#maybe it's because there wasn't any build up? like with orange we knew something was wrong

[ellephlox]

Echolocation

Summary: A bat gets in the apartment. You discover that Daredevil actually does have at least one fear.

Pairing: Matt x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Just some swearing.

The apartment was serene.

And it was serene in more than volume level. There were no bandages left unwrapped on the counter or dried blood on the floor. No paperwork scattered on the table; Matt's work had somehow hit a lull over the past few days. The billboard outside was flashing a steady rotation of neon orange and blue, rhythmic to the point of atmospheric. Outside, there were no sirens, no screams. You wanted it to stay that way, because Matt was currently in a tee shirt and boxers, stretched out on the armchair and listening to an audio book with his earbuds in. You were curled up on the sofa, a book in your hands, fully absorbed and hardly paying attention to anything else.

It was, mercifully, peaceful.

And then Matt's head snapped upward, so fast that he rubbed his neck as though he had cricked it. "There's a bat in here," he said, so flatly that you thought you misheard him.

"A bat?"

"In the hallway."

"I don't see anything," you said, twisting around. "Are you sure?"

And that was when the thing soared by your head, flapping near enough that you felt it breeze by your head. "Oh, shit." It circled overhead, black and small. You dove to the floor, snatching a pillow to cover your head with. "Matt! Get it!"

You expected him to leap onto the couch, maybe do a flying kick through the air and knock the bat to the ground. But Matt went on the floor beside you as the bat swooped again, his head tilted as he listened closely to its movements.

"What are you doing?" you hissed, cringing as the bat flapped nearby again. "Aren't you going to... attack it? Shit — stop dive-bombing us, you little—"

Matt's face was reluctant. It was an expression you rarely saw on him, and it was disconcerting. "I'm not a fan of bats."

"Are you serious? You're — no offense — but you're practically a bat yourself!"

"They used to get into the orphanage sometimes and the nuns would just let them fly around for awhile until they found their way out. I've woken up to a bat on my bed before."

"On your bed? Ew."

"It was just sitting there, like it knew I was terrified."

"Damn. We're going to have to make a list of Things Matt Survived. Diving out a window, hundreds of fist fights, double-edged blades, undead ex-girlfriends, massive building collapse..." you said, ticking each on your fingers. "And now rabies. You're an official rabies survivor, Matt."

"I never actually had rabies."

"But the bat on your bed could've had rabies."

Matt winced as the bat flew overhead. "Why don't you take the reins on this one?"

"Take the reins?" you demanded. "I'm not the one with superpowers!"

"So you're going to burden the blind man with the responsibility of catching a bat?"

"You really don't like bats, do you?"

Matt lowered closer to the floor as the bat reentered the living room. "Whenever they got into the orphanage, they really hurt my ears, because I didn't know how to filter sounds as well back then," he admitted.

"Right. Bats make high pitched sounds for their echolocation, right? High frequency pulses, or something?"

"Yeah. I hated them. Still do."

"Ugh." You got onto your hands and knees, scoping out the room. The bat wasn't visible at the moment. "Can't believe I'm doing this."

Matt's eyebrows raised. "You're going to catch the bat?"

"For your information, I don't appreciate your incredulity. And it's your fault—" You thrust your pillow you had been using as a shield at him. "—for making me feel bad for your ten-year-old self. So, yes, I'm going to go catch myself a fucking bat tonight. Do we have any fishing nets?"

"Yes, right in the closet next to my badminton rackets and surfing wetsuit."

"Your sarcasm is not helping, Matt." You got to your feet, hunched over in case the bat came in. "Where is it right now?"

"Behind the coatrack. Be careful it doesn't scratch or bite you, in case it does have rabies."

"Are you really going to make me do this on my own?" you asked, hurrying to the kitchen for a trash bag. "Because, seriously, you're more agile than a cat and you beat up bad guys at night, yet you're leaving your poor girlfriend to risk her life all by her lonesome."

"You were the one who volunteered," Matt reminded you, still pressed against the floor.

This is getting ridiculous. You straightened, pulling the trash bag out and whipping it open. "Alright. Take notes, young grasshopper. I'll show you how it's done."

Matt watched you with what seemed to be amusement as you crept into the entryway. You could see the bat, sitting on the floor. Scooping it with the trash bag wouldn't be easy. But now you were determined to catch the damn thing, so you neared it a bit loudly in hopes that it would get frightened and go back into the air.

It stayed on the floor.

"Okay, then," you muttered, bending onto your knees. "Stay still." You lunged forward with the bag, but the bat took off at the last second, its wings grazing your hair as it flew upwards. You fell backwards, desperately covering your head, but the bat wasn't interested in you; it continued back into the adjacent room and flew to the top of the stairs, near the roof access.

"I know you're laughing," you snapped to Matt as you got to your feet. "Why don't you do it, tough guy?"

"I'm content here on the floor."

"My knight in shining armor."

"Want a good luck kiss?"

"No," you grumbled, pursuing the bat up the stairs. "I'm going to get it."

"Don't fall off the stairs."

"Ha. Wouldn't you feel bad if that happened and I ended up breaking my leg?"

Matt didn't say anything as he sat up slightly, smiling as though he were watching a damn comedy movie. He probably felt like he was. You were fairly sure that you were projecting quite the scene in his world on fire.

This time, as the bat flew near you, you refrained from getting out of its way and instead slashed the bag through the air, roughly where the bat was.

And—

It worked. You felt the bat hit the other side, inside the bag, and you sealed it shut immediately, yelping as the bag moved furiously. "Matt!"

"Go release it on the roof."

"What? What if it flies back at me in anger?"

"It won't."

"Or it could come back into the apartment — I don't even understand how the hell it got inside in the first place!" You thrust the bag towards him. "Take it! I caught it, you take care of it!"

"Alright." Matt got up and loped towards you, his hands in his sweatpants. If you didn't know any better, you'd think he was strolling into a spa for a massage. He took the bag, twirling it a few times to tighten the top, and then went up to the roof access. A few moments later he returned with an empty bag.

You looked at him suspiciously. "Why were you on the floor the whole time if you weren't even afraid? I thought you said you hated bats."

"I do."

"But you weren't afraid!"

"I wasn't," Matt confirmed, grabbing you by your waist and pulled you in closely. "My hero. You saved us from the bat."

You pushed him away. "Excuse me? If you weren't afraid, then why the hell did I go just catch a bat with a fucking trash bag?"

"Because I wanted you to enjoy the triumph of catching your very own bat," he deadpanned. "You were amazing, sweetheart. And... it might've been slightly entertaining for me."

"I can't believe you! Lying there on the floor! You asshole! And what if I'd gotten rabies from it?"

"I could smell the bat. I knew it didn't have rabies."

"Of course you smelled the bat," you muttered, drawing in to Matt against your will. Speaking of scents — he smelled clean, like fresh detergent, and you wanted to bury yourself in him. Sensing your change in disposition, he pulled you in again, this time towards the couch.

"I'll make it up to you," he said mischievously, tugging at your sleeve. "Come here."

"Fine."

"Although... I might've gotten a video of you while you tried to catch it in the entryway, just so Karen and Foggy can witness your accomplishment, too."

And to his credit, Matt let you tackle him into the couch without a complaint.

A/N: I dearly wish that I could say this all comes from imagination. A bat spent about five days living in our house last week and we could NOT CATCH IT. Literally it would fly in the living room, I'd scream and dive for the floor, my dad would be hollering at the dogs to get them safely outside, and by the time we got our act together it would always be gone, in hiding, until it emerged again the next night promptly at 9pm.

[bunwritesss]

Ode to Sleep

Summary: You cannot sleep. Maybe because the bed in the cells are uncomfortable as hell. Maybe because you're scared. Or maybe because you got used to sleep with Daryl at the Farm, and you're not used to sleeping alone anymore. Whatever the reason is, a certain hunter cannot sleep either, and will make sure to make the night at least a little more fun for you.

Genre: Fluff 💕

A/N: Hiiii everyone!! 💕Here's another oneshot inspired by a Twenty One Pilots song, I'm really going to do both of my favorite albums by them I think! Tell me if you have any ideas for the songs from Vessel and Heavydirtysoul as Daryl x Reader prompts, I'd love to hear them <3

You were currently sitting on the awfully hard bed of your awfully small cell, knees against your chest and wobbly arms carefully wrapped around you, sheltering you from the rest of the prison. You had tried to sleep for hours, counting sheeps and trying to work on your breathing, but being alone in such a small room made you slightly claustrophobic. So you gave up, waiting for the sun to rise again. It was too dark outside to read.

'Can't sleep?'

A voice outside of your room startled you, Daryl's silhouette standing at the entrance of your cell. He did not enter it, careful not to scare you. You nodded, and then realized he probably couldn't see you, so you responded in a loud whisper.

'Yup. You too?' 'Wanna come outside with me?' He ignored your question.

You immediatly rose to your feet, happy to have a distraction. Daryl was one of your favorite members of the group. Although he did not talk much, nor was always agreeable, he always knew how to make sure everyone was healthy, and to show his affection to the people he loved. You noticed he stopped snapping at you as soon as he realized you seemed more affected by it than the others, and he often brought you a little trinket from his runs. The blue scrunchie you wore on your wrist, snapping it to distract yourself from the oppressing room, was one of those gifts. It was a fact, Daryl Dixon was a softie.

He waited for you to join him at the entrance, slowly walking to the entrance of the prison. The chill air of the court made you regret the sheets you used as a blanket, slightly shivering. You followed Daryl to a patch of grass near the building where your group set camp, and sat next to him. You watched as he lit himself a cigaret, not bothering offering you one anymore.

You stayed in silence for a few minutes, Daryl enjoying his cigaret and you enjoying Daryl's presence. Being outside made all of the tension in your body disappear, and you let out a sigh of contentment when you smelled nicotine in the air. The air smelled familiar now.

'I hate feeling caged.' You said, both for yourself and for Daryl. 'Me too.' He simply replied, toying with the cigaret.

Its burning orange end danced in the dark, hypnotizing you and your tired brain. As you were still shivering, you took your arms out of the oversized T-shirt you were wearing, wrapping them around yourself. The move made Daryl chuckle.

'We can go back if yer cold?' He offered kindly. 'Nah, being outside is what I needed, no worries. I'm feeling warmer already.'

And you weren't lying. As you rubbed your arms, you felt warmth coming back to your body. You felt every blade of grass, every blow on the wind on your body, and smiled. You needed this.

'How did you know I wasn't asleep?' 'Ya sleeptalk. And ya can't sleep sittin' down.' 'I sleeptalk?'

You felt your cheeks becoming red. He nodded, taking another drag of his cigaret.

'What do I talk about?'

He shrugged.

'Said ya talked, not that ya did make any sense.'

You snorted, relieved. God knows what you could have told in your sleep... You couldn't help but shiver again, and this time he hesitantly rubbed your back.

'Can I move closer to you? I swear you're like a furnace or something!'

He silently thanked the obscurity for preventing you from seeing the blush on his cheeks, and you felt him nod. So you cuddled at his side, arms still inside your shirt, as he brought an arm against your shoulders. Your trembling form slowly calmed down.

'Better?' 'Yes. Thank you so much.'

You smiled at him, although he couldn't see him, taking a breath in. He smelt like a forest. Forest and nicotine, and you instantly forgot the awful air of the prison. You closed your eyes, focusing on his heartbeat.

'Daryl? Why can't you sleep?' You asked him kindly, comfortable against him.

He shrugged.

'Dunno.' 'Is it because you feel trapped too?' 'Yeah, must be that.' He grumbled, and you nodded thoughtfully. 'It sucks.' 'Yeah.'

Feeling bold, as you knew Daryl would not have woken up anyone besides Carol or you, and eventually Rick, to share a night outside, you decided to take one of his hands between yours, and he surprisingly let you without any complaint. You toyed with his fingers, rubbed circles on his scarred knuckles as you both enjoyed the calm of the night. He seemed to enjoy what you were doing, his curious eyes squinting in the direction of your hands. His cigaret was now done, and he stuffed it in his pocket with his free hand, before putting his arm back around your shoulder.

'Daryl?'

You were now toying with your scrunchie, trapping both of your hands inside it, softly snapping it against your wrists. He did not respond but you knew he was listening. And you felt particularly brave, during this beautiful night.

'Would you be okay if we shared a bed, in the prison?'

You did not give him time to answer, immediatly rambling as to make his rejection easier to accept for you.

'I mean, you don't have to because now we have as many beds as we want, but we got used to sleeping together at the Quarry, and then at the farm, and I just... I don't know, I feel comfortable with you, but if you would rather sleep alone I-' 'Y/N.' He interrupted you softly, and you gave him your whole attention, a bit worried. 'I would not have woken ya up if I didn't want to spend time with ya.'

Your panicked state when you were afraid you were making people uncomfortable always made him chuckle. You always took everyone's feelings into account, and that was probably one of the reasons why it had been so easy for you to befriend him. He knew you did not fake your kindness.

'You mean you'd like to share a bed with me?'

He nodded, weirdly comfortable with the idea. And you beamed, your eyes twinkling.

'Then I would love for us to go back to bed, because I am freezing out there!'

You got up first, giving him your hand to help him get up. He took it, and you did not let go of it as you walked back to the prison, a small smile on both of your flushed faces. You were both convinced you would finally spend a restful night, now. And it felt amazing.

[gumballavocadoharry]

You found me:

The cold brisk of London only made me move quicker to my house. I was looking forward to the warm aroma where I could sit in my favorite chair, a cup of tea and a good book to relax my mind after a hard day at work. I was a stock clerk at a grocery store and today was just perfect to have 2 spilled milks, shattered bottle of wine and an egg crack catastrophe in the dairy aisle.

October weather did that to you. The orange and reddish leaves falling from the branches while walking down the brick covered road was picture book worthy. My hair that was neatly tucked into a bun, had a few free strands swaying to the best of the wind. My somber mood was non existent this morning, until a few nasty customers, an overly demanding boss because of his recent divorce and all the messes I mentioned contributed to the pushed down aggression that rose inside me the more I pondered on it.

The gray clouds mixed with the fall wind made me sleepy. My eyes started to close a little, but I jerked myself awake once I realized the walk home was still 5 minutes away. I walked past this brick building that I assumed to be a school, but there was this brown cardboard box that was soggy and splotchy. I heard some narrow cries from it.

I took a step back thinking it was maybe a mother cat and her kittens up for sale that nobody noticed. I hesitantly made my way over to the box and peeped inside. That's when I noticed a tiny baby that couldn't have weighed more than 4 pounds crying weakly. He had a blue blanket wrapped around him and he was dirty liked he hadn't had a bath in days. His cry wasn't that loud but I could tell it was a hungry cry from the suckiling sounds he was making with his mouth.

"Poor thing" I mumbled trying to situate the little baby in my arms. He looked like a newborn baby which made his situation worse to me because he was probably just born and no one wanted him. Or maybe his mother just couldn't take care of him. It dawned on me that no one heard his cry because it was so light, who knows how long he's been out here.

Poor baby didn't have a hat or really anything to protect him from the cold other than the blanket. I held him halfway inside my coat and tried to find an adoption agency. It was too cold and we were both tired and hungry so I called it quits and decided to continue this in the morning before work. Me and baby stumbled home to my apartment, where the lobby was empty despite how this morning it was raging with people from a party in one of the apartments from the 9th floor.

That's the fancy apartments at the top where they get more terrace space. I walked through to the elevators where my heart was beating out of my chest. I didn't like the neighbors knowing my business and vice versa. I mostly kept to myself and tried to keep it the same way with everyone else unless I absolutely had to talk to them or if they said "hi" or such.

I fiddled with my keys before going inside and locking the door immediately behind me. it's a useful habit but today it was very obligatory. I didn't want anyone following me or staring because they suspected I stole something or something like that. I was indeed hiding something....more precious than any other secret I've stored within me. It was for baby's protection.

I set him on my couch and carefully took a soft paper towel that I wet with warm water and gently cleaned him up. I knew he was starving so that meant running to the store and buying baby formula along with some toys, clothes and possibly a portable crib or bassinet. I didn't wanna leave baby here alone, yet it would be irresponsible of me to leave him here so I had to take him with me.

I already decided once I got back I would call the police and see if they could locate his mother or any other relatives of his. My gut told me his mother wouldn't want him back and or she's dead or out of the country doing whatever. I thought about what to do about the small little turquoise eyed baby boy laying on my couch with pillows around him to keep him from falling.

It just dawned on me that you're not supposed to keep a newborn on their backs, so I shifted him to his tummy. Tufts of auburn hair were protruding from his little round head. I couldn't help but bring myself to run my fingers over it. He was still making suckling noises, that snapped me out of my daze and made rush to grab a hat for baby. It was a soft blue hat with little duckies on it, one I had kept when I was a baby. I took baby's blanket and made it into a shaw like coat for him, then I took an old scarf and covered him up so he wouldn't get cold.

I scanned the room for anything I could use besides a dirty old box that was baby's home for the first few days of his life. Just thinking about it was gut-wrenching. I looked over to baby who was still laying on the couch, toying with the pillows set on either side for his safety. His eyes looked so tired and full of innocence. Of course he's innocent he's a baby. He was so vulnerable and helpless that the grisly thought of him not surviving one more day if I hadn't found him nearly killed me.

My eyes finally landed on a dresser drawer in my bedroom. I emptied out the books that were inside on to my bed and tucked inside three soft blankets before putting baby in there. I didn't really want the neighbors seeing me take a dresser drawer out in the hallway as it would draw unnecessary attention, Not that it was any of their business anyway. I meant it when I said I kept to myself. Me and baby flew down the hallway, after I finished locking up my apartment.

My car was parked in the apartment parking lot, next to a grey lexus. I clicked the button on my well used car remote that was swinged in with my car keys, and my apartment key as well along with a little green packers logo. I opened the car door and carefully placed the drawer in the backseat rear facing.

I just prayed it was safe seeing how I didn't have a carseat or anything for baby yet. I made sure his scarf and hat weren't too warm so he wouldn't overheat. Once I was satisfied that he was okay, I climbed into the driver's seat and we drive to the store. Target was the closet place. I parked the car and I gently grabbed baby and we went inside. A sense of happiness and relief washed over me. I would be leaving the store with a baby car seat, a bassinet, high chair and food for baby. And possibly more knowledge too.

Baby was too tiny to fit in the seating area of the shopping cart so that meant I had to carry him, but my arms started getting tired. I grabbed a shopping cart anyway and tried my hardest to balance it with one hand. I found the nearest employee working in the baby section and asked her if I could buy a baby carrier right now. "Of course. I can ring you up and you can continue shopping."

"Thank you so much." I grabbed a sturdy carrier and she scanned the price tag and then my card. "There you go you're all set" I smiled. "Thank you very much." I set baby in the carrier and pulled the veil built into the carrier down to keep any germs off him.

"You're son's adorable." The employee said. I didn't bother to correct her so I just accepted the compliment for what it was and thanked her with a smile. But that stuck with me. Son. The thought ricocheted in my head as a sudden pleasure grew on that title. I looked down at baby who was playing with his fingers. Maybe?

I continued on shopping, grabbing bottles, diapers, clothes, toys and a portable bassinet. I found some baby formula asking different clerks if it was safe for newborns. They all showed me different brands, but like with everyone, the most recommended was the one I chose.

I paid for the items and left the store quickly as possible. The medium colored clouds set in and small sprinkles of rain slowly drizzled down. The smush of the wet fall leaves that stood in between my boots and the rain. Me and baby rushed to the car, now feeling satisfied of the new things he has to help him. Somehow I could sense a feeling of relief and solace wash over the both of us. I looked down to be met with greenish-blue eyes and sweet deep dimples that I just discovered he had.

Ongoers noticed the tender sweet baby talk that was spilling from my lips by the minute. Bunches of "Yes you are's" were being spoken to baby which made him react with joy. I'm sure this was the most love that he's had in the little time of his life so far. Surely I was not his mother, just a 27 year old man who happened, completely by chance noticed a small infant in the dirty box that he laid in. Maybe this was fate? I shook it off not wanting to think to deeply about it.

I was just his temporary caregiver until he would be adopted by someone who could give him a stable home. Maybe even a pet? I imagined little baby playing on the swing set with his doggie running up to him desperately wanting his owner's attention that only the love of a child could provide for them. He would have playdates with the best friend he met at school, sleepovers with the boys on his soccer team, meet his first love and dream of marrying her as if she was the one....

I snapped out that daydream. I couldn't get attached. We both weren't ready for that. Adoption for baby would surely be a dream right? We arrived to the car where I unloaded everything in the trunk before picking baby up and returning the shopping cart to the store.

Man it felt nice to hold him again. Whoops...I mean my arms aren't tired anymore. I set baby aside as I was taking the drawer and moved it to the floor of the car and set up baby's carrier. I gently placed him inside and even gave him one of his little toys to keep him occupied. I couldn't feed him until we got home so there was no time to waste.

As I got in the driver's seat and put the key in, turning it...My mind wandered to what exactly would happen to baby. What if he didn't get a nice family? What if instead he would be raised only for the sole purpose of being a slave in a mean family's home? Or he was restricted from living his life normally due to the strictness and harshness of a mother and father who weren't to tightly wrapped themselves?

What if he was left to fend for himself with no one to love him and care for him? The harsh reality of the world set in the more I thought about baby's fate. But everyone always says two is better than one and baby needs two parents. But if those parents aren't gonna parent him in the right way....then would he really be better off?

Surely I could-

"We're here!" I said to myself trying to override the thought I was going to think that would distract me from my sensible thinking. I carried baby inside, and grabbed the things from the trunk and made my way upstairs to my apartment as fast as I could. A few elderly neighbors saw me and cooed about cute the little baby in my was. I smiled and thanked them before getting in the elevator hoping the doors would close as fast as possible.

Baby and me scurried inside once again just in time for baby to start crying. He was hungry of course. After closing and locking the door, I set him down on the couch, propping the pillows around him again and grabbed the formula from the bag and ran into the kitchen to fix it.

I followed the directions carefully trying the drown out the hungry cries from baby. "I know baby I know." I fixed it as fast as I could and while his bottle was heating up, I was successfully able to distract him.

Beep!

I turned around and flew into the kitchen and grabbed baby's bottle from the microwave. I pressed the bottle to my wrist and sat down next to baby. I gently picked baby up and inserted the bottle into his mouth. "It's not too hot is it?" Aw come on as if baby can talk. His button eyes looked into mine sucking away at his milk. Probably the first food he's had in days. "You're a hungry little guy aren't you? I know, I know. You're a little special baby. You're special because you're the sweetest little thing I've seen." I cooed.

I couldn't help but cloy baby. He was so small and new, bright eyes studying the room because he was so new to the world. I just felt this exquisite connection with him whilst looking into his fresh eyes. His mom didn't know what she was missing....or what she gave up. I smiled a warm smile and somehow I think he sensed the connection too.

I removed the bottle once he was finished. He drank all his milk. "Good boy!" I cooed cheerfully. Burp! I expected that.

I ate a quick dinner that night after baby went to sleep. I couldn't sleep a wink partly because of baby crying and needing his diaper changed or wanting to be rocked or something like that and the other because I was worried about him too. I put him in a fresh onesie and threw that old blue blanket in the wash.

I tossed and turned because I knew I was gonna have to call child services soon....but it just....this gut feeling. I mean he was already used to me so why would I give him up? I guess I used that to reason with myself. Who am I kidding? I'm only in my twenties I can't be raising a child! I have so much I wanna do, like travel and get married and start a family of my own one day. But despite all of those...Baby still played in my mind.

I couldn't be attached already right? And besides who would watch baby too? I have to go to work and run errands and he has to be babysat. I couldn't trust just anyone. All these thoughts raced through my head trying to get everything sorted out. Child services, doctor appointment, babysitter. My brain could've exploded.

But my alarm clock went off. Baby was still sleeping surprisingly so I tiptoed out of my bedroom into the bathroom where I took a quick shower. I would constantly check to see if baby was still sleeping and if I needed to change or feed him. That's pretty much what all babies do at the beginning of their first few months of life, eat, sleep and poop,

I brushed my teeth coming out of the shower and changed into my uniform. I carefully took baby from his bassinet and was going to give him his first bath. By the looks of it I don't even think baby was born in a hospital. His umbilical stub hadn't fallen off yet so I was cautious to how I bathed him. I quickly googled how to do it and got started immediately. Baby was so small that I was able to bathe him in the bathroom sink.

I filled the sink with a little water and used some mild baby soap and cleaned up baby. He seemed so happy to finally be clean and to be...loved. To have someone care enough about him to take him under their wing and care for him....I really hoped he would see it that way when he's older.

Me and baby hadn't eaten breakfast yet and I already had to be at work in 30 minutes so I had no choice but to call Gemma and ask if she could watch him. She'd said that she would be over right away, so that gave me and baby time to eat a small breakfast. I had a bowl of cereal and baby had some milk of course.

Gemma knocked on the door a couple minutes after I had put my bowl in the sink. "Hey gem!" I greeted happily. I was relieved to have some help. "Hey Haz. So where is this little bugger that you've been talking about on the phone?" I pointed over to baby who was in his bassinet. "Oi he's adorable!" Gemma cooed. "What's his name?"

"I just call him baby for now. Yeah he's my friend's nephew but right now his nickname is baby." I thought quickly cause I didn't want to explain the whole situation to Gemma just yet. It's not that I couldn't trust her it's just that....it's not like baby was my son. He was still sorta a strange baby without a home or name. Besides...I had to go to work.

"Thank you again for watching him, if you need to reach me you have my number and I left a list of things you're supposed to do with baby on the fridge. Thanks." I grabbed my coat and car keys. "Bye Gemma and bye baby!" I blew a kiss to both of them before dashing out the front door.

Work wasn't any easier. I kept thinking about baby and Gemma and how they were getting along at my apartment. Plus Mr Feltmen was once again being punctilious with the way I stocked the cereals or the way I put price tags on the sealed chicken dinners with my price gun. All because his wife said a few nasty comments on her way along with a big fat stack of divorce papers sent to him a couple days later.

My lunch break seemed to be relieving as I was able to call Gemma and ask her if her and baby were fine. "Oh yeah we're fine. Baby had a little hard time after you left but everything's okay now. He's taking a nap."

"What little hard time?" I asked kinda panicky. "Oh, he started crying because he wanted you. So when I showed him a picture of you, he calmed down." Sentiment washed over me. Baby wanted me? He missed me. My heart swelled with adoration and pride more than it should've for a baby who I'd only known for a day and half. "Thank you so much Gemma. I'll call you when I'm on my way home."

After I hung up, I searched up a really good pediatric doctor at the children's hospital and scheduled an appointment for baby later on today. I wanted to make sure he had his shots and everything he needed by the time social services came and got him. The thought broke me. I grievance pain struck me so I refused to ponder the thought more than necessary.

Baby really tugged at my heartstrings. I didn't wanna dive in heart first taking into consideration the logicalness of the situation. Was I really baby's best person to care for his every need? You're caring for him now. I swallowed hard at that and continued eating my lunch, not wasting time to get back to work.

The mid day night sky fell between 3 and 4 which is when my shift ended. The breeze sang it's fall time song the coziness of being warm in the cold started to take its toll. I grabbed my coat from the breakroom and hustled out the grocery store. "Have a good night Harry." I turned to my right to see my boss with a small tight smile and giving me a small stiff wave. "Thanks you too." I replied befuddled and tired at the same time.

As soon as I got into my car, I didn't waste time calling Gemma to inform her of my upcoming arrival. "Hey Gemma, I just got off work and I'm coming home right now okay? How is everything?"

I heard the sound of baby rattles and muffled cries that partially answered my question. "Oh everything's fine, baby just woke up from his nap and he's just been a little fussy that's all." I could sense Gemma regretted saying that last part. She realized how attached and concerned I was for baby. Way more than if it was just 'my friend's nephew' the way I said before.

"Okay, well I'll be home very soon." We hung up and then I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot very carefully. The drive home consisted of me trying to beat the clock so I could be on time for baby's doctor appointment. I concluded that one more night wouldn't be so bad for baby seeing how it was possibly too late to call social services anyway.

Was I just reasoning with myself?

Streetlights filled the downtown sidewalk. Oh how I missed late night walks and night drives through my city. Summer's were fun for it too, but it was just something about September, October and November that just had that fall time glow. That coziness of aroma around you. It was fun. Just me walking to and back from the library.

I snapped out of my nostalgia once I pulled up to the parking lot of my apartment.

I put the key through my front door lock and opened the door. "Hey Gem I'm home" Gemma ran up to me and hugged me which I returned. "Hey! How was work?" "Oh it was fine." My eyes glanced to baby sleeping in his bassinet. "How was baby?" Gemma looked to the sleeping newborn and back to me. "He was just fine. He was a little cranky today but above all a good boy."

I thanked Gemma who's coat I handed to her on the way out. "See you later be safe bye." "Bye." Gemma's voice trailed going out the door. I took off my coat before focusing my attention to baby. "Hey baby boy! Did you miss me? Yes you did! I know you did cause you're da-" I stopped myself. "You're a special baby! You're a little sweetheart aren't ya?" Oh how I desperately wanted cover those little rosy dimpled cheeks in hello kissys.

I quickly changed baby and put him into a new outfit before leaving for the doctor's. On the way, I put on the radio to some 90's music. He seemed to enjoy it. His little head bobbed to the infamous Alanis Morissette 'Ironic'. I kept checking the rearview mirror, making sure baby was okay. I was still new to this so I didn't spring for the expensive attachment mirror for baby car seats.

London children's hospital.

I turned to the left and pulled into the parking deck. I always loved the murk lighting of the in between ramps and parking spaces. The blueish sometimes yellow aesthetic lights were the only ray of light inside the closed in building that was usually filled to the brim with cars. I got baby's carrier out of the car with him in it and we traveled down to the entrance along with two other couples who either had babies or toddlers.

On the way, Baby was entranced by the colorful cars while we walked to the doors. A green honda, a blue civic, a sliver chevy, all had the baby's attention. We went inside the elevator and took it up to the offices on level 8. Inside, I just kept taking deep breaths and looked down at baby who was sleeping soundly. I hated knowing I would have to wake him up for his appointment.

I just don't know what would move me to do all this? Buying him clothes, baby formula, toys, bottles, taking him to the doctors? I didn't just take him the adoption agency before and let them do all this for him. I guess because I care too much...I care so much about other people and I don't regret it of course, but this time it really took me out of the way. Financially, Physically and Emotionally.

I looked down at baby who was still sleeping. I guess what I'm trying to comprehend is that baby is special, he's more than just some lost, injured puppy dog on the street...he was more than helping out a homeless person with a couple dollars, he was more than giving a tired sad stranger a smile. It was a deeper pleasure having baby.. it was.....it....

Three little words threatened to spill from my gut but I shut them out. After all he won't be with me long.

The sad realization grappled me. Ding! The elevator doors opened and I was instantly met with distance cries of babies and toddlers. The hall was empty and as I stepped out, I could breathe in the sterile air. The carpeted floor held rigid against my shoes as I walked down the corridor trying to find the Doctor Evan's office.

My hand weighed heavy as I held the carrier that was carrying a baby who was now wide awake and hungry. His little fussy whines made me rush inside so I could feed him before those little whimpers turned into blood curdling screams. "Hello." I said waiting for the receptionist to notice me. "Hi." she smiled. It was a young girl that looked to be in 20's. The first thing I noticed was her red bob and bright pink lipstick. Her earrings were the exact same ones my own mother had.

"You have an appointment?" I nodded before responding with a yes. "For?" Her voice trailed once she saw the name I confirmed for baby. "Baby styles." It sounded like I was posting an announcement on my instagram to welcome my new child. But nonetheless was his actual name as of now. "It's a nickname we always go by." As if that would make it all normal. The state didn't even know he existed until now so what was I to do. The receptionist smiled and gave me a clipboard with the patient fill out attached to it.

I thanked her before taking it and moving over to one of the seats in the back. Before I filled it out, I took a bottle of the baby bag and fed baby quickly. He's a fast eater so it wasn't too laborious. But after burping him and putting him back in his carrier, I filled out the form and gave it back to the receptionist. I sat back down and monitored baby. I took little peeks at him in between to make sure he was okay.

Time passed slowly it seemed. 4:25 went to 5:21 then to 5:36. Time went on like that even though we were only there for 25 minutes. "Baby styles?" Everyone in the waiting room looked up at that name which made me more self aware. I quickly picked up the carrier and the baby bag before walking over to the nurse who was holding the door open for the patient to enter.

"Hello..Mr styles?" I nodded. "Come follow me please." We went to a room that was yellow and decorated in Curious George stickers. I set the carrier on the chair next to me before taking baby out and putting him on the exam table that was specifically for babies. The nurse took his height and weight before writing them down. I noticed her eyebrows furrowed. She wanted to comment and ask if he was a was a preemie but she left that part up for the doctor.

She took his blood pressure and typed some things down on the computer. "You said he's newborn correct?" "Yes." I held my breathe. "He was born when?" "I think 5 or 4 days ago?" She continued typing.

"Okay. He is due for his hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio shots today." "Okay." "The doctor will be in shortly." The nurse smiled and left the chart on the outside of the door. I went over to baby and tickled his tummy a little. He giggled and started smiling. "Oh you're just a special little guy aren't you?" I cooed.

The doctor came in and I took my seat again. "Hi I'm Dr. Evan" she said holding out a hand for me to shake which I did. "And hello to you too handsome!" She said cooing to baby and shaking his hand as well. "You're here with daddy today?" My eyes traveled down. I knew I was gonna have to tell her. "Uh, Baby here is...well...I found him yesterday abandoned by the back of a school and so I took him in and I just brought him here today to make sure he was fine. That's why his name's baby and why he's a little underweight for a newborn."

The doctor took it all in before giving me a smile. "That's very commendable of you Mr. Styles. You did more for him than anyone else could've." I was proud of that statement. "Thank you. I wish he was my son though." I just said that?

She giggled. "I know it's very easy to get attached." I agreed. "it is." She took out her stethoscope and listened to baby's heart. "Very good." Then she listened to his stomach. "Very good."

"Mr styles, considering your case with baby right now, would you like to take him home today or did you wanna leave him here? I have to ask because you know..." I nodded. "Take him home." Dr Evan nodded and wrote something down. "We'll have to report this to the police and call children services. It's mandatory. But if you were to be interested in fostering or adopting baby then you can provide a word to a agency worker or lawyer. I'll put in a good word if you need it." She winked. That made me hopeful.

She continued the exam and asked me all the questions I could answer like when he eats, and sleeps and if he was fussy or calm most of them time. "I'll be right back with the vaccinations. I have to say Mr styles, when I listened to baby's heart, lungs and stomach....I don't think he would've made it another day if it weren't for you." She smiled. "Thank you!" I graciously said. Tears welled up in my eyes thinking about the actions of mine that save baby's life.

I looked over to baby who was examining the room carefully. Almost with detail as he became fascinated with the curious George stickers. "Yeah, he's funny isn't he?" I cooed. The nurse came back in with 5 shots on a small light pink tray. "Okay Mr styles, could you hold baby's arms please?" I gently intertwined baby's hands with mine. "Okay here comes the first one." Said the nurse after wiping down his thighs with alcohol wipes.

In went one needle followed by a loud cry from baby. My heart broke but i knew that this was the best thing for the vulnerable newborn. "I know baby boy but we gotta do this so you can be healthy." I said sweetly. I couldn't resist pressing sweet big kisses to his chubby cheeks.

That soothed him for a while until the last injection was given. A shriek was released from baby's small toothless mouth and fought back tears. It was painful enough to hear a baby cry, but when that baby.... felt like your own, it hit differently.

After all was done, I scooped him in my arms and hugged him tight. "Shhhh it's all over now." I rubbed his back desperately trying to soothe the little guy's cries. "I'm here for you, it's okay daddy's got you."

What?

I bit my tongue. I didn't mean that, I'm not daddy. It's just Harry or Mr styles.

Maybe not daddy yet. Oh shut up you always think sporadic!

I cleared my throat before setting baby back down in the table. I grabbed the baby bag and my jacket before settling baby in his carrier and then leaving.

"Would you like to make an appointment?" The receptionist asked. "Uh, not right now but I'll call later on." She nodded but I could tell she thought it was strange, I was strange I should say.

We left the office, heading back to the same elevator we came before. We went down to the parking deck and sudden ding! Snapped me out of my thoughts. The elevator doors opened to a mother pushing her disabled son in a wheelchair. I gave a polite smile which she returned.

She didn't think of me as a stranger to the baby I was holding in the carrier. I don't know why but I didn't feel like a stranger either to baby. He didn't feel strange to me despite me only knowing him for two days. I went back to my car with a heavy heart.

"We'll have to notify the police and children services because it's mandatory."

Those words ate at me. I didn't want them coming into my apartment and taking baby away from me.

I loved him.

Yes. I did! From the moment I met him I just couldn't let him go like that. He needed me, I was brought to him and I truly saw him as a priceless gift. Not something you have to pay for to raise. It was here I made a very crucial decision with baby. I was to adopt him.

The next day, children services came by along with the police. I let them in and asked them to take a seat. I brought baby out and set him down in his playpen.

"Thank you very much for welcoming us to your home first off. It has been brought to our attention that you found baby abandoned behind a school and so you took him in and cared for him right?" I nodded. The social worker wrote something down. "You took him to the doctor yesterday for a checkup and you reported your case to Dr Evan?"

"Yes." She wrote something down again. "I'm gonna ask you a few questions is that okay?" I agreed and we started. "Are you interested in adopting baby?" "Of course." "Are you in any relation or do you know any relatives of baby?" I shook my head. "No."

"Anyone in you're house that has criminal activity?" "Nope, it's just me and I've never been to jail or prison."

The social worker wrote something down and smiled. "Well you seem like a good candidate Mr styles. We'll have to take baby now but you still have a chance to adopt him. If you want baby specifically, then you can contact Sunnyside adoption center where baby will be taken and you can call and they'll give you an application and once you complete it and send it back, they'll schedule a meeting with you. The rest of the information is online at Sunnyside adoption center.com."

"Thank you very much." My eyes went to baby who was in his playpen. "Can I say goodbye first?" The social worker nodded and I picked baby up and held him.

"Okay baby this is the end now. I never got to name you or have you for that long but....I still treasure this time I spent with you. I'll try my best to have you again but if I can't..... I'll always love you. You'll always be my baby." His turquoise eyes looked into mine, his soft head with mini bald spots rested against my hand. I kissed his face one last time before giving him away to the social worker.

She smiled along with the two police officers. "Baby is very fortunate. I don't think he would've made it without your love." "Thank you." I said sheepishly. The trio left my apartment and I closed the door after them. I sat on my couch, scanning the room as if you say what just happened?.

Baby's bottle, his crib and clothes lied around the bedroom. Almost like a tornado had came and scattered everything around. I picked up one of his bottles and just... just broke down.

I've never loved anyone as hard or as much as I did baby. All I could see was those sweet little eyes and soft little fine hair. He was a quiet baby who rarely cried unless he wanted something or something was bothering him. Tears dropped on the floor and then on my jeans leaving wet splotches.

Baby. That was all that played on my mind. But it wasn't too late. I was determined to get baby back and adopt him.....no matter how long it took.

[halothenthehorns]

Chapter 9: I LEARN HOW TO GROW ZOMBIES

"Yes!" Alex cheered upon reading the new chapter title. She'd have called dibs and wrestled this one away from anyone who dared tried to read this anyways and began on such a remarkable journey before any of them could even begin to question what Percy got up to five minutes out of camp, even while Magnus cringed into his seat in disgust at the idea of the coming apocalypse nobody else seemed concerned with!

"Does it involve plants?" Nico tried to ask like he knew what he was talking about. Wasn't that a popular game? Better to pass off the idea of ignorance he probably had more practice at growing zombies than anyone in here would be comfortable with knowing.

Will gave him another of those encouraging smiles, but for once he gave just as confused a shrug as anyone. 

The thing about flying on a pegasus during the daytime is that if you're not careful, you can cause a serious traffic accident on the Long Island Expressway. I had to keep Blackjack up in the clouds,

"These books are really inconsistent with what the Mist does and doesn't hide from sight," Jason said with all the confused excitement of a kid on a road trip.

"The mortals would see something to make their day go weird," Thalia shrugged. "If you're lucky, just a helicopter, with Percy's luck, a hang glider in a kilt. It really just depends on that person."

"Knowing my luck, it would be a duck with a knife, and then a police helicopter would be chasing me," Percy sighed.

which were, fortunately, pretty low in the winter. We darted around, trying to keep the white Camp Half-Blood van in sight. And if it was cold on the ground, it was seriously cold in the air, with icy rain stinging my skin.

I was wishing I'd brought some of that Camp Half-Blood orange thermal underwear they sold in the camp store,

"This has gone unmentioned before now," Magnus and Alex both protested as if this were a great concern.

"I don't know why, they come in all sizes." Percy grinned. "I think the Stoll's tried to talk Chiron into wearing a pair."

"There aren't a lot of winter quests," Will gave a proper answer.

but after the story about Phoebe and the centaur-blood T-shirt, I wasn't sure I trusted their products anymore.

"But there's that," Percy sighed.

"My takeaway was don't trust anything the Stoll's have given you," Jason corrected, "I'd take them up on the rest of the store." He was eyeing Percy and Will's orange t-shirts with something like confusion as he imagined himself in one, and it wasn't because he was worried they wouldn't have one in his size.

We lost the van twice, but I had a pretty good sense that they would go into Manhattan first, so it wasn't too difficult to pick up their trail again.

Traffic was bad with the holidays and all. It was mid-morning before they got into the city. I landed Blackjack near the top of the Chrysler Building and watched the white camp van, thinking it would pull into the bus station, but it just kept driving.

"Where's Argus taking them?" I muttered.

Oh, Argus ain't driving, boss, Blackjack told me. That girl is.

"Which girl?"

The Hunter girl. With the silver crown thing in her hair.

"Zoe?"

That's the one. Hey, look! There's a donut shop. Can we get something to go?

I tried explaining to Blackjack that taking a flying horse to a donut shop would give every cop in there a heart attack, but he didn't seem to get it.

"Neither do I," Jason once again rolled his eyes Percy seemed to constantly forget about the Mist.

"Maybe they'd see you in a Mustang," Will grinned.

"I don't think the Mist would make me look sixteen, the cop thing would still be an issue," Percy sighed.

Meanwhile, the van kept snaking its way toward the Lincoln Tunnel. It had never even occurred to me that Zoe could drive. I mean, she didn't look sixteen. Then again, she was immortal. I wondered if she had a New York license, and if so, what her birth date said.

"Definitely not," Thalia said with a twitching smile, confusing most of them. They'd expected her to get frazzled at the very least being in another bus so soon.

"It might have an infinity symbol next to it if Artemis gave her one," Rachel chuckled to help play off in hopes nobody would question her friend about it. Alex looked like she wanted to, but the draw of zombies had her keep going instead.

"Well," I said. "Lets get after them."

We were about to leap off the Chrysler Building when Blackjack whinnied in alarm and almost threw me. Something was curling around my leg like a snake. I reached for my sword, but when I looked down, there was no snake. Vines—grape vines—had sprouted from the cracks between the stones of the building. They were wrapping around Blackjack's legs, lashing down my ankles so we couldn't move.

Percy squealed like a stuck pig and leaped out of his chair, sword drawn and slashing at the hem of his pants in remembered horror.

The others watched the show in vague concern how he'd left camp and was being attacked by the wine gods plant, especially Will shifting about in his own seat as if ants were in his pants making Nico bite his lip in amusement. It was a good thing Mr. D didn't go around using that on everybody who annoyed him.

"Going somewhere?" Mr. D asked.

"Damn," Alex drew out in fascination. "I didn't think he'd literally drag you back if you left without permission for a quest."

"He didn't last time," Jason agreed, "and I'd say a goddess missing is even higher stakes than saving the camp."

"But Dionysus left Camp!" Magnus recalled he could apparently do this to knock up mortals, hence his twins, but it was particularly strange now he'd exercise out for this. If he could when students made a break for it, he might be thrilled. Was that another reason for his horrible behavior? Was he actively trying to make them flee the camp so he could pull this?

"Anything to cause more trouble," Percy glowered at the book, clearly least impressed and already stewing over the next insult to a god.

He was leaning against the building with his feet levitating in the air, his leopard-skin warm-up suit and black hair whipping around in the wind.

God alert! Blackjack yelled. It's the wine dude!

Mr. D sighed in exasperation. "The next person, or horse, who calls me the 'wine dude' will end up in a bottle of Merlot!"

"That threat doesn't dissuade the stereotype," Nico said critically.

"Mr. D." I tried to keep my voice calm as the grape vines continued to wrap around my legs. "What do you want?"

"Oh, what do I want? You thought, perhaps, that the immortal, all-powerful director of camp would not notice you leaving without permission?"

"Ah, more like wouldn't care," Percy was still flexing his wrists in disgust and eyeing his seat in concern.

"Well... maybe."

"I should throw you off this building, minus the flying horse, and see how heroic you sound on the way down."

"Been there, done that," Alex waved off. "He just screamed and made a flaaboom noise."

"You're not the zombie, are you?" Magnus groaned.

"Even if he did crave brains, it wouldn't help his IQ," Thalia shrugged.

"Hardy har!" Percy rolled his eyes affectionately, "I could get rich with the amount of times all of you are in awe I'm alive."

"Not off of me," Magnus rolled his eyes right back.

I balled my fists. I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but Mr. D was about to kill me or haul me back to camp in shame, and I couldn't stand either idea. "Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?"

"I was under the impression he just hated everybody at that camp," Rachel shrugged. Especially her, for adding to the count. As he so loved to remind her, at least the Oracle before her hadn't talked without the green smoke.

Purple flames flickered in his eyes. "You're a hero, boy. I need no other reason."

"Is it ironic that a god hates a hero? I feel like it is?" Magnus asked.

Jason looked a little queasy at the idea too. The gods were volatile by nature and revered for their power. Hero's were blessed to have half their gifts, and yet Percy nor any of the campers really seemed very worshipful about it. No wonder the gods would loath them really.

"I have to go on this quest! I've got to help my friends. That's something you wouldn't understand!"

Um, boss, Blackjack said nervously. Seeing as how we're wrapped in vines nine hundred feet in the air, you might want to talk nice.

"An almost literal jackass has more sense than you," Thalia frowned at him.

"Blackjack is a purebred thank you," Percy sniffed.

"Hybrid horse, the term still counts," Thalia said right back.

"That's a mule," Magnus corrected.

"This isn't about zombies!" Alex more than happily interrupted their squabble.

The grape vines coiled tighter around me. Below us, the white van was getting farther and farther away. Soon it would be out of sight.

"Did I ever tell you about Ariadne?" Mr. D asked.

"The spiders?" Percy asked as he cautiously went back to his seat.

"That's Arachne," Will told him in exasperation. "Every Athena kid curses her name!"

"That's why it sounded familiar," Percy shrugged, though his heart panged at the idea of Annabeth scolding him for that instead. Gods he hoped there weren't any spiders in that cavern dream.

"Beautiful young princess of Crete? She liked helping her friends, too. In fact, she helped a young hero named Theseus, also a son of Poseidon.

"Not this again!" Percy flopped properly into his seat in exhaustion. "Would everyone please stop comparing me to my dad and any past siblings I might have had!"

"I'm with you there buddy," Thalia nodded along while Nico kept his eyes on his boots and wished they'd stop thinking of his father first every time they looked at him too.

Alex swallowed her own agreement, not because she was hiding Loki being her mother, but because she actively denied her mother had any influence on any part of her life in the future. It was all in the past where it would stay.

She gave him a ball of magical yarn that let him find his way out of the Labyrinth.

Percy was glad he'd sat back down now as his skin crawled with stress, and he glanced at Rachel again. That was a name of something he instinctively knew he didn't like, but it meant nothing to Alex as any more than just another Greek myth she'd never heard of and so kept reading, and nobody else who winced was going to stop her for their memories of the event being perfectly intact.

And do you know how Theseus rewarded her?"

The answer I wanted to give was I don't care! But I didn't figure that would make Mr. D finish his story any faster.

"The fact that he's telling you a story is sort of disturbing," Jason informed. "Now where's the campfire and threats of murder?"

"I'm being threatened on the side of a building, the horror's plenty present," Percy assured.

"They got married," I said. "Happily ever after. The end."

Mr. D sneered. "Not quite. Theseus said he would marry her. He took her aboard his ship and sailed for Athens. Halfway back, on a little island called Naxos, he... What's the word you mortals use today?... he dumped her. I found her there, you know. Alone. Heartbroken. Crying her eyes out. She had given up everything, left everything she knew behind, to help a dashing young hero who tossed her away like a broken sandal."

"Jeez, your mom wasn't kidding about none of the old hero's getting happy endings," Magnus frowned.

"And that's not even the depressing ending," Thalia muttered.

"That's wrong," I said. "But that was thousands of years ago. What's that got to do with me?"

Mr. D regarded me coldly. "I fell in love with Ariadne, boy.

If crickets could chirp at the bottom of the ocean, they would be, as the awkward silence settled in.

"Isn't he in trouble for-"

"Yep," Alex nodded before Magnus could finish.

"And he's accusing Percy-"

"Uhhu," Alex nodded while scrutinizing the words.

"I have a headache," Magnus grumbled. Why was the world of gods and monsters no better a place than the mortal world?

"I'm glad it's not just me!" Percy raised a commiserating high five. Magnus mock did so back without looking up from his scrunched eyes shut.

I healed her broken heart. And when she died, I made her my immortal wife on Olympus. She waits for me even now. I shall go back to her when I am done with this infernal century of punishment at your ridiculous camp."

I stared at him. "You're... you're married? But I thought you got in trouble for chasing a wood nymph—"

"My point is you heroes never change. You accuse us gods of being vain. You should look at yourselves. You take what you want, use whoever you have to, and then you betray everyone around you.

"Who invented the pot and the kettle?" Percy stage whispered.

"Most likely the original kettle and pot," Will sighed. You could look at anybody's life and find the good and the bad, the more famous and longer they were around, the more one was to outweigh the other.

So you'll excuse me if I have no love for heroes. They are a selfish, ungrateful lot.

"He has kids!" Magnus reiterated. "Didn't he say he was a young god, used to be mortal?"

"You are arguing with the original cast iron skillet," Percy waved at the book. "I don't think you're going to win here man."

"The gods are not all good or all bad," Will insisted. "They, exist, just like we do. Their choices have bigger consequences, they are slow to change, but it doesn't mean they're incapable of it." He wasn't very comfortable with how clearly angry Percy was growing of the gods of late, nor with an outsider who knew nothing of their life constantly questioning all of this making it worse. After her last fight with Percy, Thalia was being pretty quiet over there, but Will wasn't going to stop reminding Percy of the family he'd fought for. "Dionysus didn't kill you Percy."

"That's such a great thing to be happy about after all his careless jabs about Annabeth," Percy scowled back, "that he didn't kill me right then."

Will couldn't answer. He couldn't remind Percy of Mr. D's grief after he lost his son, how quiet Percy had become after his trip to Calypso's island, or that Percy would be struggling with this for quite some time before and after the Battle of Manhattan. Being stuck down here now was only a temporary setback, he believed that Poseidon meant his son no harm. Now it was just a matter of making sure Percy didn't wind up like Luke by the time they got out of here.

Luckily neither Percy nor Alex were waiting around for an answer, for now.

Ask Ariadne. Or Medea. For that matter, ask Zoe Nightshade."

Thalia winced, but Rachel gazed on without surprise, only concern. It made sense after all, girls didn't usually join the Hunt because they already had happy, fulfilling lives.

"What do you mean, ask Zoe?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "Go. Follow your silly friends."

"Thank the gods he didn't chuck you off the side of the building with the horse so you could figure that out," Jason muttered.

The vines uncurled around my legs.

I blinked in disbelief. "You're... you're letting me go? Just like that?"

"The prophecy says at least two of you will die. Perhaps I'll get lucky and you'll be one of them.

Nico's olive skin went sallow at the reminder the same amount of campers had come back who had left, exchanging Thalia for Annabeth. The prophecy had taken away two of Artemis's. Dionysus hadn't gotten his wish any more than he had for the champions that day.

But mark my words, Son of Poseidon, live or die, you will prove no better than the other heroes."

"I hope you marked his words with washable markers," Rachel said proudly.

Percy's heart was spiraling without direction as he tried to smile at her. Annabeth, the gods, his mom, being trapped down here...

With that, Dionysus snapped his fingers. His image folded up like a paper display. There was a pop and he was gone, leaving a faint scent of grapes that was quickly blown away by the wind.

Too close, Blackjack said.

I nodded, though I almost would have been less worried if Mr. D had hauled me back to camp.

"You would have burned down the strawberry fields," Thalia told him confidently.

"I said less worried, not less angry," Percy agreed.

The fact that he'd let me go meant he really believed we stood a fair chance of crashing and burning on this quest.

"There's the upside," Will said with a weak smile.

"No more jokes from you today Solace," Thalia scoffed.

"Come on, Blackjack," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "I'll buy you some donuts in New Jersey."

As it turned out, I didn't buy Blackjack donuts in New Jersey.

"Such lies and sacrilege to the poor innocent pegasus," Alex said disparagingly.

"I'll be sure to feed him extra when I see him again," Percy promised, and there was just the slightest upbeat to his voice again he at least seemed confident of that. He had the horse to come back to.

Zoe drove south like a crazy person,

"Can verify," Thalia sighed, but again to their confusion she still just sounded exasperated. Not even slightly out of breath or stressed, like the time she'd nearly burned a city down had never happened.

and we were into Maryland before she finally pulled over at a rest stop.

Blackjack darn near tumbled out of the sky, he was so tired.

"How many horsepower is that bus?" Magnus asked in concern. "I don't think he can canter nonstop in the air?"

Percy felt a pang of unease for yet another friend he was letting down. He couldn't answer that, but he knew he'd been running Blackjack hard keeping up with them and was starting to wish he'd used this opportunity to sneak inside the bus.

I'll be okay, boss, he panted. Just... just catching my breath.

"Stay here," I told him. "I'm going to scout."

'Stay here' I can handle. I can do that.

I put on my cap of invisibility and walked over to the convenience store. It was difficult not to sneak. I had to keep reminding myself that nobody could see me. It was hard, too, because I had to remember to get out of people's way so they wouldn't slam into me.

"Annabeth makes everything look so easy," Percy grinned.

"Or she just trips them and blames it on ice, anyone's guess," Thalia snickered.

I thought I'd go inside and warm up, maybe get a cup of hot chocolate or something. I had a little change in my pocket. I could leave it on the counter. I was wondering if the cup would turn invisible when I picked it up, or if I'd have to deal with a floating hot chocolate problem,

"It would vanish," Thalia gave him a strange look for not knowing that. "You don't see your clothes or her backpack just floating along do you?"

"Right yeah," he agreed, pushing away the urge to scowl at her for the obvious answer. Somehow whenever she said stuff like that, it always made him feel stupid, sound more grating than if Annabeth had.

when my whole plan was ruined by Zoe, Thalia, Bianca, and Grover all coming out of the store.

"Grover, are you sure?" Thalia was saying.

"Well... pretty sure. Ninety-nine percent. Okay, eighty-five percent."

"That's still a passing grade," Jason said enthusiastically.

"I'll pass along how eager you are to see one of these tracking songs yourself," Nico chuckled. Jason looked delighted, and Will repressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"And you did this with acorns?" Bianca asked, like she couldn't believe it.

"That is the bottom of the barrel in weird," Magnus promised.

"Poor girl is on her first quest," Alex reminded, "she hasn't even gotten started on weird."

Grover looked offended. "It's a time-honored tracking spell. I mean, I'm pretty sure I did it right."

"D.C. is about sixty miles from here," Bianca said. "Nico and I..." She frowned. "We used to live there. That's... that's strange. I'd forgotten."

Nico once again received many a strange look for that, but he brushed it all away again with a heavy swallow. His shadow flickered behind him as if caught in a strobe, but everybody already turned eyes back to the book by the time it started and settled back. Almost everybody.

"I dislike this," Zoe said. "We should go straight west. The prophecy said west."

"Oh, like your tracking skills are better?" Thalia growled.

Zoe stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of being a Hunter!"

"Oh, scullion. You're calling me a scullion? What the heck is a scullion?"

"The one who cleans the chamber pots," Alex pitifully informed.

"A servant to a maid," Magnus offered, "the lowest of the low chain."

"Thanks, got that," Thalia assured.

"Why do you know that?" Percy muttered, but he knew the answer he'd get again. Readers.

"Whoa, you two," Grover said nervously. "Come on. Not again!"

"I'm just beginning to wonder if this is always how you make friends?" Jason asked with one of those smiles that made the scar on his lip dimple and stand out.

Thalia's heart squeezed too tight for her to respond. She'd never gotten the chance to grow up and argue with her baby brother. Alex was still impatiently reading to get to the walking dead to hear it.

"Grover's right," Bianca said. "D.C. is our best bet."

Zoe didn't look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly. "Very well. Let us keep moving."

"You're going to get us arrested, driving," Thalia grumbled. "I look closer to sixteen than you do."

"Perhaps," Zoe snapped. "But I have been driving since automobiles were invented. Let us go."

"That was scary. And impressive." Percy looked about as confused as somebody explaining the gods to him again. Like he still had trouble realizing things existed that long ago. Before the internet.

As Blackjack and I continued south, following the van, I wondered whether Zoe had been kidding.

"I still trust Artemis on the whole Zoe never kids thing," Will assured.

I didn't know exactly when cars were invented, but I figured that was like prehistoric times—back when people watched black-and-white TV and hunted dinosaurs.

"You mean when phones were plugged into the walls and people sent letters with stamps? I've never even seen a stamp," Magnus seemed just as baffled.

"You just made history museum top of our list when we get out of this," Alex chuckled at that dopey look on full display. Her reward was getting to watch those grey eyes land on her again, and a faint blush in his cheeks as he tried to guess what that meant. She wasn't quite sure herself anymore if she was just making fun of him either.

How old was Zoe?

Nico twitched at the bitter thought it was no wonder Bianca liked Zoe better, they had more in common, being stuck out of time. He'd tried to readily adapt to this time with his love of games and always smiling like an idiot at the bright lights. The television had only just been constructed a few years prior of when he was born, Percy would probably think he went to Catholic school on a pteranodon as soon as he would a horse-buggy.

And what had Mr. D been talking about? What bad experience had she had with heroes?

As we got closer to Washington, Blackjack started slowing down and dropping altitude.

He was breathing heavily.

"You okay?" I asked him.

Fine, boss. I could... I could take on an army.

"You don't sound so good." And suddenly I felt guilty, because I'd been running the pegasus for half a day, nonstop, trying to keep up with highway traffic. Even for a flying horse, that had to be rough.

Don't worry about me, boss! I'm a tough one.

I figured he was right, but I also figured Blackjack would run himself into the ground before he complained, and I didn't want that.

Percy wished that someone would scowl and call him a jackass. Just because Blackjack had volunteered for this didn't make this okay, and he felt lower than horse dung for doing this to his friend!

"Luke wouldn't have cared enough to ask Percy," Will gently reminded.

Percy startled, but then smiled and relaxed. He was right, Luke would have run Blackjack into the ground and called another pegasus without a second thought.

Fortunately, the van started to slow down. It crossed the Potomac River into central Washington. I started thinking about air patrols and missiles and stuff like that. I didn't know exactly how all those defenses worked, and wasn't sure if pegasi even showed up on your typical military radar, but I didn't want to find out by getting shot out of the sky.

"Yeah he might not forgive you for that one without a donut," Thalia snickered.

"A blueberry one at that," Percy smiled hopefully along that was all a joke and she didn't use him as a human shield if those missiles were deployed.

"Set me down there," I told Blackjack. "That's close enough."

Blackjack was so tired he didn't complain. He dropped toward the Washington Monument and set me on the grass.

The van was only a few blocks away. Zoe had parked at the curb.

I looked at Blackjack. "I want you to go back to camp. Get some rest. Graze. I'll be fine."

Blackjack cocked his head skeptically. You sure, boss?

"You've done enough already," I said. "I'll be fine. And thanks a ton."

A ton of hay, maybe, Blackjack mused. That sounds good. All right, but be careful, boss. I got a feeling they didn't come here to meet anything friendly and handsome like me.

"Nowhere in the world they could meet such a fella outside of camp," Rachel all but crooned with a sly look Percy didn't get. When would a mortal have been to camp? When did she meet Blackjack?

I promised to be careful. Then Blackjack took off, circling twice around the monument before disappearing into the clouds.

I looked over at the white van. Everybody was getting out. Grover pointed toward one of the big buildings lining the Mall. Thalia nodded, and the four of them trudged off into the cold wind.

I started to follow. But then I froze.

A block away, the door of a black sedan opened. A man with gray hair and a military buzz cut got out. He was wearing dark shades and a black overcoat. Now, maybe in Washington, you'd expected guys like that to be everywhere. But it dawned on me that I'd seen this same car a couple of times on the highway, going south. It had been following the van.

"And here I was beginning to wonder if Zoe had been around to invent all the best tracking and evading techniques too," Alex raised a surprised brow.

"We should have been expecting we were being followed," Thalia grimly agreed. She tried to play it off by giving Percy a light shove, as if she knew it was him all along, but the truth was they had been foolish not to expect this. Monsters had been after Nico and Bianca specifically, Thorn had been working with mortals. They'd been careless and shortsighted not looking for a tail.

"It's a good thing I followed you then," Percy puffed up his chest and swept away his hair with all the posturing of a bird. "You can thank me any time."

Thalia really did try to shove him then, causing the two to snicker that was all the thanks he was going to get, and he knew it.

The guy took out his mobile phone and said something into it. Then he looked around, like he was making sure the coast was clear, and started walking down the Mall in the direction of my friends.

The worst of it was: when he turned toward me, I recognized his face. It was Dr. Thorn, the manticore from Westover Hall.

All joking vanished from Percy as he leaned forward in his seat, bending Riptide so hard in his hand he might be in danger of snapping the pen as he concentrated again as well as he could. This beast was alive. He knew where Annabeth was.

Invisibility cap on, I followed Thorn from a distance. My heart was pounding. If he had survived that fall from the cliff, then Annabeth must have too. My dreams had been right. She was alive and being held prisoner.

"I couldn't even wish your dreams were wrong," Magnus agreed with dread. Her only options were to be held as prisoner, or dead. A nightmare in any reality.

Thorn kept well back from my friends, careful not to be seen.

Finally, Grover stopped in front of a big building that said NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM. The Smithsonian! I'd been here a million years ago with my mom, but everything had looked so much bigger then.

The surprise of Thorn showing up had mostly distracted anybody from asking why they stopped, but even Percy and Alex looked up from their laser focus to stare at Thalia with big question mark faces.

"What's a quest without sightseeing?" She, as usual, was no help with an answer. She even felt bad for this one, what would it hurt Percy just to assure it was Grover's tracking song leading them here, Jason might even get a kick out of it.

She didn't want to risk hurting him again though, since he soon got to witness his best friend doing a jig himself later and even hinting at details could make it worse right now.

Percy groaned and Alex couldn't blame him for constantly being frustrated his friend didn't have many helpful answers that wouldn't get them killed in here.

Thalia checked the door. It was open, but there weren't many people going in. Too cold, and school was out of session. They slipped inside.

Dr. Thorn hesitated. I wasn't sure why, but he didn't go into the museum. He turned and headed across the Mall. I made a split-second decision and followed him.

"Those impulses of yours are going to save the world," Alex told him with admiration. Why follow his friends when he could get the drop on the enemy.

Thorn crossed the street and climbed the steps of the Museum of Natural History. There was a big sign on the door. At first I thought it said CLOSED FOR PIRATE EVENT.

Nico's delighted snort of laughter was the loudest of all, but he was distracted from imagining guinea pig Percy in a plastic hamster ball running around one of those by Will smiling at him like he'd been sucker punched. "I'm sure that's a real event somewhere, everything is lately," he told him instantly.

Nico still looked at him strangely, like he was still waiting for Will to start mocking him now that he realized the Son of Apollo knew of more of his interests, but Will was just smiling same as ever.

Then I realized PIRATE must be PRIVATE.

"That dyslexia stuff must make for some awesome confusion," Alex said not unkindly.

"Because the Mist and monsters didn't do that enough," Percy shrugged.

I followed Dr. Thorn inside, through a huge chamber full of mastodons and dinosaur skeletons.

"Please tell me they're zombies like a strange Jurassic Park spin-off," Magnus's frown was hopefully cautious. Only Will noticed Nico mouthing Jurassic Park spin-off with a blank look.

"I could live with that," Alex nodded along.

"Nobody questioning how and why Percy's mere presence is going to bring prehistoric animals to life?" Jason chuckled enthusiastically.

"Well I don't think Thorn's poison is going to do the trick," Percy said without a hint of thrill at the idea as well as he rubbed his shoulder in remembrance.

There were voices up ahead, coming from behind a set of closed doors. Two guards stood outside. They opened the doors for Thorn, and I had to sprint to get inside before they closed them again.

Inside, what I saw was so terrible I almost gasped out loud, which probably would've gotten me killed.

"Of all the things you've done to nearly get yourself killed," Rachel winced. "Let's hope you don't sneeze."

Percy gave her a strange look and winced a bit, and she smiled guiltily, having forgotten for a moment he wouldn't get the joke.

I was in a huge round room with a balcony ringing the second level. At least a dozen mortal guards stood on the balcony, plus two monsters—reptilian women with double-snake trunks instead of legs. I'd seen them before. Annabeth had called them Scythian dracaenae.

Even just remembering the scared tremble on her voice as she'd told that to him tugged on his heart. She should be here in that memory, beside him to keep an eye on their friends as they went to rescue Artemis; though she would have just been invited on the quest and he still would have snuck along. She should be here beside him now hearing his crazy adventure without her. She should be here with her arm around him to chase that scared tremble in her voice away from his memory.

But that wasn't the worse of it. Standing between the snake women—I could swear he was looking straight down at me—was my old enemy Luke.

'Traitor,' the caution hissed through Jason's mind. There was a traitor at camp from Luke, but no one in this quest could possibly be it. Grover wasn't around to sell them out last summer, unless Luke had more than one around Camp?

He'd bet his memories being gone for good it wasn't Thalia. A rash swear on the Styx he'd still commit to.

It couldn't be a Huntress...but there was literally no other explanation why this could possibly be a meeting place for Thorn. Was it Zoe? She'd been so committed to Artemis, or possibly a really good actress? It couldn't be Bianca, unless she'd somehow managed to fake during that first meeting she had no clue what was going on.

 Luke being there was just too huge a coincidence he couldn't help but vow to keep his suspicions open Luke may have acquired more spies than whomever the undiscovered one at camp was.

He looked terrible. His skin was pale and his blond hair looked almost gray, as if he'd aged ten years in just a few months. The angry light in his eyes was still there, and so was the scar down the side of his face, where a dragon had once scratched him. But the scar was now ugly red, as though it had recently been reopened.

Perhaps Magnus's previous theory about punishments and displeasing Kronos weren't so far off track. This was a far cry from the boy in his lavish sweet on a cruise liner bragging to Percy and Annabeth about his great choices.

There was no true sympathy in his heart though after leaving Annabeth in that trap for an untold time like there was in Will though, as he leaned forward in his seat. Will couldn't begin to imagine what all Luke had been through, but some part of him still hoped if Luke had just talked to someone instead of going so long silently resenting the gods he would have stopped this in its tracks. Had the Son of Hermes ever confided in any of the other half-bloods he recruited except to give nasty speeches about toppling thrones? Some part of Will still wished he could have lent an ear to Luke while offering him an ambrosia square to help, even if he had to handcuff this traitor and drag him back to camp kicking and screaming to do it.

Next to him, sitting down so that the shadows covered him, was another man. All I could see were his knuckles on the gilded arms of his chair, like a throne.

"Well?" asked the man in the chair. His voice was just like the one I'd heard in my dream—not as creepy as Kronos's, but deeper and stronger, like the earth itself was talking. It filled the whole room even though he wasn't yelling.

Percy repressed the urge to shiver at the memory of that and regretted himself all the cracks he'd made in the floor, grateful as everyone no voice had come from them.

Nico shivered right along with him as he imagined the same from something even more powerful than a Titan, the mother of them.

Dr. Thorn took off his shades. His two-colored eyes, brown and blue, glittered with excitement. He made a stiff bow, then spoke in his weird French accent: "They are here, General."

"I know that, you fool," boomed the man. "But where?"

"In the rocket museum."

"The Air and Space Museum," Luke corrected irritably.

Will made his own pained grimace as he whispered, "you all would have loved the time we took a field trip there."

Nobody felt the need to ask further questions, it clearly wasn't a happy memory for him. Perhaps because Annabeth had once corrected anybody who dared miss phrase the place while she'd been running around there. Thalia even smiled again for a brief moment as she imagined Chiron in his wheelchair trying to keep up with her, Annabeth smiling so brightly as Luke patiently listened to everything she had to say between the entrance and the gift shop, Clarisse and Salina being forced into the buddy system on the trip.

It was all in a bleak discerption of a memory from Chiron over a whispered game of cards as she'd hidden away from the harpies and he'd taken pity on her rather than sending her to bed. All the grand trips that were as close to quests as they'd come before Luke's failed fruit mission.

Dr. Thorn glared at Luke. "As you say, sir."

I got the feeling Thorn would just as soon impale Luke with one of his spikes as call him sir.

Thalia grimaced, she hated having something in common with that monster, even a common enemy.

"How many?" Luke asked.

Thorn pretended not to hear.

"How many?" the General demanded.

"Four, General," Thorn said. "The satyr, Grover Underwood. And the girl with the spiky black hair and the—how do you say—punk clothes and the horrible shield."

"Thalia," Luke said.

Thalia's eyes sparked with anger he pretended to care enough to make sure they got her name right as she vividly imagined shoving his head in a rocket and turning one on.

"And two other girls—Hunters. One wears a silver circlet."

"That one I know," the General growled.

Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.

"Let me take them," Luke said to the General. "We have more than enough—"

"Patience," the General said. "They'll have their hands full already. I've sent a little playmate to keep them occupied."

"Why do I feel like they didn't bring blocks and toy swords?" Jason muttered.

"Where are the zombies?" Ales was pouting they'd gone practically this whole chapter without brain-eating corpses. "It didn't mean Luke did it?"

Thalia once again swallowed without answer it might as well mean him. He was a shell of himself, having already sold his soul to Kronos.

"But—"

"We cannot risk you, my boy."

"Yes, boy," Dr. Thorn said with a cruel smile. "You are much too fragile to risk.

"Luke loved that by the way," Percy informed them, his sneer had nothing on Luke's venomous look that could have rivaled Thorn's spikes. The baffling implication left them much more confused what Thorn could mean by that, though Magnus at least tried to tell himself it was just bad guy, in house, squabbling.

Let me finish them off."

"No." The General rose from his chair, and I got my first look at him.

He was tall and muscular, with light brown skin and slicked-back dark hair. He wore an expensive brown silk suit like the guys on Wall Street wear, but you'd never mistake this dude for a broker. He had a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that could snap a flagpole in half. His eyes were like stone. I felt as if I were looking at a living statue. It was amazing he could even move.

Thalia's eyes glimmered with somehow yet more hatred, a truly frightening expression that nearly rivaled Aegis none of them thought could top her scowl for Luke moments ago.

She would have struck him without hesitation and much more for whatever he'd done to her.

"You have already failed me, Thorn," he said.

"But, General—"

"No excuses!"

Thorn flinched. I'd thought Thorn was scary when I first saw him in his black uniform at the military academy. But now, standing before the General, Thorn looked like a silly wannabe soldier. The General was the real deal. He didn't need a uniform. He was a born commander.

There was a ripple of unease around the room that came from no one demigod. Such a powerful leader that struck Percy left those not in the know just how much worse Kronos himself could possibly be. Yet Thalia alone who had seen his mortal form still only saw this atrocity of a Titan as a warmup for the pain she expected to feel fresh and sharp as ever. She swore vengeance on Zoe's killer even trapped in his imprisonment again, and it was nothing compared to the twisted root of pain lodged in her every time Luke's name was said.

"I should throw you into the pits of Tartarus for your incompetence," the General said. "I send you to capture a child of the three elder gods, and you bring me a scrawny daughter of Athena."

Alex and Magnus exchanged uneasy glances. They'd thought Bianca was the true goal that day, they needed a girl to capture Artemis, Percy was just a bonus when he showed up. Now they realized the Di Angelo kids were just bait...but how had Thorn known who would come to fetch them? Was it possible Thorn through Luke knew who Grover was and would call for help?

"Scrawny!" Was the only word Percy seemed to hear as bubbles flumed from his ears in anger once more.

"But you promised me revenge.'" Thorn protested. "A command of my own!"

"I am Lord Kronos's senior commander," the General said. "And I will choose lieutenants who get me results! It was only thanks to Luke that we salvaged our plan at all. Now get out of my sight, Thorn, until I find some other menial task for you."

Thorn's face turned purple with rage. I thought he was going to start frothing at the mouth or shooting spines, but he just bowed awkwardly and left the room.

"Now, my boy." The General turned to Luke. "The first thing we must do is isolate the half-blood Thalia. The monster we seek will then come to her."

Jason studied Thalia with a pit of concern, the untold prophecy nagging in his mind. It wasn't the only reason he could imagine them singling her out, Zeus surely had many enemies, a likely one possibly whoever this mystery man was. Thalia getting a choice to save the gods though would be a more comforting answer, because he was confident of that outcome, what she'd do. Anything else, he found himself nearly freezing up in concern what they could have done to her, what monster could this be?

"The Hunters will be difficult to dispose of," Luke said. "Zoe Nightshade—"

"Do not speak her name!"

"My liking for Zoe just went up tenfold," Rachel said darkly. Anything that upset this guy could only be used for their advantage, even the Persian princess.

Luke swallowed. "S—sorry, General. I just—"

The General silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Let me show you, my boy, how we will bring the Hunters down."

He pointed to a guard on the ground level. "Do you have the teeth?"

The guy stumbled forward with a ceramic pot. "Yes, General!"

"Plant them," he said.

"Do we have a botanist handy?" Will asked blearily, wishing Katie was around to turn to. He had no clue what was coming.

"I'll do you half of one," Nico muttered in disgust. He knew of a fair few from listening to the Demeter kids and Persephone threatening to poison him. He also knew of every ritual to summon the dead due to his own practicing, though he needed no aid like these mortals were doing, performing this ancient act.

Will gave him a curious, hopeful look, the exact opposite of what he'd expect expressing knowledge of zombies. The guy really was weirdly happy about everything.

In the center of the room was a big circle of dirt, where I guess a dinosaur exhibit was supposed to go. I watched nervously as the guard took sharp white teeth out of the pot and pushed them into the soil. He smoothed them over while the General smiled coldly.

The guard stepped back from the dirt and wiped his hands. "Ready, General!"

"Excellent! Water them, and we will let them scent their prey."

The guard picked up a little tin watering can with daisies painted on it, which was kind of bizarre, because what he poured out wasn't water. It was dark red liquid, and I got the feeling it wasn't Hawaiian Punch.

Cursed blood, enchanted and stolen from the enemies. Nico swallowed and didn't offer that information, he had a feeling it would wipe Will's smile away when he realized who may have been sacrificed to fill that daisy watering can.

The soil began to bubble.

"Soon," the General said, "I will show you, Luke, soldiers that will make your army from that little boat look insignificant."

Luke clenched his fists. "I've spent a year training my forces! When the Princess Andromeda arrives at the mountain, they'll be the best—"

"Ha.'" the General said. "I don't deny your troops will make a fine honor guard for Lord Kronos. And you, of course, will have a role to play—"

I thought Luke turned paler when the General said that.

Percy studied the book in Alex's hands and swallowed vomit, knowing he felt sick enough already before a zombie popped up now. That. That was something he should have a memory about, and should possibly for the first time thank whoever took them away to save him from whatever it was.

"—but under my leadership, the forces of Lord Kronos will increase a hundredfold. We will be unstoppable. Behold, my ultimate killing machines."

The soil erupted. I stepped back nervously.

In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt.

Magnus was leaning all the way back in his seat and bracing himself for horrible descriptions that hit to close to home, having seen the dead on the streets, most citizens walking right past and not even realizing it. Of desiccated skin and jaws that wreaked of human flesh, with shuffling gates and soulless eyes in a forbidden human face-

The first of them said:

"Mew?"

"Kitten?" Magnus leaned excitedly over Alex's shoulder, a silly cartoon book coming back to him he hadn't thought of in years as his mom laughed with him about Freya loving cats.

"Well I didn't say moo," Alex grinned in agreement.

It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared, until there were a dozen, rolling around and playing in the dirt.

"These are the cutest killing machines we will ever experience," Will beamed.

"Have you already forgotten Annabeth?" But Percy was smiling along in confused surprise just as much what the heck was going on. Maybe he could steal one for Annabeth when she got back, cats loved to chase spiders, right?

Everyone stared at them in disbelief. The General roared, "What is this? Cute cuddly kittens? Where did you find those teeth?"

The guard who'd brought the teeth cowered in fear. "From the exhibit, sir! Just like you said. The saber-toothed tiger—"

"No, you idiot! I said the tyrannosaurus! Gather up those... those infernal fuzzy little beasts and take them outside. And never let me see your face again."

"Honestly, that guy got off easy," Jason said with a raised brow. No remorse at all for the mortal who had passively stood around and been okay dishing out previous orders to kidnap and shoot kids. "How do you even swap those two?"

"Maybe somebody went around and played with a few placards?" Will said with a chuckle as he vividly remembered what Travis and Connor had gotten up to while there, but even then, it was really hard to imagine somebody couldn't look at the skeleton and get the wrong carcass so badly.

The terrified guard dropped his watering can. He gathered up the kittens and scampered out of the room.

"You.'" The General pointed to another guard. "Get me the right teeth. NOW!"

The new guard ran off to carry out his orders.

"Imbeciles,' muttered the General.

"This is why I don't use mortals," Luke said. "They are unreliable."

"They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent," the General said. "I love them."

"Somebody has to," Percy muttered, though he didn't look happy of all the things to imagine Grover and this guy would agree on. His eyes were on Rachel again though, that inexplicable feeling of knowing  she was mortal...and yet associated none of that with her like he did Gabe. He didn't hate mortals on principle, but his time with most of them wasn't good memories...except her for some reason...when he couldn't reach those memories!

A minute later, the guard hustled into the room with his hands full of large pointy teeth.

"Excellent," the General said. He climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped down, twenty feet.

Where he landed, the marble floor cracked under his leather shoes. He stood, wincing, and rubbed his shoulders. "Curse my stiff neck."

"Is that supposed to be a hint of who he is," Jason asked a little breathlessly, and he just knew the answer was buried somewhere in his mind...

Percy shrugged without much care though, fidgeting as restlessly in his seat as ever like everything but hearing about Annabeth caused him.

"Another hot pad, sir?" a guard asked. "More Tylenol?"

"No! It will pass." The General brushed off his silk suit, then snatched up the teeth. "I shall do this myself."

"Damn, sucks to have a go-getter leader," Alex frowned for having always admired anybody willing to do what they dish out, even watering zombies.

"There's something we have in common," Jason nodded along with the same perplexed look.

Thalia popped the collar of her jacket and cleared her throat with a malevolent smile. "I thank you for the kind words."

"Anytime girlie," Alex nodded.

He held up one of the teeth and smiled. "Dinosaur teeth—ha! Those foolish mortals don't even know when they have dragon teeth in their possession. And not just any dragon teeth. These come from the ancient Sybaris herself! They shall do nicely."

"Do I even want to know?" Magnus looked a little hopeful though they wouldn't be human zombies, which was like point one percent better.

"Sybaris was like a Scythian dracaenae, but worse," Nico supplied without concern. "Snake with feet, but a rooster head, mountain-sized," he concluded mildly. A Persian myth, making it slightly ironic why Percy had earlier mistaken Zoe of looking of that decent if Atlas had any association there. "It's odd though, because that's not what these guys turn out to be." Perhaps the resurrection process had to be performed by a priest of Hades to actually bring back the exact dragon, and these minions had been invoked from the process done by Atlas not performing the ceremony correctly.*

Will was looking for it now, and pressed his lips together unhappily to watch Nico's shadow flicker as he kept himself uptight and disconnected while explaining that, and Magnus was to busy making faces at dragons and zombies existing in the same sentence to notice. 

How could Will possibly guess Nico was trying his hardest to suppress the memory of these things showing up on the worst day of his life, Percy saying nonsense, she was dead, he could hear their ghostly promises of more death on his hero and, and he just couldn't let him die, but he couldn't stand to look at him either...so he ran- stop! Moving on!

Magnus's mood had been dragged down with every word Nico used to describe them, and Percy looked no more thrilled what was actually going to come out of the dirt. To Nico's bemusement, but for once not surprise as he got used to Will, the guy gave him a smile and once again asked, "is she in Mythomagic?"

"You guessed it," Nico agreed without hesitating to smile back.

He planted them in the dirt, twelve in all. Then he scooped up the watering can. He sprinkled the soil with red liquid, tossed the can away, and held his arms out wide. Rise!

The dirt trembled. A single, skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grasping at the air.

The General looked up at the balcony. "Quickly, do you have the scent?"

"Yesssss, lord," one of the snake ladies said. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, like the kind the Hunters wore.

"Excellent," the General said. "Once my warriors catch its scent, they will pursue its owner relentlessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapons known to half-blood or Hunter. They will tear the Hunters and their allies to shreds. Toss it here!"

As he said that, skeletons erupted from the ground. There were twelve of them, one for each tooth the General had planted. They were nothing like Halloween skeletons, or the kind you might see in cheesy movies. These were growing flesh as I watched, turning into men, but men with dull gray skin, yellow eyes, and modern clothes—gray muscle shirts, camo pants, and combat boots. If you didn't look too closely, you could almost believe they were human, but their flesh was transparent and their bones shimmered underneath, like X-ray images.

Magnus groaned in disgust and now knew the next time he sensed the dying ember of life leaving a mortal's body wrapped in trash bags, he'd get another horrible memory on top.

Alex met his eyes, licked her lips, but then turned back to the book. He sat stunned as he realized she wasn't hollering in pleasure at finally getting her reward of live zombies, she wasn't laughing and begging anybody to teach her how to do this.

Maybe, maybe his guess was right and the strained, hint of recognition of seeing her in a kitchen out of the corner of his eye was real. That she'd seen the gruesome side of humanity too, and this was just her way of dealing with it, smiling grimly through to laugh in the face of danger.

One of them looked straight at me, regarding me coldly, and I knew that no cap of invisibility would fool it.

The snake lady released the scarf and it fluttered down toward the General's hand. As soon as he gave it to the warriors, they would hunt Zoe and the others until they were extinct.

I didn't have time to think. I ran and jumped with all my might, plowing into the warriors and snatching the scarf out of the air.

"Percy..." Thalia couldn't begin to find words to thank him for what he'd done. Artemis would have grieved and sworn revenge for them, if they'd even made it through this quest at all, but there was no telling if their goddess would have even continued the hunt at all with her maidens after a decimation like that. She was struck with awe she could go back and tell her crew a male hero had saved the legacy of them all, if not in spirit, than literally.

"Thalia," Percy bobbed his head and turned back to the book. That was that, all that was needed as he watched the gratitude in her eyes.

"What's this?" bellowed the General.

I landed at the feet of a skeleton warrior, who hissed.

"An intruder," the General growled. "One cloaked in darkness. Seal the doors!"

"It's Percy Jackson!" Luke yelled. "It has to be."

"That was presumptuous," Percy looked almost pleased though he was so high on the list of people Luke suspected.

"You get a cookie for the big kid word," Thalia patted his shoulder and grinned at him swatting her away.

I sprinted for the exit, but heard a ripping sound and realized the skeleton warrior had taken a chunk out of my sleeve. When I glanced back, he was holding the fabric up to his nose, sniffing the scent, handing it around to his friends. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I squeezed through the door just as the guards slammed it shut behind me.

And then I ran.

Rachel shivered in particular disgust as Alex declared she was done. When she'd asked Percy where those skeletons chasing him had come from, he'd been pretty vague about the answer. He spent those weeks with her talking of anything but his father's side of the family, basking in what could have possibly been his last mortal, normal summer.

She watched Percy now as he got to his feet and cautiously went for the book, an expression more similar to fear twitching across his face than she ever would have believed possible was there. The last time he'd had his memories in hand, Annabeth had gone over a cliff. He took it now and looked from it to her, something strange still trying to wage with the memories of his girlfriend as he slowly went back to his seat beside her.

She'd thought she had a crush on him, and maybe there for a time he'd looked at her and wondered what life would be like if he could have a simple life with her too.

But just like she'd always known he would from the second she saw him and Annabeth together, he turned away with only slight hesitation and kept reading to find his way back to her, and she smiled and declared excitedly, "are we taking a lunch soon, I'm starving?"

PJOPJOPJO

*Why did dragon teeth create human skeletons? No clue, but I don't think my explanation makes it make less sense.

[starwarstbbfan]

THE BAD BATCH: THE RUNAWAY

Chapter 56 - On the Wings of Keeradaks

So I realized I'm a couple chapters behind on this story on Tumblr and I apologize for never updating. I kind of went on a hiatus as life was hectic, and it was a much needed break. But I'm gettin' that writing itch and REALLY want to get to the Bad Batch series!! So I'm back baby!!

Enjoy!!!

○●○●○●○●○●○●○

It was quiet in the room as Tech began working on the consoles again to get Echo unplugged from the tubes and wires attached to him. They couldn't just simply pull them out, otherwise it would cause considerable damage to both his body and mind, and the results could be fatal.

A surge of anger went through Calli as she looked at all the cybernetics the Techno Union had implanted in Echo, basically turning him into a machine. And the parts of him that were still human weren't any better looking. He was extremely skinny, his ribs visible and cheeks and stomach sunken in, not to mention his skin was a terrible gray color and Calli couldn't help but think he resembled a live skeleton (not in a cruel way, it was just an observation).

Calli felt at a loss for what to do. Tech obviously didn't need her help and Rex tasked himself with keeping Echo calm. She considered doing a scan of his human body to see what state it was in internally, but something stopped her from taking out the scanner from Tech's backpack where she knew it was. Maybe it's because she knew how she felt around any medical device/medic droids after her experience with being experimented on. It was likely that Echo was an experiment for the Techno Union, and even though he's disoriented, he may still panic when Calli approached him with the scanner and she didn't want to put him through that.

So she awkwardly sat by as Rex tried to ask Echo some questions, such as how he got here, but the ARC Trooper could only offer a weak "I don't know" to all of Rex's queries. Calli then noticed he began shivering a little as he became more conscious of his surroundings and the fact that his internal body temperature was lower than it should be, if the frost on his skin that WASN'T melting was any indication.

In a feeble attempt to warm him, Calli took off her cape and draped it over Echo's shoulders, which made the ARC Trooper feebly turn his head to look at her, yet all he saw was a trooper helmet with markings that were unfamiliar to him. It wasn't the classic white armor with blue decals, nor orange like the 212th - in fact he'd never seen black clone trooper armor. And despite being out of it he was able to realize the small, lean (yet still with a slight muscle) build of the trooper, unlike his other brothers.

"Who... Who are you?" He asked slowly, still very groggy and dazed. Calli smiled warmly, then remembered she had her helmet on and lifted it to where it rested atop her head and gave Echo a two finger salute while introducing herself.

"ARC Trooper Scar, at your service." She said with a chipper voice to lighten the mood. Echo now looked more confused and Calli wished she'd left out the ARC Trooper part. She was about to go into a whole spiel, even if in his current state Echo wouldn't be able to process the narrative of her life and why she was an ARC trooper. Thankfully before she could embarrass herself, the doors to the room opened and Skywalker jogged in. The doors remained open and Calli had a clear view of the others who continued holding off the droids.

"Situation's almost under control out there." He said, stopping in front of the trio sitting on the floor, looking at them then to Tech, "How's it going in here?"

"I'm still trying to decrypt Echo's cerebral interface. Until I do, we cannot disconnect him from this computer system." Tech informed without looking up from the console. Skywalker nodded and his expression softened as he focused back on Echo.

"How is he, Rex?"

"He's too weak to walk." Rex said grimly while standing up to talk to the General face to face, trusting Calli to remain at Echo's side temporarily. Echo was staring blankly at nothing, forgetting about the stranger next to him, "Very disoriented. Doesn't even remember how he got here. He remembers being at the Citadel, but that's about it."

"Any word on the extraction squad?"

"We called it in, but no word back." Calli piped up from the floor and Skywalker sighed but didn't seem too disappointed at that statement.

"Well, that's no surprise. We knew when we got into this we'd be on our own."

"It's gonna get more difficult to get out of here." Calli's expression became one of concern and she looked at Echo with pursed lips as she wracked her mind for a brilliant plan. One glance at the door showed that the others were falling back. Eventually they walked backwards into the small hallway and Crosshair jabbed his wrist gauntlet into the control panel, which made the doors close. A few seconds later the doors began being pried open by droids and Hunter and Crosshair tried to close them but one droid managed to get their head through. Wrecker proceeded to rip the head off and while Hunter and Crosshair were using all their strength to keep the doors closed, Wrecker stepped in and easily closed them with minimal effort. Hunter and Crosshair began fusing the doors together soon after that.

"There are several squads of droids closing in." Hunter said once they were finished, loud enough so the ones by the chamber could hear. Crosshair took a couple steps back and flipped down his rangefinder along with a second disc that allowed him to see more than just heat signatures, in this case droids.

"Enemy approaching. Droids lots of 'em." Crosshair informed, flipping the rangefinder back up and looking back at the others.

"How long can you hold them off?" Skywalker asked the Bad Batch.

"How long do you need?" Was Hunter's smooth answer, basically saying they still had a few tricks up their sleeves and could provide more time if necessary. This didn't ease the General's concern and he asked Tech how much longer it was going to take.

"Not yet. I need more time." Calli could hear Tech's frantic heartbeat, not exactly panicking but he knew the time crunch and was getting frustrated.

Outside their temporary safe haven, the Techno Union sent a decimator droid to take care of the clones and Jedi. It was circular, and had up to twelve electrical tendrils that searched for organic matter (i.e. humans) and if one was found the rest of the tendrils would group together and vaporize the target.

As the minutes ticked by, Hunter and the others had to close and seal the second set of doors, as the decimator droid had laser cutters and breached the first ones. Just when everyone thought they'd have to take on the hundreds of droids on the other side of the doors, Tech typed in one last command into the computer.

"I've got it." He declared, looking at Rex, "We can unplug him now." Calli grabbed ahold of Echo's arm and helped him stand. He leaned over the console and Rex brushed Calli's cape out of the way and reluctantly grasped one of the wires attached to Echo. After a slight hesitation, he yanked the wire and Echo's face screwed up in pain but he remained standing, gripping his human hand on the console to steady himself as Rex moved to another wire. Calli wondered if she should have been the one to do this, as Rex wasn't being gentle in the slightest. She at least had some experience with cybernetics and such. Her point was proven as Rex pulled the second then third wire and Echo collapsed to the floor. He let out a few haggard breaths before looking back up at Rex, saying the Captain's name weakly.

"What is it?" Rex asked with worry, fearing something had gone wrong when he removed the wires. Echo looked serious for a second - then the smallest of smiles appeared on his face.

"I got a big headache." He said, chuckling lightly and Rex couldn't help but break out in a smile at his brother's humor. It showed that his vod was going to be OK.

"Better to feel something than nothing, old buddy." For two seconds the atmosphere was lighthearted as the brothers smiled at each other, only for Anakin to bring reality crashing down.

"It's a touching reunion, guys, but we need to get out of here, now!"

"There's an exhaust vent that leads to the cooling systems right there." Echo said, pointing a shaky finger to the ceiling and everyone's heads lifted to look and sure enough, there was a circular vent. "I-I just need to plug into the dataport over there-" Echo tried lifting himself off the ground, yet much to his frustration he was still too weak to even get on his feet - and they weren't even real feet! Calli offered to help and Echo begrudgingly accepted it, letting her guide him over to the datasocket that he would plug his scomplink into and get the vent open.

"They've breached the front door. It won't be long before they're through the second." Hunter informed from the other end of the room, if the laser currently burning a circle into the thick metal was any indication. Just as soon as Hunter said this, the vent opened.

"That should get it open." Echo said, unplugging from the dataport and Rex gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder. There was one slight problem with the plan though, and Crosshair was the one to point it out.

"Great. Now how do we get up there?" The sniper asked with a hint of attitude. Wrecker was the one to provide a solution, having left the area by the doors and joined the rest of the group.

"Oh, I can help with that." He remarked while sneaking up behind a certain Sergeant and Calli knew Wrecker was wearing a mischievous smirk underneath that helmet and if she wasn't mad at the lot of them she'd join alongside Crosshair who chuckled as Hunter began panicking when the strong clone grabbed him by the shoulder and his belt.

"Wait, what?" Hunter begins sputtering as he's lifted off his feet in a very undignified manner, "Wrecker, what are you doing-" Before Hunter could finish his question he's launched upwards into the vent. Hunter barely had two seconds to process what happened and thankfully he was able to think fast enough and when he entered the vent he caught himself before falling, digging his heels into the sides, same with his hands. After letting out a shaky breath, Hunter angrily shouted down to Wrecker, "A heads-up would've been nice!"

While Wrecker tossed everyone else up one by one, Calli looked around at all the machinery that in many ways had been a prison for the ARC Trooper they rescued, and an idea struck her. There's no way this could be left intact, because then all the Techno Union had to do was capture another unfortunate soul and start the whole process over again. Calli couldn't - and wouldn't - allow this to happen. She knew all too well the feeling of being treated as an object at the hands of so-called scientists and Mustafar would have to freeze over before Calli would let someone else suffer what she, her squadmates, and Echo have gone through. Not if she had the power to stop that from happening.

Once Wrecker had gotten everyone else up into the vent(minus the Jedi who could use the force to jump up high), he made a move to grab Calli but she stopped him.

"You got grenades on you?" She asked, and Wrecker scoffed, sounding almost insulted by the inquiry.

"What kinda question is that?" Calli didn't offer a sarcastic reply back, turning and hurrying over to the console nearest to her, taking out the three grenades she had stashed in one of the many pouches attached to her belt. When Wrecker saw Calli start placing them on the consoles he didn't need her to say anything, catching on to what his sister was doing. The giant clone grew excited and was quick to take out the stash of grenades in his backpack. While Calli had placed her grenades roughly twenty feet apart from each other to make sure they took out as much as possible, Wrecker just threw them to where they attached to random parts of the room without any sort of strategic placing whatsoever.

Anakin had noticed that the two clones hadn't joined the others in the vent. "What are you doing?" He yelled down to them

"We're putting an end to Tambor's little science experiment." Wrecker shouted back before throwing the last of his grenades and they landed on the cryochamber.

"Are you done?" Anakin asked and there was a sense of urgency in his tone that made Calli look over at the door and she gasped when seeing that whatever was trying to get in had almost breached the second door. Wrecker noticed this as well. "Time's up!" The General announced and Calli didn't need to be told twice and she wondered how both her and Wrecker would be able to get up to the vent. But she didn't have to wonder long as the strong clone picked Calli up by the strap of her belt and she had no chance to voice a protest like her other brothers before she was launched up. Pressing her hands and feet against the walls, Calli glared down at Wrecker. Ok that took care of her - what about him?

Above her, the General put a hand out and before long, Wrecker was slowly being lifted off the ground and inching closer to the vent where the rest of them were.

Calli watched with horror as bolts of electricity filled the room, searching for an organic being they could hone on and decimate. They drifted towards Wrecker who shouted in fear as the electricity licked closer and closer to him.

"I don't like it! I don't like it! It's trying to get me!!" Calli would have found his shouts of fear amusing if his life wasn't threatened and she held her breath as she could only watch helplessly as her brother's life was in the hands of the General. Only when Wrecker was safely in the vent and the doors slid closed did Calli allow herself to breathe again.

"You alright?" Calli couldn't help but ask, and after letting out a shaky breath he nodded, saying he was fine. After that reassurance, Calli allowed herself to start climbing up the vent once Skywalker started to. After Skywalker was helped out, Jace's hand reached down again and Calli accepted his assistance.

Once everyone was out of the vent, Wrecker, in an attempt to be in Calli's good graces again, handed her the detonator, and the teen couldn't help but smile in appreciation underneath her helmet. She accepted his offer and wasted no time in pressing the button that promptly set the bombs off - it's too bad they couldn't actually see the explosion and she could only imagine the looks on the Techno Union cronies faces once they were able to observe the carnage and millions upon millions of credits in damage they caused. Plus their little experiment and all their research would be ruined. It was enough to make the two pyromaniacs of the group smile as they began making their way through the corridors.

After all that, Calli felt some of the adrenaline wear off and felt the need to take her helmet off, taking a big gulp of the chilly air that filled the area they were now in. Calli welcomed the way the frigid air nipped at her already reddened cheeks

"This ventilation corridor acts as a cooling system for all the computers in the facility." Tech said to no one in particular, moving his flashlight around to see as much as possible while simultaneously watching out for any surprise droids that might attack. Anakin who was walking behind him, looked over his shoulder at Rex and Echo, more specifically Echo.

"How did you know it was up here, Echo?"

"Well, they got access to my memory, and I got access to the Techno Union database." Echo explained and he chuckled lightly, "All their plans, inventory, building schematics," He chuckled again, "-everything."

Calli shook her head, not understanding how Echo was being so lighthearted about the whole thing. These Techno Union people practically stole his mind and turned him into a machine! She chalked it up to him still being slightly delirious, after all his body temperature was still so low that frost was still coating the skin not covered by the cloak she lended him.

"You mean you can find us a safe way out of here?" Rex asked as they stopped at an intersection in the maze of hallways. Echo's eyes glanced anxiously at everyone when they all looked at him expectantly. He removed his arm that had been around Rex's shoulders to stabilize him and straightened his posture to portray confidence as he answered, knowing that his plan might be met with some level of skepticism.

"Well, there is a way... but you're not gonna like it." Was Echo's vague reply which made everyone's already wary expressions deepen. Calli looked at the group then at Echo, who was clearly nervous about what the others were going to say, and decided to back him up.

"How bad can it be?" She asked. Famous last words.

Five minutes later...

Echo had led them to a door and when it opened, Calli quickly figured out why he'd said they wouldn't like the plan. Echo said that one building over was a landing platform and that there might be a ship they could take to get out of the city. However, he failed to mention how they'd get to the other building.

Connecting the two buildings was a pipe, and they'd have to walk on it... with the harsh wind speeds from the storm .. that could easily send one or all of them falling to the ground hundreds of feet below, which they couldn't even see with the dust storm.

"How bad can it be, she asked?" Crosshair retorted, and Calli found herself unable to say something snarky in return because in truth she felt nervous. She was used to doing death defying stunts - enjoyed it even - but this was downright crazy, even for their squad.

"I don't know about this." Rex said, voicing his concern.

"I'm telling you, there's a landing pad on that other building!" Echo insisted, having to yell over the wind in order to be heard.

"So you think there's a ship there we can steal?" Was Hunter's question while the General was the first one to start walking along the pipe. Echo hesitated.

"Well, I hope there's a ship we can steal," He finally admitted while smiling sheepishly over his shoulder at the Sergeant before following Skywalker, and Rex followed suite while the Bad Batch remained at the threshold of the door and watched the trio take tentative, slow steps across the pipe without looking back.

"Let's hope this trip isn't for nothing." Hunter grumbled as his brothers who all gathered behind him, waiting for him to start walking, Crosshair even nudged him a little and he could just imagine the taunting smirk the sniper must be wearing, silently asking "Are you afraid, Sarge?"

Sometimes Hunter really hated being the leader of the group. After internally heaving a big sigh, he left the safety of the building, and like the loyal brothers they were, Crosshair, Tech, then finally though a bit more reluctantly, Wrecker.

Jace was next and made it a few steps before sensing that a certain someone hadn't followed after him and after stopping he turned to find Calli standing frozen in place and looking down at the large emptiness beneath them. There would be nothing, absolutely nothing, to stop their descent if they fell from the pipe. Her jetpack had been damaged in the firefight before finding Echo. Jace could feel the anxiety she was experiencing and made his way back to her, saying her name just loud enough to be heard over the howling wind. The young clone began shaking her head and took a step back from the edge of the platform.

"I can't do this." She stated, and there was a slight tremor in her voice that made Jace's eyes soften but he couldn't let Calli give into her fears.

"We have to if we want to escape this place." Calli again violently shook her head, utter fear taking over and thus she was unable to reason with the fact that their only chance of making it out of here was by walking along the tightrope of death. Calli didn't understand - she's never been afraid of heights before!

Through the force, a sudden wave of dread washed over Jace and he knew that the droids were only minutes, if not seconds away from reaching them and some of his patience went away as his fight or flight instincts kicked in yet he wasn't about to leave Calli.

"Calli, look at me. We don't have time - we've gotta get out of here."

"I-I know-"

"Hey, just look at me," Jace said with a little more force, and he pointed to his eyes, "- focus on me." Once he was sure Calli was making eye contact - it was kinda hard to tell with her helmet in the way, Jace continued in a more soothing, encouraging tone, "You can do this." Without thinking, Jace held out his hand in Calli's direction, and he just hoped she wouldn't be put off by the gesture, now that he'd already out and done it. He watched as Calli's helmet tilted down at his hand, and he could tell she was contemplating his offer.

Not a second later, her smaller, gloved hand slipped into his, which surprised the both of them. Calli blamed the time crunch that made her rashly decide to hold the young Jedi's hand - perhaps desperation even because as her hand reached out to him she wondered how handholding could possibly be an effective way to calm her sudden panic. There's no possible way it could-

Any doubt Calli had died away when their hands touched.

Sure, it didn't take the impending doom away, but it brought... comfort? Enough at least to where she was able to leave the safety of her spot and start taking small, tentative steps onto the pipe, doing everything in her power to not look down. Valli kept her free hand out to the side to keep her balanced and kept her focus on the back of Jace's head, trying to mirror his calmness.

Up ahead, Calli could hear Wrecker was having just as hard a time as she was.

"Oh, boy. I can't even look." He said in an almost shaky voice, "Just-Just keep walking, Tech."

"That's fine, but if you fall, don't take me with you." Tech said in reply, not sounding the least bit concerned. Despite feeling terrified herself, Calli encouraged Wrecker.

"You're doing great, Wrecker, just don't look down-'' Calli should have known better. When you tell someone to not look down, it's gonna make them look! And that is precisely what Wrecker did and he felt his stomach drop, much like he would if he lost his balance.

"Uh-oh. I looked!" Wrecker began teetering on his feet and Calli was worried he'd actually fall! "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Hang on, Wrecker. We're almost there." Hunter called out over his shoulder and Wrecker nodded while beginning to reassure himself, mumbling that everything was going to be OK and to breathe.

Just as everyone reached the halfway mark and thought maybe they were going to make it without any trouble, the doors leading into the building they were headed towards opened and surprise surprise they were ambushed by droids. Guns were aimed and General Skywalker ignited his lightsaber in just enough time to start deflecting the blaster bolts as they hurled towards the group.

"Turn around! Go back!" He shouted out and no one needed to be ordered twice. At the other end Calli and Jace started heading back the way they came along with everyone else, only for more droids to appear at the other end. On both sides the droids began walking single file onto the pipe while preparing their weapons to fire.

Before Calli could reach for her own blaster, an arm wrapped around her waist and she was lifted up by Jace who spun around to set her behind him while his other hand ignited one of his lightsabers to deflect the other onslaught of blaster bolts, acting as a shield for Calli so she didn't get hit. She had mixed feelings about this, but was at the very least grateful because those droids could easily have shot her down and Calli wasn't a Jedi, therefore couldn't deflect the laser bullets.

As if things weren't bad enough, a particularly strong gust of wind knocked Crosshair off balance and he did his best to not lose his footing, but in the end he did. Without thinking twice Wrecker dove after his brother, barely able to grab Crosshair's ankle while maneuvering his legs to wrap around the light fixture underneath the pipe, effectively preventing the pair from falling. Calli would be lying if she didn't say her heart skipped a beat as she watched this transpire, in fact it almost paralyzed her when she saw Crosshair fall to what would have been his death. It made her want to find a way out of here even faster and she wracked her mind for a solution while finally returning fire with her own blaster around Jace and his lightsaber. She succeeded in hitting one right after Tech who was behind her did and the two unfortunate droids cried out "WHY" as they fell to their demise.

"Anybody got a brilliant idea?" Anakin asked while deflecting another shot that nearly grazed his face.

"I do have a brilliant idea!" Tech piped up and he flipped open the screen on his wrist guard and began typing away on it.

"I'm hanging here!" Wrecker announced, feeling the need to voice as much as if everyone else didn't know this already.

"When the locals attacked us, I recorded the creatures' distress call." Tech began to explain while continuing to scroll through the files on his device.

"Why?" Jace questioned, not understanding why Tech would record such a thing. Who records random things like that - or anything period on a mission?

"He records everything. It's a hobby." Calli told him, and before Jace could ask a second time why Tech did such a thing Tech spoke up again.

"Which allows us to call those flying creatures to us." After setting the volume to its maximum level, Tech played the sound and immediately everyone winced at the shrill cries that filled the area - for those with enhanced hearing it was especially irritating and hurt their ears - even their helmets did little to protect their eardrums.

Wrecker shouted his protests about the noise while simultaneously shooting at droids and he paused his yelling to bark out a laugh when he successfully hit one, "Take that!" Crosshair of course couldn't let Wrecker have all the glory and fired his small blaster and rifle in each designated hand at both groups of droids and he managed to hit two but when one that got shot jumped backwards from the impact and rammed into the one behind him and sent the two falling, making it a total of three the sniper took out.

Wrecker's childish groan at this was like music to Crosshair's ears.

As they waited for the flying creatures to appear - if they would appear - the Bad Batch did their best to continue firing back at the enemy to keep them at bay, and while the defective clones still preferred to work alone, they were great full in this instance to have Jedi at both the front and back of the group to deflect the enemy's fire.

On Calli and Jace's side, half a dozen more droids joined the ones already there and in a split-second decision the former took off her jetpack that had been rendered useless save for the rockets which she now planned to utilize. Instead of launching them with the press of a button, Calli simply threw the entire thing at the droids since it was basically dead weight once the rockets were used so might as well get rid of it right?

It was caught by a droid who looked down at foreign object he miraculously caught with confusion, yet he wasn't given a chance to compute what had happened as Calli detonated the rockets and turned the droid and a majority of the others into a scrap pile - what was left of them anyways. While pieces of droid carnage fell on the rest that were unharmed and continued to shoot, suddenly the flying creatures came barreling up from the storm below, answering the distress call like Tech had said they would.

"There is our ride out of here!" Tech said as the creatures circled around them, avoiding blaster fire as some of the droids took to shooting at the new flying assailants. The General then asked the question on everyone's minds - except Tech of course.

"Now, how do we get on them?"

"How else?" Tech asked, before answering what was apparently a rhetorical question, "We jump!" Cue the shocked looks from everyone. Calli looked down at the reptiles circling below them, ignoring the sinking feeling when doing so as she was reminded of how high up they were. Her eyes zeroed in on the saddles located on the reptiles' back and an idea struck in her mind.

Aiming her arm carefully, Calli activated her whipcord launcher, and it successfully flew across the air and imbedded itself in the saddle, ensuring that if she jumped, she wouldn't accidentally miss the saddle and fall to her death.

"Later losers!" Calli hollered - whether she said this to the droids or her team no one knew. She still had Jace's hand in a death grip so he was free falling next to her and an undignified shriek might have left his mouth when he suddenly was yanked from his spot and now had nothing but Calli's hand to hold onto.

For a brief second there was nothing but the sensation of falling, the air whipping around them as they descended, before safely landing on the flying reptile. Jace suffered whiplash briefly, having landed on his stomach, while Calli had somehow expertly landed on her feet in a crouched position. The young Jedi blamed the fact that he hadn't had time to process and prepare for the jump and that's why he landed in such an undignified way. Despite being in a tense, dangerous situation, Jace couldn't help but blush, especially after Calli chuckled at him.

"Heh, sorry, guess I shoulda warned you." She apologized sheepishly before using her free hand to grab ahold of the reins attached to bridle in the reptile's mouths, the other still attached to Jace's until he got situated in the saddle behind her.

Swiftly, two at a time, the rest of the group also jumped off and claimed a flying reptile to pilot, they followed the keerdak Anakin was on that he steered to lead the rest of them away from the droids. For two seconds, it seemed like everything was going to be ok... Then wings suddenly sprouted from the droid's arms and were now pursuing the group.

"Uh, that wasn't part of the plan." Tech said, "Those things can fly!" Calli looked over her shoulder and sure enough, the droids were in fact following them. Great, just great.

"Kriffing hells!" Calli couldn't help but swear, earning a surprised look from Jace behind her. Calli ignored him and focused on guiding the reptile out of the line of fire.

"We have to shake those droids!" General Skywalker shouted, deflecting the blaster bolts while keeping one hand tightly on the reins and he made a noise of frustration as he almost fell off the reptile when it made a sharp turn unexpectedly, being spooked by the blaster fire, "How do I steer this thing?" The others weren't having as hard a time, as one would steer the reptile while the others provided cover fire. Luckily these droids seemed to have just as bad of aim as any other Separatist droid, and it was even worse when they flew.

"How you holding up, Echo?" Rex asked his brother, who smiled up at him.

"Never better, sir!" Was Echo's chipper reply, and Rex chuckled. Despite the fact they had droids trying to shoot them down he was happy as can be with Echo at his side. Eventually they managed to evade the droids through the maze of rock formations, with one not noticing a ledge and going SPLAT on it like a bug on a windshield.

"Let's head back to the village." Anakin suggested - well it was more of an order. And Calli couldn't help but voice her concern because she saw several red flags about that plan.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? What if they find us and send reinforcements? We'd be endangering the Poletecs!"

"We need to bring these guys back to them safely (referring to the reptiles)." Anakin told her, "It's also where the ship is!" Despite the fact about the ship which Calli had somehow forgotten, she still felt it was a bad idea and was going to protest further if not for Jace's hand being placed on her shoulder which made her stop and glance questioningly at him.

"It'll be fine." He assured her, and Calli contemplated this, that nagging feeling in her gut shrinking a little but not entirely going away. She eventually relented with a sigh and faced forward again, and she couldn't help but notice how Jace kept his hand on her shoulder the entire ride back.

○●○●○●○●○●○●○

They landed in the middle of the Poletec village, and the Chief was quick to make his way to the front of the crowd that gathered and by his frantic arm movements and unmistakable angry tone, it was plain as day to everyone that he was none too pleased of the soldier's return. It took everything in Calli to not tell the General "I told you so".

Tech swiftly made a translation of the Chief's words. "Their leader is impressed we tamed the Keeradaks, - but he wants to know why we returned here."

"Tell him we had no choice. Tell him that we wore out our welcome in Purkoll." Anakin explained and Tech nodded and started to repeat the General's words in the Poletec's tongue, yet he was rudely interrupted when a series of blaster bolts rained down from the sky as the two surviving droids they thought they'd outsmarted and left in the dust flew above them.

Crosshair who always had his rifle ready began shooting back, but only managed to hit one of the droids and it hurled into one of the rock formations surrounding the village while it's companion managed to escape and that sinking feeling Calli had earlier came back when her previous concerns about returning to the village came back in full force.

Crosshair's head shook. "Not good. If I know Tambor, he'll come after us, us and the Poletecs, with everything he's got." On top of the dread Calli felt, there was now also guilt as she glared up at the General.

"Hence the reason why I said it would be bad to come back here!" Calli snapped, hating the fact that now the Poletecs were in danger because of them. Anakin briefly scowled down at her but wasn't able to say anything as the Chief was back to yelling at them. The General however remained calm as he asked Tech to translate once more, ignoring the moody huff he heard come from Calli when her statement wasn't acknowledged by any of the adults. Jace at least showed he heard and understood her frustrations by repeating his earlier gesture of placing a hand on her pauldron and while she was still frustrated, she looked at Jace appreciatively.

"He says that we have broken our word." Tech explained, and he paused for a second while translating the rest, "We have brought the war to his village." From her spot Calli threw her hands up in an "I told you so" way, earning another warning look from Anakin and also Hunter this time. Even Jace had to quietly tell her to calm down and if it had been anyone else, she would have told them to kark off. But she couldn't bring herself to say that to the guy who's been more than patient and kind with her up until now and did her best to calm the raging fire within her, reasoning that going into a full-blown argument in front of the Poletecs wouldn't help the situation at all.

"You're right." Rex said suddenly, taking everyone aback as he stepped forward and slipped off his helmet, revealing his determined expression beneath as he addressed the Chief then the goggled clone beside him, "Tell him he's right, Tech." Rex briefly glanced at Calli, "And so are you, Scar." Calli blinked, not expecting that and remained quiet as the Captain turned to face the Chief again, "Tell him we didn't plan to drag his people into war." His companions were all wondering where he was going with this, but didn't have to wonder long when he pointed to Echo, a fire igniting in his eyes as he spoke again, "But look what the Separatists did to one of our people!" Despite the call out, Echo straightened his posture to appear more confident as the attention was now on him, "They took away his freedom, his humanity. They tried to turn him into a machine." Rex was getting more and more fired up with each passing sentence, "The Techno Union claims it's neutral, but they have chosen sides. Now your people have to choose." Once he finished, Rex stepped back and waited for his words to sink in, and Anakin smiled slightly at his longtime friend.

"Couldn't have said it better, Rex."

"Let's hope it works, because I see forces coming more than we can handle alone." Calli said grimly, gesturing with her head in the direction the flying droid that avoided being hit flew back in the direction of the city, no doubt to bring back some friends. While she still didn't agree with dragging innocent bystanders into their battle, it seemed they would have to fight regardless because the Techno Union will definitely retaliate now that they thought the Poletecs were with the Republic.

Several of the Poletecs were now walking up to the Chief and by the looks of it they were prepared to do anything to protect their home. While Calli felt bad that the Poletecs were being dragged into what technically wasn't their fight, she still felt some relief in the fact that there would be more numbers on their side. As long as they were here with their more efficient weaponry, Calli would do everything in her power to ensure these Poletecs kept their humble village and continued to be here long after they'd left. She supposed it's the least she could do now that fighting was inevitable.

In the calm before the upcoming battle, they prepared. Calli helped Wrecker find some large boulders and place them on the rock formations surrounding the village where they could easily be pushed and sent tumbling, effectively taking out multiple targets. The other clones made sure all their weapons had fresh ammo packs before going to their designated hiding spots to wait for the enemy to arrive.

The Poletecs prepared as well, gathering all their own warriors and weapons while also hiding their more vulnerable people in the intricate set of tunnels that ran beneath the surface. After Calli finished helping the others, she was pulled aside by the general who also had asked Jace to come as well. He led them over to the entrance to the tunnels.

"I want you two to protect the elderly and children." He told the two teens in a tone that pretty much said there would be no arguing on the subject.

That of course didn't stop Calli from doing just that. She wasn't after all the model soldier who took orders without question, no matter how much the Kaminoans had tried to condition her to be that way. Five years on her own was enough time for her to grow more of a backbone and such was the result: if someone said something Calli didn't agree with, she voiced her opinion. Only this time it wasn't out of pure stubbornness because she thought it was unfair, no there was a deeper reason she immediately disagreed with Anakin's order.

"W-What? No, I need to be out here, with my team!" The thought of not being beside her brothers in what was definitely going to be a messy fight and no hope of back up from the Republic made her anxiety go to levels it's never been before. If something happened to them and she wasn't there...

"And I'm saying you and Jace are going to protect the elderly and children. End of story." Calli let out a dry scoff and followed the General when he turned and began heading for the exit.

"You've got another thing coming if you think you can just say 'End of story' and walk away, General." The way she was questioning his orders and blatantly testing his nerves reminded Anakin of someone he once knew that was now no longer a part of his life, and for that reason he didn't lose his temper right away with Calli blatantly disrespecting his orders.

"Scar..." Jace said in a warning tone, but Calli shut him up with one glare.

"No!" She said venomously, "I'm not going to just sit back, I can help! My brothers need me!"

"And I need you here. The Chief asked me to have someone protect the elderly and children and I'm trusting the two of you to do just that. You're the last line of defense, and it's our job to protect those who can't fight. If anything goes wrong, it's up to you guys to get them out of here. There's a tunnel that leads near the Havoc Marauder and I hear you're a hell of a pilot. The two of you will be fine."

"But-" Anakin crossed his arms and he and Calli had a stare off, and the latter was determined to win. She wasn't about to let some Jedi tell her she couldn't be with her brothers. She took orders from only one person, Hunter, and that in itself took a while for her to be ok with. Now she heard Hunter's voice at the back of her mind, telling her to follow orders. Calli continued to stare for a full minute before she ground her teeth and shook her head angrily, "Fine!" she spat out, and she put her helmet back on to hide her scowl as she stated she needed to go to the ship to quickly grab something.

"Sorry about her. She's... very strong willed." Jace apologized on Calli's behalf to Anakin, and the latter made a 'hmph' sound as they watched Calli's retreating form.

"I've noticed." Anakin said gruffly, and another pang came from his heart as he again thought of his former padawan, and all the times she stood up to him and/or completely disobeyed orders. "But I know this is the best course of action." Anakin turned to look back at Jace, "I trust you can get through to her?" Jace's expression turned to one of confusion as his eyes left Calli and met Anakins.

"Why me, Master?" He asked.

"I sense a special connection between you two." Anakin had to hide the smile that threatened to appear on his face while saying this. It goes without saying that he and Padme had talked about the young man's interest in Calli, and he couldn't help but tease him a little. Jace's eyes widened and became filled with panic, yet there was still some confusion in them.

"What-What do you mean by that?" Jace asked, and he cursed himself for stuttering. He couldn't be that obvious, could he?

"Oh nothing. And Echo will be joining you as well. Just escaping the Techno building took a lot out of him and Rex and I both agree he needs to be down here." It was a sudden change in conversation, but a welcome one for the padawan, who nodded.

"Yes, Master."

○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

Calli returned, still in a sour mood, with her backpack restocked with supplies and Scruffy who rode on her shoulder.

"Why'd you bring him?" Jace asked, though he smiled upon seeing the little tooka and when Calli walked past him, Scruffy was quick to nudge his face happily with a chirp.

"He was getting antsy on the ship and I figured he could maybe keep the Poletec kids calm. I'm pretty sure they've never had to live through a battle like this." Already some of the children were eyeing Scruffy curiously and you could hear them talking amongst themselves while pointing in the direction of the teens. Jace hummed.

"That's actually a great idea."

"Yep." Calli replied shortly, taking off the backpack while her feline companion also jumped off his perch and both were now on the dirt floor. Scruffy looked up when Calli made a clicking noise with her tongue, and she motioned for him to jump back up in her arms, which he of course did so with another little chirp. Once secure in her grasp, Calli walked over to the group of Poletecs who looked curiously at both her and the little furry creature in her arms. Some of them tensed as the female clone got closer, and she assured them in a soothing tone that they were ok, though they probably didn't understand her. But it seemed to get through that the two weren't a threat and a few of the younger Poletecs inched closer, with their big dark eyes looking at Scruffy with both skepticism and wonder. When some of them looked at Calli she smiled and nodded encouragingly, silently saying it's ok.

The child closest to Calli reached out one of its long fingered, tentative hands and held it in front of Scruffy's face, and the latter began to sniff the young Poletecs hand. Eventually after a few short sniffs, Scruffy deemed the stranger an acceptable being and licked the child's hand while letting out a trill, followed by loud purring. One second later Scruffy is out of Calli's arms and he climbed up the extended appendage of the Poletec and was now perched on the child's shoulder, happy as can be.

Soon after Scruffy was the star of the show, entertaining the young ones and reveling in all of the attention, making some of Calli's anger over being stuck down here melt away.

It was short lived however, when suddenly the ground above them rattled and she received a message from Tech soon after that said the Techno Union's reinforcements had arrived. Now the anxiety she'd felt earlier was back in full force as they heard the beginnings of a battle. By now Wrecker must have rolled one or more of the boulders they had collected to start the fight, which should have taken some of the droids by surprise and momentarily stunned them.

It took everything in Calli to not make a mad dash for the surface so she could be at her brother's side. She leaned against the wall and Jace joined her and for a while it was awkward silence as neither knew what to say. Eventually Calli nudged her boot against Jace's to get his attention. Emerald green eyes met brown, and Calli tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear as she cleared her throat nervously.

"Uh, sorry for snapping at you earlier, you know, when the General and I were arguing. Didn't mean to have you in the crossfire." She apologized quietly, embarrassed to have lost her temper and snapped at the one person who's always been nothing but nice to her.

"It's ok. I know you were just worried about your brothers." Another explosion could be heard and Calli shook the dirt that fell on her hair and face, then dropped her head back until it hit the wall while letting out a quiet groan.

"I just hate the idea of not being there with them. We do everything together." Jace's lips pursed as he stood there, wracking his mind for something to say that might help ease Calli's nerves. But he was never good at this sort of thing. He thought about what Master Windu might say, but quickly stopped that train of thought as nothing good came to mind. While he appreciated the Jedi Master taking him on as a padawan after Kuda Vyn's death, let's just say that they didn't exactly mesh well together.He thought his former master had been strict, well Windu was worse.

Jace then wondered what Master Vyn might've said. But he wasn't one for soothing words. He really was flying blind here. Guess he'd have to just wing it and rely on what he'd been taught. The young Jedi cleared his throat to get the attention of Calli, who'd been staring off into space. When she looked back at him, he began wringing his hands as nerves set in but plowed through and forced his mouth to form words before he lost whatever little bit of courage he had.

"You know, one of the first things the Jedi teach you is that you have to let go of your attachments, otherwise fear of losing them can lead to the dark side." He could see Calli's eyebrow raise, silently asking where he was going with this, "Master Yoda said to train ourselves to let go of everything we fear to lose." Calli took this the wrong way and was immediately on the defensive.

"I'm not like you guys." She argued, "I can't just 'let go', they're my brothers and I won't ever brush them off easily like you do." Jace sighed while shaking his head.

"I didn't say brush them off and forget about them." He said and his voice raised slightly in annoyance, but not because of Calli but because despite his best efforts he'd inadvertently said the wrong thing.

"Then what are you saying?" Calli asked, also getting frustrated.

"I don't know!" Jace admitted angrily and there was a pause as he tried to think of something else. He wanted to ease Calli's anxiety since Scruffy was too busy being doted on by the Poletec children. "They're capable of doing things no one has ever heard of and if they care as much about you as you do for them - and I know they do," This made Calli smile lightly, and those weird butterflies fluttered around in his stomach. "- then I guess you just have to trust that your brothers will do everything they can to survive and come back to you. But," Call's smile dropped at his use of the word 'but' and she dreaded what he was about to say, "- they can only focus if they know that you're doing your job and not letting your worry get the better of you and you wind up doing something irrational."

"He's right." Echo's voice chimed in as he'd separated from the Poletecs and chose to join the two teens, unintentionally listening in on their conversation and deciding to put in his two credits on the subject. Calli couldn't help but scoff at the ARC Trooper.

"Oh, so you're telling me you're ok with just sitting around here?" Echo opened his mouth, prepared to say yes, but stopped when he realized he'd be lying. Ok, maybe he wasn't ok with being put down here when he'd prefer being up there fighting with Rex and Anakin.

"Orders are orders." He finally said, always being a stickler for rules and such. He knew better than to go against his commanding officer's wishes, "You should be used to that by now, huh?" Calli chuckled nervously and went back to playing with her hair.

"I usually only listen to Hunter, and even then, it's a 50/50 chance I'll listen to that - off the battlefield that is." She admitted, earning raised eyebrows from both the guys.

The conversation was cut short when Calli thought she heard a sound come from the direction the entrance of the tunnels were. Not a second later Jace received a comm from Rex, saying that a few droids managed to slip past their defenses and were now heading into the tunnels.

Calli was about to contact her brothers and ask if they were alright, only to be stopped by Echo.

"Remember what the Commander said." He told her in a stern yet gentle voice, "We focus and do our job and this'll be over before you know it." Calli took a deep breath and nodded, though the pit in her stomach didn't go away.

"What's the plan?" She asked Jace, and he looked surprised at her question.

"Aren't you usually the one with a plan?" Calli shrugged indifferently.

"I'm taking a page from Echo's book and following whatever orders that will get this over with quicker." Jace began stroking his chin as he thought out loud.

"All I know is, there's going to be a lot of blaster fire, and we can't let it hit any of them." He told the pair, gesturing to the group of Poletecs that were still doting on Scruffy.

"We can't use bombs, otherwise this whole place will fall down on top of us." Calli said, continuing the train of thought.

"What about droid poppers?" Echo inputted, but Calli shook her head at that suggestion.

"I pretty much figured the other guys would need it more than us and let them keep what was left of our stock, which wasn't that much to begin with." Calli said, placing her hands on her hips and looking to the floor as she thought of what they had to work with. Blasters, her electrostaff, Jace had his lightsabers. She did bring some bombs, and extra mini rockets for her wrist rocket launcher, but those were a last resort. Her flame projector wouldn't do much against metal droids except scorch the metal, and she had a limited number of darts, which again probably wouldn't be super effective on targets that don't feel pain.

The sound of approaching footsteps was getting closer and closer, putting pressure on the Jedi and clones to figure out something, and fast.

A figurative lightbulb went off in Calli's mind and she reached behind her into one of the many pouches attached to her belt, catching the attention of her companions who looked at her in question at the sudden movement and glint in her eyes.

"What if we took away their ability to see?" Calli said mysteriously before pulling out a single smoke bomb and she was now wearing her signature smirk.

"But then we wouldn't be able to see either." Jace pointed out, and Calli crossed her arms and scoffed mockingly.

"I thought the Jedi used the force to "see" when their eyes couldn't?" Jace wanted to say that while Jedi could sense other living things, they couldn't actually do the same with non living things like droids, but now wasn't the time for that. It did heighten his other senses, so in a way Calli was right, "And with my enhanced senses, the two of us could make our way through the smoke and wipe out the droids before they knew what hit them. And if any stragglers make it through, Echo can stop them - if he's feeling well enough and up to the task." Echo puffed out his chest and said with confidence,

"Just give me a blaster and I'll take down any clanker to the best of my ability!" Calli liked his enthusiasm and just like with Fives, knew right off the bat that they were going to get along.

"Hey, you can have both of my blasters," She offered, taking both of said weapons out of their holsters and she didn't see his face fall and Jace's eyes widen as he glanced at Echo's right arm which no longer had a hand, then back at Calli who again was oblivious as she checked the power packs on her blasters, all the while still talking, "-one in each hand would be more effective -" Jace coughed loudly to get her attention and Calli looked at him, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she didn't understand why the young Jedi was now giving her a pointed look, "What?" She asked dumbly, and when Jace subtly pointed to Echo's prosthetic, Calli's face fell, all the while Echo was now looking neither of the teens in the eye as he'd grown embarrassed, though now Calli probably rivaled it at this point, "- oh." Was all she could say after that. Now Calli was mortified at making Echo probably feel awful about his implants that were most likely not put on him with his consent. Great, he probably thinks I'm a heartless jerk now.

Thankfully the awkwardness she created was short lived when just up ahead where there was a curve in the tunnel droids started to appear. Calli, Jace, and Echo were immediately spotted.

"Blast them!"

"Get behind me!" Jace shouted while taking out his lightsabers to start deflecting the onslaught of blaster bolts. Echo did as told but Calli instead pressed a button on her wrist guard, and she looked at the clone Jedi duo with a smirk when a small circular combat shield appeared, resembling ones that Mandalorian warriors utilized in battle. The only difference is, a regular one that was roughly a foot in diameter, hers was twice the size which maximized her protection, courtesy of Tech who suped it up as a surprise for her.

Any thoughts of their previous plan were forgotten as Calli began shooting back, and she stopped briefly only to toss her spare blaster to Echo so he could join in on the action while Jace continued to deflect what blasts he could.

But there were some that made it past his and Calli's defenses. One bolt hit the roof above them and caused a chunk of the rock to break off and land dangerously close to a small group of children. Their cries of fear temporarily distracted Calli and she couldn't stop herself from looking backwards in worry, unintentionally lowering her shield in the process as she made sure no one was injured.

That was a fatal mistake on her part. And if it hadn't been for Jace, it would've been her last.

It was just Calli's luck that one droid would have enough good circuits to actually be observant, and even rarer taking a few extra seconds to aim their blaster pistol before firing, to make sure they actually hit the enemy target dead-on.

Calli was unaware, adrenaline kicked in for Jace, and the Force was unintentionally called upon.

Having to duck behind a protrusion in the wall for a breather, Jace didn't really think about what he did when seeing a droid take notice of Calli. All he did was cry out "NO!" when the droid aimed their blaster, and thrust a handout in Calli's direction.

The only explanation was that the Force must have taken his desperate cry as a prayer, and granted him the mercy of having the power to stop someone he really cared about from taking a deadly blaster bolt to the heart.

The hairs on the back of Calli's neck raised to signal danger milliseconds too late, and whipping around she was met with a red blaster bolt zipping right towards her-

Then a strange reverberation shook her to the core and just like she did the red bolt came to standstill.

Only it unnaturally did in midair.

Just mere centimeters from her chest.

The frantic crackling of the energy bolt mimicked her thumping pulse, and the waves of heat from the unsteady hold on it as it fought to be released were also in tune with her panic-stricken breaths of disbelief. Her entire face slack in terror was omniously shadowed by the intmidating red glow of blaster bolt that should have been her end, and enhanced the petrified glint in her wide eyes.

From his position on sidelines and through the haphazard blaster fire, Echo had watched what happened with awe and disbelief and downright pure terror himself. But unable to do anything himself, he was also thankful.

Teeth painfully gritted, Jace's entire face was contorted as he focused all his energy in keeping the bullet from hitting his friend/crush in what would have been a fatal shot. The split-second decision to stop the bullet with the Force was made completely on the energy field itself, not his own. Still only a padawan, nowhere near as skilled as a Knight or Master, the strength granted to him could rival anyone of those he knew. But somehow, he found the strength to process and wield this power enough if it meant the difference between life and death of someone he cared about.

The Force also granted him the power to change the trajectory of the bullet, and with a bead of sweat forming on his painfully furrowed brow, he flicked his hand in the direction of the droids, and the energies of both powers followed.

It may have not hit the pack of droids directly, but it did impact with the ground in front of them and created a poof of dust and smoke that blinded several, and with a gasp from exertion Jace was still coherent enough to recall what they had planned and with more resolve than before shouted impatiently to frozen Calli, "Throw the bomb!" Taking the opportunity of the droids being also temporarily stunned by his actions.

Jace's frantic voice Calli broke out of her reverie and once it registered what he'd said, Calli broke into action. Taking out the device, she pressed the button to release the smoke in exactly two seconds before throwing it at the small company of droids, landing smack dab in the middle of them. Their little brainless heads all looked down at the device with curiosity that was dumb on their part.

"What's that?" One of the droids asked stupidly as they all looked at the bomb, their circuits not able to compute fast enough what was about to happen, even though a second ago one had been able to almost put a bullet through Calli's chest. They got their unfortunate answer when there was a small click, and smoke began violently spewing out, engulfing that part of the cave in a matter of seconds.

"Let's go!" Jace shouted to Calli as soon as there was ample enough smoke to cover them, having recovered some from the exertion of stopping and redirecting the energy bullet and ready to end this battle before there were any more close calls.

Nodding, two teens ran full force into the smoke without hesitation, trusting they're abilities and each other to ensure they made it out soon and in one piece.

Calli squinted as the smoke stung her eyes, not having her helmet on which would have only held her back as she relied on her impeccable hearing to navigate the dense smoke that surrounded her. She reached over her shoulder and grabbed a hold of her electro staff, bringing it around and pressing the button that made electricity appear on both ends of the weapon.

She could feel Jace's presence still beside her and without having to say a word to each other they got to work.

Calli strained her ears and heard the familiar creaking of a droid close to her left and swung her staff in that direction, rewarded with a satisfying CLANK as her weapon made contact with metal. Her senses picked up another one behind her, she wretched the bladed tip of her staff out of the first droid and after kicking that one to the ground she spun on her feet, sliced off the head of the second and then did a spinning back kick that knocked a third that tried to sneak up on her. When it fell to the ground, Calli stabbed her electrostaff into its body and electricity sparked as she amped up the setting to ensure it fried the droid's circuits.

She could hear Jace's lightsabers slice through droids and felt that familiar spark of competition and a smirk graced her lips as she began working more swiftly with the goal of taking down more droids than her Jedi companion.

Jace sensed the playful shift in her mood and decided to go along with it, pretty much knowing what Calli was thinking if the way she doubled her speed and kill count was any indication.

Despite the flurry of lightsabers and her staff, neither came close to hitting the other despite their close proximity. In some cases Calli would stun a droid with her electrostaff and Jace would follow by swiftly cutting its head off. It was as if their fighting styles and minds became one as they made their way through the dense smoke, taking out droids left and right, each helping the other. When Calli was focused on taking down a droid and another tried to sneak up behind her, Jace rushed into action and took it down before it could harm Calli, and she came to the rescue for him at one point as well. The glow of his lightsabers gave away his position, so several had at one point closed in on him and began shooting. Those droids didn't know what hit them when Calli unleashed her fury on them, and saved Jace's butt in the process.

For those few minutes, Calli didn't think/worry about her brothers, instead focusing on the fight and the boy fighting beside her. Never in a million years did she think she would ever work as well as she was now with a Jedi - a people she used to despise with a passion. Now one of her closest friends was a Jedi and she wondered what Boba or even Jango (if he was still alive) would think!

In a span of a minute and thirty seconds, the fight was over. The smoke began to dissipate and revealed Calli and Jace standing side by side, surrounded by the carnage of their enemy they'd worked as a team to destroy. Both were breathing heavily and Calli wiped the back of her gloved hand across her forehead where sweat had begun to form. She blamed the rush and the fact that Jace had saved her earlier for what she did next. Sometimes after a battle, Wrecker and Calli had a habit of hugging, especially if one or the other had a close brush with death.

Turning off his lightsabers, Jace had barely clipped them back on his belt when he was suddenly tackled into a hug by Calli, and he let out a grunt of surprise while stumbling back a couple steps. After regaining his footing, Jace could only stand stock still as his brain had a tough time computing what was happening.

Calli is hugging me.

We're hugging.

Calli didn't think about how awkward she might have made Jace feel by doing this, in fact she wasn't thinking at all. All she focused on was the fact she just finished a battle and did so without her brothers, and it felt amazing. Up until now Calli thought she always needed her brothers at her side for everything, and as it turns out, she could do just fine on her own. And there was one person she had to thank for that, and she now had him in a bone crushing hug.

Jace has been hugged very few times in his life, in fact he's only hugged one other person and that person was his cousin - and she had initiated every single one of them. He'd always felt weird and awkward receiving hugs, thinking that it went hand in hand with attachment and attachment was forbidden. That phrase had been ingrained in his mind since a youngling.

Attachment was forbidden because it would lead to the dark side. But Jace was now questioning this because the growing attachment he was feeling towards Calli didn't make him feel dark and angry, instead it made his stomach flutter and put a stupid grin on his face whenever he thought about this girl. How can feelings of happiness and warmth turn someone to the dark side?

When Jace couldn't think of a good enough reason that would make him shove Calli away, he had his answer. This would be the only time Jace would curse as he finally wrapped his arms around Calli's armored waist, reciprocating the hug as tightly as he could, lifting her up a few inches off the ground in the process, and unknowingly making Calli internally sigh with relief that her display of affection wasn't rebuffed.

You know what, to hell the Jedi Code. I like this, and I like Calli. He finally admitted it to himself and didn't feel bad. He liked Calli.

○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

Ahhhhhhhhhh. Jace finally admitted to himself that he likes Calli!!!!!!! YAY! FINALLY!!

Also thank you so much @antisocial-mariposa for helping me write the scene where Jace stops the blaster bolt!! Your flair made it really awesome!!!

[savebatsfromscratch]

No.22 Watch Out For Flying Boulders!

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51043096

Words: 1,064

Cws: Training injury, leg getting crushed, passing out, swearing

Notes: “A training accident I guess. Sun because I love him and it’s his birthday while I plan this.” <- I regret this but I was so excited about it at the time, I just had to do it, for myself.    Abrupt ending.

Prompt: No. 22: “They never saw us coming, ‘til they hit the floor.” Glass Shard | Vehicular Accident | “Watch out!”

Sun yelled out a command to his Incineroar, and immediately a blast of heat blew his hair all across his face. Sparks tore through the air around him, and by the time the black smoke had cleared, the target had been completely destroyed. He grinned. He actually thought they might be getting better! That was totally awesome!

He grinned at the ocean, watching as the sky began to turn a glowing orange with the setting sun. A week or so ago, Sun had realized that he was definitely on a lower power level than many of the older dexholders. That fact hadn't really bothered him at first, he'd never really found too much interest in the battling side of things, to be honest, but something had changed in him when he and Moon had watched the reruns of the past year's Alola championship. Sun still didn't want to be a “battler” per-say, but the idea of being a fighter suddenly seemed very attractive to him.

He wanted to be the kind of strong trainer who could protect themselves and their wants. He was already the type of person who could do that (he'd proved that quite well enough already, he thought), but his team didn't always feel entirely up to that challenge, himself included.

If he trained more, maybe Sun would be able to invest in his other endeavors more effectively. Every dexholder, no matter how comparatively weak, knew the importance of a good bond with the creatures that you were going to spend your life with. And Sun was no different in that regard, even if he had a small habit of being a bit rude when he was stressed. (Like, who didn't?)

“Great job Dollar!” he cheered, running towards his Incineroar and throwing his arms around the big cat, “That was the best fire blast I've seen yet!” 

The Incineroar purred happily, and his tail tip quivered with pride.

Sun pulled out of the hug, still grinning brightly. “Do you think we should try working on some physical moves next?” He asked, flexing his arm in a way that showed off zero muscles at all. Dollar roared in agreement, copying Sun's flex (with a whole lot more muscle) and lashing his tail in determination. Sun grinned even harder. This training business was fun!

“Alright!” he said, stepping backwards and flinging his arm out to the side in his excitement, “Let's try some rock throws!” (He didn't bother to check if Incineroar could even learn that move for official championships, he doubted it, but why not try anyway? Any growth in strength felt welcome to him now that he was finding interest in building it.)

Dollar roared enthusiastically and bounded a few feet away from Sun. His paws kicked up sand and seashells, and Sun whistled for him to stop when he had reached several large boulders. In his excitement, Sun didn't care that these rocks were much larger than anything he and Dollar had ever practiced before. Of course, an Incineroar rarely had trouble lifting much of anything, so it wasn't like Sun gave himself a cap of what was too much.

It didn't, however, cross his mind that there comes a point where even a strong creature like Dollar would lose the control that was so critical when it came to high level attacks like these.

“Let's go!” he yelled, his voice shrill with excitement as he punched the air, “Lift the first one Dollar!”

Dollar roared again, wrapping his claws around the nearest boulder (a smaller gray one with pretty white flecks) and yanking it out of the sand. Confident, he held it over his head, and Sun whooped as he threw it down the beach. (The Incineroar had a very interesting technique of spinning several times as he threw the thing, but it seemed pretty effective from where Sun was standing!)

”We could totally start a beach clearing service if you get good at that, Dollar!“ Sun laughed, “Think of the dollars!”

Dollar looked even more excited by that, and he quickly moved onto the next boulder. This one was slightly bigger, and he had to actually strain to get it into the air, but Sun was still given time to cheer as it too flew down the beach.

“Nice!” Sun yelled, “Try that big red one!” He pointed at the largest boulder, a large reddish brown rock that had to be at least half Dollar's height and three times as wide, and Dollar's tail lashed at the challenge. He hooked his paws under the rock and began to try and pull it upwards.

“You got it!” Sun cheered, clapping his hands encouragingly as Dollar strained against the weight of the stone, “You can do it!”

Slowly but surely, the rock began to lift, and Dollar's hissing grew in volume as he hefted it above his head. His ears were flat against his head, and his tail twitched with effort, but he was doing it! He began to spin, building up momentum to chuck it after its brethren. Given how massive the rock was, he was doing really well.

Sun had the beginnings of a grin on his face, but then the rock slipped out of Dollar's claws.

The Incineroar yowlled in alarm, and Sun's eyes widened as he watched the boulder soaring towards him. He had a quick flashback to the training tips manual he had laying by his bag, and immediately cursed himself for not bringing a human training partner with him to this event.

“Shit!” he yelled, making a split second decision as he dove to the side, “No!”

Dollar was leaping towards him, but the rock was much faster than the large fire type as it barreled towards Sun.

A loud CRUNCH sound rang across the beach, and Sun screamed as pain shot up from his leg (or, what was left of it). The rock had hit him, crushing his leg completely against the sand of the beach. Sun's vision blurred with his agony, but he was pretty sure that he could already see blood spreading out from under the boulder.

He couldn’t stop screaming, even as Dollar reached his side and began to pry the boulder off of him. It hurt so bad. The world was swimming around him as he began to lose consciousness. Dark, darker, darkness.

The sun sank below the waves.

[that-weird-deer-thing]

I don't dream a lot and nornally when i do there always feels like a layer of realism to it. None of the events are outlandlish and none of that sleep paralysis stuff. It just things that could occur in real life.

Thank whoever I don't remember parts of them when I wake up. During collage I lost count of how many times I dreamt of work assigments and tests I had to do, it would always take a minute or 2 to realiae that the deadline was made up. Some of them just felt like normal days at collage, mainly study hall and sometimes I would see people I had spoken to the days prior, even if I hadn't interacted with them in person.

There seems to be at least a few repeat scenarios in the ones I can recall. A popular one is that I'm running. I've ran around my local area, ran to avoid crowds, always from something. I don't think I've ever seen what I was running from in any of my dreams.

There are some exceptions but have the same feel. One, I was helping get a car set up to go somewhere, there were other people but I don't know who. I don't think it was my family, all I knew is that we needed to go asap.

It was dark and kinda in the middle of nowhere - possibly raining? It had that shine in the streetlights but I don't remember hearing or feeling it.

I remember ducking behind the front seats and just staying down there for the rest of the dream.

Another odd variant was where I was in a building (all the others had been outside for the most part). I was in a weird mix between a hostel, an Ikea and a University dorm. It didn't look like anywhere I knew of aside from colours. (maroons, vibrant oranges with light blue accents - the colours of the feature walls in my freshman dorms for some reason, everything else was new.)

I was walking around this building trying to find my room, eventually I went to a door that looks kinda like a fire safety door you see in hospitals ir offices - in fact the whole hallway I was in felt like something from a hospital, or at least a disabled bathroom. There was a window but I didn't see anything of note.

I thought to myself this wasn't my room and the door was locked, so I went back to the common area (the previously mentioned warm coloured room).

There were quite a few other students there, all blurred and out of focus, just doing their thing.

I remember talking to someone, I think they were supposed to my a friend of mine, they had the same hair, but I don't remember seeing their face. It was like they were speaking to me directly, but the pov was from over their shoulder.

Then, I saw a guy through some sheves or room dividers. He didn't exactly look threatening: older guy with white, thinning hair, overweight and wearing a shirt and shorts made form a thinner (maybe a light cotton?) pastel coloured material. He also had a big pair of scissors, not huge but noticeably bigger than anything you'd expect to buy in a craft store or something.

Everyone else in the room ran off, and I started to run though the maze of halls as well. I didn't feel scared or threatened by the man at all, I don't think he chased me either. I just saw him and thought I should run as well. I don't remember much after that.

Another random one I remember, I don't actually know what happened. I just woke up feeling disturbed, like I had experienced something that weighted heavy on my mind. It just felt like a bad omen - although nothing happend.

A recent one I actually thought was a memory at first, but was obviously not the second I put thought into it. I was sitting in my room and I just pulled out one of my teeth, nonchalantly. I remember looking at it thinking "oh shit that shouldn't do that" and just put it back. Problem solved?

You could probably psychoanalyse the shit out of me because of these and there probably is a meaning behind them. (especially with the reoccurring ideas). But I don 't really care to know, and even so it probably would just reaffirm things i know about myself.I can't be asked to look down that rabbit hole, I just felt right writing them down somewhere.

[onlymexsarah]

Promise pt.1 || Kaz Brekker

Summary: Y/n is a grisha who is running away since her whole life. The meeting with a little boy who had just lost everything will change their life forever.

Pairing: child!Kaz Brekker x grisha!reader (Platonic, wait till part two)

Warning: mention of trauma, my english.

A/n: this story is bornt from one of my 3 a.m. ideas. I don't know how many part it will be yet. I'm sorry for any mistake but like I always said, english is not my first language :)) Let me know what do you think😘

PT. 2 - PT. 3 - PT. 4 - PT. 5

MAIN MASTERLIST

The grisha girl let a sigh of relief when she noticed that the men in black coat had stopped following her. She knew she couldn't stay there any longer or her pursuers would find her.

She flipped between two buildings without being noticed, but as soon as she disappeared from the main streets she bumped in a little body. The girl looked down at her knees seeing a little boy staring at her apologising.

"Ehy there, are you ok?" she asked at the boy.

He shrugged looking down. She noticed his red empty eyes and his pale skin. He was soaked and shaking and for some reason he seemed to be running away from somethung worse than her pursuers.

She refused to let him go, not like this, so she grabbed him gently pushing him in the little street, away from the stares of the people noticing that he tensed when she touched him.

"What happened, baby?" she lowered her voice a bit while she rubbed gently his shoulders with her hands sitting on her tip toes.

He looked in her eyes for a moment before throwing himself in her arms. He started sobbing while his tears fell in her neck and she felt her eyes getting wet too at the sight of it.

She hugged him stronger, whispering in his ears comforting words. Behind him she saw a pile of wooden boxes and with little effort she brought the boy there. He sat beside her trying to compose himself while she gave him a red handkerchief with three letters on it: W. V. E.

He gave her a curious look at which she sadly smiled. "My brother..." His eyes darkened thanking her. "What is you name little boy?"

"K-..." he stopped for a long moment thinking about it. He looked the girl beside him and even if he wanted to trust her he just couldn't after what happened. "Jordie..."

He expected her to see his lie, but she just smiled sweetly at him. "Well Jordie, can I know what happened? Or maybe if you have someone where I can bring you? This is not a nice place for the boy of your age..."

"I have no one...no one." these words hurt both of them. She didn't know what had happened to that child to make him like it, but it wasn't hard to figure out that it was surely something that a child shouldn't see. "I don't know what to do anymore..."

"Can you keep a secret?" she asked touching his shoulder with her own. The boy, whose name wasn't obviously Jordie, nodded looking her curiously. She smirked bringin her left hand on her right one and rotating them slowly. A flame came out from her right palm, little but still powerful; red and orange like the handkerchief she had given him before.

The boy's eyes shone marveled looking the flame on her palm. "You are a grisha!"

"Inferni of the rank of the Etheralki, precisely." She winked at him letting the flame flying over the boy to dry him a bit. "But I told you, it's a secret. You can't tell anyone, Jordie."

"Why you are keeping it secret?" he was confused.

Her chest started to burn a little, but she swept it away. "Becase there are bad people who hunt me since I was born, so everywhere I go no one can know what I am."

He frowened angryly. He couldn't accept that someone would be hunt just because they had habilities that no one had. "It's not fair! Why you don't just kill them with your fire?!"

She widened her eyes asking herself what that child must had witness to think like that. "No, no, no, Jordie. Killing is never the right answer, and if I'd let myself thinking like it...I wouldn't be better than them."

He seemed to think about it, looking his shoes.

"You see Jordie, the worst moments of our life are the ones that build us. They make the person who we become in the future." she smiled sweetly. "Today I'm running away from them, tomorrow I'll know that I should never judging someone because different from me. Today I meet a little boy who is running away from something and tomorrow I hope he'll learn from my story and help to make this world a better place."

He didn't smile back, too focused on her words.

"I've spent most of my life thinking that I had no reason to live, no purpose. My family hate me for what I am, the children had always been too afraid of me to be my friends and looking around I understood I was alone." she took a deep breath. "Then, few years ago my little brother bornt, and from that moment on I knew that protecting him would have been my priority number one for the rest of his life."

"Where is him now?" an innocent question that made the girl shifting on her place a little.

"With our parents...they don't wish me to see him much. I think they are afraid of me infect him with my powers or something like that..." she scoffed ironically.

"Bullshit. A grisha can't infect someone else!" he esclaimed obviously.

"Yeah, say it to them." she laughed.

He studied her. Her short hair, her beautiful smile and her shining eyes that had a lot of stories in them not told. "You should go, before the bad people find you."

She looked him astonished. "I should look after you first. I can easily wait hid in a place until my pursuers grow old. Benefits of being a grisha, you have time." she shrugged, the ghost of a smile on her lips and he immediately knew that for that girl a long life wasn't a benedition.

"Go. Protect your brother Fire Girl, and maybe when I'll see you again you'll present me to him." she saw his first true smile on his face and her heart warmed.

"I am sure you will be very good friends." she stood up looking around carefully. "You sure you don't want to come with me? Or maybe want me to walk you somewhere? I have time."

He smiled standing before her. The boy was at the same height of her belly, but his eyes seemed older.

"I have still things to do, and people I need to find. " the last words said with rage.

"Take care of yourself, boy. Don't let the bad days winning your good ones, there is always light at the end of a tunnel; you only have to walk a little more." with a last smile she started to walk away before his voice stopped her again.

"Fire Girl! I'll grew up, and I'll find a job." she turned around looking him curiously. "I'll have money, a lot of them, and I'll find you. I'll hire guards, everywhere in the city, and you'll live peacefull, without have to worry about anyone anymore. Bring your brother, I'll protect him too. " he walked closer to her while some tears formed in her eyes. "You will be not alone anymore."

She stared at that little kid with the brightest smile he had ever seen. She sat on her tip toes in front of him again looking in his dark eyes. "You want an advise for someone who is around from a while? Having me around will only cause you problems..." she said sweetly. "But promise me something. When we'll meet again, and I am sure we will...you'll approach me. Maybe we will be in a bar, and I'll be sit at the counter. Come to me, I'll be the same so it will be easy for you to recognize me, and tell me your real name, alright?"

He widened his eyes surprised.

"I have a very good nose for lies." she winked playfully.

"I'll recognize you, but will you?...Regnonize me....?" he asked insecured.

She inclined her head studying him. No, probably not. "I happen to have a good memory for faces, but if I won't...hand me the handkerchief and I will know who you are."

He smiled shyly and she kissed his forehead like a big sister. She stood up again when he grabbed her sleeve.

"What is your name?"

She wanted to tell him, but it would have been too dangerous, so she just smiked looking at the boy. "You'll have to ask me at the bar."

The grisha girl disappeared in the shadow of the building, leaving the boy there who with years, he would never stop thinking about his promise and the misterious girl whose face he'll never forget.

[midnightstar-90]

Hidden~ Eddie Diaz x Nash! Reader

A/N: I wanted to add some action, so I moved up when Shannon decided to divorce Eddie. Eddie is too good to make him into a cheater. I'm not really good at describing intimate-type stuff either.

Lose Some, Win Some

Y/N's POV

I am finally home. I'm home with my son, and the school gave me a couple of days to rest. I sat on my couch, watching the news. "Today, police suspect LAFD's 118 for robbing $300,000 worth of cash from a local bank. Police say that the LAFD was there to help the bank manager and a delivery man with a seizure or a possible nerve agent. Police also say that they found the cash inside one of their firetrucks. More information coming up, soon."

After hearing that, I remember the number on one of the firetrucks at the crash. The 118 saved me, and if they saved me, that means that Eddie and my dad are being questioned for a robbery. I haven't known Eddie long, but I know that Eddie, nor my father, would rob a bank.

Zachary walks into the room. "Mommy, I'm ready for bed," my little man says. I turn to him and say, "Ok, I'll be in there in a bit." He runs back to his room.

I hear a knock at the door. It is almost 9:30 pm. Who could be at my door? I go to the door and look through the peephole. Eddie and Christopher stand at the door with a to-go bag.

I open the door, and I say, "Eddie? Chris? what are you doing here?" "I bet you have heard about what is going on. The police have ransacked our house, and I was wondering if you could watch Chris until this blows over?" Eddie asked me desperately.

I smile at the two boys. "Sure. Chris, Zach is in his room getting ready for bed. You can go hang out with him until I get you a bed ready. His room is down the hall, the First door on the left," I tell the little boy, and then turn to Eddie.

He hands me Chris' night bag, and I joke and say, "There better not be any evidence in here." He chuckles, saying, "Nope, no evidence, just clothes, and a toothbrush."

I invite him into my apartment. He walks in and says, "Nice apartment. Is that a skylight?" He points up, at the skylight, in my living room.

(Y/N's Living room /w a skylight)

"Yeah, when Levi died, I would tell Zach that his father was watching him from the stars. So, I decided that anytime we missed Levi, we would watch the stars," I said, trying not to tear up.

Eddie reaches in his pocket and pulls out a picture. "I'm guessing this is Levi?" Eddie asks, handing me the picture. I look at the picture and lose my cool. Eddie sits me on the couch and just hugs me.

This is the closest I've ever been to a man since Levi. It felt good. I felt protected. I don't need protection because I was in the navy, but this man made me feel loved.

We sat on the couch, with me crying into his shirt. "Mommy, aren't you gonna put me to bed?" "Yeah." I get up, heading into my child's room.

Eddie follows me into the room, and what he sees shocks him.

(Zachary's bed)

Christopher is sitting on the bottom bunk of a firehouse bed. The whole room was dedicated to firefighters. When we got in that crash, and he met his grandfather, Zach decided that when he gets older, he would become a firefighter.

Christopher looks at his dad and says, "Dad, Zach said he wants to be like you and uncle Buck when he gets older."

Eddie continues to look around. He walks towards the cubby. Inside the cubby is some of Zach's favorite toys, some pictures of Levi and I, and some pictures of Zach and I. What really caught Eddie's eye, was the picture of Zach on my shoulders, at the El Paso Zoo.

I am tucking the boys in, when I hear, "You were in El Paso?" I look back and say, "Yeah, that was Zach's 2nd birthday. Levi was born in Austin, but he grew up in El Paso." Eddie just nods and goes back to looking around.

As I'm tucking Christopher in he says, "Dad and I are from El Paso. It would have been cool if we met before LA." I smile at the boy, before walking out and turning off the lights.

"We have a lot in common, you know?" Eddie tells me. I look at him and he looks back. "Oh, really?" I ask. Eddie and I move closer to each other. I continue to look at the man and I ask, "Like what?" "Well, for starters, we were both fought for our country." Imagining this man in a military uniform made the moment even hotter. I moved closer. "Ok, and?" "And, we both had a son at a young age."

At this point, he was towering over me. I quickly pulled the man into a kiss. He kisses back. I move my hands from my side to his chest, and he grabs my hips. He deepens the kiss as I move my hands from his chest to his neck. I feel strong hands go under my shirt.

We keep making out for a couple of minutes until I pull back. "I'm so sorry. I forgot you married," I say frantically. "She told me she wasn't ready. She filed for divorce. I also didn't feel like our relationship was working. She left us when Chris was little. I kinda like this hot teacher, who was in the Navy and has a son. Also, she knows about being a firefighter." Eddie tells me, holding my hands.

I kiss Eddie again. Eddie and I head to my room, without breaking the kiss. That night was the best night in forever. Everyone got a sleepover.

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

The robbery thing has been put behind us, but a new problem has arrived. My father didn't tell the LAFD everything about why he transferred, therefore leaving him suspended. He hasn't told me either, but I think it is best to let him come to me about it.

I started work again today, except I feel like I'm looking after 3 kids. My dad insisted that we hang out, you know since he wasn't there for most of my life.

I wake up at 5 am to a large banging noise. I look to see who it is, and surprise surprise, it is my father with tons of groceries. "Dad, what are you doing here. Zach is still asleep, and I don't have to be up till 7 am." I tell my dad, letting him in.

He heads to my kitchen and sits down the food. "I was thinking that I could make you and Zach breakfast, and then I could take you to work."

I gave my father a loving look. I feel bad that his past came back to haunt him, but maybe something good will come out of it. Besides, I missed the father/daughter bonding we had. Eddie told me his food is at grade A chef level, so why not let him cook for me.

"Well I love what you're doing, but I'm missing sleep. If it's fine with you, could I go back to sleep?" I ask, and receive a nod back. I walk to my room, but I turn back to check upon him. I know he's sad, but at this moment he looks happy.

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

I woke up at 7 am to a heavenly smell. I walk into the kitchen, after remembering my dad was making breakfast. As leave the hallway to see my son and father talking about firefighting. I smile, and my dad turns to face me.

"Ah, you're awake! I woke up Zach and got him dressed for you." my dad says taking a bite of the french toast. I go into the kitchen and make myself some food. I see french toast, fresh fruit, bacon, eggs, and freshly squeezed orange juice. I look amazed as I take some of everything.

My dad works up the courage to ask me a question, "I was wondering if you wanted to stop by the firehouse, like old times. I have some people I would like you to meet." With my mouth full, I say, "Yeah, I missed those days" "Oh man, mommy is breaking a rule. She is talking with her mouth full," Zach says to the man next to him.

Dad laughs. "Well I ate, but I have to get dressed." I head to my room to get dressed.

(Y/N's outfit to work)

I walk back into the living room and we get ready to head out. We make it to the school, and I say goodbye to my father. I take Zach to class. I get to the office and I see Eddie and Chris. "Hey, I was just hanging with your fire captain." "Well, can you tell him we want him back because his replacement is terrible?" I laugh.

"So, are you coming to the firehouse?" Eddie asked me like he knew my dad would ask me. I give the firefighter a suspicious look and then say, "Yeah, my dad asked me this morning. Would you like me to bring Chris?" He gives me a "yeah, sure", and then we say goodbye.

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

Christopher and I had so much fun. We were in math, and I helped teach him fractions with mini Kit-Kats. Then, in English, we acted out storytime with his class. The day ended in science, where we build and erupted our own volcanos.

It is the end of the day, some and of the boys waited outside for my father. When he arrived, we got in and started heading towards the fire station, which was only a 5-minute drive.

We walk into the 118's fire station, and Zach went off. A scream could be heard throughout the whole building. All the firefighters and paramedics stopped to see what was going on. My dad walked up to me and said, "Just like his mother."

Eddie and another man walked down the stairs to see what was happening. I smile at the majestic man walking towards me. We go into a hug before I hear a cough.

"Eddie, aren't you gonna introduce me to the pretty lady," the man asked Eddie. I smile at the man, but Eddie and my dad roll their eyes. My dad jumps into the conversation, "Buck, this is my daughter, Y/N, and her son, Zach. Y/N, this is Buck."

Buck and I shake hands. "My name is actually Evan Buckley, but everyone calls me Buck. You are somewhat of what Eddie has told me. Your pretty, but I expected a younger Bobby, with boobs." Eddie smacks Buck's chest.

I'm laughing and I head upstairs with the others. "Mommy! Mommy! Can I go down the fire pole," Zach asks, tugging on my pant leg? I nod my head yes.

Another man and woman walk over and sit with us in the lounge. "Why is there a little boy running around? Did someone drop him off, because I think your only supposed to do that with babies, not children," the man said, sitting right next to me. "That's my son. I'm Y/N." I hold out my hand waiting for the man to shake it. "I'm Howie, but everyone calls me Chimney. This is Hen," The man says, and the woman waves.

We continue to talk until the emergency bell rings. Everyone heads downstairs, but I pull Eddie back. I give him a long kiss, with my arms around his neck and his around my waist.

I pull back and say, "I had fun the other night. Maybe, I could see if my dad could watch the boys, and you and I could maybe have dinner at my house." Eddie groans and says, "Oh, how I would love that. We could also watch a movie."

This man will be the death of me. "Yeah, but you need to go." Eddie runs off to an emergency, I head to the store with my dad, Christopher, and Zachary.

"You know, you don't have to hide Eddie from me," He tells me. I look at him shocked. "I see the way you guys look at each other, and I saw you guys kiss today," he says calmly.

"Well, since you know could you help me make a meal for him and I tonight, and can you watch the boys?" I practically beg. He nods, and then he moves towards the isles, picking out ingredients.

"I don't want to intrude, so I will give you a recipe card. But yes, I will take the boys, just use protection. I don't want to see another grandchild for a while," he says, earning a smack on the chest from me. "There are children around," I whisper.

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

My dad gave me a recipe for Ravioli, served with garlic bread and bacon-wrapped asparagus. I am almost finished cooking when I hear a knock.

(Y/N's Date Outfit)

I open the door to see a devastated Eddie. I go in to hug him, and Eddie says, "She's dead. Shannon died in the emergency room. That call we left for, that was for her. What am I gonna tell Christopher."

I welcome the man in, and I sit him on the couch. "Do you want to eat?" I ask, hoping that I could get him to relax and eat. "No" is all I hear, before he shoves his face into my shoulder, and lets it all out. I rub his back and say, "Everything will be fine."

We sit there, on the couch, just cuddling. I smell something burning. My eyes widen and I yell, "My bread!"

Eddie's mind comes back to earth and he heads towards the kitchen. Not only is the bread burnt, but there was also a slight fire. Eddie quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out the fire.

I was so scared. Eddie saved me from a fire. At the moment, I forgot all about the food, Eddie's emotions, and everything else. I kissed Eddie out of thankfulness. We kissed for about a minute before he pulled away.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have done that, with everything going on. I was scared. I could've just stood there and let the fire grow, but no, you saved me. You are m-" Eddie cut me off with a kiss.

Eddie picked me up and took me to my room. He laid me on my bed, and next thing you know, our clothes are off.

Taglist: @notanordinaryprincess95 @jjpogueprincess @wiypt-writes

[quackisinnit]

Minecraft Championship

Dream x Reader

Request: okay okay so :D mcc with dream when the reader and dream are on the same team ans it’s very cute and fluffy, also with she/her pronouns pls :] thank you!!

Pronouns: She/Her

Note: the first team i thought of was red rabbits so thats why i used them:) i forgot how the mcc works so forgive me if i wrote anything wrong😭 ALSO I WAS SO SLEEPDEPRIVED WHILE WRITIBG THIS SO SORRY IF ITS BAD

Warnings: mild swearing lol

y/nishere = your twitch name

You were scrolling through twitter, waiting for the announcing of teams. It was your first time ever playing. You played some minecraft but that wasn't all you played, you played other games too. After a few hours of scrolling, you finally got a notification.

Announcing Team Red Rabbits!

@Y/nishere @Dream @FundyLive @Nihachu

Watch them compete in the MC Championship on Saturday 14th November 8pm GMT!

You heard Clay running to your room from the kitchen. He knocks on your door and you let a out a soft 'come in.' "Did you see the announcment for the MCC?" "I did, I'm pretty excited!" you say enthusiastically.

You weren't as skilled as Clay but you were excited nonetheless.

-

It was finally November 8. You were just sitting on your desk staring at your monitor. 'What if I mess up? What if we lose? What if-' All these thoughts were racing your mind. You started bouncing your leg, something you do when you get nervous, and you bit your lip.

Clay was walking past your room when he saw your nervous state. He walked up to you, kneeled beside you, and started rubbing your back. "Are you alright? Do you want some water?"

"I don't want any water" you were still bouncing your leg, but the speed had decreased. "Well, are you alright? You look nervous" "I'm fine, just nervous 'cause this is my first time playing in the MCC and all that" his face softens. "You'll do great! I promise." You look at him and smile.

He kisses your cheek before he gets up and walks to the door and he send you a smile before closing the door behind him.

You boot up Minecraft and sighed, "I hope I do do great."

-

You were on the last game and you were praying that it wasn't Build Mart and it was gonna be Sands of Time. If you get Sands of Time, you might be able to get into top 3, maybe even first place. Red Rabbits was currently on 5th place. You were having fun but you were still stressed about it.

You and your team were about to vote until you got dunked by the team beside you. You look over to the side to see Orange Ocelots, which consisted of Tommy, Smajor, Wisp, and Quackity. They were all crouching and jumping. Tommy joins the call for a few seconds, "Fuck you bitch!" he says in a sing-song voice. You all burst into laughter. But it wasn't long 'till you looked back to your screen and it read 'Sands of Time.'

"Look guys it's Sands of Time! We might still win this." Niki says excitedly.

-

"Dose anyone got any sand? I need it." You were currently watching the timer while the others were getting sand for you.

"Yeah I have some. Here." Fundy hands you 7 sand. "Thanks" "How many do you have now?" he starts running back into one of the tunnels he went into before. "Uhmm I have 9 sand." "Okay great"

-

You were now collecting sand because the one that Fundy gave you earlier ran out. You were running around trying to get sand and heard Niki in the call, "Y/n, help me please I just died." So you ran over to her, freed her from the tomb, and continued getting more sand.

Clay spoke, "Hey how much time we got left?" You glance back at the timer and it read '20.' "Oh shit it's at 20-"

You ran back to the timer to place sand. When you got to the timer, it went down to 10. You placed all the sand you had left and it went back up to 50. "It's at 50 now, we're good."

-

You just finished Sands of Time and were waiting for the other teams to finish. You were just talking about the earlier games and random things before all the teams finished.

When the scores were counted again, you ended up in 4th place. Not too bad, but could've done better. You and your team were super proud since it was your first time playing.

-

Green Gaurdians and Purple Pandas were now dueling it out. All the teams were screaming and betting who would win.

You were screaming and cheering but you saw Clay going on mute. You didn't want to be nosy but you were curious on whet he was doing. "Hey guys I just have something real quick." You muted yourself and got up.

Right when you grabbed onto your door knob, Clay opens the door before you. You let out a yelp while he flinches.

"What the hell?" "Sorry, I just wanted to check up on you." he says nonchalantly and giggles.

"So how are you doing? Are you feeling better now than earlier?" "Yeah. I still feel like we couldv'e done better." you said in a lighthearted manner to hide the fact that you were disappointed. But Clay knew you too well.

He smiles and cups your face with both of his hands. "It's okay. Even if you're a little disappointed, you still did good considering it's your first time playing." You remove his hands from your face and hold them. "Thank you, I really needed that." You give him a peck on his cheek then to his lips. "Let's go back, they're probably wondering where we are."

-

When you got back, they were still fighting, but Green Gaurdians was in the lead. After a few minutes, they came out victorious.

Niki ended her stream and left call because she said that she was tired. You, Fundy, Dream, George, and Smajor just stayed in call for a bit longer just chatting.

"Welp, I'm gonna rest now bye everyone!" bye's and goodbye's erupted from the call. You ended the stream and went to Clay's room.

"Are you still streaming?" you whisper. "Nope, just finished." he turns off his computer and looks at you. "Great! Wanna watch a movie with me and Patches?" "Sure, I'll be down in a bit." you kiss his nose and go downstairs to ready a movie.

☆ Taglist ☆

@book-of-anarchy @speedymaximoff @fivxss

-

Masterlist, Rules, Taglist

[renova-writes]

The Silver Shadow

Summary: The Avengers come up with a plan to capture you. Unfortunately, you are not a stupid girl. They know this and must come up with something that is foolproof. Everyone knows that this is their only chance for decades to get you and they are not messing around. You make your way to one of your many safe houses only to get captured. But, as it turns out, the Avengers want you alive.

Words: 2,007

Warnings: swearing, violence, talk of suicide

Tags: @shadowolf993 @daisy116

Other Chapters: Masterlist

A/N: I’ve got my plan for this fic FINALLY laid out. I’m sorry it’s taken so long for this chapter. I’ve been busy with the end of the school year and stuff like that. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter. If you do you should totally ask to join the tag list for this fic or request your own. And remember: comments and asks are always okay. 🖤🖤

Chapter 4: What was the point?

"Where do you think she is?" Rhodes asked. Fury had called him in from the Military to find you. He and the rest of the Avengers were in Tony's penthouse living room. The floor-to-ceiling windows showed off just how high up the room was. Not only displaying the might of the building, but it also had a near-perfect view of Manhattan. The city that never sleeps was illuminated by the pinkish-orange glow of the sunset.

"According to my calculations and the report of the Special Ops on the train that reported her. She is approximately 80 miles outside of Quebec. "Vision said, "Whether she is aware of that proximity or not, our best move would be to have a watch in the city."

"Definitely," Steve agreed, "I'll talk to the mayor and call in a few favors."

"What if she never makes it to Quebec? She's probably not stupid. What if all those eyes cause her to stay off the grid? Then we'll never catch her." Tony criticized. It was true; you weren't stupid. If you got wind of an alert to look out for someone who looked even remotely like you, you were going to stay as far away if you could.

One time, you had left a witness, and they reported you to the police. Like clockwork, they put out a wanted alert. It was 1985, and you were in Los Angeles, so they had more significant issues to deal with. You got lucky because, at the time, it was the height of the terror caused by the Night Stalker.

To be honest, you had never really understood serial killers. You were technically one, but the psychopathic killers—the crazy cannibal sadists. HYDRA had checked your mental health, and the results had come back pretty standard. There was a bit of crazy in you, but hey, who doesn't have any?

Since everyone was so scared of the Night Stalker, they didn't pay too much attention to someone who had killed one minor, uninfluential politician. No one reported you, and no one cared. You left Los Angeles unscathed but a little rattled.

What if someone had reported me?... What would happen?... Thank God it didn't happen this time?... I need to be more careful…

You had learned your lesson. If you got wind someone was looking for you, they were never, ever going to find you—end of story.

"He's right," Bucky said as he walked into the room. After Steve talked to him, he went back to his room to clean up before joining the rest of the Avengers in coming up with a plan to catch you. "She's careful. There's too much on the line for her."

"Then what do we do?" Wanda asked, "How do we catch her?"

"Hear me out… We still do a watch and tell the mayor. But we don't release it to the public. We let law enforcement know and send them as many troops as we can." Clint suggested.

"With undercover cops?" Banner asked.

"Exactly," He responded. "Let Y/N think that everything is normal. That no one's looking for her."

"All in favor?" Steve asked. Everyone voted yes. It was a good idea. You didn't know it yet, but it was an excellent idea. "I'll let the mayor and police chief know then."

Steve walked out and made his way to one of the comm rooms. The rest of the avengers looked among one another. They were all on edge. Sam Wilson, who had absolutely no idea how dangerous you were, was the least worried. To him, you were just another common criminal who would be caught. On the other side of the spectrum, Bucky could barely keep himself together. After excusing himself, he walked to the bathroom, locked the door, and wasn't heard from for a few hours.

Everyone else waited for a while to see if they were still needed before making their way to various spots. Some, like Nat and Wanda, went to their rooms. Banner went to the lab with Tony, and Clint went to the gym.

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

You were no better off than you were yesterday. Maybe you had clothes, sure, but you also managed to have sex with an asshole and assault the guy. Alex wasn't going to remember it, but that didn't make it right. Out of all of the things you had done, your conscience said that was the worst. You had acted like a monster. Hopefully, he would be okay. You wouldn't.

After storming out of the King's Treason, you found yourself on a dirt road through a forest. It was the middle of the night, and all the stars were awake. You wondered what was up there. After watching the Battle of New York unfold on television, you were well aware that you weren't alone in the universe. Thor had made that clear. But you still didn't know precisely what there was. In your mind, the galaxy was rich with alien life. Things that looked like humans but with rainbow-colored skin. Somethings that looked nothing like humans. You wondered if it was like Star Wars showed it. That would be cool. But you didn't know, because you had never seen an alien in real life before.

When you stared at the stars, there was always one that stood out to you. It wasn't the biggest or the brightest, but it was the most beautiful. If someone asked you if you wanted to go to space and you could go to any star or place, that would be the one. It didn't matter if nothing was there, but you knew there was. You just knew. The moon was bright tonight too. It dimed out the light of the surrounding stars and made the night on Earth a little brighter.

There was only one road to follow. Since all roads lead somewhere, you picked one and started walking. The night was peaceful and quiet. That was what you needed. You looked at your watch that had a compass on it. You were heading southeast.

The scenery remained the same for the first few miles. Suddenly the forest began shifting into the countryside. The rolling hills morphed into gated suburbs. A quick glance at your GPS told you that you were in Quebec.

Quebec…. I have a safe house here… Finally some peace and quiet…

You walked for an hour until you found the road that led to the neighborhood your house was in. It had been a few years since you had gone to his house. Everything was the same, but a little different. The streets were emptied in the early morning air, but it wasn't the same Quebec that you remembered. The barbershop on the corner was gone. The window that had once said Chez Berruby's Barbers had been changed to an ice cream store.

The more you looked, the more you saw the changes. That was never a good sign. But you ignored it and kept walking down the street until you got to Rue Saint-Paul. That was your street. You were right; everything was changing. Every single house on the street looked well kept and trimmed. The bushes were perfect, and the grass was green. Then there was your safe house. The yard was brown, and the windows were cracked. It stuck out like a sore thumb, which meant you would stick out too.

It's only for a night… Or two… We'll move on again…

You looked in a small notebook you kept in your supply belt for where you had hidden the key. Under the pot shaped like a frog. Was it on the front steps? No. After searching the side gate area, the garage, and the balcony over it, you concluded that there was no frog pot. There might have been a few years ago. But a lot can happen in a year. Let alone three or four.

"Well fuck it," you muttered. You got a knife out and picked the lock. A click told you the door was unlocked, so you went inside. You opened the door and stepped inside. The house was musty and smelled like cat pee. You followed the hallway past the stairs and into the kitchen.

To be honest, you didn't know what you were expecting when you opened the fridge. Definitely not food. To your surprise, there was a moldy pizza and flat Coca-Cola. You were not that desperate. After rummaging through the cabinets, you found some cans of kidney beans. The expiration date was last week, but they'd have to do.

Halfway through the can of rancid beans, you heard the fists banging against the door.

"Y/n Y/L/N? We know you're in there." A deep voice yelled, "Turn yourself in now, and we can do this quickly and quietly. I will give you a minute to come out, and then we will come in. Understood?"

No. They were most definitely not understood. You would not be going out without a fight. They were probably going to execute you right there on the steps. If they wanted to kill you. They were going to need to catch you first.

How about a game of cat and mouse?... Maybe this mouse will bite you in the nose... Who nose...

But you couldn't take it anymore. Fear took over. Instead of fighting, your first instinct was to hide. You flew upstairs and flung yourself into the top shelf of a closet. Who cared if it wouldn't be able to hold you? You were hiding for your life. Fear crept up your spine as you saw the end come into sight. Movies always showed the last moments of someone's life as an emotional roller coaster. Maybe if you lived longer, you could have seen some more movies. But they were right.

What had you done with your life? Lie? Kill? For what? For who? What was the point? You had never trusted anyone. Never loved anyone. You didn't even know what love was supposed to feel like. If you could live again, you would try to be a regular person. To live and love. For a trip to Starbucks for an Iced Latte be a normal thing. Not something you had to plan for months for. For friends. People you could trust and care about.

You wished that you could be dying in a huge comfortable bed, with your lover holding your hand. Surrounded by friends and family. Reflecting on your life and having no regrets. You could have a beautiful funeral where people flocked from near and far to celebrate the life of the girl they all loved. Your family would get so many flowers that all the bees of the world would come and dance on your grave.

But that was a fantasy.

Instead, you were alone. Scared out of your mind on a shelf in a closet. In a house that wasn't yours. Alone.

Tears fell down your face as you compared what your life could have been to what it was. You almost wanted them to kill you so it could be over.

It's all over… And I'm… Happy?...

"Anyone in here?" A soldier called. You were surprised he couldn't hear your heart hammering through your chest. Or the hurricane in your eyes.

The footsteps of three other soldiers entered the room and began tearing it apart.

Five… Four… Three… Two… On-

"Found her!" He shouted. He opened the closet door and barely had time to get the sentence out before you shot him. You didn't even have room in your mind to feel sorry. You were numb and tired and scared for your life.

You jumped out of the closet and aimed your gun at the next guy.

He fell down. And the next. You only got shots onto those two before everything went dark.

Am I dead?... Please tell me I'm dead… Shit…

The darkness faded into blinding white. After that faded, you saw that you were in a prison cell. And not dead. Fuck.

[kino-alternative]

“ To Be Someone ”

|| Hajime Hinata X Gender Neutral!Reader ||

❀ There he stood, staring at the huge building in front of him. The building in front of him was Hope's Peak Academy, the school of the talented and gifted.

From sports stars, singers, musicians to something as big as a yakuza, princess, heck- even something as complicated as luck. Those that excel at their own specific talent that no average person could reach are called an Ultimate.

That's what Hajime Hinata dreamed to be. Someone with an ultimate. Someone with talent. To be someone. Though, he is nothing but an average, normal, talentless and good for nothing reserve course student. That was him. He was nobody. A nobody who could only dream.

Hajime gripped on the strap of his bag as his eyebrows furrowed. Just dreaming. A dream that won't become reality. He turned around, looking at the ground as he began to walk away from the main building.

As he continued to walk to the Reserve Course Department, someone else passed by him and headed to the main building. Hajime stopped his tracks and turned his head to look behind him. Sakura petals blocked his view. The only thing he could see was the main building uniform and the keychain clipped onto their bag.

Soon enough, the person disappeared from sight when the gates closed. Hajime continued to stare, his eyes glistened before tearing away his gaze and walking back to his original destination.

❀ Leaning on the bench of the park located in between the two schools, Hajime let out a long sigh of exhaustion. Throwing his head back, he admired the orange-red-yellow mixed sky. It was quiet. No one really went to the park since the talentless and talented refused to meet each other.. or something like that.

Huh? what was that? Is that... Is someone humming? Before Hajime could even lift his head, he gave in. He couldn't help but let himself relax to it. It was soothing and comforting. Like most sappy writers describe, it felt like a warm hug or being cradled gently like a baby.

Bringing himself back to reality, he opened his eyes and lifted his head. He then turned around to look behind him. There, he spotted a familiar looking keychain and the main building uniform. This was the person from before. What were they doing here?

The person opened their eyes, revealing a (E/C} color. They stared right back at him, their humming stopped as silence once again returned. Both took this as their chance to get a better look of the other.

They opened their mouth, their eyebrows raised "You're...The boy from before, right?" Hajime slowly nodded, almost hesitantly "Y-Yeah.. Are you..?" He trailed off once they answered with a nod as well. The boy thought for a moment. He wanted to ask them something but wasn't quite sure if it's okay.

After debating in his head and listing the cons and pros, he opened his mouth and asked "If you don't mind me asking...What were you doing at the Reserve Course Department?" Dang it. That came out rude.

They didn't seem to pay any mind to it and furrowed their eyebrows, a smile forming on their face. "You want to be an Ultimate someday... Right?" Before he could respond to their rather true assumption, they added on "The same goes for me...Just the exact opposite of what you want to be"

Opposite? "The exact opposite of what I want to be...?" Hajime slowly repeated as he processed their answer. The gears in his head started to turn when it clicked, his eyes slowly widening while at it. "You... Want to be a Reserve Course Student?"

They nodded.

He was confused.

"Why-" "Maybe some other time" They cut him off, standing up from their seat and grabbing their bag as they put their earphones and phone away. They began to walk back to the main department, stopping for a moment and looking at the brunette. Raising their hand and smiling, they said "See ya! Oh, and don't forget to tell me your name, alright?"

Before the boy could even utter a word or sound, the same kind of petals once again blocked his view. And once they were out of his sight, the person was already gone.

Hajime didn't noticed until now that his hand was reached out. He looked at it and stared at his palm. The exact opposite of what he wanted to be. That was their reasoning.

Unlike him, a person who wishes to have talent... Wishes to be someone special... They want to be a person who has no talent? Do they wish to be someone ordinary?

❀ Back in front of the gates of Hope's Peak Academy. Hajime sighed, lowering his head. He still didn't quite understood why the person wanted to be like him. To be nobody.

"Ah, so you are here" He flinched and immediately turned around. There standing with their usual smile was the person themselves. They raised their hand, waved it "Hey" "S-Sorry.. Er.." That's right. They still haven't introduced to each other.

The person then walked to his side, staring at the main building. Though, unlike him, their eyes weren't filled with any positive emotions or even a tiny bit of admiration. It was just blank. No interest whatsoever.

He wonders why that is.

"We haven't introduced to each other yet, right?" They asked, their eyes now staring at his. Hajime blinked and nodded "Yeah.." The person faced him, pointing a finger at themselves, "I'm Y/N L/N, Ultimate Music Writer" They held out their hand for him to take and shake.

Hajime smiled awkwardly and took their hand "I'm Hajime Hinata. Reserve Course Student"

Their hand was warm/cold. How comforting.

"Well, Hajime, I don't normally go to class... Do you have enough time left before school starts?" Y/N asked with a tilt of their head, their eyebrows raising. Hajime pulled out his phone and pressed the on button, his screen opening and there said the time. Oh, he was- An hour early!? Since when!?

He decided not to ask and simply nodded at the person, "Yeah. At the park?" He asked back. They grinned and turned around, "Mhmm, c'mon"

The walk there was filled with small talk, just to ease the tension just a bit and get to know each other. Asking the basic questions, what do you like to do? Any hobbies? Etc...

Although Hajime - he believes - had pretty basic answers, Y/N didn't seem to mind at all and continued on.

Once they get to their destination, they sat on one of the benches.

Hajime glanced at them for a split second before looking at the fountain. He decided to think and zone out for a bit. Asking questions to himself as he pondered...

Is it okay for me to ask them?

Is it too early?

Before his thoughts could fully consume him, his mouth open and said on it's own "You don't have to tell me now. I think we should try to get each other first" Y/N stared at him , their eyes slightly wide. Ah, they didn't expect that. Neither did Hajime himself.

Y/N had a smile, a smile that you could tell was relief. Relief of not having to tell something you don't want to. They closed their eyes and thanked the brunette, "Agreed. Thanks"

Hajime couldn't help but smile back as well. Relief of not choosing/saying the wrong thing. "So, you were saying?" He asked with a tone to signal them. With that, the subject changed as the ultimate rambled "Oh! Right! Apparently, that wasn't the actual-"

❀ Everyday. Every hour. Every minute. Every second. They would meet at the park. The place that stored many memories between the two opposite students from the two different buildings. They would laugh. They would fight. They would vent. They would even stay quiet and still managed to enjoy their time together.

They would be there for the other when they need them most.

"Ah, there you are" Y/N smiled as they raised and turned their from the phone in their hands to the brunette walking towards them. They let out a hum. A hum that signals that they knew what the other was feeling. They set their phone down and asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Hajime, despite the fake smile on his face, knew better than to lie to them. Especially since the two have been best friends for a while now. Although he doesn't want to bother them, he was quite glad that someone asked him and actually sounded genuinely concern.

The boy sat down beside them, throwing his head back as he closed his eyes. With a sigh, he said "The leaves are green" That, indeed, was true. Y/N tilted their head, nodding slowly, "I see... Who or what? Why?" But to them, that meant something else.

As cheesy as it sounds, the music writer once told him that they had an idea. Specifically, signal ideas. Hajime, of course, thought it wasn't necessary but did so anyway. He thought he wouldn't need to use the them but they were, in fact, useful at most situations.

The one he just used now, meant envy and or jealousy.

"..." He stayed silent at first, having second thoughts before saying what he had on his mind. His thoughts and feelings. "This is gonna sound very stupid... And probably getting annoying but.. I guess I'm just really jealous of you"

Y/N blinked, "Me?" They didn't sound offended. They sounded more... Confused than anything. Which Hajime was thankful for since he didn't want to offend them in any way.

"An Ultimate. Someone that excels at a specific thing and an even higher than actual professionals.. Talent, basically" He smiled. A sad one. "The usual, you know?.."

"..."

Y/N stayed silent as they leaned on the bench, throwing their head back as well with their eyes closed. Hajime's, now open, eyes looked at them with a lift of his head. It looked like they were stuck in their mind.

It wasn't unusual, so he patiently waited.

""Maybe some other time", that's what I said when we first met, right?" They suddenly asked, which kind of startled him. Hajime fully lofted his head and shifted slightly in his seat to look at them despite their closed eyes. "Yeah.."

"I wanted to be free. Free from everyone's expectations. Free from my title" They stared back at him, noticing how he was closely listening to what they were saying. "To be someone who could just do what they want and who they want to be. To be someone even without talent. Because to me, talent isn't the only way that makes you someone or special"

They smiled and lifted their head, hands on their knees as they looked at the brunette. "To me, everyone is their own person and special in their own way. Talent or none" They grinned, their eyes closed as they exclaimed "And to me, Hajime Hinata is special and an ultimate in his own way"

Hajime stared at them, his eyes widening. Before he knew it, his face was red and his heart was pounding. Flustered. Touched. He felt... Special. Just by hearing them say it.

He cools down, his cheeks are still have a visible pink color on them. A smile made it's way on his face. Ah, so that's their reason.

"Oh, I was going to tell you more but it seems like time passes by rather quickly" Y/N pointed at the time on their phone. Hajime snapped out of his trance, eyebrows raised as he asked "Huh? What were you-"

Before he could continue, they stood up from the bench and looked down at the brunette. With their hand raised and waving, they said those words "Maybe some other time" And with that, they left.

Hajime watched them disappear from sight. He blinked before putting his hand down and smiled softly. He stood up from the bench and began to take his leave as well.

He understood what they meant. So now looking forward, he was taking his first step of not having to worry about becoming someone. Because now... Talent or talentless... Everyone is their own person, special in their own way.

[smallraindrops-blog]

Part two of A Road to Somewhere

💤

You weren't sure when you fell asleep, maybe after the stop for gas. But when you woke up, the skies had mellowed into soft oranges and pinks.

Hypnos' had his shade tucked into his shirt, and his fingers tapped along the wheel in time to the music.

His face looked relaxed for the first time since the trip began. Your heart tightened with something you couldn't put a name to, even if you were upset with him, you still wanted him happy.

You sat up with a yawn, "Where are we?"

"Moo." Hypnos replied.

"Really? Fine, you are free from the bet or whatever." You waved a hand around.

"We just got into the mountain path, about an hour away from the inn my mom told me about." Hypnos chatted quickly. "And then we are only ten minutes away from the ocean. Which you will be amazed at and will thank me profusely for taking you."

You chuckled, "Did you miss being able to talk my ear off?"

Hypnos shoved your shoulder with a laugh, "Shut up. You just got lucky with that cow."

"You know I've seen pictures right? I know what the ocean looks like." You told Hypnos.

"Oh sure, the pictures are totally the same." Hypnos rolled his eyes, "I told you to trust me how many times now?"

"Okay. Okay. You're right, Hypnos." You said.

"Thank you! See now only if I can get everyone else to see that." Hypnos replied.

It was about two hours of driving on the path and no inn sight when you spoke up.

"I think we're lost." You said quietly as you studied the dark and looming woods. There was no light or signs to guide you. Even the moonlight offered little help.

"We are not lost. Mom probably just forgot how long it takes to get there." Hypnos squinted into the dark, even the high beams struggled to break through the darkness.

You pulled up your phone, and tried to get the google maps pulled up. You gave up after a few minutes and opened up the paper map.

"Told you so." Hypnos murmured.

You opted not to respond as you used your phone's flashlight to read the map.

After a few moments, you found roughly where you were. You could see where the mountain path ended. "It looks like there might be a turn up here to leave the mountains. Maybe twenty miles? Is that where inn is?"

Hypnos nodded, "Yeah, you go past the mountains, keep driving until you can hear the ocean, you should be able to see the inn."

You bit your bottom lip as you watched the dark forest blurred together. You really hoped Hypnos was right about this.

💤

It had been another hour with no end in sight. Only the dark woods remained, an unwelcome present.

Hypnos had stopped talking, his hands tight on the wheel. The air was tense and you could feel how tight your chest was. Normally you could count on Hypnos to break it but Hypnos hasn't been himself for most of the trip. The drunk call at three am, the lack of his phone use and how desperate he was for you to see the ocean; something he never seemed to care about before.

You rolled your head to look at him. He still looked good, even when he was stressed and tired. And you were far too tired to care if Hypnos caught you staring.

"Do you remember what I said I would do if we got lost in the woods?" You asked him, breaking the silence for the first time in a while. "You know, eating your bones and whatnot."

Hypnos' lips quirked up in a small grin. "Why is it that every time when something happens you threaten to eat me? You did it even when we were in the boy scouts together."

"Maybe because I know how tasty you are." You said without thinking.

Hypnos laughed, "I never thought cannibalism would be used to hit on me but here we are."

You went silent, flushed and turned away to stare out the window. "I wasn't…"

"No. No, I know. Just a joke." Hypnos said quickly.

You didn't see the glance Hypnos shot you. The air grew thick with awkwardness that you were unwilling to break.

"Y/N, look I know we haven't talked about-" Hypnos started to say but you shook your head. You weren't doing this, not now, not where there was no privacy to hide your emotions.

"Do you know how much longer?" You asked, trying not to think about what just happened or about anything.

"Not too long, I think the treeline got thinner." Hypnos replied, his voice hurt. You flinched at his tone, and hated yourself for causing it.

Just as he said that, you broke past the woodland into an open field.

And just like that the air in the car changed.

"Oh thank fuck!" Hypnos whooped and you laughed at his manic smile. "Y/N, roll down the windows. Do you hear anything?"

You obeyed him, and tried to listen over the rush of wind. "Nothing yet. No wait...I think I do hear it."

"Just wait until tomorrow. You're gonna love it." Hypnos yawned.

"Let me take over, you've been driving for the whole trip." You told him, watching Hypnos shake his head.

"Thanks but no. I got this. And also look ahead, the inn should be right around there." Hypnos pointed out and once you made it over the hill, you saw it.

Softly lit by warm lights, it looked like it belonged in a storybook. Once you arrived, checked in with the chatty front desk girl and made your way to the room, one with two beds, you sat down with a happy sigh. You kicked your shoes off, watching Hypnos stumbled to his own bed.

Hypnos flopped face down on his bed with a moan. "I love this bed." He slurred. "Best bed ever."

You looked around the room, it leaned into the nautical with soft blues walls and white shells decor. A small white and green turtle figurine stared at you from your bedside table.

"Hey Hypnos?" You asked, staring at the turtle so you didn't have to look at him. "I'm sorry. About what happened in the car."

When you got no response, you glanced at him only to see him soundly asleep. You walked over to him and lightly stoke his hair. Carefully you tugged his shoes off and flipped what blanket you could over him.

And with that you turned off the lights.

💤

"No peeking. I swear I will turn the car around if I see you even try." Hypnos' hand covered your face but you pushed his hand away.

"I've been covering my eyes since we got the car." You replied, a little grumpy at how early Hypnos woke up. The one time you would have wanted to sleep in, Hypnos was up and moving even before the inn started serving breakfast.

"Mom took me and my brothers here once, did I tell you that?" Hypnos sounded excited. "Than got stung by a jellyfish and cried for like three hours."

"You sound way too happy about that." You chuckled.

"He kicked over my sand castle, he deserved it." Hypnos muttered.

You felt the car stopped and with one more warning not to peek, Hypnos got out. Your door opened and Hypnos gilded you out.

His hands rested on your shoulders, warm and big. It took everything not to lean more into the touch.

You heard the sounds of crashing waves and a faint sound of a gull cry.

"Okay... and look!"

It was beautiful. The ocean was so much bluer than you thought possible. You stepped on to the sand and walked forward, Hypnos followed behind you.

You two were the only souls around the hidden patch of beach between the cliffs, and all you can hear is the ocean hitting the rocks.

"Dude! How did your mom find this place?" You asked as you stopped short of the ocean's reach.

"My dad brought her here when they first met." Hypnos kicked off his flip flops and stepped into the water up his knees.

You copied him, only to almost fall backwards when a big wave came but caught yourself at the last second. "Woah, I didn't expect the waves to be so strong."

Hypnos tossed an arm around your shoulders to hold you steady as the waves rolled past both of you. He laughed warmly, "So pictures are totally the same thing huh?"

You smiled, "You're right, the pictures don't do justice."

"Music to my ears, Y/N." Hypnos squeezed your shoulder, "Come on. Let's get set up."

💤

The day went by quickly, sunset had just begun with deep reds and oranges. You could feel the sunburn already on your cheeks. Hypnos' shoulders and back were already burned and you knew you would be hearing him bitch about it later.

You laid on your stomach on the beach towel, lazily watching him build the tower of a sand castle.

Hypnos' tongue was sticking out a little and it made him look boyishly charming.

You looked toward the ocean, the waves lapping away at the footprints left behind. You didn't see the small bucket Hypnos packed tightly with sand or the devious look in his eyes.

You yelped when the cold lid of the bucket touched between your shoulder blades, followed by the sand. You turned your head toward Hypnos who grinned at your offended glare.

He immediately begins adding more on you, patting it down firmly with both hands.

"Hypnos." You said carefully, "If you put any more sand on me, I will kick your ass."

Wordlessly Hypnos scooped up a huge pile of sand in his hand and met your eyes.

"I won every fight we ever had since we were kids, so don't." You warned, eyes narrowed but a grin threatened to break on your face.

With a mad laugh, Hypnos dropped the sand on your back and you promptly tackled him. You were able to push his back into the sand but half a second later, you realized you missed both his arms as they tightened around your shoulders.

Hypnos rolled, pulled you along with him and your back hit the sand. You let out a grunt as you tried to squirm out but Hypnos matched you for every move. You freed one hand only for Hypnos to grab your wrist and pinned it by your head.

He immediately took the opportunity to do the same with your other wrist as he straddled your waist with all of his weight on you.

Hypnos stared down at you, panting slightly. You could tell he looked surprised as you did.

You relaxed under him, and spread out your hands.

"You win." You told him softly. Between the sounds of the waves and how the sunset made Hypnos' eyes even more golden, you couldn't think straight. Or even about how you found yourself in this position again when you swore you wouldn't.

"I win." Hypnos agreed just as softly. He leaned down and kissed you before you could react. For a few minutes, you returned the slow and deep kiss. Hypnos hummed deep in his throat, his chest fully against yours.

Hypnos pulled away, his face flushed and looking at him was what brought you back to reality.

"Nono. No. Hypnos get off now. Please." You begged him. Immediately he moved off and sat down on the sand.

There was an awkward pause as you sat up, not able to speak. A hard wind blew against you, and you shook at how cold and alone you felt.

"Y/N…" Hypnos murmured, his hand reached out to touch you but you moved away.

"No, I'm not doing this again." You said as you curled in on yourself. "Last time almost killed me. Not again."

"What are you talking about?" Hypnos moved closer but didn't touch you, his tone gentle. "Y/N. Look at me. Please. Are… Are you talking about the first time we kissed?"

"What else could I be talking about, Hypnos?" You snapped, "You can't just keep acting like it didn't happen."

"I haven't but you certainly have!" Hypnos' tone turned hard. "I just tried to act like it wasn't a big deal when you made it clear you didn't want a relationship with me."

Hypnos laughed but it wasn't friendly. "And I was the one who brought it up in the car in case you forgot, Y/N."

"Excuse me for not wanting to be your Meg replacement." You snapped at him, not knowing what else to say. You stood to walk away but Hypnos leaped up. His hands grabbed your shoulders and turned you around to face him. His other hand squeezed your biceps.

"What are you talking about?" Hypnos said, his tone desperate.

"You're kidding me right? You've been in love with her since seventh grade when she punched you during gym and gave you a nosebleed." You cried. "I knew you were upset at finding out that your brother is dating her."

Hypnos said nothing for a few moments before he chuckled, "I haven't looked, let alone thought of her that like in years."

You stared, not quite believing what you were hearing. "But you were upset when you found out Thanatos was dating Meg and Zagreus."

"I was upset that he didn't tell me that they had been together for almost a whole year." Hypnos paused. "And that they didn't lock the door. I mean come on. At least a sock on the front door or something."

You laughed slightly, and Hypnos grinned softly. He looked at you with such fondness you had to look away from him to keep yourself from blushing.

"Do you know why I brought you here,Y/N?" He asked carefully.

You opened your mouth only to close it. After a few seconds, you mutely shook your head.

"I want my best friend back." Hypnos said brokenly.

"I had this stupid idea if I could just go somewhere new or different with you, that maybe we could forget what I did to our friendship." Hypnos talked as you stay quiet. "I knew I fucked up, I pushed too hard and too soon but god, I couldn't look away from you anymore and… And I thought you felt the same."

You swallowed, "I thought when you acted like it didn't happen you regretted what happened, regretted me."

"Never, how could I regret you? Y/N, when we weren't talking I was going crazy. I felt like I had a limp missing. Mom was showing me these photos back when we were kids, and you were in almost all of them." Hypnos swallowed. "I just want you back."

You took a deep breath, feeling like you were on a cliff and didn't know if you were to fall forward or backward. "You didn't lose me. I just didn't want to be the thing you used to get over Meg."

"Is that why you didn't want to go out with me?" Hypnos asked and squeezed your arm gently. "Y/N, I don't know if you noticed but I've been crazy about you for years."

"Oh." You blinked. "Oh."

Hypnos smiled, "Yeah. Oh."

"Is it too late? For us?" You asked, heart racing.

"Never." Hypnos cupped your face. "Can I kiss you again?"

"Yes, please." You met him halfway into the kiss, smiling with relief.

Days later, on your way home, Hypnos' hand rested on your thigh as you sat in peace.

It felt like home.

[bnha-imagines-and-oneshots]

You Being the U.A. Traitor || Pt.2 || Oneshot, slight angst(?)

You Being the U.A. Traitor

Type: Oneshot (Continuation of headcanon)

Words: 1,600

Gender Neutral Reader

Two Weeks After the Previous Events

Bakugou hadn't seen his parents since the night at Kamino. He felt conflicted, almost unsure whether he even wanted to see them or not. Mitsuki Bakugou was an abusive woman, though it was always passed off as comedic anger issues. She could do a full 180 and go from toxic to sweet, which made it easy for her to mask her true self. Even from herself. Katsuki's father didn't really have a backbone in him. He was an enabler of his wife's habits, always reassuring Katsuki that his mother didn't mean any of it and loved them dearly. Maybe it was for the better that he wouldn't see them again.

A knock on the door startled the blonde out of his thoughts.

"It's me Katsuki." Your voice sounded from the other side of the wood. It was just as cheerful as he had last heard it at Yuuei. He couldn't remember his last day on campus for some reason. "...Come in." You opened the door and walked in the room, shutting the door behind you and walking over to sit beside him on his bed. "How are you liking the room so far? Anything you want changed?" Katsuki looked around quietly. The walls were a dark red gradient with white trim. He had a desk in the corner and a neat bed with orange sheets. It was simple. "It's okay." Katsuki didn't really have an opinion. Part of him liked it, part of him didn't. He was usually conflicted about things and chose very carefully how to react, if not on autopilot with pent up rage and frustration. With all that had happened in the past three weeks, he couldn't help himself from dissociating from his surroundings. It seemed almost as if he wasn't even there. He knew for certain that he didn't like the way the villains had gotten the stuff used to furnish his room though. You, being a naturally intuitive person, put two and two together. "It's okay to not like the way we do things," You started, the blonde next to you looking over. "Killing people isn't our objective. Stealing from people, generally, isn't our objective. The people we harm are standing between us and our goal. Our goal is special Katsuki. Only we can get it for everybody. They may not realize it yet but the world will be better off without Heroes." "Why... Why do you guys steal things then?" The explosive blonde asked, looking down at his hands. The same ones he used to bully Deku with. "Mmm..." You hummed before giving a small sigh. "We've all been hurt so badly. It's what's allowed us to see the truth. We can't escape our demons though, they'll always follow us. It's easy to become furious, depressed, and even overconfident with the lives we have. We're not as bad as the media portrays us, but we're still human beings with flaws. There isn't a single person who is free of any toxic traits." Katsuki didn't say anything. Everything you were saying seemed to hold more merit as each second passed. Since he had been with the League, he felt like he had friends. Real friends who understood his pain, and saw him as more than an explosive brat with anger issues. He felt like he could maybe call you guys... family, in the future. The thought of a real family was addicting. He craved it. You and Katsuki sat in silence for a short while before you stood up. "Let's go downstairs. Shigaraki is planning something and wants to speak with everybody." "Hah? Don't tell me what to do!" Over the weeks, Katsuki eventually began getting 'angry' at you again. It was his way of showing he was comfortable with you, because he sure as hell wasn't going to shout at one of the other killers in the building. Sure, you had technically killed before, but it felt different. You were still the same Y/N from Yuuei, just on a different side. Not much had changed. You were just enlightened. Sometimes he wonders; "Why did they reach out to me?" You could've helped anybody else and brought them to the villain side with your charisma and relationships with everybody. He already knew you were pretty much second in command, so why did you choose to help him? You weren't someone who would judge based on a quirk, so it couldn't just be that he was powerful. (Though he was, extremely powerful.) Could it have been... …that you knew he was just like you, and needed help?

___

Katsuki may still have not felt close enough to call anybody in the league more than a friend, but Himiko was quick to claim the blonde boy as her little brother. When you and Katsuki got downstairs Himiko ran towards the two of you and hugged Katsuki quickly. Himiko was probably the only person there that he had warmed up to rapidly. (You were on a completely different scale.) "G-get off!" Katsuki muttered, an embarrassed tint on his cheeks. He didn't make any move to shove the girl off of him though. You giggled at the exchange. "Baku!" Himiko's eyes turned dark for a split second. "Can I have some of your blood?" She asked excitedly. Katsuki looked to you quickly. You had informed him that Himiko's behavior was a direct result of her quirk, and she couldn't help herself from wanting blood. It was, in technical terms, a quirk malfunction. If her quirk worked normally then the drawbacks would only present themselves when she used her quirk, since it was a transformation quirk. Instead, her drawbacks were on 24/7 and caused her to become blood obsessed. "Would some of my blood be okay instead, Himiko~Chan?" You questioned, and Himiko nodded rapidly. Your eyebrows tensed as you fought the urge to furrow them in sympathy. Your friend was a victim of her quirk and nobody had been there to communicate for her, so she became what society feared she would be. You held back a frustrated sigh. Himiko grabbed her knife and dragged it slowly along the top of your outstretched arm, not going any deeper than a cat scratch. She had been doing extremely well at restraining herself since joining the league. You were proud of her level of control. Blood began to trickle from your wound and Himiko attached herself to your arm like a puppy. It barely hurt anymore, and you instead chose to focus on how adorable Himiko was. She always felt bad for hurting people due to her quirk (unless they weren't in the league) and that usually ended up being you. You had spent many nights holding Himiko and cuddling together as you did your best to comfort her. She would always cry and apologize to you. The public branded this sweet girl as a villain. They branded your best friends, your FAMILY, as villains. It wasn't fair.

Kurogiri stepped out from behind the bar and walked over. He peered down at Himiko sucking on your arm and sighed.

"Would you like to sit down (Y/N)?" You glanced at Katsuki and saw him give a small nod, as if to say: 'I'm okay, just go.'

"Yes please, thank you Kurogiri." The wispy villain led you and the leech attached to you toward the bar, leaving Katsuki alone. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and sat down on the cream colored sofa. It was quiet for a while as they were the only four people in the bar part of the building, but eventually the stairs creaked as someone came down.

It was Shigaraki. He gave a nod of approval to Katsuki as he passed, and the blonde did his best not to shiver. Shigaraki was one of the people in the league he was the most scared of. His quirk was dangerous, so one wrong move on his part and he'd have angered the guy who can turn his bones into dust. From what he'd learned during the USJ attack, it had caused Aizawa a great deal of pain just to have his elbow crumble a bit.

"The others should be coming down soon and we can discuss plans." Tomura announced.

"Got it." You gave a thumbs up. Himiko had finished sucking your blood by now and was clinging to you like a koala. You rubbed her back with one hand while Kurogiri cleaned and bandaged your other arm in an attempt to prevent more scarring. You had scars littered across your arms and legs due to battles with Heroes and donating your blood to your bestie.

Tomura raised an eyebrow seeing Himiko. "Toga, are you okay?"

Himiko stayed quiet, but you felt her whimper into your chest. She then nodded. She hated to be vulnerable. She knew that being a teenager made her one of the youngest villains and she always felt like she had to be strong and prove she was capable.

"She's okay." Luckily for Himiko, Dabi came down the stairs not long after your response.

"Woah, who died in here?"

"Shut the hell up." Tomura and Dabi were at each others throats quickly, though it was rather comedic. Katsuki slowly walked out of the range of fire and over to where you were sat at the bar. He had only seen a few of Tomura and Dabi's fights but he could tell they did this often.

"Kurogiri, could you make some popcorn please?"

"I suppose so."

[bokutosvoid]

drivers license | k.b

Pairing - bokuto x reader (gender neutral)

(A/N; this is a drivers license song fic but bokuto is the one getting his drivers license. I’m sorry in advance)

Text in bold is events that took place In the past by the way <3

Genre; angst. Pure angst.

Word count; 1.4K

“I want to spend forever here” you whispered, rolling a daisy between your fingers. Bokuto smiled, admiring your soft face as you absent-mindedly plucked handfuls of white daisies from the earth. The sun was taking its setting descent and the both of you sat within the field near your home, soaking up the fleeting orange hazed dusk you found made the world seemingly stop around you. Bokuto hoped this moment would never end, maybe he would be able to stay here with you forever, enveloped and hidden in the daisies with the person he felt completed him. 

“Forever?” Bokuto laughed as his large hand found its way to your hair, combing through the strands gently. The forever he pondered about was the forever that, you too, wanted to remain in this serendipity that you had found. The last moments of sunlight glowed off your face as you shifted your head that lay upon his chest, turning your gaze to meet his golden eyes. “Forever” you nodded in conclusion, allowing Bokuto to delve into the look in your eyes. Your eyes held such an emotion, one that neither of you could explain just right, only made Bokuto think you spoke of that forever he wanted. The everlasting forever. 

“Excuse me?” a voice broke through Bokuto’s thoughts, looking up he was met with the receptionist that used to be situated behind the counter. She looked down at him with a smile, holding forward a folded up sheet of paper. “Congratulations on passing” she spoke kindly as Bokuto’s throat was clogged with heartbreak, unable to even force a half genuine smile.”thanks,” he nodded then stood up, not even taking another glance at the lady before making his way to the doors. 

The air outside of the building felt shallow as his chest wracked with pain. An all-consuming, sudden pain that tore through the already dissipating ounce of happiness he had left. He had just gotten his drivers license, something any teenager should feel ecstatic about. And there would have been that excitement if he was standing by your side, the person who had taught him to drive. 

“Alright! You ready?” you smiled, sitting in the passenger's seat of your car. Bokuto was sweating bullets, unable to remember what each dial, pedal and button did. He looked at you and his emotions were palpable through the way he kept his hands on his thighs, scared to crash although the car was off. 

“I don't think i can do this, y/n” he gushed hurriedly, looking at you for sympathy as you only smirked. “Yes you can! First step; hands on the wheel” the way you trusted him to do well eased his nerves slightly as his hands made hesitant contact with the steering wheel. 

You and Bokuto drove through a vacant street, his nervousness filtered out through the open windows as your laugh ceased any negative emotion he could have possibly been feeling beforehand. Street lights overhead passed by in blurs as the laughter you shared filled the car with a feeling neither of you knew would end as soon as it did. 

Bokuto now sat alone in his car, unable to ignore the stark space that now felt like this enormous pitch black beside him. The seat you used to fill now sat empty, the absence of your laugh felt more lonely than Bokuto had prepared himself for. This silence that surrounded him was deafening, splitting and tearing into his chest as the car switched on. A gush of chill air flushed over Bokuto’s face, stinging his teary eyes. Now, all over again, he went through the steps you had taught him. Knuckles burned white from the grip on the steering wheel as Bokuto tried to fight back his glossy eyes slipping tears. 

The harsh reminder of a promise he had made to you hung heavy on his slumped shoulders. 

Bright fluorescents shun down onto your figures, sitting in a roadside diner at one in the morning, didn’t cease the feeling flooding Bokuto’s senses. 

“Okay,” you pulled a white spoon from your lips, shoving it into the dish then sliding the sundae along the red and white table over to Bokuto. “We know, with my teaching skills, you're going to pass,” you smiled as Bokuto pushed a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. 

“So when that happens I want you to do something…” you said. Bokuto looked at you expectantly for a second as he pushed the sundae back over. “What is it?” He asked, wiping a drop of chocolate sauce off his cheek. 

“The second you pass, you drive up to my place.” 

Bokuto found himself sitting motionless, debating whether or not to comply with the agreement you had settled on. He knew it wouldn't help either of you, instead, he was fully aware how much it would hurt him to see you so happily moved on with that person he had seen on your story. Their blonde hair raked down on his insecurity of not being enough for you, maybe things would have lasted forever if his hair was shiny and golden blonde, worthy of shining like the sun next to you while his hair matched that of a rainy day, foggy and associated with gloom. 

Through cloudy vision, your street felt like a magnet against the car wheels, dragging him through unfamiliar suburbs to a place he seldom found himself not missing. He loved you in a way that was tender and kind, and you had loved him softly and with care, like gentle kisses goodnight and everything sweet in the world. But all good things must come to an end and it turns out love that is soft and tender can’t withstand the bitter test of time. 

Your house looked dark, except for the light in your room peaking through the dusk light that edged on the horizon. He waited for a moment, he wasn't sure what for, maybe for you to come running out with a smile, jumping into the passenger's seat once more so you could drive around aimlessly. But it turns out, his waiting came to seeing that blonde walk out of your home, carrying a bag over their shoulder. They stayed the night? 

Bokuto’s thoughts and feelings fused together from then, furious tears rolled down his cheeks freely, burning against his flushed cheeks from this realisation. The realisation that you now weren't around, not here with him and not waiting on him to drive to your place. He couldn't explain this feeling, memories of you searing into his mind as the car bleared some song on the radio, he hoped maybe it would silence your voice and the way you used to laugh with him in traffic ringing through his heartbroken soul. 

His car sat still in front of the daisy field, sniffling softly as his tears dried, looking down at your contact. He contemplated calling you, only to hear your voice even if for only a second. But the want quickly died out on his fingertips as it hovered over the call button, recalling how he was probably the last person on your mind at this moment. 

But what Bokuto didn't know was how you too sat in your car, the engine buzz filling the silence as you looked over the field of daisies, only two cars separating you from each other. You had just called off whatever you had with your fling, asking them to collect their things from your home, leaving out the detail that you still missed Bokuto. You missed his loud laugh, his voice, his hair that reminded you of rain in the most beautiful way. You found that the things you searched for in them, Bokuto had possessed in a way you couldn’t possibly compensate for. You looked at his contact, his name still adorning a heart beside it because you couldn't bring yourself to take it away. You wished to call him, using each fibre of your being to hold yourself back from seeking out the person still living within the crack of your broken heart, even though you didn't know he still kept you safely nestled in the space of his own. 

So you will both sit here, between cars and calls while drowning under waves of words you weren't saying. Among in this field of daisies you had shared when everything was perfect in your small piece of everlasting forever. 

[apocalypseornaw]

About Time

*Not my Gif* Sam finally admits he's in love with you. (Some nsfw)

The day Sam met you was a trial by fire sort of thing. Him and Dean needed a couple extra hands on a hunt so Bobby had sent you and your cousin their way. Your cousin was only a couple years older than Dean so the two of them teamed up leaving you with Sam. He was impressed from the start because you managed to finesse the local fuzz in a way that Dean wouldn't even be able to. 

On the hunt itself you held your own against the nest of vamps and ended up even carrying one of the more injured victims out yourself. Your cousin just shook her head when him and Dean told you they could've went back for the girl "She thinks she's wonder woman. I swear this girl is either gonna be the death of me or end up ruling hell" Dean bought you a beer afterwards, Sam was hooked.

Over the years you kept in contact with Sam and Dean then when your cousin died you ended up starting to hunt more often with them and eventually took their offer of a bedroom in the bunker. You and Dean had quickly become best friends, same as you and Cas. Sam had been harboring feelings for you for years that only got worse living in close quarters with you.

------

You'd been living in the bunker for a couple months when one morning Sam got back from his run to overhear you talking to Dean in the kitchen "Dean either he doesn't look at me like that or he is the most oblivious man on the face of this earth" you'd recently split from a guy you'd been seeing off and on so he didn't want to get his hopes up until Dean said "That's where it helps having the guy who's known him since birth on your side sweetheart and standford or no standford Sammy doesn't really take subtle well. Just tell him how you feel because I've listened to him talk about you for years. I've heard him cuss every guy you've ever dated. He feels the same"

He headed to his room to act as if he hadn't heard any of the conversation. When he walked into the library after a shower you were sitting at one of the long tables looking over a lore book and glanced up when he walked in "Hey Sam" he smiled "Good morning Y/N. Where's Dean this early?" you held up a half of a glass of orange juice "It was his turn to go on a supply run and we're out of coffee" 

He walked over to sit down next to you and tilted the book you were reading to see the front of it "Enochian?" You shrugged "Figured it'd come in handy if I could translate at least a few words if Cas wasn't around?" "That's smart" he said with a smile and realized just how close he was sitting to you when you moved to face him and your hair brushed his shoulder "Sam, can I ask you something?" your eyes widening told him you hadn't realized the close proximity either "Of course" he held your gaze and watched you nip at the tip of your thumb which was something you did when you were nervous no matter how rare that situation was "Do you wanna go out with me?"

He reached to pull your hand away from your mouth and smiled when you tracked his movements with your eyes "I'd love to"

-------

That friday you and Sam headed out to a local bar that Dean said served decent enough food. Hell Dean had even let you take baby out which was a rare thing indeed.

You walked into the bar behind Sam and smiled when he reached back to grab your hand "C'mon sweetheart" he pulled you towards a booth in the corner. You slid in first and he slid in after you. You glanced around and saw that a live band was setting up, the bar itself looked clean and with a normal enough crowd. 

After the waitress took your order Sam turned towards you "Why are we nervous? We've known each other for years" You shrugged "I don't know. Maybe we should go ahead and kiss and get that out of the way?" he laughed lightly then said "That actually sounds like a good idea" you leaned up to touch your lips against his in a quick kiss that quickly deepened when he pulled you into his lap. Your hands went to his shoulders to steady yourself when you felt his tongue flick across your lips asking for entrance so you opened your mouth slightly and had to stifle a moan when you felt his tongue slide into your mouth moving against yours. 

His hands slipped under your shirt and a low moan escaped you at the feeling of his hands on your skin. The waitress clearing her throat broke the two of you apart. You never broke eye contact with Sam when you threw a twenty down and said "That'll pay for the drinks, cancel our food please" she simply took the money and walked away with a laugh. 

You climbed out of his lap then grabbed his hand "Suddenly I'm not hungry, how about you?" His eyes ran across your body before he finally said "Not for food"

-------

The ride back to the bunker felt longer than it ever been. You were trying not to distract Sam but god you'd finally felt his lips on yours and was wondering what they would feel like on other body parts.

About halfway back he finally pulled off the road and killed the lights. When you shot him a look he raised an eyebrow "Come here" you quickly straddled his lap feeling how hard he already was underneath you. "Do you want to wait until we get back?" He asked kissing your neck and down to your collarbone pushing your shirt down further to give him access to more skin. "Who says we can't have another round once we get to a bed?"

He chuckled against your skin "I like that answer" he moved his hands to the seam of your shirt and you moved to let him pull it over your head. "I've wanted this for a long time" he whispered letting his tongue run across the top of your bared breasts. You let your head fall back with a moan as he sucked gently on the skin there. "Sam, is there enough room?" he glanced up at you and you realized your choice of words "I mean in the front seat?"

He thought about it for a moment then pulled back "Get in the back" you climbed off his lap and climbed across the seat while he stepped out then opened the back door to climb in with you. You laid back on the seat and curled your finger at him "Come here Winchester" he pulled his shirt over his head then climbed up you leaving a trail of kisses on every inch of exposed skin. When he got to your mouth the kiss was hungry but gentle. He rolled his hips against your and a groan left his lips when you moaned at the movement. "We really need these jeans off" you laughed so he leaned back up far enough to help you slip off your jeans and boots then kicked his own off.

He spread your legs then licked his lips "God you're beautiful" you felt a slight wave of embarrassment at being completely bared and must have moved to cover yourself because he caught both of your hands in one of his "Nope, I want to see every inch of you baby" there was soo much sincerity in his voice you relaxed and he smiled "Now lay back. If I do anything you don't like tell me ok?" You nodded and he lowered his head leaving kisses up your left leg until he got to where you needed the most attention "Sam" you moaned when he licked into you curling his tongue up against that sensitive spot.

You could feel an orgasm building and gripped his hair as your breathing quickened. He added two fingers in with his tongue and that was all it took. You came with a moan of his name on your lips. He worked you through the orgasm then kissed his way back up your body. When he got to your lips he caught your mouth in a hard kiss allowing you to taste yourself on him "Please fuck me Sam" you moaned and he smiled against your lips "Yes ma'am"

When he slid into you, you bit your lip against the stretch. Once he was fully inside of you he stilled letting you adjust to him. "Are you ok?" he asked kissing your neck and chest. You nodded after a moment and tapped his hips "Move Sam" he started to roll his hips against yours every movement rubbing against that spot deep inside of you "God damn Sam" you moaned and he laughed "I'll take that as a compliment" you knew from the angle and pace he wouldn't be able to come easily so after a few moments you urged him "You can go harder Sam you won't hurt me"

He started to thrust harder and you felt your eyes roll back as that building pressure burst again. "Fuck Y/N you're so damn beautiful taking me like that baby. Ugh you're squeezing me hard enough I can barely move" he groaned biting down on your breast hard enough you knew there'd be a mark there come morning. "Sam oh fuck please tell me you're close" you begged and he nodded hitting even deeper inside of you.

When you felt his hips shudder you knew he was close. "I'm close baby" he whispered and you gripped his shoulders when you felt him come emptying inside of you. He thrust a few more times before collapsing against you moving just enough to make sure you could breath fine. "Fuck why did we wait so long to do that?" you asked with a laugh kissing his tattoo since it was closest to your lips. "I don't know but I look forward to doing it again" "And again?" you asked pulling him to you for a kiss.

-------

Luckily Dean was asleep by the time you two got back so he didn't see both of you come in carrying your shoes, Sam only wearing jeans and you wearing Sam's shirt. You dropped your pile of clothes in your room then headed to Sam's room with him. The night was far from over.

------

A couple weeks later Dean and Cas had ran into town to grab supplies so you were sitting at one of the tables in the library looking over news articles to make sure there was nothing near by that needed attention. Sam stood there watching you for the longest, your hair was falling out of your bun and you were chewing on the end of your pen. He'd never seen a more beautiful sight.  You glanced up after a moment and grinned "I'm literally your wallpaper on your phone so if you wanna stare you have pictures"

"I love you Y/N" he said so easily and didn't even think twice about it until your smile fell. "I um I mean it's ok if you don't feel the same. I just wanted to tell you" but you cut him off by grabbing his hand to pull him closer "Sam! calm down" when he finally stopped talking you laughed "I love you too. I have for a while"

You heard clapping and looked up to see Dean at the bottom of the steps "About damn time" Cas looked around him "I tried to get him to not eavesdrop" you laughed again "Don't worry Cas I'm used to it"