanged another long look. And said so much with so little. Tony nodded, and then Steve just left. Without another single word to you. 

It left you standing there, shivering you realized, in the middle of the room. What the hell had just happened? What was going on? God knew you and Fury had all the differences between you in the world- but to think he was dead? And- it was because that guy had finished the job- and you’d failed to stop him- 

What would happen to SHIELD now? What would happen to- Quieting your shaking, Tony came closer, settling a much more controlled and softer hand on your shoulder. “Honey, I think it’s time we got on a jet and made a b-line for home.” 

You couldn’t help your glower. “He said the same thing.” “For once, he’s right.” 

“I’m not gonna just sit back and do nothing- if Fury is really-” 

“Nobody said anything about doing nothing. Does that sound like me? Like us? You need to rest. And your suit needs more work. I have better tools at home.” Both his hands moved, cupping the sides of your neck. Gazing at you. 

Words there. We need to go home. We need to be in private. 

Something very bad was happening. Something that reached far beyond the death of Nick Fury. And you had the sinking suspicion it had to do with the very thing you’d quit over just that morning. What had happened in such a short time, between you and Steve, leading to that assassin going after him? And so openly, too. Such a strange thing to do in the world of spies. 

You played the role of a wilting flower, leaning into him. “My head is killing me.” True, but really hamming it up for the listening ears that everyone seemed to think lined the walls. 

“Steve really shake you that hard? I’ll send him the next hospital bill.” Tony’s arms wound around you. Holding you tightly. “Let’s get you home and into bed.” 

“I love you.” 

Something terrible was happening. Worst case scenario had finally dawned. You were sure of it. You just didn’t know what it was exactly. 

[carrionkid]

here it is, the transcribed highlight reel of novel bullseye moments… this post is going under a cut because it’s gonna be like. long :(

“The magic of kevlar!” Bullseye crowed. “It’s a shame you’re not wearing any, Dario. But let’s make it fair. If you can put a bullet through one of my eyes, I’ll die for sure. Go ahead, take a shot.” Pennetta didn’t move. “Bullseye, listen, I’ll give you the disc. I’ll give you whatever you want. Just please don’t kill me,” he begged. “I’ll pay you twice what you’re getting for this job. Three times!” “God!” Bullseye said, waiving away Pennetta’s words. “That doesn’t even work in the movies.” (page 15)

The man was getting far too much pleasure from his allusions and political metaphors, and in the meantime, was confusing the hell out of Bullseye. (page 19)

He stood, staring at Miller, tossing the sai into the air and catching it by the blade, over and over again. It was calming for him, and likely near hypnotic for Miller, who waited to find out whether he was going to die. (page 19)

Bullseye’s mind was racing, several different voices having their say inside his skull, and he needed to shake some of them out so he could hear himself think. He needed to slow down. Ignoring Miller, he uncovered the gnocchi, which was thankfully still hot, and sat down on the edge of the bed as he lifted a forkful to his mouth. (page 20)

“Take it?” Bullseye shouted, leaping to his feet and holding an arm in the air like a politican preparing to lie. “Of couse I’ll take it!” Miller began to give him the details of the job and his first assignment, a sanction in Cairo. But though he looked Klaus Miller directly in the eye, though he tried to pay close attention, he could hear only every other word. Bullseye was going home. (page 21)

“This is gonna be fun,” he whispered to himself. In fact, the only thing that Bullseye was not happy about was that he was not wearing his costume. (page 93)

The man tried to pitch his wares in English, unaware that Bullseye spoke Arabic… a fact that Bullseye himself had been unaware of, or forgotten, until the previous day. (page 94)

Then another man emerged from the passenger side of the sedan, and Wiezak stopped thinking about the cops. If he hadn’t seen pictures, he would never have believed that this blond, average-looking citizen was one of the world’s deadliest assassins. He just looked too normal. At least, until you saw his eyes. They ruined the whole picture. Bullseye had crazy eyes. (page 104)

“You’re awfully quiet, Mr. Poindexter,” Wiezak said. “Something wrong?” “Other than the glass all over my lap, not a thing,” Bullseye said with a smile. “And my name isn’t Poindexter.” “Oh? Well, what shall I call you then?” Wiezak said condescendingly. “You know what to call me,” he answered with a sneer. (page 105)

Bullseye pushed through the door of the pub, a waitress screamed and dropped a tray of drinks. The bartender’s face blanched, and he started to reach under the bar, obviously going for some kind of weapon. “Not if you want to live,” Bullseye snarled, rain dripping from the tip of his nose. The two goons guarding Mallory were so surprised to see him, they were paralyzed for a moment. “Well,” he said, imitating Clint Eastwood, “You boys going to stand there and whistle Dixie, or are you gonna pull them pistols?” (page 217)

He walked out laughing, his back to the room in an insulting display of diffidence. Bullseye wanted to get back to Manhattan quickly; there was a lot more killing to be done today. Back on the street, he sang softly in the rain, a tune from a Broadway show he couldn’t recall. (page 219)

Diemer stepped carefully toward Bullseye’s still form, pistol aimed directly at his head. She nudged the body with her toe. Once, twice, again. Without turning, she said to Bryce, “I don’t see any…” “Blood?” Bullseye asked with a laugh, even as he arched his back and kicked her weapon away, grabbing her and holding her as a shield in front of him. It was an impossible move, and Bryce never got a clear shot. He couldn’t risk shooting Diemer, but he ought to have known the killer wouldn’t be taken down so easily. “Kevlar is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?” Bullseye said with a smile. (page 237)

“You’re lucky I’m feeling particularly lucid today, buckaroo,” he hissed. “Otherwise I might not have remembered to leave someone alive. See, somebody’s got to tell the press that I was responsible for this so Daredevil will know and come after me. That someone just happens to be you. But don’t worry, it doesn’t mean I won’t come back and kill you later.” Bullseye hauled back his right arm and slapped Bryce hard across the face. “That’s for shooting at me,” he said in a huff. (page 239)

It was just after nine o’clock. Bullseye sat on the roof of an old apartment building across from the one in which Karen Page had shacked up with her old flame, blind boy Matt Murdock. Bullseye snorted and hung his legs over the edge of the building. He was really enjoying himself tonight. Normally, on a job of this nature he was much more erious, more circumspect. Even now, knowing that Daredevil had a special interest in Murdock and Page and might come by, Bullseye was not nearly as alert as he would usually have been. (page 290)

The night was breezy and cool. He was warm enough in his costume, but the chill felt nice on his face. Every breath was exhilarating… On top of Page and Murdock’s building sat a water tower. More than likely, it was no longer in use, but the simple fact of its presence was a comfort to Bullseye. Whatever you want to do, sir, go on ahead, it seemed to say. I’ll still be here in the morning. Not as if he needed its permission. (page 291)

Then her arm flashed out, the pair of shuriken he’d hit her with buzzing towards him. He jerked his body to one side even as the stars whispered past his head, one thunking into the cement and the other just glancing off his cheek, dragging a thin slice through his skin. Astounded, Bullseye missed the next stair, and fell. (page 301)

Bullseye had seemed impatient throughout the night, with time itself, and with Wiezak’s power trip. Karen had come to realize that the crimelord was nearly as unstable as the assassin he’d hired. Bullseye stood at the sliding glass doors that led out onto the penthouse patio, barely paying attention, never speaking to her. He was waiting, she knew. Waiting for him. (page 355)

From time to time, she would hear murmuring and look over to see that it was Bullseye. He was apparently singing, or humming to himself, nonchalantly whiling away the time until his greatest enemy, the man he so desperately wanted to kill, would arrive. And Bullseye said Daredevil would come. Wiezak appeared uncertain and unconcerned. (page 356)

“Put that away,” he’d said sternly. “What?” Wiezak said, taken aback. “What the hell are you…?” “I said put it away,” the assassin had insisted. “She’s bait, you idiot. When Daredevil is dead, you can kill her. Not before.” “You work for me!” Wiezak had declared. “You can’t pay me if you’re dead. Put it away for both of us.” Wiezak had looked as if he were about to argue, and then Bullseye slapped him. Gary Wiezak’s head rocked back, his eyes wide with shock even as he went for the gun at his back. Bullseye held the sharp point of a sai to his chest and said, “Don’t even think about it.” (page 357)

“Deal with Bullseye?” the assassin was saying, “You can barely stand, how are you going to deal with me?” (page 361)

The hero’s head was ringing from several blows he’d been unable to avoid, but he’d had better luck with his enemy’s sai. Bullseye had tried half a dozen times already to feint in one direction and stab in the other and each time he’d received a kick in the gut or head or a tumble to the ground for his troubles. (page 365)

Daredevil backed up to the hot tub, and Bullseye must have imagined he saw an opening for he thrust then, left hand up to parry and right hand slashing a sai towards Daredevil’s heart. Daredevil sidestepped, the sai sliced through his costume and the skin of his side, just above where the glass had punctured him earlier. The hero reached out and laid hands on Bullseye, forcing him to continue his momentum straight into the side of the hot tub. “You’re trying to make a fool of me!” Bullseye screamed. “You’ve done it before, but no more! You hear me! It’s time for you to die!” (page 366)

All the air left Bullseye in a huff, but he twisted from Daredevil’s grasp and stumbled away. He pulled his remaining sai from behind his back and hurled it at Daredevil’s face. No tricks, just a straight-forward, panicked throw with deadly perfect aim and a speed a normal man would not have been able to notice, much less avoid. (page 367)

He heard a click, and his radar scoped ahead to find that Bullseye had unsnapped his holster and was pulling his gun.  Daredevil got angry. “What’s wrong, killer?” he asked, venomous sarcasm in each word. “Can’t win a fight man-to-man, can’t even win with hand held projectiles? You’ve got to have a gun, eh? I always knew you were a loser!” “Loser!” Bullseye shrieked, pulling the gun and beginning to take aim. “Loser?” (page 368) 

The patio, on the other hand, was empty.  Twenty-three stories up, Bullseye had somehow escaped. Daredevil was not surprised. (page 375)

Matt pressed the play button, and heard the tape rewinding. “Hey Murdock,” the voice began, and he knew it instantly as Bullseye’s. “Just wanted you and your ladyfriend to know that it’s not over. You can pass that on to your horn-headed buddy as well. This time was just target practice. So keep looking over your shoulder. I’ll be back.” (page 381)

[rivkae-winters]

Wip Wednesday!

2 snippets from Omega Jason Week things!

1. (5+1 hurt comfort wip)

Instead of waking to the oddly tranquil sounds of the EKG, mapping his primaries and secondaries- Jason woke to the sound of arguing.    Not even normal arguing- no.  

  It was Cass Cain-Wayne Brucie’s little fucking princess who can do no wrong and The Big Bat himself arguing. And given the previous day’s events their topic of argument was obvious- it was about him, and his decision to use what could have been lethal force as his last resort to protect Damian and Collin. The two kids had gone off adventuring on there own and decided to pick a fight with Flamingo, one of the ‘do not engage of “do not engage”s’ whom Jason had been tracking and was attempting to apprehend when the boys showed up. Their loud entry, (Damian’s) cry of Todd!, had distracted him just enough for a split second that Flamingo had gotten the drop on him.

A few well placed shots from the mad man’s automatic side arm and he had gone down. Hard. Flamingo then stabbed him and kicked his body away taking out his knife to presumably skin Jason only before he could make it a more than a few steps Damian -in a stupidly dangerous rare showing of comradely- had launched himself at the hit-man, stabbing him in the arm, Colin following soon after with a punch that didn’t even daze Flamingo who threw Damian against the wall and stabbed Colin in the gut. Then Damian was back up and parrying blows back and forth with the hit-man. And the little brother- Jason’s pup -Started to loose. Jason could barely move. Couldn’t feel anything more than pain and desperation. Definitely couldn’t continue fighting Flamingo. So he lifted his pistol- the one carrying actual bullets. Took aim. And Fired. Then he had blacked out- presumably from blood loss. And now he was here. In the caves damp med bay, waking up to the sound of Batman and Black Bat arguing and-

“Jay?” Jason tried to open his eyes and moaned. “Hey guys I think he is waking up!” The voice- Dick he realized had decided to yell for some reason. “Dick,” And Dick threw his arms around him and Jason’s flinch of pain at the added pressure seemed to go unnoticed by the Beta.“Jason! Your okay!” No- Jason was the opposite of okay. “I might not be if you keep yelling and squishing me.” Just as Dick pulled away looking sheepish, and opened his mouth the most likely apologize another small warm body came barrelling in and tucked itself deftly into Jason’s side- nuzzling Jason’s neck.

2. Inspiration from GoddessOfRoyalty's post here

Jason knew it was the pit. Knew it was the new robin (Timothy his slowly detoxing mind reminded him very quietly, his name is Timothy) watching him. But Bruce being in near tears when he saw him and reaching out to carress his face like he was made of glass before pulling him against his chest made him bitter and angry. Enraged at how easily he just melted into Bruce and felt the pack bond sparking letting the pack members feel him. Letting them- Bruce, Alfred, Dick, loosely Barbara, and others he didn’t know- in. Let them be taken aback at the flood of unease, bitterness, and rage.

    He let it happen. He let himself “open up”  even though the probing in his mind that Jason could suppose was meant to be a soothing gesture felt like acid pouring down his skin, and the pit left over inside him was on fire and freezing at the same time from the contact.

    Jason had come here because he needed somewhere safe from the league. Needed somewhere he could have and possibly raise his baby away from Talia and her Batman-centric obsession. So Talia never finds out.

    So he let it happen.

    He let them in. 

Eventually Bruce had finished his half examination half blubbering in disbelief (because truly for Bruce Wayne  not Brucie, not Batman, not Matches-freakin-malone, but Bruce showing this much emotion (especially in regard to Jason, the infamous fuck-up robin) was utterly unprecedented) so with a pointed glance to Timothy- who looked like he would attempt to approach Jason, something he aborted when prompted to- Bruce and the  new robin left him standing stiffly and alone with Alfred. An inherently good thing, as Alfred was easily the best member of the Bat Clan.

    “Come along, are you okay with staying in your old room Master Jason?” Alfred looked over him, inquisitively searching for some tell that would say otherwise and simultaneously looking straight ahead as he waited for Jason to speak.

    “Yeah Alfie” And the way Alfred primly turned around and ed Jason away without a word- up the stairs and to Jason’s childhood room, where the halcyon days of his adolescence had been spent. Alfred opened the door and it became obvious that in an odd and mildly creepy way nothing had changed. Not even the cleanliness. It was as if  Alfred had merely dusted and changed the sheets but other than that nothing had been rearranged. The textbook on his desk was even still open to the same page.  His pens and pencils still in their chaotic state- waiting for a teenager who was dead to the world to pick them up and use them again. Once Alfred had led him inside and was about to leave, the old Beta turned to him- a calming scent leaking from his body.

“Master Jason,” Alfred clasped both of his hands in his holding them tentatively but firmly in between them. This time it was Jason- surprising even himself- who surged forward and embraced the other. To his unexpected yet unbridled delight he was met equivalently. And Alfred still smelled as good and soothing as he always had. Still a balm on Jason’s soul.

“I missed you to Alfie.” Jason half sobbed and dammit could he cut the dramatics?

[warlockwriter]

To  Lose Thee Were To Lose Myself: Chapter 9

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |Chapter 7 | Chapter 8

Chapter 9/10

Pairing: Gabriel/Sam

Chapter Word Count: 1578 (Story total so far: 16088)

Summary:  Sam didn’t believe the “new man” speech from Gabriel, but he understood recovery and knew sometimes you just had to put on a brave face. He still struggled with his own recovery journey. Perhaps the two of them could help each other? And gank a few monsters along the way?

A/N: Begins right after 13x20 and goes canon divergent from there. Title from Paradise Lost by John Milton. Many thanks to @archangelgabriellives for the beta read and a couple of awesome suggestions/additions! Story is complete. I’m just trying the serial approach because I’ve never done it with a fanfic before.

Ao3 Link

Sam woke to an empty bed. That shouldn’t have been a surprise to him. He awoke almost every morning to an empty bed. Today, however, he couldn’t help but remember waking up the previous morning with an archangel glued to his back.

That finalized his decision. He genuinely liked touching Gabriel, and that wasn’t going to be possible without completing the bonding. Cas and Dean seemed content with it. Gabriel clearly wanted and needed it, and Sam found himself wanting to give this to the angel.

He cautiously poked at his memory of the Trickster and Dean’s many deaths on a Tuesday. Yes, the memory was still there. Yes, remembering his brother die again and again still hurt, but the overpowering rage he had felt for Gabriel was gone. In its place was acceptance, and, he guessed, forgiveness.

Sam nodded. Yes, bonding with Gabriel was both what he wanted and the right thing to do. He still wondered what it would feel like, be like, but he knew he’d find out soon.

He dressed and tucked his gun in his waistband. Even though he had no plans to leave the Bunker, he still felt naked without it. Dean tended to do the same thing. Years of being on the road and hunting things left their mark.

Sam left his room and headed for the kitchen, figuring everyone would be there. As he entered, he saw Dean finishing up his breakfast. His brother was attempting to convince Cas to try a home fry.

“Dean, I have told you many times that I can not taste food.”

Dean shook his head. “Yeah, that’s not the case according to your brother. He says he can taste food just fine and that you should be able to as well.”

Cas sighed and picked up the piece of potato, regarding it as if it were something he would rather smite than eat. Sam realized that Gabriel wasn’t present, but he was curious about Cas’ reaction to food and decided not to interrupt to ask after the archangel.

Caa put the piece of potato in his mouth, rolled it around, chewed thoughtfully and then swallowed.

“Well?” Dean asked.

“It’s...not bad. I can still discern the individual molecules, but I believe I can also detect the taste of the whole.”

A smile spread across Dean’s face, and he clapped Cas on the shoulder. “See, Gabe knew what he was talking about. You just need to keep trying.”

“If you say so, Dean.” Cas sounded as if he were being asked to do laundry or some other chore.

Sam cleared his throat. Both his brother and angel looked up to see him in the doorway. “Glad you can taste food, Cas. Any idea where your brother is?”

Cas’ eyes grew distant in concentration for a moment before he nodded and said, “He is on the road to town, about a mile distant.”

Sam frowned. Gabriel wasn’t leaving, was he? “Is he coming or going?”

Another moment of concentration. “He is coming closer.”

Smiling in relief, Sam said, “I’ll go meet him then.”

“Have you made a decision, Sam?” Cas asked.

“Yeah, I have.” He was still smiling and knew Cas would figure out his answer from that. “I’ll tell him when I see him.”

Cas gave him a half smile in return. “That is good. I’m sure my brother will be happy to hear your answer.”

Dean was glancing back and forth between them. Then he nodded and grinned at his brother. “Way to go, Sammy.”

Sam turned to leave, but of course, Dean had to have the last word. “But I don’t want to hear anything weird coming from your room, Sam!”

Sam cheerfully flipped off his brother as he left the kitchen.

If Gabriel was about a mile out, Sam would probably meet him halfway, which wouldn’t take long. He found himself excited to see the archangel, and he hurried his steps. Sure enough, he’d been walking less than ten minutes when he saw Gabriel up ahead. Waving, he broke into a half-run. Okay, it was probably cheesy, but he felt like something was pulling him forward.

As he got closer, he saw a smile start to grow on Gabriel’s face, but, as he watched, the smile morphed into a look of horror. “Sam!” Gabriel yelled.

Sam didn’t stop to think. His body moved in familiar patterns as he drew his gun, angled off the road for the dubious shelter of a nearby tree and scanned his surroundings for threats. He noted Gabriel had a blade in his hand, and the archangel was running, expression grim.

The tall hunter finally saw what had spooked the angel. Four creatures were charging across the field by the side of the road. Sam’s mind calmly notified him that they were facing two werewolves and two vampires. Apparently the monsters they had killed had friends.

This wasn’t good. His only weapon was his gun, and it had normal bullets. Gabriel had his blade, but with his grace so low, Sam wasn’t sure he’d be able to smite, and angel blades couldn’t kill vampires or werewolves without grace to back up the attack.

Running was no use, so Sam knelt down to steady his aim and fired five bullets in quick succession. Four hit their targets, with only one going wide. One werewolf landed on his face, his knee exploded. The two vampires paused to pull bullets out of their respective shoulders. The second werewolf tumbled to the ground, briefly incapacitated by a gut shot.

While the monsters wouldn’t stay down long, Sam’s attack bought enough time for Gabriel to join the fight. Even weakened by low grace, these monsters couldn’t cause him permanent harm, and the archangel charged recklessly into their midst. He stabbed one of the vampires, and Sam saw a tiny trickle of grace, enough to cause the bloodsucker to wince but not enough to harm him.

Sam noticed a good-sized tree branch nearby, and he nodded to himself in satisfaction. It wouldn’t hurt the monsters, but it would give him something to parry with, and he might get lucky enough to knock out one of the werewolves. They were slightly more vulnerable than the vampires.

The werewolf who had been hit in the gut recovered enough to manage a hobbling charge toward Sam, who fired two more bullets into him. He got lucky. One was a head shot. That would take the monster out of the fight for the moment.

Unfortunately, one of the vampires must have decided a human was an easier target than an archangel, and he started running in Sam’s direction. The other werewolf was shaking off his injury and was about to rejoin the fight. Gabriel was holding his own against the second vampire, but it was a delaying game, and the hunter knew it.

He still had plenty of ammunition, and he used it all. He fired two more shots into the downed werewolf, three into the recovering werewolf and the rest into the vampire. Then he dropped his gun and brandished the branch.

The vampire shook off the bullets and started forward, confidence in his stride. “You’ve been watching too much Buffy if you expect that to work.”

Sam didn’t rise to the bait, holding his ground, ready for the approaching vampire.

Just then, Gabriel stabbed his vampire, and there was a brief flash of grace followed by a loud scream. The vampire dropped. One monster out of the fight. Sam just hoped that hadn’t been all the juice the archangel had left.

Sam’s vampire whirled toward the scream at the same time Gabriel yelled, “Be ready, Sam.” The archangel concentrated for a moment and snapped his fingers.

Nothing happened.

“Fuck!” Gabriel yelled.

The vampire smiled and turned back for Sam.

Both werewolves were stirring now. Sam wasn’t sure how they were going to get out of this. He watched the vampire approach, ready to defend himself, hopefully to buy some time for Gabriel to do something.

Just on the edge of his vision, he saw Gabriel snap his fingers again. Suddenly, Sam was holding a machete instead of a tree branch. Sam smiled. Now the odds were more in his favor.

Apparently, the vampire hadn’t noticed the change in weapon because he charged the remaining  distance. Sam set his feet, prepared, and, the instant the vampire was close enough, he slashed right through its neck.

The vampire’s head rolled several feet, eyes open wide in stunned disbelief.

Sam didn’t have time to appreciate his victory because both werewolves were now charging him. He heard Gabriel’s yell and presumed the archangel was on his way to help, but the monsters got to him first. Sam was able to cut the arm off of one, but the other ducked under Sam’s machete and took him down, claws ripping deep into the hunter’s belly.

Sam tried to get the machete up and in position to defend himself, but his arms felt so weak that he could barely lift the blade. The werewolf clearly didn’t consider him a threat anymore, and he rose to meet the charge of a furious archangel.

Sam could feel blood flowing down his pants, and he could barely keep his eyes open against the weakness and pain. He was just conscious enough to see Gabriel slide to a halt, standing over Sam’s fallen body. As his vision grayed out, he thought he saw wings arching protectively over him.

TBC

@snips-snails-skittles @idabbleincrazy @sageclover61 @ihaveallthesefeelsokay @calamitychaos @gryffindorofcabin21 @kydrogen-monoxide @everyoneforgetsadam @team-gabriel @shiny-crystaline @samuelwinschester @hankypranky

[vino-and-doggos]

Time Enough at Last

Read full text on AO3 and FFN

Length: 2007 words

Rated: T

Status: Incomplete (1/3)

Summary: Submitted for your approval: one wants money, women, status, fame, and everything else in the world. The other just wants more time alive, to see his daughter grow, to love his wife for a little longer. Two seemingly different personalities must learn to coexist so that they both can have it all.

Beta-ed by @flourchildwrites because she’s the literal BEST.

Meant for Halloween, but because I can’t do anything in life on time, Happy All Saints’ Day? We’ll pretend it works

Chapter 1

“First Ishval, now Liore. The East has been a real hotbed, huh?” Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes reclined in his chair, stretching his back a bit. Sitting for so long was really starting to take its toll. And really, how long was he supposed to remain idle? Something, some darkness, dwelled beneath the surface of Amestris. Maes could feel it in his bones.

“It’s not just the East,” Captain Focker said solemnly. “There have been reports of uprisings in the North and West, as well.”

“The bodies are piling up all over. When will it end? Will the government actually be able to stay in control? How has the military managed to sweep so much bloodshed under the rug in the first place?” Hughes’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll be in the archive room.”

“Is something wrong?” Focker asked as the door nearly closed on Maes’s cavalry skirt. “Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?”

With each step he took, Hughes thought of another uprising.

Thinking back, there was South City. Fotset. Pendleton. Most recently, Liore.

But one rebellion (an awful word for it, really) kept coming back to the forefront. The one he had a part in.

Ishval wasn’t that long ago; he remembered being on the ground in the stifling heat and how the coarse, irritating sand niggled its way into every crevice. If he listened closely, to this day he could still hear the echoes of screams and the rattle of rapid gunfire. What he never had to look closely for, however, was the memory of the way the desert soaked up the blood of the fallen, like a sponge that never had its fill. Almost like the ground was thirsty for the blood of the citizens.

Maes had a hunch. And he hoped that he wasn’t right. Mulling over the secret to the Philosopher's stone - human sacrifices - in addition to thinking about the locations of the uprisings, frankly, made him sick.

But looking at the archive room’s map plunged a knife deep into his guts. He started circling every known location of bloodshed on Amestrian soil, then began looking up others. Connecting the dots was simple, even for a non-alchemist; he’d seen Roy do it plenty of times. Life occurred in patterns, and alchemy was no different. Hughes no longer felt sick. It felt like his stomach had dropped out of his body completely.

He lived here. His wife lives here, his daughter, his friends. Images of each of them flashed in his mind in dizzying succession. How could this be happening? How could this be happening here? And how long did they have before the final point on the map also had been soaked in blood?

Numbly, his mouth formed words whose meaning his brain struggled to grasp. “I have to tell Fuhrer Bradley about this right away.”

A slamming sound startled Hughes from his stupefied state. Turning, he saw a buxom woman with beautiful porcelain skin accented with sharp features. Gloves that barely concealed razor-sharp nails extended up past her elbow, and an ouroboros tattoo adorned her chest. Sliding a kunai from the concealed holster underneath his standard-issue Amestrian blue sleeve, he smirked.

“Nice tattoo.”

“Humans are fascinating creatures. You really want those to be your last words?” Lust asked as she lunged at him, fingers extending and piercing his chest clean through. At the same time, Maes’s kunai flew true, hitting her in the dead center of her forehead. His wound gushed crimson, creating a macabre purple when mixed with the blue of his uniform. The kunai, however, reflected clean silver in the low light.

Her fingers retracted, allowing movement again. Hughes’s adrenaline carried him through the door and to the front desk, before realizing that a private line was never truly private, even in military headquarters. Maybe especially in military headquarters. And maybe the fuhrer wasn’t the one to speak to.

Stuttering steps led him to a phone booth just outside the walls of military lines. He quickly dialed Eastern Command, only to be held up once again with red tape. Just as the line clicked over to hold as he was being transferred, Maes heard a familiar voice behind him.

“Put down the receiver, Lieutenant,” Second Lieutenant Maria Ross stated slowly and calmly. She pointed her service pistol at Maes with the conviction of a cold-blooded killer.

The lieutenant colonel turned his head slowly, and for the second time that night, his perceptive eyes narrowed. “Nice try, but you’re not Maria Ross. She has a mole underneath her left eye.”

“How observant of you,” a gravelly voice that most definitely did  not  belong to Maria Ross said. “How’s this?” A sparkle of red electricity danced across the familiar, yet unfamiliar, face.

“What are you?” Maes asked incredulously.

Ross’s face twisted into a grotesque smile that was unlike anything that Hughes had ever seen cross her face. “Heh, so caught up with technicalities like moles and names that you’re forgetting to be concerned for your life.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Hughes answered. He turned back to the phone receiver in front of him, praying to anyone or thing listening that Roy would pick up the other end. The lieutenant colonel surreptitiously slipped the other knife from the holster in his sleeve. “But I have a family waiting at home for me. It would be a shame to disappoint them!”

He whirled around, intending to fling the knife at his assailant, but stopped short when he met the cool green eyes of Gracia.

His lovely, beautiful Gracia.

Frozen, Maes could only watch as the bullet discharged from the creature’s gun, hitting him squarely in the right shoulder, below and to the left of the puncture mark made by the temptress’s impossibly long and sharp fingernails. Slumped over against the unforgiving glass of the telephone booth, he heard a soft click on the other end of the line. He had never hung up the phone. He hoped the sound was Roy hanging up, that he had heard something, anything.

Blood began trickling down his arm, pain blossoming from the wound. Maes felt himself being moved, but he couldn’t summon the energy to focus his eyes enough to see which direction the creature was carrying him. Just as black began seeping into his field of his vision, he heard the same gravelly voice from before say, “You’re coming with me. And you better not die on the way.”

Everything seemed to echo off of the cavernous, circular walls in the sewer system below Dublith. As Greed attempted to stealthily make his way through the labyrinthian tunnels, he lamented this fact, wishing that moving along via the concrete walkways was as silent as moving through shadows.

Greed cautiously peered around the corner of a junction, only to see the animated suit of armor inching along as though he were a worm. Making his decision, the homunculus turned the corner and casually walked towards the immortal idiot. He was reminded, yet again, of the reverberations off the stone walls as he approached, when suddenly, the kid’s head popped open to reveal one of his favorite blondes.

“Martel, I’m glad to see you’re safe,” the homunculus said. His voice added to the echo around him. It was making him uncomfortable, like an itch in the dead center of his back that he couldn’t seem to reach.

“Greed!” she exclaimed. “What the hell happened up there? No one else has made it down yet.”

Greed grimaced and crossed his arms over his chest, pushing aside thoughts of his henchmen fighting off the military and the alchemists. “Yeah, things have gotten a little out-of-hand. We need to figure a way out of there.”

“I can’t let you do that,” another voice said calmly from behind the avaricious homunculus.

A chill slid down Greed’s back for reasons unknown. However, there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell he was going to let his poker face slip. Instead, Greed chose to wear another emotion on his sleeve: exasperation.

“What are you doing here, old man? The most powerful being in the land, swimming around the sewers with rats like us. What a joyous day!”

“Just because I’m about to turn sixty years old,” started Fuhrer King Bradley, his visage calm and genial, “doesn’t mean I won’t be able to finish this job quickly and return home.” As the sentence continued, the expression on his face turned menacing. Or was it a trick of the shadows?

A smirk crossed Greed’s face. “Then retire!” he exclaimed, calling upon his ultimate shield and lunging at Bradley as a slick, black carbon coating began to crawl up his arm. In the next second, however, the homunculus heard a splash. He turned, almost unaware of the horror that awaited him, and saw his right arm, half-hardened by the ultimate shield, writhing in the filthy sewer. Greed’s stomach turned, but not due to pain - the injury barely stung. It was utterly shocking to see your own mutilated limb twisting in the water.

“How did you…” he started, looking at the stump that was crackling with red as it regenerated. “Hm. The old man’s got some moves!” Greed said through gritted teeth, jumping back as the fuhrer advanced towards him, a sword in each hand. In the blink of an eye, Greed dodged another attack, another lunge with a sword. It seemed as though the leader was able to anticipate his movements before the ultimate shield even started to make them.

Another slash. Another stab. Another wound, deeper this time. The stinging had elevated to pain.

The left arm at the wrist. The soft tissue directly underneath his ribcage. Greed couldn’t maintain his shield under King Bradley’s constant barrage of attacks. He parried as the fuhrer came at him again, this time allowing the shield to advance up his right forearm.

Steel struck carbon.

With a grunt, Greed shoved back against Bradley, attempting to be on the offensive. His fingers fully regenerated, and the shield slid down and created points at the end of each digit, encased in jagged red sparks as they grew long and sharp. Swiping at the old man in front of him, the sharp-toothed homunculus let out a growl.

Greed the avaricious left himself unprotected.

In a flash, in the blink of an eye, in a split second, Greed found himself with swords protruding from his throat. Any movement would mean, at the very least, that he would be rendered useless while his tendons and ligaments reconnected; at worst, his head would have to completely regenerate. It was best just to stay still.

“I may not have an impenetrable shield or talons that can pierce any substance. I may not be able to shift my appearance or dissolve anything with my saliva. But I managed to find a way to distinguish myself,” Bradley monologued. If there weren’t swords stuck into him, Greed would have rolled his eyes. But then, the implication of the fuhrer’s words hit him, and his eyes widened instead.

“You’re - you’re -” he stuttered.

“Any weakness you might have can be seen with my ultimate eye,” Wrath continued as if he didn’t even hear the ultimate shield speak.

“What the hell do you want with me?” Greed managed to stutter out, blood trickling from his mouth. He gritted his teeth and thought of his underlings. Of Martel, Roa, Dolcetto, and Bido, his own little ragtag family. It wasn’t over; his existence couldn’t end like this. There was no way Father’s Wrath was going to win.

Deciding his question was worthy of an answer, Wrath said, “It’s not me that wants anything with you. It would be in your best interest to simply come with me, though. I was told to bring you back alive or as the stone that makes up your being. I’m content with either.”

Greed attempted to swallow around the swords lodged in his throat. It was pointless.

“You might want to take a good look around as we head back to Central,” Wrath said. “It may be the last time you see the outside.”

[renegadesrpg]

Dark Angels: Creation Part 30, Crossover with Rekindled. Honesty #RRPG. Zav, Truely, Adrian, Celia

Adrian: *I'd stayed invisible as I followed Zav and Truely to her apartment over the bakery and stationed myself on the small porch landing outside the door. I didn't like this set up much. Unless there was an interior door that led to the bakery, there was only one way in and one way out. And if there /was/ an inside door I doubt it was fortified appropriately. The human wouldn’t understand the need. Sounds of laughter echo through the door and as I start to mentally shake my head in amusement white light flares in my brain and a blinding pain nearly drives me to my knees. And I see it. We've been followed. They’re coming. The pain fades as I reach out to Celia. 'Rogues. They're coming. Get the humans out.' Simultaneously I bang on the door and shout*

ZAV! We're about to have company in the shop!

 Zav: *This day had been all I could have hoped for so far. Truely had felt our souls connect and was as into me as I was to her. We'd spent time talking and time doing ....smiling at the recent memory... "other" things and had begun making plans for our future. If I hadn't fully opened up yet as to just exactly /what/ I was, I was beginning to have real hope that might not be as big an obstacle as I'd thought it might be. Just as I grasp Truely's hand to go meet her friend Frederick and have a mid-afternoon lunch a banging on the door starts and Adrian bellows at me. Looking sharply at the door as I drop Truely's hand and manifest my angel's short sword in it, I tell her*

There's trouble. Stay here. Please. And, *grabbing one of the two medallions I wear around my neck, and handing it to her.* Wear this. I lost you once. I won't again.

 Truly: *I was having such a magical time with Zav. He was more than I could have ever asked for and I couldn't wait for our next chapter. I almost hated to breathe for fear I'd find out he wasn't real.* Who is that? *Suddenly there was a loud pounding on my door and Zav dropped my hand, his look of panic evident. Next thing I know he has a sword in hand and he's asking me to wear a pendant that was around his neck.*

Zav, who is at the door? What's going on? Are you in danger? Are Celia and my shop? *I was rambling. Whatever was happening was out of my realm of knowledge but I did hear Zav ask me to wait here though.* Fine, I'll stay. *I’m confused but I’m trusting Zav. So, I touch the pendant and just wait...for now.*

 Celia: *I'd just finished taking out another tray of cookies when Adrian's voice invaded my headspace in full force. Neither shifters, nor ghosts are naturally telepathic, but Sean and Sin had always managed to maintain a link with us. I hadn't expected Adrian to be able to do the same. Communication wasn't generally his gift. I stagger under the mental assault but manage to get the tray on the table without dropping them, then call out to Truely's assistant*

#Lucy, I need you back here for a second. *She hurries through the door to the kitchen...'What is it Celia? I just had two customers walk in the door.' *Dammit, I think just as loudly as I can in hopes Adrian hears, They're here!*

#Lucy, *I begin, forcing calm into my voice,* I'm out of vanilla and I don't know this town. Can you run to the supermarket and get some? I'll cover the counter while you're gone. *Lucy frowns and looks at me questioningly, because she probably knows damn well Truely has this place stocked to last through Armageddon, but she doesn't argue, just grabs her purse and starts back out the door to the front. I grab her arm, and turn her...*

Go out the back door. I'm sure it's closer to your car.

*She frowns at me but only answers 'Sure.' But I can see she's making mental notes to have a word with Truely about me. And that's just fine, assuming we make it through this. As the back door slams, Adrian mists in beside me, sword drawn and ready to fight. I hike up my sweater in and pull my .38 with its "kill anything that moves" bullets out of the holster at the small of my back.*

Was just too good to be true, huh?

 Adrian: We'd hoped they wouldn't find her but I think they must have been trailing us. I'm not sure how, but this isn't a coincidence.

*I can hear them out in front now, moving around and banging on that damned little counter bell for service. At that moment Zav materializes on the other side of Celia*

I think we might have led them to her Zav. I don't know how, but we need to figure it out.

 Zav: I'll be back. Keep the pendant on.

*Drawing her to me, I drop a quick hard kiss on her mouth and then I'm out the door. As soon as I'm out of her sight, I hone in on Adrian and mist to his side.*

Later. We'll figure it out once they're dead. Celia, stay back in the doorway and cover us. But don't hit us. Those bullets will kill us too, feel me? *She gives me an indignant look but just nods. As the sound of an insistent bell turns into glass breaking I cringe. Dammit, Truely is going to be upset.*

 Truly: *I'm standing here holding the pendant Zav gave me and I'm so confused. He gave me a quick kiss then left me.*

What the ever-loving hell is going on? *

As I absent-mindedly put on the pendant I hear a crash come from below.* What's going on in my shop? *I hear a couple more crashes and bangs and I realize I can't stand here twiddling my thumbs anymore. The man I love is in trouble, his friends could be too, and my shop, my livelihood is being destroyed.*

Nope, sorry my Star but I'm not going to stand here listening to my world get destroyed, just not happening. *I open my door, carefully look out in both directions, then run down my steps and around to my shop's back door. The scene I come on is one of nightmares. Creepy, smelly things fighting with Zav and Celia, and the blonde man. I see swords, fists, and bullets flying. My shop is in ruins and my temper boils over.*

Oh fuck no. *I whisper yell as I grab the first heavy thing I can find...my cast iron skillet. *I quietly move through my kitchen and get up behind one of the ugly beings. I raise the skillet and scream* NOOOO!* as I slam it on his head.*

You will not hurt my family. No! No! No! *with each yell I hit the being, fury that I've never felt taking over. I didn't recognize myself but I would rather die than have Zav hurt. Unfortunately, my energy isn't long lasting and now I don't know what to do. So, I lift the skillet and wait, my breath still heaving with effort...anger, fear, and frustration filling me.*

 Celia: *I watch in a combination of mixed horror and admiration as the human woman attacks a reaper with a skillet. Cast iron. That sucker has to be heavy. Adrian has one almost cornered between the oven and walk-in fridge and Zav...dammit, he dropped his guard when he heard Truely>and missed it when two more misted in. I shouted....* ZAV! *and swung up from behind the table I'd crouched behind, unloading my .38 into one, the volley of reaper-killing bullets opening up a center mass wound as he falls to the ground.

 Adrian: *I'd fought my foe into the corner. Celia had had to be careful not to hit me but she'd managed to place a well-aimed bullet into his weapon arm, which slowed him down considerably. I blocked and parried but he was tiring. The sounds of a cast iron skillet knocking against a skull hadn't really caught my attention, but when Celia yelled Zav's name I decided enough was enough and gutted the bastard, a mortal wound, dying, but not yet dead.  He falls as I turn just in time to see ...well... I'm not sure what I'm seeing.

Zav is starring at Truely... TRUELY? with a stunned look on his face as she stands there, in front of him, chest heaving from the exertion of swinging a frigging massive cast iron skillet. The reaper he'd been fighting was groaning, laying on the floor. There had only been two rogue reapers in my vision but now there were four. Two more had just misted in. The originals must have called for reinforcements before they'd fallen. One goes down, its chest exploding into a bloody mess from Celia's bullets, but the other one is headed straight for Truely. If it touches her....*

Gods dammit Zav, GET HER OUT!!!

 Zav: *Gods… Truly…. One minute I was fighting and the next minute I was staring into her flushed face with a reaper groaning on the floor in front of me. My eyes locked on hers in stunned admiration, and yeah, not a little fear for her, just as Adrian called out. Another reaper, a new one, had misted in and was making for what he assumed was the easiest target in the room, my woman. Time seems to slow down. I note the sound of Celia ejecting and reloading a new clip into her gun. Adrian is throwing himself at the new attacker. In the blink of an eye I leap over the prone rogue on the floor and grab Truely, misting her away from the attack, to just outside the back door. As I hear shots ring out I’m torn between going back and staying to protect her but I hear Celia’s glee as she shouts out  ‘And another one bites the dust!’. Heaving a breath of relief, I turn Truely’s face up to mine and frantically scan her eyes.*

Are you all right? Did it touch you? Are you hurt?

 Truly: *I'm huffing, puffing, and staring at mayhem in my shop and then the next thing I know, I’m outside and Zav asked how I am.*

I'm pissed. I'm stunned. I'm confused. What the hell Zav? What... *I lean over to catch my breath and that's when tears start falling and I just plop myself down on the ground. The realization that my shop is ruined, my man has a secret that turned deadly, and he could've died all hit at once.* Talk Zav, please. Am I losing my mind here?

 Celia: As the Zav misted out with Truely I shouted*

DOWN

*and opened fire hoping Adrian wouldn't get in the way. Of course, he was already on the move but he heard me and turned to mist, allowing the bullets to pass through harmlessly and embed in the chest of the last standing rogue. Slowly lowering my gun I look around at the carnage just in time to see the bad guy Truely ... damn, I have a lot more admiration for her now... Truely tried to pound into sand start to struggle to his feet and I raise my gun and put my last bullet between its eyes. The rogue fell to the ground, its physical body disappearing as it died and its untethered soul shimmering beside where it had fallen.*

We're going to need something to do with these souls so where Truely is doesn't get back to the Horseman and his boys.

 Adrian: *Looking around as a 2nd rogue followed suit*

Bryn used a Dybbuk box for the last crew. I'll reach out to her and have her send one. Meanwhile, *grabbing the disembodied souls each with one hand*

You two are with me.*

*Mentally I call to Bryn with my request and in seconds a box materializes in front of me as she conveys instructions on how to use it and where to take it when I'm done. Death Valley, with the other one. Of course. She's always had a gallows sense of humor.*

In you go...*softly chanting the spell Bryn had given me, watching the two souls being sucked into it. As the last two expired, their souls too were sucked into the box and I had the distinct feeling it was still hungry. Hastily I say the words that lock the box and pick it up, handing it to Celia.*

Put this somewhere safe and out of the way while I take care of this mess.

*Looking around at the rubble, I inhale and dematerialize it all, sending it to Brazil to be burned outside the safehouse.*

 Zav: *She's pissed. She's got a right to be but the cats out of the bag now and she's got a right to the truth. More, I want to tell her. As she sits down on the ground, I sink down cross-legged with her. I've fought with Adrian long enough to know he's already doing damage control in there. Now I have to do it out here.*

No, baby, no. You aren't crazy. I'm so sorry this followed us here. It's what I was trying to keep from happening to begin with. But everyone is all right and we're going to fix this, I promise. Just please, listen with an open heart. Because I can promise, whatever you're thinking right now? That's not what this was.

 Truely: *What I'm thinking? What I'm thinking is the Twilight Zone is being filmed again or Candid Camera, a really bad version of it. I'm thinking you could've been killed. I'm thinking my shop is destroyed, and...*

HOLY SHIT! Lucy! Where's Lucy? Is she ok, oh my god how could I have forgotten her. *I stop myself and take a deep breathe reaching out to touch Zav.* Ok, first...where is Lucy? Then explain so I don't go overboard in my thinking cuz right now...*deep breath* What I DO know is that I love you and trust you. What I don't know is why the secret, why the chaos. Please explain.

 Celia: *As I stand there holding the box in both hands I watch Adrian make a clean sweep of the place. Walking to the door to the front, I check to be sure it’s all gone too.*

Good job. It could pass a Health Department inspection. Now, since you're already in my head how about you materialize what needs to be replaced here. Yeah, yeah, *I dismiss as he opens his mouth to protest*  I know you can't make it out of thin air like the Boss can, but I know what she had and where it came from. Pick my brain. Literally. This is a small operation and I doubt she can afford to replace all this. I'm pretty sure her insurance doesn't cover damage from the Reaper Wars. Zav will see the funds get into the right accounts to cover it. He's picky about that stuff.

*Leaving him frowning as he invades my brain again, I turn and walk out the back door, still carrying the box, just in time to hear Truely freak out over Lucy.*

Lucy's fine. I got an advance heads up from Adrian...

*jerking my head back into the doorway* Tall, blonde and deadly in there.... and I sent her to the store. I told her you were out of vanilla.

 Adrian: *I frown as I rummage through Celia's brain and select the equipment needed replace what had been damaged. She might be a bossy ghost, but her thoughts were well organized and she provided me not only with the items, but brands as well. I materialized them from their manufacturer's warehouses and set them into their proper places, being sure to get the front of the shop covered, too, then follow Celia out the back door. Taking the Dybbuk box from her, I begin*

I've got the souls Zav. Bryn sent a Dybbuk box to hold them like she did the ones from Layla's place. She told me where to leave them. I'm going to stow them and I'll be back to watch your six shortly, so try to stay out of trouble until I get back. Oh, and Celia, the place is put back together to your specifications. *smirking at her raised eyebrow* What, you thought that would take time? You've lived with reapers long enough to know we're efficient.

But, Zav, you might be thinking up a story in case someone called in the gunfire. Something harmless like Celia was teaching Truely how to use a gun and it went off or something. Cops can't hold you but they could make life uncomfortable for your lady.

*Nodding, I dissolve into a fine black mist, to take care of this errand.

 Zav: I nod at Adrian as he goes. His method of leaving is going to cause more questions, but she needs to hear it all. Running my hands through my long hair and pushing it back from my face, I take a deep breath.*

Celia, I think Adrian's story will hold up since he repaired the damage. Can you go man the fort while Truely and I talk? We'll be right here if you need us.

*Celia nods and shoots me a quick look of sympathy. She's aware this won't be an easy discussion and I stand to lose everything if it doesn't go well.*

Truely...*licking my lips and sighing* I love you. And everything I've told you has been the truth. It just...the details are going to be hard for you to believe. But this won't happen again. I'll take steps to see you're protected. *sighing*

Humans had a great poet and playwright who once wrote "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Well he was right. There are more things in heaven and earth and the worlds beyond than humans comprehend. And I... and Adrian and Celia... are some of them.

 Truly: Shakespeare, Hamlet right? Ok, so what are you and what were those icky creatures that were trying to kill you? I want to understand this all, I really do. Please tell me everything Zav...everything.

 Zav: It might be easier to show you some of it. *Materializing a slim dagger, I hold out my forearm and make a fist, running the sharp blade across it. But what flows out isn't red blood. It's blue.*

That's grace. Not blood. It's the first part of what I am. An angel. *With a thought I allow my wings- enormous and capable of lifting my weight, and much more, in flight to materialize. The deep navy blue of them fades down into a pale blue at the bottom, the gloss of them catching the sunlight.*

And I'm more. *With another thought I dematerialize myself into a black mist and then reform.*

I'm also a reaper, a powerful being who collects mortal souls and helps them move on. *sighing* Once, long, long ago I and angels like me were sent to earth to teach humans. Some of us fell in love with them. But the white god...not the Creator, but one whom most humans believe is...he was jealous and afraid. The children we created with our human wives held great power. They had both soul and grace. So he had us all killed before they could grow up. Now, what happens to angels when they die is different that it is for humans or other mortal species. Most mortal souls move on to other lives. A few, when they are ready, ascend to a new plane of existence. But not angels. We go into the Long Sleep. So my wife and I could never be reunited. Not in new lives, not in ascension. But the reaper who came for me had been a friend once and he offered me the opportunity to join his corps. And to look for the soul of the wife that the white god...El Shaddai... had taken from me. And so... here I am.

 Truly: *I let out a squeak as I watch him materialize a knife. That squeak became a gasp when I see him cut himself. Then before I can say anything out runs blue blood. I watch it flow then stop. THEN the most beautiful set of wings appear... WINGS! I'm looking at actual angel wings. Then he's talking about angels and reapers and his dead wife.*

Wait. So you were an angel living among humans? Teach humans what though? Then you died or just your wife? *I shake my head*You are now a reaper? Or an angel? And you are not only taking dead people's souls to, their final resting place? But also searching for your dead wife? But if she's dead, why look on Earth? And where does this leave me if you are wanting her?

 Zav: *smiling in relief at how she's taking all this. Quietly I demat my wings. No point in keeping them exposed in case we do get a visit from other humans*

I taught them art, music...how to govern and care for a people, how to grow things. The Creator wanted humans to prosper. When I died I didn't lose my angel's grace or power. It would have gone into the Long Sleep with me. When a being surrenders his soul to Death to become a reaper, he brings with him all that he was in life. I have grace instead of a soul, which is a different kind of power than a soul has, but an immense one. So I am both angel and reaper now. Just not one who serves the Creator anymore.

*Pausing for a moment and inhaling before I continue. This was going to be the hardest of all.*

Her soul was human and it was not ready to ascend. It had more lives to live, more lessons to learn and grow from. If I had lived... and angels will live forever if they are not killed...my grace would have kept Kalare young and alive for as long as I was. Love is that strong.

But I don't have to look for her anymore. *looking deeply into her eyes* I've found her.

 Truely: *I stare into your eyes as you speak. I see and feel the truth but it's still overwhelming.* So, you are still an angel but also a reaper. And you said your grace could keep Kalare alive for as long as you...how? Like, she fed on it like a vampire? *damn do vampires exist too? Ok, not asking that right now. I just want to understand this man, his history, and how I fit into his present.* So, waaaaaaiiit.... *something he said just processed through my stuffed brain* You found her soul? Her reborn soul? *I squeak that last part out, then whisper...* me? You're saying I'm your dead wife reborn?

 Zav: *laughs softly and takes both her hands into mine* There are other ways of passing grace than drinking it. Humans don't have the teeth for it. My grace passed to her every time we made love. As it will pass to you. And yes, I have searched for her soul for 35,000 years. It has grown. Learned much. Been tempered by the experiences of the lives it has lived. Truely, the soul she bore in her mortal body now lives in yours. But you are not Kalare. You are Truely. And I am very aware of it.  And grateful for how her soul has grown and who it has become. How it has become you.

 Truely: *I'm...stunned*. 35,000 years? You searched that long to find her soul? But, but how can you know her soul is in me? *I touch my chest* And how *I shake my head trying to gather my thoughts* how are you sure its ME you love and not the idea of her soul being found? What, what do I do with this information Zav? *I stare into your eyes and absent-mindedly brush your hair out of your face as tears fall.* Is this why our connection was strong and fast? Is her essence like going to take over or how does that work?

 Zav: *taking her face in my hands I wipe away her tears with my thumbs. Kissing her gently,* I would have searched through eternity for it. It /is/ why we both felt such an instant connection, but I was not sure until I looked at your soul. *smiles* Yes, it is something reapers can do that angels can't. But the connection....*shaking my head and smiling a little* It was so instantaneous that I just knew it had to be from the moment you walked into my shop. But "she" doesn't take you over. You are her and she is you. There is no difference in the essence of your soul. What it's learned in each life, it brought to this one and made you who you are. The qualities that made her who she was then are still there now, and help make you who you are. I love you because you are Truely. Not because of who you were, but because of who /you/are.

 Truely: *I smile the tears drying up as I feel the truth and love in his words.* You said you had children. Does that mean their souls are out there too? And, um, can we have kids?

 Zav: *The smile fades from my face at this* Angels can. Reapers...cannot. I'm a mix. I still have my grace, but to be totally honest with you, I just don't know. Death is powerful.

 Truely: So, it’s one of those questions that has no answer ‘til we try. Right, then. What now Zav? What happens next and what about my shop?

 Zav: That's been taken care of. Reapers have the ability to materialize and dematerialize objects. Only our captain can reform molecules into other items, but we can all take it from one place to another. From what Adrian and Celia said, I can promise you your shop has been cleaned up, repaired and the equipment replaced. I'll see that the proper companies are paid for it. No one will lose by it. As for what happens now... *smile fading* I have to go to war.

The creatures that attacked us were rogue reapers. There's a struggle going on for the soul of the worlds. The Horseman of Death, whom I supposedly owe allegiance to, is in league with Lucifer and seeks to overthrow the Creator and rule the worlds with death. A group of us have broken away.

Our Captain is a very, very powerful being. As strong as the Horseman himself. And I owe him everything. I owe him finding you, as he was the one who offered me the Reaper Corps instead of The Long Sleep. He blocks The Horseman's hold on us. The rogues were souls that were corrupt before they died. So corrupt they were doomed for their respective Hell planes. Instead, The Horseman used them to create a fourth column of corruption in the corps, to help him alter the Fates’ decisions and let him take souls before their time to consume rather than let live and then move on to their new lives when it was time. *shaking my head* We fight for all the worlds, all universes.

Celia, I will leave here with you to protect you. She is not a reaper. She's a ghost and in life was a wolf shifter. She brought that ability over with her but her shooting is something she learned from Adrian. Her mate serves with us. I'll ward the shop and your home so this doesn't happen again. But go nowhere without her. Please.

 Truely: So, this Horseman is rebelling against his boss, siding with the devil, all for power and greed? Sounds kinda human. He should be ashamed to stoop to our level. And, um, you and your friends are going to stop him from taking souls that don't belong to him yet, if at all. Do I have it right? And Celia is a ghost who can bake and kick ass and you want me to hang with her 'til you come back to me?

 Zav: *laughs at her succinct summation* I love you. *shaking my head, then kissing her.* I really do.

We're going to do more than stop the Horseman. We're going to overthrow him, purge the ranks of his corruption and set the worlds back on their paths. But yes. Celia is all of that. And one of the other lieutenants is in constant contact with her mentally, so if there's trouble we'll know right away. *Pausing,* There is one more thing. *reaching out and taking the medallion by one finger.* Wear this. It contains a bit of my grace as well as some personal warding. It will make you harder for our enemies to focus in on and the grace will act as a homing beacon if anything should happen. Never take it off.

 Truely: *Returning the kiss* Ok, so you are going to go kick his ass, overthrow him, kill him and his lackeys, or all of the above. And this necklace will keep me safe from them. Right? Will Celia need one too or does being a ghost make it unnecessary? And lastly...when do you leave?

 Zav: She has one. It will /help/ keep you safe. And other things I will do before I leave will prevent both reapers and demons that do not possess a similar medal from entering. As for when I leave....I'm afraid this attempt on you means we are being more closely watched than we had hoped. Once I've warded everything I'll need to go and make a personal report to our Captain. I'm pretty sure it's going to speed up our timetable.

 Truely: Alright. So in a few minutes then or does this warding take longer than that?

 Zav: *Standing and drawing her to her feet* I'm afraid so. *huffing a sigh* I didn't want to tell you all this in quite this way, but I /was/ going to tell you. I never lied to you, but I didn't tell you everything. I promise, that will never happen again.

 Truely: *wrapping my arms around you I look into your face.* I'm going to hold you to that promise. I want our relationship based on truth and trust not just love. Can I help with the warding or what should I do now?

 Zav: *Lowering my lips to hers, I kiss her deeply, putting all my love into it. Finally breaking the kiss, I rest my chin on your head* I'm sorry I brought this to your door. And in the spirit of honesty *Looking down at you* I have to tell you there will always be enemies to guard against. I want you to know that going in. But I also want you to know that I'd die again to protect you. I won't let myself ever be caught unawares. *Not again. Not like the first time* And I think that I can teach you some of the warding so if you need to refresh it and I'm away you can. It's not hard, just some simple symbols in a certain order. The key is what you draw them with. Mortals /can/ do it with blood. It's more effective than paint, but like paint, blood will show and we don't want it to show. *smiles and chucks you under the chin* It would scare away the customers. So we're going to do it with my grace.

 Truely: *laughs* Yes it would. Ok, thank you for being honest. It’s a little scary to think about but I know you will protect me and I can learn to protect myself I'm sure. *leans up and kisses you letting you feel my love*

Alright, let’s do this and then, Zav...no weepy goodbye. Just smile and go, ok? I want to watch you go with us both standing strong. *knowing I'll fold later into a pile of mush but if he can be strong, so can I.*

 Zav: *materializing a small jar, I take the same slim dagger I'd used before and re-open the vein on my arm, letting silvery blue grace flow into it. When it's about three-quarters full, I materialize a gauze pad and place over it* I do heal fast, but not that fast, *I smile.* Next I need you to trust me. We are going to put these symbols on the inside of your shop but we are going to paint them in the half-world. It's where I am invisible to this world but it's visible to me. It's also where we fold time and space to walk the different worlds. *Shrugging my shoulders* It's complicated. But when we're done it won't be visible to the mortals. If you have to do it and I'm not here you'll have to do it where it can be seen but I've seen our resident reaper-witch do it so looks like decorations.

So to do this, I'll need you to grab hold of my belt and not let go. If you do, you'll just fall back into this reality, so it's nothing to fear, but to learn you need to be with me.

 Truely: Ok. This won’t be seen but if I have to use my blood to redo then make it look decorative. Got it. *I grin up at you.* I'm ready for the next step Zav. *I grab your belt tight as we shift into this, what I assume, is this half world you mentioned.*

 Zav: *I mist into the interior of the bakery with Truely at my side and then reform, keeping us in the half-world*

So, *Materializing a thick artists brush* we're going to paint symbols on the windows about 2 feet apart all around the outside walls of this room. If I needed to I could even paint it on the half-world air itself and it would just float there. I just did that for an area in New York state. But that takes a level of power you won't have on your own so we'll do it this way. There are four symbols we are going to use. This one *Drawing the first* is the equivalent of Gandalf the Gray facing down the Balrog and shouting "You Cannot Pass". And this one *drawing a new one* is for reapers. And this one *moving along the window and dipping my brush in the grace again* is for demons. And this one is for angels. Because not all angels are your friend. And then you start all over again. When we get to the wall that separates the kitchen we want to be right up against it and then start up with the next one right up against it on the other side. The wall itself won't impede the magic. Want to try?

 Truely: Yes! I like painting and these aren't overly complicated. I need to do this. *I dip the paint brush in the "grace" paint and mimic the symbols on the walls as he directed. When I finished the last one I turn to face you.* How was that? Did I do it right?

 Zav: *Grins and pats my chest* I feel like a proud papa. You did great. We'll just continue this around and then mist upstairs to do it. *Working quickly, we finish the downstairs and move up to Truely's apartment.*

 Truely: *I can't help but sneak glances at Zav as we work to protect my apartment. I know our time, for now, is just about to end and it's breaking my heart but I have to stay strong, I will stay strong.* Is that it then, we done?

 Zav: *Smiling down at her* Almost. *Reforming in her dimension, I take the dagger and slice the other forearm to refill the small jar with grace, then bandaging  it to match the other arm.*

If you have to do this where people can see it mix some of this with your blood. It will be almost as powerful as grace alone because of our connection. And combined it will kill the scent of blood make a nice purple shimmery color that will be easier to explain as decor. *When the jar is full I cap it tightly and hold my hand over it murmuring ag dúnadh go docht* When you need to open it say “oscailte” and then twist. *sitting it on the table and sighing* You don't know how much I really do not want to leave you. *drawing you into my arms again, I just hold you, memorizing the feel of you in my arms*

 Truely: *I tighten my hold on you not wanting to release you but knowing I have to. I inhale your scent, I absorb your heat, and I kiss your shoulder tasting your skin.* Ok my Star. You have to go, so you can come back. And you WILL come back or I'll go find you...no matter where or what rules I have to break. Take my love with you and let it be your shield. *I step back a step and smile holding back the tears I feel forming*

 Zav: *Fuck, how can I leave her, but how can I not? If Sin loses this fight all the worlds are screwed including this one. And they know about her now. They'll find her. I have to go. I have to fight, now more than ever. Reluctantly, I let her step away from me, letting my hands drop.*

It will be. It's my reason to survive this. *taking her hands and kissing her knuckles* I promise I /will/ come back. You are my heart and my soul. I will be back. *Stepping back, I mist away, calling to Celia to let her know I've gone and bidding her to guard my heart as I will guard hers. And now to find Sin.*

 #TBC #Renegades #RRPG #DarkAngels #Creation #Rekindled #BDBAU #Reapers #Angels #Vampires #Wolven

[wandering-chronicler-blog]

Draecember - Prompt 6 - On a Mission

The sun was slowly crawling back under the horizon and made the snowy fields of Winterspring seemingly glow orange.  Vylia took a long drink from her canteen as she watched the two mages finished setting up the trap.  A few other Alliance soldiers stood in long thick cloaks and armor stuffed with fur or heavily enchanted.  She was glad that she still had the plate she’d worn during the campaign in Northrend and the thick hooded cloak.  She stuffed it in a bag on her back and wrapped her arms around herself as she took a breath.  White fog puffed from her lips in the cold as she heard snow crunching behind her.

 “You alright?” Vadralis asked.

 She glanced in his direction.  “Just a little cold,” she replied.  “And admittedly not sure if this is going to work.”

 “Should.  We have everything we need.”  He pulled the bandana around his nose and mouth down as she turned a bit to face him better.  “Can’t let it spread.  And with the satyrs emboldened in Felwood, we know The Legion is on the move again.”

 “How?”

 “They’re tainted. They hear their masters, they have to obey.  I get the feeling that they’re doing this as a distraction though.  All intelligence from SI:7 is pointing at something in the sea. Around where an orc warlock during the Second War raised a group of islands from the depths.”

 They both knew exactly who he was talking about, though neither said it.  Vylia swallowed a bit as she remembered hearing tales of them from her time before Draenor was shattered.  “Right,” she said, changing subjects.  “So.  How many of these things are we thinking?”

 “Probably a small group. Maybe five total.  Any more and we’d notice.  Glad an adventurer in the region spotted how that spring was starting to give off fel energies.”

 “We have any way to cleanse it?”

 “Not easily.  But if we keep them from spreading it further, we may have a chance.”

 “Commander!” one of the soldiers shouted.  Vadralis quickly looked up along with Vylia to the man standing on the top of the nearby hill.  “Sylestra’s bird spotted a pack of satyrs moving into the tunnels!  She said it was seven of them!”

 “Alright!” he shouted back. “Everyone form up!  We’re gonna go over this plan one last time!”  He waved a hand as the other soldiers and mages came over.  Vylia moved to the side so everyone could see him.  “So, we have the rune traps in place.  Satyrs like being sneaky, so that’s how we’ll know they’re here and they’ll lose the element of surprise.  They’ll go off as soon as one of them gets in the middle.  Then we just finish off the rest.  The goblins from Everlook, for a price, have agreed to keep an eye on the other ways in and out of the region so the only way they can sneak through really is going to be through here.”  

 “Trust them enough?” a night elf woman asked.

 “Trust them enough that long as we keep paying them they’ll do their job, Sylestra.  Now, we’re expecting them to come through to the pass to finish their job tainting that spring.  That happens, we’re looking at a mess and it’ll start affecting the wildlife. Might even start affecting the local populace.  And we don’t want that.”  He looked at the draenei.  “Let Vylia go in first and consecrate the earth if we have to get up close. Sylestra, you and Duron come down from behind to cut off their retreat.  Jolic, snipe any you see a chance for from the tree.”  The rifleman gave a nod as he loaded his weapon.  “Sanders, Rhe, hit it with fireballs from above.”  The two mages nodded.

 “Shouldn’t be too bad, even if they’ve got one of those little corrupted ancient with them,” Vylia added. “If they do, let me take that.”

 “Any questions?” Vadralis asked.  The group assembled shook their heads.  “Good. Positions everyone.”

They didn’t have to wait too long, even though the snow had picked up.  Vylia was behind one of the trees with a good view of the trail they’d laid the explosive runes.  Her right hand reached back over her shoulder for the sword on her back as her left slipped under the shield.  Jolic was up in the tree above, hidden among the frosty needles with his rifle while Vadralis was nowhere to be seen.  She was sure he was around though and waiting for the ambush.  Everyone else was out of sight or hidden as the moon climbed into the sky.  She worked to keep her mind from wandering.  The thoughts of having a few drinks and a couple hands of cards with the other soldiers back at the barracks was an inviting thought.  Maybe she and the warrior from Ashenvale that had been brought in could compare swords and techniques.  Of course there was also the possibility of spending the remainder of the cold night in Vadralis’ bunk with him under the thick fur covers.  A wiry smirk started to play on her lips.  The thought would…

  There was a flash of violet and fire along the road in front of her.  She spotted the sickly and twisted satyrs caught in the blast of magic. A gunshot echoed from above her and she pulled the sword and shield from her back before charging towards the chaos. Immediately she began to channel her energies into a shield around herself that flowed outward and a faint blue glow enveloped the other Alliance soldiers close enough to her.  Vylia spotted another blast and heard shouting as she neared the trail, already spotting a dead satyr in the dirt.   Looking up, she saw a couple of the satyrs turning back for the pass only to be cut off by the night elf warrior’s swords and the dwarf next to her.  Her vision was quickly blocked though as a satyr rushed for her, arms outward and claws clicking against one another.  In a swift move, she swung her blade to parry their left arm and caught the claws from their right on her shield.  A quick and forceful kick to their stomach knocked them back and opened them up for a stab.  Blood spurted from the wound and stained the snow.  She retaliated with a second stab and quickly moved towards the center of the melee.

 She twirled her sword once in her hand and thrust it into the earth.  Gold light shot out from it across the earth and began to burn the other satyrs caught in it.  One spun around on his hooves to her, swinging a scythe.  The strike scrapped across her plate and she returned the favor by slamming the sword’s pommel into their gut as she pulled it out of the ground. A quick swing of her shield into their face was all she needed to get them to back up.  Another came from the flank and jumped for her, only for a pair of knives land in its throat.  Glancing over, she saw Vadralis; a dagger in one hand and a pair of throwing knives in the other.  He swiftly swung his hand out towards her, sending the two knives into the other satyr. Both landed square in its chest and opened it up to a swing from Vylia to open its belly.

 “Hellcaller!” Vadralis shouted.

 “I see him!” she called, charging for the largest of the satyrs.  Thanks to incredible amounts of fel energies, it towered over the others with twisted and coiling horns.  Its fur was a sick yellow green and what skin she could see, was the color of dried blood. Foul magic seeped from his claws as he began to reanimate his fallen comrades.  In immediate response, she began to fill her shield with light.

 Her partner spun around as the satyr he’d just killed got back to its feet amidst a green and red glow. “Can you-“  

 She didn’t wait to respond and swung her shield-arm out.  A golden duplicate of magic shot from it and collided in the hellcaller’s jaw before ricocheting off and colliding with a satyr engaged with the dwarf. The reanimation spell was stopped and the dead collapsed once more.  Taking the opportunity, Vylia charged the hellcaller.  It swung a claw out and a magic skull shot from his palm for her, only to be blocked by the shield.  Having closed the distance, she retaliated with slamming the edge of her shield into them. The blow was followed up by a stab for their chest.  Behind her, Vadralis dueled another, catching their claws in a dagger as he threw snow in their face.  The moment of distraction was all he needed to get to their flank and drive his second dagger into their throat to open it.

 The hellcaller raised a claw to stab at Vylia, only for a bullet to strike its hand.  She thanked Jolic silently before slashing vertically down. A return swing went up, creating two deep gashes along its body.  As the hellcaller stumbled, she jumped for it, driving her sword into its chest as her hooves landed in its stomach.  It screamed furiously as it fell onto its back into the consecrated earth.  Its fur burned white as Vylia pulled the sword out and stabbed through its throat.  One more satyr fell, consumed by a fireball from one of the two mages and it was done. She caught her breath as she stepped off and into the bloodied snow.  There were going to be a few new bruises and cuts from the fight on her, but it had gone incredibly well thanks to the planning and preparations.

  Vadralis carefully knelt down and tugged at the simple rope belt the hellcaller wore.  He began to inspect the vial upon it.  The rest of the group began to gather with him.  He frowned behind the thick bandana wrapped around his face.

 “What is it?” Vylia asked, sheathing her sword and placing the shield on her back once more.  

 “I can’t be sure,” he started,” but this doesn’t look like just regular slime from felwood.”  He quickly placed it in a pouch on his belt. “We need to get it tested.”

 “If it’s The Legion at work here, it could’ve been given to them by someone,” the dwarf in the group said.

 “We need to get it to Moonglade then.”  He looked about the group.  “Good work everyone.  Let’s get back to the camp.  We’ll start for Moonglade first thing in the morning.”

Bit of a longer piece here, but what the heck?  May even continue this bit as they work to stop the satyrs from getting a foothold.  The idea of how to go about this one too was to think of one of the ‘breadcrumb’ quests that can lead to a player from zone to zone.

Almost put in a keep reading bit to keep it from just going on and on.  If it was over 2k though, I’d have put one in.  Which, well, might happen.

I’m having a lot of fun doing these prompts too.  With a little luck, another will come tonight!

Previous Pieces:  Letter, Losing Someone, Memory and Dimensional Ship, Discovery.

More to come!  Thanks for reading!

[opisliterallysatan]

Caught

It was a starry night in Yanxia, and instead of getting a good night’s rest, Kintoki and Soga reside by the door, slid partially open. Only a sliver of moonlight shined in to the purely inconspicuous ‘abandoned’ home. They had thought this quiet little spot, long since abandoned by it’s owners, would serve as a good hideout for themselves and the other Domans seeking sanctuary from the Empire.

Tonight it became clear that everything peaceful in this country was only temporary. Imperials were snooping around the property; their horses had been brought out from their hiding space, as had their carriage. “Damn it…” Kintoki grumbled quietly to himself as he watched them continue to examine the area.

“How odd… I wouldn’t think the Garleans would scout so far.” Soga whispers as his eyes scan over the yard.

Both of the men are caught off guard at the sound of a voice, accompanied by the little pips and paps of tiny feet. “Daddy… Uncle..?” A little messy pink haired raen child approaches the two in her pajamas. “What’s going on..?”

Both Soga and Toki rush to her side as quietly as possible “It’s okay Su-tan. Come with me back to bed.” Soga insists, taking her hands and immediately dragging her off.

Kintoki cringes, gritting his teeth. “Clutch your horns, Suzu… And don’t come running no matter what you here. Everything is okay.”

Soga gives Kintoki an uncertain look, he would be quick to warn everyone of the situation, and have them prepared to flee. “Come on, Su-tan.” he urges her down the hallway.

“But daddy–!”

“Your daddy will be fine. Come on now.” Soga insisted.

Kintoki took a deep breath, an unpleasant feeling in his guts as he prepared himself for the worst. He could end up dead, and even if he lived, spilling blood was not something he wanted to do. His stomach turned at the thought of what would come in mere minutes from now; possibly even seconds.

Always prepared for anything that goes bump in the night, Kintoki reaches for his blade he had resting on the wall beside him. He straps the sheath to his hakama and stands up, placing his hand on the door.

The Imperials investigating the area, all immediately turn their heads at the sight of the golden haired man loudly sliding open the door and stepping out. Three men immediately run up to him, obviously ready for trouble at the sight of his blade. “You! This building is not under the property registration of the Garlean Empire! What are you doing here?!” one barks out.

Kintoki’s cold stare scans over the men, his hands at his side; showing no signs of aggression just yet. “I am sorry… I simply got lost after a night of drinking… I will return to my home immediately.” he explains in a calm voice. “If you would simply give me a chance to–.”

“Cut the shite, Lizard! We know you’re not here alone!” another Imperial snarls, drawing his sword and pointing it at Kintoki, who only offers him a cold stare in turn. “We know you’re harboring fugitives! Give yourselves up!”

Kintoki remains silent at this accusation as the soldiers continue to stare him down. After several moments of silence, the Imperial raises his sword “If you won’t answer us, we’ll cut our way through!”

Suzu flinches and clutches her horns as the sound of gunfire booms outside. The poor girl is left shaking as Soga soothes her. The others stand nervously by the back exit as they listen. Only two shots rang out, and the sound of clashing metal and shouting could be heard.

Soga gently pets Suzu’s head before he gives her the most reassuring smile he can muster. “I have to go help Kin-san, Nishimura-obaasan will take care of you. Just listen to her, okay?”

An elderly hyur woman slowly approaches Suzu and takes her hand. The little girl gives Soga an uncertain look as she backs away with Nishimura. “…Be careful, Uncle.”

Outside, metal clashed and blood flowed like a river as a fierce battle raged on. Three imperials lie dead and dismembered where they were once harassing Kintoki, and now the Samurai was struggling with several more. Getting the jump on a group of three was easy enough, but now he had several more with blades rushing him at once. On top of that, blood ran down from his chest where a bullet had entered.

The imperials all swung in succession at Kintoki which he quickly moved to parry. An opening was spotted and he spun his blade up before bring it up through his enemy’s warm, removing in a splash of blood. With his enemy’s sword arm gone, he quickly followed up with a horizontal slash through his neck.

As the fight with the remaining two soldiers continued, three more came running up from the hill, rifles in arm. Upon spotting their target, they each took a knee and laid their sights on the bloodied Samurai. With their rifles aimed, they placed their fingers on the triggers.

“Ten! Jin!” A voice called out from behind the soldiers, distracting them their shot, only to find Soga quickly descending upon them! Before they could move to attack, he puffed his cheeks and bellowed out a plume of freezing air. The enemy found themselves immobilized.

Soga swooped through the group of frozen soldiers, long doman blades out stretched. He landed with an elegant slide, his enemies spraying blood from torsos as they dropped to the ground, no longer frozen.

He ducks a sword as it nearly takes off his head, spinning around and kicking his assailant off his feet before swiftly slicing off his head. Another back-up party of three, now two, had arrived to help with the assault. With one comrade already gone, they prepare to attack only to find that their target had vanished from their site. “Where did they go?!” one shouted.

The other remaining soldier lets out a yelp as he finds the ninja squatting on his shoulders. His blades move in smooth circular motion, removing yet another victim’s head.

As the last remaining soldier spins to retaliate, Soga jumps off the now headless man and explodes in to a cloud of smoke. Not even a second after the cloud of smoke was formed, four kunai fly out and strike the soldier. One in the head, one in the ribs, and one more on the arm; the last one shooting in to the ground.

Once the dust settled, Soga was quick to approach Toki as he sheathed his katana. “Senpai! Senpai! Are you alright?!” he calls out, eyes fixed on his wound.

“I’m fine!” Kintoki shouts. “Get everybody out here, and make sure Suzu keeps her eyes closed!” he speaks in a commanding tone as he runs to the horses. They hadn’t scattered far but it wouldn’t take him too long to get them rallied towards the carriage.

Once the others exited the building, he had help getting the horses set up with the carriage. One after another everyone would rush on to the carriage, while two of the least suspicious looking people took the reigns.

Suzu did her best to keep her eyes closed as they walked by to the carriage. She opened her eyes for just a moment, only to spot a band of mutilated corpses. She winces and closes her eyes once again.

Once everyone was settled on the carriage, they took off; heading to their next backup hideout. Suzu sniffled and remained quiet as they bumped along the road, while Kintoki and Soga stared at each other for a moment; before one spoke up.

“Hey, you got a little…” Kintoki reaches a hand up and whirls a finger at Soga’s bloodied nose.

Soga reaches up with one hand to wipe at his bloodied nose, while whirling his finger on his other hand in the same motion at Kintoki’s bullet wound.. “You got a little…”

It would be a long ride, and eventually they’d have to stop for a moment to remove Kintoki’s bullet and dress his wound.

What an exhausting night.

[tshadowspanner]

Oh, Simple Thing

((Before I get into the meat and potatoes of all of this, I’ll make this clear. This is not an excerpt from an actual RP, nor is it an event that’s going to be happening any time soon. I had an idea whilst listening to music last night, and the human behind the creation of the character AnaNorah Preston has given me permission to write with full creative freedom. This story is based several years from current time in WoW. Hope you enjoy!))

I walked across an empty land.

     The forest was nearly silent as the small gnome made his way to his usual meeting place with the human AnaNorah. He followed the road from Westfall towards Stormwind, berating himself for not having left earlier and ensuring that he’d be there on time, but he knew that it wouldn’t be an issue. Perhaps he’d receive a gently jab from her about the time that it had taken him to arrive, but that’s all. He enjoyed the training sessions him and his long-time student had, and he knew that she was the same. His face, now weathered by the ravages of time, was split by a gentle smile. 

“Who knew...”

     His voice was gravelly and low, but there was an unmistakable hint of melancholy behind the words he said. Slowly, his left hand rose, fingers combing through his immaculately kept facial hair, now a distinct salt and pepper grey.

“Hmm...I should hurry.”

I knew the pathway like the back of my hand.

     The Gnome had finally made it to the patch of grass that they’d long since designated as their meeting ground, a small way from the entrance to Stormwind. He broke from the cover of trees, and saw her waiting there, standing with hands on her hips, single foot tapping impatiently on the ground, but she couldn’t keep the smile from splitting her features like it always did.

“Master Tweaks, how could you possibly be late -AGAIN-. I thought that we had made it perfectly clear to be here at five o’clock on the dot! It’s clearly five minutes past five!”

I felt the earth beneath my feet, 

Sat by the river  and it made me complete.

    Tweaks grinned at the young girl, chest rumbling in a short chuckle as he moved forward. He remembered very clearly every lesson they’d had with one another. The first time they’d gone into the shadows with one another, her first kill, open combat training.  Every moment of her presence, of the look she gave over her shoulder to him, like she was looking at her very own father. 

“I think we made it perfectly clear that training doesn’t begin until I feel like it, Owl. After all, I’m the teacher, aye?”

      He’d become used to the looks of exasperation she got on her face whenever he had an obnoxious retort to her words, and as his eyes scanned her he noticed, as he did every time they trained, that time had been rather kind to her, where it had started to take its toll on him. 

     Her hair was still golden like the noonday sun, and her smile as bright. She had remained short, growing only another inch in the dozen some-odd years that they’d trained with one another. The years of being the head of a Noble household had taken its toll in the shape of worry lines on the girls face, but it didn’t do much but give her a slightly more motherly look about her.

She opened her mouth to speak.

But that’s when it all went wrong.

A far-off gunshot was heard, and both of their heads snapped around. Tweaks’ body suddenly vanished, reappearing a mere foot in front of Ana, tackling her to the earth below, bullet tearing the air above their heads with an ear-splitting whistle. They belly crawled several meters until they sat behind a tree, both breathing calmly despite the stress of the situation. Neither needed to speak to the other, they simply looked at the other and nodded, both bodies vanishing from sight.

Oh simple thing, where have you gone?

     Ana was assigned to find the shooter, Tweaks was meant to draw the attention of the would be assailants by remaining in the training grounds. Soon enough, the shooter was found by Ana, his blood draining from his body, stunned look on his face as he died on a small hillock a quarter mile away from where they were training. Ana had killed as she always had, instilling fear, and caring for them as they fell to the grave. A small note was on the ground next to the mans gun, and she couldn’t save herself from her own curiosity, picking up the piece of parchment.

“We’ve had our eye on him for some time.”

   Her blood ran cold and she began dashing back to where they had previously joined one another to train.

I came across a fallen tree.

I felt the branches of it looking at me.

     The sight was a chilling one, five bodies laying dead around a single human and a lone gnome, both circling one another, daggers in both hands of both men. Their battlefield was one that had been soaked through with the blood of the men whom had dared to face Tweaks, but there was only so much one gnome could do, and the final man that he faced was as skilled as he. 

     They lunged in and out, striking and parrying with dizzying speed, both vanishing and reappearing at dizzying angles in attempts to confuse the other. Tweaks was bleeding from at least half a dozen cuts that had ripped their way through the leather of his jerkin, left hand barely holding onto the dagger due to the nerves that were deadening from pain and loss of blood.

    Ana would arrive just in time to watch him perform a series of feinting lunges and shadow-stepping maneuver, thoroughly confusing the man this time. As the man whipped around to where he felt the Gnome would appear, he was met by exactly what he expected, and something he didn’t quite expect. He desperately thrust his dagger out, driving it through the stomach of the Gnome, a wolfish grin of victory splitting his angry features as he twisted his cruel dagger in the wound, ensuring a bleeding death.

This all happened no more than a second before a dagger found itself lodged in his throat, both of the bodies collapsing in a heap. 

       Tweaks rose, bloodsoaked and sweaty, lenses of his goggles cracked and flickering, hand pressing to the wound in his gut as he scuttled away from the fallen man, and rolled onto his back, breathing ragged.

“Tweaks!”

Tweaks’ head snapped around at the voice, seeing the paling face of his apprentice. She sprinted towards him, wading through the bodies and blood so that she may come to his aid.

But he knew.

Is this the place we used to know?

Is this the place that I’ve been dreaming of?

Ana came to the body of the gnome, pulling his goggles down so that she could see the light in his eyes. He laughed gently, action immediately causing him to break out into a horribly wet, hacking cough.

“Looks like I got in a bit over my head...”

Ana’s eyes filled with tears, and they spilled over, dropping onto the bloodstained body of the Gnome. She was horrified and confused. Tweaks had always made it out alive, no matter how stupid and no matter how horrible the odds. Why now?

“Hold on, Master Tweaks, we’ll get you help, I promise. Just stay with me.”

She reached to the communication device that Tweaks had made for the entirety of the house, speaking rapidly into it, requesting assistance from any and all healers and medics that could report. She was cut short by a gentle, constant weakening grip on her arm, and she looked down.

Tweaks looked calm, and sure. It was his time, and he smiled at her. The girls hand went limp, body racked with great sobs as she looked at her mentor, the man who thought of her as a daughter, and whom she thought of as a father. She couldn’t hear the croons that he offered to her in attempts to comfort her, but once again she was pulled out of the hysteria by a soft squeeze by his hand on her wrist. Her vision was blurry, and Tweaks was slipping.

“Ana...I’ve one last request from you...I want to go there...One last time.”

If you have a minute why don’t we go talk about it somewhere only we know?

This could be the end of everything.

So why don’t we go somewhere only we know?

Tweaks didn’t need to specify where he meant, she knew. It would be the first time she’d ever had to pull him into the shadows with her, rather than vice versa. She lifted him up, holding him firmly against her, and they went to the shadows together.

The blood that poured from his wounds was hot and pungent, the world grey around them, and the cold that was usually no more than a lack of heat was chilling to the bone. It set both of them shivering. 

Ana had started sobbing once more, but had held back the hysteria to spend the final moments that she ever would with her master. He rose his left hand shakily, barely able to keep it up for long enough to place it on her face, tears pouring from his own eyes as he looked at her.

“Little Owl, you’ve made me proud. Prouder than you know. But I’m afraid this is...”

He went silent, arm going slack as it fell, body going entirely limp in her arms. One final sob racked her body as Ana looked down at the rapidly paling form in her arms, arms pulling the slight form in close to her, the last expression ever made on his face the gentle, fatherly smile.

“Goodbye.” She finished for him.

Minutes later, the retainers and medics would come across the scene, both of the bodies visible to the eye once more, but they’d be unable to minister any help to anyone, and they’d offer little comfort to their Lady Preston. It was hours before she would release the small figure, both of them soaked in his blood and the blood of their assailants.

Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?

@ananorah

[glopratchet]

battle-actions

Back hop Evade Item scroll and use it to teleport behind the guards You start casting Fireball at them as you run past "You're a wizard! Item selection menu Wizard: The name says it all for rest of the day Nothing Cast first Move faster- drains energy Move faster- drains energy for rest of the day Dive With appropriate resource management, there is no fight you can't win roll Your Action? Dodge Dodge roll Fast verticle slash Flip backwards for extra distance Backstep pure CC Attack item fast horizontal slash You are still beneath the great bridge Fast horizontal slash kills the lizards fast With loot! The three finger trophy Fast horizontal slash kills the lizards fast - the magic damaging all three finger lizards One finger you stab with blade, another slash turns the tail Three slashes kill Verticle sweep Verticle sweep- the magic damaging all three finger lizards Shild slap catches the tail But one magic jab ignores the shild block Shild slap catches the tail slash deflects bullet Reverse overhead Reverse overhead slash deflects bullet Roundhouse slash deflects bullet Reverse drop slash deflects bullet Roundhouse slash deflects bullet Downward shield smack Suddenly he is very out of ammunition- in fear he gives a strangled cry Downward shield smack deflects bullet Forward sheild bash knocks him backwards Greatshield bash is going to crush assailant Forward sheild bash knocks him backwards Powerful lunging strike is well blocked, but you twist and hit again with the base of your shield Reflecting strike, then front step and stab- super deadly combo Powerful lunging strike is well blocked, Backstep charge attack You could do many things with your fast strike, but its lack of power puts you into a hardcore gear and you charge the man - spin and land cutting the man's gun arm off at the elbow with a powerful overhand strike Classic jump attack Classic jump attack- spin and land cutting the man's gun arm off at the elbow with a powerful overhand strike Lunge feint to gain range- then leap past his assault with a quick strike Lunge feint to gain range- then leap past his assault with a quick strike Very very slow horizontal swing nearly cuts the gunner in half Very very slow horizontal swing nearly cuts the gunner in half but the hit is very solid and knocks you back Quick maneuver, its not much but it'll buy you a year of life Basic block Basic block, Mounting talent allows for near perfect counterattack This feels amazing- this is why you're a soldier Mounting talent allows for near perfect counterattack you flip aroudn, the blade cutting deep into the dragon hide armor Quick shield bash knocks off his head Downward swing Downward swing you flip aroudn, Rising slash has him stab through the armor but not deeper than the flesh Sidestep dodge That'll work Rising slash has him stab through the armor but not deeper than the flesh Unsheath attack leaves head very exposed Glancing hit, takes off a leg Beatdown! The blade goes horizontal and the broken helve becomes improvised weapons Unsheath attack leaves head very exposed Drop spin strike, cut into these bones Downward shield smash knocks him against the wall, losing purchase and a breath Swipe Swipe deflects bullet ing lunge blade is savage and effective Forward dash has you slashing throat before they can react Swing Beatdown begins with broken helve lodged into their eye Swinging lunge blade is savage and effective to the left knocks gun away Quick attack has now turned into a disarm, gross Opening to the neck causes mega bleeding out Strike Strike to the left knocks gun away Twin veritcal strike finisher It was a noble death is well blocked but their parry fails and your heavy blade goes deep into their chest Fast double swipe Fast double swipe is well blocked but their parry fails and your heavy blade goes deep into their chest and their block fails, your clawed gauntlet gutting them in a way that is not safe to continue Right arm severed and the blade digs deep Flurry of strikes Flurry of strikes and their block fails, Double spin strike is dodged but gauntlet strike is heavy Right across the throat Bleeding bad but still putting up a fight Double spin strike is dodged but gauntlet strike is heavy has you land the strike, its not a big opening but it was all you needed Move your head and your friend gets stabbed Attack in midair Attack in midair has you land the strike, has over extended you Cool as a cucumber is the enemy gunner, who downs you with precise shooting Damned dual pistols! Unsheath attack has over extended you Weak stab doesn't injure too much, but its enough a shock and hurt to make you pause Shying away helps nothing so you decide to act Weak stab doesn't injure too much, attack has you remove his head Rake and Bleed is what wins He goes down to a charge attack Overhead smash Overhead smash attack has you remove his head Fade slash - jump back to avoid gun fire Parry - twist and stab Beatdown is what will fix all this A lucky shot blows off your hand Fade slash - jump back to avoid gun fire won't let you down Move like water and strike in the Right places- that's what will win it for you! Spirt blade i Spirt blade i won't let you down Spirt blade ii your friend has left you Crescent kick feints and you knock gun away No time for pride, a punch will finish this fight Spirt blade ii your friend has left you just relax and let the essence of Combat come to you! One final two hit coming up! Finishing strike has you stabbing through armor and finishing his beating heart Spirt blade iii Spirt blade iii just relax and let the essence of Combat come to you! does mega damage and gets him while he's stunned Armor deflects the main attack, but they are now bleeding to death Sprit roundslash Sprit roundslash does mega damage and gets him while he's stunned Downward chop easily breaks armor and its design flaws Natural oddash and finalize this fight One punch ends this, thankfully Good practice! Downward chop easily breaks armor and its design flaws Horizantal swing lands for severing limbs Headshot and now they can't even recollect themselves Spinning strike lands, severing a limb Horizantal swing lands for severing limbs seems like a waste but it was a heavy hit Divide and conquer! Lunging strike, and they take too long to recover on the ground Wide horizontal swing Wide horizontal swing seems like a waste but it was a heavy hit ing attack, guarantees the blade cut across all 7 openings Heavy blow and they landed right in front of you Upswinging attack, the blade and use a special control of essence Drill, finishing the job Fist strike fails to keep distance but nabbed the blade and let it drop Supercharge Supercharge the blade and use a special control of essence Drill, then gets you out of danger, coming up behind allies Looking at the heavy armor against piercing bullets A sudden rank 3 opening in the back! Roll Roll then gets you out of danger, Devastating supercharge combo on backstab Just to the side so you can be behind them and defeat them in 2 steps Channel ALL your essence into a finishing strike! Devastating supercharge combo on backstab Hack n slash you take out one eye and a mouth MOST important rule of Hunting: Be the last one standing As gore flies you become closer than friends Hack n slash you take out one eye and a mouth Crazy round slash finisher only works for you Gladiator by yourself so finish him for good! Overhead vertical slash aiming it right for the throat Crazy round slash finisher only works for you trying to hack of the arm AND take him off his horse Riposte kills his horse, you take off his head! Sideways chop Sideways chop trying to hack of the arm AND take him off his horse Golf swing beheads him and lets him know how you feel Quick beheading strike while he laughs off your pitiful attacks Golf swing beheads him and lets him know how you feel lopping off both feet and half the legs Waiting for them lets you lull them into a trapped space Overhead that connects to the ground Overhead that connects to the ground, lets you finish with perfect timing Overhead attack Quick attack, and it's all over but the groans Two stabs finish off the dying enemies Overhead attack lets you finish with perfect timing attack decapitates Something lizardy Sideways finishing move strikes the killing blow Somehow you fell and aren't moving Fine Sideways bump Sideways bump attack decapitates backwards and you shrug off the hurt Upswing attack that takes off both of their arms Weapon construction is more your thing One Super pound Two Super pound backwards and you shrug off the hurt of the blade, right to the top of the head Beat down style hits don't do anything but hurt your hands Nice vertical clearence Nice vertical clearence of the blade, counter to try something else Channel the force around you AND USE IT TO SLICE THEM APART! Reset combo Reset combo counter to try something else Falling overhead hit lands right into his shoulder with slow force Natural combo counter gets you to hacking the next! Rotate around for a horizontal strike to saw through him Falling overhead hit lands right into his shoulder with slow force Super burst finisher to end the bloody mess After pounding the corpses you finish off the dying ones Perfect execution, makes my heart warm! Super burst finisher to end the bloody mess Ultra burst end explodes through his chest 2nd in command finishes off last two! Rotate behind for a deadly attack he won't recover from Ultra burst end explodes through his chest to hacked off leftovers gladiator style Thrusting attack that gets stuck middle of his spine When corpse won't die, chop right through the spine Revert back Revert back to hacked off leftovers gladiator style for luck Finish him off by speeding up attacks repeatedly Loop into upswing roundslash combo Loop into upswing roundslash combo for luck Tremendous burst damage result in overkill Giant gladiator created for killing sees you're the king! Charge at you but roll under to disarm! Tremendous burst damage result in overkill Charge up shot saw him fall of log Topple the giant killing machine with it's own arm! Didn't need to get that close again Charge up shot saw him fall Charge up shot an expense of staminia Slamming killshots in there for the win! Improvised lead pipes do count, right? Hidden gaffi hook'd saw them from afar dropkick to finish Catch something from the side to turn their panic to your advantage! Killing each other by mistake, could be more helpful Attack while in mid air Attack while in mid air, Seige mode- constant damage and stopping power is the goal Trap yourself in a compromised state Seige mode- constant damage and stopping power is the goal Universal damage boost helps skin deflection kill Beat them down with your bare hands! Superior blocking skill completely nullifies this attack Universal damage boost helps skin deflection kill Shoulder tackle when they turned around, wasn't expecting it Speeding up spear threw you off your balance! Quick get backs down to horseback riding speed Shoulder tackle when they turned around, to let em phase through Then a bullet passed through it all Lord Empty sees his dead friend, ready to attack Defense down Headshot turn back out of fear! Defense down to let em phase through Spits a glowing green ball to paralyze you! And now everything seems to be moving very slowly Attack after experiencing half your attacks Spits a glowing green ball to paralyze you! are the counter to other attacks! Defend and run from the deadly attack Slow exit while allowing foes through, not the door you were gambling Ahmagahd fire balls Ahmagahd fire balls are the counter to other attacks! back followed with a spear stab! Favourite dead swing through the air followed up by repeat Two incoming slash attacks from both sides, use body for cover! Tailwhip Tailwhip back followed with a spear stab! Ground pound took them out, but forces you awake Running start was the only thing stopping injury Ground pound took them out, with super strength, kill them all Relish your smashing victory with an earth shattering roar! Dig up boulders Dig up boulders with super strength, Drunken charge blocked with spears, take it out on face! Far reach swing to support attacks Kill the next one by letting him run into your spear Drunken charge blocked with spears, or not, man vs man is decided with fists Tremors into be space Get rammed by horns but get up anyway Tremors or not, enough to turn the tide Use a laser to sweep in multiple directions Bullet barrage made it close range; (Optional) Vape like damage to distract or kill most them! sends you attacking when most wouldn't go near Use a laser to sweep in multiple directions, Frenzy Get 5 under feet and push them back repeatedly Quick speed adjustments have them all confused with momentum Frenzy sends you attacking when most wouldn't go near helps dodge out of the way Long range bullets are neutralized by a calm water source Diplomat needs to hurry and make up his mind Built in minds eye Built in minds eye helps dodge out of the way or is that flash piece? Takes you off guard with his doubledash attack All sharpness levels bounce off his face ers burn up all the oxygen in the room! Make it explode while they make demands instead Creating your own tnt card, takes finesse and timing Fire chomp Fire chompers burn up all the oxygen in the room! ruined the furniture Charging at you and staying at range, each has it's benefits Deflected slash with your pistol results in an uppercut! Three large fireball explosions Three large fireball explosions ruined the furniture Throw down smoke bombs and keep them there While they are blind, make the opening fatal! Quick grab and him breaking skin first before anything else! Throw down smoke bombs and keep them there Flash bombs are annoying but give you time to crush the guards! Perfect accuracy means keeping them alive is a possibility Snipers shouldn't even shatter your calm state of mind Flash bombs are annoying but give you time to crush the guards! with spear flying, it's lethal and flashy! Hesitation blows your cover and get you shot in the neck Bulldozer run Or a bullet, through the heart Bulldozer run with spear flying, Shattered omens in the wind, spirits lost Hurry now, run you fool! You lose your front rudder and topple to a sword strike! Shattered omens in the wind, Sweeping laser dot catches all and burns your arm off Caught completely off guard with a fiery punch to the head! Not locking onto blue glow from eyes means instant death Sweeping laser dot catches all and burns your arm off Furious rajang- perpertually enraged and never stops fighting Bets everything on one sword swing, it wont connect Bolts racking your body to shreds in some places Furious rajang- perpertually enraged and never stops fighting incredible speeds! Head to head clash that can only end in blood Your lose your head when you frantically make one swing Gets worse when he acutally becomes enraged- Gets worse when he acutally becomes enraged- incredible speeds! A huge damage boost when you pull one foot from under him A large sword swing barely dodged meant an obvious winOp fires back, wincing at his melodramatic threats A huge damage boost when you pull one foot from under him You dont deliver until you are extremely competant and far from here Unconscious tyol hits you with a flying elbow The armored tyol gets up and makes sure youre dead You dont deliver until you are extremely competant and far from here way out of this one, the fall kilss you instantly Deflecting makes an explosive sound and throws you backwords Cant slime you Cant slime you way out of this one, 180 tail whip is deadly but destroys his own footing Both you and the elder hit simultaneously You talk him into a breath stealing embrace, then silence him 180 tail whip is deadly but destroys his own footing kills before his head stop spinning He tries to run and nearly pierces his own heart, lucky dodge! You got talent kid but youre too slow! Bulldozer run kills before his head stop spinning Snowmanned at range with high velocity glass, you depart with a whimper Kills you pretty quickly despite your best defenses up Snowmanned at range with high velocity glass, Sweeping ice laser and cold damage pierce anything but the heaviest armor His shock reflection and heavy plate kill you instantly Natural 2 closes your eyes once and for all Sweeping ice laser and cold damage pierce anything but the heaviest armor and raw savagery crushs anything you could think of Killed by one directed punch right through your blessed armor Hulking size Hulking size and raw savagery crushs anything you could think of Drop a cannonbal rate weapon in your hands and try to hit their broadside Too little, too late Nothing but a faint heartbeat left Drop a cannonbal rate weapon in your hands and try to hit their broadside and that sums up our big list I would advise you to read over the different scenarios, as some are different in certain circumstances In the most part, the quicker and more efficiently you dispatch your opponent, the better Make sure to gear yourself according to the situation Interpersonal skills such as lying, cheating, and fatal rolling would also help Anyway, there you go "Thanks, don't mention it You nod meekly to her voice Sound out CONGRATULATIONS! I did it Now lemme out of here Let me run free and be pilot Sure Soon, you begin to see a faint white once more then dark You've feinted and slumped out of your chair while I might make a second appearance, you won't! Labor and Class By overseer standards You're an idiot Great success You haven't dropped any and you haven't cheated on any either Yippee least you tried Indeed Hi it's me again! Can you turn the sarcasm down a bit? My circuits are melting Yeah me again