#i'm tossing darts and shipping the ones i land on

[criticallyacclaimedstranger]

Reliable [Frankie x reader]

Read on Ao3

My Frankie Morales masterlist

Fandom: Triple Frontier

Ship: Francisco “Catfish” Morales x reader/you (basically gender neutral but reader has a dog that's afraid of men so...)

Warnings: meet-cute, brief mention of dog abuse but nothing graphic, FRANKIE BLUSHES, there is a dog!, praise (not to you but the dog. bitch)

Summary: You're in the park with your rescue dog who's afraid of men. That is, until a certain handsome pilot appears.

Words: 1,863

A/N: Thanks to @apascalrascal for helping me with the dog stuff!

"Carrie! Here, bring the ball to me!"

The rottweiler comes running towards you with a tennis ball in her mouth. Her tail is waving frantically as she dances a victory lap around you before relinquishing the ball at your feet.

"Sit."

She parks her bottom on the ground promptly, and you reward her with a treat.

"Good girl, such a good girl," you praise her with a couple of good pats on her back. The dog is panting happily, pink tongue hanging out of her mouth as she drinks in your kind words - words that she wasn't used to until she was taken from her former, abusive owner to a dog rescue center, where you found and adopted her.

"Okay, ready for another one?" you ask, holding up the ball for her to see. Carrie's eyes are almost bulging out of her head as she waits for you to throw it. You don't keep her waiting but toss the ball away with all you've got.

"Fetch!"

The dog sets off in a second, and you smile as you watch her gallop over the green grass of the park. It's early morning, the air is wonderfully crisp, and you haven't seen many people yet. You prefer it this way: Carrie is wary of other dogs, and extremely scared of men. The park at this hour makes for a neutral arena where you can play with her without having her focus too much on who's around.

You now see that your throw was longer than the previous ones, and the ball is landing by the pedestrian parkway, and there's a man picking it up. Carrie is slowing down, but she's not displaying her usual cowering body language yet. You decide to intervene but remind yourself not to run as it would signal to the dog that the situation is dangerous.

"It's okay, Carrie," you call out in a calm voice, "get the ball."

The man's face is hidden underneath the bill of a baseball cap, but he's standing calmly with his hand stretched out. As you get closer, you hear a low, soothing rumble that makes your stomach twist.

"Good girl, what a pretty good girl you are..."

Carrie has stopped, one paw raised in apprehension as she regards the man. Her tongue darts out to lick her lips, and then she inches closer. You stop, staring in awe as she approaches the man, leaning her body weight forward so as to sniff his hand from as far away as she possibly can.

"That's it, good girl," the man continues to coo in that baritone that makes you want to crouch by his feet and lick his hand as well.

Holy shit, get a grip!

You shake your head and walk up to Carrie and the man. He looks up, and you're instantly taken with his warm, nut-brown eyes, and kind smile.

"I'm sorry," he immediately apologizes, "I know you're not supposed to touch strange dogs, but I just couldn't resist. She's beautiful."

"It's okay," you hear yourself say, despite you really not being okay with it, not normally. But this is not normal. You look at Carrie, who is now sniffing the man's shoes, her tail slowly wagging, like she's not really sure if it's the appropriate reaction.

"How old is she?" the man asks.

"Around four. She's a rescue."

"And such a sweetheart," he smiles at Carrie who looks up at him, head tilted as she listens to his murmur. "Yes, you are, you are a perfect sweetheart, aren't you, girl?"

"She really is," you agree, your heart missing a beat when the man straightens his back, and you see the full expanse of his broad shoulders.

"I'm Frankie, by the way." He offers you his hand, and you take it for a quick shake as you give him your name.

"And this is Carrie."

When hearing her name, Carrie looks up at you with a happy expression in her face, and you give her a pat.

"Everything's perfect, Carrie. You wanna fetch?"

Her head tilts again and she looks from Frankie to you.

"It's okay," you assure her, "Frankie can throw the ball."

Frankie shows her the tennis ball, and chuckles at how Carrie's tail starts to beat faster.

"Okay, here goes."

He throws with a precision that makes you think that maybe he played baseball when he was younger, but he doesn't really look like the athletic type now. He has the kind of strength that you often see in contractors, but he doesn't seem like the gym-going type. He's wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, though, along with running shoes. As Carrie sets off after the ball, you try to think of something to say.

"Morning run for you?" you finally come up with. He smiles sheepishly, his eyes crinkling in such a charming way that you melt a little. Discreetly, you check for a ring, finding that his left ring finger is bare and tanned, without any marks.

"I'm here with a friend. He tries his best to get me to the gym, or out running, and sometimes I give in, just to shut him up. But he ran off like a damn gazelle the moment we got here, and he already ran past me once."

You laugh at the mental image. "Sounds like he's just showing off."

"That he is," Frankie agrees. "Especially when he knows how lazy and bad it makes me look."

He looks anything but lazy and bad as he crouches to receive the ball from Carrie, whose tail is now wagging at full capacity. She still keeps a bit of a distance to Frankie, but she's looking at him expectantly, clearly wanting him to throw the ball again. He does, and she sets off after it. Frankie stands up again, a happy smile on his face. You glance sideways at him, admiring his sharp-nosed profile and the sweet patches in his beard. He's really cute. When he takes the baseball cap off and passes a hand through his hair, you yearn to do the same. His hair, although a little flat at the moment from the hat, seems so soft and fluffy.

Just as Carrie returns, a tall, slender man a few years younger than Frankie comes running down the path. He slows down when he sees the two of you, and so does Carrie when she sees him approaching. As the friend reaches you and calls out a greeting to Frankie, Carrie's body language has already changed: she's cowering, trembling, her tail is between her legs, and her ears have dropped.

"It's okay," you immediately tell her in a cheerful voice, "everything's alright, Carrie." You crouch by her and put a hand on her back, and when the dog backs into your embrace, you put your arms around her to shield her from the stranger.

"That's Frankie's friend," you explain, still using your bright yet calm voice. "You're okay, Carrie, you're such a good dog."

You've seen this countless times before, but the change from how she was with Frankie makes for a very stark contrast.

"Everything okay?" the guy asks. He's younger, quite well-trained, and has a boyish charm, but you're not admiring him as you're more focused on your dog. She's still trembling in your arms, and you keep petting her.

"I think we're gonna go," you tell the two men. You don't want to see if Carrie would still accept Frankie. She's had enough excitement for one day and you want to get her home to her safe place, not subject her to more experiments.

"It's okay, Benny," Frankie tells his friend. "I think the dog just got scared."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Benny tells you ruefully. You shake your head and smile to let him know you're not mad.

"It's fine, she's really scared of men. It's not your fault."

You put the leash on Carrie and stand up. "You wanna go home, sweetheart? Let's go home."

Carrie keeps close to your legs as you back off a couple of steps, your gaze lingering on Frankie, who looks a little disappointed.

"Nice to meet you," you offer. He nods back.

"And you."

You turn around and start to walk in the other direction while reassuring Carrie about what a good girl she is, how well she played, and how much fun she had. The dog relaxes for every step, and when you hear your name being called, Carrie doesn't flinch.

You turn around to see Frankie come jogging.

"You forgot the ball."

Carrie's tail beats against your leg a couple of times when Frankie hands you the almost left behind ball.

"Thanks."

His eyes drop to Carrie. "She feeling better?"

"Yeah, she's good. She wasn't prepared for your friend."

"Is she really afraid of men, like you said?"

"I wouldn't lie about something like that," you point out, a bit of an edge to your voice. Frankie looks alarmed.

"No, no, I didn't mean anything like that. I just meant that... she wasn't like that with me?"

You look down at Carrie, who looks back at you, one of her rust-colored brow patches raised, as if she were asking you "well, what are you waiting for?". You hold back a chuckle and look at Frankie.

"I fully expected her to cower from you," you confess. "She's never been like that with a man before. I adopted her almost a year ago, and the first vet check-up I took her to, I couldn't get a female one. When Carrie saw him, she peed from fear and when he touched her, she whined."

"Oh." Frankie's eyebrows have shot up and are slanted down, giving him a slightly clueless appearance.

"Yeah. The guy who owned her before was an asshole. Beat her and all that."

"Poor thing."

"She's better now," you tell him, proud of your dog's progress. "She's really special. And she must see something special about you, too, since she chose to trust you just like that."

Redness spreads over Frankie's cheeks and he drops his gaze to the ground. He all but scrapes the toe of his shoe in the grass.

You blush as well, and the two of you stand in silence for a few awkward moments before you clear your throat.

"Well... we better go."

"Of course."

But you still don't move for the coming moments. Finally, Frankie looks up at you.

"Well... have a nice weekend."

"And you."

You expect him to turn around and jog back to his friend, but he sticks to his spot like he's been glued there.

"Do you hike?" you blurt eventually blurt out. "We usually go out to the national park on Sundays. Maybe you'd like to come with tomorrow?"

"I'd love to!" he immediately replies, and Carrie starts to wag her tail.

When you finally walk home from the park, you are wearing a huge grin and doing nothing to try to quench the butterflies in your stomach. Carrie is happily trotting next to you, as if she were just as happy as you about having Frankie's number in your phone, and his promise of picking you up the following morning.

[thychesters]

#wipwednesday! haven't done one in a long time lmao. me writing more zolu? omg? who is she ...

anyway, luffy and zoro sparring on the deck of the sunny because "i thought you were watching the ship." "i was watching the ship. sometimes that just so happens to entail luffy trying to roundhouse kick me in the head for attention." boys will be boys. they're flirting

i'm only mildly mostly losing my mind writing this but the rough draft is coming along nicely! coaxing myself into having a full draft done at some point eventually

“C’mon!” he wheedles, nudging Zoro’s side with his knees, and for a moment it’s any other day—any other time the two of them are relegated to ship watch and watching Zoro meditate had entertained him for all of five seconds. “Fine,” he grouses after the third kick. He climbs to his feet, back to the late morning sun. “Swords or no swords?”  “You holding back?” “Don’t know if I wanna deal with another Franky lecture about ship care.” “Oh, yeah, he got really mad about the onigiri to the foremast.” “That’s not—” “Zoro’s stalling!” Luffy hoots, and Zoro’s comeback is interrupted when he pitches forward to press a wet raspberry to his cheek before rocketing back and darting toward the prow, pivoting to turn his back to the masthead and cackling all the while. “Zoro’s probably worried he can’t land a hit so he’s staaaaalling. Boooo.” “Oi,” he grunts, scrubbing at his cheek with the heel of his palm, “quit talking shit before I beat the shit out of you.” He tosses his head back, laugh bright and loud, and the corner of his mouth curls. “I don’t think you can!” “Dumbass,” he chides, shifting from amused to affronted because Luffy asked him to spar and he isn’t taking this seriously—bounding around the ship like a moron, stretching out his too-long limbs like he’s just showing off, and Zoro will endure the peacocking for another five seconds. “Hey!” “Sounds like Zoro’s mad he can’t catch me,” Luffy says like he’s talking to himself, beaming at him even as he zips through the air to the foremast, free hand lashing out to grab onto his hat. He can see in the tilt to his body, feet planted against the mast and body silhouetted by the sun Zoro’s squinting into—can see it in the way he tenses just so, coiling in on himself, and Zoro squares his stance. He’s about to get a head butt to the gut. “You gonna tag me in or what? You wanted to spar and instead I’m watching you bounce around. I could be drinking instead of this.”

[daimyosprincess]

oh my gooood tell me about cross my heart (def not bc I'm a med student nyehehehe) (ok it may be bc of it but shh)

Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, then post a little snippet or tell them something about it.

Bestieeee thank you for ask!!

Below is the scene that came to me that started the whole idea for this fic (sorry, it doesn't have any medic-y stuff but it's in rest of the story I promise). I have this multi-part fic about 70% finished before edits so hopefully y'all will get it sometime later this fall. (and yes there is PLENTY of spice 🌶️)

Snippet below the cut

As always, my work is intended for 18+ audiences even if there are no explicit sexual content.

18+ only — MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

“I would sleep with your brothers… if you weren’t an option.” You had convinced the sniper to come out and enjoy the planet’s temperate night air and conversation, but now it’s silent, the only sound of the fire crackling between the two of you.

Folding his arms across his chest, Crosshair grumbles, “Don’t say things you don’t mean, it looks terrible on you.” The usual tit for tat the two of played had taken a rather sudden turn and he didn’t like it one bit. Especially not when it concerned you fucking one of his vode.  

“Who said I don’t mean it?” you shoot back, wiggling your eyebrows suggestively at the sniper seated across from you.

“Lying looks even worse,” he retorts, “I know my brothers are the more attractive options, Hunter with his handsome looks or Wrecker with his muscles and good nature. Even Tech and Echo are the caring kind of boys you girls go after.”

“And what about you?”

“What about me?” 

Rolling your eyes, you lean on one arm to look at him. “It’s not like you haven’t had your fair share of women, Cross.”

Looking away, his tongue moves his toothpick to the opposite corner of his mouth. “That’s different. The bunk bunnies who didn’t get to my brothers first got stuck with me.”

“Quite the pity party you’re having over there for someone with a beautiful woman all to himself,” you snort and his eyes dart back to yours.

“You’re either pitifully desperate or a rather unconvincing whore.” With that, Crosshair flicks his toothpick into the fire and leans back into the night's shadow, sure that he’s landed a blow that will put you off him. No use in entertaining your little game any further, especially not with the way the moonlight is hitting your eyes and the fire is making your skin glow ever so beautifully.

The smirk you give him over the fire tells him that you’ve seen right through him, however, and he hates it. Hates that you refuse to be pushed away and hates that you’re even giving him any semblance of hope. Oh, how he wishes he could hate you too.

Leaning forward with your elbows on your knees, you call out to him. “Oh come on Crosshair, don’t be such a grump. Let a girl give you a compliment.” You flutter your lashes at him as a flirtatious grin plays across your lips.

Those lips… "I’d rather get a blowjob, at least then I’d get something real out of it," he replies flatly in another attempt at dissuading you. 

The way you toss your head back and laugh nearly makes him snap. “Well if you won’t listen, then I won’t tell you what I think about you… handsome.” With a wink at slender man, you pick yourself up and slide your coat up your shoulders as you move around the fire to head back to the ship. As you pass him, you let your fingertips brush his shoulder. “Night, Crosshair.”

He tries, he really tries. He tries to let you slip away back to the ship, leaving him alone and his pride intact. He tries, but he fails. 

Without glancing up, his hand shoots up to grab your wrist, keeping you at his side. “Wait.” He feels you still at his side, silent and expectant. “What were you going to say… about me?” he grits out, his jaw clenching as if to prevent the words from leaving this throat.

If he had had the balls to look up and meet your eyes, he would have seen their tender sheen and the soft smile curling your lips. But he doesn’t, so he only hears your answer.

“Mmm, well I was going to say that you’re tall, dark, and handsome.”

Scoffing, he throws your hand away from his shoulder in disgust. He knew it, he kriffing knew you were just leading him on, riling him up for a joke. “Fuck off.” Why couldn’t he just shut you out like everybody else? 

You reach back down and place your hand firmly on his shoulder. “Oh, come on, Cross, lighten up, I’m joking.” 

Attempting to shrug your hand off, he answers with only stone-cold silence. When you tighten your grip, he shoots a venomous glance up at you. Before he can speak, however, you continue, “What I actually was going to say is that… well…” Your eyes search the stars for your next words as your teeth take your bottom lip. 

The sudden shift to uncertainty in your tone gives him the opportunity to cut you off—he's not making the same mistake twice. “Don’t bother wasting your breath coming up with a lie. Save it for someone stupid enough to believe you.” 

“Oh, for Maker’s sake, Cross!” you exclaim, giving him an exasperated shove. “What I was going to say is that I really do think you’re handsome, you’re tall and strong and smart… and the way your eyes see everything… and your voice, that kriffing voice alone.”    

His eyes burn into you, searing your flesh like they could brand you, searching for the smallest hint of insincerity. He desperately wants to believe you, believe that you would ever desire him the way he desires you. Or even, if he were truly honest with himself, believe that you could see him as someone worthy of your affection as well as your body. He wants to believe it all, but he can’t. He won’t. He’s not worth it anyways. 

Crosshair stares down at his boots and pushes your hand off his shoulder. “Goodnight.”

Though his ears are not as good as Hunter’s, he hears the small disappointed sigh you let out. Good, misery loves company. You and his happiness stood just within reach, which meant it would all be taken from him the second he acknowledges it.

“I wish you would believe me,” you sigh.

He gives a noncommittal huff, leaning away from you and towards the fire, denying you the very voice you craved. Just because you can see right through him doesn’t mean you get to hear him too.

Just when he’s sure you’re going to give up and walk back to the ship, you turn and come to kneel before him, the fire burning a halo around your folded form. Placing a tentative hand on his knee, you peer up at him with those soft eyes. “Look at me.”

He closes his eyes, opening them to meet yours. Hurt and hope swirl around his darkened irises.

Placing your free hand on his other knee to balance yourself, you offer up a small smile. “How’s this for something real?” You lean in and place a chaste kiss on his frowning lips. 

Electricity shoots down his spine, crackling through his bones and boiling his blood. The feeling of your lips lingers on his own even after you pull back. Before you can move too far away, he reaches up to grab the nape of your neck, his long fingers splaying over the back of your skull and holding you close. If anything was ever real, he prays to the Maker, let this be because the final thread holding him back snapped when your lips hit his. 

“Say it. Look me in the eye and say that you mean it,” his demanding tone pleads, his fingers digging into your skin.

“I mean it,” you promise, tender earnestness coating your words as you center yourself in his fire-lit eyes. 

Like a dark, heavy cloud bursting open, he falls into you, his lips crashing into yours. You let the storm of him roll over you for a moment before you murmur against his lips, “I swear I mean it, cross my heart and hope to die.”

Taglist 💖 @agirlnamejacq @acatalystrising @baufraus @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @andrakass2 @samspenandsword @liadamerondjarin @sleepingsun501 @rescuethewretched @rexxdjarin @ladytano420

some others who have interacted or might be interested (lemme know if you don't wanted to be tagged in the future) 💕 @writingwintermoon @ghostvizsla @erinthevampire @rain-on-kamino @crosshairs-wife @cross-my-heartt

Divider by @saradika

[purpleprincessonfyre]

Okay so apparently it is not common knowledge that technically Ethan and I met outside the Tower...it's complicated. I knew who he was I just had never really...well you'll see. So here is the story of how we met. You are welcome @ask-missparker

Ethane - Who Could Stay?

Ship: Ethane aka Ethan Lensherr @gcthvile and Liane Felton

Mentions: Mia Parker @jackiequick, Rochelle Romanoff-Felton and Cole Lensherr

Setting: 2012, Battle of New York

IB: The Archer by Taylor Swift and Avengers (2012)

After only a few months of training, some straight talking from agents and a couple pep talks from her new friends, Liane Felton finally felt like she had a handle on this heroine thing. Granted she hadn't exactly planned on fighting an army of aliens in New York City while a trickster God taunted them with his power and menace but sometimes thems the breaks. Liane watched as the fliers started darting off towards an alleyway and looked around for anyone following them.

Everyone else according to the comms channel seemed to be otherwise engaged so she took it upon herself to deal with them. How hard could it be? She'd only seen three, maybe five heading that way. She ran towards the alleyway and her eyes glowed purple, preparing to incinerate her enemies and grinned. Easy peasy. But as she started the number of chitauri was suddenly growing quite rapidly by the minute. Soon she was almost entirely surrounded.

"Easy they come, easy they go,

I jump from the train, I ride off alone,

I never grew up, its getting so old,

Help me hold onto you."

Her fear was starting to overcome her anger and that fury fire in her belly no longer felt very strong. She tapped her comms very swiftly.

"Ummmmm help? Anyone? I um I can't do this..."

"Well, there's a first time for everything, Felton." Came a second voice as someone from up above swooped down, his eyes glowing with green energy, a smirk of slight superiority. Liane knew she recognised him but couldn't quite place where she knew him from.

"Look there was not this many when I entered the alley."

"Obviously. But if you're gonna put a target on your back, might I suggest you actually follow through?"

Liane scoffed but knew he was right. She still didn't quite have a handle on her abilities despite her best efforts. Ever since joining this team and moving into the Sandbox her anger had started to subside which had given her the impression she had gotten the hang of things. When in reality she just had less to be angry about.

"Darkside, I search for your darkside,

But what if I'm all right, right, right here?

And I cut off my nose just to spite my face,

Then I hate my reflection, for years and years."

"You shouldn't be afraid to ask for help, none of us signed up for a war."

"I know that, trust me."

"Why can't you use your fire?"

"Cause...I'm not angry. I'm scared."

"Huh. Oh I'm Ethan by the way, we've met before but I doubt you've even acknowledged my existence yet."

Ethan! Of course, that's who she was talking to.

"Yeah I know who you are."

"Really? Cause you had a deer in the headlights look like I have never seen when I landed." He blasted a few aliens that were approaching her effortlessly. He smiled at her, tossing her a gun.

"You know how to use one of these?"

"I'm a Felton. Yes, obviously."

"Great. Use it."

Liane scowled, she wasn't a fan of being shown up by this guy. Her eyes started to change colour again as she started shooting. Ethen flanked her, attacking aliens at her back while she covered the ones approaching her. Then she ran out of ammo.

"Oh...I did not check if that was fully loaded."

"Seriously!"

"Hey not my fault you have trouble performing under pressure."

"You shut up!"

"Sorry, sorry. You could probably try screaming at them? That might piss them off."

"You absolute mother-"

"I've been the archer

I've been the prey

Screaming who could ever leave me darling?

But who could stay?

(I see right through me, I see right through me)"

But before she could finish her sentence, Ethan grabbed her from behind, lifting her up into the air and holding out her hands to the remaining chitauri, incinerating them all instantly as her eyes blazed and furious lavender flames hurtled from out of her hands in quick succession. The whole alleyway was ablaze, the sounds of chitauri screaming as the flames destroyed their bodies. Ethan smiled.

"Nice one, turns out there is an off and on switch for your powers."

"You did that on purpose!"

"You. Are welcome. I figured out your trigger and you killed some aliens. Thank me later."

"I-"

He wasn't wrong. She had managed to channel her rage into a burst of flame and taken out the enemy very easily. She looked down at her hands that were now scarred with purple swirling patterns from her fire and sighed as the fire left her eyes and the street was no longer ablaze. She could control it. It just took a little extra thinking time. Ethan held her tight and flew away from the carnage and helped her land on a rooftop with him. There was a long pause as she got her bearings.

"All the king's horses, all the king's men

Couldn't put me together again

'Cause all of my enemies started out friends

Help me hold onto you."

"Thank you, Ethan."

"No worries. Now we know what pushes your buttons, we just need to figure out if there's a healthier way to trigger your fire."

"But not right now?"

"Correct. Right now we need you to take all that unchecked rage and use it to burn up a few dozen aliens apiece. You got that?"

"Just for the record, I did remember you."

"Okay now that's a lie."

"Why?"

"Because the last time I spoke to you, you called me Cole. That's my brothers name."

"Oh..."

"It's okay. I know we're all just serfs and peasants to you."

"How dare-"

"Hey!" Came over the comms, a very frustrated sounding Agent Parker from back at SHIELD. "If you two are quite down with your Lovers Quarrel, the team need a hand capturing Loki!"

"I'm sorry what?"

"No no that is not-"

"How could you even-"

"That's just-"

"You heard me. Save the flirting for later."

Liane sighed and looked at Ethan. Then she looked off into the distance and saw the fray awaiting them.

"You go high, I'll stay low?"

"Sounds like a plan, Felton." He grinned and picked her up carefully and flew back towards the STARK Tower and dropped her off carefully before heading upwards to try and catch Loki. Liane landed beside Rochelle who was furiously slicing at aliens with her laser blades.

"And just where have you been?"

"Got sidetracked. Won't happen again."

"Good cause we're getting our asses handed to us. You mind?"

"Sure thing."

Liane's eyes turned purple as she started blasting through the aliens with her fire, back in the fight. Maybe it wasn't so bad being in control. And maybe, just maybe, it was fun working as a team. Her eye caught Ethan's as they were both fighting and she swore she saw him wink at her as they took at chitauri and the battle wore on. It wasn't Liane's worst meet cute to say the least. Ah shit. She was catching feelings. It had been ten whole minutes. And that made her a bit angry. At least her fire was doing its job again. Shit.

"You could stay

You could stay

You...

Combat, I'm ready for combat..."

There! That's the true story. Weirdest part is that you were there Mia but I guess it didn't occur to you that that was the spark that made us fall in love...

Tagging: @askstevella @ask-missparker @ask-starrk @therealdaydreamstark @thechoooooosenone @wizzzardofoz @finlayholmes @rickb-chaos @luna-d-marsh @jackiequick @gcthvile @blueboirick @cherrysft @meiramel @missstrawbs2001

[shads-shipposts]

So, my sailor fic Anachronism won't be released in full until at least 2029 due to other projects in my neverending queue, but! There's a profound lack of Karaboudjan crew content on this site and I feel like rectifying that. Plus I haven't cursed this hellsite with my nonsense in ages, and that's gotta be fixed.

So, here's a touch-up/completion of something I'm fairly certain I posted a while back. Ch 2 of Anachronism, called Run and Gun! It takes place the morning of the Tintin movie's beginning, but don't worry about not having chapter 1 to read yet. Honestly, things will probably make less sense if you read chapter one. Plus I haven't written it yet.

All you need to know is Anachronism involves a literal self-insert (I get sucked into the movie) but with the twist of its actually the same universe as one of my old Tintin fanfics that was never finished. Hence why Allan is after me, he's got bits of memory missing and ain't happy about it. Also, being a black belt ain't made up. I trained for 4 1/2 years and got it in 2019. This story takes place in 2020, specifically Jan 1.

Enough ramble, on with the show! Depending on the reception, I may post more book snippets as I go along. So be sure to leave a comment if you enjoyed! Or if you have thoughts on characterization, it's been a while since I've written with these guys.

CW: Langauge, minor peril, utter chaos

Word Count: 3700

---------------------------

“Catch that kid! I want her alive!”

Well ain’t this dandy? All I wanted to do was sketch the ship, now I’m in a run and gun chase scene! This is what I get for being curious!

At least this was just a dream, so I couldn’t really get hurt.

Right?

Usually my dream would have shifted into something unhinged by now. Things were too stable, too realistic. Too… what was the word? Linear.

Footsteps came quick behind me, and close. Blackbelt or not, running was not my forte. My fighting style was quick and brutal, so I never had to worry about stamina. Fights were only supposed to last a few seconds, otherwise they were brawls.

I was not trained for that.

I just really hoped it wasn’t Allan right behind me. He had questions, and to be fair I had a hell of a lot of my own, but I didn’t think he’d be keen on sitting down and having a calm chat about them.

I risked a glance behind me.

Not Allan, or any other sailor I recognized, but a young guy. No older than me, or taller, but probably faster.

“No hard feelin’, doll!” he called. “Boss wants you back, so I’m takin’ ya back!”

“Ain’t you precious!” I retorted, anger sparking through me at the nickname. “Call me that again and I’ll drop your ass!”

“That fire won’t do you any favors with the boss!”

“And your smooth talk won’t do you any favors with me!”

I had to lose this guy, he was getting close.

Spotting a brick wall maybe eight feet high, I changed course and headed straight for it. Hopefully this young fella couldn’t vault walls like I could.

Let’s see if all that self taught parkour pays off!

Jumping at the wall, right foot first, the treads of my boot caught the rough brick and I propelled myself over the obstacle. I landed in a puddle, but at least I was gone from the bad side of the wall.

“Oh what the hell?!”

Ha! Lost him!

“Nick! Where’d she go?”

“She vaulted the wall!”

Well, that was no good. That sounded like Neil, and he could probably toss Nick over the wall.

Time to make like my name and vanish!

Spying an open door, I darted inside a warehouse and climbed up behind some crates. I was careful to not put myself into a corner, however, because I knew my harsh breathing would give myself away. I could control it decently well, but even still.

My reprieve was horrifically short lived.

Voices, inside the warehouse.

“Those footprints led in here.”

Damn puddle.

“Be careful, fellas. She’s feisty!” came Nick’s laugh.

“Anyone would be annoyed to deal with you,” another sailor snorted. “Remember, boss wants her alive. Preferably unharmed, but use force to get her down if needed.”

Oh, it’s gonna be needed.

Noise came from my right, and I turned in anticipation as I waited for the sailor to show himself. He sure was making a lot of noise, and I thought I even heard a crate tumble down to the floor.

The reason for all the excess noise soon revealed itself.

“Gotcha!” Nick laughed, arms wrapping around my middle. He hauled me up and towards himself, but that gave me an idea.

Throwing all my weight back into him, he yelped and we both tumbled backwards, heels over head, down the tall stack of crates. Something that should have hurt like the dickens, but didn’t.

This was a dream after all.

Down we went, Nick having a much worse time than me. It was a long way to the cobblestone floor, the sailor who made all the noise rushing to beat us to the bottom where another sailor waited. I didn’t recognize them, so I didn’t feel too bad when I kicked off the pile of crates and launched us both into the legs into one sailor as he darted below us to grab me.

He went down, he and Nick ending up in tangled a pile of sore limbs, leaving me free to spring free and ready myself to square up with the remaining sailor.

Though I honestly wished he would have been the one Nick currently struggled to detangle himself from. I’d faced off some big guys in karate, but this fella was on another level.

Leverage. I’d have to use leverage.

In a way that did not anger this big guy.

“Little girl has skill,” he remarked in a thick Russian accent, giving me a smile that was surprisingly more good-natured than sinister. “But sadly will not make safe.”

“Get ‘er, Ollie!”

Diving into a shoulder roll, I sprang up and immediately changed direction and dove into another one just as his arms closed over the spot I just was. I darted out the door, immediately slamming into another sailor and taking us into the street.

I could not catch a break!

A car horn sounded, but before I could react, the sailor I ran into snatched the back of my jeans’ waistband and rolled us out of the way to the other side of the street. I kicked off with my legs, aiding him the best I could.

Neither of us were gonna be able to fight if we both got flattened by multiple tons of steel.

Angry yelling followed from the driver, but I didn’t really have the time to say sorry as I found myself locked in a grappling match with the sailor who saved both our skins.

Why couldn’t the other black belts have just ignored the awkwardness and taught me grappling?! I didn’t know dick about this!

But I did know one thing.

As an arm came down and tried to loop around my neck, I bared my teeth and sank them into his bare arm.

It tasted like sweat, dirt, sea-water, and engine grease.

Not that I knew what the last tasted like.

“Youch!” a semi-familiar voice yelled, quickly releasing his hold on me.

Diving away, I sprang up but stopped in horror as I found myself staring down a dead-end alley. Spinning around into a right fighting-stance, guard up and front leg ready to strike, I finally saw the sailor I’d nearly gotten run over.

Neil knelt on the ground, blocking my way out as he nursed his wounded arm. I hadn’t bitten too hard, more concerned with just getting free via surprise, so all he had to worry about was spit and a bruise. Inspecting the bite mark, he then looked up at me with an expression halfway between amusement and shock.

“You just bite me, Shortie?”

“Well pardon me for wantin’ to escape!”

He snorted in amusement, a partial smile on his face. “Apology accepted, but afraid I can’t grant that escape.”

As if on cue, more sailors joined him at the entrance to the alley. Hobbs, Tom, Ollie, Nick, the unnamed sailor Nick fell on, and…

“Shit,” I hissed, locking eyes with Allan.

“What’s the rush?” he asked. “It’s rude to not say goodbye, kid.”

That easy-going and nonthreatening smile don’t fool me, Al.  Tom’s the Golden Retriever, not you. You’re a German Shepherd with anger management issues or some shit.

Nick and the unnamed sailor stood on either side of the entrance, looking the opposite directions as they presumably kept a look out for any passersby. The others moved into the alley, pushing me further back.

Hobbs laughed, looking me up and down. “What’re we all standin’ around for? She’s not so tough, watch!”

He came forward, reaching for my arm. I waited until he got just close enough, subtly shifting my weight to my left leg, before letting it fly.

It caught him in the chest, knocking him off his feet and back towards the group.

“Nice strike,” Ollie said, arms crossed and stance relaxed as Neil erupted into laughter.

“Don’t encourage her!” Hobbs spat, slowly staggering to his feet.

“Looks like we got a martial artist on our hands, boys,” Allan remarked, looking me up and down. “No wonder they felt so safe takin’ a stroll down the docks.”

Not my brightest idea, but even in a dream I can gather ideas.

“Now I get why you said it was reflex after you smacked me in the face,” Neil said, still laughing at a wounded Hobbs.  

“Sad to say, kid, all that fancy dojo-learnin’ won’t do you much good here on the street. But we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Allan said, tone now conversational and even charismatic in a way. “Up to you.”

Of course he’d switch to charming and agreeable now, he had me cornered. Ol’ good cop bad cop, except Allan Thompson played both roles. Good trick, scare someone out of their wits then act all friendly so they would be more likely to cooperate and “make it easier for everyone”.

Unfortunately, I never in my life “made it easy” for anyone and I sure as hell wasn’t gonna start now.  

“All we need from you is some answers,” Allan continued, stance relaxed and arms loose by his sides.

“You and me both,” I muttered.

The way you shift from threatening to trustworthy is amazing, sir. Were you not out for blood, I’d study you like a prison psychologist.

“Quit fightin’,” Hobbs growled, coming up on the right. “You’re just gonna get yourself hurt.” He emphasized his words by pulling a blade out.

I ain’t the one that got Sparta-kicked just a minute ago.

“No need for violence,” Allan called over to him, but he said nothing about sheathing the blade. He looked back over at me. “I’d suggest playin’ nice, kid. No more of that warehouse nonsense, these fellas won’t be as easy to deal with as the new guy.”

“Drop the act, Allan,” I growled. “You and I both know that sweet talkin’ is empty and I ain’t so stupid as to be charmed by honeyed words like that.”

His expression changed, the easy-going smile shifting to something not quite sinister but definitely not friendly. “We’re gettin’ those answers, kid. One way or another.” His tone darkened. “You want to play rough, we can play rough.”

Hobbs flanked his right with a blade, Neil his left with nothing but his bare hands. Tom stood back, waiting and watching the scene unfold with sharp eyes and a hand on his hip close to what I knew to be a firearm.

“Four corners, huh?” I asked, shifting into a ready stance with my weight on my toes. “A gun, a knife, and fists. All I need is a kicker. You good at round-house kicks, Allan?”

He didn’t say anything, still bearing that dangerous smile that sent shivers down my spine yet also brought a similar smile to my own face.

“Think this is a game?” Hobbs demanded.

I flashed a toothy grin his way. “Play ball, bitch.”

Allan shrugged. “If you insist.”

Hobbs came first, blade aimed for my leg. A simple horse stance to horse stance paired with a wrist throw took care of him.

Neil was next, swinging wide with a haymaker that didn’t make much sense but he’d already proved enigmatic in his methods so I didn’t spend time questioning him. I just stepped in, blocked the punch on the inside of his arm, and wrapped my hand around the back of his neck. By a stroke of luck, I threw him into Hobbs and they both went down.

But now I found myself facing Tom, or rather, not facing him.

He locked me in a bear hug from behind, but unlucky for him this was one of the easiest attacks to break.

Drive my heel onto the top of his foot, punch out and step into a horse stance to break the hold, elbow to the gut to wind him, grab the arm, kneel, bend, and flip.

Tom fell hard onto the cobblestones in front of me, arm trapped in an armbar, but as I drew back a fist to strike his ribs, I found myself unable to commit.

Instead, I threw his arm away and dove into a shoulder roll to escape before he could spring up and grab me.

But what was waiting for me was worse, and I sprang to my feet to find Allan’s pistol pointed straight at my chest.

He was in arms reach, and I knew how to disarm him, but I risked the trigger getting pulled and the bullet hitting one of the others. If I could just get him to shift slightly, then I only risked the wall getting hit.

Unless it ricocheted…

“Hey, what gives?” Hobbs groaned, cradling his wrist. “Why does Tom get let off easy?”

“Maybe because he didn’t try stabbin’ the kid!” Neil smacked him over the head. “What were you thinkin’, dickhead?!”

“I was just aimin’ for ‘er leg! I wouldn’t hit anythin’ vital!”

My attention slipped, focused on the bickering pair.

Allan immediately took advantage of the mistake.

“Tom.”

Act!

I stepped in, both hands grabbing the top of Allan’s and forcing the gun down. For some reason, it didn’t go off. Snatching it from his grasp, I slammed my foot into his gut and drove him back. The force sent him off his feet, just like Hobbs, but before he recovered I had the gun ready and aimed at him.

I’d never be able to pull the trigger, even with it just aimed at his foot, but I just hoped they wouldn’t know that.

Allan did notice, however, where I was aiming and where my finger was; resting along the barrel, far from the trigger. Still kneeling, his eyes traveled from the gun to me, slightly narrowed. Tom came up from the side, cautiously, but Allan stopped him with a hand.

“Why would you risk gettin’ shot to get the gun,” he asked, one hand over his stomach where I nailed him. He stood, eyes trained on mine. “Only to aim it somewhere that wouldn’t even stop your attacker?”

“Mind your business.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Considerin’ I have my gun aimed at my foot, think it is my business.”

“I ain’t lookin’ for a murder charge.”

Dream or no dream. Not that that is the whole reason.

“Did not stop you from trying to break neck in warehouse,” Ollie commented, still standing calm as could be near the front of the alley.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that.”

He tilted his head. “You are not desperate. Dedicated to escape, but not desperately seeking.”

“Didn’t realize I was bein’ chased by a buncha shrinks.”

“He’s right, though,” Allan said. “You’ve not once been lethal. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

“Sure was painful,” Hobbs grumbled, shaking his wrist.

Allan stepped closer, and I raised my gun to his arm.

He shook his head. “Again, not lethal.”

“Good trigger discipline,” Ollie commented.

“Won’t help.” Allan stepped closer again, hands still at his sides.

I still couldn’t bring myself to aim at his face. You never aimed a gun at something you didn’t intend to shoot. Aiming it anywhere near him was already breaking that rule.

Instead, I warned, “Back! Don’t test me, mate, I’ll pull this trigger.”

Lies. All of it lies.

I knew that… and so did Allan. We were in the 2011 movie, but I was not dealing with movie!Allan. I was dealing with some variant of the one I originally wrote with all those years ago, which was closer to the comics; smarter, more cunning, and a lot sharper than anything the movie even hinted at. The charismatic side was new, but very unwelcome. I didn’t know how to even begin thwarting it, and he fucking knew that.

“Come on, then.” He opened his arms. “Pull the trigger, kid. Shoot me down.”

I looked into his eyes, reading the challenge there clear as day. The moment I pulled the trigger and hit any part of him, the others would pounce. They’d already tried attacking separately once before; they would not make the same mistake twice.

We were both within striking range, both able to absolutely ruin the other’s day. But still we remained, unmoving, staring the other down. Locked in a battle of wits, a battle which neither party was going to give up easily. There was too much at stake to walk away.

We both wanted answers. The only question was… who wanted them more?

Tom stepped into my field of view, slowly. “Shadow, just drop the gun, yeah?” he tried, a hand reaching out. “Ya can’t hurt us.”

“Don’t mistake my inaction for inability,” I growled, not taking my eyes off Allan. “I know my way around a gun.”

“It’s not that. You don’t want to pull that trigger, trust me.”

Neil and Hobbs were cautiously approaching now too, staying back at a gesture from Allan. The first mate didn’t take his eyes from me, however.

They were way too calm considering I had a loaded gun. Or…

My eyes widened.

Did I?

Grabbing the slide, I aimed away from Allan and looked inside to find an empty chamber. Ejecting the clip, I found it to also be empty.

They weren’t scared of the gun because there was no reason to be scared of it. It was useless, unless I threw it at one of them. That wouldn’t do any good.

“You gotta be shittin’ me!” I whined, dropping the gun.

Allan reached out with his foot and slid the gun behind him, where Ollie picked it up. “Tough luck, kid.”

“Shut up,” I grumbled.

“It’d be best if ya just came with us,” Tom said, stepping forward only to stop when I shifted into a fighting stance and brought my guard up.

“Er, not a good idea,” Neil said, shaking his head. “Can’t win a boxin’ match wit’ Tom, Shortie. You got lucky he grabbed you. He usually just punches.”

“A, I’m taller than him,” I grumbled, gesturing at Hobbs and earning a venomous glare. “B, I know I can’t beat him.” I looked between the men, heart pounding against my ribs. “But I sure as hell can make you wish you left me alone.”

Dismay crossed Tom’s face. “Doesn’t ‘ave to be like this.”

I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as I prepared to go down fighting. “We both know it does. Unless you let me walk outta here.” I smiled humorlessly. “And that clearly ain’t happenin’.”

Dream or not, this was gonna hurt. Emotionally, and physically. Getting beat up by Tom was not something I ever wanted to go through. Something told me he would take it relatively easy on me, but even a light yet solid hit to the diaphragm from him would take me down. If I was bad at grappling, boxing was even worse.

And we already established I wouldn’t be able to hurt him.

“We won’t ask again, kid,” Allan warned as the men all took a step toward me. “This has gone on long enough.” There was no smile on his face and no amused tolerance in his voice with his next command. “Stand down.”

I shook my head. “No. Y’all square up.”

“Yoooo, Shadow!”

We all looked up, fight briefly paused, and rage filled me as I saw Trevor looking down at us from the roof.

“You miserable and worthless list of terms and conditions!” I hissed. “Get your ass down here so I can at least fuck up your face ‘fore I’m torn to bits!”

He laughed. “What, after I was gonna offer you an escape?”

“Oh yeah?” I gestured angrily at the sailors. “Little late!”

“Not really! Got a little magic trick!”

“Now ain’t the time for games!”

“Not a game! Watch!” He threw a small sphere at us. “Abracadabra!”

It bounced off a crate and landed at my feet, making the men jump back.

“Grenade!”

A hiss and explosion of smoke later thankfully disproved Neil’s initial theory, but left us all with sore throats and watery eyes.

Not that it stopped one sailor.

A shoulder slammed into my stomach, driving me back into the wall. I brought my elbow down, hitting the tender spot between the shoulder blade and neck, but the man grabbed me as he fell and we both went down. Arms tightened around my middle, whoever it was trying to pin me to the ground.

Allan, judging by the feel of rolled up sleeves.

He brought his full weight down, nearly knocking the breath from me and almost causing my arms to buckle. The man was heavy! A hand grabbed one elbow, yanking it back, and down I went. I rolled as I fell, teeth aimed for his shoulder. I missed the bulk of it, but managed to at least catch the cloth.

Tasted and smelled heavily like tobacco and what I assumed was some time of smokey yet slightly sweet alcohol. Bourbon, maybe?

Writer brain off, Fighter brain on!

“Damn it all, kid, quit bitin’!” came the raspy yell, but I couldn’t tell if it was anger or smoke that caused his tone.

“Nien!” I growled through a mouthful of shirt.

He rolled us both out of the alley onto the sidewalk, out of the smoke. I ended up on top as we came to a stop right by the curb, but before I could strike, a hand snatched my arm and dragged me away from Allan.

“Time to go, Shadow!”

“Trevor?! Get off-!”

“Let’s go, let’s go, no time for slow!” Trevor sang, yanking me to my feet before turning to Allan. The hair all along my body stood on end before Trevor hit him smack in the chest with a small blast of lightning.

It sent Allan back to the sidewalk, and damn near sent me into shock.

“Trevor, are you tryin’ to fuckin’ kill him?!” I screamed, frozen as Allan laid groaning on the ground.

“Relax, he’s fine!” Trevor yanked me down the road, away from the alley and the docks. “C’mon!”

Giving one last look at Allan, who was indeed slowly recovering and coming back up on one knee, I turned and followed Trevor away from the scene.

[voiceoffenrisulfr]

Becoming Spider-Man - Chapter Fourteen

Peter Parker Wakes Up

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 -> Peter Parker & Tony Stark (IronDad)

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 -> In which Peter comes home, and Tony makes a choice.

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 -> 2097

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 -> (T) Implied Major Character Death

𝐀/𝐍 -> I'm so sorry </3 There are two versions of the next chapter (15) though, in a pick-your-own-ending style, depending on if you want to cry or not. Check it out below, or on AO3 here! Cute divider by @/sweetmelodygraphics!

<- Previous Chapter (13/16)

I swung through the portal Doctor Strange had opened, retracting my helmet to survey the battlefield before me, unable to hide the slight smile that tugged at my lips.

We have another chance.

There were portals opening everywhere, all different sizes, with allies of every kind flowing onto the scorched battlefield. I turned my head slightly as Doctor Strange stepped forward, tipping his head toward his friend.

“Is that everyone?” he clarified, his voice optimistic, yet clipped. His fellow sorcerer’s face creased in shocked confusion, the magic circles by his hands flickering minutely. “What, you wanted more?”

My eyes flicked to my left at a resounding crunch, watching the giant form of Ant-Man plow through rubble I distantly recognised as my beloved Compound, now reduced to shattered remnants. His clasped hand lowered, heroes spilling from his fingertips, the ground shaking beneath my feet as the impressive bulk of the Hulk hit the dust. The crowd around me stilled, waiting with bated breath for the signal to go to war, flocking in behind the straightened form of Captain America. “Avengers!” His voice rang out clear across the near-silence, hand extended, Thor’s faithful hammer finding his palm with a resonant thud. I bounced on the ball of my feet, exhilarated, buoyed by a vengeance so close at hand.

“Assemble.”

The command was quiet, but the roar was deafening, body after body pushing forward. Thanos’ sword pointed toward the oncoming masses as I threw myself forward, watching with distant disbelief as Scott punched a familiar, bulky ship from the air, writhing with a life-like quality I’d seen only once before. All around me was a vaguely organised chaos, explosions, bullets and pieces of bodies flying thick and fast. After ducking and weaving, throwing a few of the enemies high into the air, I leapt onto a fallen slab of concrete, surveying the battlefield before me.

“No!” I roared, shooting out my web with furious precision, the fibres wrapping around the arm of a monstrous creature towering over the recently-tossed, ragdoll but familiar figure of Iron Man. He jerked to the ground under my tether, a wordless shriek escaping him as Ant-Man’s enormous foot descended upon his helpless form. I darted between the colossal legs, landing before my mentor, my beloved guardian – my father – retracting my helmet as I tugged him to his feet. “Hey! Holy cow. You will not believe what’s been going on. Do you remember when we were in space? And I got all dusty? I must have passed out, because I woke up, and you were gone. But Doctor Strange was there,” I garbled, my words tripping over themselves in my enthusiasm, as I gestured wildly off to my side, “right? He was like “It’s been five years. Come on, they need us”. And then he started doing the yellow sparkly thing that he does all the time-” I began to wave my hands in demonstration as Tony simply watched me wordlessly, a shocked, soft smile on his face.

“He did? Oh, God,” he added under his breath, falling forward into me, the solid bulk of his suit making me sway back on my heels.

“Th-this is nice,” I stammered, confused, but content to stand wrapped in his arms for a heartbeat. He squeezed me hard, and I closed my eyes, tipping my head against his softly.

We fell back into the battle seamlessly, fighting near one another, Tony’s eyes constantly flicking to me despite the urgency. My eyes zeroed in on T’Challa, the unmistakable glint of the Infinity Gauntlet catching my gaze. “I got it!” I hollered, my webs latching onto the shiny surface, drawing the creation against my body uneasily as the masses converged upon me.

Tony met my eye through the glowing slits of his suit, and nodded once. I nodded in return, squaring my shoulders. “Activate Instant Kill!” I bellowed, letting my body be jostled by the robotic legs bursting from my spine, impaling the creatures circling. They climbed stubbornly over the fallen bodies, getting closer and closer.

“I got this, I got this… Okay, I don’t got this! Somebody, help!” I yelped as the mass threatened to overwhelm me, the daylight rapidly shrinking between the flailing limbs.

“Hey, Queens, heads up!”

Captain America’s voice sounded over my earpiece, and I blindly fired my web into the sky, hoping against hope that I’d hit my target, letting out a euphoric holler as I was dragged along behind the hammer hurtling through the air. A bolt of blue light falling from the sky cut short my flight, and I gasped as I began to fall before jerking to a halt, skimming the ground.

“Hang on. I got you, kid.”

I winced at the name but glanced up gratefully, watching an unfamiliarly familiar suit as it launched me higher, landing gracelessly on the back of a flying horse.

What has my life become? I wondered silently as I slipped into place behind the silver-clad woman, the Gauntlet still hooked carefully over one of my robotic legs. “Hey! Nice to meet you- Oh my God!” I was cut off by the rapid dive of the Pegasus, the creature artfully dodging the further shots of white-hot light until I found myself once more flung through the air, the Gauntlet leaving its place of safety and arcing away from me. My fingers strained toward the falling object, tucking it clumsily against my chest as I plummeted toward the Earth.

But Tony had made my suit well. The legs wrapped around me, cushioning my fall, and I came to a bumpy, but mercifully uninjured, halt, the speed of my skid sending dirt spraying ahead of me. Scrambling to my feet, I started off at a sprint – directly into the path of another falling bolt.

The air rushed from my lungs as I hit the ground once more, the legs shattering beneath me on impact as the Gauntlet spilled from my grasp. I yelped, arms wrapping over my head defensively as further blasts rained down around me. I lay in disbelief, reluctantly peering between my limbs as the shots stopped exploding the earth around me, instead raising to the sky, firing furiously at the clouds. I was distantly aware of the voices echoing over the comms, but the bright light illuminating the grey sky, streaking toward us rather than away, drew all of my attention. One of the ships high over the water exploded as the meteorological object moved seamlessly through it, curving back around for another shot that sent the extra-terrestrial craft plowing to the water with a shockwave strong enough to blast back my hair.

A woman dropped to the earth before me, looming over the crater where I lay cowering, arms wrapped possessively around the Gauntlet. “… Hi, I’m Peter Parker,” I squeaked out, conventionally polite despite my terror.

She looked down at me, an unmistakable air of authority on her face, accompanied by a playful smile. “Hey, Peter Parker. You got something for me?”

I grunted as I got to my feet, head turning unconsciously to seek out Tony amidst the chaos. “I… Don’t know how you’re going to get through all that,” I finished lamely, trying to act for all the world like my main concern – my only concern – wasn’t the wellbeing of my guardian. She reached out to take the Gauntlet from me as the Scarlet Witch landed beside her, closely followed by a Wakandan warrior and the Pegasus lady.

“Don’t worry,” Wanda assured me with a gentle smile.

“She’s got help,” the Wakandan warrior added, facing the onslaught. Further women closed in, leaving me stood behind as they barrelled forward, endlessly impressive.

I returned to the onslaught as best I could, catching the last of the opponents left in their wake until I was floored by a huge wave of power, sending me sprawling in the dirt once more. Fighting my way to my feet, depleted body struggling, I focused on the fight before me, closing in on Thanos as he hurtled Avengers away. Even the flying woman found herself in the dust, and my steps faltered as Thanos slammed the Gauntlet onto his hand, orange lightning streaking up his arm, a roar echoing from his gritted teeth. Before I could blink she was back, falling to her knees as she gripped the glove, close enough now to see her hair flop over her face as she strained desperately. Her hands forced the fingers open, entirely impervious to the huge purple head colliding with hers as she rose, forcing the titan to his own knees. His free fingers found the knuckles of the Gauntlet, prising the glowing purple stone from the glove and palming it in his other hand before launching her bodily from him. I slowed to a halt on the perimeter of the fight, watching helplessly as the sprawled Tony made eye contact with Doctor Strange, who was still straining to hold back a tide of floodwater. The wizard raised a single finger – an unknown indicator, and Tony panted for breath, his face an indecipherable mask.

My gaze flicked back to Thanos at a flash of light, lightning once more working around his arm as the stone was replaced, surrounding his limbs.

“No,” I whispered under my breath, taking a step closer as Mr. Stark lunged forward, grasping the Gauntlet in his hands. The two tussled briefly, before a backhand sent my guardian rolling in the dirt once more. I whimpered, trembling fingers raising to my throat as I fought for breath, the destructor’s arm raising for a final time.

“I am inevitable.” His baritone voice was quiet but clear as he brought his fingertips together, snapping together with a resounding, metallic thunk.

And then…

Nothing happened.

My gaze moved back to my mentor, who had gotten to his knees, one hand raised purposefully, unmistakable dots of colour flickering in the red metal. His head tipped back as the power flowed, an animatronic whirring sounding, but it wasn’t loud enough to drown out his grunts of pain, bringing tears to the corner of my eyes. He met the gaze of the stunned titan steadily, something akin to shock evident on his own face.

“And I…” Tony murmured, his voice low and clear, “Am… Iron man.”

His gaze held that of Thanos, unwavering and sure, as he brought his fingers together in a blinding flash of white light.

The earth trembled beneath my feet as the remaining enemies faded to dust, powdery shards hitting their targets harmlessly. I looked about myself in shock, entirely dumbfounded at the disintegration around me. The titan watched the devastation silently, sinking to a seat in his disbelief and grief, still panting from his fight as his own body began to crumble.

I let out a short, sharp laugh of shock, turning to my mentor with a broad grin, the expression fading from my face as I saw him stumble to a sitting position, breathing heavily.

“No.”

I found myself swinging through the air before I’d even registered the movement, landing a few paces away, panting lightly but entirely oblivious to the unrecognised pain in my body. “Mr. Stark?” I hesitated before moving forward quickly, dropping to my knees before my fallen guardian, the tears now flowing freely. “Hey- Mr. Stark? Can you hear me? It’s Peter.” My voice cracked, and I sobbed, feeling the muscles of my face tremble in my grief. “Hey. We won, Mr. Stark- We won, Tony. We won. You did it, Dad. You did it.” I clenched my jaw as my eyes screwed up, curling myself against his body as he blinked blankly. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

His weak hand found the back of my head, and I raised my gaze, briefly hopeful as his eyes met mine. “Hey, son.”

I swallowed around another sob, fighting the vomit threatening to rise in my throat at the grief overwhelming me. “Friday?”

“Life functions critical,” Friday’s melodious voice replied quietly. Tony offered me a weak, reassuring smile, and I put my hand on his cheek.

“Tony… Dad, look at me.” His eyes met mine once more, fighting to maintain focus, and I smiled back. “It’s okay. I’m gonna be okay. You don’t have to be Iron Man anymore. You can rest now. I… I love you, Dad.”

His smile froze as the arc reactor in his chest flickered, a single, solitary tear cutting a trail through the grime encrusted into his cheek.

I howled as his hand left my hair, dropping my head into his lap as I screamed, throat tearing, soul shredding, heart breaking.

[bleachanimefan1]

Dragon Ball Legend Part 16

Goku has Arrived!,

Vegeta led Krillin, Gohan and Ocarin back to his hidden Dragon ball stash, that he had stolen from Frieza, on his ship. Vegeta landed on an island plateau and Gohan, Krillin and Ocarin followed behind him. Ocarin saw Vegeta run towards a crevice and inside were the remaining five Dragon balls. "It's down there! Come on! Here they are-" Vegeta said. When he turned around, he saw that Krillin, Gohan and Ocarin still have not moved from their spots. "What are you waiting for?!"

"Suddenly, this doesn't seem like a good idea." Krillin frowned, holding the four-star Dragon ball tightly in his hands. 

"I don't like this either. How do we know that you won't jump us the second we activate them?" Ocarin said. Vegeta gritted his teeth in frustration and stormed over to the group.

"This isn't a game. Give me that ball! I'm losing my patience! You ignorant fool! You're going to get us all killed!" Vegeta shouted at them. 

Then a large purple alien with a veiny bald head with two horns protruding from it, landed on the ground in front of Krillin, Gohan, Ocarin and Vegeta. Four more joined with him, all wearing the same armor as Vegeta. One was tall humanoid with short shaggy red hair, a cleft chin. The second one was small with green skin and four eyes, the third had long white hair and red skin, and the last one had dark blue skin, red pupil less eyes. Ginyu, Recoome, Guldo, Jeice, and Burters.

"Hello, Vegeta." Ginyu smirked.

"Damn it. Not now! I was so close!" Vegeta growled.

"How did they get here so fast?! I thought we had more time!" Krillin exclaimed.

"We come to collect you and the Dragon balls, Vegeta." Ginyu said.

"Hey, captain, looks like we've got the other five balls right here." Recoome smiled, looking at the Dragon ball behind them.

"You should've listened to me!" Vegeta snapped at Krillin.

"How was I supposed to know that they would get here so fast!" Krillin shouted back at him.

"This is going to be even easier than I've expected. I should thank you Vegeta for having all seven Dragon balls for us." Captain Ginyu spoke.

"Vegeta was right! There's no way we can beat all five of them! Their power levels, they're terrifying! Especially, that one, the leader." Krillin gritted his teeth.

"Don't get too cocky, Ginyu, you haven't beaten me yet!" Vegeta glared at him.

"You think you're pretty tough don't ya? This time you have Frieza to save your scrawny carcass! I've waited for this!" Guldo smirked as he stepped over to Vegeta.

"Really!?" Vegeta mocked him.

"That's right. Come on!" Guldo smirked, taunting Vegeta.

"Guldo, you're still a freak." The four eyed alien growled and was about to lunge at the Saiyan prince when Recoome stopped him, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"Hold on, Guldo. Frieza wants him back alive, remember?" Recoome reminded him.

"Vegeta, don't be silly. You'll save us a lot of trouble if you hand over the Dragon balls." Captain Ginyu said.

"Yeah, right. Then next you'll ask me to surrender so you'll take me back to Frieza. Is that the plan?" Vegeta asked.

"Something like that." Ginyu smirked. Vegeta twitched as he clutched the one-star Dragon ball in his hands.

"Go to hell!" Vegeta roared and he tossed the Dragon ball, flinging it far away.

"You idiot!" Ocarin hissed. Before anyone could react, the blue alien with red eyes quickly darted past them.

"Nice try." Burters said as he landed back on the ground next to the rest of the Ginyu force. In his hands was the Dragon ball.

"He's got the Dragon ball!" Krillin cried out.

"A valiant effort, Vegeta, but as you can see, my brother just loves a good game of catch." Ginyu smirked.

"How did he do that!?" Gohan exclaimed.

"Now the other one." Ginyu demanded.

"Destroy it!" Vegeta cried out. Krillin quickly raised his fist about to smash it against the Dragon ball to shatter it.  But as he did, time seemed to go slower and to everyone's surprise the Dragon ball in Krillin's hand was gone!

"Where did it go?" Gohan asked.

"What happened?" Krillin gasped in shock. The group saw the four-eyed alien smirking at them and in his hands was the four-star Dragon ball.

"So, then it's true what they say." Vegeta said.

"Are you going to fill us in?" Ocarin asked him.

"I've never believed it, but Guldo has the ability to freeze an instant in time." He told them.

"Alright, we have what we've came for. Now to deal with them." Ginyu said.

"You're not going anywhere." Ocarin growled. The Ginyu forced ignored her and began to talk and whisper amongst themselves on who they were going to fight.

"Make sure to treat them nicely, boys." Ginyu smirked.

"We can still make a run for it!" Krillin whispered to Ocarin and Gohan.

"I'm not running." Ocarin frowned.

"Ocarin! We'll die if we stay here!" Krillin hissed at her.

"It's no use. We have no choice to fight them." Vegeta said. "If we combine our powers, we might have a chance." Gohan and Krillin looked at each other, unsure.

"I hate to admit, but you're right. Let's call a truce for now." Ocarin said. The two looked at her in shock, Vegeta did so as well. Ocarin stepped in front of them, while the Ginyu force was distracted, talking to each other.

"Wait, you're attacking now?!" Krillin exclaimed.

Ocarin placed her hands together and began summoning some energy into them. The Ginyu force stopped laughing as they noticed their scouters alerting them of the high-power level. She quickly fired before any one of them could react. Ginyu managed to jump out of the way at the last second before the beam, hit the rest. Vegeta's mouth dropped, along with Gohan and Krillin's as they watched in shock, seeing beam completely engulf the four Ginyu force. 

"Guldo! Jeice! Recoome! Burter!" Ginyu cried out. Ocarin smirked.

"Thank you, Guru."

"Wow, Ocarin. You nearly wiped them all out!" Krillin shouted, laughing. 

"Now, it's just only one!" Gohan smiled, relieved as well. However, Ocarin gasped, and her eyes widen when she saw the smoke cleared, revealing that Recoome had survived the energy blast. His clothes and armor were torn, and he was in a goofy pose.

"You're going to have to try harder than that!" He grinned, some of his teeth was missing. Ocarin's eyes twitched in annoyance.

"I can tell that you are already going to be a nuisance." She growled.

Vegeta, Krillin, and Gohan began to spar with Ginyu while Ocarin began to clash against Recoome. Ginyu headbutted Vegeta in the face, punched Krillin in the chest knocking the wind out of him, and kneed Gohan in the stomach. The three fell to the ground, completely tired and beaten to get back up.

"Dad. Where are you?" Gohan groaned. He looked over at Ocarin to see her fighting with Recoome, still trying to blast him and throwing multiple punches and kicks at the Ginyu force member. But he looked completely unfazed by every single one of her attacks. Ocarin panted as she fell to her knees, completely out of breath and almost drained of her energy. She tried to transform but was she completely exhausted. Come on! Turn blue! Turn blue! Ocarin gritted her teeth, clenching the blue grass in her hands. The only time she needs it, and it doesn't work! Just great!

"You're like a cockroach." She hissed, angrily. Ginyu and Recoome laughed evilly.

"Time to wrap it up!" Ginyu shouted. Ocarin closed her eyes, bracing for them attack. Sorry, Piccolo. Kami. I failed, again.

"DAD! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Gohan cried out. Suddenly, a spacecraft crashed on the ground not too far from the group. Everyone looked over at it as the door slowly opened and someone stepped out of it. Gohan and Krillin's eyes widen, their mouth's growing wider as they smiled, overjoyed. Ocarin smirked, as well, realizing who it was.

"Goku." She could sense that his power level was extremely higher than normal than it was back on Earth. He must have been training the entire time, getting to them to Namek.

"Sorry, I'm late!" Goku waved at Krillin, Gohan and Ocarin. 

"What took you so long?" Ocarin asked him.

"Hey, I'm here now. So, these are the guys who did this to you guys?" Goku asked. Krillin and Gohan nodded. Ocarin sat up, wiping her lip.

"Goku, kick their butts." She told him.

Goku quickly turned to two remaining Ginyu force members, narrowing his eyes at them. The two stared at him, wondering who was, but also slightly scared as they sensed his energy level. Goku charged at the two, attacking them. Gohan, Krillin, Vegeta, and Ocarin watched in shock at Goku's speed barely able to catch up with him as he clashed with the two Ginyu force members. He quickly blasted Recoome, finally taking him down. Then set his eyes on Ginyu.

As the two began to clash with each other, Vegeta, Krillin, Gohan and Ocarin took the Dragon balls, moving them to a safer place. Vegeta led them to Frieza's ship as he told them that Frieza wasn't inside. Vegeta had also told them that he had also wiped out the remaining of the tyrant's soldiers. To their surprise, Goku had quickly came back to them, a little beaten and banged up as his gi had holes in several places. Then Captain Ginyu quickly appeared as he flew over them, looking weak and completely bloodied and bruised up.

"Guys! Get away from him! That is not me!" Captain Ginyu shouted at them. Ocarin frowned, turning her head back towards Goku. Strange, he acted a little like Goku just now, but Goku is right here with them. Krillin and Gohan looked at the two, confused. Vegeta frowned as well, noticing that something was off as well. Captain Ginyu landed near Krillin and Gohan, who backed away from him. Ocarin saw Goku make an evil smirk and her eyes widen. 

"He swapped bodies with Goku!" She shouted. Gohan and Krillin's eyes widen as well in shock. While Vegeta began to chuckle. "I've been looking forward to this." He charged at Captain Ginyu in Goku's body and began to fight against him, throwing punches and kicks. Then Vegeta managed to slam 'Goku' down on the ground. Captain Ginyu was too weak to move unable to avoid Vegeta's attack. At the last second, he swapped out of Goku's body and was now aiming for Vegeta's. Goku quickly ran into the beam, just as Vegeta fired his attack, getting his own body back. The energy beam hit Captain Ginyu, instead engulfing him in it. Vegeta blinked in confusion as he looked at the two. Goku made a tired and weak chuckle.

"That was close, but I got my body back." Everyone saw Captain Ginyu getting back up, struggling to stand on his feet. He glared at Vegeta and fired another beam to swap out bodies again. Ocarin looked down when she saw an alien frog hop beside her foot, jumping on the ground. She quickly grabbed it and tossed the frog into the beam. Captain Ginyu's eyes widen in horror as he saw the beam hit the frog.

"No!" He screamed but it was too late as he was no inside the frog's body unable to talk to change back. His regular body croaked as the frog was in it and began to hop around the ground. Goku was really worn out and beaten up unable to fight anyone at the moment, especially Frieza. Vegeta led everyone inside the ship and took them to a pod and placed Goku inside of it.

"This is an older model, and it will take some time, but it'll heal Kakarot back to his full strength if we're ever going to have a chance." He told the group. They left Goku so he can heal and went back outside, standing in front of the Dragon balls.

"Let's activate them before Frieza gets back." Ocarin said. Gohan and Krillin nodded, and Krillin turned back towards the orbs.

"Eternal Dragon come forth, I summon thee!" He shouted. Everyone waited for the Dragon balls to activate. Nothing happened. Their eyes widen.

"Why isn't it working!?" Gohan cried out.

"Maybe, we need a password or something?" Ocarin suggested. Gohan and Krillin looked at her in surprise. "I mean, they are different from the one's on Earth."

"Alright. I'll go back to Guru and get it. You guys wait here." Krillin said. Ocarin turned her head as she could sense Frieza's energy, heading in the direction that the group had recently came from.

"Frieza's heading over there right now." She told them. "He's going after Guru!"

"I better hurry then. Gohan and Ocarin, you two stay here and look after Goku and the Dragon balls." Krillin replied and he flew off, leaving them and Vegeta as he headed to Guru's.

[caffeineforbucky]

As Time Goes By...(Chapter Eight)

Warnings: Angst, Light Fluff

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Fem! Reader

Word count: 1,693 (This one's a bit short)

A/N: This one took...well, it took and took until I finally had the strength to get up from bed and write the damn thing. Maybe some of you were expecting it, maybe some of you weren't but, here it is. In all its glory, part eight to my (small but important to me) novel or story, whatever it is you may call it. Thanks for being patient. Being sick is not fun—AT ALL!! So, from the bottom of my congested lungs and heart, I thank you wholeheartedly! <3

Concrete crunched underneath the weight of your boots, pounding against it, suede trench coat flapping with the speed you carried as you dash through each aisle of shipping containers. Sharon's grunts echoed in your ear, adrenaline coursing through your veins as you started for the blonde. She slams into a container, her metal rod clanging to the ground.

"You know," You chime loudly, capturing the bounty's attention, his grip loosening on Sharon's shoulders as he glances at you, twirling babochka in your grasp. "Hitting women is a sign of a man's weakness. I'm just sayin'," You shrug, backtracking your footsteps, taking note of the bounty pushing off Sharon to head for you.

Sharon stumbles to the ground with a huff, palms landing flat on the damp concrete as her knees buckle to the ground. She spits beside her, saliva mixed with the bright hues of blood, the bounty's gun cocking making its way to her ears. She reaches for the rod once again, your figure fending off the bounty, but he was bigger, taller.

Before the bounty could take a shot, your side open for fire, Sharon grips the rod, clambering to her feet, and she swings it over his head, sending him to the ground with a thump. "Thanks," You breathe out, bending down to retrieve the gun from the ground. He was still alive, chest rising and falling.

"Woah," Sharon's eyes meet yours, shifting between the gun in your grasp and the bounty lying on the ground, out cold as you aim the muzzle towards him. "You're not gonna kill him, are you?"

"What?" You jeer, shooting her an offended but confused look as you lower the gun. "Are you...You're seriously gonna give me a lecture after you roundhoused like two bounties before I came out here?" You note, frown etched deeper from her assumption. "Not to mention, you did impale a dude with that rod of yours. So, don't stand there and talk to me like you're some kind of a saint, Sharon."

"Fine, fine," She snorts, rolling her eyes at you. "Forget I said anything." "Thank you," You nod your head in gratitude, aiming the muzzle at the bounty once again. "Besides," You push back the front slide, index on the trigger, "I was aiming for the..." You don't finish your sentence, pulling the trigger, shooting the bounty in both calves. "That outta keep him down, here," You carefully hand the gun to Sharon, the muzzle still smoking, hot to the touch. "I don't need it, I've got babochka."

"Babochka?" She asks, taking the grip from your grasp, a soft frown etching between her brows.

You hold up your blade, wiping the residue of blood on your sleeve. "It means butterfly," You inform her, tossing it up and flipping it so that the handle was behind your ear. "Come on, I've got a feeling that wasn't the last one."

Sharon tosses the rod to the ground, pointing the gun straight ahead as she follows after you, eyes darting every which way. "Y/N!" She shouts suddenly. You hadn't even noticed that you walked further than away from her or that another bounty was headed for you.

You take a hard left, hiding behind a container whilst keeping your blade at the ready, back flush against the steel. Your heart pounds in your ears, eyes fluttering shut to focus on the sound of the bounty who had gotten closer. Before you had a chance to stab the bounty, two gunshots rang in your ears along with the thud of a lifeless body, hitting the ground. You lower your blade, taking a deep breath before peaking your head out from around the corner.

"Don't say it," Sharon grunts, lowering the gun as she saunters closer. "Don't even say it."

You step out, slipping your blade back into its holster. "I wasn't," You simper, holding your hands up in defense, brushing past her to lead the way to the container. "Hypocrite," You whisper under your breath, causing Sharon to crack a smile as she tucks the gun into the waistline of her slacks.

You lead her down a few aisles, taking a sharp turn, halting in front of container four-two-six-nine. "Ladies first," You joke, holding the door open for the blonde, her mouth pulling into a thin line, head shaking softly.

"Yup," She mumbles, stepping through into the dark container. "I hadn't missed that attitude."

"Oh, come on, Carter," You marvel, letting the door shut behind you as you walk in, the click of your flashlight, and it flickers on. "You totally missed me."

Sharon stays quiet, letting you take the lead up the enclosed stairs since she had a thing for tight spaces. She wouldn't go as far as to say that it was a phobia. It just made her uncomfortable, so you took one for the team—even if you had a thing with small spaces as well—and went first.

"Guys!" You call out, eyes finding Sam first, "We're seriously out of time here!"

Just then, Zemo picks up a gun, aiming the muzzle at Nagel before taking a shot, sending him to the ground with a thump. Sam reacts quickly, shoving Zemo into the gate behind you as Sharon kicks the weapon from his hand, teeth gritted at the sight. "What did you do?" She whispers.

"We should-"

You hit the steel plates, the high-pitched ringing drowning out the blaring alarm that set off in the container. Red flashed through, smoke clouding your lungs as you groan, your eyes shut tightly as you pick up up the soft groans from beside you. A pulling sensation shot up your thigh, burning like a wildfire. You wince, exploding through like a pure whiteness, rendering you dizzy. It was lucky that you were already on the ground or you would've passed out.

"Anybody seen Zemo?" Sam coughs, rolling over on his belly to push himself up with his palms.

You hadn't opened your eyes, betting yourself money that your sutures had opened up from the impact—you hoped that you were wrong. Bucky wastes no time in crawling over to you, his arm snaking around your back to help you sit up. "Are you okay? Can you stand?" He grunts, holding back a cough from inhaling some soot. Your eyes flicker open, finding the solace in Bucky's voice, his arm tightening around your back as you met his eyes.

"My thigh," You croak, seeing the recognition flash behind his baby blues. He had asked you about it before you chose to come to the shipyard, but you reassured him that it was fine and healed—it was not.

His eyes shift down, noticing the crimson shade that had started to soak into your pants. Bucky kisses his teeth, looking around for anything that could stop the bleeding, despite the container about to collapse, he couldn't have you bleed out. Bucky acts fast, ripping the scarf from Nagel's neck to wrap around your thigh, ignoring your disgusted protests. "Is that too tight?"

You shake your head, finding the pressure relieved some of the throbbings. Bucky takes your hands in his, deciding that he would scold you later, he helps you to your feet and makes you wrap your arm around his neck. "Let's go!"

"Hold on," He insists, his vibranium arm coming around to grip the side of your waist, holding your side flush against his. If you weren't in so much pain right now, the proximity would have you rolling. You nod, gripping his shoulder as he leads the four of you out of the container.

You hiss sharply, teeth clamping harshly on your bottom lip as you grip onto the net behind you, fingernails digging sharply into your palm. "Easy!" You exclaim, almost slapping Bucky's hand as he patched up your sutures. They hadn't reopened but, blood was definitely seeping out.

"You told me that you were fine to go on," He exhales, ripping the medical tape with his teeth, placing the tacky side flush against the gauze and your skin. His eyes flicker up to your own, clouded with an emotion you couldn't quite put your finger on. But, you knew that he was worried. "You lied to me."

"Bucky," You groan, sitting up from your laying down position. "I didn't lie," You begin, ignoring the cocked eyebrow he had given you. "Not technically," You add, cracking a weak smile to hopefully break the tension. But, Bucky didn't find it funny—Not one bit.

"Look, I know you don't give a fuck about getting hurt, stabbed, punched, or potentially shot," Bucky spits, making your eyes grow wide at the flipped switch of his emotions. "But I do, okay? I give a fuck about you so yeah," He sighs, eyes zeroing in on the tape in his grasp. "Just...don't lie to me next time, okay?" His eyes drag up to your face, searching your own for confirmation.

You take his hand, caressing the top of his knuckles with your thumb while you stare into his baby blues as if nothing else mattered like Sam or Zemo weren't in this plane with you and Bucky. "I can't promise you that I won't get potentially shot or stabbed but," You mumble, your eyes flickering down to your hands. " I do promise not to keep it from either you...for the time being."

"I'm being serious, sweetheart. " Bucky murmurs, keeping his voice down so Sam or Zemo wouldn't hear, not that Sam could, he was busy getting info on Donya Madani. "I don't want you getting hurt."

You rolled your eyes, feeling butterflies emerge in your tummy as you let go of his hand, laying back down to ease the discomfort of your thigh. "If you say it enough times, I might actually believe you."

Bucky purses his lips, standing from his kneeling position whilst keeping his eyes locked on you. He didn't know what to say to that, part of him felt like he deserved it. As if you were just responding to everything that went down between the two of you. With a shake of his head, he grips the tape and walks away.

[savethelastdan]

For the lyrics and ship: (SessKagu) "I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish, I'll be your fantasy. I'll be your hope, I'll be your love, be everything that you need. I love you more with every breath, truly madly deeply do I will be strong, I will be faithful 'cause I'm counting on a new beginning. A reason for living. A deeper meaning." This is from Truly Madly Deeply of Savage Garden

She’s all-consuming. 

It’s not simply that Sesshomaru senses her with him wherever he goes in the waking world (she’s the breeze circling him in the early mornings, the strong wind behind his attacks, and once a hell-born storm that lays ruin to a particularly nasty opponent’s lands).

His dreams, too, burst at the seams with memory (her fan cutting through a sea of bodies, dark hair streaming through the sky as her body threads itself back together, a resigned smile in a bed of bloody flowers) and fantasy (a careless laugh, feet settling in his lap, her teeth sinking into the stretch of muscle between his neck and shoulder). 

Sesshomaru knows he is not foolish. 

She’s dead, Tenseiga could do nothing, she said it was enough.

He, is, however, remarkably stubborn.

Death is not always simple. Her spirit remains, though her body does not. Others have done what I seek to do. 

And, if he cannot exorcise the ghost of her, then he may very well go crazy. 

--

His mother tilts her head, lips pursed. “I guess it would be pointless to tell you to be careful.” 

His eyes crack open, and the image of her smirking face melts away. 

Jaken tosses another scroll into the pile, huffing. “What a waste of time...” 

As the morning sky explodes into colors, the wind wreathes her scent around him. 

“I asked Lady Kaede about it, Lord Sesshomaru,” Rin says, eyes searching his face curiously. “She said only very stupid priestesses try and resurrect people.”

What would you do with me, even if you figured it out? Kagura taunts, but because this is a dream her hands are already combing through his hair. 

--

A body of clay is a bad idea. Even Jaken knows better than to suggest it. 

A human body is slightly more acceptable, if still weak. But if it works, then Kagura would lose her mind with fury. 

A demon body is his best option, in such a situation where all options are completely out of the realm of reasonable thinking.  

“I wish I could see her again,” Kohaku says sadly, voice slurring from exhaustion. “To thank her for saving me.” 

Sesshomaru bites down hard on his tongue and says nothing. 

--

Somehow, she beats him to it. 

He wakes, and the smirk before his eyes doesn’t fade. 

“Yo.” Kagura points over her shoulder towards Jaken’s limp form. “He’s not dead, unfortunately. Just fainted.”

He stares, uncomfortable with how hard his heart thuds with hope. Kagura’s gaze darts around nervously, before settling on his face again. Her fingers twitch, as she holds back the urge to touch. 

“I got bored waiting. How about you?” 

--

“What is the price of this,” he mumbles against her bare shoulder. Kagura  pushes back against him with a sharp sigh. The rushing of the waterfall nearby is deafened by the echo of her pulse in his ears. 

“I’m not allowed to say.” Her voice flattens. “Not as high as I thought it would be, though.” 

Sesshomaru locks his arms tighter around her. He cannot reassure her the way another might (you did well to keep strong) nor ask the many questions on the tip of his tongue (how did you keep faith in me for so long). He cannot do anything, except be in awe that she is here. 

Kagura twists in his arms, so that they’re face to face. Fingertips find the curve of his cheek. “I like this beginning much better for us.” 

“The beginning doesn’t matter. So long as it does not end in the same manner as last time--”

She cuts him off with a barking laugh. And gods, it’s so much better to have her voice, her flesh, her warmth, beside him instead of just a simple memory. 

“Anyway, I’m curious too.” Her eyes are so lively, they practically burn. “Tell me just why you wanted me back so badly. I’ve considered every possible reason, and I’m dying to know which one is right.” 

If she could never reference herself and dying in the same sentence again, he would be content. 

Her lips press against his ear. “Is it simply wishful thinking, or did the grim, heartless Lord Sesshomaru actually feel--” 

The words (guilt, yearning, love) never make it into the space between them. Though Kagura admits later, when her presence of mind has returned, that their moment was hardly wasted. 

-

send me song lyrics in the ask box + a ship and I’ll use them to write a short one-shot

[literary-spirit]

"I'm sorry we couldn't offer you little more comfort while residing with us." Genuineness threaded itself through Torvi words as she watched while Bonnie settled herself behind Hali underneath the furs of unknown heritage.

A gratitude inspired smile made a conquest of Bonnie's lips. "No need for apologies, Torvi. Fact is, I'm grateful that you've allowed me somewhere safe to lay my head. Especially with everything being so new and unfamiliar."

Truth be sold rather than told, Bonnie didn't understand one damn thing about her predicament. One moment she lay bleeding out in her fiancé's arms in 21st century New Orleans, and the next she lay sprawled on Bjorn's ship during the freaking Viking Era. After some thought she'd begun to believe herself to be on the other side she'd created for Enzo, but there was a few sizable holes in that working theory. One, Enzo didn't hail from the ninth century so why would she tailor the world he'd spend his afterlife in after it? Two, she'd had the displeasure of being dead stranded on the other side a time or two and neither time did the imitation of life after death explode with a passion that could only be rivaled by reality.

No, Bjorn, Ivar, and Kattegat was real. It was all real! But on everything and everyone she loved she couldn't understand why. What did her giving up her mortality to become the immortal witch and finally embrace the prophecy have to do with this particular place in time?

"Bonsie?" The dulcet cadence of Guthrum's voice snatched her away from her thoughts. "Can you tell us a saga about your land?"

He and Hali stared up at her. The gleam of excitement tinkled bright in both of their eyes. She faked a sigh and played at reluctance with a roll of the eyes, all the while a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth for freedom. "Are you sure? Because you and Hali look really tired," she began tickling Hali who squealed and squirmed to get away, "And I don't wanna start one of my dull stories only to bore you both to sleep."

"Please!" They both squeaked in unison. "You have our vow we won't slumber before the end of your tale. Right Hali?" The blonde cherub face child with eyes just like his father nodded.

"Alright, but the vow I want from you is, that if slumber comes for you or Hali while I'm telling you the story you won't fight it," she said, her gaze moving from one boy to the other. "That's the only way I'm going to speak of this saga. I won't waste words on tired ears."

The boys stared at each other for a moment, before Guthrum looked back at her, "If our slumber takes us before the conclusion, will you continue when we rise?"

"Maybe not when we rise. You know, because we'll have to break our fast and I'm sure there'll be chores needing to be done-"

"There will definitely be chores needing to be done," Torvi confirmed as she watched from the bed.

Bonnie shrugged, tapping her chin while staring up at the ceiling of the keep. Her eyes flared as if the proverbial light bulb had erupted into a thousand ideas, "I know! If you fall asleep before the saga is finished, then I'll continue it tomorrow before we go to bed."

Guthrum looked to Hali, who nodded his head, "You have our vow, Bonsie."

"Okay," she held up her pinky. They stared at her finger for a moment then gawked at her as if she'd open a third eye on her forehead, "Well if you're giving me your vow boys, I'ma need a pinky swear to consummate your sworn oath."

"How do you perform such a ritual?" Guthrum asked, cuddling in closer.

"Hold up your little finger just like this." She wiggled her pinky. Once Guthrum and Hali raised their fingers, she entwined both of her pinkies with theirs, tugged and pulled away. "And just like that we have consummated our oath with a pinky swear."

"So, what of the saga?" Guthrum questioned.

"It's a story that takes place in a land where my ancestors once thrived. A continent called Africa," she began, "There a wise lion king was blessed with a cub who too would one day be king of everything the light touched in that land."

For the next thirty minutes or so Bonnie retold the story of the Lion King. By the time she reached the part about Scar throwing Mufasa off the cliff into the surge of stampeding antelope she noticed the boys had fallen asleep. Lowering her voice, she allowed her words to trail off, to avoid awakening the kids.

"Ack! Why'd you stop?!" Bjorn snapped. "Did Mufasa find a way to save himself so that he could exact revenge over his treacherous brother?"

"And what of poor Simba?" Torvi grilled, "What will become of him now?"

Bonnie's brows collided. She hadn't realized that they had even gave her a benefit of an ear let alone hung on to every word of the story. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you guys were paying attention."

"Why wouldn't we attend you, Bonnie?" Bjorn shot her one more unit before settling back on the bed to stare at the ceiling. "Are we not sharing the same space?"

"Bjorn," Torvi lightly scolded, cuddling down next to him.

"It's okay, Torvi," she said, rolling away to face the wall, "Bjorn's right. I'm wrong for not considering you both may wanna hear the ending of the story, but even if I wanted to finish it my sacred oath with the boys wouldn't allow me to continue until next eve. So, have a good night's rest and I'll see you both in the morning."

Bonnie allowed her eyes to close and not much later she dosed until squeaks, moans, and grunts ripped her from the verge of a deep sleep. Confused about why the hell she was on the floor instead of in Klaus' Californian King, her eyes darted around and then finally collided with a folded up Torvi getting piled drove by Bjorn.

When Torvi noticed her watching, she blushed and attempted to stifle another moan, "Apologies, Bonnie. We didn't mean to wake you with our coupling."

"It's fine," she said, not knowing what the hell else to say. It's not like she could go in about them banging one out in their own keep. Bjorn's lava hot blues bore into her, while he began to grind slow circles into Torvi. Bonnie attempted to clear her throat, but only managed a super dehydrated cough, "P-please c-continue—I-I mean if that's what you both wanna do. Not that I'm gonna keep watching or anything."

"Would you like to join us?" Torvi offered between gasps and moans. "Bjorn's vigor is insatiable. He would have no issues pleasuring you as well."

"T-That's not necessary!" Bonnie flopped back over on her side to face away from them, "You two enjoy, I'm good." She squeezed her eyes closed and tried to ignore the snickers coming from the bed as she willed herself to go back to sleep.

****

After daggmal what Bjorn called breakfast, Sigurd offered to be her guide while she explored the forest. They spent almost half the day trekking through the woods gathering recipes she would need for hygienic purposes and basic spells. For the first half of their outing, Sigurd merely helped and watched her without saying anything. When she'd had enough of him side-eying the hell out of her she spun on him without warning and he almost ran her down.

"What's wrong with you? Why do you keep watching me like I'm gonna turn you into horse shit or something?" She snapped.

His eyes flared, and he took a step back. "Can you?"

"Sigurd!" Bonnie stared at him for a moment like he'd left his mind back at Kattegat, before whirling around to continue her descend down to the cove. "Why did you come if you're so scared of me?" She tossed over her shoulder.

"Because I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and I was hoping to plow you," he replied, following behind her.

"Men," she mumbled to herself. Then she raised her voice loud enough for him to hear. "So, I guess Ivar's telling anyone who will listen I'm a witch, huh?"

"Ivar?" He questioned as if he didn't know how one thing had to do with the other. "No, what's he to do with anything? It's Margrethe."

Bonnie stopped once more to turn and look up at him. "Margrethe? You mean the poor servant girl you all pass around like a waste bucket?"

"We don't pass her around and she says when you appeared out of air the gods let their displeasure be known by sending a storm to upset the sea," he walked closer, plucked the basket from her hands, intertwined their arms and guided her towards the cove. "She also said that the storm only went away when she mentioned throwing you over."

"You do understand Margrethe is madder than a bag of cats tossed in a barrel of water, right? Anything that comes out of her mouth is nothing more than rantings of the certifiable," she said, filing Margrethe away for a later day's problem.

Sigurd laughed. "Your turn of phrases are cutting. I've noticed that you wield your words the way Hvitserk swings an ax."

"Runs in the family," she said, distracted by the splashing she heard coming from the cove. "Shh," she stopped, halting Sigurd along with her, "someone's down there."

Stunned disbelief flared his eyes and dropped his jaw, "Really? Well, we should go-,"

"Yeah," her head bobbed in utter agreement, more than ready to turn around, "we should."

"And cut down the trespassers!" He finished.

"Wait, what?"

Without even a notion of a warning, he scooped her up, tossed her over his shoulder, and ran down the rest of the way to the cove. Once they cleared the woods and stepped into the enclosure of the inlet, he strode into the water with her. She caught an upside-down glimpse of Ivar sitting on the bank, while Ubbe and Hvitserk chased each other around in the water with long skinny sticks.

"Brother, what took you so long?" Hvitserk snickered as he bent sideways to stare her in the face.

Sigurd smacked her on the bottom. "This one wanted to pick every smelly flower in the forest."

"Sigurd, take me back on dry land," she said, pounding him in the middle of his back with her fists, "So help me, if you fuck around and drop me in this water and my hair gets wet, it's gonna be hell to tell the captain. And just in case you haven't figured it out I'm the motherfucking captain!"

"What's she going on about?" Ivar called from the bank.

Sigurd laughed, "She wants to swim."

Then he tossed her into the biting chill of the water. She emerged sputtering water and spitting mad. Their laughter only served to piss her off more. Hatemakers shot from her eyes like hollow points leaving the barrel of a glock. When she finally had Sigurd locked and loaded in her sights, she treaded water like she had an engine shoved up her crack and Bobby Boucher'ed his ass so hard he hurtled through the air. He smacked the water harder than Angela did Marcus, and he went under. Now it was her turn to laugh and do the fool she did. Ubbe and Hvitserk gawked at her as if she'd sprouted wings and a tail.

Sigurd clawed his way back to the surface gasping and coughing. "Who in the name of Odin taught you how to swim, Thor?"

The sound of laughter and clapping floated from the bank. Bonnie turned to see Ivar's incandescent methane orbs flashing hella bright. Yet somehow the brilliance of his smile rivaled even the bewitching dazzle of his eyes. He'd baited and hooked her without even casting the lure. Now the unexplainable pull between them would reel her in. Pushing the mass of dripping curls from her face, she began to walk toward the shore.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hvitserk whispered next to her ear, before scooping her off her feet, "You've a lesson to learn."

"Oh, Hvitserk, you just better bring it!" She yelled as she bucked and squirmed in his grasp, "That goes for your sisters too."

With that said he dunked her in the water, when she reemerged Ubbe had a hold of her, "Many apologies, my lady. You were saying?" He questioned, regarding her with eyes the same shade as a cloudless sky.

She gave him a closed lip smile, and then slapped her cheeks, allowing all of the water in her mouth to spray him in the face. When he released her, she dove under the surface, grabbed him by the ankles and snatched him off his feet, literally. Then she went after Hvitserk next. Anticipating an attack, he and Sigurd took on a defense stance. So, they planned to make this a joint effort. She gave herself a mental nod, noted. Tired of playing around, she hiked her skirts up just beneath the curve of her ass and knotted it high on her hip. Sigurd and Hvitserk exchanged a smirk. Not wasting a second she struck. First, she climbed, and then wrapped herself around Sigurd. In a maneuver reminiscent of the Black Widow, she used his body weight and gravity against him. Once more he soared through the air.

She turned to Hvitserk and he gave her the smile which let her know he thirst for blood and the rush. Yep, she'd saved the most savage for last. Leaping on him, she wrapped her legs around his waist. He automatically grabbed a fist full of ass. Sexual lust overpowered his blood lust. Big mistake. She snapped backwards in a back bend, the memento snatched him off his feet and he went free falling face first into some rather high-quality H2O.

While the brothers attempted to figure out which step led to their downfall, Bonnie left the water to find Bjorn standing on the bank. His look of indifference remained true to the inner workings of his mind.

"You move well," he said as he reached down to place one hand on a bare hip and the other on the knot that secured her skirt. In a swift tug he released the drenched material. "I've never seen anyone fight that way or toss about men twice their size."

A memory of Bjorn giving Torvi the business end of some serious wood flashed at the forefront of Bonnie's mind. Unable to maintain eye contact, she dropped her gaze to the ground, "It's nothing. We were just messing around; I'd hoped to learn how to manage one of their sticks." Ivar snickered and that's when she realized how it sounded. "You know...for fishing." She added to be Visine clear.

"If you're to learn to manage anyone's stick, it'll be mine," Bjorn stepped closer and crowded her personal space.

The heat which came off of him reminded her of the predicament she now found herself. She was drenched and it had to be every bit of fifty-eight degrees out and dropping. The boys came trudging out the water behind her.

Ubbe walked up on her until the hard press of his chest collided with her back. One of his hands moved to grip her neck, while the other rose to lay possessively across her belly. He lowered his mouth next to her ear, "The gods were with you this day, Valkyrie. Yet, we'll see what the morrow brings." He then released her and moved around her to sit next to Ivar.

"You think yourself clever with that trick in the water, do you?" Sigurd asked, while tugging one of her curls as he passed. "Well, I know a few tricks too and mine are sure to put you on your back as well." With his gaze still locked on her, he dropped down on the other side of Ubbe.

Hvitserk spun her around to face him. "One detail," he snatched her skirts up around her hips and lifted her. Her legs wrapped around his waist. A sliver of space remaining between them provoked him to tug her closer until her naked sex pressed firmly against his bare lower abdomen muscles. On contact, the sinewy tissue flexed against her clit and try as she might, she couldn't stop the groan that burst from her lips. His eyes rolled closed, and gasps of air rushed from his mouth as he rested his forehead on hers. "I had to be certain." After a moment he allowed her body to slip from his.

"Of what?" She questioned, slightly swaying as she shifted her skirts back in place.

"I was home," he said, before stealing a kiss and darting away.

Something a breath away from recognition flared within her. She pressed to fingers to her lips to help preserve the feel and weight of Hvitserk's mouth on hers. Where the hell did she know his kiss?

Bjorn shot his younger siblings hell bred units. "Come, Bonnie. It's almost time for second meal and Queen Aslaug would like for us to attend her in the great hall...again." She didn't miss the annoyance which saturated his again.

"Alright, let me just grab my basket," she strode to pick up the wicker carrier and the world turned upside down.

Then it overturned and became consumed by Ivar's sculpted to perfection features. When she'd sacrificed her better judgement and walked too closed to him, he'd snatched her off her feet by an ankle. Once down on his turf, he'd flipped her over and yanked her to him like a virgin slated for sacrifice. Now he loomed over her larger than life. She'd played herself by forgetting he was the one to watch. The most dangerous of them all.

"I can see in your eyes you know your error is grave," he spoke to her in that soft accented tone that all ways fucked over her senses. "Next time you will not dismiss me so effortlessly because you believe me to be at a disadvantage, hmm?"

The sheer beauty of him outshined the ever-radiant torch she still carried for Niklaus. And Ivar the Boneless was right there! Right there in front of her! If ever there was a pass to be given for one indiscretion in a relationship, surely this was the time. Ignoring all the legitimate reasons as to why she shouldn't, she reached up and ran the pad of her index finger over one smooth brow. The perfectly arched hair felt silky to the touch.

Stunned, he stared down at her, confusion bunching those very brows while slightly parting those luscious lips. Her gaze flicked to the bottom one. It drew her thumb like a super magnet attracted to a pile of scrap metal. First contact almost made her swallow her tongue. Nothing could've prepared her for such fleshy softness. You'd think his lips had never known a day without Carmex. Damn, she had to know what it felt like to have his mouth on hers! Cupping her other hand around the nape of his neck, she used the hold to guide his lips towards hers even as she arched upwards to meet him halfway.

"Ivar, we have spoken much on you remaining free of mischief," Bjorn said, yanking Ivar off of her and plopping him back down on the plot of grass next to Ubbe.

Bonnie climbed to her feet, dusting herself off as she went. For a moment, their she'd almost pulled a damn Elena. Acting first and thinking never. Difference was she didn't have a scrappy side-chick running to have her back when she wrote a check her ass wasn't equipped to cash out. No! She needed to stay focused and figure out why the hell an immortal witch spell brought her all the way back to the Viking era. And it wasn't even the real Viking era. She was trapped in a television series loosely tailored after a raider who lived over a thousand years ago.

"Thanks for helping me today, Sigurd," She said, while allowing Bjorn to take her hand. "It would've taken me longer to locate the things I needed without you.

"You're welcome to my help whenever you have need of it," He said, grinning up at her.

Bonnie nodded then looked to the other brothers. "Ubbe, Hvitserk...Ivar," she held Ivar's gaze a moment longer than called for, before continuing, "thank you for being superb stress relievers." She wound her shoulders in counterclockwise circles as she cocked her head from one side to the other until she heard the pop. "Didn't realize how backed up I was until you guys worked me out a little."

"Then you should prepare yourself," Ubbe said, giving her a sideways glance, "for stress will no longer be a worry of yours." His bottomless cobalt glare, glanced down the length of her body before returning back to her face. Hvitserk and Sigurd snorted.

She held his gaze until Bjorn guided her from the enclosure of the cove back into the woods. Once out of his and Ivar's soul disturbing stare, she exhaled. For the next several minutes, she and Bjorn walked back to Kattegat in silence. After fiddling with the handle of the basket, attempting to work up the nerve to find something to say, Bjorn spoke first.

"I spoke with Floki today and he told me the fleet I commissioned won't be ready to sail until next Spring," he said, bending to pick up a stick from the path, "which is just as well, since Torvi is carrying again. I've already sent a messenger to King Harald."

"Wait," she stopped mid-step, "Torvi's pregnant?"

He walked a little further before he realized she'd halted. Once he did, he turned back to face her, his expression unreadable as ever. "Yes."

"C-congratulations, Asa's gonna be beautiful," she said, without thinking. Her mind to set on the fact she was adrift somewhere between season 4 part 1 and 2. How the hell would she navigate over the course of the year without knowing what happens from one moment to the next?

Bjorn cradled her face in his hands. "Are you saying this babe will be a girl?"

Damn! Well, the cat has left the bag. She nodded and a brilliant smile that could put the sun out of business blossomed on his face. His joy even provoked the corners of her mouth to travel north. "I'm very much proud to have boys, but after what happened to my first child...Siggy, it is my belief that by blessing me with a girl this time, the gods have shown me favor."

The blend of his happiness and vulnerability disarmed her defenses. She leapt into his arms, hugging him tight to her. The best her lack of height would allow anyway. All she wanted was to give him the comfort and support he'd shown her since her world went bat-shit. Bjorn, however, must've misread into things, because he had her pinned to the nearest tree attempting to raise her skirts.

He pressed kisses into the side of her neck as he worked to hike up her skirts and wrap her legs around him at the same time. "My man stand has nigh burst awaiting consent to plow you." He grind an oversized bulge into her bare center, and she squealed, not sure whether it was in delight or protest.

"Bjorn, I'm so sorry," she gritted through clenched teeth. Not trusting what would come flying out of her mouth if she opened it fully. "I didn't mean to lead you on. I'm a hugger." She babbled. "I only meant to offer you a hug of friendship."

He stilled and leaned away to peer down at her with a scrunched red face. "What?" Backing away, he let her feet drop to the ground. "Who in the name of the All-Father offers passionate embraces as a form of friendship?"

"Look, Bjorn," she lifted her chin, ready to no means no, his ass. "I'm sorry if you misread things, but you're married-,"

"Misread?!" His eyes nearly leapt from their sockets as he snorted his disbelief. "And what of all the lusty ways I notice you watching me when you think I don't see?"

She lied with a straight face. "You're mistaken."

"I'm not mistaken," he backed her into the same tree, "just last eve your eyes pleaded with me-,"

"And that's another thing," she said, cutting him off. "Don't take this wrong, because I'm grateful for you and Torvi's kindness, but when can we start on the restoration of Rollo's house?"

He stared at her a moment without saying anything. "We can begin soon after we finish daggmal on the morrow." Her head bobbed, and then she moved to step around him. He grabbed her arm to halt her movements. "Are you leaving my keep because I chose to lay with my wife?"

Her eyes bucked and she shook her head until she thought it would fly off her neck, "Of course not. I'm leaving because you both deserve privacy and not some stranger interrupting your lives."

"You're not a stranger, Mystical One," he rested his forehead on hers, "we're bonded by the oath we swore. You and I are a part of each other until one of us enters Valhalla."

[aerascreamer]

A body without a heart

Part 1: Stranger

An Apex Fanfic

Fandom: Apex Legends

Genre: General Fic

Word count: 2854

Warning: violence and death mention.

Read here too (highly recommended because phone Tumbler screw my text format):

Wattpad

Ao3

----

New season, new competitor.

But this time, "the new guy" couldn't be more different than any of the Legend.

Revenant never interacted with anyone, leaving the dormitory early to go we don't know where.

And if he has to talk to someone, it's either with anger or despises.

The first game of the new season is gonna be full of surprises

----

Note: based on this idea that I brainstormed a lot

Part 2

----

The repetitive hits of Artur's beak on their cheek woke up Bloodhound nested in a hammock.

Above the treetops, the sky blushed in various shades of white, orange, pink and peach as the sun went up, while the fresh wind pushed the scent of the forest to the hunter's nose who detected mushrooms, moss, and flowers.

Disconcerted to find themselves in the middle of the branches and leaves, they remember in flash images to have sneak out of the dormitory late at night.

Speaking of which, the hunter could see one of the windows between two dead trees.

"Is Revenant behind it, staring in my direction?" They thought, gently petting the crow, listening to him singing along the other birds.

Since the robot joined the Apex Games, an oppressive atmosphere enveloped the place, leaving the hunter in constant disturb.

It prevented them from sleeping on their two ears so they decided to guard the corridors, sometimes all night and at the cost of poor reactivity the following day.

But with the new season right around the corner, they needed as much rest as possible...

Fortunately, they could count on Wraith's sixth sense or Crypto's surveillance drone to keep an eye on everyone.

"Caw?"

"Yes, you'll have holly berries later. Also, you need to do more exercises or you're gonna get fat."

"CAW!!"

****

The growls coming from the spaceship's motor echoed in all the rooms of the vehicle.

Tension ruled over the Legends' soul, as they approached the arena World's Edge.

With Lifeline's help, Bloodhound clipped their jetpack on their back right before Octane interrupted them.

"Sure you haven't seen my protection glasses?"

"No Octane, it's the third time you asked me."Bloodhound replied.

"Wait you lost them again?"

Lifeline raised one of her eyebrows with a judging glare.

"I... Guess?"

Both looked at the roof of the dropship in exasperation as the daredevil ran back to his room turned upside down.

"Come on I need them now! We're dropping in one minute!!" He exclaimed while stamping on his feet.

"You know what, take my spare ones and leave me alone." The hunter offered as they headed to their quarter.

They quickly grabbed the glasses in their wardrobe and tossed them at the young man.

"Nice! Thank you compadre!"

"Warning, drop zone ahead!" The IA lady announced.

Time has come... the new season has begun.

The new competitors started at the screens hanging in the middle of the ship, hoping to be matched with a veteran fighter like Bangalore or a trustworthy support like Lifeline.

Some faces lightened, others bit their lips.

Bloodhound headed to the descendant platforms, soon joined by Pathfinder.

"Hi, Bloodhound! I'm glad to have you on my team this time." The MRVN greeted, rising his hand.

"Me too felagi."

Although his personality showed friendliness, Pathfinder enjoyed fighting in the arena and his precise shots made him an opponent to never underestimate.

The frozen wind whirled around the Legends as the platforms pierced through the clouds.

"The hunt begins. May the gods bless you."

Out of nowhere, a scarlet figure landed with a loud bang between the two Legends.

It stretched its long smooth arms and looked at the MRVN.

"Revenant! Ready for your first match? I'm sure you-"

"Save me your breath, I work in silence." The newcomer reprimanded with a sharp tone.

He turned his head briskly to the hunter and stared at them with intensity, as he did with everyone.

Although his metal face didn't express any emotions, Bloodhound felt a deep rage and feeling of envy boiling underneath.

Revenant took the time to discover the arena before nosing-down, leaving a sad-screened Pathfinder behind.

The hunter tapped on his shoulder with compassion before the two jumped right into the red silhouette's diving trail.

The shadow of the Harvester projected its darkness on a totally devastated Capitol City.

Stunned by the damage caused to the landscape, Bloodhound couldn't keep their eyes away from the giant scar opened by the lava fissure scorching the earth.

Some buildings in which the hunter used to fight looked like they collapsed from the inside with fires still not extinct, saturating the air of ashes and dust.

The grey clouds filtered the light that shaded the sky in red, gold and orange, darkening the atmosphere.

Nevertheless, Revenant dived headfirst into the lost city, his tall figure blending almost perfectly into the chaos.

As Bloodhound landed next to him on top of a building standing with courage, the red shadow looked below at a supply bean in the middle of an open field.

"I'm going that way. Don't even think about following me." He warned

"Got it !" The robot went downstairs, oblivious to the bright eyes following his movements.

Watching Revenant dropping, Bloodhound asker themselves how their teammate ended up so full of animosity, especially compared to the blue robot...

Nobody knew where he came from. He popped in the Games like a ghost, without knocking at the qualifier's door.

"Do you need a Sentinel Bloodhound?, Pathfinder asked from a lower level.

"Yes, please."

*****

Revenant moved with silence and fluidity through the grass of a hill.

Following a few meters behind, Pathfinder and Bloodhound discussed the MRVN's journey to find his creator and what he learned on the way.

"And that's why he taught me how to cook Leviathan's meat, the robot concluded, walking with stiff movements.

"Interesting story. It reminds me of that hunt where I took down a Prowler."the hunter remembered.

"A Prowler?! They're really dangerous!"

"Yes but this one was pretty old and lost a paw unfortunately"

A gunshot cut the hunter in their story.

Two enemy squad exchanged fire behind the hill.

Pathfinder took his Peacekeeper and checked his grapple.

"What should we do friends?"

"Let's get closer to have a better view of the situation first"

But without consulting his teammates, Revenant darted in the direction of the fight.

"Wait!" the blue robot turned his to the hunter.

"Follow him." He grappled away.

Bloodhound ran as fast as they could, reached the top of the hill and observed the battlefield through their sniper scope.

Quick and stealthy, Pathfinder already knocked two members from one of the squads behind a large boulder and finished the last opponent with a punch, sparing any unnecessary injuries.

Close to a small house, Revenant fought each member of the second squad at the same time.

Ignoring the bullets hitting his chest like unpleasant mosquitoes, he grabbed a contestant's head, slammed it into a wall, rushed to catch his frightened teammate in order to cut her throat before punching the last member to the ground.

He fought and killed the targets with professional precision, trained... or even created for it without a doubt.

Moving naturally in the battlefield with ease, he glanced at each defeated enemies with an air of superiority, as if they stepped too far into his territory...

A new apex predator has taken the lead in his first try.

A leaf cracked under someone's step.

A fatal mistake.

Bloodhound immediately faced the new opponents coming in their back.

They shoot, hit a disoriented Mirage in the chest and rushed to cover.

Switching for their R-99, they climbed on top of a tall rock and emptied a magazine on Gibraltar who carried his fallen teammate to safety.

Taking the opportunity, Wraith sneaked behind the hunter.

They grabbed her arm, stopping the kunai before it pierced their chest.

She pushed their leg and the two fall on the grass.

Restoring their balance, Bloodhound leaped on the skirmisher and knocked her out.

"One squad... down..."

they panted

"Good job, " Pathfinder congratulated, "We're getting closer to the cham- Oh no! The Ring is closing!"

The hunter saw the giant wall of fire approaching quickly in their direction.

They hissed and started running right away, Pathfinder waiting for them.

Further away, Revenant's blood-red silhouette got smaller and smaller the further he ran.

A hundred knives pierce their lungs with sand rubbing their throat.

Their glasses clouded like in winter, while the breathing mask failed to provide enough oxygen to sustain the prolonged effort.

Bloodhound abruptly got grappled and pulled towards Pathfinder, who took them under his arm before they blacked out.

Part 2

[caffeinated-artist]

Cabal Ship:

I had a dream about Cayde-6, again.

Apparently there was a Cabal ship that we needed to infiltrate, as instructed by Zavala.

I intended to go at it alone, but Cayde insisted on tagging along. Which led to a reluctant agreement between Ikora, Zavala, and I.

We arrived to our destination, transmitting out of our ships, and immediately snuck inside.

Apparently, that didn't last long, due to the fact that Cayde tripped up a wire, which blared the alarm.

Xen warned us, that we needed to "hurry up and get out of here." before we were found.

We finished our primary mission, which included a sensor buried into their A.I., in order to bring down the ship.

As we were trying to escape, we ran into Cabal.

Gladiators, Centurions, Psions, etc. There were an entire flock of them coming at us from the bridge (which was, unfortunately, the only way out of the ship, safely).

Cayde reveals Ace and It looks like he's smiling (Now that I think about it, he was probably bursting with excitement. Lol).

The only thing I remember carrying, was a Hand Canon and It was either a Pulse Rifle or a Submachine Gun (I didn't actually use it in the dream, I just remember having it).

So, the Cabal make the first move, forcing Cayde and I to dodge their onslaught.

There were quite a few times they managed to get in a good hit or two.

Leading us to take cover somewhere, anywhere, to recover.

Cayde takes out the snipers above, while I focus my attention on Ground-level.

Suddenly, I hear a ghastly roar, to which I assumed was another spawn of Cabal headed our way.

Xen starts shouting "There's too many of them!"

But, Cayde and I take them out one by one. Diminishing their forces.

Needless to say, he was right. It seemed never ending.

Next thing I know, Cayde is tackling me to the ground, forcing me to dodge the Gladiator behind me.

He gets up, pulling me up with him, and he goes, "Alright (Guardian), the only way off this ship, is across this bridge. Let's show 'em what we got."

He darts right and I take left, dodging, sliding, releasing bullets, tossing grenades, double-jumping, needing a moment or two for recovery, etc.

Eventually, we're back-to-back and Cayde goes, "I have a plan. Follow my lead."

I'm confused af, but as soon as he yells "NOW!", I knew what the plan involved.

Honestly, toward the end here, It was starting to look like some Heroic Movie.

It's like we were dancing with eachother.

I'm surprised that we were in-sync.

The last thing I remember, is Cayde asking me If I can handle myself. Then, he ran off. And the next thing I knew, he comes swinging from some abandoned wires, shooting Cabal from the sky, before landing flat on his ass (the wire couldn't handle his weight).

[averagedoctor]

Hey, real quick, cos I'm just gonna keep coming back now, I've kinda consumed too much sugar. Could you do a fic with the reader getting a complete sugar high and ends up running about, like on the Tardis or on a planet. Like the Doctor has to follow her around, and he'd probably like it because he'd have someone acting as energetic as he always does. :) thx

It’s no problem! I honestly love getting all your asks, they’re fun to do and think about, so keep coming back my dude!!!! I’ve never written or had a sugar rush/crash before so hopefully this is an accurate representation of that!

***Note to anyone reading this: PLEASE if you have any sort of request for a fic (as long as like,, no romance or smut) I will probably love to do it!!! Don’t be afraid to submit something!!***

11th doctor x reader

Pronouns: gender neutral

Word count: 2,172 (ayy another longer one)

TWs: none

Summary: Turns out that alien foods have a lot more caffeine in them then you ever would have bargined for

Sugar rush

Great. You knew the Doctor said to cautious about what you ate on the planet you had just visited, but you didn’t think it would affect you like this. The two of you had gone back into the TARDIS, and you could feel your body already get that wired feeling. You hadn’t even eaten or drank that much, you just had some of the standard foods. Sure, you knew that there was probably going to be something up with them, but you wouldn’t have guessed that it would be the most insane sugar rush you had ever had. Knowing if you stood that it would just be all the more obvious, you opted for one of the seats by the railings, waving your hand dismissively at the Doctor when he shot you a look of concern. He began to talk about how great the planet had been and all these facts about the races you had run into, but your hearing began to buzz with static as you focused on your leg bouncing uncontrollably. You chastised your body in your head, trying to force it to stop with your thoughts. Obviously, that didn’t work. The Doctor was still talking to you and you were trying your best to follow along, but the sugar was becoming to reach a level too high to handle. It was like you could feel it seeping through your veins and saturating every part of your body, Each individual piece of you felt alive and buzzing with energy. Your leg is trying to run from you, your fingers won’t stop tapping a rhythm you don’t know against your hand, your body is shaking silently with the laughter that is not your own. You put on a strained smile when he looks at you, going around the console and looking at all the different types of charts or whatever he has up. Closing your eyes, you try and channel the energy away, not wanting him to have to deal with you like this. Too much sugar put you in a manic state, and sure it had been scientifically proven it wasn’t possible, obviously alien food blew past science standards. Plus, it was just weird, and you didn’t want the Doctor to have to worry about you dealing with sugar. As you contemplated all of this in your mind, your expression must have changed because now he’s looking quizzically at you. Oh no, you did not anticipate this happening. Now he’s walking over to you and you can see his mouth moving but no words coming out. In your hyper state, you focus in on the way the wrinkles and lines around his face interact when he talks. He doesn’t have much, but everyone’s face has some sort of creases in them. He takes one step more, and you take a deep breath, preparing to tell him what happened, but before you could blink suddenly your mouth is shooting off words from every direction. It’s bad, because even you can’t tell what you’re saying and he seems quite shocked. Your mind is starting to catch up to your mouth though, and you began to tell him about the sugar and how that’s a thing that happens and your hands are waving wildly in the air and you are SO animated. It’s a breathtaking and horrifying feeling at the same time. Finally, you pause to take a breath, and the Doctor strides up to you. He places his hands on your shoulders and tries to get you to look him in the eyes as you continue to ramble about sugar and the human body. It takes a full minute for you to slow down and to keep your eyes from darting away from him. You have to blink a couple of times for him to come into focus.

“Take a breath, alright? Please calm down.” Nodding, you suck in a deep breath and let it out but the jittery feeling remains. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing’s wrong, no, no, it’s just… sugar, It’s just sugar I don’t know it’s all kind of just there and uh uh uh….” You began to stutter, searching for the right words as he watched you closely. “Basically, lots of energy. Too much energy. I’m really hyper and it’s bad right now. I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine.” You nod to yourself and the Doctor just blinks at you before letting go. Your legs starts bouncing again and you get up out of the chair, pacing back and forth in a tight line. You need to get rid of this energy or it’s just going to eat you up. While thinking about the ways to solve this, the Doctor begins toying with buttons on the console and you don’t realize it, but he’s directed the TARDIS to move. In your mad ramblings, he hesitates before taking your arm. You stop pacing immediately, looking at him with wide eyes and going silently as he leads you outside.

To your absolute surprise and glee, he has landed on a planet that is solely wide open fields as far as you can see. You instantly bolt out of his grasp into the open expanse, letting out a squeal of happiness, before clapping a hand over your mouth and dissolving into giggles. The Doctor stands by the TARDIS doors, arms crossed, and a smile on his face. You run laps around him and the TARDIS, sometimes crisscrossing your path in squiggles and whooping the whole time. Letting out the energy this way was the best way you could have ever imagined to do it. Eventually, you got bored of running laps around him and jogged up to his lanky form.

“Doctor, follow me.” You pleaded, tugging at his sleeve with a grin. “Let’s race.”

He shook his head, looking at you with a sad smile. “Racing isn’t my thing. I’ll just watch you.”

“Come on, pleeeease?” You begged, jumping around him. “It’ll be fun I swear.”

Not giving in to his silence, you proceeded to bug him about it for the next ten minutes with the same type of energy. If he wouldn’t come willingly, maybe he would come out of annoyance. He just continued to stand in the same spot, smiling at your attempts to get him to join in. You were starting to feel wired again, and took measures to the next level. Grabbing his arm, you tugged him along with you, fast. He wasn’t expecting that and tumbled to his knees, but you just laughed and pulled him back up. At this point, he felt obligated to follow, and went with you out to about the middle of the field. Getting there, you started to pull at the edges of his jacket until he slid it off himself with a big sigh.

“Okay so, stand here.” You said, motioning to where he was standing, then running about 10 feet away. “We’ll end here!” You shouted, sliding your shoes off to mark the spot and jog back. “Got it?”‘

“Yeah.” You noticed that he kept looking longingly at his tweed jacket, which was strewn on the ground behind your starting line. Snapping him out of it, you get him to focus on the task at hand by waving a hand in front of  his face. He turns to face you and blinks, but you don’t give him time to say anything. Instead, you jump right in to getting the race done, and even if you wanted you couldn’t have focused. Your legs were itching for this and it felt like your heart was screaming to be used more.

“Okay, on 3…”

As soon as you finish the count down, he rushes ahead of you and you struggle to keep up. He’s so much faster than you thought he would be and you puff between each step. Breathless, you watched as he reached the end and turned back to you, triumphant.

“I… didn’t know… you… were so fast…” You pant out, gazing at him with admiration.

“it’s been a while.” He said, shuffling his feet in embarrassment.

“Two more times?”

“You’re on.” He said with a grin.

You and the Doctor repeat the same race two more times, and he beats you each time. You can feeling your sugar energy beginning to sap during the third race and watch with envy as he easily crossing the makeshift finish line.

“How are you so fast?” Sweat pooled on your body, and you were glad that the planet has a cooler, fall like temperature.

“I have a lot of practice.” He said with a grin and you rolled your eyes.

“All or nothing.” You said with a straight face, your body heaving as you tried to reign it back in from the last race.

“Are you sure?” He asked, looking at you with concern. He could see you were slowing down and tired, but in that moment you felt a sudden burst of energy.

“I am definitely sure.” You laughed, jogging in place next to him. “Let’s go, old man.”

“It’s on.”

You didn’t notice, but he deliberately slowed down in this race for you, knowing it would make you happy to win. Evidently, it did, and you let out a loud laugh as you crossed the finish line before him.

“At last!” You exclaimed with a grin, watching as he did a slow jog over to you. “I did it! I beat you!” Pumping your fist in the air, you danced around and grabbed him jacket. You tossed it to him as he dragged a hand through his hair that was now very messy from running back and forth. “See? That was fun, right?”

“It was fun, you’re right there.” He smiled at you as the two of you walked back to the TARDIS. You could feel the sugar crash lapping at the edges of your mind and body but shook it off. The ship was only twenty feet away, you would be just fine. You would be… just… fine… and before you knew it you were slipping to the ground in a collapsed heap. Groaning, you rubbed your head and tried to sit up. Your legs felt like lead and the Doctor was quickly looking over your slanted form.

“What happened? Are you okay?” He asked, frantically searching over your body for any outstanding harm.

“Just… a… sugar crash… I’m fine.” You said dismissively, started to get up. He immediately rushed to your aid when it was clear you couldn’t get up on your own and he slung an arm around your waist. “No, I’m fine.” You force out, and weakly push his arm off of you. Stumbling forward, your legs dragged behind you, but you forced yourself ahead. The TARDIS was so close, you couldn’t just quit now. At least, your pride didn’t want to quit, but your legs certainly did, and you went crashing to the ground. You don’t even try to get up, moaning as you lay there. The world is swimming in front of you and you can see the Doctor running towards you in a wavy pattern.

“Y/N!” He shouted, and the last thing you saw before blacking out was him peering at your face.

The Doctor was in a panic as he scanned your body. He didn’t realize that a sugar crash would induce this type of reaction. He should have guessed that much, but he didn’t. He looked back and forth between your unconscious body and the TARDIS, torn between what to do. Hesitating, he scooped you up off the ground and into his arms, bridal style, He struggled as he rushed back into the TARDIS, not used to having to carry a whole other human being as he ran. He was able to make it into the TARDIS unscathed, though, and stopped to catch his breath. You mumbled something in his arms and he froze, looking down at you.

“Y/N?” He asked softly. He got no response, but he did see your eyes open blearily for a moment before closing again. He hurried with you to your room, lagging more than he would like. He pushed your door open with ease, glad you hadn’t shut it completely earlier. Laying you down on your bed, he placed you as comfortably as he could and pulled a blanket over your body. He sat on the bed and smoothed down your hair, worrying with the strands close to your ears. You didn’t seem like you would be stirring any time soon, so he smoothed your hair one more time and stood up. Making his way to the door, he looked back once and saw you trying to form words. Walking back over, he leaned in close and could barely make out what you were saying. He shook you, and your volume rose minutely, but it was enough.

“Thank you.” You breathed in your sleep, before turning over and snuggling into your pillow. The Doctor smiled, satisfied that you were okay now, and left your room.

[vexkader]

Solis Part 3

  I gasped, shooting up from the cold floor. My fur feeling sweaty and sticky. Wiping brow I was under the silver tree. Looking up to its purple leaves. The dream or vision, whatever it was. It was on Mars, this I knew for sure. 

  Looking back in front of me, the mysterious orb was gone now. The pedestal which it sat now empty. Shaking my head, I got up to my paws. Making my way back out of the cave, taking one last glance at the foreign structure. 

  The cave remained unchanged, only this time I followed the lava flow up. The dry heat turning back into the muggy soup like air of the jungle. 

  Catching my breath, letting out a few huffs at the base of the cave. I gazed into the jungle and sky. The yellow haze of sunset, casting steam off the tree tops. The forest floor being defined with a slight mist as everything began to cool. 

  "Ah shite!" I curse myself, with night falling is the worst time to be out here. Slashers ruled this time, their beady eyes peering through darkness as if it was nothing. 

  Dashing through the underbrush, leaves whipping at my face. I tried to raise BB, but communications through the thick jungle were hazy at best. As I got nothing but a load of static from the ship. 

  "Shite.. shite shite!" I stopped for a breather, looking around the jungle. I knew my way back for now, but my paws were sore from the sharp rocks. My chest raised and fell, my pupils wide and looking for danger. 

  My paw hovered above my gun, ready to snatch it from its holster at a moments notice.  As the jungle screamed and cawed its way to life at night, I still kept an eye out for this life.

  I still caught my breath, my comms came back in. BB doing his best to make contact with me. 

  "Vex?" His monotone voice came through. "What did you find?" 

  "We'll talk about it later, I'll reach the ship first then I'll go over it. Let me get out of this damn jungle first."

  "I see you're stalled, what is it?" 

  I didn't answer him, my ears darting to the back over a noise I heard. Something rustling in the bushes behind me. 

  "Vex?"

  "I'll get back to you."

  Turning around with my revolver drawn, the polymer and metal gleaming from the tiny shards of red sun poking through. I took a steady breath, stepping forward just once. Trying to draw out whatever creature made that noise. 

  Sure enough it revealed its ugly head. Shiny black scales dawned a thin dinosaur like head, two bright, tiny, crests protruded from its snout and chin. Facing me were four beady eyes, a sickly pale yellow stared right back at me. Sharp needle fangs sent shivers down my spine, as it stepped forward with three razor sharp claws on it hands. A dotted purple strip ran from its muzzle, eyes, back, and tail against the dark black scales. All leading up to why they're called Slashers. A protrusion of bone, like a blade, came from the tip of the tail. 

  If I wasnt careful it could go right through my armor, ignoring the shielding on it! Stepping back now, I took in the size of this animal. It wasnt large by any means, adult slashers could grow as tall as a man. This one was maybe half that, but that didn't matter as single one this size was well enough equipped to kill. 

 Out of instinct I shot at the creature. A bullet ripping through the air near its feet, sending bits of dust flying up and up! It screamed and hissed, mock charging me and waving its tail. The two of us circled, my own teeth baring out of aggression and partly fear. 

  With a wiggle of its rear, it went to leap on top of me! Quickly I raised an arm and tossed it to the side, letting another shot rip as I tried to hit it! Its claws leaving their mark in my armor. 

  Landing with a grunt, it quickly got back to its feet. Hissing and snarling, saliva dripping from its fanged jaw. The Slasher was furious with me, its prey, wanting nothing more to stab me and gut me. Clamp its jaws on my throat and feast on my innards. All things considered I preferred to keep my insides, INSIDE of me. 

  Though one mistake almost gave it its wish. Paying too close attention to its claws and maw, I soon felt the sharp sting of its tail pushing itself into a weak point in my armor, my arm being set a fire as muscle was cut. Letting out a yell I pushed the muzzle of my gun forward, letting out a few desperate shots hoping one would land. 

  Bellowing and yelping, it was unclear if I hit it as it scampered off into the jungle. Even if I did, it knew I was wounded as well. Smelling the blood that seeped from my arm, sticking to my fur. Now it was my time to run, as I stuck my gun back into its holster I took off. Grabbing my arm from the pain. 

  Dashing through the dense jungle, I started to hear calls behind me. The Slasher had run back to its pack, and they were hot on my trail. Calling and hooting like something from a dinosaur movie, fear struck my heart. I couldn't fight them all, no way I could, one small one nearly took me out. If it was just a bit higher.. no, do not think like that. Just run. 

  "BB!" I called into the comms desperately, pushing away palms and branches. Knowing I was close to the ship. 

  "Your heart rate is elevated, what did you piss off now?" 

  "Slashers! Get the ship ready now!" I yell out again, the clearing in which I landed getting closer. Pain in my arm dulling my mind as blood still seeped under my armor and in the tear.

  "You brilliant genius! What made you think fighting Slashers was a good idea!"

  "Now is not the bloody time!" 

  Dashing and almost tripping into the clearing, blades of grass danced back and forth from the power of the ship. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, leaping to the deck and climbing aboard. Looking behind me, I could see then running after me. Bounding over the field, wanting revenge. Quickly I closed the hatch and watched them come for me. Smiling just a bit knowing they wouldn't feast on me tonight. 

  "Maybe next time you scaley bastards." I said surprisingly calmly, panting and huffing as I was soon reminded of the pain once more. 

  "It appears one got you." BB chimes in now, as I tilt my head and smirk. "Just a bit, didn't even feel it at first. Thing got so scared it ran off after that." 

  "Hmph, I suppose it was full-grown too."

  "Damn right!" Slinking my way back up inside the main parts of the ship. I stripped off my armor to show blood and sweat soaked clothing. Tossing everything aside to be cleaned and washed, far enough away for me to not notice the smell.

  Heading to the bathroom, I look behind the mirror for my first aid kit. There in a bright red box, with a large cross plastered on the front of it. Using my thumbs I pop the case open with a click, all kinds of bandages, cleaners, and stitching before me. Picking up an alcohol pad, I tear open the casing and toss it into the garbage beside me. 

  Sitting down on the toilet, I begin to wipe at the wound. Wincing as the pain seared through, blood being pushed aside and out of my fur. Revealing a gross gash into my arm, the blood pretty much stopping at this point waiting to be cleaned. Which I did, cleaning and removing the blood, taking my time to carefully not re-open the wound. 

  Once the red was gone and my greyish blue fur back, I want to pick up a stitch pack. My head now pulsing and my paws getting shakey. Pain staying well overdue its welcome. I sighed and tried to get a grip of myself, but this itch would not go away now as long as pain existed. 

  Giving in, I grab the stitching pack and head back into my room. The the now dark jungle seen from the window, the Slashers nowhere to be seen in the black soup. Quickly I grabbed the orange bottle off my dresser, opening it up and taking out little white pills. 

  "Vex don't you do this again."

  I winced, leaning on the dresser as my tail started to swish. "My arm hurts, I need them." 

  "You don't need them you want them." His voice rang throughout the ship, trying to get me to reconsider my actions. 

  "BB don't start this, I wont be able to sleep with my arm like this."

  "You're killing yourself."

  "I'm not!" I snap facing his outlet in my room, angrily looking at the blue holographic ball. Turning back to the desk to stare at the bottle. I knew he was right, I just couldn't stop. Not when the pain was like this. 

  Tears forming in my eyes I dump a few out into my paw, not even counting them as I downed them. The tacky feeling being stuck in my throat for a moment, swallowing for a second time to get them down.

  "Why would you do that, you should've done at least one. The recommended amount if it was for the pain."

  "I'm fine! I'll just sleep it off."

  "How long before you don't wake up Vex."

  Growling just a tad, I close back up the lid and take out the stitching patch. Placing it on my arm and yanking the string, breaking it off unintentionally as I felt the stitching inside the pad close up my arm. 

  "I told you I'll be fine."

  "You need help." BB said in a low voice, to which I brushed it off and flopped into the cold bedding. Closing my eyes and laying my face into the pillow.

  "Piss off, I'm tired of this every damn time." 

  "Fine, but don't think I wont do it again. You will break this habit."

  Ignoring him now, I closed my eyes with the room dimming around me. The pills kicking in, dulling my senses, the pain. All of it going away as the time passed, the sounds of the air rushing through the ship. BB taking off gently to find a nearby port. The jungle turning to sky as the dark took me to sleep.