#i just needed him to have that lanky strange teenage boy energy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

gojology · 3 years

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Fireworks.

the request :

pairing : not technically a pairing.. but lets just say gojo x female reader warnings : angst and cursing, no editing. wordcount : 2561 a/n : this physically hurt me to write thanks anon. aha all jokes aside i’m so sorry for not making this quick enough, i finally got enough time to finish it and it’s not even that good :( thank u SO much for ur kind words omg u got me feelin like <333333333

You stare at him, and he stares back, you’re sure he’s unblinking behind those shades of his. You knew what would happen after this confrontation, after all, you were the one who had asked him to meet you here. It’s a small, calm park. The atmosphere is still, and the shrill sounds of cicadas are the only thing penetrating the deafening silence between the two of you. “Hey.” he finally speaks up, sounding a bit too impatient for your liking. You flinch a little, and your fist tightens. It was like he never learned how to introduce himself politely. You take a deep breath in and exhale, your breath comes out in clouds of smoke. You remember when Shoko had given you those cigarettes one day and Gojo slapped it out of your slack hands, Geto and Gojo laughing at your flushed face, your heart twists. Truth be told, you didn’t even know why you were thinking the world was ending- it wasn’t. Breaking up with your fellow peer was awkward to say the least, but there were only 4 of you in the jujutsu class, yourself included. It would be undeniably dreadful to see his lanky figure dotting around the back of the class with Geto, and to have to work with him for everything else. “Hey.” you reply, your words dripping with venom. “C’mon, cut to the chase.” he waved his hand a few times in the air as a dismissal of the conversation, a half eaten lollipop dangling dangerously from those limp long fingers. It makes you hate him even harder. Couldn’t he read the room? “I don’t have time for chit-chat, you know?! The strongest needs some rest. I’m human like the rest of us! Sheesh, Jujutsu is so demanding....” “We need to break up.” is all that slips from your lips, and even you’re shocked it came out that carelessly. You wanted to stop resisting, to stop holding back and let loose the long river of hatred and misery you had for this man- no, a boy, he was a boy. A strong wind blows against your warm face, and the lollipop drops onto the grass without another word. Gojo gapes at you dumbly, and in return you look down to study that glistening in the moonlight lollipop, it’s pink and ants are already crawling on their new found prey. Your shoes are slightly dirty, and you could see- “Are you serious?” he scoffed as if it was a joke. It’s not, and you hate being taken like a joke. You weren’t, and that’s all Gojo Satoru did- take everything as a joke, everything was childs play to him. You were looking for a serious relationship, and him? He was looking for sex and quick make out sessions. “Wait- you’re not joking?” he laughs again, but it trails off, you doubt it actually affected him. “Of course I’m not joking. Why would I joke about shit like this?” you spat back. You didn’t care about his feelings right now. You deserved some sort of medal for dealing with him, any sort of compensation really. it seemed to you like the relationship didn’t quite matter for whatever reason. If he wanted to be fuckbuddies he could’ve just said so- But you still can’t wrap your head around why he kept you, he didn’t throw you away, and you falter. You wanted to be his girlfriend in some ways, in others you wanted to punch him in the face with as much cursed energy as possible. Gojo takes his glasses off, slipping them into his jacket’s pocket. It seems like he doesn’t want to talk, but you press on. “I’m fucking tired, Satoru. You treat me like bullshit. I’m not your-” you take a short breather, tears beginning to dawn at the corner of your eyes. “I’m not your fucking doll. And I never, ever WILL BE. I’ve hung onto this stupid fucking relationship long enough and the amount of dedication you poured into this isn’t enough. I deserve better.” Shit. You hated rambling like that. Scratch that, you hated confrontations as a whole, this would be sure to take a toll on you later. Turning your back on him, you allow those tears to finally fall. Tears that had been shut in long enough had finally seen the light of day. You wipe the trails away with the already wet sleeve of your hoodie, a large trembling frown adorned your features. You can’t hide your sniffling even if you tried, and before you know it you can’t even prevent the floodgates from bursting. The tears seeped into the dirt, creating some sort of rhythm as they fell from your cheeks. “Hey-” he places those hands on your shoulder that made your knees go weak, it’s gentle, and he slightly caresses you. It’s strangely intimate for the situation you found yourself in, but you’re still mortified. Why did you enjoy his touch? It feels like you’re in this position for ages, his hands on your shoulder, your back facing him. Somehow, someway, you can taste salty tears and you didn’t remember drinking any, for a split second you feel disgusted, at you, at him, at the world. A small noise leaves your throat. “It’s okay.” he finally spoke, was that a hint of sorrow? Never mind that, he was actually taking this seriously. What a turn of events. He took it better then you certainly thought, especially since this would be a definite blow to his big ego. You turn to face him, maybe as an act of superiority, hell like you knew. Peculiarly, there are tears in his eyes as well. Crocodile tears, probably. He’s most likely trying to guilt trip you- hah, like you’d fall for that. You knew better. “It’s okay.” he repeated again, brushing those tears away with his roughed up thumb, you’re mortified. Why were you allowing him to touch you? A calm silence settles between the two of you, but shortly after you hear the rustling of cloth. Gojo’s taking his jacket off? About to speak, your mouth snaps shut as he placed the impossibly large jacket around your body, small compared to his. Instinctively, you allow it, but your mind is cursing you for not lashing out on him- why did he still care about you, anyways? Gojo takes a step back, and you realize you’re now wearing his jacket. His gaze directed at yours, eyelashes fluttering. Your lips are tingling, and for some unbeknownst reason you wonder how a kiss would feel right now. A part of you still wanted the relationship. “Take care.” And with that, he twirled around with a hint of flair, hands shoved deep into his jeans pockets; wind howling against your ears as he did so. He was finally leaving you, but that wasn’t what you envisioned, you wanted to leave him- not him leave you. You watched him stroll off, heading to where ever he came from. That was how your first, and last relationship ended. ‧₊˚✩彡. The thought of this abandoned relationship nestled at the back of your head, and it had been for several years. It was like it happened yesterday. His glasses still resided on your nightstand, sitting on the same spot that you had hastily dropped it on all those years ago, gathering dust quickly as you couldn’t quite look at it. Gojo’s jacket was at the very back of your closet, and you’d advert your gaze to somewhere else- anywhere else, whenever you saw the wretched pitch-black sleeves that were twice the size of your arms. You had taken a rather looked down upon jujutsu path, one that you knew only one other person had done before you. Nanami Kento was his name, from what you remembered. Sure, you still kept in touch with Shoko, but that was about it. Today was one of those days, Shoko would invite you to some sort of establishment to eat, perhaps make small talk about what had been happening in your life, and that was that. Admittedly, you missed that childish relationship with her so badly- but you could never tell her about that. Japan at night was always a treat though, that was certainly a fact. Perhaps Shoko was thinking about other things when she took you to the Japanese night market, though you didn’t blame her- after all the fireworks festival was today, if you remembered correctly. Stalls filled with games and cheap street-snacks wafted about in the air, sweet tangy sauce, noodles, your stomach grumbled as you thought about taking a bite on the horribly unhealthy junk food. “Here, Y/N. I’ve heard this takoyaki is really good.” You and Shoko had finally found an empty bench to sit at, and for some reason the muddy green color painted onto the wooden bench made your stomach lurch- it was the same shade that you saw nearby when breaking up with Gojo. Shoko gives you this lukewarm yet kind smile, enough for you to give her a small grin to her in return, and you take the still hot container out of her gentle hands. You plop the doughy deliciousness into your salivating mouth, and immediately you’re giddy. Savoring the taste of the thick brown sauce coating your pallet. You had to admit, Shoko, Geto, and... Gojo had amazing taste in food. Your tastebuds had instantaneously dulled as soon as you parted ways with the trio. “Shoko-” you mumble, your mouth still stuffed, you cover your mouth and try to lower the sound of your chewing. “This is really good! How much was it?” Shoko’s eyebrow quirks, and she leans in closer to you, “What was that?” About to repeat yourself, you drink in the scene around you first. Cheerful children roaming the streets; too past their bedtime. Angsty teenagers and the many lanterns strung highly above everyone’s heads, how bright everything was. Then you see it. Someone large, atleast, significantly larger as opposed to the general crowd bustling in the streets. You couldn’t be mistaken, he had the same wild white hair- except it’s gelled up into spikes. He’s wearing a mauve darkish-purple uniform, it seems, a cute shopping bag swinging side by side as he took long strides. One thing you had to note was a blindfold, though. Gojo’s not wearing those classic shades that was practically his signature. You peer over at Shoko, who’s now frantically waving at Gojo, humming, his chin tipped towards the clear canvas of a sky, dotted with many white stars. He seems livelier somehow, an aura of friendliness radiating instead of arrogance, and you drop your takoyaki in suit. He notices you. And then he notices Shoko. “...’Scuse me. Comin through.” he maneuvered himself through the already annoyed crowd, muttering quick polite apologies before finally freeing himself from the tight bundle of people. A large toothy grin is displayed for the world to see on his face, you feel like you’re about to vomit everything you had eaten today. Your eyes scan the bag he’s holding, it contrasted heavily from the dark color scheme of whatever he was clad in; pastel yellow with a cute light green mascot chewing happily on mochi. In bubble letters above it were the words, “It’s a good day for yummy food.” “Shoko!” he exclaims joyously, giving her a quick hug. “Hey, haven’t seen you in a while outside of work.” Then, Gojo glances at you, atleast that’s what you assume he’s doing, the blindfold was really confusing you. He politely smiled, not as big as the one that he gave Shoko, though. “Long time no see, Y/N.” You clear your throat and nod in agreement. “You too.” Polite chatter between the two of them ensued, and you steadily got more bored as the time went on, checking your phone and stealing quick stares at the two of them. You want to comment, to be included, but you doubt anyone really cared for you right now. “...How are you?” you say bluntly, blinded by boredom, and immediately you regret it. Shoko chuckles awkwardly, looking at you with those tired eyes of hers. “Was that for me or Gojo?” Fuck it, if you were gonna go out, you might as well do it now. “Gojo.” “Shit. Putting me in the spotlight like this?” he stands back up from leaning down to talk to Shoko eye-to-eye, now turning to look at you, pausing. “You’re even more straightforward then I remember, and I thought that was impossible.” “Yeah.” you finally say after too many seconds of silence. It seemed like he was hinting at something. “I guess we just grow as people, even though I thought that was basically impossible for you.” you cheekily retort back, crossing your arms over your chest with a smug smirk now proudly playing at your lips. “AND you got sassier? Never quite grew outta the brat phase.” taking a seat between the empty space between the two of you with a huff, his right leg placed above the knee of his left, his thumb plays with the hem of his blindfold, pulling it just a bit so that you could see his snow white eyelashes, alongside with a singular eye. It’s like time stops as soon as you see them, and it’s like Shoko isn’t closely surveying the two of you, obviously perplexed with this sudden increase of the intensity of conversation. You see a split second of something flickering in those eyes of his, you’re not quite sure what it could quite be.. Vulnerability? “Can’t believe my eyes.” pulling his blindfold back down. They’re still as breathtaking as you had imagined them to be. He shrugged, leaning back into the bench casually. For a while, the three of you just watch the stall directly in front of you- it’s a goldfish stall. Gojo had gotten you one when the two of you were still dating. Shit. Why weren’t you over such a silly relationship? It wasn’t like you still had feelings for him, but there was still this emotion you couldn’t shake off. It clung onto you like a leech. “It’s been so long since we’ve relaxed with each other like this.” Shoko mused aloud, turning to look at the two of you. The words are so faint, you’re barely able to hear her subtle voice. At this point, colorful fireworks started bursting into the air- every shade of color could be seen. Vibrant greens, blues, reds, a loud crackling is all the ear can hear, aside from the loud cheering of over joyous children. Both of you are unanswering. Vaguely, you remember the first time you saw the fireworks. Lo and behold, you remember wisps of Gojo’s white hair that you twisted and played with, your legs wrapped around his head. You felt on top of the world. Now, you found yourself at the bottom of it. There’s a grateful, albeit, sad smile on your face. It wasn’t like it was all sunshine and rainbows for you, no. You felt bitter. Hatred, even, that Gojo matured without you. “Yeah. I miss this.” you say through gritted teeth. If you were to be honest, you did miss them. Geto, Shoko, Gojo, running around pelting each other with scrunched up paper. Not just Gojo. But you guess he’s a big factor as well.

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lexosaurus · 3 years

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Everything Was White: Part 12

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Read on: [ffn] / [ao3]

---

The alarm was blaring.

Danny recognized the noise immediately. But his eyes were still slow to open, his arms were slow to turn off the offending sound, and his brain was slow to recognize that the white ceiling above him was just his bedroom ceiling.

His body was numb. Nothing felt real.

He grabbed his phone off his nightstand and unlocked it. The screen was too bright, but he didn’t care. He’d been through worse. What was a little eye strain to him, really?

There were text messages, but Danny ignored them. The government likely already read them first, so if they were important, Danny would probably have woken up back in his cell rather than his cozy bed.

Ghosts like Danny didn’t get to have comfort. He was unpredictable. Dangerous.

“You’re a feral beast.” Operative O’s deep voice rained down on him. “You need to be trained.”

Danny opened the Twitter app only to be faced with a crushing amount of notifications and his name on the top of the trending list.

He should have felt nervous. Anxiety should have gripped his stomach. But...it didn’t.

He felt nothing.

Numb.

He clicked on his name and scrolled through the tweets. As he suspected, that damn video of him at the PHP littered his screen.

Protests have begun to break out near the health clinic Phantom is attending. [image]

I don’t understand, why doesn’t he just fly into the building or something? Can he not fly?

Is phantom over?

It’s so gross how people feel the need to harass a teenager trying to recover from trauma.

imagine being a teen trying to get emergency mental help and then THAT walks into ur class

What the fuck did the government do to him?

He was numb.

Nobody knew what really happened in there, and Danny wanted so badly to keep it that way. And the worst part was, he thought that if he just forgot about it, tried to move past it, then it would all go away. And no one would ever know.

Except Vlad did find out. Somehow, Vlad had managed to get a hold of classified government files about Danny, and if what he had implied was true, then he had learned everything.

And if Vlad knew, then…

No. He wasn’t going to think about it.

Danny knew from the moment he’d stupidly revealed himself that his life was not his own anymore. He knew that he was going to be nothing but a government possession from that moment till the day he died.

He didn’t deserve to get upset over this.

He pulled up a blank tweet and started typing. His movements were robotic. Stilted. But one slip-up, just one reason for the public to get suspicious, and Danny knew that some seedy corner of the internet would pounce on the opportunity to dig deeper into Danny’s life than he was comfortable with.

Danny Phantom @dannyphantom Thank you everyone for the support. I’m back home with my family and am healing.

Before he could question what he was doing, his finger was already pressing send on the tweet. He watched as almost immediately, notifications popped up in his inbox.

But he didn’t open his notifications, he didn’t look at the replies. Instead, he closed the app and shut his phone off.

He didn’t care anymore.

Maddie knocked on the door and asked him a question, and he responded with the right answer for her to leave. He got up and started his new morning routine of sitting in the shower for ten minutes, getting dressed, brushing his teeth, and heading downstairs for breakfast before leaving for six hours of mandatory therapy.

He stared out the window, watching the morning traffic pass by him. He couldn’t remember if he shampooed his hair or if he just sat under the scalding water. But it was fine. He was just a government-issued robot now. Whatever.

There were people lining the highway when Danny pulled into the PHP center. They were shouting different things, holding different signs, their cameras armed and ready as soon as the GAV came into view. The police were there, making sure no one escaped into the parking lot, and there were therapists waiting outside.

They didn’t know. They had no idea what Danny had gone through, why he was there.

And it didn’t matter. Not to them, not to Danny, not to the police or the news stations filming the scene or to the government or Vlad or anyone else.

Danny wasn’t in charge of his life anymore.

He was only here because the government had decided he could stay free.

For now.

The therapists escorted him into the building. Danny felt hollow. Sick.

No, he was fine.

Maddie hugged him, told him to have a good day, that she’d be back to bring him to more therapy after, and Danny nodded. At least, he thought he remembered to nod. He might not have, though.

There was a window in the lobby. A white van was parked along the street.

The APC news van.

Jazz was right. Danny was just being paranoid about the white van outside of their house before. He was so stupid.

Even if it wasn’t a news van, what would it matter? He didn’t control his life, what would he care if they finished him off in some back alley? What would it matter if they snuck him into their van and held him captive for the rest of his life in some damp containment cell?

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Danny spaced out for the morning meeting. He couldn’t remember if he managed to read off his paper for the other teens. His voice wasn’t working today. His head hurt. His chest hurt. Everything was numb.

They had art therapy today, run by a tall, lanky man with sandy hair and a clean-shaven face. He told the group to paint what they were feeling today, to channel their emotions onto their blank sheets of paper.

But Danny felt nothing. He had nothing to give.

He must have stared at his paper for too long, because the therapist tried to talk to him, ask him if he was alright, if he was having trouble with the exercise.

Danny didn’t respond, instead choosing to pick up the green paint and squeeze some of it directly onto his paper, rules be damned. It was too dark, so he grabbed the white paint and smeared it into the green. The color still wasn’t right, but Danny didn’t know enough about art to make it right, so he just kept spreading green across his paper. A dash of yellow, then some white, more green.

Time was up. His paper was green.

“Good job, Danny. What do you think?” the therapist asked.

Danny stared at the paper, studying the streaks of yellow within the brush strokes. “It’s not the right shade of ectoplasm.”

The day continued with more emotion-managing lessons and group activities but Danny didn’t care and nobody could understand that. He was done with this, he was tired, it didn’t matter.

It was lunchtime, and Danny had no appetite. It felt like he had just eaten breakfast. His stomach was still full, but he had a sandwich sitting in front of him that he needed to eat or else they would tell his parents.

Danny held the sandwich between his fingers. It looked like sandpaper.

He didn’t want to eat it.

The therapist was looking at him. She was probably talking to him too, asking him questions about his day. But Danny ignored her. After all, didn’t he need to eat this lunch? How could he possibly eat and talk at the same time?

The teens were talking around him, but Danny blocked them all out too.

They were noisy.

It was like they weren’t even there.

Danny wasn’t human. He didn’t care.

But you do care.

He didn’t.

He was numb.

Eat up like a good little dog.

I’m not a dog.

Something inside him snapped, and he yanked on his cold core, channeling all his energy to his fingertips. His fingers tingled out of the tangible field, and the sandwich fell to the table.

“Whoa!” The blonde girl jumped, her eyes trained on Danny’s transparent skin.

“Danny?”

There was an audience. Danny had forgotten about them. His core faltered, and the power faded from his fingertips.

He should have felt embarrassed by this emotional display. He should have felt horrified that he’d allowed himself to act so inhuman and disgusting in front of these innocent bystanders.

But he was still numb.

“Sorry,” he said. “I was bored.”

“That was sick!” the brunette boy chimed in. “You can do that on command?”

“Usually.” Danny’s gaze flickered over to the therapist, who was giving him a strange look. He turned his attention back to the fallen sandwich.

Maybe he would get kicked out of the program for this. For being too dangerous. That would probably be for the better. Then he could go free into the world. No more schedule, no more therapy, no more dissecting his emotions or talking about his trauma.

Who cared about his trauma, anyway? Certainly not him.

“So you still have your ghost powers, then?” the blonde girl asked. “People were saying online that you lost them. The government took them or whatever.”

Danny brought his hand up to his face, willing his fingers to fade to invisibility. “They’re locked. But...I...they’re there. I’ll get them back.”

He would get them back. He needed them.

Especially now.

Which was how he found himself sitting quietly outside his mother’s door. Waiting. He should have knocked probably, but he didn’t. Couldn’t. He didn’t know why, he knew he should just go back to his room, go to sleep, stop bothering his parents about this, but he needed his core back.

His mom would understand. She was a ghost biology expert, right? She would get why he needed his core back now.

He raised his fist to knock, but he must have already knocked before because the door opened, revealing his mother dressed in teal pajamas on the other side.

“Danny?” She frowned, her brows pulling cautiously above her eyes. “What are you doing up, sweetie? Everything alright?”

“I, uh—” His voice was scratchy. He broke eye contact, staring down at his lap. “My—my core.”

“Something wrong?”

He licked his lips, his mouth dry. “I need it back.”

“Sweetheart,” she said in a patient tone. “We talked about this.”

“No. you talked.”

She sighed. “Danny, it’s nearly eleven. Can’t this wait till morning?”

“No. No. I need it.”

“I told you, hun, your core and body need time to heal properly first before we make any drastic changes to your physiology. Just give it a few more weeks, alright?”

“Weeks?” Danny’s voice rose in alarm.

“I promise it’ll be all worth it.”

Static rang in his ears, and a steel claw clutched at his stomach.

His mom didn’t understand. Why would she? She was human. Humans would never get it. She didn’t understand.

“No, I can’t…”

“Danny, you need to trust me. Your body needs to rest.”

“You don’t understand.”

She regarded him for a moment before opening her door fully. “Why don’t you come in and we can talk, then. You can tell me why this is so important to you.”

Danny peered inside the door, at the surprisingly average-looking bedroom before him. He could go in, tell his mother just how wrong he felt cut off from his core, how he was being blackmailed by Vlad, how there was a distinct record of every detail of what the Guys in White had done to him, how he had never felt so defenseless, so vulnerable in his life.

But he wouldn’t, and he knew he couldn’t. There was no way he could put it all into words. He was a ghost, she was a human. He couldn’t explain this to her.

Skulker and Vlad may have forced his revelation, but they gave him more secrets than he could ever have dreamt of handling.

Danny turned away. “It’s fine. Good night.”

“Hun…”

“Night, Mom.”

There was a tense silence before Maddie finally relented. “I love you, Danny.”

“You too,” he said reflexively. The words tasted sour on his tongue.

She didn’t understand. If she truly loved him, she would give him his core back right now, but she didn’t.

No, he was just being paranoid. This was just his Obsession talking. He didn’t need his core, he was just as much human as he was ghost. So what if he had to be a little more human for the next few weeks? Isn’t that what he’d always wanted?

To just be a regular human?

Maybe that was what his mother wanted. Maybe that was why she was postponing removing the chip. Maybe she was too afraid to see her son as a monster. A ghost.

But that was crazy. She loved him.

She was telling the truth.

His parents accepted him.

---

“You seem quiet today.”

Danny leaned back against the sofa, his arms crossed and his eyes looking anywhere but at the blonde figure sitting before him. The stress ball sat untouched on the table next to him.

He didn’t feel like doing therapy today. He didn’t want to talk.

His mom was human, his therapist was human. No one was going to get it.

“What’s on your mind, Danny?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.”

He was fine. There was nothing to talk about. Even if there were things to talk about—and there weren’t, this was all just his Obsession going haywire—it wouldn’t matter anyway because he was defenseless and the government was going to kidnap him again. It was only a matter of time.

“You finished your first week with the PHP group today, right? How has that been going?”

“Fine.”

“Can you tell me about some of the activities you’ve been doing?”

“I don’t know.”

She sat there for a moment, as if giving him time to elaborate. But Danny wasn’t going to elaborate. He didn’t feel like talking today.

He looked out the window. The leaves had changed color, the ripe greens fading to yellows, oranges, and reds. In another few weeks, the ground would be littered with fallen leaves.

Summer had barely just begun when he was dragged from his house, drugged, and locked away. And yet, even though his entire world had come to a halt, time still moved on.

The clatter of the therapist’s clipboard falling on a side table jolted Danny out of his musing. He flinched, his eyes snapping over to see the therapist rising from her chair.

She stretched her arms behind her back and walked over to the closet. “You know what? It’s been a long day. Wanna play a game?”

“Um...are we allowed to do that?”

“I don’t see why not.” She grabbed a box out of the closet and placed it down in the center of the room.

Danny peered at it in confusion. “Jenga? Of—of all the games out there, you’re really gonna make me...make me get on the floor for Jenga?”

“Oh, come on, it’s fun.”

“You must throw some wild parties,” he remarked, rolling his eyes. Nonetheless, he slid off the couch and slowly scooched himself towards the middle of the room. As long as he didn’t have to explain why he was two seconds away from ripping his own core out of his chest, he would go along with whatever game she threw at him.

The therapist carefully tipped the box upside down, sliding the lid up to reveal a tower of multi-colored wooden tiles jigsawed together.

“So here’s our marvelous tower,” she said. “You can reach that alright?”

“Yeah.”

“So normal Jenga rules. We switch off trying to remove a piece without causing the tower to collapse. Except, for this game, after you remove a piece, you’re going to pick a card from this stack—” She pointed to a deck of large cards set up next to the Jenga tower. “—and then answer the question on the card that’s the same color. So if I take a purple tile out, I’ll answer the purple question on the card. Got it?”

Danny glanced between the cards and his therapist’s eager face. He was fairly certain Jenga never involved a set of cards before.

Maybe he’d forgotten the rules. It wouldn’t have been the first time his brain had betrayed him. “Am I being quizzed?”

“Don’t worry.” She pushed up the sleeves of her blue cardigan. “They’re just basic therapy questions. Nothing too bad.”

No. This was a trick, wasn’t it? To get him to talk?

He wasn’t going to fall for it. “I thought we weren’t—weren’t doing that...today.”

“The questions aren’t too deep. Honestly, I mostly just use this game as an icebreaker for new clients. But Jenga’s pretty fun all the same.”

He must have still looked too suspicious, because she threw him an easy smile and went, “Here, I’ll go first.” She carefully nudged a green tile out of the stack and drew a card. “Okay, so the green question on here says, ‘Describe yourself in three words.’ Well, I’d say I’m kind, I think I’m rather nerdy, and I’m a bit of a cat lady.”

That...wasn’t so bad. Maybe this would be an easy game.

He doubted any of the questions asked him about his core. Maybe he could loosen up a bit, go along with this icebreaker game, if only for an hour before sinking back into his internal panic.

“Cat lady?” he tried.

She chuckled. “I’m surprised that’s never come up! I have two at home.”

Right, his therapist had a life outside of therapy. Outside of his problems.

But it wasn’t like he knew her name. At this point, it was just too embarrassing to ask. Maybe she had told him that she had cats, and he just couldn’t remember. Maybe he would forget it again tomorrow.

Whatever. It was fine. He couldn’t care about things he didn’t remember. “Uh…” Danny pushed a purple tile out of the tower. “So I just pick up a—um, a card?”

“Yup, and read the purple question.”

Danny looked down at his card and rolled his eyes. “Oh, figures. ‘If you had superpowers, what would they be?’ Well, I’m dead. Does being dead count?”

She laughed, her voice light and airy. “Of all the questions, huh? Okay, let’s modify this a bit. If you could only keep one of your powers, which would you take?”

“Probably intangibility,” Danny said, his lack of hesitation surprising him.

“Oh? Why?”

“Well…” He rubbed the back of his neck. Where the chip was. “It’s the most useful, isn’t it? I can just...you know...I have no physical stuff in my way. I can just phase through any—anything I need. Or—no. Almost anything.”

Not shields. Those could still trap him.

Thankfully, she didn’t try to pry further, just offering him a kind nod and a “that makes sense” before pushing out another Jenga tile. “Blue! Alright, my question is, ‘What is your favorite feature about yourself?’ Hmm...that’s a bit tough, isn’t it? But I think my favorite thing about myself is my hair. When I was a teen, I used to straighten my hair, but then when I got to college, I stopped doing that and just let it be. Now I quite like my curly hair. Okay, your turn!”

“Okay.” Danny leaned over and pushed a red tile out of the tower. “Okay...my quest—question is…‘What is your biggest hope for your future?’ Oh...”

He did want to be an astronaut. But that was before, when he was still human. And then he was caught between thousands of volts of ecto-electricity and that future vanished right before his eyes.

What did he want to do with his life? What did he hope would happen?

He wanted his core back. He couldn’t let himself be so vulnerable for much longer. His chest felt like it was tearing itself apart, he needed to—

Breathe. And answer the question.

What did he hope for his future?

“I don’t know. My future’s kinda...ruined, isn’t it?”

“Try to think on a smaller scale.”

“I…” Danny ran a hand through his hair. He wanted his core back, he wanted to be Phantom, he wanted to protect Amity Park. But he couldn’t say that. It made him sound too ghostly. Too inhuman.

Humans didn’t have these kinds of otherworldly desires. She would think he was a freak if he told her. She wouldn’t know how to react.

“I want to finish PT.”

“That’s a good goal to have.”

“Your turn.”

Humming, she nudged a tile out of the Jenga tower and flipped over a card. “Okay, my question is, ‘What is something you were worried about when you were younger?’ Let me think…oh, here’s one. When I was young, my older sister moved out to live with her boyfriend. It was really scary because I had never lived without her, but we kept in touch and everything turned out okay.”

“I haven’t either. Lived away from Jazz I mean. Like—like for real. But she’s going to college next—next semester. I think she, uh...deferred a semester.”

“And you know, it’s common to feel worried about a sibling moving out. Periods of transition in life can be the most stressful for us, but it’s important to recognize that things will be okay.”

Danny looked down at the carpet. “I guess.”

Some days it felt like Jazz was the only one truly on his side. He was a lab rat, too well known and too hated to ever have a future, forever condemned to a vicious cycle of evading people like the Guys in White and Vlad for the rest of his life. Jazz was leaving him in a few months, his friends would follow in a few years, and in the end, Danny would be alone.

But he was fine with that. He’d accepted it. It was just his life now, there was nothing to say about it.

“It’s my turn, isn’t it?”

“Yup! Go right ahead.”

Danny removed another tile. “‘How do you think others view you and why?’” He paused, throwing the therapist a bitter look. “This is rigged.”

“Not rigged, that’s just a very lucky pick.”

“Lucky to who?” Danny groaned.

What was with the universe finding new ways to torment him?

“Humor me,” the therapist said patiently.

Danny glared at his card, tapping his fingers against the edge. It wasn’t like the public opinion of him was exactly a secret, but it still hurt. Constantly. Like some scab he kept telling himself to ignore, but ignoring it was impossible because the public would never leave him alone.

“Not good,” Danny muttered. “People hate me.”

“Being in the public eye is very stressful for anyone, but to be unique in your way adds on an entirely different layer. People are afraid of the things they don’t understand, and that makes them forget that at the end of the day, you’re still a person.”

“Yeah.” Danny’s eyes were trained on the colorful tower before him, which was starting to blur as the prickling behind his eyes increased. He ducked his head and blinked, hoping to save face before it was too late.

“That doesn’t mean everyone feels this way, though. But sometimes it can feel that way to you because the ones who are the most afraid, the most hateful, are the loudest voices in the crowd. But remember, Danny, you won that court case for a reason. You have more people on your side than you think.”

“I won it for now, you mean. I don’t...I don’t think…” His voice failed, and he pressed his fingernails into his palms. He took a few shaky breaths. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, Danny. Why don’t we talk about the case for a minute?”

Tucker’s words echoed in his head, how it was televised. How millions of people all around the globe probably tuned in for it, or watched streams online, each person with their own opinion of him.

But he didn’t want to think about that right now.

“No,” he said. “Can we—can we just continue the game?”

“If you’re not ready to talk about it, then that’s okay. Thank you for letting me know.”

“It’s your turn.”

“Alright.” She pushed a block out of the tower. “So...alright, my question is, ‘What memory do you treasure the most?’ To that, I think fishing with my dad as a child. He was a big support for me when I was growing up, and I really valued our times fishing together as important bonding moments for us.”

Danny nodded politely, trying his best to not appear like he was counting down the seconds until therapy was over.

He could feel his emotions building inside him, threatening to topple the carefully constructed dam guarding his secrets. This was such a simple game, these were such simple questions, so why did he feel like he was failing?

He pushed out a Jenga tile—a red tile—from the tower and grabbed a card, scanning the questions until he found the red one.

What are you afraid of?

The words echoed back to him, and he pushed the card away. He didn’t want to look at it, he didn’t want to read those words or hear her voice because saying the question would mean he would have to talk and he only agreed to this stupid game to get out of talking.

There was so much he was afraid of that he had no right to be afraid of. Because he deserved this. Getting revealed was his fault, he was being reckless. He deserved all of it.

The experiments with the Guys in White. The pain, the way his skin was torn apart. How they threw him in a vat of ectoplasm the next day to heal, and how the ectoplasm entering his lungs made him feel like he was drowning because even though ghosts didn’t need to breathe, he still used those organs reflexively as Phantom. But he was in too much pain and his brain was too hazy to fight back. He could only sink into the darkness.

The red bag. The way it tasted, smelled, how it haunted him every day and how he revisited those moments every night in his dreams. How he would wake up each day and the drawer on his nightstand would be shimmering in the morning sun, as if tempting him to open it up, grab the bottle inside, let it help just for one day. It can take the edge off, he can be functional. Who cares if he’s cheating? It’s just for a day...

The public. The people. Their judgments, their words. How he was, on a molecular level, so vastly different from them. How he could never be the same. He would never have a normal life, he could never have a normal job, a normal family, normal friendships, ever again. There would always be something there, something alien between them.

Even between him and his best friends. There was just something... different ever since the portal accident. It had brought them closer together, sure, but in other ways it had also driven an invisible wedge between them. Because Danny would always have his powers, he would always be a half ghost, and there would always be things now that Sam and Tucker would never understand.

How much would change now? Now that he was in the public eye, now that he’d gone through government torture? Now that his brain didn’t work the same?

And his core. His humanity. Why were his parents so apprehensive about it?

What are you afraid of?

Why wouldn’t his parents let him down into the lab? What were they hiding? They said his core was damaged, but it had been months since he was ripped open. His surgical damage had healed, his broken bones were back to normal, and even though his nerve endings in his chest and spine were still fried, they had been slowly mending themselves too.

Ectoplasm healed faster than human physiology. His core should have been fine by now.

What was the truth?

“They accept me,” Danny said automatically.

“Who does?”

Who accepted him?

Sam and Tucker did.

His family…

Did they?

“I don’t know.”

“You have people in your corner, Danny. Your parents, your sister, your close friends. They all care about you. We’re all here for you, even if those loud voices in the public tell you otherwise.”

But if they cared...

“Then why won’t they let me have my core back?”

“Your core?”

“My powers. My ghostliness. Ectoplasm.” Danny let his eyes flair to emphasize his point.

If his therapist was scared of his otherworldly display, she didn’t show it. Instead, she continued to look at him with her neutral expression, free of the judgment he’d come to expect from people since the accident.

And for some reason he couldn’t explain, that irritated him.

“You mean the inhibitor chip?” she asked.

“Yes. They told me it was because my core...it was damaged but—but it doesn’t make sense! It doesn’t...”

“Have you talked to them about this?”

Of course he had. They kept repeating that his core was damaged. And they were probably right—for a time, at the very least. But that was months ago.

Why hadn’t they scanned his core recently? Shouldn’t they be happy to learn it was healed? Shouldn’t that make them relieved?

What were they afraid of?

What are you afraid of?

“Do you think it would be helpful if I talked to your mother about this?” asked the therapist. “As a way to introduce the topic? She likely doesn’t know how much it’s bothering you.”

But that didn’t make sense either because Danny brought his core up every day. His parents knew how much it was bothering him. They had to have known, right?

So why were they doing this to him?

What were they hiding?

What are you afraid of?

---

Danny tried to remember a time where walking from his living room to his kitchen didn’t require a list of steps to be taken beforehand—a time where he could just get up and walk. But those memories were far too distant now.

And besides, this was his reality now. A reality where something as simple as walking made his head spin.

He shouldn’t dwell on the memories of how easy it used to be for him, he shouldn’t have snapped at Jazz for getting a cup of water for him because he knew the glasses were too high to reach from his wheelchair, he shouldn’t allow this irrational anger to overtake him every time the creeping anxiety of his future as Amity Park’s ghost hero came into question.

He just needed to focus on where he was now. Curled up on his couch avoiding his parents.

Everything felt wrong this morning when he woke up. For a moment, he had managed to convince himself that he was just being paranoid. That it was just his damaged nerve endings freaking out as normal. That once he took his medication, his problems would go away.

But they didn’t. He still felt wrong. His chest still felt wrong.

It was manifesting in other ways too. He couldn’t walk as long today at PT. His physical therapist told him it was just a bad day and that his body was probably just tired from his busy week. But Danny knew that wasn’t right.

It had nothing to do with him being tired. He wasn’t sick. He wasn’t anxious.

His core was the problem. His parents were the problem.

He tried asking about his core again on the way home from PT, using conversation techniques he went over with his therapist at the end of their last appointment, but Maddie just brushed him off. Said they would talk about it later.

But then later came and...she didn’t.

Danny tried asking his father, but he brushed Danny off too. Said Danny needed to focus on healing first.

But how was he supposed to heal when he was missing half of himself?

He felt wrong. So wrong. His body was too bound by gravity, it was too empty, it wasn’t listening to him.

He pressed his palms into his forehead. His hands were clammy. Shaking. Speckles of cold touched them—or was that his tears? Was he crying?

No.

He pressed the heel of his hands into his eyes. What was wrong with him? Why was he acting this way?

The government had him in a cage. They tormented him in ways he would rather die than live through again. But then it ended, and he was freed. He was allowed to go home, he could live his life as a legal person again.

Except, he wasn’t free. Not at all. He was still trapped here in Amity, in his house, in his body. He had no control. Not over what he ate, when he slept, where he went, what he could say, what he could think.

Half of him was still locked up tight with no hope of escape.

His water glass was empty. It would have been too embarrassing to ask someone to help him, but he was so thirsty and dehydrated and he just really needed this to work. He needed his body to respond to him. For one moment, please, just let his body respond.

Gripping the water cup in one hand and his walker in the other, he tried to stand, to walk over to the kitchen sink. But balancing everything was so difficult, his body was still fatigued from PT, and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to do it but he just needed to try.

But he couldn’t do it in the end. The cup slipped out of his hand and tumbled onto the carpet, thankfully saved from shattering on impact by some last shred of luck the universe decided to pity him with.

And now Danny too was on the floor because he couldn’t bend down to pick the cup back up like a normal person, and he didn’t want to call for help, and he couldn’t use any of his powers, and he felt so trapped. So helpless. So vulnerable.

He tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but it was too stubborn and he was too useless.

A tear splattered against his hand, and he gripped the floor, his body trembling.

“Stop crying. Stop it.” he hissed.

He was weak.

Plasmius, once nearly his equal, had so severely overpowered him the other night. It was embarrassing. On the hierarchy of ghosts, where was he now? At the bottom with the blob ghosts?

But those ghosts could still fly. They could still turn intangible. Things that Danny couldn’t even do.

Hell, he was so weak that even the Box Ghost could defeat him now.

“Stop crying.”

He crawled back to the couch, the thought of getting water abandoned on the floor along with the last semblance of his dignity. Another tear fell from his cheek, and he desperately tried to ignore it, ignore his dry throat, ignore the pain in his chest, ignore his core and the Y-scar on his body and his new place in the ghost hierarchy as lower than dirt, ignore everything. Just focus on getting back to the couch. Shut down, go numb.

He was fine, he was okay.

He just needed to push through this. Just toughen up, quit whining. Life wasn’t fair. So what if he was now just a regular human? Hadn’t he been human for the first fourteen years of his life? He needed to suck it up.

Dragging himself back onto the safety of the couch cushions, he pulled one of Jazz’s throw blankets around his body and pressed a pillow into his face.

Never in his life had he been so tempted to scream, to curse, to finally let the last brick fall and allow hell to break loose. But his parents were in the basement, Jazz was upstairs, and he was fine.

He was fine.

---

Huge thank you to tumblr user and writer @imekitty for proofreading this chapter. She’s amazing and I owe her my life.

And as always, thanks for reading!

---

#danny phantom #everything was white #chapter 12 #my writing #fanfiction #phiccs #danny has A Bad Time

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rosiehunterwolf · 3 years

Text

For the Romping and the Roaring- Part 1

Here is my submission for Day 1 of @serpentfever's Inhuman Event!

Link to read on ffn.net

This is part 1 of the story, and the rest of the parts will be posted, one each day, for the rest of the event. Because of the length of this, full story is under the cut. I've provided a little preview of the story below:

Preview

Perhaps the most strange looking thing about the scene, though, was the small boy perched on the badger’s back. Small black horns pertruded from a head of fluffy blond hair, and long, pointed, velvety black ears wiggled eagerly. Short, splayed fingers gripped the badger’s shoulders, and his small, webbed wings proved quite the contrast from Zane’s feathered ones. Perhaps the most noticeable of all, however, was the long black tail that waved behind him, curved fins flaring out at the end of it. And the delighted trills coming from his mouth were definitely anything but human.

Well, maybe it was strange-looking to anyone else. But for Kai, it was just an ordinary day.

Prompts Used: Panic, Hiding

Word Count: 10,082

Rating: T

Trigger Warnings: Imprisonment, Dehumanization, Mentions of Murder

Part 1

“Wake up, sleepyhead!”

Kai groaned, blinking awake. His sister grinned down at him, her arms dangling in his face from where she was hanging, her spotted tail wrapped tightly around one of the structural beams.

“Go away,” he mumbled, tossing a pillow in her face. “It’s too early.”

“It’s ten am.”

“So? It’s not like there’s anything to do around here, I might as well get my beauty rest.”

“Goodness knows you need it, with that dreaded mane of yours.”

He tossed another pillow at her face, which turned out to be a mistake, because now he was out of pillows.

“Why do you always have so much energy? Don’t you ever sleep?”

She shrugged. “I like to sleep in the afternoons. I guess it’s a leopard thing? They’re nocturnal, you know.”

“I know, Nya. I’ve had a half-leopard as a sister for sixteen years, don’t you think I would know that by now?”

“Debatable.”

“I’ll ignore that comment if you let me sleep for a little more.”

“Have you forgotten what day it is?” Nya chirped, beginning to swing back and forth. “Today Dr. Borg is letting us take Lloyd into the city!”

Kai sat bolt upright. “That’s today?”

“Yes, fish-brain! You should see him, he’s so excited.”

Kai scrambled out of bed, startling Nya and making her fall into the bed with a yelp. He shook his head, letting his mane cascade around his face and down his back. Huffing as half of it fell into his eyes, he wrestled it into a ponytail- part of it, anyway- and walked over to the door, Nya bounding after him. The other four beds in the room were already empty.

Opening the door revealed the same thing it always did. Another room- this one much larger than the last one, but a closed-off room nonetheless- stretched around them. There were a few other doors that led to bathrooms, a room with skylights (made with reinforced glass, of course, so no one could break it, even if they had superstrength) so they could soak in the natural light from time to time, and just some rooms with various activities- paints, notebooks, computers, puzzles, TVs, and all the books and video games they could ever want, or if they just needed some alone time away from the others for a bit.

But none of that changed the fact that the door on the far side of the room was always firmly locked.

In the kitchen, Zane was whipping up a bowl of pancake batter. Tawny-colored wings unfurled from his back, stretching freely now that he didn’t have to hide them. The feathered tufts behind his ears twitched as a loud shriek sounded out from the other side of the room.

Kai turned, a purr rumbling in his throat as he caught sight of the large badger lumbering across the room. A small yellow labrador raced after him, barking excitedly.

Kai’s tail thrashed fondly. Well, maybe it was strange-looking to anyone else. But to him, it was just an ordinary day.

Almost.

“Lloyd, you’re here already!” Kai called, hurrying over. The small boy brightened- even more so than he already was- at the sight of him, and leapt into his arms. Kai stroked him gently, and Lloyd purred softly, his long tail thwacking against his leg.

The badger blinked at him, shaking his head, and, in a flash of light, he was gone, a young man sitting on the floor in his place. His curly black hair, with a white stripe down the middle, nearly hid the small black ears poking out. Round glasses framed his dark eyes as he grinned up at Kai, his fangs glinting. The lab jumped into his lap, and the man scratched behind his ears. With a flash, the lab turned back into a teenager, his auburn curls falling into his freckled face.

“Augh, Jay! Get off of me, you lump!” He shoved his friend off of his lap, sending him tumbling.

“Hey, Cole, you could’ve asked nicely,” Jay whimpered, even though his golden tail was wagging, and his ears were perked.

“Yeah, well next time, don’t transform back when you’re in my lap! Having a small dog sitting on me is one thing, a lanky teenager is another.”

“Stop acting like you’re so superior! You’re only four years older than me, barely out of teenagehood yourself!”

“I’m not acting like I’m superior! I’m just telling you not to sit on top of me!”

“Whatever,” Jay grumbled.

“Hey, guys,” Kai snorted.

“Mornin’ Kai,” Jay grinned. “Have a nice lie-in?”

Cole groaned, shaking his head, and Kai shot Jay a glare.

“You shut up with your damn puns, puppy boy.”

“Jeez, apparently someone’s had his pride hurt.”

“I swear, one more lion pun-”

“Fine, fine! I know when my witty quips aren’t wanted.”

Jay,” Cole sighed, “they’re never wanted. Anyways, you ready for today, Kai?”

“You bet! They brought Lloyd in early, today, huh?”

“Dr. Borg wants us to get him ready and make sure he’s behaving well before we leave.”

Kai raised an eyebrow. “And romping around giving him badger rides and riling him up is a good way to do that?”

“Aw, come on, Kai, he’ll be fine. Besides,” his voice lowered as he went on, “he deserves to have a little fun while he’s here.”

Kai instinctively tightened his grip on Lloyd. None of them knew what happened to Lloyd when their caretakers took him away at night, apart from the fact that Dr. Borg insisted he was perfectly safe, but, at the very least, he was alone, and sometimes, Kai, with his heightened sense of hearing, could hear him whimpering through the walls. Lloyd hated being alone, and Kai didn’t understand why he couldn’t just stay with them all the time.

But, like most things, Dr. Borg just kept them in the dark about it.

Not that he was being ungrateful- Dr. Borg had kept them alive.

Issac Borg, son of Cyrus Borg, had taken over his father’s company when he had died, and, as head scientist at Borg Tower, had made it his mission to help the few living hybrids left- Kai and his friends. Dr. Borg had told them stories of how the human world rejected anything that was different from them- that they feared those with different blood such as Kai and his friends, saw them as “monsters,” and would seek them out and kill them if they ever found out their secret.

But Dr. Borg didn’t think the same way as the rest of the world. He wanted to protect them, to let them thrive and grow strong. So, he took them in and helped keep them hidden. He had given them work to do, too, not normal work, but things that only they could do. Dr. Borg told them how the world wanted everyone to be the same, and to hide what made them unique, but he said that they should be able to play to their strengths. Their trainers helped them learn how to fight, and to use their unique skills to an advantage. At this point, Kai had a repertoire of fighting skills he was eager to bring to fruition, but it seemed like the time never came to use them.

They did get to use their skills in other ways, though. Jay often went out in the streets in his dog form, his quick and cunning nature allowing him to be a natural pickpocket, with the ultimate disguise. Zane’s flight abilities allowed him to scope out Ninjago City, and keep Borg posted on the government’s actions. Nya’s agility skills let her slip around nearly undetected, which kept them out of a lot of fights. Kai’s hearing allowed him to eavesdrop for information, and Cole’s strength and digging skills could break through a lot of walls and barriers.

Except for the ones of their room.

For as much as he loved Borg- he was the closest thing to a father that any of them had- he couldn’t help but feel a bit like a prisoner, trapped up in here. He just wished Borg would trust them more.

Kai was eighteen now. He was old enough to keep himself and the younger ones out of trouble.

Which Borg is depending on me to do today, he reminded himself. The others had gotten the hang of how to behave outside of the tower by now, but Lloyd was still so young and often needed reminding. And it was no secret the little oni, dragon, and human tribrid was especially clingy with Kai. It was his job to keep him under control and on his best behavior.

I can do this. I will prove to Borg how trustworthy I am.

“Pancakes are ready!”

His thoughts were interrupted as Zane chirped at them from the kitchen. Lloyd’s warm, comfortable weight vanished from his arms as he leaped to the ground and scurried towards the kitchen island on all fours, climbing up the barstool to perch on top. He clicked and chirred brightly at Zane, his red eyes glinting hungrily, and the falcon hybrid bit back a grin at his expression.

“Use your words, Lloyd.”

Lloyd’s expression dimmed slightly, and Kai frowned. Lloyd’s reluctance to use human words was probably what worried him the most about integrating him into society. But Zane had been practicing with him ever since he could crawl, and if anyone could get him to speak, it was Zane.

“Can I have pancakes? Please?”

“Yes, Lloyd, you may.”

Zane slid two chocolate chip pancakes onto his plate. The sweet scent of the pastry drifted over to them, and Kai felt his mouth water. Jay, Cole, Kai, and Nya bounded over to the island as well as Zane served them the food. Jay jumped up and dashed towards the cupboard, grabbing out a container of rainbow-colored sprinkles.

Lloyd’s eyes practically glowed as he grappled for them. Jay laughed, and sprinkled a handful onto his pancakes. Lloyd chirred delightedly and hurriedly began to devour his breakfast.

“Jay, don’t give him more sugar. He’s going to be impossible when we go into the city.”

“You’re the one watching him, not me,” Jay chirped.

Kai put his head in his hands, sighing.

“It’s okay,” Zane assured him. “A little milk can go a long way to calm him down. Here Lloyd,” he pushed a sippy cup of milk towards him, “drink some of this.”

Lloyd worked on the milk as the rest of them ate, and, by the time they were all finished, he was looking a lot less feral. Zane was a lifesaver.

Nya glanced at the clock. “It’s almost time to go. We should start getting ready.”

They walked over to the closet where they kept all their gear. The large, loose sweaters allowed them a place to tuck in their tails, and, for Zane, his wings as well. As Kai helped his friend to adjust his coat to properly hide all the feathers, Nya pulled the sleeves of hers longer down her arms, hiding the light rosette spotting there. She had been able to pass it off as a tattoo before, but they really didn’t want to take any chances, especially not with Lloyd along this time.

Cole began to help Lloyd with his jacket, but the young boy swatted his hands away. “I can do it.”

“You sure, bud? It can be tricky-”

“I do it. I do the buttons.” His ears twitched as he ran his fingers over the smooth objects.

While Lloyd worked on the jacket, the rest of them shoved hats over their heads, Kai, with some difficulty, getting his over his mane, but when they turned back to Lloyd, now sporting his lopsided-buttoned jacket, there was evidently a large issue, and it wasn’t Lloyd’s button job.

“What are we going to do about his tail,” Jay asked. “The rest of us have the self control to hold ours under our coats for the time period, but he’s four, he’s not gonna be able to do that.”

“And it’s so long,” Nya pointed out. “I remember having a lot more trouble with my tail than any of you guys did, and Lloyd’s less than half my size!”

“Didn’t we used to tie it up when you were younger?” Kai asked.

“What?” “Here,” Kai pulled a scarf out of the closet. “C’mere, Lloyd.”

The child bounded over to him, and Kai picked up his tail in his hands, examining it. “Hmm. Flexible enough.” Folding it back on itself a few times, Kai used the scarf to tie it up firmly, and then pulled the coat down over it. “That should hold for quite a while.”

Lloyd bared his teeth at him, and Kai winced. “Sorry, I know it’s not the most comfortable thing, bud, but we got to do it, okay?”

Lloyd started to grab for his tail, but his small arms couldn’t reach it. Kai stopped him, nonetheless. “Hey, bud, don’t. I’m not kidding, okay?”

Lloyd huffed dramatically, before pacing towards the door.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Lloyd glanced back, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the small hat Kai was holding in his hands. He squwaked loudly, trying to scramble past him, but Kai swooped him up in his grip. Lloyd hissed and struggled, although his body was trembling with the familiar vibrations Kai recognized as playfulness. This was a game to him.

“Lloyd,” Kai growled through gritted teeth, tightening his grip on the squirming bundle, “Just put on the hat. It’s not the end of the world.”

“No!”

Well, that was one word he knew quite clearly.

Kai jammed the hat onto his head, but Lloyd quickly shook it off and jumped away, scrambling under the couch to hide, his red eyes glowing eerily in the darkness, his pupils narrowed into thin slits.

“Lloyd,” Kai said, letting an authoritative tone slip into his voice- which wasn’t something to be messed with, when you were part lion. “This is not an option. Either you wear the hat and behave, or we don’t go out at all.”

Lloyd’s eyes blinked, and after only a second, he was scurrying back out and reluctantly letting Kai pull the hat onto his head.

And not a moment too soon- Kai’s ears twitched as he caught the sound of movement behind the big, blocked door. His head whipped towards it, and the others quickly picked up on him, revving their gazes towards the door, too. After a few moments, they began to hear it, too. Jay cocked his head anxiously, Zane adjusted his coat, Cole pushed his glasses further up his nose, and Nya narrowed her eyes, grabbing Lloyd’s hand.

The door slowly swung open- Kai had to resist the urge to dash out- and revealed four of their caretakers- Liam, Noah, Rahn, and Kelsey. Kai let out his breath, slowly.

“Are you ready to leave, children?” One of them, Liam, asked. His gaze flitted between each of them, scanning them carefully. He stopped on Lloyd, his eyes narrowing, but if he had a problem, he didn’t voice it. “You look wonderfully human. A job well done, and not an easy one, I’m sure.”

“Yes, but appearances are only the beginning,” Kelsey pointed out. “You must make sure you are all on your best behavior, especially the muta- Lloyd. You all have learned a lot from your human behavior lessons, have you not?”

They nodded, and Kai added, “Is Dr. Borg not going to see us off today?”

“He’s a very busy person, Kai,” Rahn reminded him. “You children are lucky that he makes as much time for you as he does.”

Kai dipped his head, falling silent.

“Don’t worry, he’ll probably check in with you when you’re back,” Noah assured. “For now, we can escort you. Are you ready?”

Yelps and purrs responded him, and Noah shot them a sharp glance. Kai felt his ears droop shamefully as he responded, in sync with the others, “Yes, sir.”

“Then let’s go.” Noah beckoned for Cole to follow him, who was closely followed by Jay, then Zane. Kai and Nya went last, Lloyd bounding between them. His eyes were both bright and wary.

Rahn cleared his throat as they passed, and Nya bent down to Lloyd, whispering, “Two feet, bud.”

Lloyd grumbled, but obliged, taking his hands off the ground and standing up on just his feet instead. His steps were a little wobbly, so Nya and Kai each grabbed a hand. That made him look a little less grumpy about the situation, at least.

The caretakers led them down the floors of Borg Tower, and for the first time in weeks, Kai saw people, more than just doctors and scientists and caretakers, at least. Employers at Borg, but these ones weren’t the higher up, didn’t know their secret. Wary glances were shot at them, but it was probably just because they were wondering what a bunch of kids were doing in Borg Tower, not because they were secretly a bunch of weird monster mutants that had to hide everything about them because no one trusted them and people wanted to hurt them, and they just wanted to be normal kids-

The point was, it was nice to be looked at like a kid, for once.

And then, there were windows, and then-

They were outside.

The little skylight in their room couldn’t bring justice to this. Sunlight streamed around them, bright and cheery and welcoming, and the crisp autumn air tickled his cheeks. There were people everywhere, not Borg employees, but just regular people, talking and laughing with each other. No one was staring at him, conversing in hushed whispers, or telling him off for smiling too much and showing off his fangs. There weren’t any trainers scolding him, or doctors whisking him off to yet another appointment, and most of all, there weren’t any walls.

Kai felt like he wanted to cry. It wasn’t his first time out, Dr. Borg let them out every so often, but…

It had been way too long.

Although he knew that, however bad it was for him, it was worse for Lloyd. While they got to go out every month or so, Lloyd only rarely got cleared to come with them, and he had only been allowed to at all about a year ago. Dr. Borg said it was because he was too young, although Kai swore that he could remember him and the others going out more often when they had been Lloyd’s age, with adult supervision, of course.

Sure enough, Lloyd’s eyes were as wide as saucers as he gazed around, taking everything in in that quiet, attentive way of his.

“Excited, Lloydster?” Kai asked him. “Wanna go to the mall?”

Borg had given them a fairly sizable chunk of money- after all, being the owner of the city’s largest science organization didn’t exactly leave him with empty pockets- to spend as they pleased (as long as it wasn’t anything too outrageous, and their bags and pockets were to be searched before they reentered the tower,) so they went shopping at the mall. Lloyd obviously wasn’t so enthralled with Macy’s, Barnes & Noble, or Hot Topic, so the ninja took turns with Lloyd while the others went shopping. When Kai was with him, he spent a lot of time going up and down the escalator. Kai was worried the behavior might be unusual among humans and draw attention to them, and although they got a few odd looks, after a little while a little girl named Raina started running up and down the escalator with him. Kai had frantically apologized to her mother, but she just laughed, telling him “kids will be kids!” Kai had allowed himself to give her a tentative smile, and had been reluctant when he had to leave with Lloyd. The woman, Jessica, had given Kai her number if Lloyd ever wanted to get together.

Kai didn’t have the heart to tell her it could never happen.

After they finished shopping, the group stopped for lunch in the food court, then headed to the park and chatted while Lloyd ran around.

The afternoon was peaceful and cool, and it was all too soon when he got the call telling them it was time to go back.

“Hey Lloyd, time to go, bud.”

The look that flitted across Lloyd’s face made his heart break. “Can we… can we come back tomorrow?”

“I don’t think so, bud. I’m sorry.”

“Oh.”

“We can watch a movie when we get home, bubs. You wanna do that?” There was a shake in Nya’s voice as she spoke, and he knew she hated this as much as he did.

“Can we watch… the one with dinosaurs?”

“We can watch whatever you want, bubs.”

The walk back to Borg Tower was grim and quiet. The silence was only broken when Lloyd pointed at the fountain in the town square, as they were walking past.

“Look!” he called, leaning over the side to peer in. “There’s so many shiny things in there!”

“People throw their coins in fountains,” Zane told him.

“Why? I use my coins to buy a lollipop,” Lloyd giggled.

Kai crouched down next to him. “They say that if you throw a coin in the fountain, you can make a wish.”

Lloyd’s eyes were wide. “A wish? Like what?”

“I don’t know. Anything you want, I guess.”

Nya crouched down on the other side of him, slipping a penny from out of her purse. “You want to make a wish, bean?”

“Yeah.” Lloyd took the coin and closed his eyes. He was silent for a moment, before tossing it in. They watched it sink, down, down, down, until it hit the bottom.

On the way home, Jay spoke up. “What did you wish for, bud?”

Lloyd was quiet for a moment.

“If I tell you, it won’t come true.”

---

After their caretakers looked through their bags, they brought the group up to the room. The walk was a quiet one. The unasked question in all of their minds hung on the air- they wanted to ask if Lloyd could stay the night, just this once. The boy had been eerily quiet since the fountain, not even protesting when he had been searched, and Nya was holding him gently in her arms now. He wasn’t asleep, but his eyes stared off into the distance, his mind obviously elsewhere.

Dr. Borg himself met them at their door. “My children! How was your day out? Were you on your best behaviour?”

“You already know,” Nya muttered.

Borg frowned. “What was that, dear?”

“Nothing.”

Kai cocked his head at her, and she gave a tiny shake of her head, her glare telling him, not now.

He stared her right back, the message clear. We’ll talk later.

“It was good, Dr. Borg, but we were just wondering- would it be okay if Lloyd stayed the night with us? He’s pretty tired, and it would just be for one night-”

“Zane, I’m sorry, but Lloyd has a very important doctor’s appointment tonight-”

Out of the corner of his eye, Kai caught Lloyd stiffen, gripping tighter to Nya’s shoulder. A low growl sounded in her throat, and she brought her hands up protectively around him.

“Another doctor, Borg?” Kai snapped. “That’s the third one this week. Is there something wrong with him? Something you’re not telling us?”

“Of course not! Kai, calm yourself. What reason do I have to hide Lloyd’s medical records from you? Nothing is wrong, we just want to do some more testing. As you know, we give you all frequent checkups so that our doctors may learn more about you and your bodies. Lloyd is even more unique than any of you, so unfortunately, that just means more appointments.”

“He’s not a test subject,” Nya growled, “He’s family.”

“I never said he was! He is just as much family to me as he is to you!” Borg’s voice softened. “Nya, I know you are protective, but I am doing this for Lloyd. Knowing his body better will help us to help him better in the future, if he is to ever get sick or something.”

Nya wilted. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. I know you mean well. Now, c’mon, Lloyd, it’s time to go.”

Lloyd wailed as Borg’s assistant tried to pull him away from Nya, and he clung to her as firmly as his fingers would allow, which, for someone of his genetics, was pretty tight. Eventually, Kai had to step in.

“Lloyd, please. Let go. We’re just trying to help you.”

Lloyd released Nya’s shoulder slowly, but his eyes were round and hurt as he gazed at Kai. He tried not to flinch. Lloyd didn’t understand that this was for his own good.

Kai didn’t really understand it, either.

The group filed into their room- the door locking with a sharp click behind them- and the others wandered off to do their own things. Jay flipped through the TV channels, not settling on anything for more than ten seconds, and Cole and Zane worked on a puzzle, although their progress was slow, and their heart didn’t seem to really be into it.

Kai, however, made no time for pointless hobbies, and headed over to Nya.

“We need to talk.”

“I agree. But not in here.” She pointed towards the bedroom door. “Let’s go somewhere more private.”

He followed her in, closing the door behind him, before heading to sit next to her on her bed. “What’s so important that the others can’t hear?”

“It’s not that they can’t hear it. It’s just… I don’t know if they’ll want to. I don’t know how everyone’s going to take it, and I think it’s best to not tell everyone all at once.”

“What?! Nya, you’re killing me, just tell me what’s going on!”

“Someone was following me.”

Kai froze. “What?”

“If I’m right, someone was following all of us.”

“You mean in the city today? Like, a stalker or someone?”

“More like a Borg employee.”

“...What?”

“They’re spying on us, Kai, don’t you see? Dr. Borg sent some of our caretakers out to monitor us today. It’s their own fault, really. If they hadn’t trained me to use my detection skills to their full potential, I never would’ve noticed them.”

“But why? What have we done to break Dr. Borg’s trust? We’ve done this before and never got caught, why would today be any different?

Nya narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t be dense, Kai. He’s been doing it since day one. We’ve just never noticed before.”

Kai was beginning to feel very uncomfortable with the turn this conversation was taking. “How do you know that? Do you have proof?”

“Proof!” Nya stood up suddenly, her eyes blazing so fiercely that Kai flinched back. “What about any given day over the last sixteen years of my life, or the eighteen of yours! We’re prisoners here, Kai. One day a month outside of the tower doesn’t change that, especially when we’re being monitored even then.”

“Nya, don’t get like this again. Dr. Borg saved our lives-”

“From what? He tells us that people want to kill us, but do we have any reason to believe that’s true? What if he’s lying? How do you know he’s not just using us?”

“Dr. Borg is the closest thing I have to family! I trust him. With people like that, you just know.”

Nya’s ears pinned back, her voice wavering. “What happened to this family? True family is always there for you. Jay, Cole, Zane, Lloyd… me… we’ve all done more for you than that old fool ever has.”

Kai flinched, immediately regretting his words. “Wait, Nya, I didn’t mean- of course you’re my family, I’m sorry-” he snatched for her wrist as she began to walk away, but she easily dodged. She turned to look at him, her eyes sad.

“I know you are. You don’t want to hurt anyone- you’re just doing what you think is right, and I get that. But come talk to me again when you’re ready to reconsider.”

---

The next day, Kai had fighting training with one of his trainers. She seemed to be working him especially hard, but he only worked harder, and when he stopped for a rest, it took a moment to calm the adrenaline rippling through his veins. He had always been much stronger than the average human, but… usually it wasn’t so hard to control.

Dr. Borg showed up later in the lesson to pull him aside. “Kai. Your trainer tells me you are doing well. This pleases me. You are growing stronger.”

“I’m trying my best, sir.”

“Good. I expect nothing less. You’re eighteen now, Kai. Officially into adulthood. Soon, you will enter into a noble line of work I have to offer you. Now is no time to hold back. In fact- and keep this between you and me, if you will- I think you have the greatest potential of all your peers. What beast is greater than the lion? They don’t call it the king of the jungle for no reason. Your strength will be unmatched.”

Kai felt like he was supposed to be pleased by that, but something about the words just felt wrong.

“Sir,” he interrupted, feeling the sudden need to ask something, “What… why do I need to learn to fight like this? Who will I be fighting?” “If all goes well, no one. But this is necessary to defend yourself. Like I have told you since you were a cub, the rest of the world wants to hunt you down. You deserve a way to fight for your life and honor- and for the… weaker members of your team, don’t you?”

Kai nodded. “Of course. I was just wondering… is that all it’s for? Self-defence? Nothing more?”

Borg narrowed his eyes, but nodded slowly. “You will only have to do what must be done.”

“…Alright. Thank you, sir.” “And Kai?”

“Yes?” “If Nya’s been putting ideas in your head again, don’t listen to her. I know she means well, but she’s going through that natural ‘teenage rebellion’ stage right now, and isn’t thinking straight. Just take my word for it, alright?”

“O-okay. Have a good evening, sir.”

“Train hard!”

As Kai trodded back to the room that evening, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Borg had said. His words had been so vague. And he had been so quick to accuse Nya! Did he mean what he said, or was Nya right?

Did Borg want to use him for something more?

He still didn’t know what to believe, but one thing he knew was that he didn’t like the way that his sister had immediately been blamed. She had always been the most reluctant to listen to Borg, the most upset about their situation, but he wasn’t going to let Borg do anything to her, if that’s where this was heading.

His thoughts were interrupted as the floor suddenly heaved beneath him, and Kai was knocked to his feet. He barely bit back a scream, his breath coming in shallow pants.

What was it? An earthquake? He had never felt an earthquake before. Oh gosh. Should he be doing something? Was he going to die?!

But as quickly as it happened, it was over, and Kai got to his feet, breathless. After he was sure the floor wasn’t going to collapse beneath him, he set off towards the room in a dead sprint.

“Guys,” he gasped, “Did you feel that?”

Jay glanced up from his phone. “Like, that weird tremor thing, you mean?”

“Tremor? It was way worse than a tremor, the ground, like, bounced beneath me!” He gave a demonstration of this with his hands, but the others just blinked at him, unimpressed. “What?”

Cole shrugged. “I dunno, maybe you were just closer to the source or something. It didn’t seem that bad to us.”

“Do earthquakes even have sources?”

“First of all,” Zane said, “they do, and second, Ninjago City doesn’t get earthquakes. The geographic location makes it literally impossible.”

“But you can’t tell me that was nothing.” His voice wavered, and he caught Nya frown.

“You serious about this, bro?”

“I dunno, it’s just…” he put his head in his hands. “I don’t know what happened. It frickin’ scared me.”

Nya rested a hand on his shoulder, at his side now. “Hey, everything’s okay now. You’re safe here.”

“I know.”

“Do you want me to call Borg? I’m sure he can tell us what’s going on.”

“Thanks.”

Nya dialed, and they waited for Borg to answer. He didn’t pick up until the last ring, which was unusual for him. When his voice did come through, it was harried and distracted.

“What is it, Nya?”

“Dr. Borg, Kai was just coming back from training and he felt this weird… earthquake-type-tremor thing. We were just worried. Is everything alright?”

“Oh? Ah, yes, don’t worry, you’re perfectly safe-'' there was some muffled yelling in the background, and the phone went quiet for a minute. “There’s nothing to worry about, we’ve got it under control-”

“But what was it?”

“We’re… uh, still investigating. Maybe some sort of malfunction in the machinery, or radiation leak or something.”

“Radiation?”

“I assure you dear, it’s fine, we’ve got a whole crew on top of it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m kind of in the middle of something-”

“What about Lloyd?” Kai asked, leaning over to speak into the phone. “Is he okay?”

“Lloyd… Lloyd’s fine.”

“Can we see him?”

“No,” Borg said quickly. “...he’s seeing people right now. Will be for a while, probably, so don’t even ask.”

By this time, the others had joined them at the phone too, and they all looked at each other at that. “Seeing people?” Nya asked. “What kind of people?”

“Just… double-checking his safety. For… the radiation.”

“Was he close to it?” Nya gasped. “I thought you said he was safe!”

“He is! It’s just a precaution-”

“Then when can we see him?”

“Nya, I told you, not now!” Another muffled shout interrupted him. “I have a lot bigger fish to fry right now, this conversation will have to continue later.” And, with that, he abruptly hung up.

“What was that,” Nya spat.

“If that was your attempt to make me feel better, it failed miserably.”

“I didn’t know he was going to be like that, did I? Ugh, Borg always is so vague, but this- this is a whole new level!”

“We need to find out more,” Zane said. “Borg isn’t giving us clear answers. We need another way to find out information.”

“Luckily for us,” Cole added, “It seems that in all the commotion, they never sent a caretaker down to lock the door after Kai returned.”

The others froze, staring at each other. Slowly, they turned their gazes to the door.

Cole was right. It was still open.

Kai immediately felt his heart begin to race. He didn’t know how to react. This had never happened before.

Zane was the first to snap out of the shock and into action. “Borg is a careful man. It won’t be long before he realizes we have free reign of the place. If we’re going to do something, we need to act quickly.”

“I say we escape,” Nya hissed. “This might never happen again. Kai’s the only one who knows this, but I saw Borg employees following us yesterday. He’s always watching. This could be our only chance to get out of here!”

There were a few uneasy looks at that. “Nya,” Zane warned, “Borg may be secretive, but he’s not a bad person. He’s protecting us.”

“Yeah, and what about the police?” Jay whimpered, his tail between his legs. “Borg told us they would kill us just for being different.”

Nya’s tail lashed. “You all are hopeless! The old fool’s got you all wrapped around his little finger! Can’t you see we’re prisoners here? I’d rather take my chances with the police.”

“Nya,” Cole said firmly, squeezing Jay’s hand, “You’re making Jay nervous.”

“I’m sorry, Jay, but it’s the truth. You’re seventeen now, it’s about time you start hearing it.”

Jay’s ears quivered. “It’s okay, Cole, she’s right.”

Cole grunted. “If we’re doing this, I won’t let no police lay a finger on you.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“I dunno. I’ve never really felt comfortable with Borg. But we’re also safe here. I want to protect you guys. I don’t know if freedom is worth the risk.”

“Well, we don’t have time to think about it. Zane’s right- if we have to act, we act now. I’m going- come or don’t.”

“Nya, come back,” Cole growled. “We’re a family. Whatever we do, we do together. I don’t want us splitting up.”

“Then do the right thing and come with me.”

The tension crackled between the two for a moment, until Cole ducked his head. “Nya-”

“Kai, you’ll come with me, won’t you?”

Four pairs of eyes turned towards him. Kai’s tail twitched, and he tried desperately to still it.

“I… I don’t know what I want to do, Nya. But I’m not leaving without Lloyd.”

Guilt flashed in her eyes. “I… I didn’t mean… of course I would never leave without him, I just didn’t even think… we can go get him, right?”

“Do you know where he is?”

Nya’s tail drooped. “Then what do we do?”

“Zane’s right- what we need is more information. Running away isn’t the answer.”

“Kai- can you just think about it-”

“I’ve been thinking about it,” he roared. “I’ve spent eighteen long years locked away in this room- don’t you think I want to leave, too? But this is about more than just me- this is about us. I have a family to protect, Nya, and this is the best way to keep them safe.”

Nya cringed back from him- something any sane person would do when a lion- or a half lion- was yelling in your face. He didn’t like to use it on his family often, but when he did, it was the quickest way to silence a room. Everyone knew you didn’t mess with a lion’s roar.

“So what are you going to do instead?” Jay asked quietly, after a moment.

“I’m going to go find Borg and listen in on what he’s doing.” Turning to his sister, he added, “Nya? Will you come with me? Your stealth will be useful.”

“You still want me?”

“Don’t be like that, Nya- I’m just doing what’s best for us. You get that, don’t you?”

“I guess.”

“So you’re not coming?”

“No, I’ll come. I’m just still upset with you, that’s all.”

Kai sighed as she whisked out the door past him. “You guys keep a lookout, alright? I’ll have my phone on silent so we don’t get caught, but I’ll be able to feel it vibrate, so shoot me a text if something happens, alright?”

“Good luck,” Zane nodded.

“Hurry back!” Jay called as Kai slipped into the hallway.

He bounded a little ways to catch up with Nya. They walked in silence for a little while until they made it back to Kai’s training room, where he had felt the tremor.

“Smell anything?” Nya asked.

“Jay’s the best tracker, but I think I can pick up Borg’s scent coming from that way.” He pointed a finger down the right hallway.

“Think?” “I don’t know. There’s a lot of foot traffic coming from that way as well.”

“Surely that’s a good sign. If there was some sort of catastrophe, a lot of people would have gone to help.”

“Yeah, but it’s strange. It mostly smells like caretakers and trainers. I would’ve thought Borg would’ve wanted more mechanics and doctors if there was a malfunction.”

“Unless he was trying to keep this a secret.”

Kai shot her a look, and she ducked his gaze. “Sorry.”

Kai shook his head, turning back towards the trail, letting Nya slink down the hallways ahead of him, checking that the coast was clear before he followed. He pointed her in the directions that the scent led, until, at last, it led to a door.

“Borg’s office?” Nya questioned. “His scent will be here all the time. Are you sure that he’s here now, or is it just leftover residue?”

Kai opened his mouth to respond, but froze when he caught the sound of footsteps. “Hide!” he hissed to Nya, and the two of them dove into an empty lab room and pulled the door shut, just as two pairs of footsteps rounded the corner. They came to a halt outside the office door, and Kai held his breath.

“What do you mean you can’t control him, that’s your job!” Borg’s voice, sharp and angry. The rooms in this part of the building were soundproofed, but Kai’s hearing could still detect their voices when he pushed his ear to the door. Nya hovered beside him anxiously, watching his face for signs.

“Sir, we’re doing everything we can, but we’ve never worked with a specimen like this before.”

“Borg,” he whispered to Nya, “and a researcher.”

“Tell me you at least have him contained?”

“He’s chained and isolated right now, sir. And under guard.”

“Did you tell him that we’d punish the others if he stepped out of line?”

“Yes, sir. He’s young, and seems to have some literacy issues, so we’re not sure if he got the entire message, but we believe we got the basic point across.”

“Good,” Borg sighed. “Hopefully that will be enough to stop him from trying anything like this again.”

“Sir, surely you’re not just going to let him stay. People could’ve died today!”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Borg snapped. “Seven of my best researchers have been hospitalized, and now the damn police are on our back and I could get sued. I could lose millions, you know that? And to make things worse, the kids called me and are trying to see him. They suspect something’s wrong.”

Kai’s blood was roaring in his ears. Was he hearing this right?

Nya put a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong? What did they say?”

He shook his head, gesturing at her to be quiet. “They think Lloyd was the one responsible for the accident. People were hurt. Borg might get sued.”

“Would it really be such a bad thing to let him see them, sir? He obviously is very on edge about the testing and sampling. Seeing the others might put him at ease.”

“They’re already suspicious, and I can’t help but feel I’m losing my grip on them. They’re teenagers, I knew they’d rebel at some point, but… I don’t want to risk him telling them anything. Now that he has power over us, I’m not sure what good the threats will do.”

“Then what are we going to do?”

Borg sighed, slow and tired. “I had hoped it would never come to this, but… I think we bit off more than we could chew with this one. And he’s only four, it will only get worse as he ages. I don’t think we will ever be able to put a handle on him. I had hope, after such great success with the others, but… it just didn’t work out. Breeding oni and dragon and trying to contain it was always going to be a bad idea.”

“Are you sure, sir? There’s no going back if you decide to go through with it.”

“I’ve thought about it for a while now, and today’s accident has only solidified my suspicions. We will still be fine. The others have amazing amounts of strength, speed, stealth, and heightened senses. We can be well-equipped without him.”

“Alright. We will begin making preparations first thing, sir.”

“Make sure you keep the body so we can continue to study it. I want him euthanized first thing in the morning. The longer we wait, the more of a window we give him to act up again.”

No. No, no, no, no, no. Kai squeezed his eyes shut, slumping against the door as the door to Borg’s office was clicked shut. This couldn’t be happening, it was just some sort of sick dream, Borg would never do this-

“Kai, Kai please, answer me!”

He opened his eyes to see Nya shaking him gently.

“You were right,” he croaked, “we have to go.”

“Kai, what’s wrong, what did you hear, you’re scaring me.”

Kai stumbled to his feet, and Nya grabbed his arm as he trembled. There was no time to sit around and mope. Lloyd’s life was on the line.

“Nya, we have to go-” he reached for the doorknob and began to twist it.

“Wait, are you sure they’re gone, we can’t get caught-”

“I’m sure, we have to hurry-”

Nya skidded in front of him. “Kai, tell me what’s going on. I need to know what happend. I can help!”

“There’s no time, Nya,” he gasped, half in tears by this point. “I’ll tell you later. I’m going after Lloyd. You go and get the others. Meet me near that little diner at the edge of the city. The one we went to for your birthday last year, you know the one? We’re leaving. Now.”

“Wait, you mean you changed your mind?”

“No. I told you that I was going to do whatever it took to keep you guys safe. Before, that meant staying here. Now, it means leaving. It is the circumstance that has changed, not me.”

Nya gazed at him, tears glazing her eyes. “I wish you would tell me more.”

“I still need time to process. I’m sorry.”

“I get it. Just stay safe, okay?” She kissed him softly on the cheek, and then, she was gone.

Kai didn’t waste any time, and set right off on the researcher’s trail. Eventually, it led him to a small, closed off wing, where she had then taken a right, but Kai was more interested in the room on the left.

Two guards, armed with guns, stood attentive at it. Kai shifted into a lion, and, trying to remember stalking lessons from Nya, crept along the hallway. If they spotted him before he was within pouncing distance, he was done for. They wouldn’t hesitate with the guns, he was sure.

Luckily, Nya was an amazing teacher, and as one guard fell to the ground with a smack, the other one turned sharply, raising his gun, but Kai was already pouncing, knocking him out.

Shifting back into himself, he grabbed the keys from the guard’s pocket, and unlocked the door.

Inside, the lights were dim. Kai wished he had Nya’s night vision right about now.

When his eyes finally adjusted, Kai choked back a gasp. Lloyd was lying on the floor, chains bolted around his wrists, ankles, and tail. Metal clamps pulled back his wings, and a muzzle had been tied over his mouth.

“Oh my gosh, Lloyd-” Kai dropped to his side, trying not to look at the boy’s face. Blinking back tears- emotion was something they didn’t have time for right now- Kai ripped through the chains and pulled off the muzzle and clamps. Lloyd whimpered, looking up at him with watery red eyes, and reached for him, cooing softly. Kai scooped the boy into his arms, accidentally pulling back his shirt as he did so, and revealing a long, raw, red scar along his side. Kai quickly pulled the shirt back down, looking away, and planted a kiss on his forehead. Bolting to his feet, he took off down the hall, towards the back door.

After only a minute of running, an alarm began to flash, and Kai swore under his breath, praying that the others were already out.

After what felt like far too long, he spotted the door. As he sprinted for it, he heard someone yell out behind him, but it was too late. He was already out the door.

He didn’t stop though. He wasn’t stupid enough to think they would give up chase so easily. Heading down some of the back alleys, he ran in a crisscross of crazy patterns, taking a way which was five times longer and more complicated than necessary, but he wasn’t risking the chance of being caught, or worse, leading the Borg employees back to Nya and the others.

When he began to feel a little safer, he stopped for a rest behind a dumpster. Setting Lloyd down, he checked his phone and saw he had twenty-seven missed calls from Borg.

Shoot, he can probably track this. Cursing under his breath, he tossed the phone in the dumpster. He didn’t like being phoneless, but it was a thousand times better than the alternative.

Lloyd’s stomach growled loudly, and Kai glanced down at him. The boy looked smaller than ever, his red eyes wide and scared. Kai crouched down, pulling his trembling form close, and the two just sat there for a moment, silent. Kai breathed in Lloyd’s comforting scent.

I almost lost this. Forever.

Kai wiped at his eyes. But he hadn’t. And they weren’t safe yet. They had to keep moving, and get as far away from that phone as possible.

But first, he had to find the poor kid something to eat. He looked half-dead on his feet, and Kai felt a surge of anger as he realized that Borg probably hadn’t been feeding him well.

Jumping into the dumpster, Kai scrounged around until he was able to find half of a cheeseburger and a stale bag of pretzels. Not the most sanitary, but it would have to do.

“Here, bud, you want these?” He handed the food to Lloyd, and either the boy was really, really hungry, or his animal instincts were just kicking in, because he scarfed down the food without any reservation about the fact that Kai had literally dumpster dove for it.

As Lloyd finished the food, licking the wrapper, he spoke for the first time since Kai had found him chained up that evening.

“Am I in trouble?” His voice wavered, tears pricking his eyes. “Did I do a bad thing?”

“Honey, no, it’s not your fault,” Kai whispered, pulling him close. “You didn’t mean to do it. Your powers are too strong for your own good. But you’ll learn to control them eventually, I promise.”

“People are hurt,” he whispered. “I’m the reason we had to go.”

“You just opened my eyes to what Borg was doing to you. To his true intentions. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Lloyd looked at him. “He told me he would kill you.”

Kai bit his lip, and Lloyd broke down crying in his lap. Kai curled his arms protectively around him.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I let you go through that all these years and didn’t notice something was wrong.”

Lloyd buried his face in Kai’s shirt. “I just want to be normal.”

---

Lloyd fell asleep soon after that, and Kai carried him towards the meeting place. The walk was long, about two hours, but with every moment that passed, Kai was more and more grateful that he had picked somewhere far away. He was exhausted, and if Borg’s associates found him now, he was in no position to fight back.

It felt like heaven when he finally spotted the little diner in the distance, with its gleaming lights offering a cheery glow to the foreboding dusk. Reluctantly shaking Lloyd awake, he took off his hat and coat and helped Lloyd put them on to carefully mask his monster features. Since Kai hadn’t had time to grab extra, he fluffed up his hair extra (something he hadn’t ever thought he’d do, it was fluffy enough as-is) to cover his ears, and tucked his tail into his pants.

The little bell on the diner door rang cheerily as they pushed their way in. At this time of night, the diner was empty, as expected- but there was one booth in the corner where four people were sitting, eating what looked to be pancakes and bacon. They looked up sharply as the bell rung, and Nya stood up abruptly, meeting his eye.

“Kai,” she cried, running over to him as tears sprung in her eyes. “Oh my goodness, oh my spots, oh my goodness.” She threw her arms around his neck, crying into his shoulder as he squeezed her just as tightly back. “You’re alive, thank the stars you’re alive, I thought I had lost you for good.”

“I’m just as relieved to see you guys,” Kai breathed, walking over to the booth. Although it was only intended to seat four, his friends squished over to make room for him, and he scooped Lloyd onto his lap.

“Kai, what took you so long, you had me worried out of my mind,” Nya muttered, stopping to take a breath and sip from her coffee. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“Sorry, we got a little held up. We got caught escaping, and were followed. I spent a good hour, at least, trying to throw them. I wasn’t going to risk leading them anywhere.”

“You could’ve at least texted me, letting me know you were alright. Why didn’t you answer any of my calls?”

“I ditched my phone. Speaking of which, you guys probably should too. I wouldn’t be surprised if Borg had a way to track these things.”

“Get rid of our phones?” Jay whimpered. “How are we going to communicate if there’s an emergency?”

“Would you rather us get caught?” Kai snapped. “We can just buy some of those burner phones from the store.”

“Kai, I think you owe us an explanation,” Cole growled. “We’re tired, hungry, scared, and don’t know why we’re here. Nya told us you overheard Borg saying something, but wouldn’t tell her what he said, and just said to run. Are you going to give us any more than that?”

“I’m sorry, but I was just so scared, and there was no time…” He took a shaky breath, drawing an arm around Lloyd and pulling him closer. In a whisper, he admitted, “Borg was going to kill Lloyd.”

The table lapsed into a stunned silence. Even Nya, who had always been heavily critical and suspicious of Borg, looked shocked and horrified.

“When?” Zane asked faintly.

“Tomorrow morning.”

Cole paled about ten shades, Jay looked like he was going to faint, and Zane just stared as if he didn’t believe what he was hearing.

“One more day,” Nya whispered. “One more day and we would’ve lost him.”

“Don’t remind me,” Kai told her, his breath hitching as he tried to focus on the weight on his lap- warm, gentle, and alive. He was here. He had saved him.

“I don’t understand,” Jay whined. “Why would he do such a thing? I mean, I know we all had our suspicions, but… kill him? Really? What changed?”

“Remember all those ‘doctor’s visits?’ Apparently they’re some sort of testing, or sampling, or something. Show them the scar, Lloyd.”

The boy looked up at him hesitantly, before slowly pulling up his jacket and shirt to reveal the long scar Kai had seen earlier. Four sharp intakes of breath sounded as it came into view.

“Oh, Lloyd, honey,” Nya whispered.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what they were doing at our doctor’s appointments, too, but for some reason they are really obsessed with Lloyd. Something about his lineage, I guess… but it was too much for him. He…”

Kai glanced at Lloyd, who was nibbling at the bacon Cole had slipped him. He didn’t seem too invested in the conversation, but he still kept his voice low.

“That tremor we felt? Apparently, Lloyd caused it. People were injured, and… the police came to investigate… Borg was furious. He decided Lloyd had caused more trouble than he was worth. Lloyd was chained and muzzled when I found him, and I… I couldn’t… I wouldn’t deny it any longer. Borg doesn’t care about us. He never has. He’s just using us.”

Silence gripped the table as his friends stared at him. Jay wiped at his eyes, which were bright and wet.

“What do we do now, Kai?” Nya asked, her voice barely audible.

“What do we do? We survive. You got some money, I hope?”

“We’ve been stashing it. Any time Borg gave us money on an outing that we didn’t use, we kept it. We brought everything we could find. And a few valuable items as well. We can sell them if we need to. Hopefully this will last us a while, if we stick to the necessities.”

“Good. Because we’re going to need every penny we can get. I have no idea how long we’ll have to be out here.”

“As long as Borg is hunting us, nowhere is safe,” Cole warned. “He’s got amasses of people at his disposal. I don’t know where we’re going to go that he can’t reach.”

“I know a place.”

---

“Are w-we al-almost there, K-k-kai,” Nya hissed, her teeth chattering. “I’m freezing.”

“We’re here.”

Jay stopped beside him. “An old warehouse?” “Hey, I remember this place,” Cole said, stepping up beside him. Lloyd was fast asleep in his arms- he had been out cold before they had even left the diner, and when Kai had tried to carry him, Cole had told him off, saying he had already done more than his fair share for the night, and that he ought to give someone else a turn before he keeled over from exhaustion. Kai was grateful for the gesture, although they still had needed to walk another hour to get to his destination.

“When we were younger, Cole and I used to take a bus down here sometimes on our days out to play around in this abandoned warehouse.” Jay raised his eyebrow, and Cole laughed. “When you’re a twelve year old boy, those kinds of things sound a lot cooler than they actually are. Still, I’m grateful you thought of it now. Who would’ve thought, when everyone else failed us, it’s the old warehouse that held through.”

“It’s nothing special,” Kai said as they tramped inside, “but it’s sheltered, it’s sturdy, and, most important of all, it’s unsuspecting. I doubt Borg would ever think to look here.”

“It’s perfect, Kai,” Nya sniffed, “Thank you.”

“I don’t know why you’re thanking me,” Kai sighed, lowering himself onto the ground and wincing at the ache in his back. “I was the one who kept trying to convince you that the child-murdering psychopath actually cared about us.”

“It’s not your fault, Kai. Borg tricked all of us. If it weren’t for your jump into action, we’d have lost our baby brother.”

“I just can’t stop thinking,” he whimpered, squeezing Nya’s hand tighter, and watching Lloyd from where Cole cradled him across the room, stroking him gently, “what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten there in time, or if I had decided to stay back in our room.”

“You can’t spend time dwelling on the past, Kai. You didn’t do those things, and everything worked out- well, as best as we could ask for, at least. You have to have more faith in yourself. We’re scared and confused, and we’re looking to you. I know that’s not fair, that you’re struggling just as much as any of us, but it’s the way things are. We need someone strong, like you, to keep us going.”

“I want to protect you guys, and keep you safe, more than anything else in the world. But I’m lost. I don’t know what to do, and I can’t do this alone.”

“Oh, Kai. No one would ever ask you to do anything alone. Whatever happens next, we’re all right here.”

#ninjago #NinjagoInhumanAuWeek #For the Romping and the Roaring #R&R #Part 1 #rosie writes #ugghhh guys i pounded this out in like four days and i am exhausted #i should've started writing for the event earlier #the amount of writing ive done in the last two weeks is insane #i'm lowkey gonna have burnout after this lol #my fic

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mor-beck-more-problems · 3 years

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Flashback Friday || Morgan & Luis

TIMING: Distant past, in the days of yee-haw

LOCATION: The Magick Cauldron, Houston, Texas

PARTIES: @ontheluis & @mor-beck-more-problems

SUMMARY: Luis wanders into a magic shop looking for some herbs, Morgan spies an opportunity, and the cards know more than either of them reckon.

CONTAINS: Mellow yee-haw vibes

“Welcome, traveler, to the Magick Cauldron! Browse at your pleasure and inquire if you have any questions!” Morgan had given the scripted greeting so many times, it came out of her in full customer service cheer every time the shop door opened. She didn’t even look up from the book she had open under the cash register anymore, but flipped another page and let the customers let her know if there was something worth talking about by shouting ‘lady!’ or coming into her peripheral view.

The Magick Cauldron was the only occult shop still standing West Houston after the Y2K stress fads had died away and the first bout of shiny, corporate development had found its way into Montrose and bulldozed a crystal shop, a Greek deli, and one of the few ladies-only gay bars in favor of a mixed use building that so far only housed a nail salon and a Jamba Juice. Ralf, the fine proprietor of the Cauldron as he called himself, said that this space was protected. As the door chimed open again and Morgan made her welcome speech, bright and shiny as the plastic plate armor hanging in the kid’s section, she wondered if he was right. She never seemed to serve more than a dozen or so customers during her shifts, but the lights stayed on, day after sweltering day. If Ralf was right, it might just be the one piece of real magic in the place, not that she could say that to anyone’s face.

The warped outline of a boy rippled over the glass counter and Morgan blinked up from her book. “Is there something I can help you with, weary traveler?” She asked wryly.

“Sorry ma’am,” Luis assured, “didn’t mean to bring the stray in here,”

Evening had fallen outside, heat from the blistering still wafting off the pavement. Telephone poles and streetlights were thin black columns that stood stark against the blazing orange and wane blues of sunset.

“Go on, git!”

At the Magick Cauldron’s threshold was an enormous black dog. Even while quietly sitting on its haunches the shaggy canine was easily as tall as the teenage boy snapped at it. Pupiless red eyes regarded Luis impassively, only an ear twitch showing that the dog wasn’t just a statue.

When the black dog gave no indication of actually entering the store nor stopping its scrutiny of Luis, the young man cut his losses and regarded the woman at the counter again.

“Here,” Luis reached into a pocket of his jeans and withdrew a crumpled piece of paper, smoothing it on the counter. The names of herbs and powders were written in someone else’s prime neat handwriting. “I uh don’t know what any of this is…,” he confessed.

Morgan took the paper carefully between her fingers, trying not to let her discomfort at how damp and sweaty it was show too much. It didn’t take much to figure out she was looking at an herbalist mixture for anxiety and sleeplessness. She looked up and the boy, and down to the list again. “We’ve got everything you need over here,” she said. She lead the boy over to the bulk aisle where the dried herbs and bottled oils were kept and alphabetized. “Did you want these bagged separate or together? Or--you probably don’t know how these work huh? We’ll do separate, so you can use any excess as you wish. But fair warning, we have a purchase minimum of one ounce for each item.” She put a small paper bag on the shelf in the middle of the display and started shovelling the herbs in. As she worked, she glanded sidelong at the kid and the dog that had decided to become instantly fond of him. Someone cared about them, to throw together this recipe, and he looked embarrassed enough for a kid his age to seem like he needed help. Would it be wrong to squeeze a few more dollars out of him if it so happened to brighten his day or give him some direction? Sure, he was scruffy, but not so much as to be desperate. He could afford a few extra bucks, right?

“Hey, you okay there?” Morgan asked him. “You seem a little lost. I’m getting some ‘needs direction’ vibes from you.” She gestured vaguely. “If you’re looking for Niko Niko’s, it’s just further down the street. You’re not supposed to leave your car here while you go over there, but I won’t tell. And if you need something a little less literal, I might be able to help you with that.” She nodded toward the oracle room at the back of the shop, with its hand painted sign hanging crooked from a nail and entryway draped with lavender beads. “I do have sliding scale rates, if it helps you make up your mind.”

The great black dog continued to watch Luis in silent stillness, the Barghest’s posture poised as if waiting for something.

“No offense ma’am but I don’t believe in…,” the teenager half-turned but caught sight of the enormous stray waiting for him in the darkening sunset. Those pupiless red eyes immediately filled Luis with a nameless dread. Cold sweat stained the back of his T-shirt as Luis’ skin went clammy despite the Texan heat. Luis couldn’t process why some random big-ass dog would wig him out so much. He wasn’t even afraid of it biting him or even the dog itself.

So why was his heart pounding in his temples?

“Yeah uh..s-seperate would be great,” Luis reaffirmed to Morgan needlessly. The labels on the tinctures and herbal selections blurred in his vision as Luis tried to get a handle on his thoughts. “Direction like, oh you mean to the interstate,” Luis replied in a misinterpretation of Morgan’s broader meaning. “I’m alright thanks, yeah merging on that triple hairpin by Foster is a pain in the ass but it's chill.”

Luis looked over to the oracle room with the dubiety of someone for whom the occult was just a vague ‘other’ mentioned at Mass or when abuela suggested a Sonora Market cure for whatever new cold was going around. He seemed about to decline again until the creeping skin-crawl of Barghest’s glare boring into his back made Luis amenable to any distraction.

“Yeah uh sure,” he said, taking a step towards the beaded shroud. “I’ll give it a shot.”

Morgan followed the boy’s eyes to the dog. He was looking pretty well fed for a stray, and his eyes--red, alert, sharp with an uncommon intelligence--made her shiver. Definitely supernatural. She didn’t know, how, or what, but it didn’t look good. “And I mean--” How to put this in just the right way? Or at least the more convincing way? “I mean your spirit, your chakras. Believe in your connection to the universe or not, but are you really going to say to my face that you know how you’re going to make your life worthwhile to yourself? That you know how to reach your greatest good?” No one did. Heck, she was a devout wiccan most days out of the year and even she didn’t know what her highest, greatest good looked like. “And if you’ve got the cash, I’ll throw in a cleansing, something to make--” she gestured at him vaguely, “Whatever negative heavy energy this is that’s stuck to you. Seriously, do you ever feel tired out of nowhere?” It was summer and the sun was exhausting; everyone got tired out of nowhere.

Maybe she was laying it on a little thick, but Morgan was tired of ordering off the dollar menu for dinner and she felt like she was taking her life into her own hands when she conjured money from school pens and laundry lint cotton. This kid’s money might get her a pot pie that didn’t come from the freezer, or enough tacos to last her a week, or maybe she’d blow it all on seafood, or a dress that hadn’t been worn by someone else. “I’ll ring you up first, and then we’ll see about getting the rest of you squared away.” Morgan did, and when that part of the transaction was over, she lead him into the oracle room.

In truth, the oracle room was an old storage closet with the door taken out. Morgan breezed through them and went to the antique flea market find armoire, where all the necessary items were kept. Morgan took out a small tray of tarot decks and took the one she liked best, a well loved Raider-Waite with stars on the backs and gold-gilt edges. “I’ll shuffle them myself, but you should tell me when to cut and start again and when to stop. When I’m done, you’ll spread them. You’re the one who needs to connect with the deck, after all.”

Rafael Martininez had given his son that smirking half-smile while Malia had given Luis the pale blue eyes watching Morgan shuffle cards. Sweaty light brown hair clung to his forehead beneath the Dallas Burn hat, stray strands dangling back his eyes. The lanky teenager sat awkwardly across from the cartomancer, doubting not only her veracity but that a term like destiny could even apply to someone like him.

Like many children who’re so profoundly blessed to grow up in a home of unconditional love, Luis had no idea that Rafael and Malia given him a protection rarer than talismans, weirds, or wards. Rafael had come to this country for a better life, and Malia had wanted a home that was safer then the hell she’d left. Together they’d given both dreams to their children, so Luis and his siblings would never have to go through what they had.

The freckled face that lifted to Morgan’s was innocent of hate, abuse, or fear of abandonment. Even in following a strange woman into a shrouded back room, it’d never occurred to Luis to worry about anything more sinister than carnival charlantry.

“So uh...like this ma’am,” Luis asked as he placed some cards face down on the table.

It was this very innocence in Louis that dulled the edge off Morgan’s guilt. It was wrong (if wrong was a real concept) to spoil something pure, but if she was really the worst thing that was going to happen to this kid in his teenage years, he was pretty darn lucky. At least he was getting some introspection out of the deal. Could he have gotten a tarot deck from the discount bookstore two blocks over for a quarter of what she was going to charge him, or thought everything out on his own for free? Yes. But he was also some bushy tailed high school kid; could happen wasn’t the same thing as would happen.

She’d had more instructions to give, some arbitrary waving of hands and maybe some visualization in what one of her co-workers called her ‘yoga voice’, but Louis, in his eagerness, had taken more than the requisite three cards she had planned on, wich just meant she had a ready-made excuse for the forty dollars she was going to take from him. “My, my, aren’t we eager?” She said. “What’s interesting to me already is that you have intuitively drawn out one of the more complex and energy taxing card spreads. Imperfectly, but--” She straightened them out at random until they made more of a geometric pattern. “See? I barely did anything at all. These cards must really like you. I don’t normally do something this involved, but it looks like there’s something here that wants to come out, and I’m not in the business of stifling anyone’s growth or energy.”

Morgan flipped the first card over to reveal The Fool and managed to keep her laughter light and soft. “Well, even if I hadn’t been doing this for so long, this is you, where you are right now. Don’t take the title personally, these are antiquated terms. He’s just young, and at the start of a great journey, not even begun, just on the precipice. He’s got his whole life ahead of him, and the sun, see? It’s shining on him to show that the universe is aligned with his desires. The world wants you to support you, wants to see you succeed.”

The second card. The Tower. Morgan’s eyes widened. Not really vibing with the story she’d been telling, but maybe the one after… Eight of Cups. Morgan flipped over the last ones. Death and The Moon. “Hmm...Fascinating...” Morgan said, stalling for a way to spin this. “The thing about the major arcana is the magnitude of forces. Forces like destiny and fate and the collective consciousness. These forces are bigger than a ten minute fight with your friends or what you want to do after graduation, these are ‘beyond your control’. And you have four. The universe really does have plans for you, that’s kind of exciting, right?” She smiled, hoping to get some confirmation from him, or at least some more of his trust. “What does your intuition tell you about this journey, honey?”

Morgan’s performative coaxing elicited a dubious look, but the striking illustrations of the Tarot drew Luis’ attention regardless. The fool was poised with one foot over the cliff, smiling blissfully as the sun warmed his back. The tower’s blackened crenellations tumbled down the cliffside as the once indomitable edifice was battered into ruins by a storm. A haggard traveler slumped down in relief on a river bank as eight golden chalice stood resplendent over the churning rapids. Death rode on its pale horse, a scythe clutched in one skeletal hand while offering an exquisitely detailed rose. The Moon slept in the sky above a verdant shore. Wolves howled in its light while pelagic creatures breached on the lunar tide.

“Woah that art on these is something else,” admitted Luis as he squinted at the intricate illuminations, clearly sensitive to aesthetics but not the higher esoteric meaning.

Unfortunately intuition is only as good as the experiences which inform it and Luis Martinez had been sheltered from the world’s cruelty. It was a blessing to be sure, but it also made Luis unable to imagine that evil doesn’t need consent to claim you.

“My intuition is uh,” floundered the young man who had about as much affinity for divination as the average block of cedar. “The ranch’ll catch on fire, maybe a relative will die, but we’ll find like eight things that’ll make it better before the next full moon,” Luis posited.

Morgan’s stomach rumbled as the boy ogled the artwork on the cards. She was tempted to commend the kid on his ‘uncanny insight’ into the realm of the divine and take her money and run down the street for a hot stack of tacos. But the kid was so bright eyed and easily awed. She felt like she owed him at least some of her knowledge, even if she thought the tarot was psychological self-talk at best.

“Fortunately for your relatives, nothing here is quite that literal,” she said, laughing warmly. “But this journey you’re on, both within and without, is going to be perilous.” Perilous to the point of being seriously dangerous and traumatic, if this really was his subconscious sensing something on the horizon. But that wasn’t something she was going to say to his face. She wanted money without having to lie to her mother about where it came from later. “Even though your desires are upheld by the earth and stars, there will come a time when it feels as though you’ve been cast out and lost everything. But the key to staying your course is to…” What was a precious uplift-y way to spin this? “Hold fast to your sense of self. Remember the core of who you are and what you want. Because, if you do, then you will survive the upheavals, and you will be able to choose wisely what to keep, what to leave behind, and end up so strong, it’ll feel like you’ve been resurrected and leveled up into a new, better, cooler version of yourself!” She had no idea how to make sense of the moon card in a positive five star customer service rating sort of way, so she moved it underneath the spread, smiling like this had been her master plan all along.

“This card with the moon and the wolves isn’t your endgame, it’s an indicator of the vehicle, the thing that encompases the whole. All this massive change ahead of you isn’t necessarily going to be visible to everyone. It comes from within, sometimes hidden, like how you can only see the stars when it’s dark out and most of the world is asleep, and wolves howl when the world is in shadows. It’s like that. And it’s going to be amazing.”

Morgan checked her watch and slumped back in her chair as if she were exhausted. Not a hard thing to do when it was this hot out. “So, that’s gonna be forty dollars for the energy and the insight. Technically, with how many cards you pulled, it should be a little more, but I can tell you’re taking a risk on something new here and I want to honor that. But we can keep going if you have any more questions!”

“Vehicle huh...not sure dad’s gonna let me spraypaint moons and wolves on the truck,” Luis mused, perhaps taking the ‘vehicle’ thing a bit too literally or not wanting to think too hard about the possibility of his life changing.

Luis looked over the intricately illustrated cards, eyebrows wrinkling as he tried to parse through the profound chicanery Morgan had spouted. A bite of the lower lip hinted that Luis had never really encountered those who could appear to say everything while stating nothing particularly specific.

“Well shiiiii..,” the teenager breathed before glancing up at Morgan and catching himself with a small hssk of inhalation, as if some inner parental voice had scolded him about cursing in front of a lady. “That was pretty cool,” he amended, clearly at a loss before everything he’d been told, too polite to claim he didn’t believe any of it, but also too much a child of modernity to heed the weird feeling in his gut that recognized something...hit different...about this chance prophecy.

Luis grinned bashfully and unknowingly let fate’s final warning pass him by.

“Forty bucks huh, I’ll havta explain that somehow,” the young man noted with the mild consternation of someone blessed enough to just worry about a family member who’d be more peeved about gas money going to “fortuneteller” then the actual cash itself.

The bills slid across the table after some awkward wallet-riffling. “Thank you ma’am.”

Morgan snatched up the bills and shoved them down her shirt before the kid could change his mind. Whatever ominous feelings his subconscious were trying to air out was no concern for her. She had too many problems of her own to bother with anyone else’s. “It takes a long time to read the cards,” she drawled smugly. “And lots of energy, to open oneself and reach beyond the veil.” She waved her fingers as if to say tootles, and went back to fanning herself until he was gone.

She helped a lady find some yarrow and made up a policy about consultation fees to get another $10 in her pocket. She was using her agency to bridge the gap between minimum shop girl wage and living wage, working her will to get the right kind of energy flowing her way. Mostly, the energy of not-starving and not invoking the ire of darkness from using alchemy to get ahead. It didn’t line up with the rest of what she understood, neutral magic forces should be lining up to help her right her cosmic access and be less chronically miserable, but that was a problem to untangle another day.

At the end of her shift, Morgan shuffled the cards once again and lined them up on the cleansing plate the shopkeeper wanted the used decks put on. By chance, or so she told herself, she picked up the topmost card to see what was there for her. But it was just the death card, and Morgan knew the last thing that was gonna happen to her life was a hard reset. She stuck it back in the middle of the deck and slipped away into the long shadows that marked the summer evening.

#flashback friday #wr luis #wr chatzy #wr luis chatzy

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watanabes-cum-dump · 4 years

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Winter Eden Chapter one: Wake up

"Live... you have... to live"

Cold, freezing, relentless cold surrounded the boy. And he heard someone call his name. He looked up and saw a girl, beautiful and doll like jumping down towards him. Instantly, he noticed one thing: her eyes. They looked just like his. A light, beautiful shade of cool, crisp blue. But other than that, she looked nothing like him. Her hair was a pale creamy colour, and her features didn't suggest Asian origin like his. But, he welcomed her, nonetheless.

He reached out towards her, and she to him. Their fingers touched as an explosion shook him to the core, sending several tons of snow and rubble into the water.

BOOM

"-Wake up"

A boy caught the hand that was hovering above him, holding it in his steel grip, his blue eyes suddenly alert and sharp.

"Woah, woah, woah" he looked to see a girl, the one he had seen just moments before, awake and with her delicate wrist in his gloved hand.

"Ren, it's me. Aisha" she said kindly.

He blinked. Ren. That was... that was his name. And she was Aisha. His sister.

He sat up, groaning a little as a dull pain rang in his head. He looked to Aisha, and noticed how disoriented she was. Her hair was matted and stringy, carelessly hanging down one side of her face, her white and pink dress was dirty and a bit torn. He knew she was supposed to have a black shawl with a pink flower pattern over her shoulders, with white fur all over it. He had given that to her, right?

Ren looked down at himself, noticing the once pristine white long coat was covered in filth and muck, torn to near shreds. It saddened him a bit to see it. He wondered why...

"Ah, you're awake"

Ren shot up and got into a fighting stance, gauntlets suddenly covering his fists, try hummed with energy and a curious blue emitted from the cracks.

An elderly man had entered the room, he had aged well, as he was still rather handsome, and could have been more so in his youth. He was tall and seemed to be very healthy for a man his age as well. He was probably around what, fifty? Sixty even? His kind blue eyes sat behind a pair of glasses, twinkling as he stroked an immaculate stark white beard.

"Ren, that's principal Anjou. He told me he pulled us out of the ocean" Aisha gripped his arm, giving him a pleading look.

Why did she trust him? Some shady old man living in this palace? Or was it a mansion? The room was massive and ornate, arched ceilings and chandeliers, black and white marble everywhere. Perhaps a sick bay of some sorts? But in a castle? How strange...

Ren put his arms down, the gauntlets retracted to bracelets hidden by his sleeves. He eyed the man suspiciously before sitting back down into the bed.

"I'm sure you have many questions, but, I won't be able to answer all of them!" he said, giving him a light hearted chuckle.

"But, your sister is right. I am principal Anjou, you are at my school, Cassel College. And by the looks of it, you're a hybrid, aren't you?"

Aisha piped up "Um, principal Anjou, sir, sorry for not asking this earlier, but what is a hybrid?" She asked innocently.

"Ah, do not fret my dear, a hybrid is just that: a hybrid. A human that has dragon blood running through their veins. Many actually don't know they're hybrids for quite a long time. But, I am here to inform you two that you are both hybrids. Very powerful ones at that" Anjou explained, taking a puff from a cigar.

"Alright, why is that important?" Aisha asked.

"Because I train youths like you to fight monsters here at Cassel College. Consider it a sort of secret organization" Anjou said with a wink.

Ren glared at him suspiciously, fists tightening. Anjou noticed.

"Ah, it looks like the little lotus doesn't trust me, does he?"

Little lotus? That sounded oddly familiar... where had he heard it?

"That aside, it has come to my understanding that you both have long term amnesia, based on some scans run by the school's AI, whom you will meet shortly. And that you two were both injured rather gravely. Ren here survived two bullets, one to the knee, and one to his lower spine. It's remarkable that he is still alive and walking, and how fast he's healed. I've seen some speedy regeneration abilities but never anything like this"

He had been shot!? By whom!?

"And I have taken it upon myself to formally invite you to study here at Cassel, provided you accept"

Aisha seemed to get suspicious as well "Why would you openly welcome two random teenagers?"

Anjou sighed, "It is an unfortunate fact that a lot of hybrids are orphans, and they often run away from home and stumble into danger. More than half of my students have run away from their foster families or local orphanages. Which is why I can't have two powerful hybrids like you two wandering around"

Aisha looked over at Ren, who silently told her that he needed to think. This was all going too fast.

"Can you give us a moment to think?" Aisha requested.

Anjou nodded "Of course. Should you two refuse, I can send you one of our safe houses until you can get back on your feet. But, I encourage you to choose to study here, because there aren't many other places that can teach you how to use you powers. And that may come with a grave price" he stated before walking out the archway.

Aisha sighed and took Ren's hands in hers "Ren, I don't remember much, but I remember that I care about you a lot, and that we do fight with some sort of magic. I think this is the best option, he's a kind old gentleman and it's true for the most part. There are students here, and they're just like us"

Ren met her eyes "Hybrids" he rasped out, his throat hurt, he never said much. He never felt the need to. He knew that he had been like that for most of his life.

They weren't regular teenagers with regular problems, they were warriors. Hybrids with whatever powers the title came with.

Aisha nodded "Yes, hybrids, whatever they may be"

Ren sighed and nodded. Aisha lit up and hugged him. "Thank you"

Ren hugged her back, she smelt like pine, crisp and cold. Whatever it was, it felt like home, and he gladly welcomed it.

"I take it you've come to a decision?"

The siblings turned to see Anjou back in the room, perhaps to check on them.

"Yes. We accept your offer" Aisha said firmly.

Anjou smiled "Good. Now, I'll make arrangements for your rooms, and our Butler EVA will help you get ready for the test"

Just as he said that, a holographic figure of a girl materialized. She was like a graceful blue spirit, with a long flowing dress, and long hair. Strings of code spiraled in and out of existence around her, while her bare feet levitated off the ground.

"This is EVA, the college's AI Butler. Should you need anything, just ask her. EVA, prepare uniforms for our new students, and perhaps show them to a bathroom so that they can freshen up" Anjou ordered.

"Of course, principal Anjou" EVA replied in an automated voice.

"A... test?" Aisha asked nervously.

Anjou threw back his head in laughter "Did you think you could just waltz in and study here?"

"Of course not!" Aisha exclaimed "But, uh, what kind of test is it?"

"You'll see in due time my dear, for now, just make yourself look more presentable, the frozen sea of Siberia couldn't have been kind to you" and with that, the principal left, leaving the floating blue hologram and the siblings in the sick bay.

Ren sighed as he looked into the mirror of the washroom. This was the first time he had gotten a look at himself. His hair was long and snowy white, it had been all over the place but had managed to tame it and tie it in a messy bun so that it didn't get in the way of his limbs or fly around in his face. He was oddly handsome, he supposed, more attractive than he would have thought, with nearly flawless skin safe for a scar on his cheekbone, and slanted blue eyes.

He flashed a little smirk and wink the the mirror, pushing his bangs back a bit before heading out. The uniform was surprisingly comfortable, and allowed lots of free movement. It was rather stylish too, with the sharp black and purple jacket and close fitting black pants. EVA had even provided him with a pair of black ankle boots, he supposed his white boots would stick out too much with the uniform.

When he got out, Aisha was standing there in the uniform, plucking nervously at her black and purple skirt while talking with a male student. He was tall and lanky with ash grey hair tied in a ponytail, and was kind of handsome in an oddly charming angular way. Was he flirting with her?

"Anyways, what should I call you, besides beautiful, beautiful?"

Oh dear god he was.

Ren marched up to him and shoved Aisha behind him, facing the student.

"Uh, hey! Is um, is that your girl?" he asked nervously, pointing a nervous finger at Aisha.

"No. This is my brother, Ren" she piped up from behind the white haired boy.

The student backed away nervously when he looked down and saw Ren's fists clenched tightly. "Eh, sorry I'll go. I won't flirt with your lil' sis again, ok? Promise! Please don't hurt me!"

Ah. So he was a wimp.

Ren nodded down the hallway, the student took it as a signal to get lost. The grey haired boy ran down the hallways without looking back, his pride probably deeply wounded. If he had any left, anyhow.

EVA appeared again "I will show you two outside. Someone is waiting to show you around" she said, gesturing for them to follow her towards the exit. Ren's eyes widened at the sight of the light. Yes, the light. His new light. And he was reading to take it with him, especially with his dear sister at his side.

Anjou sat at his desk, frowning as he clicked his pen. "EVA" he called.

The blue hologram of a girl appeared beside him "Yes, principal Anjou?"

"I want you to run scans on whatever DNA was left on their old clothes. Compare it to every Hybrid family we have information on"

EVA bowed her head "Understood" she replied before disappearing.

Anjou narrowed his eyes as he remembered Ren's slanted light blue eyes. He had only seen a pair like those once before. And Aisha emitted a powerful aura, with a charismatic pale and nearly invisible light pink edging her all too familiar cream coloured locks.

They resembled the missing children of those hybrid families all too well, and them turning up near the ruins of Black Swan Bay couldn't just he a coincidence... could it?

Notes:

I'm terribly sorry of this seems a little rushed! I might fix it some other time, it is rather late and though I usually have a creative streak around this time, my writing is always a bit sloppy late at night. I know it seems to have gone a bit quick, but that's honestly what is was like in the game and I find this beginning part hard to add details onto, with this being from Ren, a near mute amnesiac's point of view. It's going to be quite a challenge for me since I've never written a mute or relatively quiet character before, most of my characters are very chatty or vocal about their opinions.

Also in regards to the title, I went with Winter Eden since Ren is our Ice King, and Aisha means prosperous, you know like a garden. I thought Arctic flowers initially since Ren means flower, Aisha means prosperous and they grew up in Siberia, but I like Winter Eden much more. Since, Eden was ultimately abandoned and Adam and Eve were banished, much like how Black Swan Bay was destroyed.

As you can see, Aisha often speaks for Ren, since he doesn't speak much himself. Point of views will alternate in between Ren and Aisha from time to time. I hope this wasn't too terrible, I promise I can write proper stories!

#winter eden #dragon raja #DragonRajaOC #OC #original story #dragon raja anjou #principal Anjou #original character #draja #draja OCs #OCs

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trashmouths-toziers-blog · 6 years

Text

invisible

Requested: nope

Pairing: richie tozier x eddie kaspbrak

Description: everything’s different and there’s nothing richie tozier can do about it. all he wants is to be with his best friend again, but to eddie kaspbrak, he’s invisible.

Warnings: some swearing, major teenage angst, and super emo

Word Count: 2,015

A/N: hello everyone!! here’s a lil emotional imagine based on the song invisible by 5sos. this is my first imagine, so feedback is extremely appreciated. i hope you all enjoy! :))))

richard tozier got out of bed just as he always did. he pulled on the same style of clothes that he wore almost every day, and stepped out of his small room. watching the warm glow of the morning sun slip through the dark curtains that lined the windows, as he slipped through the family living room.

he glanced at the television, which, to no surprise, was playing a game of football. the sport felt childish to him and the tall, lanky boy could never find the appeal that it brought to so many other people.

before stepping out of the house, richie glanced backwards, letting his eyes follow the trail of empty beer bottles that littered the couch, coffee table, and even the floor.

he walked down the pale sidewalk, making his way downtown, just a few streets away from his small home.

the main street full of old brick buildings was packed, along with the park just across the street. it was the town’s annual derry days festival.

richie kept his head down as he passed by a number of people making their way in the opposite direction.

he felt a strange mixture of relief and despair when none of them acknowledged him. not even the kind old lady who played the piano at the church he used to attend, or his seventh grade english teacher.

the bright mid-summer sun was warm and bright, prickling against richie’s pale skin.

he reached the town drugstore and found himself wandering down the alleyway behind it. richie leaned against the rough brick building and pulled a carton of marlboros, stuck one in between his teeth, and lit it, letting the toxic smoke fill his lungs,

the alley reminded him of the games he and his closest friends used to play there. he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remember what life had been like back then.

back when those coke-bottle glasses swallowed his face, and he felt as though he could say anything. back when bill denbrough’s stutter was still thick and ben hanscom was the new kid in town. when mike hanlon was everyone’s favorite farm boy and beverly marsh was always around. when stanley uris wasn’t ashamed of watching birds. and when everything scared eddie kaspbrak.

back when richie tozier didn’t have a single care in the world.

he missed their spirit. he missed the “unbreakable” bond of the loser’s club. although, even the strongest of bonds can be broken.and he had learned that the hard way.

after a few minutes, richie put his cigarette out with the toe of his converse shoe, before walking towards the grassy park, filled with giggling children and gossiping parents who gave him strange looks as he walked by their picnic blankets.

richie glanced up at the stage, where as always, some young girls were cheerfully dancing next to a man dressed in a clown costume. the clown smiled widely at the crowd that had gathered around the stage and offered a balloon to a child. richie shuttered, quickening his pace and diverting his gaze back to the green ground.

he had always been afraid of clowns. unlike most kids, their big red noses and boisterous personalities bothered him. but he tolerated them. at least until the summer of 1989, when it came, and it killed, and it filled the losers’ worlds with fear.

thinking about those few months scared him more than anything else ever would.

making his way through the rest of the park, richie continued his journey to the small diner just down the street, craving a milkshake, and possibly some fries. he patted his back pocket softly, just to make sure his wallet was still in it, containing the small amount of money that he would allow himself to spend after working several odd jobs all over derry.

he enjoyed the diner, the workers were kind and he found that he could easily spend hours inside of it. especially when the old jukebox next to the corner booth that he always found himself sitting in played some of his favorite songs.

richie was used to the quietness of the restaurant, but as he opened the glass door, the diner felt different.

as he walked up to the counter, he kept his eyes trained on the cashier, an older man that he was used to seeing there.

he tried to ignore the sound of a familiar laugh that drifted into his ears and surrounded his mind in the most perfect heart-breaking way.

after he ordered his usual, an oreo milkshake and some fries, richie made his way to his corner booth, which was luckily empty. before sitting down, he fished a few coins out of his pocket and put them in the jukebox, letting a buddy holly song make its way through the restaurant.

for the first time since he had entered the diner, richie let himself glance at the table filled to the brim with kids from his school. their ponytails tied high on their heads, hair expertly styled as though they had spent hours on it, suddenly making richie feel slightly embarrassed about his unruly curls.

he shook off the feelings that swallowed him quickly, putting on his cool facade and leaning back into the booth and propping his feet up, just in case someone happened to look over at him.

richie watched as the small brunette smiled widely at something that one of his friends said. his clothing was perfectly picked out to match his personality, although that didn’t surprise richie. eddie always did have a knack for style, and his pastel sweater and perfectly-fitted blue jeans definitely reflected that.

richie didn’t mean to stare, but he just couldn’t look away.

not even when eddie’s gaze caught his own.

eddie’s eyes grew wider, if even possible, and his head tilted slightly to the side. richie couldn’t fight the warm feeling that crept into his gut as they looked into each other’s eyes, as if caught in some kind of trance.

he thought about the last time they had looked at each other like that. back when they were the best of friends; before they drifted apart so suddenly. richie wondered if he should blame that fucking clown for ruining his life, but deep down he knew that it would have happened either way.

they were all just too different to stay together, too broken. richie remembered when the losers club would spend their summer days at the quarry, swimming, laughing, and playing. he remembered when they would ride their bikes all over town, ignoring the stern looks coming from the elderly people they passed. he remembered when he would carry a spare inhaler with him wherever he went, just in case eddie got spooked. he remembered when they were inseparable…

as richie stared at eddie, he couldn’t help but want more. a warm feeling made its way through his body as he sat completely still and he never wanted it to end.

but nothing lasts forever, and richie knew that better than anyone.

eddie’s eyes left his as the built blonde beside him snuck a strong arm around his shoulders, encasing the small boy completely. but just like a trainwreck, richie couldn’t look away. not even when the two boys leaned closer and closer, until their lips met in a soft kiss.

richie got out of the booth quickly, his long legs carrying him across the diner, pushing through the door, and taking him out of the fluorescent lights of the small restaurant.

richie tried, but he couldn’t get eddie out of his mind, even as he lit another cigarette. he needed something, even if it wasn’t the love he desperately craved from the smaller boy. he wanted to talk to him, laugh with him, hold him.

but in eddie’s world, richie was invisible.

richie found himself back in his room, his cigarette long gone as well as the others he has smoked on his way home.

he’d never really cared for smoking up until the beginning of high school, when shit started hitting the fan. beverly was the one who gave him his first cigarette on his way home on the second day.

“this’ll help,” she’d said in her silky smooth voice, noticing how stressed out he was, and ruffling his hair gently.

richie had thanked her softly, taking it and putting it in his mouth, waiting for her to light it. when she did, he took his time letting the toxic smoke fill his lungs. he tries to convince himself it had been because he was afraid that the cigarette would make him sick, just like everyone always told him. but he knows it was only because he wanted it to last longer, as if it was the only cigarette he would ever have. boy was he wrong about that.

the memory caused a small smile to tug on the corners of richie’s lips as he laid face down on his bed. but it quickly faded as he thought about eddie and the blonde boy he was with.

richie knew he shouldn’t blame himself, but how could he not? what was so awful about him that caused eddie to leave? what could he have done differently? maybe it was the constant jokes about banging eddie’s mom. but it never seemed to really bother him. maybe he should’ve stopped calling him ‘eds’ the first time eddie told him to. but the way his cheeks turned red everytime richie did it told a different story.

he glanced at the clock on his bedside table that read 3:22. neither of his parents would be home for at least another hour. he sat up, putting his head into his hands.

i can’t do this anymore, was the only sentence that ran through his mind as he looped his fingers through his curly hair and tugged on it. richie’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to catch his breath.

this was the moment when richie made up his mind about one thing. for the first time in what felt like forever, the pieces of his life seemed to come together in a perfectly twisted way.

he got up from bed, his body alive with a sudden burst of energy, and grabbed his backpack. turning it upside down over his bed, he dumped out the contents from inside of it, before filling it with new things.

he packed some clothes, mainly jeans and hawaiian shirts (the richie tozier usual), a book, although he didn’t really plan on reading it, a toothbrush, because morning breath had always bothered him, and some snacks that he had been hiding under his bed, just in case he didn’t get to eat dinner.

richie tightened the laces on his worn out chucks and sat down at his desk, writing out a small letter to explain why he was leaving and pouring all of the emotions he felt into it. he said his final goodbye to who meant the most to him. he signed his name at the bottom, and folded it up, tucking it into his pocket carefully.

the letter sure as hell wasn’t going to his parents. he knew for a fact that they wouldn’t care about what it would say. the only content he would include in a letter to them would be a big fat ‘fuck you’ in bright red ink. maybe more, if he wanted to include the trashmouth tozier classics such as, ‘suck a dick’ or ‘go fuck yourself’.

the letter wasn’t going to beverly either, even though she had been by his side throughout almost everything. he knew that a letter would leave a burden on her, even make her feel guilty. he knew he would have to tell his goodbyes to her in person.

and even though every single piece of richie was telling him to just go to beverly and get the hell out of town, something was stopping him.

so he left the house for the second time that day, but this time he didn’t look back.

#reddie #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #it 2017 #reddie imagine #richie x eddie #richie tozier x eddie kaspbrak #it imagine #beverly marsh #ben hanscom #bill denbrough #stanley uris #mike hanlon #imagine #request for part 2

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belleetlabeast · 7 years

Text

Confident (Part 11)-Final

Summary: Your best friend growing up was Sam Wilson but with his busy life as an Avenger and your life in the Air Force, you two never really got to spend much time together. That was until you applied to become the new War Machine after Col. James Rhodes retired. Now Sam won’t let you be and a new protective streak has started but will it end your friendship or only make things stronger? Bucky X Reader

A/N: This might be my favorite part…

Warnings: Violence/Bleeding/Swearing/Fluff

Part 10

You laid there, against the cold concrete floor, waiting. Your head would lull side to side every so often until you saved up enough energy to keep your eyes open. It might have been stupid to call out their plan while you were knelt down with hands tied behind your back but it was worth it to know that your team knew what you knew. They were frauds. They were still small town crooks looking to make it big in arms dealing but needed a push to make them famous. They never counted on you though. You had messed their entire plan up. Instead of Black Widow or Hawkeye, like they assumed, they got you, someone the world didn’t even knew existed, aside from your family and the military. Still, you were simply a captain in the Air Force- another captured military personnel. The world didn’t know you as an avenger. You still chuckled slightly at the thought.

The wound in your shoulder had coagulated. You needed to clean entry and exit wound but that would have to wait. After your little stunt, your captors had left you with nothing. Everything you did too minimal effort so that you could keep your eyes open and to keep the pain in your shoulder from growing.

“You’re not dying here, you idiot.” You mumbled as you watched a random guard pass by. You quickly hunched over, still laying on the ground, and began to cough. It was an ugly, hacking cough to draw his attention. Luckily, he rushed over, leaving the door open and allowing you to easily subdue him. You reached out to grab his arm as leverage as you hooked your legs around his head and pulled him to the ground, slamming his head on the concrete.

You stopped and looked around. You wouldn’t dare breath for that moment until you were sure no one else was coming. Your shoulder was throbbing about you would probably start bleeding again but you needed to continue. You took any supplies you could carry and obviously the weapon strapped to the former guards leg. The heels you wore into work were now broken so you walked barefoot. You were on high alert, watching and monitoring everything as you searched for an exit. There were still at least three fences you had to cross with barbwire and scouts that you would have to cross injured and barefoot but you weren’t going to roll over and die. You continued to trek on, getting slower and slower as you felt more blood dripping down your arm. Your eyelids were getting heavy and your mind woozy. You sat down in a huff, clear off in a corner and away from any prying eyes. Shit, you thought as your body slowly drifted into shock from the blood loss. But then there was a whirring sound coming toward you. It wasn’t footsteps but the sound of a small jet flying toward you. Unable to keep your head up, you felt the pressure of whatever it was hit your body. That was until you looked up and saw your War Machine mask fly toward you, hitting the rest of your helmet and putting in the final piece.

“What?” You mumbled as the machine started to carry you away.

“Captain L/N, it’s good to see you again.” FRIDAY’s chipper voice greeted you.

“Y/N!” Tony called out but you were slowly drifting out of consciousness. “I’m getting you home.” Then darkness consumed your vision, and you passed out.

---

When you woke next, your mind was a confusing blur of blinding white lights and strange beeping sounds. You felt constricted and confined, wanting to move but someone held your arms, softly calming you to lay still. You blinked rapidly, allowing your eyes to adjust to the light, but you knew who it was. His dark skin and warm touch was comforting. Home. He felt safe and calming, pulling you from your unconsciousness.

“Sam,” you croaked as tears brimmed you eyes. “Sam!” You tried to reach for him but he came to you first, engulfing you in his arms.

“Y/N,” his voice was cracking too. “I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry. I should have caught you. I told you I would protect you and I didn’t. I’m so sorry.” You could feel the warm droplets of tears on the top of your head. You nuzzled in deeper into his chest, deeper into his familiar smell. Even after years apart, he still smelled like the same Sam. He was still the same lanky teenager from Harlem that tried his hardest to act cool.

“You have nothing to apologize for.” You said as you pushed back on his chest. Looking up at him, you could see him clearer. His eyes were red with large bags under his eyes. He hadn’t slept well, if at all. “You can’t keep blaming yourself for what happens to me.”

“But I promised. . .” He trailed off. “I p-promised your dad I would protect you.” You stared at him in disbelief.

“Sam, that was so long ago. We were five!” You recalled watching your father in his hospital bed. The same wires and tubes tied to him after he had suffered a massive heart attack. He had pulled Sam aside and asked him to protect his only child. It was a huge task that should have never been asked of the small boy but he took it to heart. Even now, after years apart and two separate careers in the Air Force, he was still trying to keep his promise. You shook your head. “Your mama always said you were stubborn.”

“Your mama said the same thing about you.” He sat back down in the chair that looked like he had been living in. “And when the hell were you going to tell me about Bucky and you?”

“What?” You blushed furiously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There is no Bucky and me.” You looked away, but you could feel his scowl.

“Y/N, I am your best friend. I am the best friend you are ever gonna get!” You rolled your eyes at his exaggerated, sassy tone.

“You’re dumb.” You joked at him.

“Yeah, I am.” His statement immediately dampened the mood in the room. “You’re not five anymore and I should have seen that.” You turned to look at him again but he was now look at the floor. “I was so caught up in protecting you, I was suffocating you and pushing you away.” He paused to sigh but then continued. “You’re my oldest and closest friend. I don’t have to explain my life to you or act a certain way. I should have given you that same respect. So, uh- you have my blessing to-uh-date Bucky.” He was nervous as he spat out the last part to you. You started giggling but it soon grew to laughter as you watched Sam’s face.

“Because I totally need your permission.” You joked, watching to see his reaction but he knew you were baiting him.

“You know what I mean!” He groaned in exasperation. “You’re still infuriating.” But you just smirked.

---

Three weeks later.

“Where’s the fire, old man? Don’t want you to break a hip.” Sam called out as Bucky rushed past him.

“You upset that a 100 year old man can run faster than you?” Bucky yelled back, smirking as Sam ran after him.

“Seriously, though? What’s up?” Sam asked after he caught up after Bucky but Bucky shushed him.

“I didn’t want to miss Y/N’s practice.” He whispered as the two peered into the smaller makeshift dance studio. You were relaxed and smiling as you and Natasha danced in sync. You had both agreed to take up ballet again and use it as a method to grow closer. Tony immediately called for a dance studio to be built for the two of you but for now you resided in an extra training room. With the horrible memories attached to ballet for the both of you, it took a while to get comfortable again but when you did, you were marvelous. Bucky loved to watch as you effortlessly glide across the floor. You landed into a pointe and extended your hand towards Bucky peaking into the window. After giving him a smirk, you turned to glide back towards Natasha.

“Beautiful, Y/N. You’re a natural.” Natasha praised as she scooped you into a hug, careful to watch your injured shoulder.

“Well I have a wonderful teacher to help me back into the swing of things.” You hugged back. Bucky and Sam meekly entered the studio after being caught.

“Come to steal a peek?” Natasha teased as Bucky walked up to you.

“Well, I figured that I would make up on my promise.” Bucky wrapped his arm around your waist as you looked at him in confusion. “I think I owe you a date, doll.”

“Finally!” Natasha huffed, throwing her arms in the air. Sam smiled and mutter something to Bucky, more than likely a joking threat.

“Hm. . .” You hummed as you thought. You started to slow walk towards your shoes and out of Bucky’s grasp, still humming. “I mean, I guess.” You finally answered, grinning at Bucky.

“You’re gonna get it!” He growled as he rushed at you, picking you up and throwing you over his shoulder. You squealed in laughter. You were home, in a place you could finally be yourself, and with people who loved you.

---

I hope you loved it! It wrapped up faster than I expected

Tags: @imgettingmarriedtobuckybarnes @dontstopwiththelyin @elorcansalvaterre -Love Kate, xoxo

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes #bucky fanfic #james bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #sergeant james barnes #sergeant barnes #sam wilson #steve rogers #natasha romanoff #tony stark #james rhodes

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weloveallanimals · 6 years

Text

Boy Adopts An Abandoned ‘Puppy’ — Then Discovers He’s Actually A Baby Wolf

Pets come to us in all sorts of ways. Sometimes you go to the shelter on a mission to adopt your new best friend, and sometimes they simply adopt you!

At some point, I think everyone is tempted to take in a stray who comes calling. Oftentimes, this is a great choice, as we saw with the flight attendant who finally broke down and adopted a dog that used to wait for all of her flights.

Every now and then, however, the sweet stray you fall in love with might end up being a little bit more than the average pet owner can handle.

That’s exactly what happened for one teenage boy in Arizona, who adopted a sweet abandoned “puppy,” only to discover that his new canine companion wasn’t really a puppy at all!

Scroll through the gallery to learn what happened when he realized that his beloved pup was actually more of a cub — a wolf cub, to be precise!

When an 18-year-old in Tucson, AZ, saw an adorable, fluffy puppy abandoned in a shopping cart, he couldn’t resist — he had to save that little pooch!

He begged his parents to let him keep the animal, who was undeniably cute, with big, pleading eyes and ears perked all the way up like a German shepherd’s.

The young man named his new pup Neo and tried to settle him into a routine. But right from the start, this particular canine seemed to have an unusually hard time adjusting to everyday life.

Even for a puppy, little Neo was incredibly needy. He wanted his owner to be by his side at all times and got anxious and out of sorts whenever he was left alone.

He also couldn’t get a handle on the basics of house-training; Neo pooped and peed everywhere.

To top it off, he was the ultimate “one-man dog.” If his owner tried to get a dog-sitter to watch Neo, the pup got moody and antisocial, refusing to make eye contact and ignoring any human company other than the young man he bonded with.

As Neo got bigger and stronger, he developed Houdini-like tendencies, often escaping from the yard to play with the German shepherds next door.

The neighbors were increasingly alarmed by the big, rangy, distinctly unfriendly dog that kept inviting himself onto their property.

Neo’s owner tried to keep him in his own yard with a higher fence, but Neo just chewed through in pursuit of the canine company.

Eventually, with neighbors fed up and Neo’s owner unable to keep up with the dog’s need for constant, unwavering attention, it was time to contact the Humane Society of Southern Arizona about finding a new home where the dog could be happy.

As it happened, however, the moment Neo showed up at the Humane Society, he was spotted by former CEO Maureen O’Nell, who immediately inspected the animal’s strange behavior and realized that he wasn’t an ordinary dog.

“I saw a couple walking a long-legged canine to the front door,” she told the Dodo. “It wasn’t his body composition that made me notice, but his behavior. Neo was completely avoidant of human interaction. The couple walking him seemed, as best as I can describe it, perplexed.”

O’Nell and the other staffers at the Humane Society quickly realized why Neo was so uncomfortable: They could tell just from looking at the big, lanky canine that he was actually a high-content wolf-dog.

In other words, he’s a cross between a wolf and a dog, but his genetics are dominantly wolf-like.

That’s why he had such an intense dog-like affection for one person, but was constantly trying to create a “pack” and was distrustful of most humans.

The Humane Society held onto Neo for a bit, until they could get him a spot in the perfect place for him: a rescue organization and youth empowerment program called Wolf Connection in California.

Wolf Connection makes it their mission to rescue and rehabilitate wolves and wolf-dogs who have been fully or partially domesticated, and who wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild.

They give them space to form a pack dynamic all their own, but also tap into their desire to socialize by organizing meet-and-greets between their canine residents and at-risk youths and other visitor groups.

In a statement to LittleThings, Wolf Connection described the role Neo holds in their organization:

“Neo isn’t just living out his life at a wolf-dog sanctuary, Wolf Connection is actually a youth empowerment program for at-risk youth – Neo is helping young adults learn to heal from their own trauma by hearing about his past, respecting his energy and anxieties, and learning how to give themselves the same patience and empathy that they can give to another being… Neo’s socialization and healing are done in correspondence with his work with the youth participants.”

Now a full-grown wolf-dog, Neo is fully integrated into the Wolf Connection community.

Socializing with people is still a work in progress, but according to the Wolf Connection website, he has lots of furry pup friends at the sanctuary and makes more and more progress with socialization every day.

He’s a lot more comfortable with people that he once was — he is pictured above having his belly tickled by a favorite person — and is even social enough now to join the other wolves on hikes with outside visitors!

If you’re interested in donating or getting involved with this awesome organization, you can learn more on the Wolf Connection website.

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heartsofpets · 6 years