#maybe i can start again now that i broke the ice :000

[abyssal808]

S1 Soulmate Au prompt inspired by @subbaculture 's prompt wherein "Eddie learns Tengwar just to be special and so Steve's been kicking around with "What's Kickin', Sexy?" on his body

What Tommy Hagan hadn’t been blessed with in terms of intelligence. God - in his allegedly infinite wisdom - had seen fit to redistribute into shoulder width.

Tommy, in turn, swanned around Hawkin’s High shoulder-checking every freak, geek and nerd into nearby lockers; with the kind of wingspan better suited to weirdly proportioned monkeys.

Hellfire members were no stranger to it. Two weeks ago Hagan had run into Gareth hard enough to leave a bruise. A “bump” with enough force behind it that he’d bounced off the lockers and landed on the floor.

Which, fine, two could play at that game. Even if Hagan could barely get his hand off Carol’s tits to realize there were counter-moves to be made at all.

A grade A dick move, even if it was also incredibly boring and pedestrian. The kind of thing jocks who barely had two braincells to rub together saw as peak comedy. Giggling like a cross between a group of cavemen and a flock of pre-school girls whenever their ring-leader du jour started herding freaks like a neurotic border collie.

“Watch it, freak.” Hagan hissed, skirting around Eddie without bothering to shove him at all. Giving a wide berth to whatever zone of contagious freak cooties being Eddie Munson brought to the table.

Behind him, Gareth - blocked from the rest of the hall by Eddie’s leather jacket, in a way only freshies were short enough to pull off - buried a laugh in a cough, muffled into the heel of his hand. Not missing the way that even Hagan - the most infamous asshole of them all - looked ready to bolt as soon as Eddie waved him off in a jaunty salute.

Victory tasted sweet and electric. Fizzing under his skin the way Wayne’s Miller Lites would bubble in the back of his throat, whenever Eddie stole a sip from the half open cans in the back of their fridge. It made him stupid in a way those brief tastes of beer hadn’t managed to yet.

Being The Freak came with perks. An untouchable radius that left Eddie drunk with power. Riding the high of knowing that maybe Highschool didn’t have to suck all the time. That he could play at being a rabid guard dog for the lost little sheep of the world, rail against dickheads like Hagan and win.

Maybe he could use it to plead temporary insanity for what he did next. Riding the high into a really, spectacularly stupid idea.

Everyone had their words.

Eddie’s were tucked away, hidden along the curve of his rib. A curly chicken scratch that mixed print and cursive into a barely legible mess.

‘Is that like, yiddish?’

A weird-ass question, until Eddie had pulled an all nighter on a now infamous school night, falling in love with Middle earth. Head filled with nothing but the dark halls of Khazad-dûm, the sweeping boughs of Lothlórien.

Speak friend and enter.

Pedo mellon a minno.

He’d traced the words over and over. Thrilled by the lilt, the cadence, the beautiful rise and fall of consonants no one else would understand.

Setting his heart there and then on the dorkiest greeting anyone could have come up with. But hey, it was original, which was half the battle people went through when picking soulmate greetings.

He’d gone through several variations. Always in Sindarin, because why the hell not.

People usually saved them, tucked them far away from casual conversation. Bizarre phrases, always non-sequitour, brought out only for special occasions. That lightning strike of instant attraction. People you could see yourself connecting with. Hoping they would be a part of you as much as you were theirs.

He couldn’t see himself connecting with Tommy Hagan in a million years. Not even if they waited in that hallway until the heat death of the universe.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t terrorize him with the possibility.

“What’s Kickin’ Sexy?”

He yelled after Hagan’s retreating back, with its fuck-off wide shoulders; elvish mangled, but passable. Enjoying the rictus of horror on his face, going from anger to fear and back again.

He shifted on his heel, pushing Gareth further behind him in case things got ugly. Herding him back towards Jeff with little bumps, as both of them tried to muscle down their cackling. Nerdy enough to piece together the gist of what Eddie had been hollering about. Even if Jeff was better at Quenya, because he was a weirdo and a purist about that kind of shit.

All in all, a job well done, assuming Hagan didn’t flip his shit and start throwing punches to assert dominance.

Or at least, it felt like it, until Harrington - trailing behind Hagan - sucked all the air out of the room. Hands on his hips, a furrow on his brow, blurting it out without even thinking about it.

“Is that like, Yiddish?”

You could have heard a pin drop.

Panic clamped around Eddie’s throat like a vice. The same way Gareth’s hand, tiny and tense - he had yet to hit his growth spurt - wrapped around the edge of Eddie’s leather jacket. Pushing past the waistband of his jeans to claw at skin.

The side that mattered, one they both knew had those words that wrapped around Eddie’s chest. Curving towards the sternum.

Whatever face he was making gave it away instantly.

Harrington’s face shuttered and fell. A whole host of micro expressions that passed through in a second before he scrubbed them away. A pair of shaking hands that rubbed at his eyes and dragged down his face. Peeking at Eddie through a gap in his fingers.

“Jesus Christ it’s you; isn’t it?”

Behind Eddie, Gareth tugged him half a step back, nails digging into his hip. Little half-moon crescents he barely felt now, but would find later.

“Steve?” The waver in Hagan’s voice would have been funny if it wasn’t nauseating.

Terrifying, when Steve waved him off and stepped towards Eddie. Jerky and halting, like a puppet with half it’s strings cut.

“I can’t fucking believe this Munson. You gotta tell me if it is.” Steve bit out, with a wobble that sounded too trembling and confused to be anger. Even if it would come later.

It was probably coming later.

Anger always got there in the end, with boys like Harrington. Sharp comebacks and sharper right hook always winning out, spurred on by that bone-deep, animal fear of losing your place in the social food chain.

King Steve didn’t seem worried it yet though. Adding to the bizarre hilarity of the situation as he undid his belt and untucked his shirt to the concerned shouts of everyone left in the hall, witnesses to this trainwreck.

If Eddie hadn’t been convinced he’d died and gone to purgatory a minute earlier. He would have been convinced there and then.

As Steve Harrington turned around, bunched his striped polo up high and his khaki’s down low. Stripping down to show the athletic curve of a hip. The dip of a waist that looked small next to his swimmer’s shoulders - almost wide enough to rival Hagan’s - a scattering of moles that dusted across his lower back, framing his mark.

There, on King Steve’s back, bracketed by dimples, low enough to count as a truly slutty tramp stamp sat Eddie’s words. The swooping curves of Tengwar branded into his skin.

“What’s kickin’, Sexy?”

[southernrays]

location: Fairvale + Jesup/Atlanta in flashbacks date: The second week of July 2020 + Ray’s entire life availability: closed solo tldr: Ray ponders his love life before-during-after the apocalypse cw for: transphobia, disclosure talks, transitioning, divorce, drugs (mentioned not used) and all of the general heart break affiliated with young love.

000.

Ray fell in love too easily.

It had always been a problem, really, but there was no real fix. Ray loved deeply, easily, and with his whole entire heart. He had done so since he was a kid, and he would probably always do so, apocalypse or not.

001.

His first crush had been on Brittany Walker when he was six years old. That was before he was Ray, before he was even Nate, but a crush was a crush.

Brittany was the most popular girl in their elementary school. Jesup was a small town that only grew smaller the older they got, and Ray was one of ten in his class. Brittany was classically pretty - blonde hair, blue eyes, a big smile, and kind eyes - but Ray knew it was more that that. He didn’t want to be Brittany’s friend, he wanted to be her best friend, and got jealous of everyone else. When the town got a new set of siblings, brother and sister, and Brittany started hanging out with them instead of him, Ray’s father noticed the frowns and sad looks at the dinner table.

“What’s wrong, champ?” David had asked, the nickname sticking from a t-ball championship streak of two years. Ray had pouted over the okra on his plate, and not just because it was slimy.

“Brittany has new friends and likes them better. But I like her more than anyone else on the playground.”

“Is that right now?” David had amusement in his eyes when he tried to keep a straight face, and Ray was old enough to see it. He was deceptively perceptive for his age and already a good people watcher at the bar. David knew that.

“I’m serious Dad. I’d marry her, like you and mom.”

Ray was still just six, though. He didn’t notice the tense of his father’s shoulder, the way he glanced over to make sure that his wife wasn’t in the room. He didn’t notice the frown lines on his face or how unhappy he had been for the last six years. He didn’t know that the divorce papers will be signed before their next Christmas, and it will be spent without Regina Turner. That all of his birthdays and holidays and life events would be without her, forever, very soon.

“That’s a whole lot of like, kiddo.”

“I mean it, Pa.”

“That’s alright champ. You can marry whoever you want to when you get older, alright? I’ll love you no matter what.”

“Alright dad,” little Ray had said with a wrinkle of his nose. “Don’t make it weird.”

David’s laugh had filled the kitchen, and Ray felt better about it all.

002.

Ray didn’t have a type growing up. The people he liked, he liked individually, not because they fit into a mold that checked off imaginary boxes. In high school his eyes turned towards a new girl in town that’s aesthetic screams southern gothic in an unironic way. Hailee wore her eye liner too thick, kept her music too loud, wore too much black and metal, and glared at everyone at Jesup’s only high school like their mere presence bothered her. Ray had no idea, in retrospect, why he was drawn to her, but he was. Ray was finally Nate by then, finally himself in his own skin and his own clothing and no one could take that from him. Not the busybodies of Jesup, not his mother’s stinging palm on his cheek, and not any pastor of a Church he wasn’t apart of, praying to a man he didn’t believe in. 

Ray was unapologetically himself, and maybe he was drawn to someone else like that, too.

Hailee avoided him like the plague, too, at first. She scoffed at his worn levis and dirty cowboy boots. She ignored Ray when the popular crowd stopped by his locker. Ray was popular, too, in spite of his transition and small town gossip. His father owned one of the only bars in town that made him cool, and a source of liquor for unage drinking and parties. Ray didn’t care much for that, but he did appreciate the socialization of it all.

“Hey, Hailee, wait up now,” Ray had called out, almost not recognizing his own voice after his second puberty. 

“What do you want, Nate?” Her eyes had narrowed, pretty and green despite the kohl surrounding them. 

“You to come to Nick’s party this weekend. What do ya say?” Ray rocked back on his heels, nervous of her answer. People in the hallway stopped to look at them, and Ray wondered what they saw. Was it the stubble on his chin, his recent growth spike, and the new squareness of his hips? Or was it the same kid that had been there since pre-school, unable to leave that old, uncomfortable skin behind.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Yeah? You do that, then. I can pick ya up on the bike if you want?” 

Her eyes flashed with something dangerous, then, and Ray knew he had hooked her. What kind of edgy girl could resist showing up to the party on the back of a sick motorcycle?

They find themselves in a closet, of all places, in the middle of the night. Ray tasted tequila on her lips when she slotted their hips together. He pushed back, pinning her against a wall as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. The groan she let out was sweet music to his ears and she melted like putty against his strong frame.

“Worth comin’ out for the party?” Ray asked against her lips. She bit his lip in retaliation before deepening the kiss. Ray’s hands wandered, fingers trailing the skin exposed by the black crop top she had decided to wear tonight. They separate when Ray needed to come up for air, harsh pants filling the small spaces of the closet.

“I didn’t expect it to be so good,” Hailee mumbled against his lips, and Ray can’t help but freeze.

“What? Kissin’ a redneck?” He tried to joke off, desperate for her to make some small town hick joke. Because Hailee was from Indianapolis. She was supposed to be edgy and alternative and beyond all of the small town gossip. She was different from the other people Ray had been taking hayrides with since the days of diapers. 

He expected more out of Hailee - maybe more than he should have, maybe more than what was fair - which is why the disappointment felt so much worse with her.

“No, you know...” A brief pause of hesitation and Ray prayed, dear God for her to say anything but what he thought she was going to say. “Kissing someone like you.”

Ray flinched back like someone had dropped a bucket of ice on him. His eyes sting for a brief second of embarrassment before the rage took over. He takes one deep breath, and then another. Man, testosterone was a potent thing, wasn’t it?

“I... I’ll see ya ‘round Hailey.”

“Wait - Nate - I didn’t ... I wasn’t trying to-”

Ray doesn’t hear the rest. He doesn’t need to.

003.

Dating Xavier was a mistake, plain and simple.

Ray was new to the area. He was finally free of his town, free of the stigma and the knowing looks, and the everything else that came with a town so small it felt like a fishbowl. Here, in Atlanta, he got to start over. He could be Nate from the beginning, without any need to pretend otherwise.

And Nate was a useless bisexual. Always had been.

Xavier was kind of a douchebag. He met Ray at a bar, of course, his band playing on the makeshift stage. Xavier was a drummer. He was so dang pretty, easy on the eyes, and kissed in a dirty, grungy sort of way that had it’s charms. He was nothing like Jesup kids; Xavier was spoiled, wild, a city boy through and through, and Ray craved the simplicity of it all.

Xavier (who went by X) was not a good guy and did drugs (most X) and got crossfaded out of his mind after shows. He stayed up crazy hours, usually high, and wrote all sorts of lyrics for his band. Their relationship, if you could call it that, was very brief and mostly physical.

“You should play guitar, babe, like for real, you know?” Xavier said, waking Ray up at five in the morning to tell him that.

“Why’s that, handsome?” Ray had answered, sleep still clogging his voice as he rolled over. It looked like X hadn’t been to sleep yet, which made sense considering the binge he had been on.

“It’d make you more edgy, right, like, you’d be hotter. Everyone’s hotter if they play guitar.”

“S’that why you’re a drummer?” Ray teased, but the fun nature of it went over Xavier’s head. He leveled a big scowl at Ray, and Ray sighed.

“No need to be mean, Nate.”

“Was just a joke, baby.” Ray opened up the covers of the bed, glancing at the clock again. Xavier’s pupils were so dilated that he couldn’t see his pretty brown eyes. “Come to bed soon?”

“You know I have to finish this song. We hit the road in three weeks for our tour.”

In that three weeks, Ray picked up a guitar and had his first lessons, broke up with Xavier, and never saw the guy again.

He was not more edgy, not in the slightest, but he did have a new guitar and a whole city to explore.

004.

Meeting Luci had been accidental in every way. He had picked up an extra shift at the bar that his manager forgot to write into the schedule, so when he showed up for it there was double staffing and no need for Ray to be there. Instead of spending a Friday night alone, at his apartment, he decided to stay. Ray nursed a couple of beers as the bar filled up and texted his friends to show up early.

The Drunken Crown was a sort of themed bar-slash-pub in Atlanta. It was smaller, which Ray appreciated, and had theme nights on the daily. A lot of the college kids from nearby spent their time there, and the average patron was generally on the younger side. On Fridays and Saturdays their theme rotated, and tonight’s was Historic Night. 

His friends arrived a bit later, dressed in Spartan battle gear. They did a couple rounds of shots before most of them took to the dance floor, leaving Ray laughing as he refused at the bar.

Ray had come dressed in an honest to goodness toga, including a gold spray-painted leaf crown and golden accessories. His time in the gym had definitely paid off as he was finally bulking up and gaining more definition in his shoulders. One or two girls had been orbiting around him, but Ray didn’t make any passes at anyone. He sipped on his beer, watching his coworkers make their rounds, and decided to people watch for the evening.

A group of flappers were tearing up the dance floor. Ray could see his buddy, Blake, drunkenly approaching them and attempting some dance moves that made him look ridiculous. Some guys in three piece suits were making out by the entrance. A group of hippies were eagerly chatting and mingling at the bar. Ray saw at least three girls who looked like some extras in a Nirvana video begging for some kind of song change from whatever was on the speakers.

Luci had been dressed up as an old writer, someone Ray knew the name of but couldn’t remember, not truly and definitely not any more, and kept all to herself in the very corner of the bar. She was sipping on some mixed drink and Ray’s eyes stopped on her. What was her story? The quiet girl, alone at the bar, barely hanging onto the fringes of all of the activity. 

He was intrigued, and he wanted to know.

A simple introduction was given. Ray prodded, trying to get a feel for the quiet girl, who opened up immediately when asked about her costume. Ray was no academic, but he appreciated the passion in her eyes when she spoke about something, voice louder than either one of them expected.

“I’m Nate, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”

And it was. Luci was his opposite in so many ways. He hadn’t expected to see her again after that night, too shy to ask for her number and unsure if she was interested in giving it. His coworkers had given him hell for chickening out, and Ray just gave them a good-natured smile.

A week and a half later, Luci came in, dressed normally, while Ray was working. He spent the entire night neglecting his duties, trying to get a conversation out of her and working his own natural charm. And she came back the next week, and the week after, too. Soon Ray was brave enough to ask for her number. And she gave it to him.

Being with Luci was different. Their first date, Ray had taken her out of the city to a local dirt track. They went mudding in ATVs and Ray nearly fell off of his trying to impressive her halfway through. Luci’s eyes had been wide the entire time, soaking up the whole thing with a curiosity that Ray came to associate with her. One date turned into two, which turned into a whole series of exploring together. 

They took turns taking each other outside of their comfort zones. Ray taught Luci how to have fun the country way, with mudding and camping, and picnics in the bed of his truck as they watched the sun rise together. Luci surprised Ray with her deep thoughts, her sharp mind, and the push to better himself with her. She didn’t let him keep up his self-deprecation. They would have late night conversations, under the stars, all alone, wrapped up in each other.

She met his friends, his family, incorporated herself in his entire life.

Ray fell head over heels. And he told her so, earnest and eager and open to love. Open to a lifetime of learning and exploring with her. 

And she left him, at the edge of the cliff he was ready to jump off with no parachute, without so much as an explanation. And she took a part of him with her, whether she realized it or not, that never really came back.

005.

There were more. Some before Luci, some after. Each person was different - different backgrounds, ages, race, gender, personalities - but one thing always remained the same. Ray loved too hard, too much, too easily. Ray was open to the idea of commitment, and committed, too easily. 

 It didn’t matter who he was dating, he was the constant, he was the issue, and it hurt to admit.

Ray tried, and he loved, before-during-after the outbreak. And it went like this:

There was Rob, a brewmaster he met while at school. They dated for over a year, before graduation hit; Ray wanted to go to Atlanta and Rob wanted to go to family back in Miami.

“It’s like - you know - I really like you Nate. I like you a lot. But long distance? It never works. It’s better to end it now.”

There was Sage, a wild child trust fund girl that wanted to save the rainforest with Daddy’s money. She laughed when he asked her to be his girlfriend.

“That’s cute, you thought we were dating? It’s not that serious babe.”

There was Fi, a survivor in a camp Ray had stumbled across after leaving the Fort. She was the reason Ray stuck around for three weeks. They had had an awful fight before the camp was overrun, and she hadn’t made it out alive.

“You’re too soft, Ray. I’d chew up your sunshine and spit it out. I don’t want to see you again.”

There was Ronnie, the permanent student with four different bachelor degrees. He cheated on Ray with one of his roommates after six months of dating.

“I was bored, Nate. I’m not ready to just settle down, dude. You’re smothering me.”

There was Destiny, a small town, kindred girl he found in Atlanta not too long after Xavier. She had looked at him in the worst way when Ray had come out to her.

“I’m - I’m not - That’s not what God would want for you, you know?”

There was Jenny, a financial advisor that Ray had met through the bar and mutual friends. She had always been so carefree, maybe too carefree, maybe just too free in general.

“Oh Darlin’, I don’t think so. We’re not exactly endgame, are we?”

It didn’t matter who, when, where they were. Ray wasn’t worth keeping around - that was the universally proven fact. It was one he had to stomach his entire life, and well, it sucked, but Ray was not one to stay down. He washed off the mud, dusted off his boots, and got back up again.

000. +

Ray tried not to play the self pity card. It just wasn’t his style. But with the outbreak, losing his family, and trying to re-invent himself yet again? A relationship was the last thing he wanted or needed. Fairvale was a clean break, it was (mostly) mess free. He could be whoever he wanted or needed. He could start over, again. He could protect himself and his heart.

Love mucked all of that up. It always had.

So when he caught himself - again, Ray, really? - people watching with his eyes settling on one person, he ignored it. When he felt that small flip-flop in his belly at their smile, he pushed it down. When his day would brighten at the familiar face of a kind-of-regular-that-showed up, Ray decided he would not have a crush again, thank you very much, and make things uneven. 

He could not afford to give up his heart any more than he already had. He couldn’t afford to be let down, disregarded, by someone again.

[alexboehm55144]

Alex Final Wars 2: Dark Alex, Chapter 14 - The Remanent Fleet

Despite Finals happening this week, I have found enough time to post another exciting chapter! First, Id like to thank @jafethortiz for once again providing a wonderful picture for this story! This time the picture is of the second in command of Heroes, Toothdee! As always I hope everyone is doing well, and if your studying for finals as I am, keep it up!

000000000

The storm was still battering the US fleet, forcing the team to wait for the weather to clear before they could finish off the rest of the Chinese armada. Nick & Judy were spending their time watching a movie in their cabin while cuddling & munching on popcorn. The bunny loved petting Nick’s soft tail, & spent most of the time looking at Nick.

“Come on carrots, your missing the movie. I’m not gonna constantly rewind it.”

“But Nick, I want to cuddle with you! Also, can you rewind it, I missed that last scene.”

“Somebunny can’t stay away from her fox.”

The rabbit rested her head on his chest and tried to fall asleep, but Nick kept teasing her & keeping her awake.

“Oh, let me sleep,” Judy said.

“I will, for a few kisses.”

The rabbit sat up and cupped her mate’s muzzle before leaning in.

“Attention all personnel,” Toothdee said through the intercom “the storm is weakening, we’ll be engaging the Chinese fleet soon.”

The couple groaned at their moment being interrupted, & realized they should probably go prepare their gear.

“Eh.... the war can wait,” Judy said, kissing her fox.

000

“We haven’t intercepted any radio traffic from the Chinese,” Toothdee said, steering the typhoon over an inland ocean channel that was filled with ice. “Maybe the snow or the cold is wreaking havoc with their instruments.”

The storm had partially cleared, but the snow was still falling & the sky was still obscured by dark clouds.

“Well, we’re ready should there be any Chinese resistance,” Alex said, him & JayJay sitting at gunner positions.

“Uh... I’m not sure I know how to operate this.” The wolf said, looking over the controls while Toothdee facepalmed.

“It’s easy JayJay, think of it as a game. Just select your viewpoint & use the controls to aim & fire. I’ve taught you this a hundred times.”

“Well, it’s nerve-wracking doing it for real.”

Alex stood up & walked over to the wolf’s control panel & began walking her through the operating process again, encouraging her with gentle words & pats on the shoulder.

“Hostile warship sighted!” Toothdee yelled, seeing the stern of a Chinese ship come into view through the falling snow. Alex raced back to his gunnery position and opened fire.

Shells & cannon fire began hitting the Chinese warship, but the fire from the typhoon soon stopped as the crew noticed something was off about this Chinese ship. It had been wrecked, crashed upon the frozen shore of the channel. The whole vessel was tipped slightly, and there was no sign of occupation.

Eris, Kion, & Jack entered the bridge and took in the view of the derelict ship.

“What happened to it?” Kion asked.

“It might have been wrecked from the storm,” Eris suggested

“Uh, guys?” JayJay spoke up.

Everyone turned to the wolf, who was pointing forward out the bridge window.

Looking up, the team saw more Chinese warships from the remanent fleet, some caught in thick ice, others simply sitting idle. A few had been docked at what appeared to be an abandoned structure nearby.

“What happened to them all?” Jack asked as the typhoon passed by one of the stranded ships.

“I guess the storm hit them pretty hard.” Toothdee said, “looks like they attempted to go ashore.”

“What’s that building anyway?” Eris said.

“Must be some old outpost, it’s made of wood so maybe it’s from the 1800s or early 1900s.”

“2 of those ships are still moving!” Kion said, spotting active vessels.

“Battle stations!” Alex yelled, prompting Eris, Jack, & Kion to jump into combat positions.

One of the warships opened fire, it’s cannons striking the side of the typhoon. The Hero ship returned fire while moving to cover behind an abandoned Chinese vessel. Managing to get into a favorable position, the typhoon blasted one of the warships and dealt heavy damage. As the hostile ship turned to face the typhoon, it was struck by missiles and shells, causing critical damage and making it crash into the nearby shoreline.

A few small fast attack craft joined the battle, firing at the typhoon alongside the larger warship.  The typhoon moved away from the Chinese ship, passing through a narrow corridor between an icy cliff & a derelict vessel.

“Target that cliff face!” Alex said as the enemy ship approached through the corridor. With sustained fire, the ice, snow, and rock on the cliff cascaded downwards onto the Chinese ship, pinning it against the other derelict ship. The avalanche even managed to take out a couple of the smaller craft.

“Light them up,” Toothdee ordered, the typhoon opening fire with all weapon systems. The Chinese warship broke apart and burst into flames. The presence of fire from the destroyed ships was a welcome sight in a landscape full of snow and ice.

The remaining craft withdrew, and the typhoon even managed to shoot a few down as they tried to retreat.

“See JayJay, was that so bad?” Alex said.

“No, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.” The wolf admitted.

“What’s the plan?” Jack asked.

“Toothdee, take us in for a ground expedition.” The captain said, to which Toothdee obliged, maneuvering the ship near the shore and setting it down. “Kion, go get Jasiri and have both of you suit up cold weather gear. Toothdee, prepare for an excursion. JayJay, you're in charge till we get back, Eris, Jack, keep a look out for hostile activity.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and went about performing their duties. The typhoon, and Heroes in general, was run like a well-oiled machine with people working together to accomplish a task. While at the same time maintaining a good relationship that served to strengthen the group.

The 4 squad members got ready to go ashore and destroy the remanent fleet once and for all.

000

For missions in cold climate, the kit for Heroes operatives differed from the normal kit. Gear and uniforms were colored with arctic camouflage, extra rations and equipment to start fires were packed into survival kits. Whoever was going out donned a heavy coat to keep warm, especially Alex, as humans lacked thick fur to retain heat. Snow goggles and masks covered their faces, and the team was ready for a battle in sub-zero temperatures.

Toothdee’s garb didn’t change much from her normal attire, as her species was capable of surviving in ice-cold environments.

Once the squad was ready, they set off through the forest, following tracks in the snow, along with using an intercepted Chinese radio call to guide them. Gunfire was also piercing the air, but the team was unable to figure out what the Chinese would be firing at.

“Toothdee, are you sure your comfortable?” Kion inquired, noting her lack of thick protective clothing.”

“I’m fine.” She assured him, “I don’t even feel cold.”

Kion shrugged and turned to Jasiri “what about you? Are you warm enough sweetie?”

“My nose is cold but other than that I’m fine.” The hyena said, the group continuing to trudge through the deep snow.

Kion pulled down his facial mask and gave the hyena a kiss on the nose, causing her to laugh. But the sound of laughter was interrupted by yelling in a foreign language.

“Hostile soldiers!” Toothdee said, the team getting ready for combat as a small group of Chinese infantry burst out of the nearby tree line, frantically running and looking behind them.

Thinking they were being ambushed, the group of heroes instinctively opened fire, downing the Chinese soldiers. The hostiles didn’t even get to fire a shot.

“Whew, better luck on your next ambush guys,” Kion said

“Did you just trash talk dead bodies?” Jasiri inquired.

“You know it didn’t exactly seem like they were ambushing us.” Toothdee said, “We fired at them out of instinct, but they were running from something.”

“Yeah, look at this guy, he only had his combat knife,” Alex said, examining the dead soldiers.

“What could have scared them? And more importantly, is it still here?” Kion asked, taking a look deep into the trees.

Jasiri proposed a theory.

“Maybe they mutinied or something, they could have been fed up with being lead up into this fringed environment.”

“In any case,” Alex said, “this should help us avoid any more surprises.”

The captain took out a small device that looked like a fat smartphone with a screen on one side. Turning it on, he aimed the device at his squad mates to verify that it worked, before attaching it to a tactical rail on the side of his gun.

“What’s that?” Kion asked, looking over the blue screen.

“Heartbeat sensor,” Alex responded, “It should detect any hostiles in the area.”

He aimed his weapon into the forest. A couple of red dots appeared on the screen.

“That’s 6 hostiles.”

One of the dots completely disappeared, indicating the individual had expired.

“Wait, now there’s 5.”

“Are they killing each other?” Jasiri wondered as the Heroes team watched the screen.

2 more dots disappeared, and the remaining 3 dots grew weaker and weaker until disappearing.

“So.... they’re all dead now?” Kion said, hoping he could get his hands on a heartbeat sensor at some point.”

“No,” captain Boehm said, looking towards the trees. “Did you notice how 3 of those dots got weaker instead of completely disappearing instantly? That means those individuals are still alive, but they’ve moved beyond the operational range of this device.”

“Let’s go see what’s happening,” Toothdee said, setting off into the forest with the other 3 behind her.

After traveling a short distance through the snow, the group came to a small clearing where the bodies of fallen Chinese soldiers were lying. Weapons and equipment were strewn about the area, and a few military working dogs the Chinese had been using also lay fallen in the cold snow.

“What happened to them?” Jasiri asked as the group examined the remains.

“Wild animal attack?” Kion hypothesized “there are wild wolves up here right?”

“These injuries aren’t consistent with wild animal attacks.” Alex said, looking at a body, “these marks don’t look like they’re from claws and teeth, but instead from.... melee weapons.”

“Who lives up here and has melee weapons?” Kion said, a quizzical look on his face.

“Plus if these were wild animals they would have stayed and eaten their fill.” Jasiri said, before muttering “disgusting” under her breath.

“It wouldn’t hurt to see if there were wolves out here though.” Alex said, standing up “it would be one less thing to worry about or one more thing to be aware of.”

The captain turned on his radio.

“JayJay, do you read me?”

“Hey, Alex.”

“This might seem like an odd request, but we want to know if there are any wild wolves in the area. So you think you could try howling?”

After a pause, JayJay responded.

“Uh... ok. I don’t want to start a howl though. Just hang on a sec.”

The radio call shut down briefly while JayJay headed out onto the deck of the typhoon to complete her task.

A long howl pierced the air for a few seconds, it’s sound stretching across the snowy landscape. Any wild wolves in the area would certainly hear it and respond with howls of their own.

“Sounds pretty,” Alex said to himself as the world grew quiet again. The silence remained for a few seconds as everyone waited for a return howl.

“Nothing,” JayJay said “there’s no one out here.”

“Understood, thank you JayJay.”

“Anytime Alex.”

“Well, we’re still a ways from that intercepted radio call,” toothdee said, “let’s get going.”

As they walked the team continued to discuss exactly what happened to those Chinese soldiers.

“So if it wasn’t wild wolves, maybe it was a wild mountain lion?” Kion hypothesized.

“No, the injuries are not consistent with a wild animal attack,” Toothdee said before Alex's heartbeat sensor began to display some signatures. Slowly moving forward, the team came across a small group of Chinese soldiers, unaware of their presence. A military dog barked at where the group was hiding, but his handler held the dog back and assumed he was barking at a wild squirrel or another animal.

An opening volley of grenades took out a few of the soldiers, and bursts of gunfire from toothdee and Jasiri downed even more. Alex and Kion raced forward and finished off the last few soldiers with their blades.

As the team was getting ready to move on Alex noticed some odd footprints in the snow. The rest of the group came over and examined the tracks, which definitely didn’t belong to any Chinese soldiers.

“Wait a sec.” toothdee said, planting her foot in the snow next to one of the tracks, leaving a footprint of her own. After she removed her foot the team looked between Toothdee’s impression in the snow, & the mystery tracks. The unknown tracks had a striking resemblance to Toothdee’s footprints.

“Have you been here before or something?” Kion wondered.

“Did we get turned around?” Jasiri said, looking at her surroundings.

“If we got turned around then we would see lion, hyena, & human tracks as well,” Alex said. As the team wondered why these strange impressions were here, and why they looked so similar to Toothdee’s footprints, the heartbeat sensor lit up again.

“One signature,” Alex said, as the team prepared themselves. “It’s very close by.”

The captain looked towards the trees where the signature would be, and he spotted a large figure with blue fur, looking back at him from a hiding place beneath some branch. For a second their eyes met, and the figure then raced off in a blue blur, causing branches to break and allowing the team to get a pretty good look at the figure.

“Whoa! Uh... I’m not the only one who saw that right?” Kion said.

“That guy..... looked a lot like you Toothdee,” Jasiri noted

Alex headed over and looked on the ground where the figure had been. More of the mystery track heading off in the direction the figure ran. The team preceded to follow the tracks, which also lead in the direction of the intercepted radio call.

“Uh... Toothdee?” Kion said, “what do you know about your species?”

“Not much, only what I see in myself.” She responded. “I don’t remember much of my early life, so I can’t tell you anything really. I lived on my own for a while and then met Alex. People didn’t really have a problem with me being kind of an oddball, and I got used to considering myself as the only known member of my species.”

“That wouldn’t be a weird thing.” Alex said, “In Chima, there are a few people who are the only known members of their species.”

“I think you won’t be the only know member of your species after this mission,” Kion said

A large concrete structure began to appear through the trees.

“What’s this place?” Kion asked.

“Looks like something from the Cold War.” Jasiri responded while Alex brushed some snow off one of the walls, revealing the words ‘base 13’.

“Base 13?” Toothdee questioned.

“I think Jasiri is right.” Captain Boehm said as the group headed inside through a metal door that was already open. “This does look like some sort of Cold War-era outpost. It would make sense because we’re so close to Russia.”

The base had cold concrete floors, walls, and ceilings, and there was even some snow inside the structure, presumably having blown in through cracks or open doors.

2 more signatures appeared on the heartbeat sensor, and the team found 2 Chinese soldiers who must have been standing guard. Quickly dispatching the pair, the group proceeded forward and came upon a large room filled with desks, and old computer equipment. A group of hostiles occupied the room, trying to get some sort of radio equipment working, probably to call for reinforcements.

The abundance of Cold War era computers and wooden desks scattered about the room enabled the team to slowly sneak forward unnoticed. Alex got behind a hostile soldier and stabbed him with his knife, bring the soldiers down. His teammates were doing the same, and the number of enemies in the room slowly dwindled.

Toothdee pulled a hostile soldier over a tipped over desk before dispatching him, while Kion and Jasiri performed a synchronized takedown on 2 enemies that were talking.

Only a few enemies left. The captain performed a dual takedown on another pair of Chinese soldiers. Slashing their legs and throats in quick unison so they didn’t alert anyone.

The last 3 soldiers began to notice something was wrong, and they started looking around the room. But before they could do anything, they fell to the same blades that had killed the other soldiers in the room.

“Let’s check the rest of the base.” Toothdee said, “Make sure we got rid of everyone.”

The team continued out of the room, heading towards a T junction in the hallway they were walking down. Suddenly a large group of enemy soldiers sprinted across the T junction and disappeared from sign just as quickly as they had appeared. Racing to follow them, the team turned at the T junction and followed the Chinese to a garage. The garage was filled with snow, as its main doors were open, and any gear in the room had been covered.

The team engaged the soldiers, forcing hostiles began to fall back out of the base as more and more troopers fell to the ground.

Heroes kept the pressure on and moved out of the garage onto a snow-covered road. On one side of the road was a sharp upwards cliff, on the other side, was a guardrail that protected drivers from a harrowing fall down another cliff. The team took cover behind a pile of rocks from an avalanche and continued to engage the Chinese.

Suddenly the hostile gunfire completely stopped, and the young heroes peaked out of cover to see why. The Chinese soldiers lay dead, blood turning the nearby snow red. The abrupt stop of gunfire was surprising, but what was more surprising was that spears and arrows were driven into the bodies of the enemy troopers. The hostile forces had been turned into pincushions, in only a few seconds.

The team looked up at the cliff above, and laid eyes upon their saviors. A group of creatures, creatures of Toothdee’s species, stood at the top of the cliff. Their fur was varying shades of blue, and each individual creature was equipped with either a spear, a bow, or a melee weapon. Some even held old rifles that were partly made out of wood. Simple clothes adorned the bodies of the creatures, with some garments appearing old. Other individuals had clothes made out of wild animal pelts or were completely unclothed, their fur providing all the insulation they needed.

For a good 30 seconds, the Heroes team and the assembled group of creatures stared at each other, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. One of the creatures took a long look at Toothdee, probably judging her and determining his next course of action.

Eventually, the group of creatures turned around and walked away from the cliff, disappearing from view.

Toothdee was in disbelief, she had never seen another member of her species before.

“Well..... I guess Kion was right.” Jasiri said.

“You ok?” Alex asked his friend.

Shaking herself out of a daze, toothdee responded. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just..... I can’t believe that just happened. I’m not the only member of my species.”

“Do you want to... follow them or something?” Kion suggested, “Get to know members of your own species better?”

Toothdee thought for a moment, looking up at the cliff.

“No, my place is with Heroes.” She said, “I'm gonna stay and help the US win this war.”

Alex was grateful to hear that, Toothdee was an amazing warrior and tactician, and she had proved herself time and time again. The typhoon was her home, and she felt like she belonged there.

“Then let's go home, mission complete.” The captain said before the group set off to return to the typhoon.

000

Having made their way back to the typhoon, the team, bar toothdee, needed to warm up after their expedition. Kion and Jasiri had retreated back to their room to crawl into bed and snuggle under a blanket. Alex had gone to the kitchen to get some hot chocolate, before heading to the typhoon’s bridge and watching as toothdee piloted the ship towards a warmer climate. Toothdee had already recounted the report of their expedition to Laval, Judy, & Haida, who had joined her on the bridge.

“That’s quite a story,” Judy said, once the tale was complete.

“It does feel nice to know I’m not alone,” Toothdee responded. “But of course you guys are my family, I don’t need members of my own species to feel at home.

“We gotta think of a name for your race,” Alex said, taking a sip of his hot cocoa.

“Like a scientific name or a colloquial name?”

“I’m not sure about a scientific name, but for the colloquial one, how about ‘the Toothdee species.”

“What? That’s so uncreative.” Laval said.

“It makes sense. In Star Wars there’s a species called ‘the Yoda species.”

“Alright, fairs fair. But if I think of another name I’ll let you know.”

“Maybe we should just leave the naming up to the scientists.”

Alex smiled and sat back in a seat, watching the snow fall as they left the wreckage of the Chinese fleet behind them.

0000000000

So what did you think of that ice cold chapter with firey combat and a burning mystery? Please leave a review and I'll see you all next time!

[auraphantom]

The darkstache fic that somehow contains more Bing than darkstache

So i finished my first fan fic ever today! Here is the summary:

Ao3 link

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Whovianofmidgard: If there is ice cream, there is dark! conclusion: ice cream = Dark Auraphantom: I accept!

Aka the darkstache fic that somehow ended with Bing more in the focus than darkstache.

Ps: Sorry Bing

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Dark has called together an unexpected emergency meeting. Nothing about that sounded good. All the egos who gathered around the table waited with immense tension what the meaning of this meeting would be, the silence almost deafening, or maybe it was just the constant high pitch sound emanating from Dark's being. The only ones unfazed by the atmosphere were the Host, with his soft drone of narrations, and Wilford. Let's face it, good ol' bubblegum boy over here wouldn't pick up on a cold tense air even if it slapped him in the face... good for him though. Dark himself slowly looked about at the faces present, a mask of collected authority shown prominently on his expression only to occasionally crack away from his shell with an unmistakable simmering rage hiding behind of it all. After what felt like an excruciating few seconds he smoothed out his suit jacket in preparation to address the others and even before he said a word one of the Jims flinched at the motion, the poor soul already jumpy in anticipation of the worst. 

"Let's get straight to the point shall we? It has come to my attention that there has been some… tampering with our fundings." He said, his tone dangerously cool. "Would anyone care to explain?" The entity stood and placed his hands on the conference table, leaning on them, his figure somehow growing more imposing. "Now!" The others with a more sensitive heart cowered a bit at that last growl of order. However it didn't have the desired effect since everyone remained silent. With a scowl Dark pushed back up from the table to standing straight and willed himself to tone down his aggressive approach. Fear and intimidation as useful they can be is not always the way. He needs them on his side, to open up willingly. A calmer procedure is in order. "Google. What is the exact loss we've suffered?" He turned towards the android, starting to pace with slow, calculated steps. The red and blue colors of his aura slightly flickered at the word 'suffer'. "Calculating." Google pulled up a holographic screen in search. "The total of loss is 352 000$. ...Something doesn't add up..." "Oh poop, who even cares!" Wilford burst out, the message of him being clearly bored by all the official work jargon apparent in his attempt at balancing a pen on his finger. When it just fell on the table with a dull clang the pink ego just leaned in with his full body in the direction of Dark in an exaggerated show of giving his attention to him. "The number of the money is so boring. I betcha the answer of where that money ran off to is more exciting, don't ya think?" Dark spared a glance at Wilford which was less irritated than any look he would give to anyone else, and mulled over his old friend's words. "Agreed." With a deep sigh Dark sat back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose, mumbling. "What even happened with that much money..." Bing raised his hand, meekly, like a middle schooler. It took several moments for Dark and to the others to notice and a few more till everyone’s gaze was on him finally. A deep silence fell on the room as everybody waited for him to start speaking. It was rare from Bing to take part in a meeting due to his low popularity and Google being able to do everything that he ever could and more. But an emergency meeting is an emergency meeting and no ego was an exception from that. Still... Due to the rarity of an event like this, once in Bing's existence he had everyone's attention. Except for Google. But Google can multitask fairly well, there is four of him after all. "I might know what happened to the funds..." That got Google's attention too and now he was glaring at him. "What. Do. You. Know?"  Yikes. Dark's shell violently cracked, painting the room in hues of red and blue for split a second. Every ego in the room except Wilford seemed to flinch at that and scooted their chairs just a bit farther away from both Bing and Dark. Nobody likes to be near the splash zone. "Someone might have wanted to buy a cool motorbike-" Bing stated shyly. "- and someone might have made a few mis-clicks and..." "B i n g." "TheEgoIncMightBeTheProudOwnerOf-200 472-NewVespas" Finished Bing as fast as he could then promptly tried to slide down his chair and hide under the table, but he did not dare to disappear fully so his head poked out. A distant whistle could be heard, surprisingly from camera Jim and a really soft "Hot dam!" From mini Bing, who was put on a nearby shelf otherwise he wouldn't have seen anything. Dark's jaw slightly dropped. Any other time such a feat would have been considered impressive by all the egos, even by Wilford who was infamous of achieving it on several occasions, but this time it distressed all of them greatly. Google's face however turned from his scowl to confusion, he turned his head away for a second, mouth moving silently as he was running some calculations. "Wait... That still doesn't add up... " He looked back to the table with a serious face of concern. "That would have cost approximately 801 888 000.2$, way more than 352 000$!” While he was talking Dark's ringing slowly started to rise in volume, but Google continued. "That cost goes way beyond all of the Ego Inc's fundings, with a bill like that it would mean we are either bankrupt or in debt! And there is a monthly limit for how much each of us can spend at once, how did you even got around that?!" "Well-" Before Bing could even finish whatever he was trying to say, that would have probably made his situation worse anyway, an audible crack echoed through the whole meeting room, making everyone flinch. Meanwhile the ringing Dark emitted got  significantly louder, almost enough to hurt someone's ears. Everybody turned towards the head of the table, where it seemed Dark had stood up without them noticing. His shell was cracking violently every second and his aura more or less swallowed his end of the room. He seemed to shake slightly while clawing the table a bit and staring at nothing. "Dark, darling." Leaning a bit more in, Willford tried to speak up and draw Dark's attention towards him. It proved to be unsuccessful. With slightly wide eyes, he turned his attention towards Bing yet again and spoke. "   B i n g.   D i d   y o u   i n d e b t e d   u s?   " "B-bingo..." Whatever come over the android to make this joke has clearly done it now. A quiet "Ah, Bully!" could be heard from Wilford before the long table broke in half under Dark's power, that now has quickly eaten more and more of the room.

Panic overcame everyone as all hell broke loose. The Jims, in their frightened state, leapt over from their side over the broken table, knocking that piece over with them as they scurried towards the only exit, but they didn't get too far before they fell over one-another. Bim in his surprise only managed to kick his office chair away from Dark, then after a few meters he tumbled to the ground near the wall. Dr. Iplier grabbed The Host's arm and tried to drag him away but they fell over and tried to crawl away instead. Silver and Ed tried to run and hide behind the knocked over half of the broken table. Even Google was on his feet quick but only got to the corner of the room where he started analysing his chances of survival. "-And Wilford was nowhere to be seen." Narrated the Host quietly beside Dr. Iplier who was also looking for a way out now. Dark slowly, oh so slowly, started taking steps towards Bing's direction, his aura completely off the handle, ringing numbing out any other sound that could ever be heard, the colors bleeding to grey and static towards the center, near impossible now to see Dark's figure if it weren't for the spazzing red and blue outlines of his, the only two colors that could be seen now. 'This is it.' Thought Bing probably as the demon was making is way to him. 'This is how i die.' He would have felt like he was looking death right in the eyes, if only he wouldn't have notice some pale yellow and cotton candy pink moving in his periferia. That is sure as hell an attention grabber in an almost completely black and grey room. Somehow Wilford - obnoxious, loud, ostentatious, some would say; annoying, overexcitable, trigger happy, overly cheery, unpredictable menace, lunatic - Warfstache, somehow managed to sneak past Dark and get behind him, and he was holding a bucket of chocolate ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other? 'What?...' And if it weren't already weird enough, it got weirder. He lunged at Dark. To describe the noise, that came out of Dark's mouth upon impact, as a scream would be really underselling the sound that cracked the windows, and almost made everybody's eardrum burst and bleed.

His form visibly bent in an attempt to hold up Wilford’s sudden weight on him, an audible, sickening crack followed that visibly made Dr. Iplier vince next to the Host. In blind anger and probably confusion Dark tried to throw off his assailant, flailing and failing in it.

Wilford held on heroically, with one arm threw over Dark’s front holding the bucket of ice cream and the other opening it and scooping a spoonful of the dark chocolate wonder. “Sorry Darkling!” he said as he with one leg, looped around Dark’s waist and with the others foot, stepped into Dark’s lower back, which seemed to cause pain for him, as he opened his mouth again to scream. He then stuffed the scooped ice cream into his mouth, shutting him up before he could scream again. The air was still for a moment. Nobody dared to move as they watched Wilford cling to Dark’s back and now slowly letting go of the spoon. They stayed like that for a few second then Dark’s shoulder visibly slacked. Dropping his arms, his aura went significantly calmer than before.

He tilted his head back forward, seamingly staring blankly into nothing, then without a word he turned on his heel and left the meeting room, spoon still hanging out of his mouth and Wilford hanging off of him like a backpack.

The others could only stare at the door for a while not knowing how to take in what they just saw when Bim spoke up in a shaken voice. “ Maybe you should bail while you can.”

Bing could only nod at that dumfoldedly before he took off running. ------------------- The obnoxious android only dared to come back to the Ego building after three days. He was hiding out at Chase Brody's place, fearing that if he had stayed, Dark would have come and murder him when he was least expecting it. He would have stayed there longer if he could, but after the day it was apparent he will need his charger, which he left back home in his hurry to escape, and that drove him back. After entering the building he tried to sneak back to his room. In his way he managed to avoid stumbling into any of the other egos. Soon he reached the living quarters and the door to his room. He felt like Fortuna had smiled upon him until he opened his door. What he saw was... Well nothing! His room was almost completely barren except for the thrash can, which started to move! Mini Bing's head popped out from the empty trash can and turned towards Bing and shouted "I CALL DIBS!" then fall back into it. Bing just stood in the doorstep, feeling his jaw slowly drop in confusion and disbelief when a hand suddenly clasped on his shoulder, startling him out of his stupor. "Bing!" Shouted a very excited Wilford Warfstache. "Oh bully! It's good to see you back!" He seemed genuinely happy to see him. "And here we thought you would never come back!" "Incorrect." Injected Google, who just turned the corner and walked towards them. "Bing left without his charger and unless he finally realised himself, and wanted to rid the world free of himself, he would have come back for it." "Oh yeah! About that, here!" Wilford dug into one of his pockets and pulled out Bing's charger, handing it to him. "I had to save it in the last moment before Dark threw it away." Bing looked down to his charger, still processing the information he was just bombarded with, he slowly reached for it, taking it from Wilford. "Attaboy!" The pink man said as he clasped his shoulder once more before walking away then poofing away to god know where from the corridor. That left only him and Google- "Hmp." Aaand with that Google left the corridor too, leaving only Bing alone to contemplate on his lifestyle choices and its costs. "At least he could have left my skateboard."

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~A spoon full of ice cream, will make the demon calm down! The demon calm down.~