#i'm punching the floor and the wall and the ceiling

[oneshotnewbie]

Saw an tiktok, and I need YOU to write me a fanfiction about please 🙏 "You've wasted my fucking time. Why are you here?" & "I don't know! Hit me if that makes you feel better!" and then Reader punches them, and the team is kinda proud. Station 19 / Carina x Maya please 💚

- 🎈

𝐴𝑢𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒: 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝐼 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 19 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐼 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑦 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎. 𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑛 ♥

𝑆𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦: 𝑌𝑜𝑢, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑡 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 19, 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒. 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑡 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑙𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓-𝑑𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑡

ᕚ---ᕘ

Sirens blared through the streets of Seattle as the Station 19 fire engine screeched around the corner. In the middle of the loud and chaotic hustle and bustle, you, the young firefighter on this team, sat with your heart pounding and a knot in your stomach. You had already been on numerous missions in the last few months, but this mission was different and more difficult than anything you had experienced before.

You were the youngest on the team, the newcomer, fresh out of the fire academy. You felt the pressure on you every time you slipped into your protective gear and made your way to the scene. But today that pressure seemed unbearable.

Sean Beckett, an actual experienced firefighter and team leader, gave the commands. His tone was harsh, but something about him was off. You saw it in his appearance, his looks and felt it in your gut that something was wrong. But what you didn't realized was that you would end up in a situation that would spiral out of control.

As you entered the burning multi-story building, you were hit with instant heat and the smoke made it hard to see. Sean gave instructions, but they sounded wrong, confusing. He repeated them several times, slurring every other word and often took routes around instead of getting to the point. You hesitated, but you couldn't stop following the instructions. You had to follow them so as not to rob the team of security and you trusted the decades of experience and authority of your team leader. But Sean Beckett hadn't told you that the floor you were in was already in danger of collapsing before the fire. Even though he had well-known beforehand.

Suddenly, part of the ceiling on the third floor collapsed and the fire spread rapidly. You ducked tot he side and were torn apart from your team. In the midst of the chaos, you also briefly lost your bearings. When your vision was clear again and the mixture of smoke and dust had cleared, you noticed a wildly waving hand fighting for your attention in the corner, calling for help.

"Captain, the ceiling collapsed and I was separated from the others. I suffered no injuries but I did spot a civilian that I am heading towards now." you said, running to save the person. But as you got closer, you realized it was too late. The man was severely trapped under a larger piece of concrete and the fire had already spread onto the walls where he was buried next to. You tried desperately to remove the mass from him but it was hopeless - you would never get the concrete block off him on your own.

You heard muffled screams behind you. Maya, Jack and Andy looked for you, but you couldn't leave, you were now trapped by the fire that had spread around you. The flames drew closer and you knew you were in danger. "Beckett, I'm stuck. The flames have trapped me, I need help."

But there was no answer. Nothing. Only silences that came to you inexplicably. "Beckett! Are you there? I need help!" you shouted desperately, looking around in panic. You tried to face your team, screaming for their names, and at that moment the dust above you trickled before the other part of the ceiling collapsed on you.

Everything went black and for a moment you thought this was the end. But then you heard your team's voices once again, this time closer and felt the slow shaking of the ground. Steps. Before hands grabbed you. You were pulled from the rubble.

As you looked around, briefly sitting down on one of the blocks to take a deep breath, you saw the worried faces of your colleagues. Andy stood there, her face marred by smoke and ash. She was limping as she pulled you up to get you back on your feet. "Are you okay?" She asked and you nodded silently, unable to speak.

A sudden wave of anger and self-doubt bubbled up inside you. Sean hadn't answered, had put you in danger, almost killed you because he didn't give instructions. And now a person lay dead in the rubble. The thoughts tormented you and grew stronger as the mission ended. You didn't know how to deal with it. But you promised yourself that you would hold Sean accountable for yourself and for everyone else on the team who was put in danger by him.

The smell of smoke and burnt materials still lingered in your hair as the team returned to the station. The operation had been disastrous and the mood was depressed. You felt especially worn out after almost losing your own life and those of others due to false commands given by Sean Beckett or his failure to respond at all.

The team gathered in the locker room to remove equipment and discuss the day's events. You sat quietly, your gaze fixed on the floor, while the others engaged in tired conversation and licked their wounds.

Finally Sean Beckett came in, his expression serious and tense. He was aware that something between him and you needed to be resolved and as he approached you, he could already feel the cold breath of anger radiating from you. "Y/n, I think we need to have a talk. In my office."

You abruptly stood up from Andy's side where you had been helping tend to her knee, your gaze locked on Sean as you confronted him in front of everyone. "Do it in front of everyone and tell them that you ignored my calls and I almost died because of it!" you spat in frustration, putting your arms under your chest before continuing. "You wasted my damn time and almost killed me. Why are you here if you can't give clear instructions?"

The words echoed in the locker room and an oppressive silence fell over the team. All eyes turned to Sean, who seemed speechless for a moment, sipping from his plastic cup before going back to proving his strength, completely off track. "I don't know! Hit me if it makes you feel better!" his voice shook and your fists clenched with emotion and pure anger.

The team froze as the situation threatened to escalate. Suddenly and unpredictably, with a look of immense frustration and determination on your face, you lunged and punched him in the face. A thud filled the cabin, followed by a moment of silence and the crack of the cup, its contents spilling all over the resilient flooring. Then there were loud shouts of surprise from the team, some hands of Maya and Warren holding parts of your body to pull you back.

Sean staggered back, surprised by the unexpected attack but also by the force of emotions that erupted from you. You hadn't held back, but had given free rein to your desperation. "And if you want to denounce me to the union about it, I will personally go there and tell them about you drinking on shift. Others may shy away from it because of the fear, but certainly not me."

As the excitement slowly died down and Sean pulled away without further words, Sullivan squeezed past you while Victoria still held you close, afraid that you would walk after him and smack him again, and inspected the liquid on the floor more accurate.

His fingers dipped into the brown liquid before he put them to his nose, his facial expression contorting sharply. "Whiskey. How did you know?" He asked you immediately, his gaze serious while pride nestled in his eyes. "His statements were unclear. Shy of light. Pale skin. Shaking while driving. Not to mention the stench that emanated from him just as he spoke to me."

The team realized you didn't need a protective cover and could fight your own battles. Andy had hugged you tightly from behind and spoke with a quiet smile. "You have shown that you are not only the youngest, but also one of the bravest and strongest here. We are proud of you."

You were celebrated for your authenticity and strength while feeling exhausted and relieved by the support of the team. The incident had changed something - not only in the relationship between you and your captain, but also in your self-confidence and your position within the team. You were no longer a newcomer, but a full member.

[meidui]

peach got me to start watching house md and this man is literally just a big softie 😭

[hwayangyeon]

nsfw bassist!heeseung x drummer!reader // heeseung and you sabotage your metal band's practices by constant fighting so jay tells you to fuck each other // smut, unprotected sex, bathroom sex, hate sex kinda, reader has a vagina, i don't know anything about metal, not proofread // 1k words

your band's practices have never been worse ever since a new bassist joined you. you disliked him the second you saw him, but for your group's sake, you tried to hide your feelings as hard as possible.

as a percussionist you usually start the songs and set up the pace, heeseung follows you right after but you just can't seem to synchronize. whatever you play sounds off, even for metal.

"why the fuck are you so fast? slow down, jesus. i can't keep up," heeseung complained after the 4th time you had to start over the song.

"speed up then? what are you doing with those slow fingers? fingering your mom?" you talked back to him and got ready to practice again.

"what did you just say?" he put his guitar aside and started walking in your direction with the angriest look on his face.

"enough," jay, your vocalist and leader, stopped him and stared at both of you, "you two - go to the bathroom and fuck each other. i'm growing sick of you"

"wha-"

"NOW. if jake and sunghoon don't get the chorus right, they just punch each other in the face and go back to playing. i don't want any more blood on my basement floor, so just go and fuck the shit out of each other."

you couldn't believe what you just heard. but, to be fair, it sounded better than having to deal with a black eye for two weeks. heeseung and you followed jay's finger pointing to his obscure bathroom.

the room was so small that you two barely fit in. unfortunately the ceiling lamp was still working (barely too) so you were able to see the black-haired guy's face. just looking at him makes you heat up.

"show me your tits."

"what?"

"do you want me to get hard, or no? or should i fuck you with your drumsticks?"

"fine," you hissed and pulled up your shirt. you don't really wear bras to your concerts, so you don't bother putting one on to practices. he cupped your breast and the sudden touch sent a shiver down your spine. he's... bold. his finger brushed against your nipple, causing an even bigger pool in your panties.

he moved his hand to your other breast. it was pretty rough from the past 2 hours of playing the guitar, yet it felt like he was melting your skin.

"not bad."

"shut up," you pulled your shirt down and pushed his arm away. there's no way you'd let him do that in any other situation.

"bend over," he said and pointed at the sink behind you.

"you bend o-" you tried to say but he grabbed your hips, turned you around, and pinned you to the cabinet, trapping you with his hands on the counter.

you really couldn't help but push your butt back against him when you felt his bulge poking you as he pressed his whole body onto you. for two people hating each other's guts, your bodies felt like magnets.

he shoved your pants and panties down, then took out his dick and wasted no more time. you were so wet. he pushed his member between your thighs and you covered it completely in your juices. your folds were so slippery, he could barely put his cock in your pussy.

"fuck..." you sighed when he finally entered you after teasing your entrance.

he wrapped his arm around your waist and leaned over your shoulder. a gasp escaped his lips as he thrusts his whole length in.

he nibbled on your neck as his cold jewelry pressed on your back. his face was covered in his hair and a few strands of yours but you could see in the fogged mirror that he's furrowing his eyebrows.

his hand moved under your shirt from your waist to your breast and he squeezed it as he kept pounding into you.

your bodies moved in unison, both of you wanting to fuck the other.

the feeling of his dick stretching your walls apart became so overwhelming, you could barely keep your head up.

"come for me," he whispered into your ear, seeing your expression in the reflection.

"i'm not... coming for you," you struggled to say back.

"what are you going to tell jay then?" he continued kissing and licking your neck, extremely close to the sensitive spot under your ear.

you only gritted your teeth, wanting to stop the moans coming out of your mouth. thank god the guys started playing something the second you went into the bathroom, or else they'd be hearing all sorts of noises your bodies are making. with the guy you can't stand. fuck.

you brought your hand up to his still sweaty from the practice hair and pulled on it with the little power you had left. it was either the lack of oxygen in this small room or him fucking you brainless, but your vision became blurry and him pushing so much onto you didn't help either. you were so close. both to fainting and to your release.

he rode you off your orgasm so well, supporting your tired body with his hand on your chest and arm gripping the sink. he rested his head on your shoulder for a second to catch his breath with you before pulling away from you and brushing his hair away from his face.

even though you were still a little dizzy you quickly picked up your pants and left the bathroom. you both awkwardly walked back to your spots. you sat on your drum stool and he picked up his guitar.

as if nothing happened you resumed your practice and surprisingly, everything went well.

so now, whenever you and heeseung started jumping at each other's throats, jay just yells 'bathroom.' and you two obediently go there.

after hotel.

[stinkysam]

Buggy the Clown - Meet my ex.

Warning : One spoiler but blink and you’ll miss it.

Genre : angst-ish

Synopsis : "You, Luffy, Zoro and Nami get captured by your ex after stealing the Grand Line map from the marines" - @inhumanshadows

Reader : male (he/you)

A/N : Part TWO // basically rewrote the whole second episode so it's kinda long.

"Can't wait to see the look on your face when we find it." Said Luffy to Nami.

And then, you heard an explosion followed by a red light lighting the sky.

"Is that the marines ?" Zoro asked.

"How did they find us ?" Asked Nami, already panicking.

You all quickly stormed outside the cabin as another explosion was heard above your heads, a red smoke covering the small boat.

"The smoke smells weird." Luffy said and you instinctively blocked your airways. Not wanting to breathe any of it.

You knew you were right to do so when you saw Nami and Zoro fall to the ground, seemingly unconscious.

You watched Luffy go back in the cabin to swallow the map before turning to the back window. You quickly joined him, wanting to see who was attacking you.

Oh no.

You looked at him after seeing the Jolly Roger, watching him fall unconscious as well. You couldn't hold your breath any longer so you laid down on the floor, breathing in the smoke.

Luffy woke up first, then Nami, you and Zoro.

"Zoro." Luffy whispered in his ear, only for him to jolt awake.

You stared at each other for a moment before looking around yourselves. You were in a big wooden box.

You sighed as you sat up, groaning.

"For fuck's sake."

"They took my swords." Zoro said, looking for them.

"And my rucksack, ugh, with all my navigation gear." Noted Nami, still slowly emerging.

Luffy quickly brought his hands to his head and sighed, content.

"They didn't take my hat."

"Yeah, small blessings." Said Nami "Damn it, we've lost the map !" She whispers-yelled.

"No !" Luffy suddenly stood up, head hitting the top of the box. "No, we didn't. It's in a safe place." He said, touching his stomach.

"Ew." She said, as Zoro began to try to punch his way out. "Hey, stop. Stop that. Stop that." She whispered.

"What ? I'm trying to find a way out."

"You won't." You said apathetically.

"We've been captured, we need a plan." Continued Nami.

"I don't need a plan, I just need to beat the hell out of every marine I see."

"Not marines." You said quietly.

"Hey, everyone relax. We're fine." Luffy said, trying to calm everyone down.

"We're not fine. The marines will throw us in jail if we're lucky. Execute us if they don't." Said Nami, patting the ceiling as if to find a weak spot.

"They… they are not marines. Before I got knocked out, I saw a Jolly Roger, right [Name] ?" Luffy said. "We've been captured by pirates."

"That's much better news." Said Nami sarcastically.

"It's not." You said.

"No, he's right. Marines have training. Pirates are easier to kill." intervened Zoro.

"Shanks used to say not every situation can be solved with violence." Replied Luffy.

"Who the hell is Shanks ?"

"We don't need to fight… I can talk to them. Pirate to pirate."

"That won't work." You and Nami said.

"Why not ?"

"To start you're not a pirate." Nami replied.

"Yes, I am."

"No, you are just some stretchy guy in a tattered hat."

"I'm a different kind of pirate."

"And he won't listen to you." You finally said a bit louder to be heard this time.

The three of them looked at you.

"He ?"

"Buggy."

Just as you said his name, the ceiling of the box opened, a circus music blaring as one of the walls fell down allowing you to walk out. You hummed to the music in a bored manner.

A man passed before you, juggling on his unicycle as one by one the remaining walls were removed, leaving you nothing to sit against. So you stood up as well.

Then you heard loud clapping and cheering all around you. Even Luffy clapped at the spectacle happening.

"No. No, no, no, no. Stop clapping. No, stop ! It's all wrong !" A man yelled as he entered the circus tent.

You rolled your eyes and sighed loudly, your head falling back. Yep. It's him. Great.

Quickly the clapping stopped.

"Spotlight was late. You completely missed my entrance." He said pointing to another man to the side then to himself. The light creaked as it turned to him.

"And where, oh, where was the dancing… lion." He asked as he walked to the man threateningly.

"Heey, I know you ! I saw your wanted poster in Shells Town. You're the clown guy." Luffy said, growing excited. "Um, uh… Binky, right ?"

"Buggy." You and Buggy said at the same time. "Buggy the Clown." Zoro and Nami turned to you as you continued to mouth what the man was saying. "Buggy, the flashy fool." He walked closer to Luffy, still unaware of you. "Buggy, the Genius Jester." You knew it by heart.

"Wow…" Luffy said, actually impressed. "You have a lot of names. I bet everyone in the East Blue knows who you are."

The people around you gasped and you smiled. Ah, yeah. Here we go.

"What did you just say ?" Buggy's smile fell.

"Just that everyone knows who you are."

"Nose ?!" He yelled, grabbing Luffy's face. His minions slowly approached menacingly as the crowd gasped. "Are you making fun of my nose ?"

"Well, I wasn't. But now that you mention it, is that thing for real ?" Luffy asked, unbothered as he raised his hand to touch Buggy's nose, only for it to be slapped away.

"Calm down, he wasn't talking about your nose, Bugs." You crossed your arms and stepped closer.

Buggy perked at the nickname. Who the fuck dared to call him that ? And that's when he noticed you, his eyes widening as he froze for a second, his heart skipping a beat. What the fuck were you doing here ?

"[Name] ?"

You smiled awkwardly as you posed.

"Ta-daaa…" You quietly said, waving your hands a little.

Your three friends stared at you, confused.

"[Name] ?" Nami repeated, eyeing you as if to say 'Care to explain ?'

"Meet… my ex." You said, pointing to Buggy, kicking the ground with your right foot. Luffy tilted his head as the two others looked at you with big eyes. You smiled at them. A big awkward toothy smile.

"What are you doing here ?" Buggy finally asked, stepping closer. His heart was beating so fast the closer he got. Memories of the two of you resurfacing as he tried to ignore them.

"I just missed you." You said sarcastically. You almost didn't see the way his eyes twitched at your words, clearly touched by them. Believing your pretty words for a second. "No, you captured our crew, so…" You continued, putting your hands on your hips.

He stared at you, unsure of what to do or what to say. He hadn't expected to see you again. You still looked so handsome, even after all those years. Fuck. He remembers the way your pretty eyes looked at him, so fond and loving. So sweet. Now they looked at him as if he was just… someone and not the light of your life.

"But, don't pay attention to me, go back to your monologue." You said, waving him away as you took a step back. "I'm sure you had things to say."

He frowned at you, stepping away reluctantly before clearing his throat. You're right, he wasn't done talking.

"You asked if my nose was real, you know what's real ? I've been scheming for months to steal that map from old Axe-Hand Moron !" Ah ! Mh ? No reaction. Heh… "No I can't, you see, you've cut my momentum."

"No, no, it was good, continue, continue." You said, acting interested. "And ?" His eyes squinted. He remembers you used to love his introductions, clapping and smiling at him as he presented himself to his enemies. Now it looked like it was too much, and not just because you were on the receiving end.

"...Only to find out that I was upstaged by three little nobodies and my ex, who stole it from right under my no- No ! It's in my head now ! Gah ! Ugh !"

"Hey ! I'm not a nobody. I'm Monkey D. Luffy. And I will be King of the Pirates." Luffy announced, proudly and confidently, making you smile as Nami couldn't believe her ears.

Buggy laughed.

"Oh ! Now that's funny !" He said and the audience laughed in an unenthusiastic way before he made a sign of the hands to stop them.

"My bounty poster graces the marquee of every marine outpost for miles. And my menagerie of outcasts and freaks is the most dreaded pirate crew of the East Blue has ever known. I am destined to find the One Piece. And when I do… I will be King."

"No, you won't. 'Cuz I'm gonna find it first." Luffy said, still as confidently as before.

"You ? Don't make me laugh." And with that the audience started to laugh again, seemingly upsetting the clown even more. "I said don't make me laugh !"

"All right, listen up !" Zoro intervened, bored of it all and annoyed. Everyone turned to him. "I'm Roronoa Zoro. Drop your weapons now and I may… let you live." He said, approaching Buggy only for him to laugh in response.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a celebrity in our midst. Too bad I hate sharing the spotlight." And with two kicks of the feet against the floor, the light that was on Zoro was back on Buggy.

To be honest, you had missed the theatrics. It was fun. But did you really miss Buggy ? At the moment, watching all the prisoners he had for audience, you weren't so sure.

"Now, maybe we should skip right to the finale." Buggy said, his daggers between his fingers. "My freaks put quite a bit of rehearsal time into this little abduction. And if I can't reward them with that map… I suppose I'll have to offer them a pound of flesh instead." He added as one of his men growled, sharp teeth in full display.

"Wait. Wait. What if I have something else to offer you ?" Nami quickly said, walking forward. You, Zoro and Luffy looked at her confused and interested as well. "Something more valuable than a map ?" Buggy lowered his daggers. "What if, I give you a new freak for your crew ? A rare talent. The most spectacular act in all of the East Blue. Besides you, of course." She took a step back, next to Luffy who was innocently smiling.

"Go on." Buggy said and with that Nami grabbed Luffy's hat and threw it high in the air, forcing him to stretch his arm to catch it and while everyone looked up in surprise she darted, running away out of the circus tent.

She was brought back inside by two other men, struggling to get away from them.

"What did you do ?!" She yelled. "What did you do to their town ? You destroyed everything !"

"Not everything. I let them keep their hands." He said unbothered and the audience clapped. "Okay. Here end the theatrics." As he said this, all the lights went to him, making you smirk. "I know one of you has my map and I'm gonna get it back. What was it you said rubber boy ? That it's in a safe place ? Don't look so surprised, I've got eyes and ears everywhere." He smiled as he clasped his hands together. "So please make our guests uncomfortable in the green room. Except [Name], he stays here."

His men grabbed Nami and Zoro and they tried to free themselves from their grasp. Luffy attempted to follow them but his men stopped him, pushing him toward Buggy.

"I'm gonna have a chat with my stretchy new pal." He grinned, booping Luffy's nose quickly before laughing.

You waited as he installed some sort of something in the four corners of the scene. Probably to torture Luffy if you guessed right. And that you did !

Luffy had his arms and legs tied as the machine began to stretch him.

"What am I doing here Buggy ?" You finally asked, not knowing why he didn't put you with Zoro and Nami.

"You're too smart to be imprisoned, you always find a way out even back on Roger's ship. So I prefer to keep my eyes on you."

"Aw. I missed looking at you too." You said with a wink, a bit too honestly, watching his eyes widen and squint. You will not get him this time. But it was true, you had missed his pretty eyes. You loved looking at them.

He preferred to not answer and focus back on Luffy who was screaming, laughing a bit as his limbs were stretching more and more.

"I want you to think of this like an artistic exercise, because pain leads to art. And art reveals truth. But there's only one truth I need from this exercise. Where… is… my… map ?"

"Truthfully ?" Luffy said and Buggy nodded. "I'm kinda hungry. Don't circuses have cotton candy ?"

Buggy chuckled, placing his hand on Luffy's chest. If only he knew the map was right under his hand…

"What could you possibly need that map for anyway ? You wouldn't last five minutes in the Grand Line."

"I already told you. I'm gonna be King of the Pir-"

"Boring !" Buggy yelled in his face and gestured to continue stretching him. "Let's go another 10 feet."

The audience gasped in horror as they watched Luffy be stretched.

"You can stretch me all you want. I can do this all day."

"I'm not asking the right questions, right, [Name] ?" He looked at you and you shrugged. You trusted Luffy, you knew it wasn't hurting him and he'd find a way out. "We need to go deeper, get you out of your comfort zone."

He turned back toward Luffy.

"What makes a boy want to grow up to be King of the Pirates ? Who are you trying to impress ? A lost love ? An absent parent ? Or was it someone that you worshiped ? A false idol." But all Luffy did was look away, uninterested by what he was saying.

"That's it…" Buggy realized, taking Luffy's hat in his hands.

"Hey, give me back my hat !"

"I used to know a pirate that wore a hat just like this… Red-Haired Shanks."

"You knew Shanks ?"

"Ginger ? Three scars, left eye ? We served together with [Name] on a pirate crew when we were about your age. For a time, I even thought we were friends." Buggy said. "Until he betrayed me. Just like aaaall the others." He added, looking at you. You didn't betray him, but of course, that's how he'd see it. You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms, looking away.

"He wanted to keep me out of the spotlight ! He wanted to keep my star from shining too brightly !" Then a thought came to him. "Is that what he did to you rubber boy ? Did Shanks betray you too ?"

"Don't talk about him that way." Is all Luffy said.

"Ahhh. Now we are finally getting to the truth. Stretch him until he breaks."

"Please, don't make me do this." An old man with white hair said.

"I… invite you ! To take part in the splendor that is my show and this is how you repay me ? With a no ?"

"You've destroyed our town. Made us your prisoners. Isn't that enough ?"

"Well. Maybe you'd prefer it if I threw one of your constituents on the rack instead." Buggy threw Luffy's hat to the side, opening his arms wide. "Hey, kid ! You want to get tall fast ?" He said as he grabbed a young boy from the audience.

"Boogie, I'm warning you."

You stepped closer, ready to fight to defend the kid.

"It's Buggy ! And you're warning me ? Now that's a laugh." But no one laughed. He rolled his eyes, annoyed. "I said that's a laugh." He repeated as an unenthusiastic laughing could be heard.

"Buggy." You approached as you heard Luffy grunt, pulling on his limbs to free himself, which worked as he fell to the ground.

"Put him down." Luffy said, this time more threatening as he stood up.

"But why ? He's having such a great time !" Buggy laughed. "Aren't you, junior ?" He grabbed the kids face as if to make him talk. "Yes ! The best, Buggy !" He laughed more as Luffy sent his hand behind himself, stretching it before punching Buggy's head away from his body.

The audience screamed in fear as the head landed on someone's laps, the kid yelling in horror at Buggy's body, still holding him.

Luffy looked at his fist, confused for a second. Did he just... ?

"Nah, don't worry, kid. He's alright." You said with a chuckle, patting his shoulder.

"Hi." Buggy clicked his tongue, head turning on the person's laps. "Well, well, well, looks like we have something in common !" He said with a laugh before flying back to his body, reattaching himself.

"You ate a devil fruit ?"

"The Chop Chop fruit. So you can slice me, you can dice me, but I'll always put myself back together again." And with that his arms, legs and head were separated from the rest of his body before being pulled back together like magnets.

"Want to see what else I can do ?" He whispers, showing his arm without a hand. Luffy feels something poking his shoulder and he turns around only to see Buggy's hand squeeze a red ball full of red smoke before punching him in the face.

You grabbed Luffy, refusing to let his men take him but it was you against all his minions.

You had to watch as they placed him in some sort of glass tank.

"You really don't have to do this." You said to Buggy.

"Oh, but my dear [Name], I do. Unless you can tell me where my map is ? No ? Then I fear I have no other way."

You groaned, it was far the time where Buggy would listen to you and consider your words. But now it is impossible. You missed those days. They were fun.

He missed them too. But they were over.

"You know he's never gonna give you the map ?"

"Just like you were never supposed to leave me ?"

You could not answer anything. Remembering the promises you've broken by leaving.

Luffy woke up soon after in the tank, he was weak and struggled to move to get up.

"Don't bother, it's sea water." Buggy says, ignoring Luffy's grunts as he tries to hit and break the glass. "Hardly seems fair. All those wonderful powers rendered useless from a few splashes." He kneeled to Luffy's level. "Of course, you could always give me my map if you don't want to die alone in this tank."

"My crew…" Luffy began but was too weak to continue.

"Your crew ?" Buggy laughed. "You mean the ones that abandoned you ? Just like Shanks did ? Oh… did that make you sad ?"

"They will come back for me."

"No one's coming back for you. Your only chance is to turn over that map and if you do, I may have a very special place on my crew… just for you."

Luffy struggled as he stood up, slowly, despite the sea water draining his energy. Buggy got up, following him.

"Never !"

"Why not !" And with a bang Buggy hits the glass with his hand, hurting himself in the process. "Ah ! God ! You're an outcast, just like the rest of us. A freak, scorned and abandoned ! Join me… and you can serve the man who will become the King of the Pirates… And when I have that map, I will find the One Piece, and then everyone will know my name. And they'll love me."

"You can't make people love you." Interjected Luffy. "Just like you can't make them smile. I'll never give you that map."

Buggy used to make you smile and love him. It wasn't hard. But now it felt like forever since these happy days.

"Well then, I guess it's curtains for you." Buggy said, increasing the water's level, making Luffy fall back and drown in the water.

"Buggy ! Don't !" You yelled, approaching the tank. "Killing him won't change anything. It won't make the map appear !"

"No, but it might change my bad mood !" Buggy replied, grabbing Luffy's hat on the floor and beginning to pull on the straws.

"Bugs."

"You seem to have forgotten you lost the right to call me that when you left."

"Don't touch my hat !" Luffy managed to shout.

"What was that ? I… I couldn't hear you over all the drowning. You want out ? You know the price you have to pay." Buggy said but Luffy only knocked on the glass, pointing behind the clown.

Nami stood at the entrance, throwing her stick against the tank and cracking the glass.

"Where are my freaks ?!" Buggy yelled, looking around himself. Why were they all gone ?

"They're not coming." Zoro said, approaching from another side.

The glass cracked and cracked until it finally broke, the water gushing out and sweeping Buggy and pushing Luffy out.

Luffy coughed, catching his breath as he vomited the map out.

"My map !" Buggy gasped, crawling toward it while Luffy moved toward his hat. Buggy laughed as he finally had the map between his hands, standing up.

Zoro threw your sword your way and you grabbed it in the air.

"You want a piece of me ? Let's see what you got." Buggy said to Zoro.

Without waiting he cut his neck in two then his torso before slicing it in four. But all Buggy did was laugh and put himself back together as Nami watched in horror.

"Surprise shithead !" He yelled, cutting himself in pieces before sending them flying around the three of you.

"How am I supposed to slice a guy who's already in pieces ?"

"You stab him." You say quietly.

"This is not part of the plan." Said Nami as the three of you began to hit any parts of Buggy flying your way. But quickly you found yourselves overpowered as he re-attached himself to turn to Luffy.

"Ah, would you look at that ? Somebody escaped my Tank of Doom. Well, I'll be back to finish you off. Right after I tear apart your sad excuse for a crew !" Buggy said, laughing more.

"You can dump sea water on me, and I'll let it slide. But don't you ever threaten my friends." Luffy stood up, putting his hat on before punching a hole inside Buggy's chest.

He made it fly back to him, clicking his tongue with a wink as he pulled his daggers out once more.

"So you want to die first. Be my guest." He said, detaching both arms and legs and sending them toward Luffy. Laughing hysterically, Buggy attacked Luffy relentlessly, stabbing his hat to a wooden mat, laughing loudly at the sight. Punching and kicking him when he tried to grab it back, strangling him against the floor.

That's when Luffy got an idea.

"Nami ! The crates !" He yelled, voice straining.

Luffy threw Buggy's arm to Nami, who kicked it with her stick inside the crate before closing it. They continued like this with each part of Buggy's body until all that was left were his hands, feet, and head.

"What have you done to me !?" He yelled, head falling to his feet.

"Cut you down to size."

"The One Piece will never be yours ! You're just a sad, lonely little boy wearing another man's hat !"

"I know exactly who I am. I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be King of the Pirates."

"Gum gum…" Luffy yelled, throwing his hands behind himself. "Bazooka !" Before sending them full force against Buggy, throwing him out of the circus, making a hole in the giant tent.

And with Buggy gone, Luffy walked to the Grand Line map, giving it to Nami.

"You're giving this to me ?" She asked.

"You're the navigator." He simply answered.

"Let's get out of this clown show." Zoro said only for Luffy to stop him.

"Still one more thing we have to do."

"Tell [Name] to pick better partners ?" Zoro said, looking at you as you glared at him to shut up.

"No." Luffy shook his head, walking toward the audience to free them.

"Are you our new captors ?" The white haired man asked.

"What ?"

"Well, you're a pirate, aren't you ?"

"I'm a different kind of pirate." He smiled as Nami stared at him.

[son1c]

turbulence? no way!

falling stars fic masterpost

Gunfire illuminated the room. Omega's shots were wild, and his bullets flew everywhere. They ricocheted off the walls, floor, and ceiling, and they shattered the empty pods lined up against the back wall. They turned the computer console in the middle of the floor into swiss cheese. They almost hit Rouge, but her reflexes were better than the robot's aim, and she managed to dive behind a bulky generator before anything bad could happen to her.

She started thinking about what she could do to stop the robot's rampage.

Sonic wasn't thinking about that at all though. He was too preoccupied with dodging Omega's shots to worry about it. He spent all of his brainpower on his jumps. Jump onto a wire, jump down to the floor, jump behind a metal box. Anything to avoid getting punched full of holes. His expression was troubled, but not because of the dire situation he was currently in; he was worried about Omega.

"If I'd known about this ice cold reception, I would've brought a jacket!" Sonic quipped in between machine gun rounds.

"A JACKET WOULD NOT SAVE YOU FROM MY WRATH," Omega said, his heavy metal arms clicking as his weapons reloaded. "NOW STAND STILL SO THAT I MAY REPLACE YOUR BONES WITH LEAD."

Sonic didn't stop moving. He was zigzagging his way closer to Omega, careful to avoid the robot's frenzied gunfire. However, right as he was about to leap onto Omega's shoulders, the robot managed to miss a shot so badly that it flew three feet over Sonic's head and pierced the base of the pod that Shadow was sleeping in.

Sonic pulled a 180 immediately. He heard the hatch unlock before he saw it start to open. His feet slipped on the liquid that drained out of the pod in a waterfall of green slime, but he kept going, scraping his claws against the slick floor stubbornly. Shadow blinked awake a second later. The dark hedgehog pushed open the hatch and looked over at Omega, but before he could take a step toward him, Sonic snatched him and they both rolled behind the computer console together.

Then, Shadow sat up. Despite the stressful situation he suddenly found himself in, his month long nap had left him feeling good, and so it was with a clear mind that he took in his surroundings. But it didn't last long. With one look at Sonic, his headache returned. "Blue?" he said, the name sounding almost hesitant as he voiced it. Like he wasn't sure if the hedgehog in front of him was really his friend or not.

"Hey, Stripes," Sonic said. "Sorry I’m late. But here, I got something that'll make it up to you!" He removed the inhibitors from his wrists, grabbed Shadow's hand, and pressed the rings into his palm. Then, he grinned. "Unfortunately, Egghead turned out to be a quack. The good news is he was lying about everything, not just the good stuff!"

Shadow stared at Sonic. He stared at him very hard. "What happened to you?" he asked quietly.

Sonic's grin didn't waver. "Well, for starters, I got a job. The uniform kicked, but that's about it."

Shadow frowned. "Your eyes," he pressed. "They're glowing."

"Heh. I guess I finally thought about it hard enough!" Sonic rubbed his nose. Under his hand, his grin faded. "Look," he said, pressing the rings firmly into Shadow's hand with both of his own, "I'm still me. The doc tried to change that, but I couldn't stand it. Following him around was way past boring!"

Shadow looked down at their clasped hands, and the rings pressed in between them. He ignored them completely. With his voice steeped in frustration, he asked, "The Doctor stripped you of your free will?"

"Technically," Sonic said, a little uncomfortable now, "he didn't strip me of anything. He gave me a new leg, and force fed me some code. I'm not gonna thank him for that, though, since it was all a bunch of pro-Ivo propaganda!"

A coil of anger burned in Shadow's chest like a snake. "He won't go unpunished," Shadow said darkly. It hurt him to think that Sonic had suffered because of his own eagerness to take Eggman's hand. And Sonic's laissez faire attitude only served to fuel his vengeful heart.

Sonic watched the fire in Shadow's eyes burn with concern. "It's okay, dude. There's no need to keep your foot on the gas. All that's gonna do is run us in circles." The blue hedgehog smiled. It was a peace offering. "I dunno about you, but I'd rather take the fast track to freedom, and leave this place behind."

The viper in Shadow's chest continued to hiss and spit. He wouldn't let go of his grudge so easily. However, when he saw a hint of tiredness flicker behind Sonic's electric eyes, he resolved to put a pin in it. For later.

Finally, Shadow snapped the inhibitor rings onto his wrists. His headache vanished. The bubbles in his blood cooled. He let out a breath, feeling truly centered for the first time since waking up in the crater all that time ago. With a small nod, he said sincerely, "Thank you."

Sonic's eyes softened. His smile got warmer. "Don't mention it," he said. "Besides, it's not like Mr. Ivo was gonna make good on his promise." Sonic's expression shifted to something in between annoyance and relief. "I'm just glad that lady showed up when she did. Without her, who knows what would've happened!"

"Are you boys talking about little old me?"

Sonic and Shadow looked up. Towering over the computer console, they saw Omega staring down at them with Rouge on his shoulder. She had her legs crossed and a smug look on her face. "The name's Rouge, by the way," she said. "While you two were having your reunion, I took care of the problem. Omega here is on our side now. You're welcome."

"BLUE HEDGEHOG," Omega said, "THE BAT HAS INFORMED ME OF YOUR DEFECTIVE HARDWARE. I HAVE UPDATED YOUR STATUS TO 'ALLY.' DO NOT EXPECT AN APOLOGY FOR MY PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS TO EXTERMINATE YOU."

Sonic's eyebrow twitched at Omega's comment about his hardware. The way he saw it, him taking orders from Eggman was the real bug in his system. But Omega's bluntness wasn't intended as a means to aggravate him, and Sonic recognized that. It was just a shield to deflect from his feelings.

"It's cool," Sonic said. "It's my fault for draggin' my feet, anyway. When I got zapped by that Build-A-Robot machine, I stopped thinkin' about why I'd come here. It made me forget all about it--about Stripes, and about you. And it took awhile for me to remember." Sonic stood. Then, he winked at Omega. "Thanks for waiting up."

"I HAVE REMOVED WAITING FROM MY EXECUTABLES. NEXT TIME, I WILL BRING THE WHOLE BUILDING DOWN."

Sonic laughed. "If it's another bad guy's lair, I say go for it!"

Shadow, now standing, added, "You'd be doing the world a favor."

Rouge said, "Well, this heist turned out to be a total bust. I looked everywhere, but couldn't find a single gem!" She tapped her nails on Omega's shoulder. Then, her mouth tilted upwards. "But at least I won't be walking away empty handed. This makes us a team, boys!"

Sonic's ear twitched. He turned his head toward the door, but there was nothing there.

Shadow asked, "Hear something, hedgehog?"

Sonic said, "Nah. Must've been my imagination."

Rouge hopped down from Omega's shoulder. With her hands on her hips, she gestured at the door with one of her wings. "Let's beat it. As long as we're here, the deck's stacked against us. I'd rather not give Eggy any more leverage than he already has!"

With that, the four of them left the (now severely damaged) basement stasis room. Omega nearly went ballistic when he saw the buzzy bomber waiting for them in the hallway, but Sonic was quicker on the draw than him, and explained, "Think about it! You defied your programming, right? What's stopping the rest of Egghead's robots from carving their own paths too?"

Omega wasn't happy about it, but he had to admit that Sonic had a point. He stared intensely at the buzzy bomber hiding in Sonic's quills. His red eyed gaze was daring it to prove Sonic wrong. But it stayed there, its mandible slowly opening and closing as if to say, Truce?

Omega lowered his arm cannons. "THIS IS ACCEPTABLE. BUT THE ICE ON WHICH YOU SKATE IS THIN."

Immediately, the wasp robot perked up. It chittered smartly, and it took every ounce of Omega's willpower to not start blasting. Sonic snickered.

Then, the group continued on through the basement with Sonic leading the way. It wasn't long before they reached the lift. After piling into it, they began the long ascent to the ground floor of the facility. Thankfully, the levels came and went quickly. Sonic watched them pass by through the window, distracted.

The lift arrived at the ground floor of the Brain Bowl with a light ding. Everyone stepped out, except for Sonic, who was still staring out the window. The buzzy bomber tapped him on the forehead with one of its arms. Blinking, Sonic smiled apologetically at the wasp robot, and then followed everyone else out of the lift.

But he didn't get very far. After taking a few steps out into the hanger, he suddenly froze, and his eyes went wide.

Eggman said, "You didn't really think you'd be able to escape me that easily, did you, rodent?"

Sonic looked around, but Eggman wasn't there. He was hearing the voice in his head, projected from somewhere else, as a side effect of the botched de-Roboticization he'd experienced.

"I'm afraid I'm not done with you yet," Eggman continued. Sonic could practically hear the evil grin on his face. "Our confrontation is long overdue. I understand you're on your way out, so if you're in need of motivation, I've gathered your pathetic little friend here to watch your inevitable defeat!"

The doctor paused to cackle maniacally. The noise bounced around inside Sonic's skull like a twisted tennis ball.

"Better hurry. I can't guarantee its safety if you dawdle!"

Sonic was mad. Eggman had already wasted so much of his time, and now he was going to waste even more? The blue hedgehog scowled and turned around on his heel. He knew where Eggman was. It was like the coordinates had been beamed into his brain. However, before he could start moving toward it, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder.

It was Shadow. The dark hedgehog was looking at him with his usual serious expression, but there was a touch of concern in the way he pursed his lips. "The door is the other way," he said. "Now isn't the time for detours."

Sonic turned back around so he could face Shadow. "Something came up," he said vaguely. "I've gotta take care of it before we split. You go on ahead--I'll meet you guys outside."

Shadow folded his arms over his chest. "I won’t accept that. If you’re going after the Doctor, it won’t be alone.”

The voice of Eggman spoke in Sonic's head again. "Haven't you left yet? It's not like you to waste time, Sonic."

Scowling, Sonic shook his head. To Shadow, he said, "Take the badniks and get outta here. There's a stash of planes in the next building over. Should be on the first floor, just grab the one that looks like a manta ray--it's got the keys in the ignition."

"We're not leaving without you," Shadow said. "Whatever it is you're about to do--"

"Clock's ticking, Sonic," Eggman interrupted. "I wonder which part I should remove first? An antenna, perhaps?"

Sonic stepped away from Shadow. He ignored the looks Rouge and Omega gave him as he began to run toward the backdoor. "Just trust me," he called back over his shoulder. "And remember: first floor, manta ship. I'm countin' on you!"

Without stopping, Sonic kicked down the Brain Bowl's backdoor. He burst through the other side with a roll, and then jumped back up to his feet, still running. He was outside now, with his sights set squarely on the tall transmission tower at the far end of Scrap Brain Base. He weaved around commuting badniks and bounced over steel obstacles in his path, but it wasn't fast enough, he wasn't fast enough.

Eggman's voice came to him again. It was mocking him now. "Holding back at a time like this? Your limits must've changed since your fall if this is really your top speed!"

Sonic pushed himself harder. The red light at the top of the transmission tower peered down at him, a tiny dot in the sky, still so far away.

And then Eggman must've held the microphone up to the motobug, because Sonic heard it beep fearfully.

And he couldn't take it anymore.

After everything Eggman had put him through, after tricking him and Stripes into falling for his scheme, turning him into a robot, and making him do his bidding… Sonic went fast. Really, truly fast. So fast he rippled the air around him, and created a deafening boom so powerful it knocked out the power to the Base.

The gears ground to a halt and the badniks shuddered. Something in Sonic's head fizzled and popped, but he kept going, faster and faster.

He cleared the winding stairs of the transmission tower in the blink of an eye. He crashed through one of the top floor windows before another second could pass. The glass shattered, and fell in a flurry around him, but his quills kept him safe. Then, he rolled to the middle of the floor and uncurled, leaping up onto his feet with a scowl.

Because the power was down, it was dark inside of the transmission tower. Only the emergency lights were still functional, and they cast the whole room in an eerie red glow.

"Very impressive," Eggman said. Behind him, the motobug with the star on its head was parked. It shook like a leaf in the wind. "But now it's time for the final act," Eggman went on to say. "Honestly, I never expected you to stay under my thumb forever. One way or another, I knew you'd wriggle your way out of my control! Which is why I started working on something… something I'm sure you'll find quite familiar! Oh-ho-ho!"

Something heavy suddenly dropped down next to Sonic.

It was… Shadow?!

All of the fur on the back of Sonic's neck stood up. He took a step back, away from his friend. But it couldn't be his friend. It looked like him, but something was off. Wrong. The way its arms hung limply at its sides was uncanny. And when the thing lifted up its head to stare at Sonic, the blue hedgehog realized why.

The Shadow standing in front of him was a fake. Its eyes were a black screen, illuminated by two glowing orange irises. A copy, made by Eggman, presumably while the real Shadow had been fridged in the basement. Worst of all, it said nothing. It just stared at Sonic with that horrible, unnerving gaze.

Sonic said, "What kind of horror show are you runnin' here, doc?!"

"One powerful enough to take down even you!" Eggman replied haughtily. "This is it for you, Sonic. You'll soon find you've met your match with my Shadow Android!"

The Shadow Android shifted. Its arms no longer hung dead at its sides, and instead bent upwards, with its hands balled into fists. An attack position. It then shot forward, but Sonic sidestepped it easily. He had no interest in fighting the Shadow Android, because that was what Eggman wanted.

And he was sick of doing what Eggman wanted.

"Sorry, bolt brain," Sonic said, not sounding sorry at all, "but I ain't got time for a doppelganger deathmatch today! I've got a flight to catch!"

In a flash, Sonic ran behind Eggman and picked up his motobug friend. The Shadow Android followed after him, but Sonic was on his A-game now, and easily outsped the robot copy.

The emergency lights lit his path back to the window, and Sonic jumped out of it without looking back.

The Shadow Android, however, paused in front of the broken glass on the floor.

"What are you waiting for?" Eggman snapped. "After him!"

In the time it took Eggman to say that, Sonic had already made it back to the other end of Scrap Brain Base. He skidded to a halt on the runway in front of the manta ray ship, with Buggy held over his head. Shadow and Rouge turned to look at him.

"Nice of you to stop by, Blue," Rouge said. "You were right about the keys, but piloting an Eggman battleship is a little out of my wheelhouse. Omega was able to push this thing out of the garage, but that won't work for getting it off the ground, you know. So, unless you're saying you can fly it..."

Sonic grinned. "That's exactly what I'm saying!"

Shadow made a face. "You seem confident. Are you sure it's not unfounded?"

"Who knows! Maybe I used to fly planes. I've just got a good feeling about this!"

Shadow and Rouge looked at each other. Then, Shadow said, "We can't risk all of our lives--and all of these robot's lives--on a 'good feeling,' Blue."

Sonic's eyes sparkled, a little deviously. "You can if the feeling's good enough," he said. "Now hang on!"

After setting down the motobug, Sonic grabbed Shadow and Rouge by the arms, and carried them into the manta ship. When the motobug rolled in behind them, it tugged on the wire for the door, and the ship's hatch slammed shut.

Inside the ship, Omega was trying very hard to remain civil with the menagerie of badniks that had decided they'd rather kick it with Sonic than Eggman. He managed this by standing in the corner and facing the wall like he was in The Blair Witch Project.

The only badnik brave enough to get close to him was the buzzy bomber from the basement. It circled his head like a buzzard, but when Sonic passed them by on his way to the cockpit, the tinny voice of the wasp robot reassured him that everything was fine.

Omega loved compliments, after all.

Once they reached the cockpit, Sonic finally let Shadow and Rouge go. Irritated, Shadow began brushing himself off. He didn't appreciate being dragged through the hull of the ship like luggage.

Meanwhile, Rouge turned to Sonic and said, "Never. Ever. Do that again."

Sonic was examining the buttons and knobs on the ceiling of the cockpit. "Wouldn't'a done it without a good reason," he said. Then, still looking over the ship's controls, he pointed out the window. "See for yourself."

Shadow and Rouge looked out the window. Skating down the runway at a frightening pace was the Shadow Android. It had finally caught up to Sonic.

"Another trick of the Doctor's?" Shadow said, troubled by the sight of his robot doppelganger.

Sonic flipped a switch on the ceiling, and then sat down in the chair in front of the yoke. He grabbed it with both hands and said, "Whatever it is, it's not our problem anymore!"

The blue hedgehog eased forward on the yoke, his excitement showing on his face. Even though the manta ray ship was a prototype, Sonic knew it could still fly--Eggman wouldn't've bothered having him cart all that wiring over to the hanger while he was still a Robian if it couldn't.

"Got your seat belts fastened?" Sonic asked, obviously having way too much fun with this. "We're ready for takeoff!"

Shadow and Rouge gripped the back of the pilot's chair as the ship lurched forward. They watched as the Shadow Android continued to approach, almost on top of them now. But the manta ray accelerated quickly, and swallowed the fake hedgehog up underneath it. Then, the ship's wheels left the ground, and the manta ray lifted into the sky.

Through the clouds, everyone could see the ground, as well as Scrap Brain Base, quickly shrink into the distance.

Sonic let out a victory cheer. He didn't know that back at the transmission tower, Eggman had just tried and failed to contact him. It seemed as though the communicator in his head had broken along with the sound barrier during his earlier race to save the motobug.

Sonic continued racing the wind, unbothered.

[heliosthegriffin]

The Witch is overpowered, but overly sensitive to pain

"This is it, Salem!" Jaune shouts.

Ruby slices through a line of Beowolves. "We're here to take you down for good!"

"Oh ho ho, well come and try it!" Salem poses dramatically, pointing a hand at them.

Jaune moves in front of Ruby, taking a hit of magic with his shield. Ruby lowers Crescent Rose on his shoulder, aiming at Salem's heart, if she still possessed one.

Salem does even dodge the shot, a shimmering shield of rainbow-colored magic blocking it, the bullet ricocheting above her, hitting the ceiling.

The bullet hits a gargoyle on the wall, making it wobble, then fall down. It drops like a heavy rock off a cliff. It falls down right next to Salem, and she is distracted.

Ruby speeds forward and cuts through the shield with the blade of her scythe, Jaune following behing her, pushes her back with his shield, and then kick her's in the abdomen.

"OW! FUCK! Ow-ow-ow!" Salem buckles over, breathing hard. Jaune stands uneasily over her, his sword held high, but not quite sure what to do next. He looks to Ruby, who awkwardly shuffles holding Cresent Rose.

Salem falls to her knees, holding her stomach. "Fuff-ha, fuff-ah. Shit, ow." She looks at Jaune in betrayal. "What the hell, man? Who goes and does that to a lady!?"

Jaune's eyes flicker to and fro guiltily. "Um, we're fighting." "Yeah, but like a high-fantasy magic battle! Where beams go pew-pew!"

"I'm not a wizard. I don't have a gun that make pew-pew."

Salem breathes heavily. "I noticed! Ah, my dad might have put me in a tower most of my life, but nobody's ever hit me before! Ah, ouch."

Jaune looked to Ruby, who seemed to have caught a case of second-hand shame. "Ruby over there has a gun and stuff, and shoot lasers of her eyes." Jaune offed.

"Yeah, I'm used to that! It's normal to shoot and use lasers on me, but who punches a lady in the gut?!"

"Kicked. And, I mean Yang, did that to you?"

"That was a double! A body double made of Grimm Ooze!"

Jaune noticed Ruby edging out of the room, but locked her down with a meaningful gaze. Which meant, 'You helped me get into this, you're helping me get out.'.

"I was back here playing Total Remnant Destruction!" Salem moaned, balling up on the floor.

Ruby around and offered a sympathetic hand to Salem. "Hey, hey how about we start this over, and without any hand-to-hand, or gut kicks." Ruby said, giving Jaune a awakward look, which he returned.

Salem took the hand. "Ok, lets do that."

Ruby then gave a pull.

One she did too fast, accidentally giving the Witch a headbutt, causing Ruby to stumble back groaning, as she didn't have her aura up, and Salem fell back to the ground, holding her forehead.

"AH! Ozpin blowing me was less painful!"

Jaune looked at her pathetic form. "I thought that was a double? When Oscar blew up the whale?"

"I was talking about when the first time he did it! When you get blown up with magic, it doesn't it hurt, it like a weird tickle, or your leg falling asleep and then waking back up!' She accidentally bent over, causing her bruised stomach to spasm.

"Oh no, uh urg. I think I'm going to throw up!" Salem's pale face went red.

"Jaune help her!" Ruby said urgently. "She got her hair in her face, don't let it get all messy!"

"Why me?" Jaune moaned, going over to help her.

"Because out of the three of us, you have the most experience with throwing up!"

Jaune scowled, but pulled back Salem's hair, causing her to cry, "Too rough, be more gentle -urggg!" She started hurling over Jaune's boots black ichor, with little tenacles and limbs flaying about.

Jaune's gaze went dead, but continued to hold her hair back, and offer gentle words of comfort, and little rubs on the shoulder blades, promising that everything would get better.

After moving her away from the vomit, and getting rid of his Grimm-stained boots, Salem started crying into his lap, and Jaune realized with horror, that Ruby had abandoned him when he wasn't looking. Probably unable to withstand the sheer uncomfortable air that came with caring for the person you were trying to destroy mere minutes ago.

Then he heard soft snoring. Looking down, the Grimm Queen had fallen asleep. She was almost cute like this, other than the black ichor around her mouth, which he took care of with a spare hanky, which was now quickly dissolving.

Jaune quickly resigned himself to being her awhile, and took out a book he had been meaning to finish, and now seemed just as good a time as any. He put on a pair of reading glasses, and gently patted Salem's head, hoping that she'd stay asleep for a while, and while doing so, keep the world from being destroyed for a bit longer.

---

An: I always thought it would be funny if Salem had a extremly low tolerance for pain, because how much it would contrast her being normally a mostly invincible villain and being a caster type fighter, who isn't used to getting up close and personal.

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

The Elevator

can you imagine the sheer chaos that would happen if Thomas (and therefore, all the sides) got stuck in an elevator? – amateurmasksmith

Read on Ao3

Warnings: none!

Pairings: DLAMPR, can be platonic or romantic i don't care

Word Count: 1364

The five stages of grief, as explored through what happens when you get stuck in an elevator.

    Denial

  "No," Virgil groans, slamming his head against the wall, "there's no way we're stuck in an elevator."

"Of course not." Logan folds his hands patiently. "We heard this elevator move, it clearly had to travel to reach the floor we were on, so we are not stuck in an elevator, it is simply delayed."

"That's right!" Patton claps his hands. "All we have to do is wait for it to start moving."

They wait. And wait. And keep waiting.

"I don't know if you've noticed," Roman says after they've waited for a considerable amount of time, "but, uh, we don't really seem to be moving all that much."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Janus drawls, leaning against the wall next to Virgil and examining his fingernails, even though he's wearing gloves, "this is clearly the fastest elevator I've ever been on. Truly, I don't know how your ears haven't popped yet."

"Oh my god, will you shut up?"

"What was that, Virgil? Sorry, I can't hear you over how fast we're going."

"Guys," Logan interrupts, "enough. We just have to be patient."

          2. Anger

  "How in the hell did this elevator manage to break while we're on it?"

"This is ridiculous," Logan mutters, beginning to tap his fingers against his wrist, "do they not think people have places to be? How are we expected to make our appointments if we are stuck in this infuriatingly small metal box?"

"They really should pay more attention to them," Patton agrees, crossing his arms too, "after all, what if someone got really stuck in here? Or if it got caught between floors?"

"Not helping, Pop Star," Virgil growls, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"Oh, sorry, kiddo."

"Well, clearly we have to recommend this place to everyone," Janus drawls, but a hint of steel undercuts the worst of the sarcasm, "for their stellar service and impeccable elevators."

Virgil grits his teeth and thunks his head back against the wall again. "I swear to god, I'm gonna punch our way out of here in a moment if this thing doesn't start fucking moving."

"You'll just hurt your hands, pry the doors open instead."

"Roman, no—"

Roman's fist slams into the wall with a thud. When he looks up, Patton makes a noise and takes step back.

"This elevator," he snarls, "better start fucking moving."

          3. Bargaining

  "What if I cut the cables?"

Patton yelps and Virgil swears as Remus drops down from the ceiling, looking far too eager and holding way too many tools. "Don't scare us like that, Remus?"

"And also don't kill us," Janus remarks, reaching out and grabbing his shoulder before he can get all the way to the control panel on the side, "we are still in the elevator."

"We can fix that!"

"For fuck's sake—no, Remus!"

"Language," Patton calls from where he's hiding behind Logan.

Virgil shoots forward to muscle Remus away from the elevator's control panel too, knocking some of the tools out of his arms and helping Janus hold him against the wall. "Stop it, Remus, you're scaring Patton."

"I should be scaring this elevator, but if the beast won't give up its guts, I'll eviscerate the monster!"

"It's an elevator, dude, calm down."

"I don't think asking Remus to calm down is going to work, Virge."

          4. Depression

  "What's the point," Roman groans, making everyone look around for him before realizing he's sitting on the floor, "what's the point in trying to ask him to calm down, what's the point of trying to get out of here? We're not going to make it in time, we're just going to be stuck in this elevator forever and we'll die of being stuck in a metal box."

"Roman," Logan says, surprisingly gently, "don't think like that, it's going to be alright."

"You said it yourself, Specs!" Roman throws his arms out. "We've already missed the bus by now, and the next one won't get us there in time. We missed it, it's over, we don't have another shot at it."

His face crumples miserably and Remus sags, letting Janus and Virgil wrestle the rest of his tools out of his grip before wriggling free of them himself. He scurries across the elevator to crouch next to Roman's side. Roman looks up with his eyes welling up with tears and Remus sits down, holding out his arms and letting his brother bury his face in the crook of his neck.

"Hey, Roro, it's gonna be okay," he murmurs, rubbing his back, "it's okay, Ro-Bro, it's okay."

"It's not," Roman sobs, "it's not okay! We worked so hard on this, Re, and now—and now—"

"Shh, shh, shh, it's okay, Roro, you're okay. I gotcha, okay? I'm right here."

The elevator fills with the soft sounds of Roman crying, even as he tries to bumble through apologies for being so emotional, or getting so upset, only for Remus to shush him and the others to follow suit.

"It's alright to be upset, Roman," Logan says softly, crouching by the two of them and reaching out to card his fingers through Roman's hair, "just give yourself a minute."

Roman sniffles and nuzzles against Remus's shoulder.

          5. Acceptance

  It takes Roman a little longer to compose himself, but Remus just holds him until he sags into his arms and bonks their heads together affectionately.

"You feeling a little better, Roro?"

"I mean," Roman sniffs, "not really, but I'm not going to cry anymore."

He looks up at the others, at their concerned faces and small smiles, and he sighs.

"Guess we're just stuck in here until someone comes to get us, right?"

Virgil slumps down in the opposite corner, an odd mish-mash of limbs and hoodie as he toys with the strings. "Yep. Guess so."

Janus sighs dramatically—which is saying something, seeing as both Creativity Brothers look at him as though they think he's being excessive—and slinks to the floor in a way that would make most animated Disney villains jealous. He props one knee up and flounces against the railing, looking every bit the inconvenienced overlord until Remus reaches out and pokes him in the ribs. Then he hisses and curls up into a more normal seated position and Remus cackles.

"Well, we might as well get comfy," Patton says, sitting down too, "who knows how long we're gonna be in here?"

"Until someone else notices the elevator is broken, I guess."

"We should play a game!"

"No," Janus groans, "no games."

"Ooh, what about Find The Organ?"

"No, Remus."

"I don't think I know that one, what's—" Patton squeaks as his hand claps itself over his mouth.

"I'm saving you from a far worse fate," Janus says gravely, with a look of utmost sincerity and honesty on his face, "trust me."

          +1. Realization

  Logan's deep sigh from the other side of the elevator draws their attention. Roman frowns as he sees Logan take off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Logan? You okay?"

"What's up, L," Virgil asks too when Logan doesn't respond, "is something wrong?"

Logan still doesn't say anything. After another moment of the others trying to figure out what's got him so upset, he replaces his glasses with a forced calm and reaches out.

The button glows.

The elevator rumbles and lurches into motion.

"Whoa, Logan!" Patton scrambles to his feet. "You fixed it!"

"Wait, wait, what?" Remus gets up too. "How did you do that?"

"He's Logan," Janus says, getting up as though it was his idea to sit down in the first place, which it was, but out of necessity, not choice, "are you surprised?"

Virgil narrows his eyes at Logan's back for a moment before he bursts out laughing. "Wait, did no one push the button when we got in?"

Logan's silence is telling.

"Oh my god—"

"What the fuck—"

"How the hell did no one—"

"Remus!"

"What did I do?"

The elevator carries its passengers down to the lobby, rumbling and whirring all the way.

General Taglist: @frxgprince@potereregina@gattonero17@iamhereforthegayshit@thefingergunsgirl@awkwardandanxiousfander@creative-lampd-liberties@djpurple3@winterswrandomness@sanders-sides-uncorrect-quotes@iminyourfandom@bullet-tothefeels@full-of-roman-angst-trash  @ask-elsalvador @ramdomthingsfrommymind@demoniccheese83@pattonsandershugs @el-does-photography @princeanxious@firefinch-ember@fandomssaremysoul@im-an-anxious-wreck@crazy-multifandomfangirl @punk-academian-witch@enby-ralsei@unicornssunflowersandstuff@wildhorsewolf @thetruthaboutthesun @stubbornness-and-spite @princedarkandstormv  @your-local-fookin-deadmeme @angels-and-dreams@averykedavra @a-ghostlight-for-roman @treasurechestininterweb @cricketanne @queerly-fluid-fan @compactdiscdraws@cecil-but-gayer@i-am-overly-complicated@annytheseal@alias290@tranquil-space-ninja @arxticandy @mychemically-imbalanced-romance@whyiask@crows-ace @emilythezeldafan@frida0043 @ieatspinalcords @snowyfires@cyanide-violence@oonagh2@xxpanic-at-the-everywherexx@rabbitsartcorner @percy-07734@triflingassailantofmyemotions @virgil-sanders-the-gay-emo@cerulean-watermelon@puffed-up-bees@meltheromanstan@joyrose-fandomer@insanitori@mavenmush@justablah65@10paradox10@uhhh-hi-there-i-am-nervous@cutebisexualmess@bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti@ultrageekygirl

[naavispider]

can you write a one-shot in which quaritch consoles spider after a violent tantrum in his cell? sorry for my english i'm french

Why are you apoLogisiNg for your english it's literally perfect 😭 Of course I can, just because of the way you worded this, it made me chuckle 💞

Spider cried out with a groan of pain as he shouldered the thick glass doors to the cell for the hundredth time. He could feel the bruise that had already formed, beginning to blossom over his upper arm and across his shoulder. It hurt, but he'd be damned if he was just going to sit in a corner and succumb to hopelessness.

He swore under his breath at the arrogance of the glass's rigidity. Then he shouted the curse for the world to hear. The doors hadn't budged in two hours - he hadn't even made a dent.

Fuck.

He screamed in frustration, moving towards the double sided glass that surely hid an entire team of demons. He pictured them all watching him with evil smirks, exchanging snide comments at his anguish.

"You gonna let me outta here? Huh?" He yelled, squaring up to the window. "You fucking cowards! Stick your heads up the darkest parts of my ass!"

He panted heavily, throwing every ounce of fury at the blank glass. When this failed to provoke a response, he hurled himself at the door again, shrieking when his abused shoulder made contact with the glass once more.

"That's enough, Spider," came a distorted voice from the corner of the room.

He jumped as if burned. In all the long hours he'd been confined in here, he'd never been spoken to. He cast his eyes around for the source of the noise - it was coming from a small speaker set into the ceiling in the far corner. He growled at the mirror. "Eat my ass!"

Just to see what would happen, he rammed the door again, this time biting down on his tongue, so all that escaped him was a pained grunt. He hissed at the hidden demons beyond the window.

A flash of movement near the door caused him to spin around again. His heart was pounding as he faced the glass doors, unsure whether he should make a stand, or back away to give himself a few more seconds. The sight of the 10 feet tall, solid avatar approaching the cell was enough to send his tired mind into overdrive. Oh Eywa.

The avatar was coming to hurt him. He was coming to tie him down and torture him. He was getting closer to the glass doors... he was pressing a passcode into the keypad... the doors were sliding open...

Spider hissed, realising he hadn't made a move - too paralysed by fear to think straight. The doors hissed open and the giant figure stepped cautiously inside. Spider barely had time to register the authoritative expression on the man's face before he threw himself around him, making a break for the doors.

He growled as he stepped forward, but he knew before he'd made it half way that it wasn't going to work.

"Not so fast, little one!" the man called firmly, reaching for Spider's middle and picking him completely up off the floor.

His heart thrummed against his chest and his breaths came in pants as he flung his legs out to kick at the avatar, while clawing at the man's arms with his hands. He hissed again, injecting as much venom into the sound as he was capable of.

"Hey!" The avatar shouted harshly, struggling under Spider's assault.

"Put me down!" Spider cried, thrashing as much as he could in an attempt to slip out of the man's grasp and make another run for it.

The man held him at arm's length, before placing him down against the far wall of the cell, furthest away from the doors. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Spider stopped kicking at the man and doubled his efforts into scratching and punching the long blue forearms that held him against the wall.

"You gotta calm down, kid. You got some fight in you, I can see that."

Spider paused his onslaught for a split second to look at the man's face, disturbed by the eye contact and the almost admiring expression he found there. He tried to wrench the man's arms off his shoulders. His left was already sore from ramming the door, and the way the avatar was gripping him only added to the pain. He hissed again, not trusting his voice.

"Easy, easy there." The man's grip softened, and as Spider glared at him, he felt his own struggles start to subside.

It didn't seem like the man was trying to hurt him - he tested the situation and stopped trying to pull the avatar's arms off him for a few seconds.

"There we go. Okay, we're making progress. Now I'm gonna let go, alright? There's no point running anywhere, as you damn well know those doors won't open without the passcode."

The man assessed Spider for a second, judging his reaction, before hesitantly withdrawing his hands. Breathless, Spider glowered at him. His eyes darted to the doors beyond the man, and sure enough they had shut tightly again.

He threw his head back against the wall in despair.

"Alright..." the man said in a pleased tone.

Spider wanted to throw some colourful insult at the man, but his head was empty. Damn his brain, just as he needed something good.

"Now, we never got ourselves properly acquainted. I'm Quaritch." The avatar paused, watching Spider closely. "The recombinant version of him at least." He paused again, and his next words came slowly, as if it was a struggle to find them. "Are you... aware of Miles Quaritch?"

Spider's pounding heart had increased in ferocity, and now he was certain something was wrong. It was painful in his chest, and his head was turning dizzy... he wasn't getting enough oxygen... he balled his fists to stop them shaking as a cold sweat started to bead over the back of his neck and shoulders. Was he having a heart attack?

"Kid?"

Even with his eyes closed, Spider could hear the frown in the man's voice. In Quaritch's voice.

He opened his eyes. Get a grip on yourself. Deep breaths. He stared Quaritch directly in the eye.

"I know who you are."

Quaritch tilted his head encouragingly, or perhaps it was a gesture of anxiety at what Spider knew.

"I know exactly who you are, and what you've done, txanfwìngtu!" Images flashed before his eyes of all the heinous acts he knew his father was responsible for - the felling of the Hometree, the bombing of a site near the Tree of Souls, the families that died there, the children left orphaned. He supposed he was one of them.

He had only ever seen Quaritch's face a couple of times. When he was younger and curious about his bio parents, the scientists had given him a carefully chosen video log that Quaritch had made before he died. He remembered the bile that bubbled in the back of his throat as he watched, he recalled the poisonous words that the colonel had spewn about the Na'vi and Spider's home as if were yesterday. He had turned the log off before it ended, giving it back to Norm and telling him to destroy it. He'd never wanted to see the man's face again.

And so, when Spider looked at the enlarged blue features in front of him now, the same feelings of rage and betrayal spread through his stomach like a tsunami. It brought nausea flooding up his throat.

"Ahhh!" He screamed, losing control of his mind and body as he furiously lunged around Quaritch and breaking for the door.

Quaritch could have stopped him, but he must have known that Spider couldn't go anywhere. Spider ran for the exit, throwing his shoulder once more against the glass, desperately hoping that this time it would work. He panicked as he felt Quaritch approach him.

"Stay away!" He cried, cursing in both Na'vi and English as panic overtook him. He began to feel dizzy, but he couldn't stop trying to force the door open. It was his only escape route.

It was hopeless.

He had to keep trying.

No.

No, stop!

Arms were around him, pulling him back, wrapping around his torso, trapping his arms to his sides, and he was pressed against a cool blue stomach. He wasn't aware of what his voice was doing, but he could hear soothing words coming from somewhere above him - coming from Quaritch.

He tried to catch his breath as his vision swam in front of him.

"Breathe, Spider. You're hyperventilating. I'm not gonna hurt you. Just relax and breathe, like me..."

Spider held onto the words. After a few moments of futile struggling, he attempted to match his breathing with the large chest against him.

"There you go, easy does it... Jesus."

Eventually, the dizziness cleared from Spider's head and the room seemed to quieten. He became aware for the first time that Quaritch had enveloped him in a (presumably reassuring) hold, and Spider's knees were on the floor.

"Get off of me," Spider stuttered out when he finally found his voice again. However, it didn't come out as forceful as he wanted.

"Sure, kid," the man rumbled next to him. After a few more moments, Quaritch spoke again. "Okay, so you clearly know all about your father."

Spider remained silent. There was nothing he could do, held like this. Besides, he was exhausted from the all of the recent strains on his body.

"I'm not that man. I'm not an avatar. Your father isn't alive, lying in some link somewhere. I got his memories, and most of his personality. But I'm a different man."

Still, Spider said nothing.

"Now, no one calls you Miles, is that right? What have I gotta call you then?" He released his grip slightly, and Spider took that chance to wriggle away, sliding across the floor till he hit the wall and bringing his knees up to his chest.

"Spider." He said after a long moment.

"Spider, huh?" Quaritch huffed in amusement. "I can work with that. Now how about we start from the beginning. Tell me who your parents are."

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

🤕 What’s the dumbest way they’ve been injured?

For any of the superpowered kids ;)

(Also, idk if there's any sort of timestamp on asks, but if there is, you didn't see nothing)

I do not see a timestamp but it's ok I have terrible sleep habits too

Thanks for the ask! (From this OC explorations ask game)

🤕 What’s the dumbest way they’ve been injured?

I like questions like these because most of them is me improvising and making it canon.

Lexi - For some reason what popped into my head was her jumping when she saw a spider and dropping a hairdryer on her toe, breaking the toe or the nail

Maddie - I feel like she broke her leg trying to climb a tree

Ash - Going with chipped a tooth when prying her locker open

Gwen - I feel like she heard her cat throwing up and jumped out of bed and slipped on the throw rug and hit her head

Noelle - I feel like while she was first learning how to cook she dropped something hot, then tried to catch it midair, which of course burned her hands. Regardless of if this was before or after her telekinesis developed, I bet she wishes she could've caught it with her powers in hindsight.

Rose - I'm feeling tossed something heavy like her art tablet or a textbook onto her bed and it bounced off and landed on her foot

Kelsey - I dunno for some reason I'm imagining her being close to missing the bus one day, likely dealing with her younger cousins, slipping, and faceplanting the concrete

Robbie - I already know he broke his arm running on the playground and slipping off a ramp and breaking it on the ramp.

Akash - Flew up too high and hit his head on the ceiling

Bonus Guys, most likely to get hurt doing something stupid:

George - Technically not a kid, but no he definitely ran full speed at a wall at some point

Liam - also 18, but does it count if he got punched for being argumentative over whether the floor of a second story or a landing counts as a step?

Jazlyn - You'd think it would be burned herself, but I feel like she tried to pick up Ewan and then she strained something

Parker - Literally anything he does oh my God probably sticking his hand down a disposal just to see what would happen knowing Wade would heal it

Not a superpowered kid, but Carmen has definitely broken her hand punching a wall.

This may have been a little long but this was a lot of fun! Thanks for stopping by! (Hope you have a bitchin' day)

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites @nebula--nix

[darkgodcomplex]

Stolen - Chapter 10

Mello x Reader

You can read other chapters at:

AO3

Wattpad

Enjoy the story:

The punching bag creaks as its ceiling mount bears the force of your thrust, yet all you hear is Beyond Birthday's wet cackles as he is pushed to the ground.

You gear up for another punch, shaking your head. Your fist collides with the bag, sending it back. As it's swinging, it becomes Halle, crumpling to the ground wordlessly, blonde hair speckled with blood.

But then it swings back and it's merely a punching bag again.

You let out a breath, tearing off the boxing gloves and throwing them to the ground. You can't do this.

You turn, sensing a presence in the doorway. You throw up your arm defensively, only for it to be Mello.

"Your boxing has been getting better." Mello says, running a hand through his messy hair. He looks tired, the bags under his eyes are dark.

"Don't give me that bullshit." For some reason he feels so foreign to you now.

Mello stays silent as you sit down on the boxing mat, tearing off your sneakers and throwing one and then the other. You put your head in your hands.

"I'm sorry." You tell him. "It feels like Kira's return is my fault."

Ever since Halle's death, criminals have been dropping dead of heart attacks across the globe.

Beyond Birthday died from an infection in his head wound.

"It's not your fault." Mello's voice is firm.

"I thought Kira was dead."

"Kira is dead." Mello asserts. "This isn't Kira, it's a well laid out plan Kira left behind."

"Kira's successor?"

Mello frowns at this, "Light Yagami wouldn't have planned for his own death. He was too cocky for that."

"I've been thinking..." You've had a lot of time to think lately. "Why Halle?" You look at him. "Why would they choose Halle to send the message?"

"They were able to get ahold her name, I suppose." Mello scrunches his eyebrows. "Why?"

"It seems odd that Halle would be one the one they chose." You rub your face. "Why not Gevanni or Rester?"

"I think you're overthinking it." Mello crosses his arms. "The SPK has incredible security. They got ahold of a name and used it to convey the message."

You purse your lips. Perhaps you are looking at the situation too closely. You, Halle, and everyone else besides Kira and L's Successors are merely pawns.

"Mello," you look up at him. "Why did you come here?"

Mello shrugs, looking down. "Was just dropping by."

"You, Matt, and Near have been constantly busy since Kira's reappearance. I haven't seen you in over a week. You didn't happen to be walking by, you purposely stopped in... why?"

Mello sighs, casting his gaze aside. "I would still like to box with you." His eyes flick back to you.

You stare at the punching bag. It still swings. "I don't think I want to box anymore." You heave yourself from the floor. "But that doesn't matter, that's not why you're here."

He's silent, sharp eyes watching you closely. He's analyzing you just as you are analyzing him.

"You three have hardly even eaten in between your detective work." You walk towards him. "You wouldn't just... stop by for boxing."

He's better at analyzing than you, "When's the last time you've eaten?" He quips back. "Or slept, for that matter? Gevanni said you've been screaming in your sleep."

Your ears burn red, "I don't think that's any of your business."

"Fine... I guess I'll just go back to work then, since apparently that was my only motive for coming here." He pauses, flexing his fist open and closed, staring at you for another second before turning and walking out.

As you're left alone, you want to destroy things. You want to tear the wallpaper from the walls and scratch the floors with the mangled debris of cabinets, but the thing you want to do least is touch that god forsaken punching bag.

So, you merely grab your shoes and leave.

As you enter your room, you see the little plush dog that Mello got you sitting as it usually does, near your pillow. But now you can't bear to look at it so you grab the little thing by its soft neck. Its button eyes glare at you as you shove it into a drawer, begging yourself to forget about it.

You feel a sudden presence in the room.

"I thought you were supposed to stay away from me, Ryuk." You say as you slam the drawer closed, turning to see the hulking monster hovering near your bed.

"You're the Death Note owner, isn't it natural I be with you?" Ryuk rasps.

You smile, "I don't seem to remember a rule saying that the shinigami had to follow the owner." You tilt your head. "Did the boys get too boring for you?"

Ryuk laughs, "I was curious. I keep thinking about Beyond Birthday... I can't seem to decide if it was you or Kira that killed him."

You turn away from Ryuk, fussing with the books on your dresser, "Have you ever thought that perhaps Beyond Birthday really did just die of an infection?"

"I have and I don't believe it."

"So would you believe me if I told you it wasn't me?"

Ryuk laughs some more, "Say, where is that scrap of the notebook that you stole?"

You turn back sharply towards him, pressing a finger to your lips, "Hidden somewhere." You raise a brow. "You're not a snitch?"

"Perhaps you're more interesting than I gave you credit." Ryuk moves across the walls like a spider. It's unsettling. "I won't tell a soul."

Good. As long as you're interesting, he's on your side. Perhaps you can use it. You're being sheltered from the investigation, but that's not going to stop you from investigating on your own.

"You know, what I can't seem to wrap my head around is how me obtaining the Death Note leads to Kira's return." You cross your arms. "That has to be the catalyst to all this, right? If it was possible to do on his own, Beyond Birthday would've just done it without me."

Ryuk just laughs, giving you no information. You're interesting, but not as interesting as Kira.

"Ryuk!" You hear Matt call from the hallway.

"Looks like I gotta go." Ryuk rasps. He presses a finger to his lips, imitating you, before disappearing into the wall farthest from where Matt's voice had rung out.

You poke your head out into the hallway.

Matt eyes you, "Have you seen the shinigami?"

"No." You lie, stepping fully into the hallway.

Matt groans, "Great."

You lean against your door, watching as he scuffs the ground with his foot.

"Stupid shinigami." He mutters, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair. "Given us absolutely nothing."

"How's the investigation?" You ask.

"Enh." He shrugs. "All work and no play. So boring-" As he's talking, he seems to realize he's talking about the case too casually to you and slowly trails off.

"It's okay." You tell him. "I've been bored too."

"Yeah?" He looks at you for a long second. "Why don't we do something tonight then?"

"Do something?" You perk up. "Like what?"

"A bar." Matt says. "You don't have to worry about Beyond Birthday anymore, so we should go out."

"That sounds great!" It's the first time you've felt excited in a long while. It feels good.

"Great, then I'll catch you later." Matt winks, turning away. "I have a shinigami to catch first."

He trots away and you watch him go, wondering why Ryuk was hiding from them.

Later that night, just when you were beginning to think that Matt had forgotten all about you, there's a knock at your bedroom door.

Matt's at the door, dressed in a bomber jacket and aviators.

"The others aren't coming with us?" You ask.

"Nah." He replies, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "They don't know we're going out."

You glance nervously to the side.

"It's fine, I promise." Matt says.

"Okay then." You say skeptically.

When the cool breeze hits your face as you step outside, you let out a long breath. It feels good to be outdoors.

"Car's over here." Matt gestures, walking over. You follow.

"It's the same car you kidnapped me in." You say as Matt climbs into the driver's seat.

"Yeah, I had it fixed after the crash, of course." He pats the side of the car. "It's my baby."

You roll your eyes, climbing into the passenger seat. Matt keeps the windows down as he cruises over the speed limit. As he drives, he sticks a cigarette in his mouth.

"Give me a light." He says through the cigarette in his mouth. "It's in the glove compartment."

You open the compartment, digging through the junk. Papers fall out, as well as a gun. You quickly tuck that back in. In the very back you find the lighter. You flick it on, holding it up to Matt's mouth.

The cigarette lights and Matt seems to relax, taking a breath in and letting the smoke seep out his nose after. He grabs the cigarette between his fingers, removing it from his mouth and shaking the ash out the window.

"Smoking is bad for you." You tell him.

He smiles, taking another long drag of his cigarette, "I know."

"Then why do you do it?" You ask, sticking your arm out the window to feel the wind. "I thought you were a genius."

"Don't care." He shrugs. "Feels good."

When you arrive at the bar, you and Matt choose the seats furthest from the door and order your drinks. Matt gets a sour beer, you get a cider. The two of you sip as the chatting in the bar gets louder as it gets busier and busier.

"How have you been?" Matt asks, tapping his beer on the counter.

"Fine." It's an automatic response. "Actually, not fine, I guess."

"Yeah." He nods, still fidgeting with the bottle. "I'm sorry."

A pang hits you and you think of Halle.

"Were you and Halle close?" You ask. You certainly weren't and yet, this death is affecting you nearly as much as your family's.

"Close?" Matt looks up, scrunching his brows. "Not particularly. I mean, she was around a lot during the Kira case, but her and Mello were closer than I was to her."

A new thought pops into your head. Was this affecting Mello at all? You hadn't even considered that. The way those three treat death is astoundingly cold to you. Just a few nights ago, Matt was out barhopping with Halle and now he says they weren't close. You wonder if you died, would Matt, Mello, and Near simply continue on with their lives?

"Matt, how many people have you seen die?" You ask.

"Oh," Matt leans back in his chair, placing his arms behind his head. "Too many to count." He makes eye contact with you. "Too many." Surprisingly, he sounds regretful. He leans forward again, tugging a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it up.

"I'm sorry."

He smiles gently, "Let's not apologize to each other anymore, okay? We both know damn well we're sorry."

You laugh. It's comforting, but in a different way.

When you arrive back at the SPK facility, Matt drops you off at the entrance.

"I'm gonna park the baby out back." He grins, tapping his car.

You laugh, "Well, thank you, I had a great time."

"I did too."

As you enter the building, you feel the alcohol slosh in your stomach. Perhaps you had gotten too carried away. You climb the stairs to the upper floor.

It's late, you try to be quiet in the dark hallway as you sneak over to your room, but as you're opening your bedroom door, another door down the hall opens.

Mello stands in his doorway, illuminated only by the blue light of a computer in his room.

"You're back." He says.

You swallow, wondering if you're about to be scolded. "Yes."

There's a pause, Mello stands there in the darkness, the blue light shining off of his golden hair. He speaks up, "I wish I had prevented all this."

It takes you a second to process this.

"If I could do it all over, I would stop Beyond Birthday before he hurts your family. I would stop Halle from dying. I would prevent Kira from killing again." He takes a breath. "I would say the right things at the right times."

You walk over to him, peering up at him through the darkness.

"I don't need a fix for the past." You tell him, gently taking his hands into yours.

"Can we just... start over?" Mello has never looked so longingly at you.

"I don't want to start over." Your hands slide up his arms, running over his muscled forearms and his broad shoulders. "I want to continue where we left off."

Mello leans forward and presses a gentle kiss to your lips. It's hesitant, at first, as if he thinks you won't reciprocate. As he realizes you're kissing back, he wraps his arms around your waist, tugging you in closer so that you're pressed again his body. Your hand finds the back of his head, weaving your fingers into his hair.

When you pull away for a breath, Mello continues to press small kisses to your lips, then your cheeks and forehead. You laugh.

"We'll continue this tomorrow, right?" Mello still breathes heavily from the kiss.

"Of course." You put your hand to his cheek, which he presses into. You trail your fingers away as you head to your room. "Goodnight, Mello."

"Goodnight."

[silly-inky]

Luigi beats Bowser's Ass

So I came up with this scenario in my head while daydreaming, @skulls-soul told me it would be a good idea to share it. Do forgive me for any poor writing I'm not used to describing/ writing fight scenes

TW // violence, Minor descriptions of blood, mention of swords

Bowser is fighting Mario and all out and Bowser is determined not to loose this time. Mario mostly has the fight under control when out of no where He gets hit by Bowser's tail and Smacked into a wall, this knocks him out and causes his head and nose to bleed which sends Luigi into panic mode.

Luigi was getting Peach free from her cage while Mario was battling Bowser. Luigi sent her to go check on Mario so he could go over and fend Bowser off. Bowser ends up knocking a pillar over to try and crush the defensless Mario, unaware Peach had rushed over there to help him out. Thankfully Luigi was quick on his feet and used his powerup to make himself bigger, he then drop kicks the pillar so It would fall a little ways away from them with a thunderous crash, cracking the stone floor Beneath them.

Now Luigi was Pissed. Bowser tried to crush not only Mario but Peach as well, he didn't care he didn't mean to harm Peach, but he still wanted to kill Mario and it would have ended up crushing both of them if he didn't act fast enough.

Luigi turns to Bowser fury in his eyes, the true definition of death stare. Bowser was distracted, still a little taken aback by the fact he almost actually hurt Peach, so he was late to process that the green plumber had just boosted himself towards his head, he had jumped from wall to pillar to any other surface he could use to eventually launch himself at the massive behemoth himself.

He Strikes Bowser right in the nose to disorientate him as he results himself to land on the turtles shoulder to steady himself, grabbing onto both of Bowser's horns like a bull rider. Bowser growls as he tries to get Luigi off of him but is unable to grab ahold of the man, but he was to fast. Luigi leaps off of Bowser's shoulder, horns still gripped firmly in his hands, with enough force to throw the King forwards and body slam him making the floor rumble and stone rattle and crack as dust fell from the ceiling, if it wasn't for the fact he had seen his brother do this so many times before, he would have assumed the floor was about to give way.

Bowser was laying on the floor for a moment before Luigi grabs hold of his tail and swings him around, throwing him into a wall just a he did to his brother, however he ended up going straight through the wall forcing and Luigi follows quickly after him.

Bowser's troops were outside the exterior of the castle so as Luigi is making his way towards Bowser he now had to fight of the guards, which he does with ease at this point. He headbutts, kicks, dodges and punches his way through them, at one point he's surrounded by so many he waits until they are all close together in a tight crowd before he grabs a few of them and uses his Thunder hand, schocking all of them. This doesn't kill them, but it did leave them incapacitated for the time being.

After he deals with them he returns his attention to Bowser who is starting to get back up, albeit winded. Luigi runs up and kicks him in the gut knocking him onto his side, using one of the guards shields laying on the floor to shield himself from the fire Bowser spews out in an effort to stop Luigi and defend himself. The flames licked at the edges of shield, watching as the metal slowly began to glow red from the heat, but it did its job well at protecting the plumber, by some miracle the metal didn't burn Luigi.

Luigi keeps wailing on Bowser to the point he doesn't try to get up anymore, he waits until enough of his strength returns to throw him off. And when he does it just pisses Luigi off more. Luigi grabs a sword from another guard he landed near and charges towards Bowser. He uses his Thunder hand to shock him enough to put him on the ground again.

Luigi climbs on top of him and is screaming at the top of his lungs as he holds the sword high above his head glistening in the shine of the lava around them as he planning on swinging it down on Bowser's head. Bowser has genuine fear plastered across his bloodied face as all he can do is stare and watch as this once very meek plumber was about to kill him. Everyone watches on, the guards that have come back to consciousness can only look on, and Peach looks on in horror from the other room. Was Luigi really about to kill Bowser? No.

Luigi screams again and as he brings the sword down Bowser closes his eyes, waiting for the metal to slice through his scales and flesh. Then he hears the clanging of metal next to his head. He's almost to scared to open his eyes until he just hears Luigi's harsh and heavy breathing. He opens his eyes to see Luigi still stood above him on his chest, but no sword in hand. He was seething, but he was also scared. Luigi got off of Bowser and walked back towards Peach and Mario, still trying to control his own breathing, but before leaving Bowser he said "please don't make me do this again." and then walks off to go help Peach and Mario. Bowser doesn't chase after them, he only watches, his eye's never leaving Luigi as he helped his brother stand up, his right arm swung around Luigi's shoulders while his left was swung around Peach's.

How come he has never seen this side of Luigi before? He can't decide if he wants to fight him again, or not to test the man in fear, what if next time he didn't throw away that sword. He took the blade that was left laying on the ground next to his head in his hand. He almost killed him.

[lou-struck]

Haunted House

Wakatoshi Ushijima x Reader

Flufftober Day 4: Haunted House

~ you hoped you would really be able to scare your boyfriend at this haunted house, but it really came back to bite you in the butt.

The grip you have on Your boyfriend's massive hands is deathly, but he seems unfazed as he drags you through the hallowed halls of the haunted house.

Another actor jumps out at you and you hide your face in his sleeve in fear. Wakatoshi stands strong, unblinking, and unemotional as he stares over at the man currently dressed as a masked killer.

His olive eyes drift downward to the chainsaw the man is currently waving at you. Gently brushing back a strand of your disheveled hair from your face he speaks. “Y/n, this chainsaw can’t hurt you, it doesn’t have a chain in it.” He says it’s so kindly that you wanna punch him. But you have no one to blame but yourself for your current situation…

It all started the other night when the two of you were watching One of your favorite scary movies. He had never seen it before and so you were hoping to give him a little freight during one of the jump scare scenes.

But by the time the scare came and went, his expression stayed just as passive while you once again sprang from your seat in surprise.

‘Some people are just good with scary movies’ You thought to yourself, ‘Maybe if he was jumped at in real life he would react.’

This led to you buying tickets to one of the city's most famous haunted houses, this warehouse features dozens of rooms and scene changes that lead visitors through a maze of horror. But now you’re the one getting scared and not your boyfriend.

“Do you want to keep going? You look uncomfortable.” He asks.

You really don’t want to keep going, the jump scares this far have put you on the edge, The beating of your heart seems to shake your body and your legs are feeling a bit weak. But you are motivated by curiosity and a little bit of spite. Wakatoshi Ushijima has never been spooked before. You have to see what he would look like.

You clear your throat and look up at him with the termination. “ yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go.” He nods and the two of you step further into the building.

Even though there are other people making their way through the house, it’s quiet. Artificial fog fills the air as it bounces off the dimly lit walls.

There is a sinister chill that grows on you more and more as you make your way through the house. Your previous determination figures like a candle in the wind as you find yourself shivering. It’s much colder in here than it was in the line.

At least you have Wakatoshi with you, he stands tall and his body radiates heat that makes you cling to him more. "Are you sure you're not afraid?"

You say nothing and continue to follow behind him leaving the sounds of screaming and revving chainsaws behind you.

The next scene you make it to looks like a doll house, everything is frilly, pink, and, pristine. Its innocence is unnerving in a way the other rooms were not.

Your shoulders tense as you scan the room trying to find the horror hiding amongst the unblinking porcelain dolls.

"I don't see anything in here," you mumble "Maybe the actor is on break?"

Ushijima hums and looks around, "I see, then we should move on.”

You take an all too eager step toward the exit and suddenly an airy giggle fills the room

"Are you leaving me already?'

Your eyes dart around anxiously trying to find where it's coming from until something catches your eye. A large doll, no, a puppet ascends from the ceiling on two large silk ropes. Its cracked features and sickeningly sweet grin strike a new type of fear in your heart. There are no sounds that you could utter that would be fitting of how you are feeling.

Your legs give out from under you.

Now on the floor, you look up at your boyfriend who looks down on you with a look of worry.

“Are you alright?” he asks gently crouching down to your level. As the actor apologizes for scaring you so badly behind him.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." You murmur trying to catch your breath.

"You hold out your hand for him to help you up, but he opts instead to just scoop your scared self off of the carpeted floor and holds you in his arms.

"You scared me," he says softly "I'm gonna keep you close so we can get out of here."

"You were sacred?" you say cracking a bit of a smile.

Your legs may feel numb, and you have been tormented by clowns, killers, corpses, and dolls for the past hour, but you finally did it. You scared Wakatoshi Ushijima. you giggle a bit and nestle yourself into his strong chest. and you giggle triumphantly.

"What's so funny?" he asks confusedly.

"It's nothing," you smile "Let's get out of here."

~

Once you make it through the house and out the exit he places you on the ground.“ I found that quite enjoyable,” he says cupping your cheek.

“Why?“ You pout, “The house didn't scare you at all.”

“I wasn’t scared, but you were.“ he says, his lips turn upwards with the smallest hint of a smile. “ I enjoyed having you in my arms like that, I think that we should do it more often.“

[aerodaltonimperial]

Junglehook. messy half asleep kisses

(Trying to find my way back to writing.)

The night before Forbidden Door, Jack had laid awake for hours. Next to him, Hook was warm, the sort of thing Jack knew he was going to lose. He'd stared at the wall and told himself that it was for the best, that it was necessary; that this friendship, like all the other relationships in his life, had an expiration date, and this time, he had to be the one to cut the cord first.

And around 2 AM, Hook had roused somewhat. He'd turned over and looped an arm around Jack’s waist, and Jack’s blood had run cold, because while they often fell asleep next to each other, this was not a thing that they did. Hook had sleepily pressed his mouth against Jack’s shoulder. The man was awake enough to be doing it on purpose, and Jack understood it for what it was: an opening. An offering. A hand outstretched through the ropes.

Jack hadn't moved. He didn't respond, and he didn't throw Hook’s arm off. If Hook was disappointed, well... Jack never got the chance to find out. The next day, he'd detonated the threads braided between them, a spectacular explosion. Fireworks in the night sky and all that. Jack told himself it had to happen, but in truth, most nights, he doesn't believe it for a second.

++

Hook shows up in Tokyo with a single duffel and bags under his eyes. Jack doesn't know who he bribed to get the right hotel, or Jack’s room number. In all honesty, Jack doesn't even know how the man navigated transportation through the city to be deposited at Jack’s door. Hook doesn't even offer an explanation, just dumps his bag on the carpet and grumpily says, "I'm hungry."

Jack gets him shit from the conbini, because it's 11 PM and he doesn't know enough Japanese to order anything he can't point at. Hook eats it on the floor of Jack’s hotel room while scrolling through his phone, and then takes a shower. He still hasn't said anything, and Jack, too afraid to put a name to the months of betrayal and animosity between them, doesn't push it.

They go to sleep at midnight. Jack stares at the ceiling listening to Hook’s rhythmic breathing and can't figure out why the man is here. Why he hadn't punched Jack yet. Why he's offered nothing by way of reasoning.

He must drift off, eventually, because when he next comes to, he's curled around the pillow, and Hook’s arm has slid across his side. It's the same as it was the last time: brief pressure of Hook’s mouth against Jack’s shoulder, warm even though Jack’s t-shirt. This time, Hook has already seen the destruction Jack can loose when he's terrified. This time, there aren't secrets hanging between them, because Jack’s already bared all of his.

This time, Jack doesn't freeze; he turns over, fingers scraping along the cotton covering Hook’s torso. He grapples for Hook’s face in the darkness and gets one hand curved around the man’s cheek, and then Hook’s mouth finds his. It's open-mouthed and sloppy, a messy combination of drowsy and jet-lagged and pissed off, the sort of thing that worms down through Jack’s legs as Hook grabs his lip between his teeth and tugs. This time, Jack meets him in the middle and confesses all his sins through the bruising contact, swallowing Hook’s groans back.

When Hook shifts up onto his hands, one leg sliding on top if Jack’s, it's the point of no return. And Hook, as usual, couldn't find the words he needed, so it's all action, all motion: forgiveness peppered down in a rain along Jack’s collarbone.

Jack can't change the past; can't change that night before Forbidden Door, can't change how hard Hook had slammed back against the ramp. But here, in a sterile Japanese hotel room, he's pretty sure he can change the future. "Still?" he whispers, as Hook’s mouth slides down his neck where his beard has grown long.

"Yeah," Hook exhales, against Jack’s skin, a sigh and a promise at the same time.

[keepswingin]

Lee Know + Get Lit

The building is loud, and his head throbs louder as he stumbles down the hall and into the first room he can open, vision blurring. One outstretched hand grazes something soft, and he collapses on top of the bed sideways before his brain can fathom catching up, the ceiling fan above him spinning madly.

Colors weave in and out from the far window, and the bass of a new song shakes the floor, again and again and again, but he is the one lost in rhythm, disjointed. 

Someone must've spiked the punch, and he must've been the unlucky lottery winner. If only he could win the actual lottery, then maybe college wouldn't feel so pointless, or endless or...who was he kidding? It would always feel pointless when he was so lost already - 

Something buzzes, obnioxus and iccessant against his side.

He spends an awful amount of time searching around him before realizing that it's coming from nowhere else but his jeans pocket. His phone, the only thing sober within a mile. He nearly drops it twice before bringing the screen close enough to see, a few messages glaring back at him. 

chris: i didn't mean it chris: i'm sorry chris: come back

bin: i'm outside waiting bin: unless you've already apologized for something that wasn't your fault 

hannie: where are you?

"Obviously not with you," Minho mutters as he tosses the phone and throws his head back against the blanket.

It was all his fault, wasn't it?

He thought he did a good job setting boundaries this time, not crossing wires, staying in tact. But now it was all messed up, because he couldn't keep his mouth shut, or learn his lesson from last time. He was dumb to think this time would be different anyway, with someone like him, with a group like them. People like them would discover who he was before he had a chance to hide behind a cigarette or alcohol. 

"Fuck," he grumbles, hands reaching up to press against his eyes. 

He keeps them there until he sees spots, pretending that maybe it'll take this horrible feeling of messing everything up once again away, but all it does it make him more dizzy when he stares up at the ceiling again.

The fan attached hangs off-center to the rest of the room, and the popcorn ceiling flashes with the different colors that leak from the window.

It's too dark to see what color the walls are, or whose room this could possibly be, when all he needed was a moment to breathe, away from the party, away from the crowd, away from Chan's pitiful looks and the tug of Han's mouth every time he laughed at something Minho said when anyone else would've found it stupid.

Everything was fine, until Minho had gotten too comfortable, alcohol settling deep in his belly, the couch soft against his back, Han's knee pressing against his thigh. 

He slipped, and Chan hadn't helped, and he was calling Changbin for a ride before things could get worse, and then Changbin had said he was on his way and had reminded him that he should've just gone to the bowling alley with him but Minho didn't want to fucking bowl with the guy he's known since he was a child when Han would be here and -

He was so hopeless. His phone buzzes again, and again. He decides to focus on the multicolored lights instead, watching as they swap every few seconds. 

Red. Blue. Yellow. 

Red. Blue. Green.

Red. Blue -

Would it kill them to use more than one different color?

He groans, stomach twisting.

Maybe watching the colors wasn't such a good idea when his stomach felt like a barrel full of rocks rolling around. He drank too much, allowed his words to grow too loose, and now he was holed up in somebody's bedroom.

It would probably only take Changbin another two text messages before he stormed into the party and found Minho himself, and a part of him can't help but chuckle aloud at the look he was sure would be on the shorter's face, cheeks pinched and lips twisted. Or maybe Chan would stumble his way in here, apologizes crisp on the tip of his tongue. Or Han, clueless and hopeful about somebody who was...him. 

His stomach tosses again, and he exhales, struggling to quell the feeling. Getting sick in somebody's bedroom at a college party was not on his bucket list in life.

He's so focused on the prospect of not doing so that he doesn't hear the sound of the door opening, or the drunken laughter that grows louder and closer to him as the door shuts again. 

He groans as he feels someone get close to him, and hears the crumble of a can as it's tossed to the ground. "Room's occupied," he grumbles, loud enough so that he's sure he's heard. 

"Looks like it," a voice he doesn't recongize replies with a haughty laugh. 

Minho grimaces at the deep tone. He'd roll his eyes if it wouldn't make him dizzier. Instead he lifts himself the best he can and perches on his elbows, debating if punching a random guy would be seen as too aggressive or not.

He decides words would be better than physical violence after a good minute or so of considering his chances. 

"Get out," he deadpans, attempting to steady the closest guy with a meancing glare. There's three of them, ranging in different heights, but all sporting the same glazed eyes and drunken grins.

Minho hates himself all over again for drinking far too much. He could probably take them if he really wanted to, but between the way the room spins periodically and the chruning of his stomach, he's not fit to do much else but stare at them impatiently.

"I said get out," he repeats, slower this time, louder. 

The one closest to him reaches a hand down, fingers sliding around his wrist. Minho immediately recoils, attempting to pull his arm away, but the other man doesn't let go. 

"Get off of me," he spits, the lights outside filling the room with an ugly shade of red once more. "I'm not interested, get out." The grip on his wrist doesn't falter, and a different one snickers, growing closer. 

"We didn't ask," the farthest man voices, Minho's head snapping to the left just in time to see the way he looks at him, shivers shooting down his spine at the empty expression that stares back at him. 

Turning too fast makes him sick, but the horrible thought that enters his head shortly after is worse, someone else's fingers pinching at the skin of his hip in his daze.

Another hand is on his other wrist, and the room is bathed in a deep blue as he tries to move, kicking one leg out and catching someone in the stomach. They grunt, stunned, but before he can do any other damage, someone is grabbing at his legs, and someone else is climbing on top of him. 

"Looks like we got a fighter," they say, pushing him down against the mattress. He can't move, he can't breathe, he feels sick, he's scared, he's terrified - "The best kind, hm?" 

Minho tries to scream, but it's smothered under a stranger's palm. He thinks of Chan, Han. Changbin telling him to stay away from them all, because he knows him best. He thinks of himself, constantly self-destructing because it's easier than dealing with anything serious.

He tries to scream again. He sees a new flash of light from the window before the world around him finally fades away.

...

"Minho?" Chan calls, pushing his way through troves of drunken people still lingering on the first floor of the house, even with things finally starting to die down. 

There was no sign of him outside, and Han had taken the front, nervous and wringing his hands as he had headed that way, tucking his phone away in his pocket, void of any new messages from Minho. Chan tried calling him, but the call was quickly sent to voicemail, which meant the other was still mad. Chan was fine with that if it was true, but he would feel better knowing where he went. He had drank more than he usually did, and there was already a steady line of people finding their way home. 

"Chan!" 

Han's shout is easily heard, and he follows the sound to the bottom of the stairs, where he stands awkwardly next to someone he's never seen before. His eyebrows knit in confusion as he turns to Han, questions brimming on the tip of his tongue. 

"Are you Chris?" the short man immediately asks, though the pull of his mouth is far from anything friendly. Chan steals a glance at Han, who looks even more worried than he did before he had disappeared into the crowd. 

"Yeah. Call me Chan," he offers, eyeing the man in distrust. "Who are - "

"Changbin," he interrupts curtly, eyes scanning the room behind him, before he glances up the stairs. "Minho's friend. He called me a half hour ago to pick him up, and then he never walked out." He looks back to Han. "Your friend here said you guys already checked the house?" 

"Upstairs is the only thing left," Chan replies, and before anything else can be said, Changbin is pushing his way past and shouting Minho's name loud enough that it bounces off the walls.

Chan and Han share a quick look before hurrying to follow.

When Changbin doesn't receive any answer he starts pushing his way into rooms, slamming his fist hard on locked doors. 

Han ducks into a room on their right as Chan checks the bathroom with a flick of the light, before going into the room beside it, Changbin busy down the hall. The door pushes open when he presses his palm against it, about to say Minho's name as he enters, squinting against the bright lights still flashing in from the window. 

Another step in, and he sees him, crumpled against the side of the bed, curled around his knees. 

"Minho?" he asks quietly, gut churning as he approaches. 

Something isn't right. 

Minho flinches at the sound of his name, and doesn't dare turn his head. Chan gets close enough to touch him, fingers ghosting over the curve of his shoulder, and he reacts like he's been burned, shoving himself backwards, spine slamming against the nightstand that sits in wait behind him, lamp rattling at the force. 

Chan quickly scans over him, panic rising in the back of his throat when he sees blood on the corner of his lip, and a bruise on the side of his neck. His hands are shaking from where they rest curled around his knees, and he won't look at Chan, tears smeared beneath his eyes. 

"Minho," he whispers, trying to get closer, to make sure he's okay. "What happened?" 

He shakes his head and sinks further into himself, and the shift reveals bruised wrists, Chan's breath catching in his throat. 

"Minho," Chan tries, inching closer. "Something happened." 

"I'm fine," Minho says, though his voice shakes, and his tone wavers. "Nothing happened." 

It's silent for a long moment, and then Changbin is in the doorway, and rushing his way into the room, Han at his heels. Chan catches Minho's eye for a moment, and then he watches as Minho glances at Han, standing a step behind Chan, mouth curved in growing shock as Changbin drops to the ground beside him. Minho watches Han for a long moment, and Chan's chest squeezes painfully as Minho turns his gaze to the carpet in front of him. 

"I'm fine," he repeats quietly, to Changbin, to all of them, to the room around them. To himself. "I'm fine." 

Chan tries to reach for him again.

Minho doesn't look up.

[rainydaymiscellaneous]

One Complete Thought (Xavier x Fem!reader)

Warnings: drunk stupidity, mentions of throwing up

Parties. You knew them, hated them. Yet Cordelia, your roommate had decided that tonight you were going. You tried to get out of it but no excuse worked. She was determined.

You groaned, sitting at the stone table with Xavier. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Cordelia is dragging me to the Hamlet floor's party. I so do not want to go." You groaned. "Ah. Ajax is going." He nodded. "Does that mean you're going?" You asked as Bianca sat down with you. "No, partying isn't my thing." He shrugged. Disappointment hit you but you didn't let that show. "Maybe you and I could do something" Bianca flirted.

You noticed Cordelia laughing at something Yoko said and you sighed. "I should figure out Cordelia's plans." You lied, getting up before you could hear Bianca score yet another win for herself. You liked Xavier. A secret you carried with you that no one knew. It all started when he noticed you alone at the harvest festival, holding Cordelia's purse. He made the time go by faster and bought you food to ensure you'd be okay.

You formed a slight crush that only amplified once you spent more time with him. Xavier was everything to you. And Bianca loved trying her hand with him. He sighed looking at her. "I'm good Bianca. I like someone else." He said, going back to his sketch book. She rose a brow. "Who?" She asked. "None of your business." He sighed. "I can help y'know." She huffed. "You've been hitting on me nonstop, why would you help me?" He asked. "Because I have layers? I'm not going to ask you out again. Maybe I can help you with Y/n" she sighed. He blinked. "I never said-" "It's obvious" she shrugged.

So there you were, back on the wall with a solo cup with the same generic party music playing. You drank slowly, not realizing the punch that the drink carried. The worst part was this was a drink that was made so you couldn't taste the alcohol. So you threw back one too many.

Lazily you pulled out your phone, calling Xavier. He looked over, seeing your number. He answered. "Hey. What's up?" He asked. "The skkyyy" you giggled. He noticed a weird tone to you. He leaned forward. "Y/n are you okay?" He asked. "Yup! I wanted to call you to say I like your face!" You said. He blinked. "Y/n are you drunk?" He asked. "Naaahh! Well, maybe." You said. "Y/n, go to Ajax and have him walk you back to your dorm." He said. "Ajax is making out with Enidddd. That's a fun name. Enniddd." You slurred. He sighed, running a hand over his face. "Y/n, where are you?" He asked.

"Your mom's house." You hiccuped. "Y/n, just tell me where you are." He sighed. "No." You said. He frowned. "Why not?" He asked. "Because you sound mad. And I don't wanna deal with that." You said. "I'm not mad. I'm worried." He corrected. "Y'know, I also like your butt. It looks squishy." You said. Xavier had to resist a snort on that one. "Oh my god, is that Wednesday? Woooaaahhh!" You gaped. A lightbulb went off in his mind. "Put her on the phone." He said. "Okaaayyy!" You said.

He heard a small conversation before Wednesday sighed. "Yes?" She said. "Can you bring Y/n to me? I don't want her drunk alone." He said. Wednesday let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll tell Yoko to get Enid." Wednesday said. "Ennniddd." You slurred. "You owe me." Wednesday said hanging up.

Wednesday grabbed your arm. "Where are we going?" You asked. "Xavier." She grunted as she dragged you with her. You followed, rolling your eyes. "I don't get the big deal. I'm fineee!" You slurred. "You're drunk." She declared. "I am not that drunk- the floor and the ceiling juss switched places." You stopped, staring at the hall. "Okay. That's it. Give me your phone." She sighed. "Whyyy? Are you gonna play temple run or something?" You asked. "What the hell is 'temple run'- never mind. Hand it over." She sighed. You fished out your phone, handing it to her.

Xavier's phone rang again, him answering. "Is everything okay?" He asked. "She's too drunk for me to walk her back Xavier." She sighed. "Where are you?" He asked. "Newton." She said. "On my way. Make sure she stays there." He said before hanging up. Wednesday turned around and you of course, were gone.

"Shit." She sighed. She walked down the hall, finding you sitting on the floor. "I'm tired." You mumbled. "Then sleep. Xavier is coming." She said. "Mm. I like him. He's pretty." You said. "How much did you drink?" Wednesday asked. "Seven... teen... trillion?" You slurred. "Well that's clearly impossible." She sighed. Xavier came jogging down the hall.

"It's Xavier." She nudged. You looked up. "Xaaayy!" You slurred. He chuckled slightly, moving hair out of your face. "Come on, sweet girl. We gotta get you home." He said. "I don't wanna walk." You breathed. "Why?" He asked. "The floor and the ceiling switched places." You declared. He rolled his eyes with a snort. "Okay, Y/n. Stand up." He said softly. You slowly rose to your feet. He lifted you up, you giggling. "Oh I love this." You said. "I thought you would." He chuckled. "Her phone." Wednesday said, holding your phone. "Put it in my back pocket." He said. She sighed, putting in his pocket before heading back to the party to hopefully retrieve a much less drunk Enid.

Xavier brought you back, laying you down on Rowan's old bed. He pulled a trashcan close to you, making sure you were on your side. You were already dozing off. "Thank... you.." you mumbled. He smiled, a hand on your cheek. "Anything for you." He said softly.

The next morning, your head was throbbing. You were nauseous too, groaning as you woke up. The smell in the air was familiar. Definitely not your room it was like oil paint and something else. You opened your eyes, seeing the trashcan on the floor and threw up, feeling someone pull back your hair. "That's it" they said "let it out."

You pulled back, wiping your mouth to lazily see Xavier. "Xay? Why are you... why am I in your room?" You asked. "What do you remember from last night?" he asked. "I uh..." you struggled to remember. "I went to the party. Stayed glued to a wall... drank, which is probably why I feel fantastic right now." You said sarcastically. "Mhm. What else?" He asked. "I remember playing temple run because I was bored and..." realization hit you. "I called you." You realized.

He handed you back your phone and you groaned. "Oh god! This is bad! Xavier I am so sorry!" You apologized. "It's okay. Do you remember what you said about me and my squishy butt?" He asked. "Okay now is not the time to get cute with me here, I am freaking out!" You groaned. He put his hand on your arm. "Y/n. It's okay." "No it's not! I made a complete ass of myself- I forced you to take care of me-" "Y/n, I feel the same." He said.

You stared at him surprised. "I'm sorry what? I just threw up in front of you, I forced Wednesday to have to drag me to you and when she couldn't do it l, you had to!" You said. "...I like em dramatic?" He shrugged. You sighed. "Xay... that is not how I wanted this to go. And i have to brush my teeth now because oh my god, I can taste my breath." You said making him chuckle. "I have an unopened toothbrush in the bathroom right there." He motioned.

You went to the bathroom, washing out your mouth and brushing your teeth when you realized something. "Hey, Xay" you called. He peaked his head in. "Yes?" He asked. "Where's my shirt? This is not mine." You said. "You threw up on yours. I put it with my laundry in a plastic bag." He said. "Ah. So you've also seen me shirtless too! Great! This morning just gets so much better!" You groaned. "Y/n-" you held your hand out for him to stop, your other on your head. "Asprin? Where is it?" You asked. He left, coming back with a pill bottle.

"Thank you." You breathed. "Y/n, I really do want to talk about this." He said. You turned. "I didn't want you to find out that way. Xavier you deserve someone who-who will tell you that sober, who will actually have the courage to-to tell you-" "I don't want that. I want you." He said. You looked at him. "What about Bianca?" You asked. "Bianca was the one that helped me sneak you into here." He said. "...Oh." you mumbled. "Y/n I love you. I have always loved you. Sure, what happened is embarrassing but need I remind you of summer camp 19'?" He asked. You snorted. "I prefer if you didn't, actually." You said making him grin.

"So... I'm in love with you. What do you have to say about that?" He asked. You smiled slightly. "I've got a few things to say actually. First off: you're crazy-" Xavier rolled his eyes, kissing you with a grin.

You sank into his hold, smiling against his lips. "I love you too moron. Even after summer camp." You said making him laugh. "Say what happened to anyone and I might just have to kill you." He said making you laugh.

[mydarllinglover]

Alone || Crumbling Down

Previous

"They seemed nice enough, but I was ready to go. We just got here, but, damn, it was time to go. When I told them about DC, a wink and a nod from the head asshole in charge, and it was right back to our regularly scheduled shitstorm." The redhead, Abraham told the five new members of the train cart.

Rick had ordered the group to make weapons out of anything they could get their hands on, as members of the party caught each other up during their separation.

Natalia bent down, grabbing the Swiss army knife that was tucked into her boot, covered by her sock, then reached into her pocket, grabbing out the handful of darts from the country club, handing them out to her friends.

"Sweetheart, now's not really the time for a game of darts." Abraham said.

"They have a point, dumbass." Rosita, his girlfriend said, touching the tip of the dart with the pad of her thumb.

Natalia passed one to Daryl, who gave her a look.

"Told you I had stuff on me, too bad they didn't think to frisk Michonne and I." She gave him a small smile.

"Before they put you in here, you didn't see Tyreese?" Sasha asked them.

"No." Michonne told her.

"Good."

"What about Beth?" Maggie asked.

Natalia swallowed hard, before answering.

"We got out together, me, her and Daryl." She started. "We got split up by a herd."

"Black car with a white cross painted on it. Drove off with her." Daryl continued. "We tried to follow it. We tried."

"But she's alive?"

"She's alive." Natalia confirmed. "She's a survivor, a stubborn one."

The group continued to work in silence, using shoelaces, belts and necklaces to make weapons, as well as the darts Natalia gave them, each person having one in their grasp.

Daryl stood watch, keeping an eye out through the gaps as people outside talked and shouted to one another.

"What are you doing?" A man called out to someone.

"Everybody shut up. Shut up!"

"Alright. Got four of them pricks coming our way." Daryl announced.

"Y'all know what to do." Rick said. "Go for their eyes first. Then their throats." They gathered by the door, getting ready.

That's when Natalia noticed something, staring at the ceiling.

"Put your backs to the walls on either side of the car now." A man shouted at them.

"We should get back." She said.

"Huh?"

"Look." She pointed at the top of the train cart, just as someone began walking on it.

The latch was pulled open, shining sunlight down on them, showing off the red in Abrahams hair.

A flash bomb was thrown at their feet.

"Told you!"

"Move!" Abraham shouted, everybody ran to the corners, Natalia brought up the sweatshirt, covering her mouth and nose.

The can exploded, filling the cart in a dark cloud of smoke.

The door slid open, people marched in.

Someone had grabbed Natalia, she wriggled out of the persons grasp, but someone else, Daryl, had pulled her back, throwing a punch at the guy, but soon enough, he was thrown outside by another person.

Once the smoke was cleared, they could see who was missing; Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Bob.

"Fuck!" Natalia kicked the side of the train cart.

The sound of an explosion went off outside.

Natalia stared at where she kicked, stepping back.

Gunshots sounded outside, as well as the familiar snarl of their undead friends.

Abraham began punching the cart.

"What the hell is going on?" He said through clenched teeth.

"Someone hit them." Michonne said.

"Maybe our people got free." Sasha guessed.

"Excuse me." Eugene barged past Sasha and Tara, bending down to the floor in front of the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rosita asked him.

I might be able to use this shell to compromise the door. From the sounds of things, there may not be anybody left to open it."

"Eugene, I'm sorry but shut up." Tara told him.

Carl walked over from the back, Natalia put an arm over his shoulder.

"My dad's gonna be back." He told the other people. "They all are."

"They are." Maggie agreed.

"Our biggest concern right now, is making sure we're able to protect ourselves when we get out, the explosions and gunshots are gonna gather walkers from miles away to right here." Natalia said.

Walkers had started gathering around the train cart, as Eugene continued trying to pry the door open, the rest made sure their weapons were useful.

"What's the cure, Eugene?" Sasha asked.

Abraham had told the five the mission of DC when they introduced themselves, Natalia thought it was a load of bullshit, no way a man as important as Eugene was in Houston of all places when the world fell apart, rumours had been spreading for a while before the day.

"It's classified." He responded.

"We don't know what's gonna happen." Michonne brought up.

"You leave him be." Abraham told her.

"We need to keep working."

"Yeah, but it's time to hear it." Sasha continued. "'Cause we don't know what's coming next."

"What's next is we get out of this." Tara said.

"Even if I told you all, even if I provided step-by-step instructions complete with illustrations and a well-composed FAQ and I went red-ring, the cure would still die with me."

"I'm not gonna let that happen." Abraham told him.

"The best case scenario, we step out into a hell storm of bullets, fire and walkers. I'm not fleet of foot. I sure as hell can't take a dead one down with sharp buttons and hella confidence."

"Yeah, but we can and we will." Michonne said.

"I've had less and survived, it's not hard." Natalia said.

"You don't owe us anything, not yet." Sasha stood up. "But we just want to hear it."

"You don't have to." Rosita spoke up.

Eugene stood up, facing the group.

"I was part of a 10-person team at the human genome project to weaponize diseases to fight weaponized diseases. Pathogenic microorganisms with pathogenic microorganisms. Fire with fire. Interdepartmental drinks were had, relationships made, information shared. I am keenly aware of all the details behind fail-safe delivery systems to kill every living person on this planet. I believe with a little tweaking on the terminals in DC, we can flip the script. Take out every last dead one of them. Fire with fire. All things being equal, it does sound pretty badass."

"Or a load of shit." Natalia coughed into her fist, hiding her face in Carls shoulder as he snorted.

"so let's get back to work." Maggie smiled at him.

The door banged, then opened, Rick appeared, holding a gun.

"Come on! Fight to the fence!" He commanded before firing shots and jumping down.

"Do not leave his side!" Abraham demanded.

"Lets go, get to your dad." Natalia told Carl, leading him out.

A walker headed for Natalia, she stabbed her Swiss army knife into its throat, her hand caking in blood as she pushed it up, pulling it back out and letting it fall to the ground, she felt a hand grab her shoulder, she looked over, a metal pole being shoved through the skull of the walker that had grabbed her.

She turned her head, finding Daryl behind her, passing over a long sharp knife, she nodded at him before running forward.

The group fought their way through the walkers.

Natalia watched how a walker headed for Eugene, and how he cowered away instead of taking it down, letting Sasha shoot its brains out.

Rosita was the first person to reach the fence, killing the walker that was on the other side.

"Up and over!"

Rick continued to shoot at walkers as well as Terminus members as the rest climbed over the fence.

"Let's go! Move!" The redhead shouted, helping and pushing everyone over.

They walked through the woods, Daryl tracking their way back to the bag Rick had hidden.

"The hell are we still around here for?" Abraham asked.

"Guns, some supplies." Rick said, digging up the dirt. "Go along the fences. Use the rifles. Take out the rest of 'em."

"What?" Bob asked, stepping towards him.

"They don't get to live." Rick replied.

"Rick, we got out, it's over."

"Yeah, until they come for us, I've seen this film before." Natalia said, bending down to grab her belt, securing it onto her, as well as her guns.

"It's not over till they're all dead." Rick agreed.

"The hell it isn't. That place is on fire." Rosita argued. "Full of walkers."

"I'm not dicking around with this crap." Abraham joined in. "We just made it out."

"The fences are down." Maggie told Rick. "They'll run or die."

Someone slowly walked up behind Rick, holding Daryl's crossbow, Natalia noticed her.

"Carol?" She gasped.

Daryl turned around, his eyes shooting wide as he took in the woman.

He ran to her, hugging her tightly as she hugged him back, he picked her up as she laughed.

The others heading towards her.

Natalia was next to hug her, when Daryl finally stepped away.

"What happened?" Carol asked, her finger softly grazing the woman's cut and bruised face.

"Ran into some bad guys, took care of them." She answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Did you do that?" Rick stepped towards Carol when Natalia let her go and moved back.

She smiled, nodding slightly.

Rick hugged her tightly.

"You have to come with me." She told him when he pulled away.

The group followed the woman through the woods.

A dogs barking caught Natalia's attention.

"Sully?!"

All of a sudden, a Border Collie was running at her, knocking the woman flat on her back as she pet her dog, crying as she laughed, him licking at her sore face excitedly.

Daryl bent down, petting the dog, picking up the rabbit that he dropped on the floor when he lunged at the woman, his distraction towards Sully gave Natalia a chance to sit up in the dirt.

"You're okay, you're alive, you're alive." She sniffled, as the pair continued to shower the dog in pets and scratches.

"Hey." Daryl gently nudged her, looking ahead.

Tyreese was holding Judith outside a wooden cabin, Rick, Carl and Sasha ran to them, hugging their loved ones.

"Everyone's okay, we're all okay." She looked up at the redneck, smiling wide as tears rolled down her cheeks, happy tears.

He'd never seen her so emotional and soft... he'd seen her angry plenty of times, but it was very rare when she was sappy like this, even at the not-funeral they had outside the morgue, she wasn't like this.

He soaked it up, she was still mad at him, after what they had just gone through, and being reunited with her beloved dog, her walls crumbled down in a moment of weakness, she was safe to go back to resenting him, he knew he deserved it, didn't mean he had to like it.

She kissed Sully's head multiple times as he licked at Daryl, who was still holding the teddy he had picked up from the Big Spot.

"What happened?" Carol asked Tyreese.

"There were a bunch of walkers out here and he got his hands around Judith's neck."

Natalia looked up, taking out a knife as she looked at the cabin, Daryl moved with her.

Carol was the closest, but Tyreese stopped him.

"No, he's dead." Tyreese explained. "I... I had to. So I did. I could."

"Too right, none of those fuckers deserve to live." Natalia spat.

She then walked towards Carl, Michonne and Judith, smiling at the baby as she pet her head, Sully circled his owners legs.

"Hey, pretty girl." She cooed, as Judith made noises in response.

"I don't know If the fire's still burning." Rick said, looking at the big dark cloud coming from Terminus.

"It is." Carol confirmed.

"Yeah. We need to go." He decided.

"Yeah, but where?" Daryl asked him.

"Somewhere far away from there."

They made their way back to the train tracks, walking along it.

Michonne and Natalia walked side by side, behind Judith and Carl, Daryl and Carol were behind the women.

"You found him." Michonne tapped her hand.

"Yeah." She smiled at her friend, patting Sully's head, his tail wagged with his rabbit in his mouth.

They then headed into the woods, on the other side.

The group had been walking until the smoke turned white.

Finally taking a break to get something to eat, and so that some people could rest, going again when the sun rose once more.

The Georgia sun beat down on them as they walked.

Natalia took off her sweatshirt, tying it around her waist, but making sure her weapons were easy to grab.

carol came up beside her, Daryl hot on her trail.

She touched Natalia's shoulder, who was quick to flinch, ducking away before realising who it was.

"Sorry, hey." She smiled at the woman.

"You okay?" Carol asked, noticing her weird behaviour.

"Fine, why?" She asked.

"Your back, you got quite the graze on it."

Natalia looked over her shoulder, not being able to see it, but still tried.

Half of Natalia's back was bloody and grazed, from being thrown on the harsh road, she hadn't even noticed.

"Yeah, it's not bad though, looks worse than how it is." She shrugged, taking down her hair from the braid, letting it cover her back.

"You get that from those bad guys too? Looks painful."

"It's fine, really, don't worry about it." She tried to keep her cool, quickly escaping from the conversation, and weaving through the people, ignoring how the pair continued to watch her with heavy stares, she knew that if Carol wanted to know, Daryl would probably explain what happened, Natalia just couldn't.

She ended back up with Michonne.

They had walked some more.

A female walker struggled towards them.

"I got it." Michonne called, walking towards it.

She reached behind her, before making a realisation as she grinned, raising her gun and whacking the walker onto the floor, stepping on its back and hitting it in the head with the gun.

"Missing it?" Natalia asked as another one appeared. "Dibs." she claimed, walking past Michonne.

She tripped the walker onto its back, stomping on it's head and letting its skull pop, brain matter and blood splattered everywhere.

The others had walked ahead as they watched the pair, but Rosita and Abraham strayed back.

"Keep forgetting it's not there." Michonne replied when they started walking with the group, again.

"Gone, but never forgotten." Natalia put her hands together, raising them above her head as she closed her eyes.

When night fell, they set up camp, starting a fire.

"Where'd you get the dog?" Eugene asked her, staring at Sully, who sat by her side.

"Classified." She repeated his words.

"Whys he called Sully?" Tara asked her. "Like the monster?"

"Exactly." She fed the dog some of her food.

When the new day started, the group continued their walk.

The sound of someone approaching caught their attention, everyone raised their guns.

Daryl stepped out, a rope full of Squirrels was in his hand.

"We surrender." He said to the amount of guns pointed at him.

Sully jogged over, sniffing the dead animals, walking by his side.

Rick whistled after talking to Daryl.

"Keep close." He told the group.

"Ready to keep some concrete under your feet?" Abraham asked him.

"I think it's time." Rick replied.

"That is sweet music to my ears, Officer. Take the next road we come to, try to get back to going north till we find a vehicle. Good?"

"Good."

As they were walking through the woods, Sully began sniffing around, walking off the trail.

"What is it, boy?" Daryl asked.

"Help!" A mans voice shouted. "Help! Anybody help!"

Sully ran for it.

"Sully!" Natalia chased after him.

"Nat! Natalia, Wait!" Rick hissed, but she was already gone.

The man continued to scream as Carl followed, the others went after.

Sully barked as he reached his destination.

Natalia watched as half a dozen of walkers tried to reach a man on top of a rock.

Sullys barking caught their attention, turning away from the man and heading for the dog and Woman.

Natalia took out her knife, taking out the first walker that headed for her.

Carl shot another one, as Natalia delt with the next, soon everyone followed, Michonne smashed the end of her gun into a walker, crushing its head against the rock.

Carol stabbed the last one through the eye.

They looked up at the man quivering on top of the rock.

"We're clear. Keep watch." Rick instructed. "Hey, don't run off like that." He told Natalia.

"Wasn't given a choice." She shrugged.

"Come on down." He turned to the man.

The man slid off the large rock, still shaking as he looked at all the people.

"You okay?"

The man held up a finger, before emptying his stomach.

The group stared at him, unimpressed.

"Sorry." He whispered. "Yes. Thank you. I'm Gabriel."

"Do you have any weapons on you?" Rick asked him.

Gabriel laughed at his question.

"Do I look like I would have any weapons?"

"We don't give two short and curlies what it looks like." Abraham answered.

"I have no weapons of any kind. The word of God is the only protection I need."

"Sure didn't look like it." Daryl mused.

"I called for help. It came."

"It came cause your screaming caught my dogs attention." Natalia said, wrapping her hand around her dogs collar, keeping him still.

He looked around, not knowing what to say.

"Do you have... have any food?" He then asked. "Whatever I- I had left, it just hit the ground."

"We've got some Pecans." Carl offered him.

"Thank you." He took them, smiling at the boy.

Judith began cooing in Tyreese's arms.

"That's a beautiful child." He looked at her.

Rick continued to stare at the man, not bothering to reply.

"Do you have a camp?" He then asked.

"No. Do you?" Rick asked him.

"I have a church."

"Hold your hands above your head."

He did as told, Rick frisked him.

"How many walkers have you killed?"

"Not any, actually."

Natalia couldn't take this man seriously, they had been in this shit for well over a year, how was he still alive?

"Turn around." Rick spun him. "How many people have you killed?"

"None." He responded, as if the question was a joke.

"Why?"

"Because the Lord abhors violence." Gabriel replied.

"What have you done?" Rick whispered, seeing right through the man. "We've all done something."

"I'm a sinner. I sin almost everyday. But those sins, I confess to God, not strangers."

"You said you had a church." Michonne reminded.

He led the way through the woods, the group followed.

"Hey, earlier, were you watching us?" Rick asked.

"I keep to myself. Nowadays, people are just as dangerous as the dead, don't you think?"

"No, people are worse." Rick answered.

"Well, I wasn't watching you. I haven't been beyond the stream near my church more than a few times since it started. That was the furthest I've gone before today. Or maybe I'm lying." He then said. "Maybe I'm lying about everything and there's no church ahead at all. Maybe I'm leading you into a trap so I can steal all your squirrels."

Natalia pulled out her gun, taking it off safety as she aimed it at him, waiting for the signal.

Rick put a hand on the top of her gun, telling her to lower it as the man laughed, slowing down when he realised no one else laughed.

"Members of my flock had often told me that my sense of humour leaves much to be desired." He tried to save himself.

"Yeah, it does." Daryl agreed.

Gabriel turned around, walking into a branch, he lifted it up after getting hit in the face with leaves, ducking under and continuing to lead the group to the church.

They eventually reached their destination, a white church was surrounded by trees, just like he had said.

"Hold up." Rick said, as Gabriel walked towards the door, taking keys out of his pocket to unlock the door. "Can we take a look around first?" He walked towards the father. "We just want to hold onto our squirrels." He put his hand out expectantly for the keys.

Gabriel placed them in his palm, offering a small smile that Rick nor the rest of the group returned.

Rick, Daryl, Natalia, Michonne, Glenn and Carol walked into the church, their weapons all raised as they waited for a signal of danger.

The pews were empty, Michonne and Glenn checked the Sunday school room as well as the bathrooms, finding them empty as well.

"If Jesus died for our sins, then what the fuck is this shit?" Natalia rolled her eyes at the statue of Christ on the cross.

Rick whistled to the small group, signalling that it looked safe enough, they walked outside to report the investigation to the others.

"I spent months here without stepping out the front door." Gabriel told Rick, when he passed back the keys. "If you found someone inside, well, it would have been surprising."

"Thanks for this." Carl smiled at the father.

"We found a short bus out back." Abraham revealed to Rick. "It don't run, but I bet we could fix that in less than a day or two. Father here says he don't want it. Looks like we found ourselves some transport. You understand what's at stake here, right?"

"Yes, I do." Rick replied, running his hand along Judith's hair.

"Now that we can take a breath..." Michonne started.

"We take a breath, we slow down, shit inevitably goes down." Abraham cut her off, still staring at Rick.

"We need supplies no matter what we do next." Michonne told him.

"We have nothing, you understand that right?" Natalia asked the redhead. "We're not doing anything until we get basic needs."

"That's right." Rick agreed with the two women. "Water, food, ammunition."

"Short bus ain't going nowhere." Daryl added as they headed into the church. "Bring you back some baked beans."

"How'd you survive here for so long?" Rick asked Gabriel as everyone got comfortable. "Where did your supplies come from?"

"Luck." He answered.

"Not God?" Natalia remarked.

"Our annual canned food drive." He continued, side eyeing the woman before turning back to Rick. "Things fell apart right after we finished it. It was just me." He looked to his shoes.

"Come here, Judith" Carl whispered to the baby, taking her off their father.

"The food lasted a long time. And then I started scavenging. I've cleaned out every place nearby." Gabriel said. "Except for one."

"What kept you from it?" Rick asked.

"It's overrun."

"How many."

"A dozen or so, maybe more."

Natalia let out a scoff, leaning off of the pew. "Draw me a map?"

"We can handle a dozen." Rick clarified, making sure Natalia knew she wasn't going on her own.

"Bob and I will go with you, Tyreese should stay here, help keep Judith safe." Sasha volunteered.

"That'll be okay?" Rick asked the man, who nodded, smiling.

"Sure." Tyreese answered. "You ever need me to watch her, need anything for her, I'm right here."

"I'm grateful for it." Rick told him. "And everything else."

"You wanna watch Sully for me?" Natalia asked Carl, leaning over the pew he was sitting on, Judith in his arms.

"You even gotta ask?" He replied, smiling at the woman.

Natalia took off the sheriffs hat, kissing him on the top of his head, scruffing his hair up, before kissing Judith's head.

"I'll draw you that map." Gabriel answered Natalia's earlier question.

"You don't need to, you're coming with us."

"I'm not gonna be of any help. You saw me. I'm no good around those things."

"You're gonna learn how, today." Natalia shrugged.

Gabriel led Bob, Rick, Sasha, Natalia and Michonne into the town.

"Hey." Bob approached Rick, walking with him. "When you said they don't get to live, you weren't wrong. We push ourselves and let things go. Then we let some more go and some more. And pretty soon, there's things we can't get back. Things we can't hold onto, even if we tried. Washington's gonna happen, Rick."

"I haven't decided if we're going yet." Rick admitted.

"No, that's cool. But you've seen Abraham in action. He's gonna get there and Eugene's gonna cure all of this. And you're gonna find yourself in a place where it's like how it used to be. And if you've let too much go along the way, that's not gonna work. 'Cause you're gonna be back in the real world."

"This is the real world, Bob."

"Naw. This is a nightmare, and nightmares end. I'm sorry, I'm calling it. Washington's gonna happen. You're gonna say yes. Already too much momentum. You can't fight City Hall. Maybe that's just one of those parts of not letting go."

"How do we know this guy isn't just lying?" Natalia asked.

"You think so?" Bob asked.

"Sounds made up to me." She shrugged. "Too good to be true."

"It wouldn't kill you to have a lil hope." He smiled at her.

She was reminded of Beth, by that sentence.

"That's exactly what'll it do." She muttered, feeling slightly more bitter.

They had arrived at an white building.

"This was the food bank." Gabriel told them, as Natalia read Food Bank, written on a sign on the building. "It served the whole county. All the cans at my church were gonna end up here."

Rick had led the way into the foodbank and thrift store, throwing the door open with his gun eye level, aimed at potential walkers.

Nothing was walking around inside, the place seemed to be empty, until they walked further, the floor had fallen through, leaving a large hole, that must be where they were.

Rick halted, signalling to the others to wait as splashing could be heard from down below.

He walked closer, whilst they stood at the entrance waiting for instruction.

Rick waved his finger in the air, as he peered down at the walkers snarling in the water.

Natalia was the first to move, silently and slowly, Michonne on her tail, than Sasha, Bob, finally Gabriel.

The smell was putrid, burning Natalia's eyes as she watched them roam around, their skin was grey and bloated, and saggy.

"If a sewer could puke, this is what it'd smell like." Bob commented.

Michonne looked up at the ceiling, spotting the missing tiles and holes.

"Waters been coming down that hole for a while now." She said. "Slimed this place up good."

"At least it's already fallen." Natalia mused, being reminded of the incident at the big spot.

"We can use the shelves to block them." Sasha suggested.

"Yeah, that's it, Sasha." Rick agreed. "There's our way, down those shelves."

Natalia grimaced as she prepared herself to drop into the sewer puke, walker slime, water.

"Hey." Rick looked towards Gabriel, who was stood further back. "I said you're coming with us."

Once they were down, Rick and Michonne used the shelves to push against the walkers that headed for them.

"Go! Go!" He shouted as Bob and Sasha grabbed the other one, pushing them together so they could pop them through the barrier. "Here they come. You take right. I see three here."

As they took out the walkers, Gabriel got spooked, pushing Natalia into the shelf as he fought to get away.

"What the hell is he doing?" She groaned, taking out the walker that just attempted to take a bite out of her arm when she caught herself.

He swam towards the steps, jumping on them, causing the old rotting wood to collapse as he wailed and splashed around.

He managed to pull himself up, holding onto the wall.

"We have to get Gabriel." Rick said, moving towards the father, watching him carefully.

"What happened?" Bob asked.

"I don't know."

"He almost just killed me, completely freaked the fuck out." Natalia answered bitterly.

"All right, we'll push down the shelves on the ones in front of us. We'll fight through and I'll grab him." Rick instructed, as they pushed against the metal. They did as he said, the walkers being pushed below as they climbed through, keeping an eye out in case the walkers jumped up from the water.

Michonne stabbed a walker in the neck, it's skin was inflated, following down onto his chest, she struggled as he continued to come at her.

Natalia reached out, plunging her knife into the top of his head, helping her friend as Michonne threw its dead body into the water.

They seemed to take out all of them, Rick dealing with the last one, an elderly woman, wearing glasses, her hair was still tied back, she had been heading for Gabriel, but Rick intervened, grabbing her and smashing her face into the metal pole, breaking the structure, her skin falling off and into the water.

Bob headed towards the boxes full off food.

"Yeah." He grinned. "I know which way it's gonna break." As he reached for the green box, a hand came out of the water, getting a hold of the man and pulling him under.

"Bob!" Sasha screamed, going over to help as he came back up, a walker in his hold, trying to fight for a piece of him, most of it's skin was gone, he looked like a walking skeleton.

Bob pushed it onto a metal pole whilst Sasha used the metal box to smash against it's head, finally putting it down.

"You okay, Bob, you okay?" She whispered, making sure he was alright.

"I'm fine now." He told her.

"Then let's get this shit and get the hell out of here." Natalia told the group, flicking a piece of rotting walker skin off of her chest.

They had used trolleys to carry the Boxes and bags full off food back to the church, Natalia had snagged a long over-sized brown jacket, wearing it over her wet clothes, as they made their way back.

"I'm sorry." Gabriel apologised to Rick, as he wiped sweat off his brow. "I- I panicked. I told you I..."

"You knew her when she was alive?" Rick asked him.

Gabriel didn't answer, instead looking down as they continued to walk.

"Yeah, I get it. You only tell your sins to God. But you nearly kill one of my people again, He won't help you." Rick told him, looking over his shoulder at Natalia, who was talking to Michonne, before he pushed forward, walking away from Gabriel.

"Do you miss the sword?" Rick asked Michonne, him, her and Natalia walked at the front, pushing the biggest trolly through the tree's, whilst Gabriel and Bob struggled with the second one, Sasha stayed armed, keeping her eye out for walkers.

"Wasn't really mine in the first place." Michonne revealed. "Found it. In the very beginning."

"How'd you get so good?"

"It was just me and them out here, all day, every day, a good long time. I don't know what that was, but it wasn't a life. Not like today. Stumbling around in three feet of slime, for some peas and carrots, that's living."

"I will throw up on you, stop reminding me." Natalia shivered, breathing through her mouth.

Next