#it and watch them just splat like a fly that got swatted

[zprite-x]

This guy should be a stress ball

[empxsvpernova]

It was like deja vu. Roman watches as the horde closes in around Maggie, but the fear that takes hold of him was different. He feels his blood flow through his veins like ice as a biter grabs hold of her, her screams drawing a yell of panic from him as he turns his rifle away from the undead that were stumbling toward him from the other side. “Maggie!”

If he got torn to pieces, so fucking be it. He wasn’t about to watch her get eaten alive in front of him.

He pulls the trigger, bullets spraying into the small group of the decayed and sending them collapsing onto the ground around her feet. Hands shaking he lifts the rifle higher and presses the stock against his shoulder, head tilting to press his cheek against the rifle and focus down the sight at the biter snatching at her hair and arm. He aims for the head and pops the trigger once, watching as the snarling woman's skull snaps sideways with a heavy splat of blood and brain matter that splashes onto Maggie at the proximity.

Relief floods Roman's system immediately, but it was very short-lived. They were overrun.. and he was down to one clip. He glances back behind him watching as the horde draws nearer, time seemingly slowing down as he looks back at the other horde that had blocked them from exiting the FEMA enclosure. A realization sinks in. And for whatever reason, if there should’ve been, there’s no sadness or fear behind it. He just knows with zero uncertainty.. they’re not both going to make it out of here alive. He had to stay back.. and give her a chance to run.

Roman exhales as his jaws jut tightly against his cheeks, he aims at the biters flooding through the open gate and starts mowing them down while taking it easy on the trigger pull in an attempt to conserve bullets and make his shots count. All heads, no overkill. “When I say run– you RUN darlin', you don’t look back! Ya understand me?!”

But before he can wait for what he knows is going to be a refusal from his stubborn as fuck cowgirl, the sound of tires screeching causes pause.

Mop head snapping to turn and look in the direction of it, Roman watches as a white van bursts through one of the fences layered with tattered green tarp, the chain links dragging across pavement along the sides of it. His brows furrow in confusion before they snap upward realizing they were headed right for him. He doesn’t even have time to snatch the barrel of his rifle in their direction before they swerve, just barely missing him by a few inches and slamming on brakes.

“The fuck–“ he spits, the back doors flying open and three men in swat gear jump out, their faces covered by helmets with blacked out face shields. They have rifles in clutch and suddenly he’s staring down three different AR-15 barrels all pointed at his face as they close in on him.

“We got a live one.” “Drop your weapon, now!” “Hands up!” They all start yelling at once.

Roman grips his rifle in one hand and slowly lifts it up a show of compliance, his dark gaze immediately snapping in Maggie’s direction before one of the men blocks his view and throws the stock of his weapon directly against Roman’s stomach knocking the wind out of him. He groans at the blow, his knees buckling before another one of the soldiers shoves him down, his boot pressing his chest to the pavement.

He feels the thick plastic of zipties press against his wrists, the situation he was in suddenly clicking as the plastic tightens and locks his wrists together. He bucks immediately on reflex, growling out as he’s snatched by his arm to his feet. He manages to headbutt the guy who’d knocked the wind out of him, leveraging the hold of the other soldier on him to lift his worn combats from the ground and snap them forward, sending the guy he’d headbutted flailing backwards onto the ground.

“Shit, he’s a fighter!” “Get control of him.” The other orders, stepping around into view and pointing his rifle in Roman’s face. “Stop fighting or we will kill you.. load him up.” Roman’s breaths come in heavily, glaring down the top of the rifle at the masked assailant. His dark orbs drag back over in Maggie’s direction, realizing they either hadn’t spotted her yet or they had no intention of taking her.. either was fine by him.

He wanted to yell. Tell her to get out of here and go back to the prison. To not worry about him. But before he can think what the move was, he’s being tossed roughly into the back of the white van and gets a cloth sack tugged over his head.

He hears the doors to the cab slam shut and the abrupt jolt of the van accelerating as they speed out of the FEMA camp, nearly sending him falling over.

“Where the fuck we goin' boys?” he grits out.

“Shut up.” He hears one of them snap, “One more word and I’ll shoot you.”

Roman huffs and hangs his head, his mind racing. When they’d left, most of the biters had been cleared out of the way of the gate..

Maggie had to have made it. ‘Don’t come after me, don’t come after me girl.. just go back to the prison. Fuckin' please.. let her have made it out.’

The thought suddenly floods his memory of the night before; Maggie stepping into his gravity and the little unsteady breath that had left her lungs as she looked up at him, her emerald's shifting rapidly in search. A silent question that had been easily answered without him uttering a word.

He knew it was written all over his goddamn face.. and by that point he wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore. Her hand found it’s place on his chest again and it had felt like that’s where it was meant to be. They were still grappling with the feeling, still testing the water.. and now she had slipped through his fingers like sand.

He didn’t even know for certain that she’d made it out of the FEMA camp..

No. She had to. She was alive.

A few more minutes pass, Roman staring at the inside of the cloth sack before he finally tests his luck again.

“Yall jus' snatchin' folks up now? Clearly ya ain’t gon kill me–otherwise ya woulda already done it.. so how bout you tell me where the fuck you takin' me.” He mutters out, his baratone low and even.

A short silence follows. “The Governor needs more able-bodied men. You’ve just been recruited, congratulations.” One of the men responds. A different one than the one who’d threatened him previously.

“Governor?” Roman questions. “Governor of Woodbury.” He replies. “A safe-haven. We have roughly eighty survivors who need protecting.”

Roman’s brows furrow beneath the sack before he feels a hand grip the top of it snatching it off his head. He squints slightly as his eyes readjust to the sudden brightness of the sunlight from the windows, dark orbs glancing between the men sitting around him inside the cab with their rifles settled between their knees. He glares, his expression tightening as he swallows and looks to the back windows. Watching a dust cloud kick up behind the vehicle as they barrel down a dirt road.

Even if he somehow managed to escape (he wouldn’t), he had no idea where he even was anymore or what direction the prison was in.. finding Maggie again would be next to impossible.

The sinking realization causes his expression to wither in slight as his jaws jut. “..and if I refuse?” he questions in a knowing and withdrawn tone. He swallows tightly.

“Then you die.” The man responds coldly. “..this isn’t an invitation, bud. You comply, you survive. That's it."

Roman sniffs and nods, dark orbs lingering on the back window. “Yeh.. figured as much.” He mutters.

[haberdashing]

The Nose Knows?

Best Revenge AU of Gravity Falls (superhero AU + Angie and the Gucks); Bethany makes some unexpected discoveries regarding her civilian coworker Angie.

on AO3

While few visits to the hospital were happy ones, especially for masks like Bethany for whom bodily injury was simply part of the trade, she was actually looking forward to this one.

Her coworker from her civilian job at the zoo, a nice woman named Angie, had just had a baby, and Bethany was glad to be there to support her however she could, especially since the road had been a bit of a rocky one for poor Angie lately. (Bethany was pretty sure she didn’t know the whole story, and pretty sure that she didn’t want to know the whole story either, but between a bitter divorce and getting pregnant not long after meeting her new beau, Angie deserved a minute to just breathe, to appreciate what she had now rather than what she’d lost.)

As Bethany approached Angie’s hospital room, though, her superpowered nose kicked in to make her aware of a few familiar scents along the way. She could smell Angie, of course, and what must be her newborn baby as well, but also...

Was that Bethany’s coworker she smelled there? And- and the other person in there, was that Undertow, one of the supervillains she’d fought time and time again?

Bethany hoped she’d mistaken the scents, but they just grew stronger as she hurried her pace, clearly coming from the same area where Angie herself was.

What were a superhero and a supervillain doing in Angie’s hospital room? Were they fighting? Angie was just a civilian, she didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle of this-

Bethany’s heart was racing as she opened the door to find... not the chaos she’d expected, not a fight in the making, but Angie holding her baby with a grin on her face while two men peacefully stood by her side.

“Oh, hey, Bethany. C’mon in.” Angie said, gesturing for Bethany to come closer, which she did with only a hint of hesitation. Clearly her first impression had been mistaken here...

“This here is Lute, my brother.” Bethany took a breath in through her nose as unobtrusively as she could manage to make sure she could tell who was who. Undertow. Without the mask, the resemblance between the two siblings was clear enough.

“Nice to meet ya.” Bethany extended her hand, and Undertow--Lute--shook it.

“Likewise.”

“And this is Stan, I know I’ve told you about him.” And he must be the coworker she knew, then, the guy with teleportation powers; he didn’t get out on the field often or make much in the way of small talk, but he made a damn fine secretary for the heroes. He wasn’t wearing his glasses now--was that his version of masking up, then?

“Right, yes, Stan, good to, uh, meet you too.” Another handshake, firm and strong on both sides.

“I hope you’ve told her good things about me, Ang.”

“I’ve told her the truth, Stan, for better or for worse, so that’ll hafta do. Speaking of, Stan, Lute, Bethany works with me at the zoo. I’m glad y’all are finally meeting each other.”

“Yeah, thanks for introducing me as I... meet everybody here for the first time.” They didn’t know who she was, did they? Or... Stan should, at least, since he’d see her both masked and unmasked. But had Undertow just learned her secret identity just as she had learned his?

“Uh-huh.” Stan didn’t look as out of his depths as Bethany felt right now; she couldn’t help but envy him a bit for that.

“Well, not everybody. I’ve met ya before, of course. But I know who you’re really here to meet, and little Junior is right here... uh, you feeling alright, Beth? You look a little pale.”

Bethany took a deep breath and tried to stop feeling like the world was crashing down around her. “Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry about it.” She inched in closer, getting a good look at the baby. “So. Junior, huh?”

.

Bethany was close enough to Angie that she figured dropping by her place--her current place, anyway, as she was pretty sure her and her boyfriend were looking to move out sooner rather than later--unannounced wouldn’t be a big deal. Work was stressing her out some, especially with hero duties on top of it all, and she could use a friendly face and someone who’d be willing to just listen as she aired out all her grievances. Plus, who could stay stressed for too long when getting to see someone’s precious baby boy?

A quick knock on the door, and Angie opened it soon enough, the smile on her face making it clear that Bethany had made the right call.

“Hey, Bethany! C’mon in.”

A sweet scent wafted in from the kitchen as Bethany stepped inside.

“Ooh, what are you baking?”

Bethany headed into the kitchen, where she wasn’t all that surprised to see that Stan was in there, helping with the baking. Part of Bethany’s mind wandered to Angie’s ex, Max--he might have just stood back and watched as Angie baked, seen baking as women’s work and thus beneath him, but Stan wasn’t like that. Though if he didn’t really need those glasses, he probably shouldn’t leave them on in the middle of such a messy activity...

“I was just helping Angie make cupcakes for the bake sale.”

“Good timing, too, we could use another taste-tester--here, try this and tell me if it’s too salty.”

Angie held out a cupcake, but before Bethany could reach it Angie slipped and the cupcake went flying, icing covering Bethany’s sweater before the cupcake hit the ground with a moist splat.

“Oh dear.”

“I am so sorry! You can wash up in the bathroom if you’d like--it’s just down the hall, first door on the left.”

Bethany nodded, grateful that the sweater she had on today wasn’t one of her nicer ones--she’d known that coming to a house with an infant in it came with its fair share of messes, but a rogue cupcake wasn’t one she’d anticipated!

When she tried the first door on the left, though, it was locked.

“Occupado!” said a rough, gravelly voice that seemed oddly familiar; Bethany considered trying to sniff out the source, but there were too many smells around for her to make it out, and besides, the smell coming from the bathroom right now was a lot less sweet than that of the cupcakes baking...

“Uh, who’s using your bathroom?”

“Oh, that’s Stan.” Angie said, her voice calm. “He just got back from work, he won’t be long.”

“That’s... Stan...” Bethany looked over at the man in the kitchen who she had assumed to be Stan. “Then who’s with you in the kitchen?”

“That’s Ford, Stan’s brother. He’s been visitin’.”

“Have we met?” Ford said. “You do look awfully familiar...”

The bathroom door opened, and out emerged Stan, who indeed looked startlingly similar to the man in the kitchen, albeit sans glasses--and he smelled startlingly similar, to boot. “My hands are clean now, time for that cupcake! Oh, hey Bethany, good to see ya!”

“There’s... two of ya...”

“You’ve heard of twins, right?” Stan said.

“Stan, don’t be rude!” Angie said.

“I mean, Junior gets confused, but he’s a baby...”

“Stan!” Angie fake-swatted at Stan with wooden spoon; Stan, for his part, mimed his painful and elaborate death by spoon before looking Angie’s way and grinning.

“I, uh...” Bethany struggled to get the words out as her head was spinning. “I might have misunderstood some things... care to explain while I see Junior getting confused over the twins?”

“Absolutely.” Angie said with a grin.

[obsessedwithbbandsuju]

Forever

*Dialogue Prompt #3 for @2ya2yao​‘s Super Junior Prompt Fic Challenge

Well. If someone asked him, he would insist that it wasn’t mischief. It was for science, and his girlfriend was the subject.

Pairing: Park Jungsoo/Son Taeyeon

jagi: a Korean word that can be used to refer to one’s significant other

___   

The name Leeteuk wasn’t really associated with mischief in the idol world. Leeteuk was supposed to be the responsible leader of Super Junior, the tired mother who did his very best to keep a merry gang of crazy men sufficiently under control. And in some ways, Jungsoo knew, that was who Leeteuk was. But Leeteuk could also be mischievous, and right now Jungsoo was up to some mischief.

Well. If someone asked him, he would insist that it wasn’t mischief. It was for science, and his girlfriend was the subject.

Taeyeon was notorious for being good at, well… everything. Not only musically – though certainly that too – but athletically, linguistically, academically, practically, socially – he didn’t have the time on his hands to name it all. Not once had he seen her fail, or even so much as rattled.

And Jungsoo loved how capable she was. He did. But she had to have some weakness, right? It just wasn’t plausible that a human being could be such a natural in every field. There had to be something, and he was determined to find out what it was.

~

“Come on, jagi,” he whined into the cell phone, throwing in the jagi, a word he rarely used, to let her know how desperate he was. “I have to go soon, and Shimkoong is absolutely refusing to go where I usually leave her when I’m away. I don’t know who else to count on. Please?”

“Okay, okay. You always know how to get what you want.” On the other end of the line, there was amusement in Taeyeon’s voice as she accepted his request. Jungsoo gave a mental shout of triumph. “Thanks, Taeyeon. I’ll have her over soon. I love you.”

“I love you too.” The sincerity that rang when she said those words warmed his heart, distracting him from his plotting, even for just that second.

Once she’d hung up, he scooped his dog into his arms and gotten into his manager’s car, asking him to head quickly to Taeyeon’s apartment before they arrived at the filming location. Usually they stayed together in his place, but with both of their schedules packed for most of the days of the current month, they’d decided it might be more convenient to stay apart from some time so the all the chaos didn’t clash in one apartment.

At his girlfriend’s place, Jungsoo watched Shimkoong intently as he handed her over to Taeyeon, who stroked the dog’s head and cooed. Shimkoong tended to get rather cranky in unfamiliar places, especially when he wasn’t around, and when she got cranky she could keep it up for several days at time, running around and barking and refusing to listen – which was what he was counting on. He thanked Taeyeon one more time with a kiss on the forehead, to which she laughed and swatted him away playfully. Before he left for the broadcast he was filming that day, though, she still sent him off with a kiss on the lips (since he insisted) and a “good luck”.

The filming took the better part of the day, and they paused in between only for a thirty-minute lunch break and forty-five-minute dinner break. By the time he was finished, Jungsoo was exhausted, but there was one thought that kept energy coursing through his body. He headed over to Taeyeon’s apartment, fully expecting to arrive to a relentless Shimkoong scampering around, barking up a storm, and an annoyed girlfriend. But when he walked in through the door, he saw his dog running up to him happily, wagging her tail. Trailing behind her came Taeyeon, looking calm and collected as ever. She shot him a smile, almost like she knew what his scheme was.

Jungsoo pouted.

~

Jungsoo stared at the instruction booklet in his hand and then back at the scattered parts of the new computer he had bought and was trying to assemble. He’d made some progress, but the pieces were still far from a working device, and he couldn’t help feeling that this was his limit; he had had yet another filming for another variety show earlier that day, he was tired and hungry, and the fact that the instruction manual’s font size was probably about five wasn’t helping matters. Huffing through his nose in frustration, he set the booklet down, glaring at the parts in front of him. And then an idea came.

“Taeyeon?” he called. He heard footsteps, and then she appeared from the hallway, her hair tied back messily in a ponytail.

“What is it?” she asked, kneeling next to him and rubbing his back soothingly. Jungsoo was silent for a second, melting into the sensation of her slim fingers against his skin through the thin T-shirt he wore.

Gathering himself, he turned to her with puppy eyes that he reserved only for her sight, probably because they wouldn’t have the slightest millimeter of an effect on the other members. “Do you think you could help me with this?”

Taeyeon glanced down at the mechanical parts strewn across the floor, then at the instruction manual that Jungsoo was still holding. To his surprise, she flashed him a small smile.

“Of course.”

A little restless with anticipation, Jungsoo handed her the manual. She squinted at its text, read one of the lines, stared down at the pieces for a moment, and then got to work.

About an hour later, the computer was put together nicely, its polished black plastic and metal practically glinting under the lights. Jungsoo held down on the power button, and the newly-assembled device turned on without a hitch.

He huffed.

~

When he’d suggested a walk to his girlfriend, this was not what he’d had in mind. He had just wanted a peaceful stroll in the moonlight with Taeyeon and Shimkoong, a chance to unwind after all the hecticness of the past two months. It didn’t seem like much of a request, but apparently the universe had deemed that it was.

Because they’d run into three of the many juvenile delinquents that often roamed the streets of Seoul at night while under the impression that they were grown and could do whatever they wanted. (It was a phase everyone went through in their late teens, though thankfully the majority didn’t let it get so out of hand that they began committing borderline illegal acts.) The kids couldn’t have been more than eighteen or nineteen, maybe twenty tops, but they sure had strutted right up to Jungsoo and Taeyeon like they were professional criminals.

Jungsoo calculated in his head the risks. He didn’t really want to run; it would feel silly fleeing from practically children, but getting in a fight didn’t seem very appealing either. Both of them were wearing caps to partially conceal their faces, and the dark was helping, too, but still, the consequences of a celebrity getting in a fight… no, they weren’t worth it.

On her leash, Shimkoong was snarling and barking.

“Cute dog, mister,” the kid in the front, a tall but thin boy with ripped jeans and a black jacket, smirked as he eyed Shimkoong blatantly. Nerves flaring, Jungsoo fought the urge to glare. His eyes flicked sideways toward Taeyeon who had just been standing next to him a second ago, but now she wasn’t there anymore. She’d stepped forward in the path of the delinquents, posture unnervingly relaxed. If Jungsoo was just a passerby he would have thought she was someone who often picked fights on the street, too.

“We’re trying to take a walk, so it would be nice of you to go on your merry way,” she said calmly.

The atmosphere was full of uneasiness; Jungsoo’s muscles were tense, Shimkoong’s fur stood on end, and there was visible aggression in the delinquent’s stare as he looked down at Taeyeon.

Eventually, though, he spat sideways in an attempted show of dominance, saliva flying from his mouth and landing with a splat on the street. Jungsoo fought the urge to wrinkle his nose, and Shimkoong gave a very soft growl. Taeyeon didn’t move.

“Tsk. Whatever, slut.” The delinquent’s voice was somewhere between sullen and purposefully dismissive, like he was trying overly hard to sound though. “Come on, guys. Let’s not waste time on this cuck and his bitch.”

Without another word, the three kids stalked off, glancing back occasionally at Jungsoo and Taeyeon with slight unease as if they were afraid they were going to attack them from behind. Jungsoo couldn’t help feeling the slightest bit of pity; he knew that brash hotheadedness mixed with crippling insecurity and nearly animalistic desire to prove yourself of early adulthood, and it was a no pleasant feeling. But he couldn’t feel any kindlier towards them than that, on account of the slurs their leader had used to refer to Taeyeon. Only once the three of them had vanished from sight from several seconds did he relax.

The entire time, though, Taeyeon hadn’t blinked an eye once (figuratively speaking). Slightly awed at his girlfriend’s composure, Jungsoo threaded his fingers through hers, squeezing. She glanced at him, and it somehow wasn’t a surprise to see her instantly smiling again.

“Doesn’t anything scare you?” He was half-chiding, because he would feel better if she was more cautious, but half-asking, because she legitimately had not seemed fazed.

Taeyeon squeezed his hand back with a shrug. “Plenty of things do, but not a few delinquent kids.”

~

Hyukjae, Donghae, and Ryeowook were fighting. About what, Jungsoo didn’t know. All he knew, or cared to know, was that he, eyelids practically drooping from filming since seven A.M. that morning, was just trying to sleep early for once when he’d been interrupted in his preparations to crash by the sound of the three members’ raised voices.

All of them had moved temporarily back into the dorm recently because they had several group schedules coming up that required long hours of driving and decided it would be more convenient to just go at the same time, rather than every member setting off and arriving at different hours depending on the traffic in their area. On one hand, it was nice because it was nostalgic; it took him back to the time when they were young and vigorous and the burden of their fame hadn’t quite caught up to them yet. On the other hand, Jungsoo felt like he was fucking dying. He’d forgotten how uncontrollable it could get with all of them living in the same space.

A few hours ago, Taeyeon had come over and spent the night at the dorm, eating dinner with them while rolling her eyes several times at the teasing from the other members to keep things private in the bedroom. They did not, in fact, have any intention of doing anything that night, for the sake of being courteous of everyone else, and it would be more than nice enough to fall asleep next to her.

Jungsoo just wished he’d get to lay down in peace.

“What do you mean, me? You’re the one who’s at fault here!” Ryeowook’s shrill voice rang through the dorm. Jungsoo groaned, suppressing the urge to shriek into the pillow. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with this.

Taeyeon must have seen the will to live fading from his eyes, because she sympathetically patted his shoulder. “You okay?”

Jungsoo took another calming breath. “Yeah. I’m just tired.” That was one way to put it. A more accurate way would be “I’m just done with this bullshit” or something along those lines, but he restrained himself.

“That’s understandable. Go and sleep, I’ll sort everything out,” Taeyeon suggested, giving him a light push toward the bed. Jungsoo sat down on the mattress, pointedly ignoring another bout of loud arguing from outside. “Are you sure?” She should know better than anyone how difficult his members were to deal with.

“It’s not like I’m unfamiliar with how Super Junior works,” she reassured him, amusement in her voice. “I’m still hanging around you people, which means I’m picking up some of your insanity – since that’s the only way to survive around this group.” She wasn’t exactly wrong. Maybe none of them had been exactly normal since the beginning, but being around each other had only amplified the chaos over the years.

“Okay, I’m counting on you then,” Jungsoo said, laying down with a sigh of bliss. She patted his head and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before leaving the room, flicking the light switch off as she did and closing the door tightly. Jungsoo stared after her, wondering how well she would fare.

Miraculously, he drifted off, but the concern over what had become of the argument must have been eating at him more than he realized, because only two hours later, he found himself blinking up into the darkness. It was quiet outside, but a quick glance at the door showed him that the lights of the living room were still on, which meant at least some of the other members were still awake. Taeyeon wasn’t back, either.

Rubbing his eyes, he got up out of the bed and peeked out into the hallway. The way his door was positioned, he had a fairly good view of Hyukjae, Donghae, and Ryeowook sitting together on the sofa, talking quietly but cheerfully. Clearly, they had made up. Perched just a little distance away, watching the three with the expression of a satisfied mother, was Taeyeon.

She was even good at mediating arguments.

~

I give up. Jungsoo was about to admit that he’d lost. Apparently, his girlfriend was just perfect – good at everything on top of being funny and intelligent and beautiful. He was ready to just accept that he’d been lucky enough to somehow snag a superhuman for a partner.

He couldn’t even find anything bad to say about her cleaning, he noted, as he glanced over his shoulder at her, kneeling in a corner and wiping away dust. They had decided they’d spend the day today tidying up his apartment; something that Jungsoo was used to and liked doing, but there was a new kind of enjoyment in it when his girlfriend was there doing it with him.

He was engrossed in wiping down some of the drawers when Taeyeon shrieked – a terrified, shocked, shrill, and entirely alien noise. Alarmed, Jungsoo spun around in her direction to find her staring underneath one of the windowsills with horror in her eyes before she distanced herself from it at the speed of light. Bewildered, he abandoned what he was doing hurried over, wondering what it possibly could be that she’d seen. He had never heard her sound so frightened; she’d hardly even flinched when they were watching The Wailing together, so what could have scared her so badly now, especially in his apartment?

“What is it? Is there something there?”

Taeyeon looked over at him, disgust marring her greyish-hazel eyes. “There’s a spider!”

Jungsoo stopped in his tracks, dumfounded. A spider?

Approaching the windowsill and looking under it, he saw that she was right – there indeed was a tiny, light brown spider there, settled among its webs.

He glanced back at Taeyeon, whose gaze was still fixed under the windowsill like residing there the most monstrous abomination that had ever existed. “Jagi, it’s just a spider.”

“Just a spider?” She sounded practically furious that he’d dared use the word just in reference to a spider; in fact, this might be the most rattled he had ever seen her. “Kill it already!”

Jungsoo chuckled. He couldn’t help it. After all the ridiculous antics he’d done to try and pinpoint anything that might faze his girlfriend, this was it? A tiny spider? Sure, he might not be fond of arachnids, but her visceral reaction was on another level.

“Not funny,” Taeyeon muttered from behind him, flicking him on the back of the head as punishment for his amusement. Jungsoo turned around to face her, unable to stop smiling. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Just… I didn’t think a spider would be the thing to crack your composure.”

“Oh, shut up and get rid of it,” she hissed, furrowing her brows at him in displeasure. Obediently, Jungsoo knelt in front of the windowsill and disposed of the spider with a piece of toilet paper. As he stood, he noticed Taeyeon backing up, eyeing the crumpled paper in his hand warily.

“You know a tiny spider can’t hurt you. Especially if it’s dead,” he pointed out.

“It’s not about hurting me,” Taeyeon admitted, her nose wrinkled. “I just hate spiders. They’re… disgusting. Now will you please throw that away?” She had inched further away from him. Well, not him specifically; it was the toilet paper with the squashed spider that held all her animosity.

Ever the dutiful boyfriend, Jungsoo obeyed and made his way to the bathroom, where he flushed the arachnid. As he washed his hands, he glanced at Taeyeon, who had been peeking in to confirm with her own eyes that the spider was long gone. “Better?” he asked, amused.

“Better,” she huffed. “You think this is real amusing, don’t you?” The words were an accusation, but, now that the spider was completely gone, she seemed to have relaxed. There was playfulness in her tone, and she was smiling faintly.

Washing his hands as he formulated a response, Jungsoo decided there was no point in hiding it – she’d already caught on. “It’s just… you always seem to be a natural at everything. For a spider of all things to freak you out so much is funny.”

“Well. I never thought you’d have such a cleaning obsession when I first met you, either,” Taeyeon retorted, but her voice was mild.

“Ouch, low blow. What did you think I’d be like?” Jungsoo challenged as he wiped his hands with the towel. He was genuinely curious; by her own admission she’d been a Super Junior fan since their debut, which meant that she must have known something about him even before they met for the first time during a broadcast. He forgot which one – they’d seen each other several times for business over the years, although it was only in 2014 when she worked with Super Junior for their MAMACITA album that they’d become closer than just acquaintances.

“Well,” she said thoughtfully, “I thought you’d be more naturally witty. I thought you wouldn’t complain and nag as much as you actually do. I thought you wouldn’t be so awkward when you flirt. I thought you’d give me less cheesy pickup lines.”

“Jagi…” Jungsoo complained.

Smiling, Taeyeon closed the gap between them with a light hop and reached up to take his face in her hands, pressing her lips to his in a chaste kiss. When she pulled away, Jungsoo flushed, not having expected the sudden display of affection. There were times when his girlfriend could seem slightly detached, but other times, she was touchy-feely like this.

“I love you, Jungsoo,” Taeyeon said simply, dropping all honorifics from his real name in the way that made him shudder a little under her hands. “I love everything that you are. Cheesy pickup lines and all.”

She went to move away, but Jungsoo grasped her shoulders and pulled her to him so their foreheads were touching. She was significantly shorter than him, but the height difference was just suited so that he could look directly into her eyes like this. God, she was beautiful. Almost unconsciously, he brushed his thumb over the soft skin of her face.

“I love you too.” The words were barely a whisper.

With a smile, Taeyeon cupped his face in her hands. “I don’t say this often, but I want to right now,” she said. “I love you, and I’m going to protect you from anything.”

The rush that flooded him made Jungsoo heady and breathless, his veins burning like he was being scorched from the inside out with the heat of his emotion. “For how long?” he murmured, stroking his fingers across her cheek.

“Forever.” She kissed him.

[ladywynneoutlander]

Heart’s Abundance

Part 3 - Snow Angels

Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5 , Part 6

Mandy wanders into my surgery toting Esmeralda. “Grannie, what you doin’?”

“Growing mold, darling, or trying to.” In truth the current effort is a total loss, not surprising this time of year; but as I am out of penicillin, I thought I’d give it a go by placing the bread close to the fire and keeping it moist. Oh well. I toss the resulting mess out the window and give my granddaughter my full attention.

“Do you need something dear?”

“I bored.” I grimace. It is the death-nell for peace in any century.

“Would you like to read your book?”  

“I read it already.”

“Would you like to help Grandma?”

“Ewwww.”

I sigh. Even the adults are starting to feel cabin fever, and little Mandy hasn’t been further than the privy in two weeks. I hold my hand out to her. “Come along. Let’s find Grandda and have some fun.”

                                                        -o0OOO0o-

Within a quarter hour the entire household is covered in layers from head to toe, standing in knee-deep snow, and happier than they’ve been in days. Germain sticks out his tongue to catch a fat fluffy flake. Roger is more mischievous. Quick as a cat, he drops a handful of icy powder down the back of Brianna’s dress. She jumps with a squeak, and turns to chase him. That’s all it takes. Suddenly the place explodes in activity. Snowballs are flying to and fro, children are squealing, and I am delighted.

Someone grabs me around the waist and I shriek in startlement. “Got you, Sassenach!” Jamie lifts me off my feet and whirls me in a circle.  

When he sets me down, I turn on him in mock outrage. “You’ll not surprise me again, Jamie Fraser!”  He dances out of reach and I bend to make a snowball, hurling it with all my force. It sails through the air and lands with a splat directly on the top of Jamie���s horrible slouch hat. Jem notices and begins to giggle, so of course Jamie crosses his eyes and sticks out his tongue. At which point we all erupt in laughter.  

Eventually people move on to more sedate projects. Brianna commandeers William and Jem to begin construction of an igloo. Fanny follows along and starts work on a snowman to go outside it. Roger, Jamie, and Germain begin defensive walls for a true snowball war.  

I look down at Mandy, who seems torn by the myriad choices. “Have you ever made a snow angel, darling? Let’s try it.”

I lead her to a corner of the clearing where the snow is untouched and not quite so deep. She watches me lie down with misgiving on her face, her mouth pursed into a perfect angelic bow. My subsequent flapping adds a crease to her white brow. However, her face clears when she sees the rather lopsided snow angel. I stoop to add a halo.

Mandy hops up and down happily. “Pretty! I try! I try!”

“Yes, of course! We can make a family of angels if you like.” And so we do. Giving each figure an individual flourish to indicate who it represents.  

When our art is complete Mandy dashes off, returning a moment later leading Jamie and Roger each by a finger. They congratulate her heartily. “Well done, a nighean,” Jamie pats her scarf-wrapped head.  

“Aye. Good job, lassie." Roger scoops her squealing into the air. “Come with me and you can see Mam’s igloo. It hasn’t fallen down yet.”

Jamie looks me over with a grin, “Ye’re verra bonny Sassenach. Ye’re all aglow and ye’re curls coming out of your cap.”  

“Oh?” I say, attempting to push curls under my toboggan*.

Jamie takes my hand to stop me, “Aye, like a golden-eyed angel. Ye’re only missing wings.” He reaches around my back as if looking for feathers, but finding none pulls me to him and kisses my cold nose.

“Well, if I’m an angel then so are you. A fiery warrior all in white.” I brush off a bit of snow in illustration.  

He laughs and takes my arm. “I’m no angel Sassenach, and well you know it.”

We walk back to the house and sit together on the edge of the porch, watching the family at play.  

“I must say that William fits in well.”

“Aye,” Jamie says as William and Jem charge across no man’s land, snowballs at the ready. “It’s been a blessing having him here. Would that he could stay.”

“You never know,” I say, remembering when he said the same about Brianna. “But even if the spring sees him gone, he’ll take us with him. He’ll remember.”

Jamie pulls me into a hug. “Aye, he will. Ye’re a wise woman, mo ghràidh.”

Jamie gives me another squeeze and notices Fanny and Germain watching from beside a snow man. He grins and surprises me with a smacking kiss for the benefit of our spectators. I swat playfully at him, laughing. Then he leans down and kisses me full on the lips, so that I am rocked backward in his arms.

From somewhere I hear laughter and a smattering of applause, and from the vicinity of my knee, “Yuck, Grannie. Yuck Grandda.”  

I feel Jamie smile against my mouth, and he sits us both up again, steadying me. Then he bends and brings Mandy to his knee. “Yuck, ye say? Well we’ll see.”

He kisses her round pink cheek, blowing raspberries, and tickling Mandy until she is breathless with laughter.

                                                            -o0OOO0o-

After this display I take Mandy by the hand and we head inside. Fanny sees us and follows, ready to come in. I set about whipping up a batch of molasses cookies. They will be welcome when the hoard descends shortly.  

Lulled by the warmth Mandy falls soundly asleep with her head on the table. Fanny lays her gently on the settle and covers her in a quilt. Then she sits at the table and watches me stir the dough, bringing it into submission most energetically. I pause for a moment to place a glass of milk in front of Fanny then begin spooning the cookies out onto a sheet. After a sip she seems to gather courage for something. “Mrs. Fraser, how old were you when you wed?”

I pause in surprise and I have to think for a moment. “I was nineteen the first time.”

“The firss- first time?” She’s surprised. I think it’s hard for people to imagine me with anyone besides Jamie.

“Yes.” I smile at her. “I was very young and then I-, I lost him. Then I found Mr. Fraser.”

“Do you think I will marry?”

“Of course, if you want to.”

“Oh, I want to,” she says enthusiastically. “Jane, (she swallows but goes on) Jane wanted to marry but she said she couldn’t, no one respectable would have her.”

“Oh,” I don’t quite know what to say, but continue matter-of-factly. “Well, you’re quite respectable.”

She considers this, then, “Do you think William will marry?”

Oh, I see.  “He likely will someday. He seems rather unsettled at present though.” I slide the cookies into the oven and sit down beside the girl. “What’s this about dear?”

“Well. I would like to marry someone when I’m older, if-“ she hesitates and looks up at me uncertainly, “if you and Mr. Fraser will allow it.”

“Fanny dear, Mr. Fraser and I only wish you to be happy.”

“Truly?”

“Truly.” I smile, trying to be reassuring, and she smiles tentatively back. I have a feeling this conversation isn’t over, but just then the door bursts open to admit a snow-encrusted and merry crowd. I see Fanny’s face light at the sight of William, brushing the snow from his hat. Oh dear.  

                                                            -o0OOO0o-

The next day Fanny and Mandy practically skip along the path in front of us, seeming to swirl through the air like snowflakes. Brianna and I stride along behind. “Stay on the path!” Brianna calls as the girls disappear around a bend in the trail. We are off to visit Jenny and Rachel, who are hosting a quilting circle. It is a lovely day, cold and clear.

“So, how are you? Still happy to be back?”

She laughs, meaningfully hefting a bundle of rags and food a little higher on her shoulder. “Yes. Sometimes more than others.”

I smile, catching her meaning. “And Roger?”

“He’s still feeling his way with his congregation, but he’s happy here. He feels useful. Suits his male pride I suppose.”

I smile at that, “Yes, I can see how that could be.”

She considers something. “He does seem different recently though, quiet sometimes. Like he’s waiting, or sort of resting? I don’t know. I think he’s thinking about what will happen with the war.”

I sigh. I’d seen it in Jamie too. He seemed to be stockpiling moments, storing them against the changes that will inevitably come. I touch Brianna lightly on the arm. “I understand. Your father is the same.”

We walk a few more paces. The air is so fresh as to be almost buoyant, and Brianna’s mood lightens. “Oh well, we’re all here now, even William. And it’s a lovely day. And Aunt Jenny will have made cider.”

                                                        -oOOO0o-

It’s warm and cozy inside Ian’s cabin. We laugh and talk while Mandy plays under the quilt frame and baby Murray gurgles on a pallet. While not easy with needle and thread, Brianna and I have had to learn, and quilting requires no great skill. You simply choose a pattern and set to work.  

After a time, the conversation turns to William.  

“He’s a Fraser, nay doubt,” Jenny remarks. Her eyes shift to Brianna, sparkling with mischief. “Ye canna mistake a child of Jamie’s blood, that’s certain.”

Brianna laughs, “Of course not, we are tall and stubborn. Just like Da.”

“Not to mention those eyes!” Fanny chimes in without thinking. Her face goes shockingly pink and she hastily looks down at her needlework. This causes the whole group to erupt in laughter.

“I do wonder what’s on the lad’s mind,” Jenny says after we’ve calmed down again.

Rachel cuts her thread expertly. “Yes, Friend William seems very quiet. Then again when I met him before he was either most grievous injured or fighting a war.”

“He is assuredly Jamie’s son then,” I say with a smile.  

                                                       -o0OOO0o-  

Toward evening, Jamie and Ian appear. They’ve been hunting together. “Ready, Sassenach? It gets dark early this time ‘o year.”

“Yes, of course.” We gather our things and bid farewell to the Murrays.  

Brianna goes ahead with Fanny, anxious to get Mandy home and start supper. Jamie and I take our time. He tucks my arm into his, and we proceed down the rough trail as if we are strolling the gardens of Versailles. Jamie must have a similar impression because he remarks with a smile, “Comment allez-vous, mon cher?”

I smile in return. “Très bien, et vous?” I look at him closely. He seems peaceful but tired. “Êtes-vous bien mon amour?”  

Jamie shrugs and returns to English. “Och aye. I’ve chased young Ian up and down the moutainside all day. He’s as agile as a painter. I might be just that wee bit tired.”

“And a wee bit worried?” I ask gently. I know my husband very well.

“Aye weel, maybe so. I’ll tell ye Sassenach. I’ve rarely been so happy as I have these last weeks, and it makes me dread what’s to come all the more. I know I should be grateful. I am verra grateful. And yet I cannot help myself looking forward.”

We walk along in silence, the snow crunching under our boots. I don’t know what to say, platitudes certainly won’t do. Eventually Jamie breaks the silence. “I know there is a great deal of the war left to be fought. Wee Roger has told me some, as much as I want to hear in any case,” he says ruefully. “I know this peace won’t last.”

I sigh, and say the only thing I can, “But you have them now Jamie. You have them all for a while. And you have me. Always.”

“Aye. I do. And may the angels preserve us.” He stops and turns to me. He smiles a little, bending low in a courtly bow, and raising my hand to his lips kisses it softly, “Et tu m'as aussi, mon cœur. Toujours.”

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

*Toboggan – regional term for a winter hat. Used in the Carolinas, the Virginias, and where I grew up (eastern Kentucky). Call it an hommage to My Old Kentucky Home. I’m pretending Claire was an early adopter and picked it up from her backcountry acquaintances. : )

Gaelic

mo ghràidh  

my dear

French

Comment allez-vous, mon cher?  

How are you, my dear?

Très bien, et vous?  

Very well, and you?

Êtes-vous bien mon amour?  

Are you well my love?

Et tu m'as aussi, mon cœur. Toujours.  

And you have me as well, my heart. Always.

[i-am-out-of-my-vulcan-mind]

To Forgive and Forget - Chapter 5

And here is chapter 5. Sorry this took a bit longer to post than I promised some of you. Life happened. 

Lots of angst ahead… though by now I'm sure you're all waiting for it. 

I will see you all on the group chat! ❤❤

"Patterson! Where the hell is that chopper?" Kurt shouted through comms. Jane hadn't regained consciousness. She was struggling to breathe and the bleeding had slowed - which wasn't a good thing - it meant that she had lost too much blood, and judging by the puddle on the ground and the amount soaked into the shirts Kurt was pressing to her wound, she didn't have much time left. 

"ETA is 30 seconds." Came Patterson voice through his earpiece. 

Just as she said that, Kurt could hear the thud of the propellers flying over head. There was a large field by the warehouse, so there was no worry about them landing. 

The paramedics arrived on site, running through the warehouse with their gurney and medikit. Tasha waved them over and even they were slightly taken aback at the scene that greeted them. 

 They quickly assessed the situation, dropping to their knees beside her. The lead paramedic quickly took her pulse.

"Right get her on the gurney." he said urgently. "We will have to try and stabilise her in transit… we don't have enough time to do it before we leave." 

He brought the gurney down to floor level and as a unit, they lifted Jane smoothly, getting her ready for transfer. One paramedic started strapping her on and lifting the gurney back to it's original height, while the other started ripping packets of gauze open, replacing the blood soaked shirts. He threw them on the floor and they landed in the cold concrete with a wet splat.

Kurt knew that Tasha would stay and secure the scene and complete the search of the warehouse for the girl. Wordlessly, Kurt got on the gurney, straddling Jane's hips as he replaced the medics hands with his own. He knew that they needed to keep pressure applied and it would take both of them to control the gurney in order to get her out of the maze-like warehouse quickly. 

She wasn't moving. She wasn't even reacting to pain anymore. She was pale, cold and limp. Kurt took a deep breath, trying to push any dark thoughts to the back of his mind so he could focus on the task at hand. 

They got out to the helicopter and loaded her in. Once on board, Kurt moved to the back of the chopper so the medics could work. He knew he wasn't meant to accompany them, but there was no way he was leaving her. The pilot took off quickly, time was not on their side.

He watched as one put an oxygen mask on her face and started a line, while the other started taking her obs. He grit his teeth, trying to keep control of his emotions. He couldn't lose her. 

The flight to the hospital was the longest seven minutes of his life. Her heart rate and blood pressure were all over the place. 

Just as they were coming in to land, she coded. 

"We've lost her!" The lead medic shouted. Starting compressions!"

"Jane?" Kurt asked urgently, leaning forward. "Jane!" 

Right now… right now she was dead. His wife. His beautiful wife. He may have just lost her and the last conversation they had, they had been yelling at each other.

Guilt and shame settled into the pit of his stomach, and grief settled into his heart. 

The helicopter landed. There was a trauma team waiting for them. One of the doctors got onto the gurney, continuing compressions, while another jumped on the other side, continuing with keeping pressure on her wound. 

Kurt scrambled out of the helicopter, running after the team. They whisked her down the corridor, yelling at people to get out of the way. 

They reached the trauma bay and pushed her through the double doors. A nurse put her hand on Kurt's chest.

"Sorry dear, but you can't go any further." she said briskly, but kindly, before turning and running through the doors to join the team in trying to save Jane's life.

Kurt stood in the corridor, watching the doors swing in their wake. 

He stood there, covered in his wife's blood, the sudden silence crashing down on him in waves. 

"Sir?" a voice asked. "Sir are you alright?"

It was in that moment that Kurt realised he had been holding his breath. He turned to look at the orderly and realised he must look a sight. He didn't know what to say, because no, no he wasn't ok. 

The orderly sensed this anyway, offering a hand of comfort.

"There's a private bathroom down the hall that you can use to clean up, if you like." she said gently, leading him away from the triage bay. 

He begrudgingly turned to walk with her, his heart telling him he should stay where he was, but his head telling him he really needed to wash his wife's blood off of him.

"Here, you go in here and get cleaned up, I'll find you a pair of scrubs you can get changed into."

Kurt nodded his thanks, walking into the private bathroom quietly.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw his reflection. There was blood everywhere. Up his arms, over the torso of his shirt, on his forehead. 

Jane's lifeless body flashed into his mind. 

"Oh god…" he choked. He drew in a shuddering breath, suddenly unable to hold his emotions back. His whole body started shaking in grief and shock. The blood crusted to his skin was stifling, burning into his skin. 

He turned on the faucet, pumping soap onto his hand as quickly as possible. He scrubbed his hands and arms until they were raw and even then he could still feel the blood, hot and sticky, coving his skin. 

Rage coursed through him as the grief and guilt overwhelmed him. He picked up the nail brush, that had turned red with her blood, and threw it across the room, falling to his knees with a yell.

"Jane!" he cried out, before he dissolved into a fit of tears. "Oh Jane…"

He felt a hand on his shoulder, but was too overwhelmed with grief to react.

"Here dear." The old woman said. She gently passed him the scrubs, before leaving him alone again. 

He didn't move, for what felt like hours. After what had really only been a few minutes, he hoisted himself off the floor, changing into the fresh pair of scrubs. He disposed of his blood soaked clothes into the toxic waste bin and moved to find out what had happened to his wife.

When he got to reception, he almost turned around. He wasn't sure he was ready to hear what had happened. To confirm his greatest fear… that she had died. That she was never coming back.

"Sir?" the lady at reception asked again. He hadn't heard her the first time.

"Ah… Jane Doe?" he said with a shaky voice. "She was just brought in by helicopter… I'm her… I'm her husband." He stammered.

The nurse searched the computer, before looking up at him. 

"A doctor will be along to update you shortly." she said, and Kurt could see the grief in her eyes.

He nodded quietly. He could have gone off at her, begging for her to tell him herself. To tell him now, but he still wasn't ready to hear those words. Not yet.

He walked back to the waiting room and sat down, hanging his head. The last time he had spoken to his wife, they had been screaming at each other. He had been so mad. They had both said some unforgivable things. But he didn't know then that that would be the last time he would ever speak to her. 

"Oh Jane… I'm so sorry." he whispered. He brought his hands up to his face, biting back the tears that were threatening to overcome him again.

He was broken out of his thoughts, by the ringing of his phone. 

"Weller." he answered gruffly.

"Kurt! How's Jane?" It was Patterson. 

He cleared his throat, but otherwise stayed silent. 

"Oh god… she's not…?"

"I don't know." he replied quietly. "She coded in the chopper… I haven't heard anything since."

"Oh Kurt…" He could hear the despair in her voice. 

He didn't know what to say to her. Jane was her family too. This would break all of them.

"Reade and Tasha have a lead on where Tyler might be…" she continued. "They received a call from… well from…" she paused.

"From Clem?" he asked shortly.

"Yeah…" Patterson answered nervously.

"Ok…" was all he replied. "Keep me updated."

"There's something else you should hear…" She said.

"What's that?" He wasn't sure he could take much more today. He was close to breaking point as it was. He was in complete denial.

"Jane didn't have her vest, because she gave it to the shooter."

"I know that." Kurt replied, "That's why I had to shoot him in the head."

"Yeah but she removed it to save one of the younger SWAT guys…"

"What do you mean?" he asked, sitting forward.

"The shooter was going to kill him, because he was too scared to give away his vest… it was his first op… anyway Jane stepped in and give him her vest instead. Things went south and the shooter had SWAT guy at gunpoint. Jane went to charge at him and that's when he shot her."

Kurt was silent for a moment. She had sacrificed herself. That's why she was shot…

"Thanks for telling me…" he whispered.

"Please let us know what's happening with Jane… the moment you hear something." Patterson said. She almost sounded desperate.

"I will." he choked out. He hung up the phone before he lost his resolve completely.  All he could think about was the last words he said to her. 'I just wish that you would think about someone other than yourself for once.' 

His last words may have gotten her killed. 

He shook his head. 

Even if he hadn't have said that to her, he knew that she would have done the same. She was selfless. She was always doing things to try and keep others safe.

His heart constricted and before he knew it, he was crying into his hands. 

0000000000000000000

It was over twenty minutes later that a doctor came to see Kurt. 

"Kurt Weller?" he asked.

Kurt nodded.

"I'm doctor Thompson." he introduced himself.

Kurt looked up at the doctor, biting the inside of his cheek. He wasn't ready… though he wasn't sure he ever would be ready, to hear that his wife had died. 

The doctor came and sat beside him.

"Jane was very sick when she came to us… she had lost a lot of blood."

Kurt's heart sank. No no no no no no no….

"We got her heart started again, she is currently in surgery." 

He choked.

"She's alive?" he whispered.

The doctor nodded. 

"She is… but Kurt I have to warn you… her chances of survival are dim… if she makes it through the surgery, the next 48 hours are crucial."

Kurt swallowed. He had just been told that she was alive, only to have that ripped away again. She might not even survive the next ten minutes.

"I'll update you when I can." The doctor said. 

Kurt shook his hand.

"Thank you."

The doctor nodded, then left the room, leaving Kurt by himself again. 

He was about to pull out his phone to ring Patterson, when there was a soft knock on the door.

"Kurt…?" came a soft voice.

He looked up to see a blonde head and large blue eyes staring back at him.

"Patterson." he whispered.

She strode into the room, wrapping him in a tight hug. 

"I left the moment I hung up the phone." she said quietly. "I… I didn't want you to be alone."

He looked at her gratefully.

"Have you heard anything yet?" she asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure she wanted to know that answer.

"She's in surgery." he replied. "Though… the doctor said that there's a high chance she won't  make it through the surgery." 

Patterson's face fell.

She reached out and took Kurt's hand. It was going to be a long and arduous wait. The worst part was knowing that there was nothing that they could do to help. All they could do was wait and that was the hardest part. 

At least they could wait together. Right now, they didn't have to be alone.

[thenewnio]

In which Fami finds the Clow, and history repeats itself...

“Could this be... Grandma’s diary?”

Suddenly, the clasp on the book popped off by itself. Fami jumped and almost dropped the book. However, when it registered in her mind that it was just the clasp, curiosity took over and she opened the book. Inside, she found, somewhat to her disappointment, that it wasn’t a diary after all. In fact, there weren’t any actual pages, the middle of the book being hollowed out. Inside that section, there sat a deck of cards.

Fami picked up the top card, which depicted a long-haired woman with wings. “Is this some old trading card series that she liked?”

It was then that she noticed the words on the bottom of the card, printed in English.

“Hmmm… Win…”

Unbeknownst to Fami, who was currently looking down at the card, the sky mysteriously got darker, turning from noon to twilight in a matter of seconds. A strange, luminescent breeze gathered at her feet...

In downtown Misora, the hustle and bustle abruptly came to a halt as civilians noticed the sky.

“Wind…”

In the nearby school, students and teachers all looked outside to see what was happening.

“Windy?”

In an instant, there was chaos.

The card in her hand was suddenly bathed in an unearthly light. There was just enough time for Fami’s eyes to widen before a hurricane exploded from the card and stormed through the yard. She tried to cry out, but her voice was drowned out over the roaring wind.

There was a flapping noise. She looked to see all the other cards in the deck being blown up into the air. “NO!” 

As she watched helplessly, the cards gained a golden glow around them before they vanished into the sky.

Around Misora, people were shocked as sudden glowing winds and flashes of light seemed to appear. No one had any idea what was happening. Everyone was frozen in place, staring up at the mysterious phenomenon.

Finally, the winds ceased, the sky returned to blue and the card in Fami’s hand stopped glowing.

“What... just happened?” She uttered.

After a few moments to take in the strange occurrence, she suddenly bolted back inside. She stopped only to take her shoes off, before rushing upstairs to her bedroom, at which point she collapsed on her bed, still clutching the book and card.

“Grandma...” She gazed down at the book. “What in the world did you leave me?”

Suddenly, the book started glowing again, causing Fami to drop it in shock.

The pinkette watched, stunned, as the picture on the front cover turned into a ball of light, which rose upwards, until it took on a blobby shape.

The light dimmed, revealing a winged froglike creature with a round, purple gem hanging around its neck. It opened two small red eyes and looked at her.

The two stared at one another…

“KYAAAAA~!” Fami screamed, swatting the thing to the wall.

“GAH!” The blob hit the wall with a SPLAT. Almost immediately it reformed, and yelled in a gruff female voice. “What was that for!?”

In fear, the girl picked up a stuffed sheep, and threw it at the being, who narrowly managed to dodge the projectile. “HEY! Cut that out-NO! Put down the pillow! I’m a friend of your grandmother’s, for God’s sake!”

Fami stopped, pillow still raised above her head. “Grandma...?” She dropped the pillow. “You knew Grandma Doremi?”

“Of course I did!” The blob replied. “I’m the Guardian of the Doremi Cards!”

“Doremi Cards... Guardian...” Her grandmother’s stories all came back to her. “So, then... You’re Majorika?”

“That’s right, girlie.” The guardian affirmed.

“But I thought those were just stories! So magic really exists?”

“It sure does!” Majorika pointed to the card on the bed. “And that’s what your grandmother used to-Wait. Don’t tell me...”

Fami blanched.

Majorika, however, just sighed. “You called out Windy, didn’t you?”

“Uh, yeah?”

The frog face palmed. “Not again. Note to self: Stop putting Windy on top.”

“Look, I’m sorry for scattering the cards.” Fami apologized. “I can help you find them again.”

“Of course you’re gonna find them.” Majorika said. “You’re the new Cardcaptor, now.”

At the familiar word “Cardcaptor”, Fami felt a rush of excitement pass through her very core.

“First things first,” Majorika continued. “What’s your name?”

“Fami.”

“Alright, Fami, step over there.” And Fami did.

Majorika landed on the book, and began glowing. The room seemed to dim, and a strange symbol-a magic circle, Fami realized-appeared on the floor.

“Key of the Seal,” Majorika intoned. From the keyhole of the clasp, a ball of light popped out, gently flying over to Fami. She made out a small key floating inside the glowing sphere.

“Doremi’s granddaughter wishes for a contract with you. Her name is Fami.” The guardian continued. “Grant her your powers, O Key. RELEASE THE POWER!”

The ball of light burst, enveloping the room in its energy. The key inside spun around, growing into a staff.

Fami knew what this was. The Sealing Staff.

She knew what to do.

She reached out and grabbed it, and it stretched to full length in her hand.

A new Cardcaptor was born.

[agent-7-at-your-service]

Future Plot: Project Titanomachy - Chapter 23

(( Camille belongs to @inklingleesquidly

Nebula (Mentioned) belongs to @myzzy and @agenttwo

Agent 0 and Suzy belongs to @son-of-joy

Cell, Mercury, Rasbel, and Vix belong to @teamuntyblue

Neo Nexus Corp (mentioned) belong to @alphadeathsquad

Galaxa Gems belongs to @splat-tendency and @eiden-squid​

Frosted Stars belong to @askvincent / @asktheseastars and @evora-flux​

Emerald and Sapphire (not mentioned) belong to @twelvetailedkitsune and @son-of-joy​

Celeste and Willow (not mentioned) belong to @alpinesquid​

Nebulous and Arsenic (not mentioned) belong to @a-demo-of-a-hero​

Agent 7, Telemachus, Sea Angel Splatoon and others belong to me ))

While Nebula and Sea Angel Splatoon are rescuing the Galaxa Gems and the Frosted Stars, and Telemachus and Agent 7 are helping Neo Nexus Corp in exterminating the Typhonian Horde of Giants in the Kelp Dome, Camille arrives in Arowana Mall.

The Typhonized Giants each have a massive snake infesting their body along with sea slugs and hagfishes; their human features were morphed into claws, burnt, decaying flesh, deformed jaws, extra appendages, and other projections. Most of their iron and bronze armor that they were now bound to their body like graft.

Camille can see Cell wielding her Ink-Sword V2 along with Mercury wielding her Royal Splatter Pistols. Rasbel was with Cell and Mercury, staying close her mother and aunt; Vix was nowhere to be seen, and it seems Mercury is real worried. However, the Giants were blocking Mercury's path, preventing her from searching for Vix. They held out on one of the spawn points at one end of the mall.

How they were fighting the giants was quite simple: Mercury distracts while Rasbel stays close, and Cell attempts the get close to the Giant and make it fight blind against other giants.

Anteros arrived by Camille's side, and Hermes arrived late as he was busy with some errands he had to finish for people in Greece. Anteros had his brother's artifacts: A bow made out of a candlestick holder and arrows made of hearts and a pink metal. Hermes still had his winged helmet, winged sandals, and caduceus which are all his artifacts.

Agent 0 and Suzy arrived as well. Since Agent 0 is a Champion of Ares, he takes out Ares, Bronze Sword, twirls it, and set it on fire. Soon Agent 0 is in a bronze armor, blood-stained cape, black tunic, leather, and a gold helmet. He doesn't use Ares's Bronze Shield and instead uses his usual electric blade with the electricity now being red. Suzy carried a Krak-on Splat Roller on her back, and in her hands, she has a simple spear modified for combat and fishing.

Camille's group is on the other side of the mall.

"So how are we going to save them?" Suzy asked.

"Camille, think this through," Hermes advised, "It is very necessary that we--"

Camille already has her owl wings sprout from her back again and she sped through the mall without her team. Hermes sighed and looked to Agent 0 for a plan.

"You and Antero will lure the Giants away," Agent 0 ordered, "Suzy, I'll try to open a path for you so that you can help Camille."

"Understood." Suzy gave a nod.

Hermes's winged sandals turn into gold winged boots. "We'll do our best."

"Hold on, what about you?" Anteros questioned Agent 0.

"Doing the same thing: Luring the giants away." Agent 0 soon runs into the horde, distracting them from below and avoiding getting stepped on.

Camille arrived by Cell and Mercury's side. "Auntie Cell! Auntie Mercury! Where's Vix?"

Cell and Mercury didn't expect Camille to arrive at their aid in Olympian Form. Rasbel was amazed by Camille's new appearance with the bronze armor, white cape, a spear and shield, and owl wings.

"I'm trying to find him, but those giants are blocking the way," Mercury explained.

"And no matter how much were take one down at a time, we can't risk Rasbel's safety," Cell added.

"Camille, is that you?" Rasbel was looking at Camille's Olympian outfit.

"Call me the Champion of Zeus and Athena, and I'm here to save ya guys!" Camille twirls her spear and points it at a giant, zapping it with lightning. That horrid giant collapses.

"Woah..." Mercury is surprised.

"Athena and Zeus?" Cell knows a lot about the Greek Pantheon and the Mythology. "How did you...?

"I'll explain later," Camille answered.

Another horrid giant was charging at them, about to slam them with his fist. Suzy used the giant's bent back as a slope, and when she's on top of his head, she jumps up and stabs her spear into the giant. The giant's attack stops and it collapses with his arms focused on Suzy. Camille sends lightning bolts at the arms and helps finish off the giant. There were still more giants roaming in the mall.

Suzy and Camille regroup with Cell, Mercury, and Rasbel. Camille then thought about what she just said; she can get the three out of here because Vix is somewhere around the mall.

"Suzy, do you think you can get Rasbel and Auntie Cell out of here?" Camille asked. "I want to help Mercury find Vix."

"I'll get them to safety," Suzy responded, "You go on and help Mercury find the child."

The sharkling agent began escorting Rasbel and Cell to the nearest exit, taking a quick passage to the center of the mall. The giants were distracted with Agent 0 slicing their ankles and Hermes running across the walls at full speed. Anteros was raining pink fire arrows at the titans, shooting directly at the hearts so that they can burn from the inside.

Camille soon picked up Mercury and carried her to the rooftops of the mall to make it easier to locate Vix.

"To think Vix would just wander off into situations like this," Camille muttered.

"Well, you've watched over him before," Mercury remembers the time she left Camille to babysit Vix.

"Heh... now that you mention it..." There was a smile on Camille's face, but she shakes her head. "We should be searching."

"He could be anywhere." Mercury began jumping from roof to roof.

Camille follows her, catching up. "I assume you don't need an explanation of what's really going on?"

"All I know is that my son wandered over to this mall, some unusual meteor crashed nearby, and these Giants appeared afterward." Mercury was too focused on searching for Vix.

"You gotta control Vix-y, Auntie Mercury," Camille replied.

Mercury stopped at the end of the rooftops. "I wish I could..." She turns towards Camille. "I don't want to see him hurt in times like this." At least she's aware that there's some kind of war.

"We'll find him, I'm sure of it," Camille assured.

Soon something appeared rising from hiding and stands in front of Camille and Mercury. At first, the creature was taller than the giants; however, to make up the height, it stands with its back bent. It had a face of Cthulhu and a thin body of a skeleton. It was clad in in iron steel, and rags with a helmet of a Spartan. From its metal ribcage, the chest and torso beneath it is flesh-twisted with rags and unusual hagfish tails dangling from unnoticeable openings. The arms and legs were covered in cryptic tattoos; its eyes are a terrifying yellow with red around the lids. In its right hand, it wielded a rusty battle-scarred sword.

((Author's note For better visuals of this massive creature, see this: http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/patapon/images/6/6b/OGj5hXx69fkphf4eSl7P6oq8qE4RJYM6.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110408083428 ))

The unusual giant stared at the two carefully. Camille prepared Athena's Spear; Mercury stepped back with her Splatter Pistols. The giant stood straight and raised his sword up high.

"He's going crush us!" Camille quickly tackled Mercury, and they end up on another roof.

The building the giant attack end up breaking in two and collapsing. The giant was still targeting Camille and Mercury. It turned slightly to face them and he raises his foot and stomping on the next building the crush. Again, Camille and Mercury managed to evade.

"We can't just let it do that," Mercury warned, "It'll destroy the entire mall."

"Wait..." Camille narrows her eyes at the giant and noticed something. "Mercury on the plumes of the giant's helmet!" She pointed her spear at the plume.

At appear Vix's random wandering lead him to end up on top of a giant's head.

"Vix!" Mercury called out.

Camille offered to retrieve the boy, but as she took off to flies towards the Giant's head, the giant swats her away like a fly. Camille ends up crashing into a window, receiving minor cuts. Mercury runs over to pick up Camille and get her to safety.

With the presence of this taller giant, the other giants were already retreating to the meteor they came out of which was actually a fortress with geometric structures. Hermes, Anteros, and Agent 0 turned their attention to the taller giant. Suzy managed to get Cell and Rasbel out of the Mall; they were waiting for Camille to be back with both Mercury and Vix.

"That seems taller than those we fought here," Agent 0 commented.

"Porphyrion the Gigantus," Hermes replied to Agent 0, "A well-known giant veteran of the Gigantomachy..... strange he hasn't succumbed to Typhon's influence....yet."

The Gigantus stands straight again and body slams in the building that Camille and Mercury are in, destroying the structure. Once it got back up, it enters the mall with nothing in its way.

Mercury managed to get Camille away and regroup with Agent 0, Anteros, and Hermes. She also grabbed a first aid kit just in case. When she puts Camille down, several items spilled from Camille's inventory: Artemis's Antler Crown, Apollo's Bow and Lyre, an empty scabbard made of Nemean Lion skin, The Gorgon Shield, Mnemosyne's Amulet, and Phoebe's Scripture. Athena's Spear (With Zeus's Thunderbolt inside) was still in Camille's hands.

Agent 0 walks over and knelt down. "What happened?"

"We were trying to look for my son, Camille saw him on that giant's head," Mercury explained, "She tried to rescue him, but the giant just swatted her, thinking she was attacking head-on."

Hermes made sure the Gigantus didn't come in close; otherwise, he would need to distract it.

Even though Mercury managed to patch up the cuts caused by broken shards of glass, Anteros attempted to "revive" Camille.

"I don't think that's enough, we need to provide more medical treatment!" Anteros suggested. "Wait, I got it! CPR!"

"Anteros, I don't think--" Agent 0 warned, but Antero just went on ahead.

Anteros gets close to Camille's face, about to perform it. However, Camille regains consciousness and sees Anteros attempt to perform CPR, mistaking that he was going to kiss her. She quickly hit him with the blunt blue shield, Aegis, again.

"What is wrong with you!?!" Camille screamed, squirming back in disgust.

"Owww... I thought you needed CPR," Anteros groaned.

"From a squid like you! Gross!" Camille wanted to kill him even if he is a deity. "The next time you try to do that, you're dead!"

Mercury shakes her head at Anteros. Agent 0 just sighs.

Camille took a deep breath, getting on one knee as she recovers. She then noticed the items that spilled out. She picks them back up and puts them back in her inventory. She then got back on her feet, using Athena's spear as support.

"Tch. It'll take that giant more than just one swat to knock me out like that." Camille takes a deep breath.  "I can see messenger-boy is already distracting him..." Electricity emitted from Athena's spear. "Can't wait to jam this into its brain."

"I think you can take Porphyrion down, Camille," Anteros complemented, "Athena fought the giant, Enceladus, and she buried his so deep into the earth, Sicily was created."

"She did what now??" Camille raised an eyebrow.

"She buried him under the Earth and ended up creating the island of Sicily," Anteros repeated.

"Athena sounded like a badass," Agent 0 commented, "Did you know about this, Camille?"

Camille didn't know that side of Athena. Then again, she knew Athena turned a weaver into a spider, blinded a love interest into an oracle, and fought with her mother and aunt over a gold apple. In response to Agent 0's question, she shook her head.

Hermes returns and stretches. His gold boots revert back to winged sandals. "Man, what a marathon."

Porphyrion the Gigantus steps closer with its back still bent; he was still targeting Camille. Anteros prepared Eros's Bow and aimed his heart-burning arrows at the Giant. But as Anteros fires at the skeletal chest, it only hit the steel rib cage that clads the chest and torso. Any arrows at actually hit the flesh didn't sink in and try to literally set the heart on fire. The Gigantus just didn't feel the arrows hit him.

"What???" Anteros didn't know what went wrong.

"I already tried that, but Porphyrion just couldn't stagger," Hermes informed.

"Then we take him down physically!" Camille looked to Mercury. "You think you can get to the top of his head?"

Mercury has parkour a lot in her lifetime, but performing it to climb a giant is some else.  She was sort of hesitant, but she prepped herself for do what seems to be the impossible.

"I can parkour my way up there... never tried this before.... maybe with an octoweapon once, but I'll try with this scenario." Mercury actually had to do whatever it took to save Vix.

Camille looks to Hermes and Anteros. "Distract the giants." Camille looked at Agent 0. "You're with me." Camille looked to Mercury. "I'll get you to a roof."

Camille began flapping her owl wings, grabbed Mercury's arms, and started carrying her to a roof that's closest to Porphyrion. Agent 0 follow the two to that roof. Meanwhile, Anteros and Hermes were keeping Porphyrion’s eyes focused on them so that Camille, Mercury and Agent 0 can get close, rescue Vix, and defeat the Gigantus.

"Alright! Let's do this!" Camille raised Athena's spear up high before taking off in flight.

(( Background music Porphyrion the Gigantus: https://youtu.be/6LIcyvIJlAM )

Mercury backed up carefully before increasing speed to jump towards the Gigantus. She manages to land on the lower back of the creature and runs up the spine to reach the head. Agent 0 did the same and followed Mercury.

Once they were on his back, hedron walls grew from his back and obstructing their way to its head. Mercury actually gets around them with ease thanks to her parkour skills, running, jumping, climbing, and swinging. Agent 0 does the same using his blades to cut down obstacles that might slow him down.

In addition, large parasitic worms are spawning out to eliminate Mercury and Agent 0. And whenever Porphyrion crouches, raises it's foot or stands straight to deliver an attack, Mercury and Agent 0 needed to anchor themselves to the back to avoid falling off.

Camille just had to fly away from the Gigantus' sight, and she made sure Mercury and Agent 0 get to the top of Porphyrion's head. She had to swoop down and strike at the parasitic worms in order to protect Mercury and Agent. If she used lightning attacks frequently on Porphyrion, it would be aware of the distraction.

When Agent 0 and Mercury reached the shoulder blades, they made one huge leap to get on the plume. They're finally on the head, and Mercury made her away towards Vox and picks him up.

"Who there?" The hair on Vix's head forms a question mark.

"Don't worry, Vix," Mercury whispered, "Mommy's here to save you."

"But I don't feel like I'm in danger," Vix replied.

"Mercury, we gotta go!" Agent 0 warned.

The parasitic worms spawning from Porphyrion's back were drawing close. Camille flies in to help carry Vix to a roof that Mercury would parkour her way to. After Mercury makes one more giant leap to reach the roof, Camille carried Vix over to Mercury so that they can escape Arowana Mall. Camille nods to Agent 0, and he is obliged to set fire to the plume, and after that, he gets off the Porphyrion's back and breaks his fall by anchoring his swords to a wall.

Porphyrion the Gigantus was now trying to put out the fire on his helmet plume. Camille raises her spear up again and clouds gather to cover the nightly sky. Then pillars of thunder descended, hitting the back of Porphyrion and stripping him of his steel armor, revealing a flesh of latticed blood red and a rib cage full of hagfishes and sea slugs.

Anteros can now fire Eros's heart-burning and heart-breaking arrows at the Gigantus, breaking the rib cage and its vital organs. When Porphyrion swings his rusty sword down, Hermes uses it to run up the Gigantus's arm and disarms it. Agent 0 left huge gashes on the ankles and made Porphyrion get on one knee.

Camille delivered the final blow, flying upwards with the moon behind her.

Cell, Rasbel, and Mercury can see Camille in the sky. Vix is not aware that Camille is flying since he's blind. Suzy was amazed by the sight of the fight.

Camille puts away Athena's spears and takes out Apollo's Bow. She never fires a bow before and she had only one glass arrow to use. She pulls the arrows back and aimed for Porphyrion's helmet. She releases it and the arrows forms into a green comet, striking the helmet and shattering it.

Camille puts the bow away and takes out the antler crown. She sighed and holds it close with Athena's spear. She carefully folds the owl wings on her back and flies downwards towards Porphyrion. As Camille swoops down, she left a glowing trail of green and blue ink. She points Athena's spear straight at the head, timing it with Porphyrion moving his head up to stare at the charging Camille.

Then there was a flash, and a blue lightning and a green lightning strike Porphyrion's head. When the brightness dims, the Gigantes staggered and then laid on his back, giving an exhausted breath. Blue and Green ink covered the Arowana Mall's turf.

((End of music background))

Camille lands gently at the center of the mall and reverts back to her normal form, wearing her casual clothes. Everyone that was there gathered to congratulate Camille, but she collapses in exhaustion.

Soon Agent 7, Telemachus and Neo-Nexus Corp arrived after containing the Typhonian Horde in the Kelp Dome.

Two days left until the final battle.