#monkey brush vine

[ilguna]

☼ perfectly timed pt2 (Finnick Odair) ☼

summary; when you figure out that the arena's a clock, Finnick promises that he'll be your bodyguard from then on, and he doesn't take that responsibility lightly.

warnings; swearing, death, death mention, murder, gore, blood.

wc; 11k

part one.

–

“I’m not going to tell you right now, though.” You warn Finnick, he doesn’t seem to care. “You can’t say anything just yet.”

“I won’t.” He tells you.

“I’m just going to work out the details.” You say.

The two of you walk a couple of steps, before he realizes that he still has his arm around your shoulder. He removes it, offering you an apologetic smile, before joining Katniss, Peeta and Johanna in the treeline. 

“Well, it must be monkey hour. And I don’t see any of them in there." Peeta says. “I’m going to try to tap a tree.”

“No, it’s my turn,” Finnick says.

“You’re going to put (Y/n) in danger?” Peeta asks. 

Finnick looks at you for a second, “She’ll stick close.”

“I’ll at least watch your back.” Peeta says.

“Katniss can do that.” Johanna says. “We need you to make another map. The other washed away.” She reaches up and yanks a large leaf off of a tree to hand to him.

You shake your head. “I’ll stay here, too, then.”

“No, you’re not leaving my sight, remember?” Finnick motions for you to come.

“Johanna can—”

“Come on, (Y/n). I won’t let anything touch you here.” Finnick takes a step toward you, grabbing your wrist. He begins to pull you into the jungle, you struggle to keep up with his steps.

You travel about fifteen yards into the jungle, when Finnick finds a good tree to tap into. He takes the knife from your hand to stab into the bark of the tree to make a hole with the knife to stick the metal object into. You stick close to Finnick’s side, eyes sweeping the jungle.

Katniss is on guard, too, but she doesn’t appear to be as concerned as you feel. She’s lost in thought, eyebrows twitching in. You look back at the beach, wondering if Finnick will get mad if you go back there, anyway. None of you have any idea what time it is right now, making the jungle dangerous. Katniss said it was going on four, meaning four is beginning…

“Finnick, I don’t think the monkeys are out anymore.”

“We’re fine, (Y/n).” He brushes you off.

“If it’s going on four, then that means we’re in the next hour. We have no idea what we’re facing.”

“The jungle’s fine, see?” Finnick says, straightening briefly to motion to the greenery. “I’ve got you.” He then looks at Katniss, “Katniss, got that spile?”

She blinks, cutting the vines that were holding the metal tube to her belt. She holds it out to him from between her fingers. Finnick’s just reaching to grab it, when a scream breaks the silence. It belongs to a young girl, one that must be terrified.

Katniss drops the spile, whipping around and running straight to where the scream had come from, barely dodging vines and branches as she travels further into the jungle. You shake your head, going to plead with Finnick, but he’s sweeping the spile into one hand, grabbing you with the other, dragging you after Katniss.

“Prim!” Katniss’ shrill scream sounds close, “Prim!” Another agonized scream comes from further in the jungle. “Prim!”

“Finnick, we’re in the next hour!” You tell him, looking behind you to the beach, wondering if Johanna and Peeta can hear Katniss. “We’ve got to get out, not go further!”

“Katniss is our priority.” Finnick tells you firmly. 

You block branches with your forearm to keep them from leaving cuts on your face. The pace Finnick sets is difficult to keep up with, you’re not used to running this far for this long. He doesn’t care, pulling you along, forcing you to keep moving whether you like it or not. You think about stopping, but he’d just pick you up to keep going. 

Sweat begins to run down the side of your face in the same way that the blood rain did, past your ears and to your chin, where it drips on the front of your jumpsuit. You suck in deep breaths of air, but they provide no help, with how humid it is in here. You need cold air, the type that was coming off of the seawater.

“Prim!” Katniss screams. She rips through a wall of green, stumbling into a clearing ahead. The screaming continues, Katniss is looking up, into the trees. “Prim?”

“What is it?” You gasp.

“I don’t know.”

The two of you make it to the clearing, where you struggle to suck in the air that your lungs are demanding. Katniss seems calmer, at least. She’s wiping one of her arrows clean of blood with moss.

“Katniss?” Finnick says.

“It’s okay. I’m okay.” She says. “I thought they had my sister but—”

The hair on the back of your neck rises when another scream fills the air, this time it’s not a girl. It’s his. You turn, lips parting as you search the jungle. How can he be here? How did they get him here? He’s supposed to be safe at home, untouchable.

“Zero?” You call.

“(Y/n)!” Zero screams back.

“Zero!” You take off in the direction it’s coming from.

“(Y/n), wait!” Katniss shouts behind you.

You don’t stop, running up the incline, heading for the sound of his voice. You manage to keep an eye on the ground, avoiding the roots and snarls that stick up, waiting to trap your feet in its grasp. 

“(Y/n), please!”

“I’m coming!” You shout, gasping for air, “Zero, I’m coming!”

You duck beneath a branch, not bothering to stop for it. You can hear Finnick and Katniss behind you, struggling to keep on your heels. The further you travel, the faster you go, getting a hang of the incline.

You fly through a group of bushes, tripping over a branch when it catches on your clothes. You fall to your knees, eyes searching the sky above. You can hear him screaming for you, up in the tree.

“Zero.” Your lips are trembling as you get to your feet. “Zero!”

“Help!” He screams.

Katniss and Finnick come through the bushes, panting. You move around the tree, tears in your eyes that you wipe away.

“I’ve got it.” Katniss tells you, “I’ll get him.”

“Zero.” You murmur. “My brother, they have my brother? How is that possible?”

Katniss sticks her fingers in the bark in places you couldn’t have begun to imagine. She scales the tree, the branches and foliage concealing her. She doesn’t say a word, but the screaming stops. And something falls from the tree, landing in the grass at your feet.

Finnick picks it up, turning it over in his hand. 

Your face smooths. “It’s a jabberjay.”

Katniss slides down the tree, coming to join you two. “It’s all right, (Y/n). It’s just a jabberjay. They’re playing a trick on us.” She says. “It’s not real. It’s not your… Zero.”

“No, it’s not Zero, but the voice was his.”

“Jabberjays mimic what they hear. Where did they get those screams, Katniss?” Finnick says.

Katniss pales. “Oh, Finnick, you don’t think they…?”

“Yes I do. That’s exactly what I think.” Finnick says.

You struggle to get your hands to stop shaking, palms flat against your thighs. You and Finnick share a long look, as Katniss sinks into the ground, fingers grabbing at the grass.

Zero’s supposed to be safe at home. You promised him that he’d be okay without you, he’d be protected by the neighboring victors. If anything happened, he would be the first person they retrieved so he could be protected if a war broke out. You didn’t think that they’d just collect him to torture him for samples…

“We have to go.” Finnick says, “This must be the hour.”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you.” You look at him.

“I know, I should’ve listened.” He turns his attention to Katniss. “You have to get up, we need to get back to the others.”

She doesn’t respond, doesn’t so much as glance in your direction to confirm that she’s heard what he said. You wipe the sweat from your forehead, pulling at your fingers. You don’t like being here, in the middle of the jungle. You’re so exposed.

A bird starts to scream off to your right, this causes Katniss to leap to her feet, jerking in the direction. Finnick catches her arm before she can run. “No. It’s not him.” He starts pulling her downhill, you stick close to them. “We’re getting out of here!” Katniss doesn’t care, struggling to get free. “It’s not him, Katniss! It’s a mutt!”

Zero’s screams overlap, your feet freeze in place for a second, you stiffly get them to work again. Finnick glances at you, you press your lips together, sliding your arm beneath his to keep together. 

As you go further away from the screams, Katniss is less combative. In fact, she becomes eager to get out of the jungle, pulling you and Finnick behind her. It takes only a few minutes for you to reach the treeline, where Johanna and Peeta are standing there, unmoving.

Finnick lets go of Katniss, but you keep your hold on him.

Peeta’s got his hands raised, palms facing towards you. His lips are moving, but there’s no sound behind it. It isn’t until Katniss and Finnick run smack into the transparent wall, do you know that it’s there. The two of them fall back on the jungle floor, Finnick pulling you down with him.

Katniss grips at her shoulder, but when you look at Finnick, you see that his nose is gushing blood. He must’ve hit it face-first. You search the area nearby, and find some of the moss that Katniss had been using earlier to help clean up Beetee’s back. You pull it from the rock, handing it to Finnick.

“Thanks.” He squishes his nose. “So much for going to the beach.”

Johanna and Peeta shake their heads, and even demonstrate that the wall is unbreakable, by swinging their weapons at it. None of you even bother to try to check any of the other walls, all that’ll happen is you’ll be met with disappointment when you can’t make it through there, either.

For the next minute, you think that this will be manageable. You can sit through and listen to your brother screaming for help. Then the birds arrive, one by one, perching in the surrounding branches. An orchestrated chorus of screams and pleas begin to spill out of their beaks.

You slam the heels of your hands over your ears, pressing tightly. “No, no, no!”

Finnick comes over, guiding you to the wall, helping you to the ground. He doesn’t seem affected by the screams, he even pries your hands from your ears, only then to immediately replace them with his. He blocks them out entirely, but you still reach up to hold them there, afraid of the sounds that are happening out there.

You watch for a while as Katniss empties her quiver of arrows into the birds. She’ll take one down, and it’ll be replaced by two more. When she realizes this, she stops, coming to sit beside you and Finnick, clenching her own hands over her ears to keep out the wretched noise.

You keep your eyes closed for the remainder of the hour, distracting yourself by thinking about the plan to kill off the Two tributes. You come to the conclusion that it’ll work best if you hide in the trees, let the tidal wave come at ten, hike up to the lightning tree to somehow connect the wire to the tree, and then bring the spool back down to the beach before the lightning hits. By then, Enobaria and Brutus will want to be out of the jungle, and they’ll get electrocuted to death.

That is, unless the rebel plan takes over first. As far as you know, the mentors haven’t sent any hints as to what day and what hour you’ll be executing everything. Haymitch worked out a plan, hopefully fool proof. You’ll use the type of district bread for day, and the amount of bread for the hour. 

He’s supposed to send multiple rounds of the bread to confirm that it’s still happening at the same time. You haven’t thought to ask about it until now. Before, your mind was occupied with the jungle, then a plan to kill the careers. With that almost done, you need to look at the final and bigger picture.

Finnick’s hands loosen from your ears, you’re left with an ache in the area from how hard he was pushing. The hour must be done, because Peeta is now sitting with Katniss, and you can’t hear anymore screaming.

Your head falls into your hands as you rub beneath your eyes, sighing. Finnick gets to his feet, when you look up, you can see he has his hand out for you. You take it, letting him pull you to your feet.

“Thank you, Finnick. You didn’t have to do that.” You place your hand on his shoulder.

“They have no one to use against me, (Y/n).” Finnick says, “And I didn’t want to watch you being tortured.”

Your eyebrows twitch, “Right.”

“I’m going to go find a tree to tap.” Finnick tells you.

“Do you want me to go with?” 

“No, stay here with them. I’ll be back in a minute.” He says, picking up his trident. He strides off, presumably toward the original tree that he had carved out before the birds attacked.

“It’s all right, Katniss.” Peeta whispers.

“You didn’t hear them.”

“I heard Prim. Right in the beginning. But it wasn’t her,” He says. “It was a jabberjay.”

“It was her. Somewhere. The jabberjay just recorded it.” Katniss says, not budging.

“No, that’s what they want you to think. The same way I wondered if Glimmer’s eyes were in that mutt last year. But those weren’t Glimmer’s eyes. And that wasn’t Prim’s voice. Or if it was, they took it from an interview or something and distorted the sound. Made it say whatever she was saying.” He says.

What Peeta says gets you thinking. He’s right. You thought the same thing she and Finnick did, until Peeta mentioned the distorted sound a second ago. At home, you learned how to do that in school. It’s basic technology manipulation. You’re not sure why you didn’t think of that before.

Maybe it’s because you wouldn’t put it past the Capitol to kidnap and torture innocents. Zero has never been directly in contact with the capitol, unless it’s through you. Even then, they don’t focus on him for very long.

“No, they were torturing her.” Katniss says. “She’s probably dead.”

“Katniss, Prim isn’t dead. How could they kill Prim? We’re almost down to the final eight of us. And what happens then?” Peeta asks.

“Seven more of us die.” Katniss mutters morbidly. It’s almost comical.

“No, back home. WHat happens when they reach the final eight tributes in the Games?” He lifts her chin. “What happens? At the final eight?”

Katniss doesn’t respond right away. “At the final eight?” She repeats. “They interview your family and friends back home.”

“That’s right.” Peeta says. “They interview your family and friends. And can they do that if they’ve killed them all?”

“No?” Katniss asks.

“No. That’s how we know Prim’s alive. She’ll be the first one they interview, won’t she?” He asks, Katniss is apprehensive still. “First Prim. Then your mother. Your cousin, Gale. Madge,” he lists. “It was a trick, Katniss. A horrible one. But we’re the only ones who can be hurt by it. We're the ones in the Games. Not them.”

Finnick is coming back through the trees, a woven bowl in his hands. They hardly pay any attention to him. He hands you the water first, you take a few sips out of it, giving it back to him.

“You really believe that?” Katniss asks.

“I really do.” Peeta says.

Katniss looks at Finnick, who’s handing her the bowl of water. “Did you hear any of that, Finnick> Do you believe it?”

“It could be true. I don’t know.” His eyes land on you. “Could they do that, (Y/n)? Take someone’s regular voice and make it…”

“Yes, I completely forgot it was possible at first.” You let out a sigh. “It’s not even that difficult. Our children learn a similar technique in school.”

“Of course Peeta’s right. The whole country adores Katniss’s little sister. If they really killed her like this, they’d probably have an uprising on their hands.” Johanna says flatly. “Don’t want that, do they?” She throws her head back to shout, “Whole country in rebellion? Wouldn’t want anything like that!”

You look at Finnick, and then out at the beach. “We should move.”

“Good idea.” Peeta agrees, sweeping Katniss into his arms. 

Finnick grabs the bowl of water that was left behind, offering it to Johanna. She holds her hand out, “I’m going to pee.”

“No, don’t.” Katniss calls. “The birds—”

“They can’t hurt me. I’m not like the rest of you. There’s no one left I love,” Johanna says, walking away.

You and Finnick make your way to the beach to join Katniss and Peeta, who are now sitting in the sand. You find the wire sitting by a tree, reflecting the sunlight. Finnick places the bowl of water on top of it to keep sand from getting inside. He doesn’t stop to sit down, wandering to go be in the water.

You sit in the shade, knees against your chest as you stare at Finnick’s back. You knew he was going to keep you safe, but you didn’t realize that he was going to take every measure necessary. He pulled you away from the careers when you went to grab Beetee, took Enobaria’s knife in his thigh for you, and then dived in the water to grab the wire so you wouldn’t.

And now he’s keeping you close. 

“Who did they use against Finnick?” Peeta asks.

“No one.” Katniss murmurs. “It was (Y/n) and I.” She glances at you, “Her brother.”

Peeta looks over too, curious now. “I think I remember. (Y/n), there was a tragedy, wasn’t there?”

You nod, not speaking right away. You’re surprised he even remembers, your Games took place almost eight years ago. It wasn’t a very popular one because of how boring you’d been the entire time. The only notable event was the fire that took place, eating up the entire forest that you’d been using as your shelter. It’s how the Two girl was able to find you, because you had to adventure out and pick new spots to rotate between, places she’d frequented and knew like the back of her hand. 

What Peeta’s asking about isn’t about the arena and that fire. It was what happened a couple months later after you’d arrived home. You used to be bothered by people asking what happened exactly, but a few years ago, you realized that it was going to haunt you if you didn’t let it go.

You started out as a miracle, the first Three victor in a good number of years. When you didn’t follow the ideas that the people had around you, it sparked controversy. Where Beetee helped the Capitol with projects, you refused to even step foot on a train to go back if it wasn’t for mentoring. 

Your parents wanted you to pursue the Capitol, in hopes that it would make a better future for generations. You didn’t listen, so they decided they were going to stay in the childhood home. Your brother was supposed to, too, except he frequently slept over at your victor house, because it was bigger and warmer. 

One night, the home was set aflame. By the time you got the news, there was nothing left to salvage, whoever had done it did a thorough job. The peacekeepers investigated it for a couple months, but they stopped when they couldn’t find any more information.

It killed your parents, and your brother would be dead too, if he hadn’t stayed at your house that night, like he wasn’t supposed to.

“My childhood home burned down, killing my parents.” You tell them. “I only have my brother.”

Peeta nods, stroking Katniss’s hair. “I’m surprised they didn’t use Annie Cresta against Finnick.”

“Who?” Katniss asks.

“Annie Cresta. She was the girl Mags volunteered for. She won about five years ago.”

You raise your eyebrows, and then allow your face to relax. You don’t think about Annie much, she was one of those victors that got covered up quickly. Kinda like Johanna, except she refuses to let the light go out on her. The Capitol can’t either, because she’s the only female victor in Seven. She has to mentor tributes.

“I don’t remember those Games much.” Katniss says. “Was that the earthquake year?”

“Yeah. Annie’s the one who went mad when her district partner got beheaded. Ran off by herself and hid. But an earthquake broke a dam and most of the arena got flooded. She won because she was the best swimmer.”

“Did she get better after?” Katniss asks. “I mean, her mind?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember ever seeing her at the Games again. But she didn’t look too stable during reaping this year.” Peeta says.

“From what I heard, Finnick and Annie broke up two years ago.” You draw a figure eight in the sand. “She’s not doing well.”

That’s all hearsay, though. Information that you’d gathered over time while you mentored. Annie won, the following year, Finnick was still by himself mentoring. The year after, he was the happiest you’ve seen him in the Capitol. Then last year, he was back to who he was before.

Johanna comes out of the trees a few minutes later, arrows in hand. She drops them in a pile next to Katniss and Peeta, who murmur out a thanks. A cannon blasts, Finnick rises to come join the rest of you in watching the hovercraft. It appears over the six-to-seven zone, and dips down five different times to retrieve the pieces of one body. There’s no telling who it was.

Once again, Peeta gets a leaf to draw a new map, adding JJ for the jabberjays in the four-to-five area. He writes beast in the area the tribute was collected in pieces. With the map, you’re able to see where you sit on the clock face again.

Finnick makes a net for fishing, going out into the water to throw it. Katniss joins him to take a quick swim, and then sits at the edge of the water to clean the fish that Finnick catches. The sun sets fairly quickly in this time, the moon rising on the other side.

You’re all beginning to settle down to eat when the anthem begins, followed by the faces of the dead. Cashmere, Gloss, Beetee, Mags. The five of you sit in solemn silence, trying to be respectful for one another. The women from Five and Six, with Blight and the man from Ten pulling up the rear.

Another eight dead.

“They’re really burning through us.” Johanna says.

“Who’s left? Besides us five and District Two?” Finnick asks.

“Chaff.” Peeta says, not missing a beat.

You continue to draw in the sand, watching as a parachute comes down from behind the trees, teetering from side to side. “We’ve got a sponsor gift.”

Peeta gets to his feet, letting the parachute land in his palm. He sets it down in the middle with the rest of the food, pulling back the square of fabric, allowing you to see its bread.

That’s right.

There’s a pile of small square shaped rolls. “These are from your district, right, (Y/n)?”

“Yes, from District Three.” You lean forward. “How many are there?”

Finnick gets to counting them, being thorough by turning each one over in his hands before he sets them into a neat pile. “Twenty-four.”

“An even two dozen, then?” You ask.

“Twenty-four on the nose.” Finnick meets your eyes. “How should we divide them?”

“Let’s each have three, and whoever is still alive at breakfast can take a vote on the rest.” Johanna says, Katniss lets out a laugh. 

The five of you eat the food that’s presented in front of you, passing around the water bowl to whoever asks for it. They try to keep up conversation, but you’ve already sunk back into your mind. 

District Three means day three. Twenty-four rolls of bread means midnight. They want you to be at the lightning tree, don’t they? It’s perfect for the plan you went through this afternoon. Your idea to kill the careers will act as a cover for the real rebel plan that’s taking place.

When you’re done eating, the bread rolls are placed into a dry bowl to keep them safe. You retreat into the woods when the wave comes, wait for the water to recede, and then head to that part of the beach to make camp. If everything goes according to plan, there should be a full twelve hours before you have to move again.

There’s a chorus of clicking coming from the eleven-to-twelve wedge. You all agree to keep away from that area and the beach, in case the insects are waiting for misstep in that area.

Katniss and Peeta volunteer to take watch, because they’ve had the most sleep out of all of you. Johanna goes down without a fight, she’s only had an hour all day. Finnick finds a space between you and Johanna. You’re a little different, though. While they fall asleep almost instantly, you can’t find the same peace.

You get to your feet, this causes Peeta to sit up.

“Is there something wrong?” He asks.

“No, I’m just going to take a walk. I’ll stay in sight.” You tell him.

You pull off your shoes, dropping them where you’d been sitting. You then wander down the beach, even going a few steps into the water. When you’re sure that you’re far enough away from them, and they won’t be able to hear you, you stop.

A shaky breath escapes your lips as you lean over your knees. You breathe deeply in through your nose, trying to calm the aching feeling that’s growing in your throat. You sniff, closing your eyes, shaking your head.

Beetee was more than your mentor. He turned into your second parent after yours died. He made sure that you settled into your house, that you were sound enough to take care of your brother on your own. He even got Wiress to offer to volunteer for you, if you weren’t up for this. 

And now he’s gone.

You can’t help the tears that escape, placing a hand over your mouth as you sob into your fingers. You knew that there were going to be sacrifices made, he even warned you that there was a good possibility that you could die, too. You just never thought it would be him.

You get tired of standing, opting to sit in the water. It’s warm, not at all refreshing. You don’t care, you don’t want to go back over there. It’s clear Katniss and Peeta needed time by themselves. You don’t want to see the looks on their faces either, when they realize you’ve been crying.

You just hope Zero is being good for Wiress. The victors are all supposed to watch over him together, but she said that she’d keep a close eye. Zero told you he wouldn’t get into any trouble, it’s hard to believe him. He’s got the whole house to himself and no older sister to limit him. He has to have some idea of what kind of danger he’s in though, right?

A crack of lightning hits the tree, altering you that it’s now midnight, officially bringing you into the third day. You hear a shout coming from camp, and when you turn to look, you see that Finnick is sitting up in the sand. He looks to where your shoes are, and then his head whips in your direction.

You sigh, getting to your feet. Either you go back, or he’s going to come over here. You walk through the water most of the way, enjoying the way the water laps over your feet. When you get there, Katniss is just laying down, Finnick is taking her spot.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Finnick asks.

“I’m not tired.” You tell him, which is part of the truth. You did sleep most of the night last night, but if you were to lie down again, you’d be left to your thoughts. Same if you stayed away. “I’ll stay with Finnick, Peeta. Go ahead and be with Katniss.”

“Are you sure?” Peeta asks, he’s getting to his feet.

“Yeah.”

Katniss looks over her shoulder, watching as Peeta goes to join her. You sit where Peeta had been, which faces the jungle. You cross your legs, stabbing the knife Finnick gave you into the sand, and leaving it there.

Neither of you speak for a long while. Katniss and Peeta must fall asleep fairly quickly, wrapped around each other. You brush the sand from your legs once it’s dried.

“I’m sorry about Mags, I know how close you two were.” You murmur.

“Thank you, (Y/n).” He says. It’s quiet between you two for a moment. “You were wrong, you know.”

Your eyebrows twitch. You turn your head far enough to see the back of his shoulder. “About what?”

“Annie.”

You press your lips together, he must’ve heard you talking earlier to Katniss and Peeta. “I’m sorry, Finnick. I didn’t mean for it to be malicious.”

“We never dated.” He says. “She was my best friend before she went into the Games. Recently, we haven’t been as close.” He shakes his head, you can feel his hair brush the back of yours. “I was surprised they didn’t use her against me during the jabberjays, and then I realized that it must be because we’re not even friends anymore.”

“What happened between the two of you?” You ask, “If you want to talk about it.”

“It’s a short story.” He pauses. “She started getting better after her Games, so I started to visit her more. And when I thought that she could handle it, I asked her if she’d take over mentoring temporarily.”

You hum. “She wasn’t ready?”

“She called me selfish, we stopped speaking altogether.” He sighs. “I guess the Capitol has eyes everywhere.”

“Of course they do. You really thought they didn’t?” You laugh slightly.

“I had hope.” He chuckles, letting out a breath. “Did you work out the details to your plan, yet?”

“Yes, actually. And I think it’ll be a perfect addition to the plan.” You elbow him, as a way to nudge him into your line of process.

“Really? Let’s hear it.” He says.

“We should wait for the others.” You tell him.

“What, are you afraid that I’m going to claim the idea belongs to me?”

You laugh, “No, I guess I could tell you.” You clear your throat, “I was thinking, if we want to take out the careers, we should do it tomorrow night. The wire isn’t completely useless. See, the wave happens at ten, which makes the sand damp, and with the lightning at midnight, it could work as a conductor. We could electrocute the shit out of them when they come down to the beach, thinking it's safe.

“Or… for something else, if we find it.”

Finnick laughs, “That’s a great idea, (Y/n). This is with all the kinks worked out?”

“More or less.”

“I’m glad you’re here, I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

“You’d survive, figure it out on your own but a little slower.” You look down at the beach. “You don’t need me here.”

Finnick moves behind you, you look over your shoulder to see that he’s turned to face you. “That’s not true, you need to give yourself more credit.”

“Fine, you’d be lost without me.”

“I mean it, (Y/n). We need you here. You’re just as important.”

You give him a smile. “Thanks.”

—

As much as you wanted to be the one to keep Finnick company for the night, Johanna woke up a couple hours later and insisted that she swap with you. You didn’t feel tired, but laid down anyway. Sure enough, you went out like a light once your eyes were closed.

You didn’t sleep for long, the arena is unusually hot today. The sand is burning your sensitive skin, which you’ve opted to occasionally splash water onto in order to keep cool. It works, partially. The water is warm, but if you time it right, it’s perfectly paired with a breeze.

You kick water in Finnick’s direction, he looks up from his trident, giving you a challenging head tilt. A warning that if you continue, he’ll come over here and teach you a lesson. You give him an innocent look, and then go back to standing knee-deep in the water.

Katniss stirs on the beach, rolling over to squint at the sun angrily. She’s going to have to get in line if she wants to explode the damn thing. None of you are happy with the Gamemakers right now.

You turn to look at the jungle, and find another parachute coming down from the sky. “Sponsor gift.”

Peeta and Johanna look up from the leaf map that he made last night. Finnick gets to his feet, taking a few steps and catching the gift before it hits the sand. You get out of the water, joining them in what little shade is covering the beach. When he sets it down, you’re able to see that it’s more bread, twenty-four rolls, all coming from District Three again.

It’s divided so that everyone gets five, leaving eight left over. You eat in silence, listening to the waves eat up the sand, and then retreat again. You play with the end of the wire, twisting it into a spiral, before pulling it straight. You need to tell them about the plan you’ve made, it just has to be done at the right time.

Katniss gets up, grabbing Peeta’s hand, pulling him in the direction of the water, “Come on. I’ll teach you how to swim.”

He doesn’t fight her. The three of you watch as they go about waist-deep into the water, then she begins to teach him basic strokes. Finnick gets up to collect vines, strategically weaving them into a net. While Johanna refuses to take her eyes off of the teenagers for longer than ten seconds at a time.

She must be worried that they’re going to run off, but if that were the case, Katniss wouldn’t have left her bow here. The only thing they can do now is talk to one another, which is what they did last night, too. If they try to leave, they’re not going to make it very far. They’ll be hunted down within the hour.

Johanna yawns, “I’m going to nap, wake me if anything interesting happens.”

She scoots back so that her upper body is protected from the sun. She uses her arm as a pillow, and bends her other arm over her eyes to make it easier to sleep.

“You can sleep, too. You don’t have to sit with me.” Finnick says.

“I’m fine.” You shrug. 

Finnick works quickly, creating the net in a circular shape. He explains to you that if it’s bunched up, he can throw it a certain way and it’ll expand and cover more water. You stare at him for a few long seconds, wondering if he thinks you’re stupid or if it’s the other way around.

“You mean… a casting net?” You ask slowly.

Finnick blinks, “You know what a casting net is?”

“Finnick, I know what a lot of things are.” You breathe a laugh. “A casting net is one of them.”

He smiles, shaking his head. “Right.”

“Hey, Finnick, come on in! We figured out how to make you pretty again!” Katniss waves her hand.

He looks up from the sand, eyebrows drawing in. She’s talking about the scabs that they’re completely covered in, which was a result of the ointment they used because of the poisonous fog. Finnick gets to his feet, leaving the net next to you as he goes over to join them.

You watch as the three of them use handfuls of sand to rub off the scabs gently. They take turns helping each other get the ones on their back. When they’re done, they come out of the water to apply another round of the medicine because their skin isn’t taking well to the sun.

“I think it’s time we talk about the careers,” You tell them. “I doubt they’ll attack us openly again, now that they’re outnumbered. We could track them down, but it’s dangerous to pursue them.”

“Do you think they’ve figured out about the clock?” Katniss asks.

“If they haven’t, they’ll figure it out soon, just not as specifically as we have. They must know that at least some of the zones are wired for attacks and that they’re recurring. And the fact that our last fight was cut off by Gamemaker intervention will not pass over their heads, as much as we’d like to think it will.

“We know it was an attempt to disorient us, but they’re going to be asking why it happened, and that might lead them to the clock idea, as well.”

“Wait, let me get Johanna up.” FInnick says. “She’ll be rabid if she thinks she missed something this important.”

“Or not.” Katniss mutters, you tilt your head, agreeing with her. 

Still, he gets Johanna awake and up to speed. She crosses her arms, staring at you intensely. You squint at her briefly, before making Katniss and Peeta scoot back.

You draw a circle in the sand, dividing it into twelve wedges. “If you were Brutus and Enobaria, knowing what you do now about the jungle, where would you feel safest?” You ask, looking between them.

“Where we are now. On the beach.” Peeta says. “It’s the safest place.”

“So why aren’t they on the beach?” 

“Because we’re here.” Johanna sighs impatiently. “Is there a point to this?”

You ignore her. “Exactly, we’re here, claiming the beach. Now where would you go?”

No one speaks for a second, until Katniss does, “I’d hide just at the edge of the jungle. So I could escape if an attack came. And so I could spy on us.”

“Also to eat,” Finnicks ays. “The jungle’s full of strange creatures and plants. But by watching us, I’d know the seafood’s safe.”

You smile, “Of course, now that we’re all on the same page, here’s what I propose: a twelve o’clock strike. What happens at noon and at midnight?”

“The lightning bolt hits the tree.” Katniss says.

“Yes, so what I’m going to suggest is that after the bolt hits at noon, but before it hits at midnight, we run Beetee’s wire from that tree all the way down into the saltwater, which is, of course, highly conductive. When the bolt strikes, the electricity will travel down the wire and into not only the water but also the surrounding beach, which will still be damp from the wave at ten. Anyone in contact with those surfaces at that time will be electrocuted.”

Silence takes over as the words sink in, you let them think it over. You’ve had more time to work out the finer details of the plan between telling Finnick last night and this morning. You’ve found every issue, and carefully ironed it out. If it works the way you want it to, you’ll be all set for Haymitch’s plan.

The looks on their faces are giving you different ideas on what they want to say. Peeta starts first. “Will that wire really be able to conduct that much power, (Y/n)? It looks so fragile, like it would just burn up.”

“Oh, it will, but not until the current has passed through it. It will act something like a fuse. Except the electricity will travel along it.” You play with the wire.

“How do you know?” Johanna asks.

You take in a breath, “I have come to realize that Beetee invented it.” You look at her. “I’ve worked with wire, and this isn’t any wire, it’s the one he created. It’s not wire in the usual sense, just like how the lightning natural lighting or that tree a real tree. You know trees better than any of us, Johanna. It would be destroyed by now, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes.” She nods.

“There’s no need to worry about the wire. It’ll do its job.”

“And where will we be when this happens?” Finnick asks.

“Far enough up in the jungle to be safe.” You tell him.

“The careers will be safe, too, then, unless they’re in the vicinity of the water.” Katniss says.

“That’s right.” You agree.

“But all the seafood will be cooked.” Peeta objects.

“A lot more than cooked.” You laugh. “We will be eliminating that as a food source entirely this way, but Katniss found other edible things in the jungle, right?”

“Yes. Nuts and rats.” She says. “And we have sponsors.”

“I don’t see it as a problem, then.” You smile. “This isn’t something I can do on my own. I say we go for it, but it can’t get done without you four. The decision on whether or not we do it is up to you.”

Katniss looks between them. “Why not? If it fails, there’s no harm done. If it works, there’s a decent chance we’ll kill them. And even if we don’t and just kill the seafood, Brutus and Enobaria lose it as a food source, too.”

“I say we try it. Katniss is right.” Peeta nods.

Finnick looks at Johanna. They share a long look while she decides. “All right.” She finally says. “It’s better than hunting them down in the jungle, anyway. And I doubt they’ll figure out our plan, since we can barely understand it ourselves.”

Finnick then looks to you, “What’s next, (Y/n)?”

You smile. “I need to take a look at the tree.”

The five of you get to pack up your belongings, with Katniss telling you that she believes it has to be somewhere around nine in the morning. You have to leave the beach soon, anyway. When everyone is ready, you head to the beach that bordered the lightning section, and Johanna takes lead into the jungle.

Finnick follows after her, then you, and Peeta and Katniss take up the rear. It’s a straight shot up to the tree, there’s no need for directions. The further you travel, the harder it is to convince yourself it was a good idea to hike. You hated it during the first day, too, but you didn’t complain nearly as much as Beetee did. To be fair, though, he did have a nasty gash on his back.

You hum a short tune, which earns you a glare from Johanna. You pretend you don’t see it, because the silence is killing you. The birds aren’t nearly as vocal here, they were much louder in the blood rain wedge. Then again, after yesterday, you’re not sure if you want to see a bird for the next year.

When you begin to near the top, Finnick makes a suggestion that Katniss should take the lead.

“Why is that?” You ask, beating Johanna to the question.

“Katniss can hear the force field.” He says.

Your face twists, and so does your body as you go to take a look at Katniss. You and Beetee were the ones that showed her in the first place, in the gymnasium. You were sitting together at the fire station, fixated on how the Gamemakers decided they needed the protection. That’s when Katniss came along and enlightened you; she’d shot an arrow at them last year. 

However, the force field doesn’t have a noise to it. It didn’t in the gymnasium, and it didn’t when you got close to Blight’s body. What Finnick is saying right now isn’t possible, otherwise there’d be a constant hum in the arena depending on how close you were to the force field.

“Only with the ear the Captiol reconstructed.” Katniss tells you.

That’s bullshit, and she knows it too. Maybe this has something to do with Peeta running into the force field on the first day. She chose not to tell them what she knew, possibly afraid of what the Gamemakers would do with it.

“Interesting.” Is all you say, moving out of the way to let her pass.

The lightning tree is unmistakable. It towers high above the trees that surround it. Katniss takes a handful of nuts, slowly moving toward the top. You peer around her, and when you see a square ripple, you know that you have plenty of room to work with.

Katniss throws a nut, which hits the wall and sizzles. “Just stay below the lightning tree.”

With that, everyone divides up different jobs while you take a closer look at the tree. Finnick follows you, continuing his guarding duty. Johanna decides to tap a tree for water, while Peeta gathers nuts and Katniss wanders away briefly to hunt for the tree rats.

You stare at the tree, arms crossed over your chest as you think. Finnick stands beside you, trident in his hand, occasionally glancing at you to see if your face has changed. You can’t imagine how boring this must be to him, especially when he has no clue what you’re looking for.

You take the spool of wire, find it between your fingers to see how thick it is. With how tightly its wound, there’s got to be miles of the wire. You won’t have to worry about running out of it between wrapping it around the tree and bringing it back down to the beach.

Speaking of the tree, it doesn’t look right now that you’re standing in front of it. You knew that it wasn’t a real tree, but you thought the inside of it would be the artificial stuff, not the outside. You run your fingers over the bark, and find that it’s weirdly patterned.

When you look at the trees behind you, the appearance of those are completely different. It’s almost like the Gamemakers made half an effort at trying to hide that it’s not real. Or maybe, making the bark anything other than fake could increase the potential of setting the entire jungle on fire.

You wander around the tree, and Finnick follows for a while, but when he sees that you’re making rounds in circles, he steps back and watches you. You measure the tree, thinking about how much wire it’s going to take to make the plan actually work. The base is thicker than you thought it would be.

You stop at the sound of the wave, which causes the others to pause, too. A few minutes later, Katniss comes out of the trees, bearing three tree rats. She draws a line in the dirt to remind everyone how far away they must stay from the force field, and then proceeds to sit with Peeta to roast nuts and sear cubes of meat.

Johanna joins them after she’s had enough of making fun of you to Finnick, who seems less than interested by the names she’s calling you. You stop between the force field and the tree, looking at the malfunctioning square, then back at the bark. You wonder…

You break off a piece of the bark, which doesn’t come easily. Katniss tells you and Finnick that the food is ready when you are, so as you go over, you toss the bark against the force field. It bounces off, landing on the ground, glowing a bright orange color. It takes about a minute for it to return back to the original bark color.

“Huh,” You let out, “Well, that explains a lot.”

The bark and the force field are made of the same material. You should’ve guessed.

You take a seat next to Finnick, picking at the nuts and meat chunks. 

“I have a question.” Your attention turns to Katniss, Peeta and Finnick. “Regarding Peeta and the force field situation. What happened, exactly?”

“Peeta was clearing a way with his machete and he hit the force field.” Finnick tells you.

“With the machete?” You ask, “And what happened to the force field?”

Finnick shakes his head, and Peeta looks lost too. Katniss, however, sighs, “It disappeared, and then it came back.”

You hum. Whatever you do around the lightning tree must be with precaution from now on. You’re not an expert on the force field subject—Beetee would’ve known more—but weapons cannot come into contact with it. You think that’s where the problems will arise, since you were able to touch it with your hands.

The sound of clicking nearby causes the rest of you to glance in the direction. It’s eleven, only an hour left until twelve. The noise is far louder here than it was on the beach last night. You quiet to listen.

“It’s not mechanical.” You tell them after a minute.

“It has to be insects.” Katniss says. “Maybe beetles.”

“Something with pincers.” Finnick adds.

The sound increases, as if the insects are dying to get to you.

“We should get out of here, anyway.” Johanna says. “There’s less than an hour before the lightning starts.”

Katniss brings you to the next section over, which happens to be the blood rain area, stopping next to the identical tree here. With food being interrupted before, you resume here, finishing what’s left in the bowls. You wait until Katniss is done eating and the insects fade out, before you ask her to climb the tree to get a better look for you when the lightning strikes.

It shakes the ground, you and Johanna share a look. You might not like each other, but the uneasiness begins to stir in your stomach. The idea of being here, only an hour before the rain, makes you feel sick. You don’t want to be covered again, not if you can help it.

Katniss comes down from the tree a few minutes later. She goes on to tell you that the lightning takes the entire tree, which makes it glow a hot blue-white. The air up there was crackling with electricity.

“Perfect.” You murmur.

With that, you feel satisfied enough to go back down to the beach. The sand is damp, clear of any footprints until the five of you begin to step on it, leaving a clear trail wherever you walk. There’s nothing to do beyond this point but wait, you fiddle with the wire, wrapping it around a large stick to see how much it would take to make a dent, since it’s so thin.

Katniss, Peeta and Johanna lay down to sleep. Finnick watches you curiously, occasionally asking questions that you’re more than happy to answer for him. By the time the lightning has stopped and the rain has begun, you’ve decided that you’ll have to work quickly tonight, and might even need help.

You yawn, Finnick’s eyes snap to you. “Sleep.”

“Finnick.” You warn, “I’m fine.”

“We need you at your best. If anything happens, I’ll wake you.”

You sigh, not really wanting to argue with him. You make him promise to keep an eye on the wire, before joining the others in the shadows to nap. 

—

A hand roughly grabbing your bare calf jolts you awake. You sweep the knife out of the sand, swinging it to stab while you open your eyes to see who it is. Another hand grabs your wrist, and you’re met with Finnick’s cheeky face.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you like that.” Finnick lets go of you. “Johanna pushed me over.” Johanna’s standing behind him, her arms crossed, staring down at you. She laughs, and then turns away. “We’ve got more food, if you’re hungry.”

You shake your head, “No, but I’ll sit with you.”

The others are only a few feet away, shifted to let you sleep but also to chase the shade, since it’s growing slimmer. Finnick must’ve woven more bowls, because the amount has multiplied. Finnick reaches to help Katniss and Peeta clean out the seafood, while Johanna wanders around in the treeline to keep an eye out for the careers.

Peeta pops open an oyster, laughing. “Hey, look at this!” He holds up a glistening pearl. “You know, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls.” He says to Finnick.

“No, it doesn’t.” Finnick says, cleaning a fish. Katniss laughs, you give a smile.

Peeta rinses it off in a bowl that holds unopened oysters, handing it to Katniss. “For you.”

She lets him set it in her palm. “Thanks.”

Peeta’s smile fades. “The locket didn’t work, did it?” He asks, you avert your eyes. “Katniss?”

“It worked.” She says.

“But not in the way I wanted it to.”

Silence, as they shuck open shellfish and oysters. You watch as Finnick easily cuts away scales, making squares beneath, and shaking them free into a bowl. He works quickly, he must’ve been doing this whole life. He even feels comfortable enough to look away for several seconds, into your eyes.

“You’re going to cut your hand.” You tell him.

“I won’t.” He says, tossing the fish scrap into the trees. “Do you want to try?”

“No, I’d rather watch.”

He smirks, getting to work on another fish. In the time it takes them to finish what they’re doing, you’re a little hungry. Johanna’s just coming to sit down with you four, when she stops at the sight of another sponsor gift. She catches it, and when she sets it down, you’re able to see that it’s a red sauce for the seafood, and another pile of bread.

Finnick counts them, “Twenty-four again.”

So it’s settled, the plan is happening at midnight, tonight. 

With there being thirty-two rolls in total—eight being leftover from this morning—it’s divided so that everyone gets five again, leaving seven. You dip a chunk of fish into the red sauce, and the moment it touches your tongue, you close your eyes, letting out a hum.

“It’s good?” Finnick asks, reaching to do the same.

“It’s spicy.” You tell him. “So much better.”

It improves the flavor, making you hungrier. While they gorge themselves on everything in front of them, you take your time, not wanting to be so full that you feel like throwing up. You still have to hike up the hill, and it’ll be more difficult than this morning after a meal.

The red sauce is completely gone by the time they’re done, and there’s still food left over. They make sure that you’re full, and then they toss the leftovers into the sea because it won’t be good in a couple of hours. And no one wants to give the careers an opportunity to eat.

Katniss and Peeta go to sit on the edge of the water. Johanna goes back to patrolling, and you and Finnick sit and do nothing. That is, until he gets up to talk to Johanna away from you. You pull your knees to your chest, leaning forward into them, staring absently into the jungle.

The anthem plays a couple of hours later, but there are no faces in the sky tonight. The only people left in the arena are your group, the careers, and your missing member of the bigger alliance. There will be no more deaths until the careers.

When Finnick and Katniss believe nine o’clock has rolled around, you leave the shell infested camp to go to the twelve wedge. No one speaks as the hike begins, but it’s clear in the first ten minutes that they’ve eaten too much, because they’re walking at a slower pace. Miraculously, you feel just fine.

At the tree, Finnick takes point being your help, while the other three stand guard nearby. You pick up a branch, wrapping it in wire, and then make Finnick stand on the other side of the tree, as you pass it back and forth. You’re not sure if he notices, but you have him help you do it in a pattern, slowly drifting downward, and then back up, and then down again, covering as much of the bark as you can.

Your fingers brush his each time you hand it off, and you have to hold your breath to kill the butterflies that swarm.

You’re done with the wire around the time the wave begins. You gather together, holding the wire out for Johanna. You take your time explaining to them that this part is crucial. They need to carefully unwind the wire as they go down through the jungle, lay it across the beach, and throw it as deep into the water as they possibly can.

“Johanna and Katniss should take it, because they’ll be quicker. I’ll stay up here to make sure nothing goes wrong on our end.”

“I want to go with them as a guard.” Peeta says, shaking his head.

“You’re too slow.” You tell him flatly. “We can all see it. Besides, I’ll need you on this end. Katniss will guard.” You look at Katniss. “There’s no time to debate this. I’m sorry. If they want to get out of there alive, they need to move now.”

“It’s okay.” Katniss says. “We’ll just drop the coil and come straight back up.”

“In the one-to-two sector, not in the lightning zone.” You tell her. “If you’re running out of time, move over one more. Don’t even think about going back on the beach, until I can take a look at it.”

Katniss cups Peeta’s face. “Don’t worry. I’ll see you at midnight.” She kisses him, turning to Johanna. “Ready?”

“Why not?” Johanna shrugs. “You guard, I’ll unwind. We can trade off later.”

The two of them begin to go down the slope, you barely look at Peeta, eyes landing on Finnick. He spins the trident in his hand, and then he moves away to watch the jungle. You cross your arms, standing close to the wire, watching as it goes rigid from them pulling it on the way down.

You pace, taking measured breaths to calm the anxiousness rising. It’s not the wire you’re worried about, it’s the rescue plan. You have less than two hours to pull this off and get lifted out of the arena. Hopefully you’ll be all together by then, making it an easy rescue.

You just hope they already have your brother somewhere safe. If you get out of here, and they don’t have Zero, you’re not sure if the rebels will bother keeping you around. You won’t help. You swear you don’t lift a finger to help them. It’s what you did after your Games, it’s what you’ll do now if they go back on their promise.

It’s almost twenty minutes later, right when the clicking has begun, the wire snaps, you turn to look at where the sound had come from. You watch as it bunches and curls, stopping at the tops of your shoes.

“Finnick.” You say, but he’s trying to make a swipe at Peeta.

He’s gone, running down the slope, leaving you and Finnick to stand there, dumbfounded. It has to be the careers, they’re not on the beach. They’ve been stalking you the entire time. And now that you’re split, it’s the perfect time to attack.

“Stay here.” Finnick orders, running after Peeta. “Stay!”

He disappears into the jungle, leaving you by the tree. A part of you wonders if you should go running after him, because he’s supposed to be guarding you. You know better than to move, your feet firmly planted in the grass and dirt. The careers won’t come here, they’re too busy.

Your hand reaches to grab onto the tree, needing something to lean onto, because the ache in your feet is beginning to become unbearable. Finnick told you to stay here, so that’s what you do. You won’t move a muscle, if it means that you make it out of this jungle tonight.

You don’t know how much time passes before a cannon goes, fifteen minutes, maybe? You hold your breath, waiting, straining to hear if there’s any yelling happening out there. Finnick calling for Katniss and Johanna, Peeta calling for Katniss, anything.

It’s too quiet.

Your eyes slide to see the stick that you’d set aside earlier, as well as yards of the wire that you’d unraveled to have on standby in the case of an emergency. If your plan didn’t work. While it was supposed to electrify and kill the careers, there was a good chance that it’d short-circuit the force field, too.

Now, with the wire here and nowhere near the water, you need another way to fry the field. No one is going to make it out of this arena alive if you don’t fix this. 

A new idea creeps into your mind, whispering in your ear, telling you that a sacrifice has to be made. Your eyes go from the stick, to the malfunctioned square on the force field that you’d spotted earlier, finding that it is, still, very much there. If you can’t do it through water, you can surely do it with the tree and the force field, you just need something to act in between…

The knife.

You move for the first time in thirty minutes, falling to your knees as you dig through the grass to find the knife that Finnick gave you in the Cornucopia. You find it only a few feet away, pulling it into your hands. You then remove the wire from the stick, wrapping it around the blade, instead.

You look at the force field, taking deep breaths to calm the beating in your chest. This could go two ways. The first way is that you drive this knife into the square, your fingers lock around the handle of the knife, and you die. Or, you get electrocuted, and by some miracle you walk out of this alive. 

That’s all you want. To get out of here, and have a chance at seeing your brother again. He can’t live in this world without you, he won’t do it. He’ll have no one if you die. But, if this means that he won’t have to live in fear of the Hunger Games, then you’ll do it.

You’ll do it a thousand times.

You get to your feet, gripping and fixing the knife in your hand. You approach the force field, swinging your arm back, aiming for the square. And the second it connects, there’s a loud zapping sound, and then you’re airborne.

—

You breathe in deeply through your nose, as if you haven’t in the past ten minutes. A tight and sharp pain hits the center of your chest, stopping you in the middle. Your eyes open, staring at the bright, silvery light overhead as you try to carefully let the air out.

Your eyebrows draw in, turning your head to the side, blinking away the blurry vision. There’s several beds to your right, and on one of them, it looks like Katniss Everdeen is hooked up to machines, tubes in her arms. They did it, they got you out. Where’s everyone else?

You can’t help the groan you let out as you sit up, wincing. You place a hand over your lower stomach, and you’re able to see that your skin is covered in soot and blood. You rub it away the bed you can, swinging your legs off the bed to get on your feet.

If it were the Capitol that got you out, they would’ve sedated you, and ensured that you wouldn’t wake up during the ride. This is the work of Haymitch, letting you wake up on your own to go to them. 

You drag your feet through the room, leaving Katniss as you pass through a doorway, entering a narrow hallway. With your free hand, you reach to hold onto the wall as you go. Your forearm is bandaged, they must’ve gotten the tracker out. It seems as if their stitching could use work, because there’s blood seeping through, more than there should be.

You don’t care.

The metal door at the end of the hall is open a quarter of the way. You push it open, and on the other side, you can see Haymitch, Finnick, and the Head Gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee.

Haymitch looks up first, letting out a noise, prompting the other two to look. “Back from the dead.”

“(Y/n).” Finnick breathes. He’s dressed in a grey robe, the same that you are. He shuffles around the table, opening his arms.

You let him hug you, pulling you into his body tightly. You squeeze your eyes, the pain being more than you were prepared for, but you laugh, hugging him back.

“It was a smart idea, trying the knife on the force field.” Plutarch tells you. “It’s what sparked Katniss to do the same. It caused some chaos, we weren’t able to get everyone out, but we didn’t expect to, anyway.”

You pull away from the hug, “Who did we leave?”

“Johanna and Peeta.” Haymitch says.

Your eyebrows twitch, “Who was the cannon?”

“Chaff,” Finnick says. “I don’t think you were awake when the other cannon went off. Peeta killed Brutus.”

“What about Enobaria?”

“Taken by the Capitol, as well.” Plutarch says.

“Oh.” You breathe, “Is there somewhere I can sit?” Finnick leads you to a chair, your whole body aches when you go to sit down. When the motion is done, the relief is immediate. “So, where to now?” 

“District Thirteen.”

[thepaintpirate]

Because I'm crap at technology, I have actually lost a request that someone asked of me and now I can't reply to it directly so if it was you I'm so so sorry. I do remember the premise though and I'll try to do it my best!

Chained - ASL & F!Celestial Dragon!Reader

Summary: basically what I remember them asking was ASL and a celestial dragon who is learning about the world, who eventually decides she doesn't want to go home. This was described as like a Pink Diamond/Rose Quarts type situation like in SU. I've decided to make this child ASL, then a little time skip! Thought the idea was adorable! TW for mentions of slavery, child abuse, abuse and foul language.

You don't remember exactly how you managed to leave the ship, or how you got into that empty crate, or how that crate ended up heading in a direction away from the shore and into the sea or-

Well never mind that or the numerous "or"s you could list. You were lost, probably many miles and islands away from the original place your parents had decided to tour. Why they thought leaving the Grand Line, or the Red Line for that matter, to walk around a little city with their heads up high was a good idea was a mystery. But it helped you because it gave you an opportunity to go on a little adventure, just like the books you read talked about!

When you were at home you weren't allowed to read because "reading is a peasants hobby". Little did they know that your grandmother, now passed, had a secret library stacked with books from across the world in her home. Boredom had you seeking trouble one day, causing you to fall right into the library from a hatch in the floor. It hurt, but it was worth it to see rows and rows of shelves lined with hardbacks as old as your parents. Some were newer however, like the Sora comic books that you found. Why your grandmother thought it was nice to keep them was a little strange, even if you didn't know her well she seemed like the uptight sort. Yet nowadays you wondered what she was truly like if she managed to read and dog tag some of the most fascinating books you'd picked up.

Currently, a few days after the events that lead to you escaping, you had landed on the steep shores of an island covered in jungle. With your small, and slowly depleting, supply of snacks you climbed out of the box and began to scale some rocks. In your current attire, the suit you were forced into, it was a lot more difficult than it should have been. Luckily the bubble they usually had you wear was popped with your very dramatic exit through the cabin window.

Reaching solid ground, and grass, you discovered you were met with very dense forest like you'd assumed. With the naive courage of a lion cub, you began to walk into the brush and disappear. As you continued, looking all around at the new sights, you wondered how your parents were doing. Had they noticed you were gone yet? Your father was a busy busy man and often too proud to visit you so he probably had another day or two until he realised you were gone. Your mother was a different story, she'd probably stormed in to have you go on a walk with her through town and saw you missing.

After another hour or so of prodding snakes and narrowly dodging some monkeys on vines, you heard a change in the surrounding sound. Three sharp, childish voices up ahead. It excited you, you'd never met anyone your age who wasn't already from your homeland. Would they look the same? Would they be kind? It seems they'd sensed you before you could stick your head out, as the boy in orange yelled angrily into the bushes.

"Reveal yourself or get lost!" He shouted, making you jump a little. Was everyone out here as aggressive as him?

He hadn't seen you yet but it looked like the blonde he was with finally caught a glimpse of you. "I'm sorry about him, he's just loud don't worry. Could you step into the light?"

You obliged him, looking at the pair in wonder. They were much different from anyone else, definitely not like anyone had warned you. Your uncle said common people had horns and tails that they could control like arms to snatch people, your aunt said they had blue skin and gills like fish with the faces of demons. But these two boys were just like you. With soft looking skin, small noses, full heads of hair and only one pair of eyes. You had yet to spy any horns or tails, but you knew that your aunt was definitely wrong.

The brunette looked unimpressed by you, looking you up and down like how your father looked at people. If the books were right, this was judgement. But the blonde however, looked like he had just choked on a fly. "What the hell is one of them doing out here-"

"Hi I'm Luffy! This is Ace and Sabo. Now that you know us, why're you wearing that ugly potato sack?" The crouched one asked. You'd not noticed him, you definitely should have become his eyes looked like dinner plates and his mouth was stretched like a boa constrictor.

"Luffy don't tell her our names she could be an enemy!" Ace yelled, hitting his brother. You didn't like hitting, it reminded you of your father and that servant you saw once. That back then was much messier than it was now.

"No, Ace's right. That is an enemy" Sabo was pale, like he wanted nothing more than to lunge away or at you. "That's one of those bubble heads I told you about".

You were confused as they entered some private, quiet conversation. Even the loud one was calm. When they concluded, the first brunette looked vicious. He leaned down, picking up a rock and hurling it at a tree near your head. Obviously you flinched away, looking back at him with both confusion and fear. Why were they acting like this?

The blonde copied him, pelting you with pebbles until you were forced to run away. It was only the wide eyed boy that didn't copy, looking at his brothers in anger and yelling something you couldn't hear. It was too bad, you left into the shade of the trees.

You slept in a cave that night, thinking about those boys until morning. It kept you awake. Why didn't they even try to talk to you? What exactly caused that reaction?

Breakfast consisted on a loaf of bread in a tree, with heavy and tired eyes you watched the shrubs below. That was until someone sat next to you with a heavy thud. You turned and saw him, the scar faced one from before. "Hi strange girl!"

"Uh, hi strange boy?" You replied, not knowing what to call him.

He tilted his head and looked offended. "I'm not strange, you are!"

"What, no I'm not! You're the one throwing rocks at me!" You defended, and though it wasn't necessarily true it was just stating the groups odd behaviour.

"Nuh uh, Sabo says you're weird because you keep people and they don't want to be with you and you wear bubbles and shoot people!" He said, crossing his arms.

But you didn't react this time, once again remembering that scene from so long ago. The guns your family had on display, the rooms you weren't allowed to enter that always echoed with suffering. One time, when you were very young, you stood just a little close to one of the padlocked doors and cast a shadow under it. Whatever was behind it lunged at the wood on the other side, cursing and screaming profanities at you. From then on you didn't go near any unknown doors.

You're people weren't good people, you knew that and you didn't know how it made you feel, but now that he'd said it out loud... You could only think, what else did your people do? To the people back home, and to the people of the world. You were stuck behind one-way glass, they could see you but you couldn't see them and it frustrated you. What else was there that was missing?

"You know, I get the feeling that you're not so bad" Luffy hummed, picking a leaf from your hair. You gave him a look but he only ever smiled at you. "I don't think you shoot people, or take them. Do you?"

"No. I- I don't understand. I need to know more about myself, my people, from you because they won't show me or tell me. I don't get it! How are you supposed to be human?" You were struggling with the thoughts in your head that swelled up into tears. Tears were the only thing that ever got you a reaction so it was all you could do. It was like you knew what you wanted to ask but your mouth couldn't say it right. You needed to know more, shatter the glass that kept you apart.

Luffy stuck a finger out and flicked you, making you stop crying momentarily. "I don't know what you have to do to be human, I just do stuff. But I can teach you what I know if you want?".

All you could do was say yes.

For the first week, it was just you and Luffy in the jungle. He told you that the first step to being human was to stop dressing like a bag of flour, telling you to discard your old attire and wear some old clothes he'd managed to snag. It was only a simple pair of boys shorts and a tank top, green and grey.

It was during a fishing trip (attempt) that Luffy showed you his devil fruit abilities, to which you nearly fainted. Devils fruits, Ds and pirates were the three main things all nobles were taught to fear. It didn't help that Luffy revealed he was, in fact, all three or was going to try to be at least for the last one. But his stories, personality and overall sunny nature reassured you. You began to learn not to judge a book by it's cover.

The second week, Sabo and Ace finally revealed themselves again and admitted to having watched you both from afar. The blonde admitted that he also hadn't trusted you with Luffy, and while he thought better now he would still not drop his guard. After learning so much in only seven days, you didn't blame him. Though they didn't like to interact with you, both boys started to tag along or stay close by.

By your third week, you received news about your absence in the form of a newspaper. "World noble child missing: reward being offered for return"

Ace was ready to jump and turn you in, but in a surprise twist Sabo had defended you. It might've helped that you two had a separate talk one night and he confessed to having been noble too, of course not one with your status but it was all the same. He listened to you tell him about your ignorance and Luffy's training, deciding he was alright with you hanging around as long as no one got hurt. You learned that sometimes you can relate to people in the strangest of ways.

After an entire month, Ace finally started to talk to you. Though it was mostly mockery at your poor, but quickly developing, hunting skills you still felt some friendly teasing in his voice. With the danger of being caught, you came up with a plan and finally sat the brothers down to decide what you wanted to do.

In the light of the bonfire your hair glowed like red embers, a serious expression on your face. "I'm going to stay".

Luffy cheered, Ace and Sabo looked unsure. "The longer you stay, the wider the search for you becomes. They'll find you eventually if this keeps up" Sabo warned. He liked your company, but he couldn't risk his brothers for a girl he'd known for a month.

"He's right, you'd need to die for them to stop searching" Ace added morbidly.

"Exactly. I've decided I'm going to die".

The gang let out a collective "huh?" All three looked at you as if you were mad.

You shook your head, pulling out your old clothes from behind you. There was dirt caked into it, a few drops of blood from the rocks and running but other than that it was intact. You needed to change that. "I'm going to set this out as bait, when they find it they'll stop the search".

Sabo looked a little confused. "Why would they stop if they found your clothes, surely they'd just look harder?"

From the corner of your vision you fiddled with a knife you'd been given. It was clear, safe if you cut right. Raising it before they couldn't react, you cut the palm of your hand and let the blood splatter across your old suit. Red soaked into it like a murder scene, hearing the boys let out small yelps.

Luffy ran to you, worried while Sabo screamed something about getting bandages. Ace tsk'ed at you, but he did look slightly shocked. "Smart move, but stupid too. You've gone and messed up your hand now!"

While the night closed you fell asleep watching the stars, those three boys surrounding you equally exhausted. A glint of white crossed the sky as you pet Luffy's hair, he was fast asleep as soon as he'd layed down.

In the morning, all three of you returned to the cliffs where you had come from and stared out into the blue ocean. Wrapped up, torn and stained garment in hand, you tossed it out to sea and watched it drift away into the distance. It was like you were saying goodbye to yourself, except now you weren't sure that was ever really you. You can't remember having as much fun or anger or sadness then, just nothing at all. Being human was being emotional too, and that's what you felt.

In the afternoon Ace cut your hair with a knife in front of a mirror and you stared at yourself. You. For once in your life you controlled how you looked, who you were with and the place you were in. That celestial girl was dead, and from her shining shell crawled out an entirely different person.

The same day you swore an oath to never go back, never be one of them and to join your newfound friends in their profession as pirates.

Everything you feared once was what you'd become, because you realised it was never your fear at all.

I'm sorry please forgive how rushed this was, I hardly had creativity writing it so it's very confusing but I hope you enjoy it.

[jinlizz-dragondrama]

Chapter 2

A Hero is Born

18 years later

The sun shines through the purple curtains, groaning. I turn over and smother my face into my pillow, smiling to myself and slowly falling back to sleep. The peace and tranquility were disturbed by a loud alarm ringing in my ear. Lazily grabbing the phone, I look at it, and its bright bold rainbow-colored words it ready. "Birthday Time."

"Wait, what?" My eyes shoot open, and just in case I look over at my calendar and see a very boldly circled birthday date.

Quickly hopping into the shower, and jumping out to brush my teeth, I slide into my room with my wet feet, finding my clothes that I neatly pulled out last night for this occasion which include my signature pink crop top hoodie and purple workout pants, tying on my white sneakers. I brush my unruly curly hair, taming it as best as I can, I grab a little accessory, which is a small backpack purse with the Monkey King logo on it that I stitched

"Oh yeah, looking good," admiring myself in the mirror snapping a quick selfie and sending it to Mei.

Running out of my apartment door and sliding down the stairs railing, I run into a chaotic scene of Pigsy throwing a wooden spoon at MK for giving my dad free noodles. I found out pretty early on that Tang isn't my dad but that he loves me no matter what. MK and I were pretty much raised by both Pigsy and Tang. Once Mei joined, we became the three amigos. I moved into the spare apartment above Pigsy's restaurant since Tang's place was pretty small, and the rest is pretty much history.

"Ugh, Tang, not again. You're gonna get MK in trouble," I sigh as I stretch, I promised Pigsy that I'd do a quick shift with MK to get a little extra birthday money. Pigsy insisted that I didn't have to, but he gave up when I gave him my puppy dog eyes.

Grabbing MK and dragging him out the door with a handful of orders. Jumping into the tuk-tuk, MK starts the directions, and we're off. Each time he makes a stop we go in opposite directions to deliver, which makes it faster and a lot more fun as we time each other to see who delivers the fastest and gets back to the tuk-tuk.

We get to a stop at a construction site, and we go down several floors til we are at the ground level deep underground. I hear a woman's voice, which causes me to stop in my tracks, and MK bumps into me. Quickly grabbing MK we hide behind some rocks and look on there is a woman and young man staring pretty menacingly at a tree with beautiful orange leaves, surrounded by green grass and a staff of some sort impeded into the earth.

"Finally, after all this time, we have the means to lift Monkey King's legendary staff," the woman says

"Monkie King's Staff," we both say, shocked and look at each other in awe

A flashback goes through my head of Monkey King smiling at me while holding it, but as quickly as it came, it disappeared. I shake my head to clear my head, and when I've regained myself, I see MK climbing onto the ceiling and holding onto the pipes above. I freak out quietly to myself. He hangs from a pipe and prays that he doesn't fall. A bull-looking robot walks to the staff and tries to pull it out with no success, and its reward for attempting is losing its arms.

The man with flaming red hair mocks the poor robot and reveals that he has something more powerful to release the staff from its grassy prison. The man I now know called Red Son walks up to the staff and once he makes contact with it a great amount of energy is released pushing me back a bit but I hold firmly to the rock wall I'm hiding behind. It takes the man great effort to release the staff, his hair and eyes explode into flames, and screams out as he pulls. The woman watches on in delight, the vine that wrapped around the staff dies, and soon the staff is pulled from the ground.

But nothing happens, I look up at MK holding on for dear life as he looks down at the unknown people. 

"Mother, are you sure this is the right mountain?" Red Son asks

"No, maybe it was the other mountain with a magical staff sealing away my husband!" She says, annoyed

"Mother? Husband? Then that means..."

The ground starts to rumble and shake, and out from the earth emerges the Demon Bull King. My jaw drops so low that it is probably dislocated.

"Holy Bull..." I start to sweat profusely, and I look up to see a very cheeky bird peck at MK's hands. I move from side to side to try to catch him as he falls, but I miss entirely, and he lands on the daddy/mommy issues man.

"MK!" I stupidly yell, alarming the demon bulk king family of my presence.

"Do you know what you just did? You ruined my moment, " Red Son yells as his hair turns to flames as he throws MK

"Oh boy...." I awkwardly say

"Little eavesdroppers have fallen into our midst it seems a waste to crush something so insignificant as my first act as ruler of this new world. But so be it, " DBK says as he moves his large foot over us with the thought of crushing us like bugs. Thankfully, Red Boy decided to interrupt his father's squashing path.

"Uh, wait...father, waste not your energy on these PEASANTS. Please allow me to show you how powerful I have become in your absence, " He says triumphantly

"Peasants?" I repeat as my eye twitches

"Uh, Nuwa...." MK says while walking over to me

"Peasants!" I repeat as I roll my sleeves up and start marching towards him, but MK holds me back.

"Let me go, MK. I'll show him who the peasant is. He's got the right one on the right day today!" I shout, trying my hardest to reach the red-headed jerk.

"As you wish," DBK says

MK starts to pull me away and try to escape. We see the staff, and both grab it together and use it to block Red Son's punch successfully.

"No way!" We look at each other in awe, but the moment is short-lived when the Bull Bots start to attack us. But with a mighty swing, we send them flying back.

"That stuff doesn't belong to you, children. Hand it over, " PIF says

"Yeah, well, it doesn't belong to you, either." I challenged

The staff started to move, and it catapults us towards to exit. We get thrown into a construction elevator, and the staff punctures through the bottom of it and shoots us up to the surface. When we reach the top, we scramble to get into the tuk-tuk and speed off. Red Son is following closely behind.

"Hand it over, Noodle boy...and accomplice," he shouts

We throw noodles at him and crash through a poor soul's apartment. Crashing into the street, the tuk-tuk breaks down, so we take off on foot. I'm hoping to take a hoverboard we take from a kid while I toss some money at the guy. Red Son is on our tail, but we lose him in a tight alleyway, but that doesn't stop him for long as he deploys a motorcycle.

We zoom down the freeway, and Red Son catches up to us and destroys the hoverboard. We head toward an unfinished part of the freeway, and we scream as we fall off. Thankfully, Mei comes to the rescue, grabs MK, and tosses me my compact motorcycle I deploy into riding mode, we zoom past Red Son, and I stick my tongue out as we continue our escape.

"So long, Red Boy," I shout, taunting him

Once we finally stop and recover from our adrenaline high. Mei and I take a quick selfie after she transforms from her riding outfit.

"Nailed it," Mei says

"Mei!" MK says excitedly

"That was an intense game of tag. You guys looked like you were having so much fun! I wanted to join in, too!" Mei says giddy

"Actually, we almost died back there," MK says

"But you didn't, so let's celebrate with a round of Monkey Mech! You should invite your new edgy friend too" Mei counters

"Yeah, he was trying to kill us," MK says hesitantly

"Well, in that case, where does he live?" Mei says, going slightly psycho as she pulls out her phone with a destroy button on the ready

"Love the enthusiasm girl, but none of that on my birthday, please," I say while slowly pushing her phone down

"Oh yeah, Happy 23rd Birthday! Here's your present, but you can't open it yet," Mei says while handing me a box.

"Aw man," I say while pouting

Pigsy comes out and starts yelling at us about someone leaving a 0-star review. But MK grabs me and pulls me into the restaurant to look for Tang. After we explained what happened, we showed everyone the staff, which they didn't believe at first until we both touched it, and it extended itself and broke a table.

"Monkey King's Staff! I knew it all along. The legendary weapon that only he could wield to seal away evil. Wait a minute. WHT do you two have it? Tang says after realizing we have the real deal.

"All right, I'll bite. If the staff is here, then where is the demon punk now?" Pigsy says, still not believing us

"He's at the shoe store," Mei says

And sure enough, there are posts all over social media with DBK at a shoe store. We watch a video of them flexing to the camera while wearing the very expensive and limited edition shoes. Soon, DBK is rampaging through the city, destroying everything in his path. But we are driving in the Pigsy Food Truck trying to figure out how we're gonna get to Flower Fruit Mountain, and we come across a huge boat. We meet the infamous Sandy, who turns out to be a total teddy bear that loves tea.

I laugh my head off after hearing all the stories of how ruthless Sandy was but not being able to see it. But our puppy eyes work pretty effectively to persuade him to sail us to the mountain. We set sail and we just hung out on the deck while MK fooled around with the staff we stopped at a lava-filled volcanic path but our path was blocked by PIF, MK went in for the attack but PIF used her son's gauntlet she grabbed the staff as I run to try to help him. But she flings him away and he knocks himself into me and we get thrown far off course. Pigsy rushes with Mei back to safety. When they return everyone mourns our loss and thinks of a plan to get revenge on the DBK family.

I wake up feeling sand under my body, I groan as I sit up turning around to see Flower Fruit Mountain. Gasping loudly I shake MK to wake him up.

"Wake up, wake up MK!" I shout successfully waking him up.

"We made it, pinch me," MK says excitedly, i punch Jim in the shoulder

"I said pinch not punch," He says annoyed

"Eh minor details, let's go MK!" I shout while taking off into the brush and he follows after me.

As we made our way up the mountain I saw little monkeys along the way and couldn't resist I had to give them cuddles and neck scratches. We reach a beautiful waterfall, stepping close to it both of us reaching out to touch it a golden seal unlocks and reveals a pathway through a cave.

"This day just gets better and better!" We walk through and follow the pathway

Stopping at a very worn-down mural, we stare at it and all of a sudden everything turns golden and flashes of Monkey King's life. A projection of money king runs towards another opening in the cave which MK follows. I start to follow him but something catches my eye on the mural, I dust off some dirt and see a woman that has horns and her skin is red. Hearing MK call out for Monkey King I rush to see what's going on.

I see a small cozy hut on a hill, looking around for any sign of the Monkey King but to no avail. I put my hand on his shoulder and sighed. Sitting on the ground together a butterfly lands on MK and I look at its interesting wing design but before I can fully process the design it speaks.

"Sup?"

We freak out slightly and I point at it with my finger quivering.

"T-That butterfly just spoke!"

"Yes, yes it is I Monkey...." The butterfly starts to talk but MK steps on it.

"Is it dead?" We both say while I peek over MK's shoulder.

The butterfly transforms into several creatures until it is revealed that it is THE MONKEY KING.

"Mo-Monkey King?" MK asks and I pass out.

"The one and only, so where's my staff?" monkey King asks and I quickly recover as we start crying about how we lost the staff. We find out that he's been keeping a very very close eye on us. Which makes my rye twitch just a bit.

He chuckles and says "Ha! The looks on your guy's face! You're perfect" he points at MK with a bamboo stick

"Uh perfect for what?" MK asks

"To be...my successor," Monkey King says

"Eh?" I look at MK then back at Monkey King

"Look kid not everyone can fight demons, survive, and lift my staff," He says nonchalantly

"Yeah barely survived" I whisper to myself as I scratch the back of my head awkwardly.

While MK and Monkey King gave a pep talk, I looked around, leaned against some vines, and fell through rolling down a hill I hit something that stopped my descent.

"Well, that was fun," I say while dusting myself off. Looking at what I rolled onto it was a small shrine of sorts that was very well taken care of. Some candles and incense were burning, and a folded worn piece of paper was placed in the center of it. Vines and flowers have grown around it which gives it a beautiful ambiance. Being the nosey person I am I opened it up and it was a painting of the same beautiful woman.

"Wow! Who is this person?"

"Nuwa, come on let's go save the world!" MK shouts

I jump a bit, quickly putting back the picture and rushing out of the cave with MK.

"All right now how do we get out of here?" I say while looking at the volcano that surrounds the island.

Some monkeys are jumping on a metal crate which causes it to open and reveal some sort of flying motorbike. We hop in MK starts up the engine and we're off.

"You better not let me die on my birthday MK!" I shout

We barrel straight into the city and crash into Red Son. Falling out onto the ground and wiping the sweat off my forehead I look at the limp body of Red Son and poke him with my foot.

"Oh good, he's not dead," I say sarcastically

Mk took off on a motorbike to fight DBK and was able to retrieve the staff. I summon my bike and drive to MK to help.

"Let's do this together!" I smile at him

"Right" He smiles back

He creates a Monkey Mech and I turn my bike into a small version of my own. We nod at each other and come at DBK from both sides. I dig underground get some momentum from my thrusters and shoot upwards and MK flies down from the heavens with his staff pointed towards DBK.

We shout together, "Here comes Monkie Kid!" And we punch DBK leaving a big dent in the ground

Red Son appears from the rubble next to me and I look at him surprised that he's able to stand. But after having a little tantrum he limply falls into the hole we created and passes out once more. Before we can do anything PIF takes her family and retreats for now.

I transform my Mech back into my bike and sit on it. High-five everyone and head back to Pigsy's noodle shop.

"Well, this was an interesting birthday!" I say while stuffing my face with a steaming bowl of noodles.

"Definitely one for the books" Mei replies while typing on her phone.

We party all night, MK, Mei and I go to the arcade and I beat some serious butt. Once we're done and exhausted MK carries all my prizes to my apartment which is right above his. Deciding to have a sleepover Mei and I get ready and hop into our PJs. I pop some popcorn, grab some snacks and pop, and get the movies ready for a marathon. Mei grabs the blankets and pillows for our fort. I set up the food on a table, MK returns to my apartment in his pjs, we fist bump and I start the movie. While the previews play I decide to put my hair in a ponytail so I go looking for a hair tie in my room. While putting my hair up there is a knock on my French door window, I push it open and see no one but there is a small wrapped box on the porch. I take it, close the door, and start to open it. A small silver comb is in the box, I gently take it out and examine it. It was beautifully made Definitely by someone very skilled.

There is a note inside and it simply read "Happy Birthday from Monkey King"

"No way, he didn't have to get me something" I smile to myself and gently place the comb into my hair. Looking at myself in the mirror admiring what I saw. A quick flashback goes through my mind of someone handing the same comb to me. But it disappeared quickly. Shrugging it off, I return to my friends and start watching the movie.

Little did I know that Monkey King was watching and smiling down at my apartment.

"You've finally returned to me my peach," He says quietly and transforms into a bird and flies off into the now purple and blue night sky.

[starlightscarsyt]

IF THE DRDT CAST WERE IN TADC!

Teruko: Probably some kind of wilted lucky clover. Her name in the digital world could possibly be Tricky.

Xander: Definitely some kind of boxer toy reference. Maybe named Xraker.

Charles: Some kind of flower based person covered in vines. Named Chacti.

Ace: Maybe a horse person with a firey mane? Uhhh, maybe he's called Arseny.

Arei: A bowling pin person. Her name's Arinone (all in one).

Rose: A paint brush individual. Her name would Ronebow.

Hu: A beautiful musical butterfly. Named Harmonee.

Eden: A teeny-tiny little clock. Mmmaybe called E-Gear.

Levi: Definitely a sewing needle or a fashionable...monkey???(I have no idea why I chose that animal for the record). Uhhh, we'll call him Leonard.

Arturo: Some kind of plastic doll. He's called uhhh Arube.

Min: A rag doll that's dressed as a teacher. We'll call her Mire.

David: A star whose color changes depending on his mood. Callin' him Daybreak.

Veronika: A big spider person. Let's call her Verbetae.

J: A puppet on a string. Callin' her Jame.

Whit: A broken heart individual. Callin' him Whicry (We cry).

Nico: A cat individual that's painted as the nonbinary colors. They'll be called uhhhh...Newmew.

Half of these names suck, but I am so tired rn, so deal with it..../j

[digitalagepulao]

A new arrival

Huaguoshan was rocked by the thunder-sound of the eternal rock splitting open, and the blaze of light that came forth from it not long after. As usual, the old langur Longan leaves her distressed troop to investigate.

Fic below, featuring A-ma Longan and An-Kong.

word count: ~1k

It had been a turn of the sun and a half, since the stone upon the summit of the mountain split, and a turn of the sun since A-ma returned from her journey to investigate. The gibbons on the crown of the trees called in the morning, loud and clear the news of the day for all the beings above and below. The birds flocked about, but none approached the graying monkey as she traveled at a leisurely pace. They knew better than to interfere in her duties to the beasts of the mountain, and until she approached them, they would keep their distance.

The wizened langur trekked her way across the mountain side, through loping branches and swaying stones, and into the small shallow of a once fallen, again blooming tree, with grasping branches reaching to the heavens. The limestone gave way in a deep rift beneath the arch of the tilted trunk, moss and ferns obscuring the entrance, and riddling all the walls and floor. The echo of dripping dew rang as the monkey waltzed through the slanting path, up to a small creek that had chiseled the entry open over the centuries. She could still recall when the path was a struggle, having to shimmy herself through the narrow parts that now had ample room for her.

At the end of the tunnel was a round concave wall, where the moonlight would hit from where the water pierced through, and cast her shadow upon the wall. It was a mere dead end once, but now it was decorated with a humble but beloved shrine. A shallow stone to catch incense, half of coconut husks for libations and palm leaves for offerings. The walls were painted with fruit and flower dyes, with finger and palm straw brush, decorations of phoenixes and unicorns, praying animals of all stripes and spots. Beaded wreaths of stone, seed and clay hung from the protusions in the stone and the drapes of ferns above.

The langur stopped before it, sitting comfortably before tapping her knuckles over the moist stone.

"You bring a newcomer with you." comes the stone-gravely voice, and from the limestone and red earth sprung a burst of creeping vines and lumps of black clay. A familiar figure formed from it, and the two primates regarded one another for a moment, and neither made a move to approach the other.

"Then don't keep us waiting, and come greet him." The black and white langur says in a stern but calm tone, almost chiding.

The figure at last stirs, long draping green-gray fur and dyed flax robes revealing the wrinkled moon-round face of a bearded orangutan, who stands and walks over to the crouched yao in a loping gate. Dark indigo eyes examine the small figure clutching to her furred chest, bright orange fur surrounding a stone carved face. The silence of nature envelops them, and the Tudishen frowns.

"This... being. Whence have you found it?" He asks, wary.

"Upon the peak fo our mountain." She says, and neither mind the sharing of the tutelary duties. "The eternal stone that sat upon it has cracked, and from it came an egg, and from the egg, this little one was born." She explains, and holds up the tiny monkey in her hands for the tutelary god to look. The little monkey grumbles and squirms at the attention, large brown eyes gazing every which way.

"It is like nothing we know, old woman. Is it wise to welcome it to the mountain?" He muses, still watchful of the little monkey. A-ma doesn't give him a side eye for his caution. She knows all too well how the old tudi has suffered under plenty of demon lords and higher deities than him.

"It was born of nature, and so to nature it belongs. It should live among us as one of us." Longan says. "Besides, it's wise to keep it close, so that if should try anything, we'll know it best and so how to defeat it or reason with it." The learned monkey explains, casual in her dryness as was her temperament. The mountain's grandfather hums in thought, still watching the wriggling baby like one looks at a particularly sharp knife and his beloved smirks with a knowing look.

"Why dear, don't tell me you fear this little pebble?" She teases. Said pebble is now crawling under her armpit, trying to reach her back to escape the land god's gaze, but is held back by the langur's foot cradling its head.

"It's only reasonable. This being is unlike anything this mountain has ever seen, if not this world. How can I not be cautious?" The Tudishen spoke, at last reaching out with a finger to touch the stone baby. It squeaked in surprise, but allowed the head and ear scritches with a pleased hum.

"I said afraid, not cautious. Are you afraid?" Longan pressed, watching the interaction with a fondness in her amber eyes.

"...No. Not yet, at least." The deity admitted, huffing at the glint in his old love's gaze.

Longan reached out, cradling the land god's large palm in her two long ones. "You've trusted me to help you guard this mountain for this long, you can trust me to keep an eye on this little oddball, hm?"

The old god gives her a deadpan glare, which she easily matches with her own. With a sigh, he waves a long dark-clay hand dismissively and she snorts in triumph.

"Very well, very well. Raise him them, and guard him well. I leave the other introductions to you." He says grumpily and makes himself comfortable upon his shrine once again. "Come bother me some other time."

"I shall, with more incense and fruit." She says simply, knowing he adores when she deigns to bother him with offerings and prayer, and wine and conversation to share on the new moons.

He hums, and the fondness buried beneath the dismissal is for her ears only, and she wouldn't have it any other way. She adjusts the baby on her chest, and makes her way back outside.

The evening is cool and the clouds gather for a late night shower, but she's unbothered. The monkey stands on her back feet, straight and deft as any human, and stretches her arm above her head. The little stone monkey grumbles at the shift in height and marvels up at the stars.

"Be still, little pebble, and I shall tell you of the Twenty-Eight Mansions another day." She promises, rubbing his furry back. The yao leans against a tree and mutters a small song to entertain her new child. Said baby turns to gaze up at her, brown eyes almost innocently unremarkable. Longan knows better, her own visions still peppered with starbursts from the blaze of light that came from the child when she encountered it.

The orange ball of fuzz gurgles and presses his face to her chest, enjoying her thick fur. She huffs with a pleased smile, and gently cradles the small form in her arm.

"You're a precious gem, aren't you? Can't wait to see what new wonders you can show us."

[greekstar]

Warrior cat name Ideas Prefixes - A-Z A Acorn Adder Amber Ant Apple Arch Arrow Aspen Ash Asher Alder Amber B Badger Bark Beech Bellow Birch Berry Bird Black Blizzard Brave Breeze Bright Brown Bell Bug Beetle Bluebell Blue Bounce Brindle Brush Bush Buzzard Buzz Bee Bumble Bass Basil Bubble Brine Beaver Bison (I feel like this only goes good with ‘horn’ or Bisonpelt/fur.) Bat Bone Butterfly Burdock Broken Bramble Bracken Bay Brisk Blossom Briar Boil Branch Bud C Cloud Cloudy Crystal Cold Cricket Cliff Cardinal Crying Cougar Coyote Cobweb Chick Cow Cave Cheetah Carrot Coral Cactus Claw Cedar Cherry Cinder Clover Copper Creek Crooked Crouch Crow D Dew Dewy Duck Dusty Dust Dune Down Dagger Dodge Dolphin Daisy Doe Dapple Dappled Dark Dawn Dead Dove Drift Dusk E Eagle Ebony Echo Egg Eel Ember F Fallen Fallow Fawn Feather Fennel Fern Ferret Finch Fire Flame Fleet Flint Flower Flow Fly Fox Freckle Frog Frost Furze Fuzzy Foal Falling Fall G Gale Gust Golden Gold Goose Gorse Gorge Grass Gray Green Grass Goldfish Guppy Ghost H Hail Half Hare Hawk Hay Hoot Hazel Heather Heavy Hollow Holly Honey Honeycomb Hummingbird Horse Happy Hornet Hound Heron I Ice Ivy J Jagged Jay Joy Jaguar Jackdaw Jump Juniper K Kestrel Kink Koi L Lake Larch Leaf Lark Leopard Lichen Lightning Lily Lion Little Lizard Log Long Lost Loud Low Lynx M Maggot Mallow Maple Marsh Meadow Milk Minnow Mint Mist Misty Mole Moon Morning Moss Mossy Moth Mottle Mouse Mouth Mud Mumble Mink Muddy Moonlight Mountain Mushroom Monkey N Nettle Needle Nut Newt Night Nimble O Oak Oat Odd Olive One Otter Owl Orange Ocean Orca Opal P Pale Perch Pool Pike Peak Prickle Pounce Pine Petal Petal Pebble Pear Patch Pirate(kittypet or loner) Polar Peach Panda Pond Pigeon Plum Q Quail Quick R Rabbit Rain Ragged Rat Rattle Root Raspberry Reed Red Robin Rock Rose Rowan Rubble Running Rushing Rush Russet Rust Rye Raven Raccoon Rustle Rattlesnake Ravine Rapid S Sage Short Sheep Sedge Shrew Slate Slow Snail Sneeze Sorrel Soot Spider Spruce Sun Sunny Swallow Shallow Shade Sharp Scorch Sand Sandy Sky Silver Smoke Snake Soft Snow Sparrow Speckle Splash Spotted Squirrel Stalking Stalk Stalker Starling Stone Storm Stumpy Stump Sweet Swift Shred Sloe Shell Seed Shimmer Shimmering Skunk Spirit Squid Shy Sound Summer Sapphire Spiraling Spiral Shark Saturn T Tall Talon Tooth Timber Tiger Twig Tumble Thorn Thistle Thrush Tawny Tangle Ting Trout Torn Toad Tiny V Vine Vixen Void Vole W Wasp Weasel Web Weed Wet Whisker White Whale Wild Willow Wind Wolf Winter Wisteria Whisper Whispering Water Wave Waver Whisper Watermelon Whistle Wood Y Yellow

Yew

Yarrow- suggested

You guys DONT WANNA KNOW how LONG this took. I’m crying. And I might’ve missed some so feel free to send me messages in chat to request me editing it and putting it in some (not like messaging but the. Chat in this post lol.)

@cryptidclaw I also did this for our Au to help us with renaming.

I will get to suffixes soon I promise.

[shootsun]

I think @animemoonprincess and @winterpower98 are the ones with the sentient shadow au/hc so this is for you guys?

(this is set after season 3, basically, some demon is hunting Mac down and MK said, ‘we have to help him! Monkey king, he can hide with you right?’ and didn’t take no for an answer, so next thing Mac knew, he was on FFM and living in wukong’s shack.)

this got long? oops

For Macaque, living back on Flower Fruit Mountain was weird. Every nook and cranny held memories, both good and bad. Play fighting and huddling in the field by the brook, hearing distant echoing screams of monkeys down by the gorge, leaping through the waterfall curtain with a stomach full of nerves and giddy joy. It was a mixed bag really.

The strangest part through was how much his shadow seemed to take to exploring on its own. The ghost feeling of leaves and grass brushing his legs and arms became second place during the day, and the phantom feeling of a warm back against his at night nagged at him sometimes, but usually his shadow had a steady head on its shoulders. It was his own after all.

This past week, Wukong had been giving him strange looks over breakfast, teasing him about losing something. Macaque was using every ounce of self-control to not rise to the bait, but the raised eyebrow and knowing smirk painted over Wukong’s face was getting to him.

 “What are you talking about?” He finally snaps out, and Wukong blinks in surprise. A shit eating grin grows on the golden monkey’s face, and Macaque feels his stomach flip.

“You really don’t know?” Wukong says mischievously. The Monkey King can barely sit still at the realization, drumming his fingers on the stone breakfast table, bouncing his leg as he waits for Macaque’s reply.

“Know what? I’ve just been minding my own business. If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.” Macaque rolls his eyes, trying to put as much bravado into his words, trying to not let Wukong see how much this was starting to get to him.

Wukong just laughs at him and leaves the table, taking his half-eaten breakfast with him.

“Bastard,” Macaque breathes out.

He sits for a moment more at the table, and sets his face on the cool stone, letting it leach all the residual heat out of his face. The feeling of something soft tickles his palm, and he absentmindedly wipes the feeling away on his pants before standing and stretching.

Today he was going to do the same thing he’d been doing for the past few weeks; Avoid Wukong as much as possible. The kid was supposed to visit for training this afternoon, and as fun as it would be to watch that, he’d rather not be bombarded by questions today.

Macaque slinks off into the shadows and emerges in a grove of trees, all set in a semi-circle around a large flat stone platform. He’d rediscovered the area a few days ago and had taken to cleaning the vines and foliage off the area meticulously.

This had been their theater, long ago. He still remembers Wukong lifting the slab of stone out of the hollow of the mountain with ease, almost whacking a few of the others with it. Wukong and he had spent the afternoon decorating it, making it the perfect little stage for plays and entertaining.

He’d preformed his first shadow play here.

Now it lay forgotten and half in ruins.

With a scowl, Macaque pulls out a sapling poking out of a crack on the stone and lays it to the side with a plan to plant it somewhere else in the grove. He spends the rest of the day there, replanted half-grown saplings and scrubbing the moss off of the stone as the sounds of fighting fill the air sometime after the sun hits its zenith.

When the air has cooled, and the sun set back into the trees, he finally slips back into the shadows and emerges back at Wukong’s little shack.

Macaque carefully tiptoes around the sounds of laughter and eating in the dining area to the baths, and with a heavy sigh, shucks off his dirt-stained clothes and sinks into warm water. He watches as mud washes off his fur and with a glance around to double check the baths were really empty, he drops his glamour.

Like the muck dripping off into the warm water below, so too does the black char coloured fur swirl away, revealing white. Macaque studies his hands for a moment, holding back a shudder at the blue stained scars that circle his wrists. With a blink, he drops his hands back into the water, and snaps his glamour back into place.

He gets out of the cooling water not long after that, and makes his way to his room. The fuzzy feeling of someone scratching behind his ears has him flicking the appendage in annoyance, and he tries to rub the feeling away.

‘What are you up to?’ He grumbles to himself, to his shadow, as he crawls under the covers. Macaque closes his eyes and hopes he doesn’t dream.

It’s a futile wish, and he’s plunged into a swirling dream of memories, both good and bad. He’s running for his life from a band of poachers, he’s being groomed by Wukong in the sun, he’s laying half-dead in a ditch, blood drying on his face, he’s holding one of the baby monkeys for the first time. On and on it goes, until he wakes up gasping, gripping the sheets and tearing holes in the thin fabric with his claws.

He lays there, staring at the celling in the dark, panting, and feels someone trailing a finger on the pad of his paw. He squeezes his hand into a fist, both grateful for the distraction, and hating how gentle the touch came through his shadow’s bond.

Fingers are threaded through his own and then a kiss is placed on his knuckles. The other hand unlaces itself from his shadow and he feels his hand being lifted.    

It’s when the feeling of lips are carefully pressed to his wrist that he bolts out of bed, his skin burning as he stumbles through the hallways. Macaque almost runs into the doorjamb as he turns into the living room, and there, there is his shadow, curled around Wukong, an echo-y purr reverberating in the quiet space.

Wukong’s golden eyes flick up to him, the golden monkey’s mouth still pressed to his shadow’s wrist.

“Ah,” Wukong exhales with a smirk, and Macaque shivers as he feels the air dance across his wrist.

“What are you doing.” Macaque grinds out.

“Your shadow is touchy,” the golden monkey shrugs. He tugs the semi-incorporeal mass more into his lap, and the shadow nuzzles him in return.

“Besides, he’s a lot more responsive than you are. It’s like when we were younger,” Wukong laughs as the golden monkey trails a finger up the side of his shadow’s neck, and his shadow trills happily, a dusky purple blush covering where his cheeks would be. His shadow’s tail thumps happily against the cushions, and Macaque has to grab the tip of his tail to keep from doing the same. His corporeal cheeks are warm, and he knows if he looked in the mirror, a light purple blush would be steadily darkening over his face.

“Why are you doing this.” Macaque hisses, his eyes widening.

“You’re the one who kept following me everywhere, keeping tabs on me, and sleeping next to me. Isn’t this what you wanted?” Wukong tilts his head, and his shadow takes the opportunity to nuzzle into the open space on the golden monkey’s neck.

“See?” Wukong gestures to his shadow, still happily purring away.

“Shut up,” Macaque growls and tries to yank his shadow back into himself, but his magic doesn’t respond, his shadow just whining softly.

“You’ve been ignoring your feelings, haven’t you, Plum?” The golden monkey says softly, and Macaque feels like shattering right then and there.

“You don’t get to talk about feelings, Peaches.” He snarls, and his shadow vanishes with a pop. He turns on his heel, leaving a speechless Wukong on the couch, and steps into the shadows.

Part 2

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/shootsun/689286035261259776?source=share

[navibluebees]

Someone to be Proud of (Recom Quaritch x Female Human Reader) - Part 14

Please read before interacting.

This one is including another POV aside from the reader and Miles~ Not a big surprise, but definitely needed. <3 Word refresher: Skxawng - moron, syaksyuk - prolemuris (a little monkey-like creature)

Miles hadn't been able to sleep the night after Varang's words on the edge of the cliff. He'd been seeking some kind of reassurance and peace. He wandered through the paths, fires lit alongside to light the way. He walked to the water, away from the heat of the volcano and walked out into the surf. The sand swirled around his toes as he disturbed it with his steps and he continued until it was waist high. He looked up at the sky and felt a feeling of overwhelming infinity. The worlds just kept going and going. And maybe somewhere someone was looking at the same sky. Maybe you.

The water splashed near him and he turned to see the bioluminescence stirring. A slender head popped out and tilted its head at him. He smiled at the long-necks creature that swam closer, nosing at him curiously. It rubbed against him and ducked under to push its head against his palm. It made a chirping happy sound, not too unlike Cupcake and he scratched under its chin as it sang happily to him. It turned around and offered its back to him, lifting one of the kuru that creatures on Pandora were known to have.

He whistled to Cupcake who swooped overhead and followed them as he linked to the creature and it took off. He had barely a second before he realized it would dive under once it came down from its high leap. He held his breath and wrapped his arms tighter around it. The ilu pulled him along and he felt its easy-going nature flow through him and he finally relaxed enough to see the beauty of the world around him. He had never been in the ocean on Earth like this before, but it looked similar to the pictures he'd seen of it from years and years before he left it. a school of fish floated by, their shimmering chromatic scales reflecting the bioluminescence.

He realized it was one of the first times he had seen the beauty of this world. The world that was his now, for better or worse.

~~~

You were down in the forest with Mo'at. Ka'ani and a few of the other hunters kept watch, some hunted, and the two of you collected what you needed for the medicine supply. It was peaceful on the forest floor as you collected the plants you required. You wandered aside and brushed your fingertips along the moss before you sat in an open area. You set your woven basket down beside you and played with the tendrils flowing from a flower nearby. it tickled your fingers and the petals ruffled in the breeze.

A small call came from above your head and you yelped as a small creature landed right above you. It peered down at you with its wide eyes and you looked right back, curious. You inspected it and noted it looked like a monkey you'd seen in books from Earth, except double the arms. It swung on the vine, circling around to you and flinging itself at you. You put your arms up to cover your face and turned your back to it, frozen in panic. A frenetic sniffing around your ear caused you to peek at it and it peered back, its face right next to your mask. It leaned in closer and bumped its head against the hard material then stopped and tapped lightly on it with its fist.

You watched it closely before slowly pulling it off your shoulder and cradling it in your arms.It gripped onto your arms and sniffed curiously again at your ear. It screeched in panic at something behind you and you turned to see a pack of viperwolves coming over a ridge and zeroing in right on you. You took a slow step away and saw them run faster, intrigued by new prey. You ran faster, breath coming out in huffs, your lungs struggling to suck in enough air.

"HELP!" You screamed as you ran, hoping someone would hear. The little creature chittered in your arms and you hugged it tighter, trying to comfort.

You went flying head-first and felt your ankle twist and pop as you went down. You curled completely around the creature, hoping to protect it. You landed hard on your previously injured shoulder and winced as old pain flared up. Cries of pain sounded around you and you heard the animals walking off before someone grabbed you and shook you.

"Y/N. Are you okay?" came a panicked voice.

The light between the trees caused spots in your vision as you blinked and tried to reorient yourself. The creature was a trembling ball of fur in your arms. The face in front of you was indistinguishable and you sighed in relief when you Ka'ani's worried face came into focus.

You started to giggle and and shake in his arms. He groaned, a wide smile spreading across his face.

"Skxawng! This isn't funny. We were worried when we couldn't find you and then we see you sprinting through the forest holding onto a syaksyuk!"

The little syaksyuk in your arms narrowed its eyes at him and pulled on one of the braids that had fallen from his hair band. Mo'at ran up to see the two of you laughing together with the prolemuris' fist gripped around his braid.

"Tch. You two are trouble. Can you stand?"

You attempted to and almost crumpled to the ground. Ka'ani scooped you up again in his arms and carried you back to where the ikran were perched. You looked up at the canopy high above and smiled as the light danced through the leaves. When he got back to his ikran, it nosed your leg gently, a twinge of pain shooting through it. He reached for the small animal in your hands.

"We have to leave the syaksyuk here, okay?"

It screeched and clung tighter to you, little hands grasping at strands of your hair. You pouted as he tried to disentangle the animal from you but when he lifted it high enough to see its whole body, you cried, "Stop!"

He halted his motions and watched as you analyzed it carefully, seeing one of its feet was turned in slightly. It started grabbing for you again and wrapped its arms around your shoulders. Ka'ani stared quietly.

"Did you see any others?"

"No," you murmured as you looked closely at the foot. You brushed a fingertip along the bottom of the foot. It twitched, but couldn't grasp your finger.

He sighed deeply and looked down at it. "It seems like you have a pet now," he grumbled good-naturedly.

You grinned at the small animal and it stared back inquisitively.

~~~

Spider held on tightly to Kiri as they wove through the water. The ilu she rode was eager as it splashed about. She reached back to hold his knee and he blushed at her touch, squeezing tighter to stay close and not fly off of the ilu. Or so he told himself. He thought over the last few months as they went. A cloud of guilt followed him around and his friends could tell that something was different.

They assumed it was because he blamed himself for Neteyam. It wasn't too far off, but the real reason was that he'd saved his Dad. Spider shook again as he thought the word. It was hard for him at first to think the word, but it felt the most right. It was the simplest way to acknowledge him and not have to explain the full situation to someone who didn't already know.

The Metkayina were cautious of him, but were a kind people. He fell into a steady rhythm in the village, helping to bring in the fish and cut the meat off of the bone. In terms of the Sully family, he, Kiri, and Tuk were close as ever. He and Lo'ak hadn't spoken much in the month after. He'd gone with Tsireya to be alone and mourn his brother.

The Sully parents were vastly different. Jake had taken Spider under his wing even more than before, really thinking of him as a son. Neytiri could barely look him in the eye. Whether it was because of her devastation for her eldest or her shame for threatening Spider, he didn't know. He wasn't brave enough to ask.

***

Taglist:

@drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed @mechformers @nuttyrebelflower @ikranwings @myh3artt

[localcryptidsteg]

ITS FINALLY DONE

Chapter 2- The Mountain Temple and the Monkey King

Following the golden furred monkey deeper into the jungle, Mk observed two things: first, the corruption seemed to recede before the spirit, just enough to allow he and Mei to follow safely after. Second, it closed in again behind them. There was no going back without the spirit.

Mei was the first to make an attempt at small talk. “So, you know our names.” She didn't finish the thought, tail swishing behind her as she waited for the spirit to pick up. “Mhm! Mei and Mk!” The monkey grinned, darting up a tree briefly to check their surroundings before hopping back down. He didn't respond further.

Mei sighed. “So what's yours?” She snipped. “Oh! Uh... I have a couple of em! My friends call me Sun Wukong, but most people call me... The Monkey King!” He turned with a flourish, posturing proudly with his hands on his hips and looking expectantly at the two...

... Who both just blinked back at him in confusion.

“Aw come on, you guys! Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of me! I used to be a huge deal!” The spirit pouted. Mei shrugged. “Sorry, man. There are legends about the two kingdoms that were here, but nothing about actual kings.” Mk nodded in agreement.

The monkey demon grumbled and turned around, going back to leading the little group. “Hasn’t even been that long, ungrateful-!” He muttered under his breath.

“Its been about 300 years, actually!” Mk interrupted. “And nobody who's come here before has ever come back, so it's not like we have a record or anything...”

Mei stopped that train of thought before Mk could spiral into despair, as he was wont to do. “Anyways. What about the other guy? If you're the Monkey King, is he just the Normal Monkey? And no offense but he was dressed a lot more like a king than you are.”

Wukong scoffed. “He's the resident asshole, also the Other Monkey King, but that's NOT important!” he brushed gracelessly over that particular topic, ducking under some vines and holding them up for his companions.

“So it's true then? There really were two kingdoms here at one point?” Mk asked, barely restrained curiousity in his voice. “What happened here?”

Wukong stopped, shoulders falling. “... That’s not my story to tell, bud.” He answered quietly. “Look, I'll explain what I can when we get to the temple, but-” he was cut short by heavy footsteps. “-It's not safe out here!” He half-hissed half-whispered, moving an arm protectively in front of the young spirit guides.

A towering creature made of twisted wood stepped in front of them, wandering the jungle aimlessly. It seemed, for a moment, like it would pass them by, but something made it stop and turn directly toward Wukong. The gold spirit chuckled nervously, tail lashing behind him. “Uh. Hey big guy! Don't suppose you're just gonna let us pass...?”

He was met with a large wooden club being dropped a hair's breadth from his face. “Yeah, that's what I figured, RUN! GO GO GO GO GO!” The Monkey King frantically turned, shoving Mk and Mei ahead of himself. “You're not ready to fight this thing yet, so don't look back!” He urged as the trio sprinted away. The wooden spirit gave chase, only marginally slowed by the flora and terrain.

“WHAT GIVES, MAN? WHAT IS THAT?” Mk screeched hysterically. “What, you’ve never seen a wood knight before? Thought you were a spirit guide, kid!” The monkey shouted back. “Where are we going???” Mei yelled.

“Detour! Don't worry about it!”

The group made a mad dash toward what appeared to be a break in the trees, only to find themselves at the edge of a crumbled cliff face. “Fuck! I swear there used to a bridge here!” Wukong bristled, and thinking fast, grabbed Mk by the wrist. Mei looked like she could handle herself, but Mk was clearly new to all this.

“Ready kid? On three you gotta jump! Aim for that ledge!”

“What??”

“Don't think about it just do it-” The wood knight interrupted him, broaching the treeline “-Now!”

Mk jumped as instructed and Wukong followed. “See? Not so bad, right you two?” The spirit laughed breathlessly, clinging to the rock formation. Mk had already hauled himself to the flat ledge top. Catching his breath he looked around. “... Mei?”

When she didn't respond, his eyes snapped back toward the other ledge. The dragon girl was locked in combat with the creature, and actually seemed to be doing pretty well. She managed to topple it, even, but when she turned to follow the others, a wall of thorns and glowing magenta pustules seemed to errupt from out of nowhere, blocking the way forward.

“Mei!” Mk's voice cracked with worry.

“Im fine, Mk!” The dragon girl's voice floated over the wall in response. “You two go on ahead, I'll find another way around!”

Mk tried to protest but the sound of her footsteps thundering further away told him she wasn’t going to be reasoned with.

Mk looked helplessly between the wall and the Monkey King. Crestfallen, the spirit shook his head. “There's nothing I can do about big patches like that, kid. I'm sorry. I don't think she's coming back.” He scratched at the back of his neck, equal parts disappointed and frustrated.

Mk was silent for a moment before steeling his nerves “... She said she'd find another way around.” He turned to keep moving. “Mei never lies. So I have to believe she'll find another way. We have to keep going.”

Wukong observed the boy silently for a moment, a bit surprised by this new resolve. “Hm.” The spirit nodded. “Alright then.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The cliffside path to the Mountain Temple was just as corrupted as the jungle had been, at first. But as vegetation grew more sparse, so did the rot. The walk to the temple was spent mostly in solemn silence. Wukong had made it clear he didn't think Mei would survive the jungle, and Mk didn't want to talk about what happened.

It wasn't the most comfortable trek, but the mood shifted a bit as the massive stone temple carved into the side of the mountain came into view around a bend in the path.

“Here we are! Home sweet home! Sorta.” The monkey king turned and finally removed his mask, grinning at Mk.

“You really are a monkey!” Mk blinked in surprise, taking in the face peering back at him. Gold eyes set against a peach-toned marking blinked back. “What, did the tail not give it away?” Wukong's lips curled back over his fangs as he snickered at the boy's shock.

“Well no, I mean- I thought you were like Mei and it was just the tail, or it wasn't literal, or something!”

Wukong just grinned at him.

“Nah! Anyways, we're nearly there, so I should probably warn you about the others! Most of them are fine, but you're going to want to avoid the lion, the pig, and the bull for now, at least until I can show you how to purify the corruption. Lucky you, they don't usually show up unless you go looking!”

“Why? What's their deal?” Mk frowned, curious. He noted that the closer they got to the temple, the more gravestones and statues and little shrines littered the path. They all had worn masks tied to them. “And... how many others are there, anyway?”

Wukong slowed. “Too many. Not nearly as many as there used to be, but still too many. Their deal is the same as the guy you saw me fighting earlier. They're trapped here because they're mad and scared and won't let go.”

He hopped down a crumbled staircase in the path and held out a hand to steady Mk.

“You're not the first spirit guides to show up, kid. Most of them did help, a little. But they all eventually ran up against a spirit that was too much, and paid the price. The ones that are left now are the strongest and most wounded, or the souls who care too much about them to leave behind.”

Mk took the offered hand and hopped down as well. “So, which are you?”

Wukong seemed stunned into momentary silence. He thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “I suppose I'm the second kind. I can't leave until I know they're all ok.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wukong frowned as they finally made it to the temple. The entrance, clear when hed left, was covered by the same glowing, plant-like corruption the jungle had been covered with. “What on earth-?” He mumbled to himself. “Hey kid, first lesson! Look around and see if you can find some kinda big flower bulb!” He turned to see Mk, who was slowly being circled by little red lights.

The monkey bristled. Found us that fast, did you? He thought to himself.

“Don't panic or anything! Just wait and see what they are!” The ghost instructed the boy. The first of the lights hit the ground and turned into a small wooden creature with an axe. Wukong sighed in relief. Just sprouts.

Mk, who was being menaced with the axe, was significantly less relieved. He knew how to fight, in theory. But fighting was more Mei's thing, and she wasn't here yet.

“Uhhhh... little help?” He yelped, quickly sidestepping a clumsy swing.

“Just whack it real hard with your staff-thingy!” Wukong chirped unhelpfully.

“Can't you help me??” Another dodge out of the way.

“Kid, do I look armed?”

“It didn't seem to stop you from fighting that guy earlier!”

“Yeah but he wasn't armed either. Doesn't count! Besides, best I can do is hold them still or knock them over, now just smack the damn thing!”

Wukong hopped up onto a nearby stone pillar as a second glowing ball lighted on the ground near him and turned into yet another sprout.

It seemed to briefly consider going after Wukong, but decided against it, turning in favor of the easier target. “Mk! Watch your back, kid!”

Mk spun and cracked the new sprout in the head with the end of his staff, sending it flying. “Hey, you got it! That's the idea, kid!” Wukong cheered him on as it finally seemed to click that fighting the little spirits off meant he had to actually fight.

He managed the sprouts easily but when the third light finally joined the fight, it revealed itself to be much bigger. It wasn't too much tougher, but Mk found he actually had to gain distance from it and choose when to attack.

It kept trying to rush him, closing any distance he got. Wukong was actually a bit worried for the human for a moment as he was backed against the edge of the cliff path.

“Back OFF!” Mk ducked a sweeping arm, slamming his staff into the creature's side and letting off a pulse of gold light that shattered the creature. Unfortunately, the force of the blow also split his old, weathered staff.

Mk took a moment to realize it was over.

Meanwhile, Wukong hopped excitedly down from his perch and rushed over to the boy. “You did it! You did it kid! Ha! You really are a spirit guide!” The monkey chirped and chattered enthusiastically.

“What was that?” Mk looked warily down at his broken staff.

“There are deities in the land, bud! As long as you can tap into that energy, you can use them to purify the corruption, that's what happened! Go on, focus, and this time, try to aim it at that flower.” The monkey grinned.

He pointed at a bulb near the rot-covered entryway that opened once the last spirit was beaten.

“But... my staff broke.” Mk held up the two halves of the twisted wood stick. Some chipped crystal fell to the ground.

“You don't need it for something small like this! The staff is just a focus point; it makes life easier, but it's not necessary. But look, if it's really that important I have an extra one laying around somewhere inside the temple. You just have to get rid of that flower and we can go get it!” Wukong's eye twitched impatiently.

“Yeah yeah yeah, ok! I'm goin’! SHEESH!” Mk took a deep breath and approached the flower, focusing and trying to replicate what he did before. It took a few attempts, but he succeeded eventually, and the flower and the thorns and vines blocking the way forward lit up and disintegrated, almost like they were burnt away.

“Nice job, kid! Now come on, let's go find that staff!”

[crwr213assignment]

Should I Come Out Now?

If Amber was a dog, she'd be a coquette King Charles Spaniel (Photo Credit: https://pin.it/3acMFfS3B)

It’s been three days since the party, and Amber has been following Maggie like a hungry stray cat. The walls of Maggie’s room were covered with photos of mostly family and Amber, and the ceilings were draped with fake vines and fairy lights. 

“Maggie, you’re killing me.” Amber's arms fly up into the air, making her look like a topper as she spins in the chair. “Why won’t you tell me what happened in the closet?”

Maggie inhales through her nose before exhaling. “Nothing happened. We talked for seven minutes and then you opened the door.” They both sounded like broken records and Maggie swore this is all they’ve talked about ever since the party. “I thought I was your best friend.” Amber grabs onto the desk, halting her spinning. “We tell each other everything!” She crosses her arms and Maggie’s eyes glance at her pushed cleavage before meeting her green eyes. “But it’s the truth!” The mattress of the bed squeaks as she shifts her weight. “You know I tell you everything.”

Maggie’s stomach clenches as the words leave her mouth. She runs a hand through her pin straight hair and Amber’s eyes narrow at the movement. The chair rolls away as she makes her way to the bed, a hot pink nail pointed at Maggie’s chest. 

“Did you guys make out?” Amber turns away from Maggie’s gaze, her finger fidgeting with a lock of hair. “If so, I don’t know why you won’t tell me–he’s perfect for your first kiss!” “God, Amber. For the last time, we didn’t make out!”

The ding of Maggie’s phone snaps the head of the teenage girls to the notification on the illuminated lockscreen. It’s a photo of them at the flower garden festival last spring, Amber’s arms around Maggie, the both of them laughing.

“Oh my god! Is that him?!” 

The breath gets knocked out of Maggie as Amber leaps onto her like a monkey, arms outstretched. Her back bounces on the gray sheets of the bed and her scalp pinches as Amber’s hand pins her black hair to the mattress.

“James texted you!” Amber waves the phone in Maggie’s face, a smile plastered on her face.

“Amber!” Maggie’s fingers tickle Amber’s exposed stomach. The blonde squirming as she grips onto the phone tighter.

Amber’s giggles fill the room as Maggie reaches to grab the device from her manicured hands. Her thighs push against Ambers, rolling them over until Amber’s golden hair splayed out on the bed. Maggie’s hands snatch her phone out of Amber’s soft ones, her own laugh mixing with Ambers.

Their laughter quiets down, breaths resonating in the room. Amber’s green eyes meet Maggie’s brown ones, dipping to her lips and then back to her eyes. Maggie inched closer, her hands on the gray sheets beside Amber’s curls. 

Warmth bloomed in Amber’s chest, like fireworks sparkling as Maggie leaned in close. Their lips brushing together tentatively for the first time. Amber’s perfume, vanilla and roses, was dizzying, butterflies dancing in Maggie’s stomach. She went in for the kiss, though, warmth enveloping her as Amber's lips soft ones pressed against her own.

“You know, you’re really good at opening closet doors.”

Amber’s eyes crinkle as her cheeks turn rosy. “Shut up and kiss me.”

The bio says it all... (Photo Credit: Pinterest https://pin.it/27jUZwJCB (Playlist Credit: Created by me, Celine)

Is this us now? @amberlovesmaggie (Video Credit: https://www.tiktok.com/@olsenpugh/video/7210109430812118277)

[ifyougoillfollow]

a song for a song

|Gen. | Mic & Midnight | 1650 words | Fantasy AU|

"Can you sing, senpai?"

Hizashi winces. He hadn't meant to cut Kayama off, even if he hasn't been entirely listening to a word she's said for the past hour or so.

Kayama straightens from her crouch, hands him yet another fistful of dirt-clodded roots to stuff into his increasingly soiled satchel. At this point, he's going to have to wash it. And his robes. And his hair, too, while he's at it. He should have braided it; it's getting kind of long. Now there's probably bugs in it.

Hizashi refuses to cry about it. Plenty of other things to cry about nowadays, and he's yet to cry about any of those, so bugs? Not gonna do it. Not today.

Kayama eyes him a little like she was eyeing those roots on the forest floor a second ago, but in the end she only snorts and says, "You're the bard here, not me."

"And you're the witch, yet here I am with dirty, smelly herbs in my robes."

"No one asked you to come, snotbrain."

Hizashi takes a moment to remind himself that he is not crying today, then says, "Well, fortunately for you, senpai, Aizawa has gotten much better at evading me with his stealthy ninja skills, so looks like you're stuck with my lovely, charmingly clingy self for the foreseeable future."

"Lucky me, indeed," Kayama mutters, even as she's foisting more assorted foliage onto Hizashi's wary arms. She waits until he deems each twig adequately bug-free before setting off again into whatever new direction through the trees her witchy senses are leading her towards.

"Yeah, I can sing," she answers at length, "I guess. Probably not as well as you can, though, if we're being honest. Not exactly my specialty, is it?"

There was a time, not two moons ago, when Hizashi would have preened at his senpai's first-ever admission that she likes his singing. Now, it just serves as a reminder of all the songs he's had caught in his throat since Oboro died.

Kayama is not looking at him, too busy charming her way through previously virgin forest brush in order to allow them easier passage. Hizashi feels her scrutiny regardless. The air is clear and sweet and open. Inviting. Hushed like a sated dinner crowd awaiting the first song of the evening. The absence where Hizashi's song would be if he weren't choking on it rings louder than his voice ever could.

Kayama slows, her shoulders rising gently in what could be a breath or a sigh. Hizashi nearly hightails it out of the forest right then and there – bugs and blushing virgin underbrush be damned – but when Kayama speaks it's only to tell him to keep an eye out for a flower that 'kind of looks like two monkeys fornicating,' and then she's off again about herbs and roots and spices and their many medicinal and decidedly non-medicinal applications.

She has a lovely voice, even when just speaking. Full and rich and with a little too much heat, like smoke from a spitting hearth fire. Hizashi's always wondered what it'd sound like in song, can't stop wondering even as she goes on and on about dirt and leaves and bark, until she finally stops to contemplate a vine unfurling from what might very well be the heavens for all the attention Hizashi's paying to it.

"Sing for me," he says, unable to choke the words down.

Kayama snorts, keeps contemplating her vine. "What, right now?"

Because that wasn't a 'no' and because she's not looking at him and because the clear forest air remains bereft of song, Hizashi asks, "Why not?"

"I don't know many songs, for one."

"Choose whatever. Anything at all."

"What if I choose a terrible song?" she asks, affecting a pout.

"No such thing, senpai!"

She rolls her eyes and bats the vine at him, but it's only a few beats before she caves. "Honestly, I only know lullabies," she says. "You know – for fussy little babies."

Hizashi laughs. "Lullabies are good! Sing me a lullaby, senpai!"

Kayama's answering grin is more teeth than anything, and it's also the first sign that Hizashi has walked into a trap. "All right," she says, voice too-innocent, "if you insist. Follow me." She flashes another snaketooth grin at him and disappears behind a curtain of vines.

At the sight of the lone finger she sticks back through to beckon him forward, Hizashi once again considers taking his chances on a solo sprint back out of the woods. In the end, his curiosity wins out over his meager self-preservation instincts. He follows.

The two-step trek through the vines is harrowing, but what he finds on the other side might be even more so. It's a perfectly picturesque clearing. Suspiciously picturesque. The clearing is warm and bright and cozy, with lush cloud-cover trees surrounding a bed of down-soft grass and wildflowers. There's even a brook babbling quietly to itself off to the side. A far cry from the barely tamed woods two steps behind him.

Kayama, perched on the grass below a swaying willow, laughs at whatever expression is on Hizashi's face. "Welcome to my den of decadence," she all but purrs, "where I bring all my... conquests."

Hizashi tries not to balk. Tries.

Kayama cackles. "Oh, don't flatter yourself. You wanted me to sing you a lullaby, so I'm going to sing you a lullaby. Properly." She pats a spot on the ground right next to her. "Come here."

Hizashi, forever hapless in the face of his senpai's schemes, does as he's told. Once he's seated, Kayama roots around in her bag for some incense to light ("For the bugs," she informs him with a roll of her eyes) and a stoppered vial filled with an unidentified lavender-colored liquid.

"For you," she says expectantly.

Hizashi downs the contents of the vial without question. It tastes like too-sweet perfume, but he's had worse tonics from Chiyo-sensei, so he doesn't complain.

"It's a new sleep potion I'm working on," Kayama explains, even though he hadn't asked. "I've been meaning to test it, but I haven't had any willing volunteers due to what happened last time – which wasn't even my fault, if anyone's asking – and Chiyo-sensei says slipping potions into other people's food is unethical because she's no fun, so here we are."

For his own peace of mind, Hizashi elects not to ask what happened last time. "How long will it take to work," he asks instead, "and how long will I stay asleep?"

"No idea, that's why we're testing it. Now lay back, unless you want to crack your skull if it takes effect suddenly."

Hizashi eyes the grassy ground warily. "How effective is this fancy incense of yours at keeping bugs away again?"

"Oh, come here, you big baby." She tugs at him until he's laying down with his head pillowed on her lap. Hizashi does his level best to not perish on the spot. She flicks him on the forehead. "Relax, already. I won't bite unless you ask me to."

"Not helping," Hizashi grumbles, willfully ignoring his fever-hot face.

Kayama's thigh is warm under his cheek, and she smells like twigs and earth and wildflowers, and Hizashi is not crushing on his senpai – he is not – but suddenly he understands all too clearly why Oboro had once badgered him for weeks to serenade Kayama on his behalf, until Hizashi had agreed on the condition that Oboro write the lyrics himself (and make that fact clear to all present witnesses), which he did, happily, and the lyrics had been terrible and mortifying and damned near impossible to put to melody, but Hizashi had put his bardly reputation on the line and done it, and Kayama had, of course, laughed like he's never heard her laugh before or since, but had also been so obviously charmed by it that Oboro didn't stop smiling for the rest of the week. If all of Hizashi's songs hadn't died with Oboro, he'd be singing that one right now.

"Sing for me, senpai," he says, because his eyes are starting to burn and because she promised and because this moment calls for song. Every moment calls for song.

"You're the bard here," says Kayama, fingers tugging knots from his hair, "not me."

"Please..."

"A song for a song, then."

"Sleepy..." he mumbles, and it's an excuse, but it's also the truth, his limbs heavy as sun-warmed sand.

"When you wake up."

He shakes his head.

"Why not?"

"Can't," he whispers, too tired to scream.

"Sure you can. You're a bard."

Is that what he is? Kayama-senpai sure seems to think so. She keeps saying it. Why does she have to keep saying it?

"I'm not singing until you say it."

No. That's not fair. She promised.

"Yamada." She smacks his sleep-numb cheek until he looks up at her blearily. "You're a bard. Aren't you?"

"I'm a bard," says Hizashi, because if there's one thing he's good at, it's telling people what they need to hear.

"Good boy," says his senpai, and she's not smiling any kind of smile, but she does finally – finally – start to sing.

Her voice is as lovely and Hizashi knew it would be, and the song – well, the song is lovely, too, in the way that all songs are lovely, even though this particular song is about a busy baby bee winding down for bedtime. Hizashi lets the lyrics wash over and through him, but the melody – the melody he soaks up along with Kayama's voice, lets it seep into the very core of him, into the sun-spooled place nestled deep behind his rib-cage from where his songs and his soul and his spells flow and flourish, and he knows without a doubt that he will never be without song again, because if nothing else, he'll always have this one simple melody, soft and whole and true.

[shadowbunnydragon]

To Elite: I wonder how Judy, Jack, Thomas and any bunny would feel about the story of the tortoise and the hare

Thomas: "Uh, we have that story, actually. I grew up hearing it and applying the logic of it. I.e., slow and steady wins the race."

Jack: "And of course, instead of it being about a rabbit slacking off, that old specist story just had to have it be a hare who got all cocky and lackadaisical and fell asleep, letting the dumb tortoise win!"

Judy: "Jack, you can't possibly be saying that this is a story of specist propaganda! Hares slacking off is not even a stereotype!"

Jack: "Is so! I've heard mentioning it all my life! Even from some members of my own family!"

Thomas: "... Uh, Officer Savage... are you certain that those comments were directed towards hares in general or..."

Jack: "Or what?"

Judy: "Maybe you are just kinda lazy?"

Jack, sputtering: "Seriously?!"

Judy: "Major Friedkin mentioned how you were the only cadet to have secretly fashioned a hammock from vines above the monkey bars in the rainforest section of the training grounds, hidden in the fake leaves."

Jack: "Th-that was... to help me sleep at night! Yeah! I wasn't just slipping away when everyone wasn't looking to get in a power nap or six!"

Judy and Thomas simultaneously roll their eyes.

Jack: "And I'll have you know, just a week ago, my cousin and I decided to reenact the story of the tortoise and the hare! He got his pet Gallopagos tortoise, Shelley, and we set up a little race track. We even set it up so that her favorite chew toy was hooked up to his old train set, the tracks on some rails forming a large oval. Four laps around that would be one mile, and we decided to make the race three miles!" Crosses arms and smiles smugly.

Thomas: "... So did you win?"

Jack, looking away: "...I fail to see how that's relevant."

Judy: "Wait, was this your cousin Bobby-Ray?"

Jack: "You know him?"

Judy: "Yeah. Sometimes he works on fixing the precinct's cruisers. If you'd like, I can just call him up and ask how the race went."

Jack: "So I kinda may have gotten my math wrong and, after the tenth lap, decided to sit and watch Shelley keep chasing her toy... and then it got a little boring so I may have rested my eyes a little."

Thomas: "Sweet cheese and crackers, you really did reenact the story!" Falls out of the chair, laughing, while Jack sulks.

Judy: "You heard it here, folks! Slow and steady wins the race. Also, maybe take the time to brush up on basic math skills."

[zipperzoo]

FIGHT TO MAKE IT UP

The Batman (2022) bruce wayne x f!reader

Masterlist / AO3 / Playlist

Story summary: Set a month after the movie. Reader is finding it hard to make ends meet in Gotham City. With her deep rooted hatred for the rich and for the system she feels trapped in she and her crime pal Sausages come across a contract job. This is no ordinary job, one that has a deadline and involves Bruce Wayne. A/N: I'm not really a writer, this is the first time I've ever written anything like this (or first time completing a story). I had a blast writing these and incorporating ideas that made me laugh or soft soooo- ENJOY! :>

This story is heavily inspired by heist movies such as The Italian Job (1969) and comedic British mob crime films.

Themes: Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Crime Family, Thriller, Nior, Heist, Action, Comedy, Crime, Romance.

Word count: 2.9k

Prologue

I am lovely and round, I shine with pale light, grown in the darkness, a lady's delight. What am I?

Often you would have someone you could always turn to, for advice or comfort. Y/N had someone like that. 

Reflecting fondly on the time she was too scared to get her train to Gotham, where she would end up living. Her grandfather sat her down and said “you just gotta go for it, don't think about what comes after or what came before. Take a deep breath and jump. And you might think what if I fall- oh no what if you don't. What if you fly!” 

The way he held her cheek in his wrinkled hand. A fond smile and glimmer in his eye as her’s watered. She had left him there at that station, alone. 

Now- a year later, she was at Gotham’s prince’s tower- the Wayne Tower.

Y/N ran through the double doors of the top floor. There she breathed in the room, the entire gothic interior of the tower. The architecture instantly made her think of her grandfather’s home but this- this felt expensive. It made her feel small. A mouse in the lure of a fussed cat.

It had only been a month after the events of the Riddler. Gotham was a wreck as expected, and Y/N lost her home in the flood. She was already in crippling debt and now she lived in her car. Places like this- Wayne Tower were far beyond her reach she couldn't help but snoop around the prince's palace.

Slowly and steadily, she reached the windows. She looked out and saw Gotham in its entity. she couldn't help but look down at the people below. Blinking lights. Each light was a person or a family with their own story. A narrative scene unfolding, maybe someone just got engaged. Maybe someone else just fell in love or another just had a huge fight with their friend. 

This is what Bruce did, this is where he would stand. Him and all his money, his family wealth looked down on these people. He probably didn't acknowledge the small worlds behind those lights. Wayne’s were the ones with the empty hearts. This pyramid of capital that they stood at the top of. She scoffed, turning around taking in the room she was in.

Cold. The entire room was cold. Y/n ran her hands across the cool wood of the table, not a single spec of dust. At first glance it felt more like a showroom in a museum than somewhere anyone would live in. It's hard to imagine any sort of life to take place here, with everyday mundane stuff like; having breakfast with large amounts of people. Holding parties and events. This room felt like it was supposed to be vacant, dead.

Moving around the room she caught sight of the magnificent arches that framed the stairwell. Tilting her head to the side admiring its structure, imagining a young kid swinging around him. A little Bruce tripping over the gothic roots or playing monkey bars on the wooden vines that wrap themselves around the arches. 

The place, devoid of color, gave off very old money craftsmanship. Y/N put her hands on her hips brushing her fingers along the gun on her hip. Brown. The entire room was one mono tone of brown with golden and red hues. She assumed it could make the entire room sparkle when a small splash of light just decorated the rather bland room. Bringing a little life to this dead space.

“Nice place” she mumbled to herself. Although bland and empty of colour the place was actually beautifully unique. 

Hearing footsteps approaching behind her, suspecting it was the man of the tower, she spun around and locked eyes with an old man. That's not Bruce Wayne.

Alfred caught Y/N standing there, in the center of the dining room. Surrounded by shrouded thorns of the structure. They held eye contact. Her mind ran still, empty and quiet with panic.

“Shit” she spat out. Instantly making a dash to the door. Alfred cuts her off with an attempt to disarm her with an elbow to her face. She ducked. Springing back up, striking him in the throat immobilizing him long enough for her to run to the doorway.

Pulling out her gun from her holster, Y/N in a state of panic ejects the magazine sloppily. Reloading. The fast paced footsteps behind her drew closer. Bruce Wayne isn't here?

Whipping around she held Alfred at gunpoint. Thinking she had the advantage she flashed a cheeky smile. Alfred tutted and shook his head. Grabbing her forearm, raising it and twisting it. Attempting to disarm her. In the heat of that action, Y/N pulled the trigger, just missing Alfred’s ear by a hair. The bullet ran through the perfect structure of the gothic arch just above them letting dust trickle down like snow. 

He spun her around, buckling her wrist, resulting in her dropping the gun right into his hand.

“I don't know who you are but you sure do lack some manners.” Alfred had a calmness to his voice. Quickly inspecting the room, noticing the hole she made besides his head. He let out a sigh, that was going to be a pain to fix.

“I don't know who you are but I sure as hell know you're not Bruce Wayne.” She had venom in her voice.

“What do you want with Mr Wayne?” He asked. Alfred loosening his grip, pushing her from him. She stumbled forward, while rubbing her wrist she turned around to face him. He removed the magazine from her gun, throwing them opposite ends of the room, remaining in a perfectly crisp posture.

“Oh you know, just ask him out for a cup of coffee, maybe ask him for his bank details, the usual stuff.” She mocked Alfred's calmness. His clothes only slightly creased from the stress of having to deal with this nuisance. 

“You think you're really clever, huh?”

“The brightest.”

He let out an exhausted sigh. Y/N eyed where her gun and the ammo was. Too far between each other to grab and load. As if reading her mind Alfred spoke up.

“You're not that very bright if you think you have an advantage at getting those.” Looking over his shoulder at the gun and its round on the floor. Turning back towards her for a split second of catching her in his peripheral vision. He knew he had made a mistake. She punched him in the face with a closed fist. Catching him by surprise.

Attempting to push past him to grab the ammo first which was closest to the main door of the room, but she was yanked back- he pulled her arm flipping her onto her back creating a loud crash. The air in her lungs escaped her with a big oof.

Messaging his jaw, Alfred towered over her panting. The sweat off his brow dripped onto the floor. She leaned up resting on her elbows to look up at him in defeat but full of red wrath.

“Alright I give up.” She glared at him.

“Splendid. Now you can answer my inquiries.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic” she spoke out sarcastically.

“Mr Wayne, what do you want with him?” he inquired, fixing his cufflinks.

“What every girl wants with him” she batted her eyelashes at him, overly playing up her femininity. He gave her a serious and stern look. 

“I can easily call security up and have you arrested for trespassing.”

“I have a feeling old man- you’re not gonna do that.” she chewed her tongue, glaring at him. He let out a sigh of annoyance. It felt like arguing with a toddler.

After a moment of silence Alfred opened his mouth to speak to then be interrupted by a crash coming from behind him. 

A man barges in through the door wrestling another man with a suitcase. The sudden commotion captured both Y/N and Alfred's attention. The man with the suitcase slams the gun, the other was holding onto the wall jarring it from his hand. Bouncing onto the floor, One of the men kicked the gun, letting it slide across the polished floor to land near Y/N. Without a single thought, she lunges to grab it as did Alfred. 

“Hey! Princess!” Yelled one with glee pulling the man with the suitcase towards him. Guiding the man to run into a fist in a very slapstick fashion.

From the sudden commotion and distraction, Y/N used this to knock Alfred down by swiping at his feet. He stumbled backwards- her attempt was weak.

“Don’t call me princess, Sausages!” Screamed Y/N

In a desperate sprint to reach Sausages, Y/N had suddenly been pulled back. Pinned against the floor.

With her face planted in the hardwood she peaked over at Sausages, Alfred whipped his head around to see what she saw and took notice of the suitcase, Alarm bells were ringing in his head as the world around him blurred, letting the case focus. The suitcase.

“Need a little help?” Yelled out Sausages, again this time with the man attached to the suitcase in a headlock. The man attempted to get Sausages off him by hitting him on the head with the actual suitcase several times. Each attempt just made Sausages smile wider and brighter.

“This wasn't part of the plan!” She cried out reaching for the gun in a wrestle with Alfred. She couldn't help but think this old man was not what he appeared to be. He has strength and stamina. Fucking insane. Did this pensioner do kickboxing in between wiping Mr Wayne's ass?

“Yeah?” Sausages laughed between each wack to the face from the suitcase. “No shit!”

“Who are you two?” Alfred spat out through gritted teeth. Y/N was pushing his face away, clawing at his wrinkled cheek in a desperate attempt to get him off her.

Alfred leaned away from her scratching and clawing, she got the upper hand of letting her legs slip in from under him and kicked him in the chest to send him flying. 

Grabbing the gun that was beside her, she laughed. The heavy weight of the security in her hands gave her a sense of control. 

Jumping up to her feet she pointed the gun at the man with the suitcase who froze when the barrel looked directly back at him with its singular eye. Sausages cheered, ruffling the man's hair while still holding him hostage in a headlock. 

“Do you need a little help?” she grinned.

Sausage rolled his eyes then his gaze was stolen- darting over to beside Y/N and his upbeat mood melted away instantly. Her finger hovered on the trigger aiming besides them both, planning to fire a warning shot. But Alfred charged at her side, catching her from surprise. 

From the sudden jolt she pulled the trigger.

After the bang of the gun, a loud thud hit the floor from across the room. In a rush of panic Y/N looked to make sure she didn't shoot Sausages. Deep and heavy dread sat at the bottom of her stomach.

Everyone froze in place Including Sausages who stood there, arms in the air with shock and fresh blood sprayed across his face. Relief washed over her, she didn't shoot him. Still riding the high of the relief she followed Sausage's gaze and saw it. 

She had shot the man with the suitcase dead center in the head, between the eyes. What a bullseye.

Face pale and white, ghost-like as nausea pirouetted in her gut. The body on the floor was just bleeding out, limp with the suitcase still attached to his arm. She felt vile bubble up her throat as the acidly taste just crept its way up her tongue. She killed a man. 

Y/N stared straight ahead, Sausages and Alfred remained idle. It's like the gun shot sent a wave through everyone in the room to paralyze them.

After that pause of silence. Sausages shook off his surprise and ran over to assist Y/N with her attempts to knock out Alfred. One obstacle was out of the way lying on the floor like a rag doll and now the issue at hand was the old man.

“You almost shot me!” Sausages grabbed Alfred by the collar pulling him off her. It took Sausages back as he hadn’t expected the old man to be so heavy or take a lot of willpower to pull. She Crawled away pointing the gun at Alfred. Aim shaky but this time her finger off the trigger, learning her lesson fast.

Alfred raised both of his arms in the air and relaxed. Two against one. He isn't like Batman, he doesn't have a chance especially if one of them is a little skittish with a gun. Best to be compliant.

“You almost shot me” Sausages whispered over to Y/N. 

Trembling with the gun sweating in her grip, darted her eyes between Alfred and the body laying behind him like a rag doll. Fixated on the gaping eyes with a noxious wound between them. The crimson, a mask of crimson covering all features. Mouth open ajar. The body still fucking warm.

“I heard you the first time.” She nodded over to the figure draped on the floor “what's with the guy with the suitcase?” “Well…” Sausages pulled a pained expression, leaning over to whisper something into her ear. Alfred remained calm, keeping focus on them both. “He is holding what we came here for.”

Alfred heard them whispering, his lip twitched. He now had the answers he was looking for earlier. Y/N eyes widened as Sausages spoke further, still focusing on the body. The suitcase was handcuffed to the dead man and it looked like it was uncomfortably tight. She was connecting the dots; The man, Sausage attacking him, the suitcase oh god the suitcase being attached to him? Realizing that not only did she kill a man but she killed a man who was attached to the one thing they came here for. It was locked with a dead body attached. Brilliant.

“The suitcase has a lock on it and inside the suitcase are what we are here for.”

“Don't say that” Anxiety had her in a choke hold. The man on the floor she swore was staring back at her, she swore she saw his finger twitch. He was moving, he wasn't dead. Convincing herself that she didn't just kill man and better yet she didn't kill the man who was attached to the one thing her and Sausages needed for freedom.

“I’m going to throw a shot in the dark here and presume you're both attempting to rob the Wayne’s.” From Alfred’s calm demeanor he aggravated Y/N. She swung the gun to point at him, making him tense, only slightly.

“Oh shut up!” Stepping closer and shoving the gun in his face. Sausages came up behind her, trying to calm her down. “Shut up shut up SHUT UP!” Shaking off Sausages and nudging him to get away.

Stepping away, stretching her arms out to keep Alfred face to face with the gun she circled him. She had to think fast, there was a dead body on their hands. They were only supposed to grab what they needed and ditch before anyone noticed. It was a mistake to have come up to the tower to see Bruce. It was an impulsive act that really did make her pay. Her weird little hatred and fascination with him bit her in the ass this time.

“Grab the suitcase.” She demanded.

“But the dead guy-”

“Grab the suitcase and the dead guy.” He didn't need to be told another time. He ran over to the body and hesitated for a second before picking up the body and throwing it over his shoulder. Gagging as the man drooled blood out of his mouth all over Sausages jacket. Black substance- sort of like BBQ sauce. Sausages would never touch it ever again in his life after this.

“You” she nodded towards Alfred. He raised his chin in acknowledgement, remaining stationed where she had him pinned in place. “If you come after us I will shoot you in the leg. Do not follow us.” She lowered the gun for a second. Anxiety and panic was pounding in her chest, the best cause of action? Pretend you have your shit together. Pretend you have a back up plan and a back up for that back up.

Heart pounding and thoughts racing, the man with the case staring at her from Sausages grasp. The impending thought of the object in the suitcase not reaching her boss. The thought of never seeing her grandfather again better let being trapped in Gotham longer as this window of opportunity was slowly closing- out of reach. 

Alfred stared at her, she stared back. Her mind ran blank as her impulsive voice became loud.

“Oh screw it”

In a flash, she double tapped Alfred in the knee causing him to buckle over and fall to the floor letting out a pained cry. Sausages yelled out, questioning why she bothered. She felt a shiver rush through her. She didn't like it, she hated it, she never shot anyone before until today and she shot two people- one of which is dead. but it was necessary to shoot Alfred. She knew he would chase after them, despite her threat.

Y/N Rushed past him letting a soft whisper of “sorry” brush past. Reaching the exit of the room, she briefly looked back, regret cradled itself in her chest. This could have all been easily avoided. She hesitated at the door but with a strong pat on the back from her friend, she ran out the door. Leaving Alfred on the floor bleeding onto the hardwood alone.

Bruce wouldn't be home for hours. Unbeknownst to Y/N or Alfred, he was lying in the trunk of Sausage's car, unconscious.

[lewis-winters]

'Shielding the other with their body' for Nat and Arthur if you're feeling it? - Nathan <3

after 10000 years @hellofanidea, here it is!

--

Arthur doesn't know how long he's been standing still. Long enough for the buzzing in his ears to go quiet, that much is certain. Everything is so silent now, more silent than the world has any right to be, the ambient noise cushioned by the thick blanket of snow covering all that there is to be covered.

Nevertheless, he's since learned not to trust it; it's deceptive. That's what makes it so alien. A silence like this doesn't immediately mean solitude, and he knows he's just inviting trouble simply by standing here, right in the open, where just about anybody can see him, without even a foxhole or a tree to hide himself behind.

But their newly put up Christmas lights are twinkling at him from their farm house windows, and it takes very little to allow them to mesmerize him into stillness.

"Oh, Arthur!" comes a sudden shout, followed by a muted sounding whump and the crunch-thud of a body taking a bit of a tumble into the snow-- all of it effectively shaking him out of his reverie. Suddenly, his other senses awaken all at once, and blinking up at the dizzying display one last time, Arthur swivels around and looks down, a laugh bubbling from deep in his chest at the sight of Natalie Morse, huffing and sputtering and sprawled across the ground, brushing snow out of her hair.

"That was rude, Matthew," she says to Arthur's sheepish little boy running up to them now, wringing his little glove-clad hands in apology. "What'd I tell ya 'bout aimin' those balls at people who don't know ya aimin' for 'em?"

"Not to do it," Matthew says, as he watches Arthur help his grump of an aunt up and out of the snow. "'M sorry, Papa. I really didn't mean t' throw it that far."

"Yeah, right."

"I didn't, Auntie Nat! I swear!"

"Aww, lay off the kid, Nat," Arthur tsks, finally getting her upright and dusting off the remaining bits of snow off her clothes. "He was jus' playin'."

"Playin' rough and unfair," Nat grumbles, reaching out to give Matthew an admonishing noogie. "C'mere--"

"No!" the little boy squeals and giggles, trying to get away but unable to escape. Dramatically, he flings his hands out at his other companions who're slowly approaching, breathlessly begging for help none of them seem willing to give him. "Daddy!"

"I'd getcha outta there, Matty," George says, grinning from ear to ear. There's snow in his hat, remnants of snowballs past, and several damp scarves in his arms, clearly cast aside in annoyance. Such is the reality of bringing children out in the snow. "But I gotta say you deserve it, right Tab?"

Tab smiles, hefting up his own bundle of squirming child in his arms. "She did tell you, Matty."

Matthew makes another breathless plea, half of it lost in a laugh. Natalie is relentless, though, moving on to tickling his sides until he's practically red in the face. Arthur thinks of intervening, even if they do look like they're having fun, but before he could, Matthew's most steadfast ally, Adelaide, puffs her cheeks out with jealousy, squirming out of Tab's hold to hit the ground running toward her mother.

"Nata!" she whines, flinging her little arms up at Natalie with a pout. "Up! Up!"

"Yeah, alright," Natalie relents, throwing a giggling Matthew over her shoulder to pick Adelaide up and tuck her under her arm.

The little girl squeals, absolutely delighted to be treated like a sack of wheat and not a toddler. "Nata zoom? Zoom!"

Arthur laughs at the look of exasperation that crosses Natalie's face. "You heard the lady."

"My back isn't what it used to be, ya know," Natalie grumbles, tossing Adelaide with practiced ease until the little girl was up on her other shoulder, hanging over her back with Matthew so they can whisper conspiratorially like a pair of deranged monkeys on a vine. "I'm goin' t' throw ya both into the nearest snow drift an' roll ya into a new snowman for Joe to see out the kitchen window."

The threat encourages more than deters, unfortunately, and Natalie takes off (in a jog that is more bounce than run, entirely made to draw giggles from the two children on her back) to do exactly as promised.

[badonkeykong]

@dandelicn (x)

      ⸻ THE BRANCH HAD left her reeling, just a little. It hadn’t hurt, but her pride was certainly injured. She was grateful that he’d stopped for a moment so that they could pick foliage out of her mane. The trouble with having so much fluff was always getting stuff stuck in it, or getting it caught in things.

“Y-Yeah– I’m okay. Ahah…sorry.” She waves a hand dismissively, embarrassed but unharmed. “I’m actually in the area lookin’ for cousins of mine, but no dice so far. I’m from a different kingdom. It’s a lot more URBAN than this one is. We do have jungles, but…not really this dense, anymore.” She decided, then, that tucking her ukulele in her bag might’ve been a better idea. Two hands to fend away vicious branches were always better than one.

“My name is Dandelion - but, uhm. You can call me Dandie. Donkey Kong is a cool name - it seems like there are a lot of gorillas ‘n monkeys around here!”

——————————————————————————-

“Ohhh, you’ve got family out here?” The Kong heir had seen a plethora of lions within the jungle in his time adventuring through it, there was no telling which ones she happened to be related to. “Does one happen to have a big ol’ scar on his face and a bad attitude? I’ve ran into that guy a few times and he’s kind of a jerk.” His anger might have been justified though considering DK would often have to trespass on his territory in order to get to his favorite oasis in the jungle, (which he admittedly visited often),

“Hey, thanks! You can say DK for short if that’s easier.” he offers. “Some people try to call me by my first name only and it gets confusing.” …Cause he’s an ape and not a donkey.

“Okay, Dandie, nice to meet ya!” DK smiles, turning and beginning to move again once the lion had gathered her bearings. He moves slower this time just to ensure that she can keep up without being throttled by the never ending brush, his attention on her as they continue on. “That’s a pretty neat name, guessin’ your parents were fans of dandelions? Those things’re amazing in salad.” That was getting him thinking about food again…

“We’re almost there!” He tells her as they come to a river stretching through the jungle. The only way across was either swimming against an incredibly strong current or swinging on a vine. The large tree looming over the river on their side dawned several thick vines and DK takes to tugging on them experimentally in order to see which ones were sturdy. Sure enough, he finds two that aren’t immediately suspicious and offers one to Dandie.

“Careful, there’s a waterfall at the end of that river. If you need help, feel free to ask!” He had learned his lesson the hard way.

[or-something-better]

August 17, 2022

(Return to Oz Part 2  written by Ruby and Charlie)

Dean

I grab my phone and call Ellen listening to it ring

Ellen

hearing my phone ring I look down and see it's Dean Well hey Dean what's up?

Dean

Hey wanna come help us? With a fun adventure?

Ellen

Yeah count me in. I'm bringing some help.

Dean

Perfect see ya soon

Sam

I roll my eyes at Dean's characterization of the job before us.

Dean

What? Well i mean you think she’s gonna believe me over the phone?

Sam

A Fun adventure, really Dean?

Ellen

showing up with patience, Claire and Eileen to the bunker

Dean

Its freakin OZ Sammy....again.....we're off to see the wizard.... Again

Patience

show up with Claire and Eileen

Sam

+Hi guys, thanks for coming+

Claire

walks into the bunker with the others

Dean

Hey

Dean

Hey Claire

Ellen

Yeah Sam, no problem walks into the bunker

Eileen

+hi Sam. Hi Dean+

Dean

Hey awesome

Claire

Well Hasselhoff what's going on

Dean

Hey Eileen

Dean

Well apparently we are taking another trip to oz

Claire

Shakes her head you've really lost your mind this time

Dean

Its true though

Charlie

I park my car in the garage and head inside the bunker and see the team gathering and overhear about oz  he hasn’t, Oz is very real. I spent some time there myself.

Claire

shakes her head again whatever you say Hasselhoff

Ruby

Showing them the letter from Dorothy, I tell them

“Dorothy talks about her father taking the last brick and hiding it.. but we have it. We can go to Oz to get Gabe and Cass!”

Eileen

+uh… guys? how, exactly, are we supposed to even get there?+

Sam

Guys, I know that it sounds like we’ve all lost our minds, but we're not kidding. This is really happening.

Ellen

listening I remember Charlie telling me this sorta story

Charlie

Any ideas on where the other door is? I know the key for the one here is broken… should have known there’d be another way….

Dean

Yes the flying monkeys are really pricks

Ruby

I hand Dorothy's letter to Charlie "Maybe you can find out from the letter"

Charlie

taking the letter I smile at the handwriting. In amongst the doodles on the page, there are some coordinates hidden and she says I’m the genius…. grins and points to the paper here’s the lat and long ruby …. It’s a bit far… can you take us??

Ruby

"Sure. Ex Crossroads. No problem. Just get what you want to take with you.*

Sam

I already have Pulls my pack over my shoulder

Charlie

heading to my room I grab my go bag, and reach into my nightstand for the dagger I brought back from Oz, thinking it may come in handy then I head back to the main room I got what I need

Dean

I’m already ready too

Henry

I have everything in my bag

Ruby

I grab my satchel and put some crystals in it

Dean

Dont forget your snack pack

Ruby

I take a look at the coordinates Charlie pointed out getting the location fixed in my mind

Charlie

walking over I stand next to ruby, placing my hand on her shoulder

Dean

I put my arm around Sam

Claire

grabs a bag and meets up with everyone else

Ruby

"Everyone ready?"

Charlie

nods

Ruby

"Touch each other’s arm or shoulder.” I pop them to the clearing.

Henry

I have it in my bag  garbs on

Sam

I’d always wondered about Charlie’s time in the Land of Oz and it looked like now I might be getting a chance myself to see what it was all about. Searching around at the edge of the clearing as we walk, I hope we’ll be able to find the right spot and the key to open it.

Charlie

looking around the clearing I try to find anything that might be out of place

Ruby

"It's really overgrown here."

Charlie

I think it’s been a while since anyone was here for sure… pushing some weeds out of the way I find an ant hill and start brushing bugs off me

Dean

start searching everywhere through the brush in the clearing is it actually gonna be a door or like more a wall that changes?

Ruby

I catch my feet on roots and nearly fall.

Charlie

Well… last time it was a brick wall….

Sam

Reach out and catch Ruby keeping her upright Thanks Sam.

Dean

Nice save Sammy looking through more brush

Charlie

I find a lot of vines growing in one area and point it out to Eileen wanna check that out?

Ruby

"Watch out for ant hills!"

Eileen

laughs at Ruby’s comment

Dean

walks over and starts shuffling through the vines. I feel something hard and cold underneath my fingers so i pull the vines away to discover a brick wall

Eileen

+uh… this thing?+

Dean

Especially red fire ants

Henry

while looking I find an odd shape looking thing I think I found something  holds up a mental star

Ruby

+I think you've found it Eileen!+

Sam

Good eye, Henry!

Ruby

Going over to Eileen I help her tear off the vines

Charlie

I start to jump up and down this is really happening! I’m going back to Oz! Dorothy here I come!!

Sam

+Eileen, I'm pretty sure this has got to be it+

Claire

follows the others

Eileen

points to the star shaped hole in the wall where a doorknob should be +hey Dean!+

Dean

seeing the star I look for the place in the wall for it to go and hear Eileen yeah try there

Patience

putting the star in place the ground begins to shake oh dam

Ruby

"Uh guys. Be careful. I've felt this sort of thing before." Digging into my satchel I take out the tiger eye, black obsidian, selenite, black tourmaline, and labradorite crystals and pass them out "These are for protection."

Sam

The ground beneath my feet begin to tremble and I reach out to steady myself on a nearby tree.

Charlie

taking the crystal thanks Ruby— but we are going to Oz! I’m so excited!

Sam

Thanks Ruby Accepts the protective crystals and hopes that they do their job in keeping all of us that way.

Dean

Well that’s awesome feeling the ground shake watching the yellow road appear and taking a crystal from ruby thanks ruby

Eileen

sees the brick road +wow. it’s so beautiful+

Sam

Don't anyone start singing that stupid Yellow Brick Road song, alright?

Charlie

Just you wait till you see the rest of it!

Dean

Follow the yellow brick road follow the yellow brick road!

Sam

Shoves him

Claire

Follows the others down the yellow brick road

Henry

This is so cool  watching the road appear. I take the crystals

Dean

Alright guys let’s stay close and dont wander off for the love of Gabe!

Patience

feeling really uneasy

Claire

feels uneasy about this whole thing

Ruby

I can see Patience is a little unsure "Don't worry, stay together and we'll be fine."

Sam

Amazed that the path we are on is actually made of yellow bricks

Ellen

You guys are gonna be just fine. Promise! having no idea what lays ahead of us

Dean

I say we go straight to the damn castle

Sam

Dean, come on. Let’s be careful here and not just storm right up to the front door. We don’t yet have any idea at all about what’s going on

Eileen

gives Claire a small pat on the shoulder +it’ll be ok Claire+

Charlie

Sam’s right, we should find Dorothy, she can tell us what is going on….

Dean

Does it matter really if we find Gabe and Cass?

Sam

Things like that always matter

Charlie

Kinda cause whatever we are dealing with was strong enough to bring them here….

Henry

Let’s go find them feeling excited that I’m going on an adventure

Charlie

I start to walk down the road staying with the team

Dean

But I thought bringing them back was our focus? Not saving wonderland here keep walking with the group

Sam

we even know if it needs saving?

Claire

follows the others down the path

Ruby

Would the army go off without a plan?

Sam

Mumbles If Dean were leading it

Ruby

I shove Sam gently and laugh

Dean

Alright no we usually always have a plan

Sam

Dean "don't die" has never been a real plan

Dean

Reallly so you saving your ass works so much better? And better than plan D

Sam

I'll give you that, but marginally.

Dorothy

sits by the road, waiting for news on what is going on at the palace

Henry

So we just follow this road to the castle?

Ruby

That's all we've got for now Henry

Dean

Yes but they all wanna talk to Dorothy and her little dog too

Ruby

Shakes my head "You just couldn't resist, eh Dean?"

Dean

Nope smerks

Charlie

I see a familiar figure up the road speak of the devil!  I run to Dorothy and hug her  Hi!!! I came as soon as I could, and I brought a team!

Dorothy

hugging Charlie always in the nick of time, aren’t you genius?

Charlie

I love when you call me that!!

Dean

Oh yay! We found her!

Sam

I give Dorothy a sort of awkward one arm hug Hey Dorothy, nice to see you again.

Charlie

Guys meet Dorothy. Dorothy, this is the team. They can introduce themselves.

Dorothy

waves

Dean

Hey dot! Good to see ya again

Dorothy

Hi Sam! I never expected we’d meet again

Sam

I knew Charlie would find a way to you again somehow

Dean

I dont mind a visit just without the word hunt attached to it

Eileen

+hi Dorothy. I’m Eileen. if you didn’t figure it out from the signing, I’m deaf. long story.+

Dorothy

grins always seems to show up when we need saving. And boy do we need help! I did see a couple people you knew already. I think they said their names were Gabe and cas-teel?

Henry

Have you seen Gabe and Cass?  hoping she had seen them we are looking for them?

Patience

talking with Claire about the creepy flying monkeys afraid one of them will carry off Claire are you worried about them carrying us away? The flying monkeys

Claire

Looks at Patience I remember the original Oz story having flying monkeys in it I mean I am a little worried about that happening

Patience

This is creepy and fun at the same time. Don't you think.

Dorothy

I did, and you are? They’re heading to the castle to help with the new wizard that has taken over….

Dean

Wait what? They ARE at the castle?

Claire

yeah you could say that. let's just keep an eye out for the flying monkeys don't need to carried away by them

Patience

Right

Dorothy

Maybe not yet— they seem to argue a lot. But they are headed there. This new wizard is stronger than anything I’ve ever seen!

Henry

I’m Henry. We can help however we can

Dean

Screw it I’m going whether anyone goes with me.

Dorothy

Follow the road- the way those two were fighting they likely haven’t gotten far yet. I think you may need all the help you can get. My Charlie has been helping…. But they imprisoned her. Gabe got her out- but I don’t know where she is now. Hurry and you’ll catch them! The monkeys pretty much stay at the castle now, so that won’t be too much of a concern

Claire

well that's a relief to hear

Abbadon

waltzes into the Emerald Palace Wizard you wanted to see me. what do you want from me? You know I have no loyalty to you right?

Charlie

the wizard remains silent and motionless for the time being and continues to work in the background

Abbadon

Wizard, answer me looks around and mutters why can't i just be with Lucifer since he's the rightful king of hell. I mean it's better than waiting here for someone to answer my questions

Dorothy

I’m waiting for word from some of my friends here… things were going great and this new wizard showed up. She forced me out of the palace. My Charlie and I tried to stop her but she’s too strong and we lost…..

Charlie

wincing at the mention of the other Charlie well I think our best bet is to go find Gabe and Cass

Dean

Can we just fucking go already shit! we are wasting time here! starts walking

Henry

I’m going with Dean  runs to catch up and leads the way.

Sam

I’m frustrated at Dean’s usual inability to use even a smidgen of caution in a situation that clearly requires a large amount of it, and I follow along behind him and Henry.

Charlie

hugging Dorothy I say my farewells  we always seem to see each other under the worst circumstances…. But I miss you. We will fix this.

Dorothy

My genius, forever the hero. Go get her!

Patience

following behind with the red of the women

Ruby

I fall in behind, giving Dean a wide berth

Charlie

I run to catch up with the team and hope we can find our fearless leader soon

Ellen

following along behind Charlie and the others

Claire

follows along behind Charlie and the others

Charlie

We’re in for quite a walk…. I hope you’re all hydrated I continue walking up the hill and stop at the top and point for the others to see the emerald city, the palace standing quite a bit higher than the rest

Sam

Looking down on the Emerald City in the distance, I think back to the Wizard of Oz book that I reread after Charlie’s visit here. It’s beautiful Charlie

Ruby

I can honestly see that in all my travels throughout the world, I've never seen anything like this!

Henry

I brought extra water for everyone and snacks  pulls out the extra water and passing it out it looks so close

Dean

It doesn’t look that far away lets go faster

Ellen

stunning I think to myself. It looks like it's right in front of us

Charlie

Hold up there— appearances are deceiving in Oz. It’s a lot further than it looks. taking the water from Henry  thanks little dude. Let’s get moving

Sam

I point to the darkness of the sky just a little way off from the great city. THAT however, doesn’t look like anything good…

Claire

well that is one magnificent palace

Patience

it's so beautiful it looks so close but I know we're in for the hike of our lives

Dean

It looks awesome but what the hell is with that fuckin cloud?

Abbadon

Oh Crowley, when did you get here

Crowley

I turn and smirk before teasing her gently Oh, I've been here the whole time. Didn't you see me?

Abbadon

no I didn't. why are you here

Crowley

I was summoned, just like you darling. Do you know why we're here?

Abbadon

nope, but this wizard better answer my questions

Crowley

Which questions do you have? I, for one, want to know who they are.

Abbadon

I want to know that too as well as why we have been summoned

Crowley

Well I suppose we just need to wait for them to arrive.

Abbadon

wizard answer me

WIZARD

walks in the a glass goblet of green smoking drink and sips as she walks into the the throne room!

(Cass and Gabe continue to walk down the road every step bringing them closer and closer to the castle looming ahead of them)

Abbadon

what the hell

Crowley

You've got to be kidding me

Abbadon

why are you here

Cass

Gabriel, why didn’t we just poof there? Why feet are killing me it feels like we’ve been walking for hours can we take a break?

WIZARD

slightly chokes as I see you two! you two finally got here! Took you long enough! sits on the emerald throne!

Crowley

I thought you were on an extended vacation...I swear Squirrel said you were in the Bahamas

Abbadon

you should be dead

Gabe

It’s because we HAVE been walking for hours Cass I ….. fine if it will make you stop your whining we can take a quick break! looking at Cass annoyed

WIZARD

I’m here because stupid gold boy of twat brother banished me here!!!

Cass

finding a weird looking tree stump to sit on  what he’s heck is this thing

Abbadon

bursts out laughing

Gabe

I have no idea it’s like an acid trip gone bad

WIZARD

Wellllll surprise I’m not! sips her drink with a royal flair

Crowley

I choke back a laugh Well I suppose we can agree with something

Abbadon

banished!!! You!!!! that's hilarious

WIZARD

Like that huh?

Abbadon

so why are we here, Amara

WIZARD

Yes the only one able to do such a thing! Ugggg siblings!!!

Crowley

Really. I'd think I'd be the last person you'd want to see.

WIZARD

Hmmm nice to see you to Crowley!

Abbadon

well, I still didn't vote you king of hell Crowley

Cass

Why are we even headed to the palace? This isn’t our world to worry about. We have enough our own dues back home, and on earth, what are we the United States where we have to stick our nose in everyone else’s businesses? Can’t we just be Canada for once and stay neutral?

WIZARD

Now with you two here I can finally get my revenge on my stupid holier than thou brother! shivers and glares!

Crowley

Last I was aware the title King doesn't imply a vote

Gabe

Cass this world, it’s more our business than you think I’m assuming. We help everyone who needs help.

Abbadon

really. you want revenge on God

Crowley

Um I look at Amara Do you want to tell her?

WIZARD

Did I stutter?? Tell me what??? puts down my glass! tell me what???

Crowley

Chuck....well.... I look at Abby Chuck is dead...

Cass

No Gabe it’s not, we have our own issues. Lucifer is coming back, we need to get Kevin back to his world, one of our friends is a statue, Lilith is a ghost rider. Well the last ones ok but the east we need to fix!

Abbadon

he's gone

Crowley

out of the picture

WIZARD

What?

Crowley

I heard he was eaten I look at Abby for confirmation You heard eaten right?

WIZARD

stands getting more angry!!! what?!?!!?!!! No!

Gabe

Really? Is this coming from the Winchesters little bitch boy who runs to help every times one of Sam‘s hairs is out of place if every time Dean gets a hangnail? You want to leave another world in peril? Wow you’ve got the same hero complex they do.

WIZARD

black smoke starts to puff around me! ate him??!?!!

Abbadon

yeah, someone ate him. don't remember who though

Cass

All I’m saying is we don’t need to put ourselves in the middle of it every time someone else is in trouble.

Crowley

I think Gabe said it was a bear. Not our bear, but A bear.

WIZARD

Wait! the smokes disappears as I think Then… how.. how is the world in balance?! Who’s god?

Abbadon

Some kid

Crowley

Some kid? That's what you're going with?

Gabe

That’s exactly what we do Castiel. This world, our world, whatever world is in trouble we make it out business and if you’re not with me on that, I don’t need you or anyone else! turning and walking away  I’ll do it myself

Cass

No! Gabe ! Wait !

Gabe

WHAT ?!?!

Abbadon

what it was either that or say my brother

Cass

It’s scary here let me walk with you i promise I’ll help

Gabe

What would be really helpful right now I’d if you shit your mouth and we got moving to the castle

Crowley

That still narrows it down to what...4 people?

Cass

nods following

Abbadon

no I think 3

WIZARD

looks to each of you pissed and confused!

Abbadon

now she's mad. this is turning into an epic day.

Crowley

Just wonderful. But, dead or not there's still 4 archangels? Or did someone get disowned?

Abbadon

you know Luci was disowned. so that leaves Gabe, Cass, and Balthazar

Abbadon

hey Crowley, didn't Cass take over Heaven

Henry

How much longer? Are we ever going to find them?  losing hope and out of snacks I try to carry on

Patience

feeling so tired from the walk can't we rest for just a few minutes?

Crowley

That was a brief and messy time.

Claire

starts whining I'm so bored this walking is making me so tired

Abbadon

I had fun with it

Charlie

I said It  was further than it looked….

Crowley

Weren't you still in the 50's then?

Claire

it's still taking so long when are gonna be there

Dean

I stop looking back at everyone still a bit annoyed because I want to get to the castle and get Gabe and Cass and see if anything else needs dealt with

Eileen

+I agree with Patience. rest stop?+

Abbadon

why must you bring that up

Dean

Fine but stay close to the road so nobody gets lost and dont wanna take too long

Sam: +Everyone stay together, and within sight of each other.+ I smile trying to improve the mood +Just think of it as the Buddy System and let’s stay in this small area here, okay?+

Ruby

Reaching into my satchel, I take a roll of toilet paper out and hold it up, asking "Anyone need it?"

Patience

raise my hand I do

Claire

raises my hand I need some

Charlie

at Ruby’s mention I raise my hand me too!

Eileen

raises my hand

Ruby

I hand them the roll and smile.

Sam: Dean, keep an eye on for everyone. Slaps my brother on the shoulder, knowing he’s got to be worried about Gabe and Cass And that doesn’t mean be their warden. I’m going to see if there’s any place near here where we can refill canteens. Be right back. Starts to walk away and stops near Henry. Henry, wanna come with me?

Crowley

I thought you looked quite fashionable. I look towards Amara She seems pissed. We're each others best chance out of here.

Henry

Yes I'm really bored right now  follows glad to have something to do

WIZARD

looking back and forth between the two them, getting more pissed off black smoke starting flow around me again!

Abbadon

Amara, why don't you sit and I’m sure Crowley will get you a drink

Ellen

Can we stop for a few

Abbadon

how can we help you get your revenge

Dean

Yeah Sammy sure walk over to a nearby bush out of site but so I can see the group over the top of the bush do what I need to and walk over yelling at the group COME ON HURRY THE HELL UP OR I'M LEAVING WITHOUT YOU

WIZARD

yells out loud! And the whole castle shakes! I got a fucking drink!

Abbadon

Crowley

Crowley

Please, allow me to make you another. Something you liked from home?

WIZARD

Who’s god now you imbeciles?? my veins turning black!

Abbadon

Gabriel is

WIZARD

eyes turning black!

Abbadon

Amara, we can help you

WIZARD

My … nephew?? That playboy deserting no good???? THE HELLL!?!?!

Donna

the place rubbles again!

Crowley

It's true, we can. I go to the drinks table staying out of a blast radius

WIZARD

How?? glares directly at you, eyes darker than night, face turning blacker slowly

Abbadon

Amara, tell us what you need us to do

Gabe

apparently Gabe and Cass come back and decide to sit beneath some trees . Their eyes heavy from the long walk they fall asleep under the trees

Dean

I start walking ahead of the group

Charlie

having finished my business, I begin to walk again before dean decides to take off running

Henry

walks along the road and finds dad Dad!! with a shout I run and jump on himdad wake up! We been looking for you guys!

Dean

suddenly I take off running as I see something in the distance

Patience

following behind Charlie trying to catch up

Ellen

walking with the group

Dean

Fuck! we found them!

Gabe

waking with a start  oof! grinning  hey kiddo good to see you!

Charlie

when dean and Henry take off I start to run, and grin when I see the sleeping figures

Patience

excited to see Gabe and Cass alive

Cass

still asleep  and the cow goes “mooooooo”

Dean

Hey Gabe! Bout time we find your sorry ass laughing

Gabe

shoving him  wake up

Charlie

waking up Cass rise and shine sleeping beauty

Sam

A bit surprised that without any kind of real plan, we actually managed to FIND them

Cass

Huh what?

Dean

trying to hide the worry behind my words

Gabe

waving

Charlie

Guess it is about time the humans came to YOUR rescue

Dean

And they said I needed a plan to find ya

Cass

We’re you saving us from the evils of a nap??

Gabe

Walking seemed like a good one

Sam

Well, you do look kind of homeless sleeping here

Charlie

Laughs maybe

Henry

gets off you we walk for hours. We also ran out of snacks and water. Apparently, there's this wizard

Ruby

just follow the yellow brick road....who'd have thought!

Cass

What’s your excuse?

Dean

We did enough of that rather SLOWLY I might add

Charlie

Wait! Donna! She’s been worried sick!

Gabe

grinning I snap you a bag of cookies  So did Cass

Cass

Shut up already

Dean

I pray to donna hoping she can hear me hey we found thing one and thing no

Sam

Now that we're all together, let's get ourselves out of here, yeah?

(Cass and Gabe stand up)

Cass

Ooooh can we please do more walking?

Donna

jumping half a sleep with a tiny on my chest! Finally finding sleep after worries for hours on end! the heck! finally! I’ll be right there! I gently carry the tiny little angel to her room and lay her down with a kiss! Summon a couple clones! and with a blink I vanish

Henry

claps my hands and takes the bag of cookies I don't want to do more walking can we go home now?  eats cookies

Gabe

Something tells me the answer is no, sorry kiddo

Dean

Yeah not with a new baddy in town apparently

Charlie

Do you think Donna can make it here? I mean it took a lot of work for us

Dean

I guess we will find out?

Henry

After this I'm going to need to hibernate like a bear.  plops on my butt  I guess off to see the wizard

Dean

The wonderful wizard of soon to be dead

Donna

appears!

Charlie

Donna! You made it!

Dean

Donna! Great good to know it worked Now we know

Donna

I rush to my archangel throwing my arms around you! Gabe thank god!! Well, soft giggle!

Gabe

hugging you back  welcome to the party belle

Dean

This is a party? Wheres the booze?

Donna

my lips kiss you softly!

Gabe

I’ve seen worse kiss you back

Donna

looks around to rest of the team! hi guys!!!

Donna

Thank for you guys are all okay too! What’s happening????

Ellen

Hey Donna,  good to see you.

Donna

Hi!!

Cass

Seems her powers work just fine

Patience

wave at Donna

Dean

There’s a new sheriff in town apparently

Donna

Why can’t you all just pop back with the angels?? looks around!

Donna SPN: waves!! 🙃Huh?

Gabe

Good to see she proved them right they all think she’s more powerful than I am any how

Dean

Old wizard dead new wizard in place

Cass

Our aren’t working right . We have some but can’t seem to get out of here

Gabe

Shit happens

Donna

Oh well shit! Shit again!

Dean

Wow Cass you’ve added to your vocabulary Dont step in it?

Cass

Maybe the wizard has so nothing to do with it

Donna

Definitely!!

Cass

That was Gabe

Dean

Oh I thought you found a new upgrade of intelligence

Sam

grins and chuckles at Cass's use of the word shit

Gabe

Maybe we should have the power goddess lead the way

Donna

Alright! …. Let’s go see this new ….wizard….

Cass

Good idea we’ll follow

Abbadon

Amara, come on. let us help you. getting revenge is my specialty

Donna

I look around for the emerald castle thing and follow the road as it says, leading the way, starting to get pissed!

Dean

After you

Gabe

We’ll follow

Dean

follows behind

Charlie

grabbing my bag, I follow behind, I double check to make sure my Oz dagger is safe

Cass

Good plan

Dean

Following the road only plan so far

Gabe

reaching the castle

Sam

Seems to be working

Crowley

We can be useful to you. If you didn't think so, then we wouldn't be here.

Gabe

So how do we get in any ideas ?

Dean

Finally now....how the hell do we get the fuck in?

Donna

gets to castle! if I was so pissed this place would rather pretty!

Charlie

looking around I see a door to the right that is open just a bit there!

Henry

follows dad  I have no idea

Sam

Whatever way is decided I put my hand on Dean’s shoulder and squeeze it Stealth is going to be really important. We know the old Wizard was powerful, pretty safe to assume that this one is too.

Cass

We could get an airplane, fly over and parachute in

Abbadon

that is very true, Crowley. oh no what has the world come to that I’m agreeing with you

Gabe

Donna could just blow a hole in the door and we follow her in

Dean

Ok what say we use a catapult and shoot you over the wall..... smirks

Cass

Maybe get on each other’s shoulders and shake the wall?

Crowley

It has come to a decision for power. I look at her then back at Amara. I can only hope she remembers me fondly.

Gabe

Whatever it is we stick together

Charlie

Cass! Gabe! pointing why not take the easy way? You know, the open door??

Abbadon

fondly. yeah right

Gabe

Maybe dig a hole under the castle and come in from underneath like gophers ?

Donna

nods, agreeing

Dean

Is there really ever an "easy" way?

Ruby

I suppress a laugh

Gabe

Okie dokie

Henry

I call going with dad!  pipes in

Crowley

I took her in when she was a child upon her resurrection. He answers quietly

Claire

stands by watching the others discuss everything

Charlie

We can’t be very stealthy with this many….

Abbadon

whispers to him she is so mad and I’m loving it Amara, why don't you tell us how we can help

Sam

I think you’re right. I’ll stay out here and do my best to try and keep the way back out clear for you guys.

Crowley

It is certainly dramatic

Patience

I'll stay with Claire Ellen and Eileen

Crowley

Here, drink this I hand her what I'd whipped up

Dean

I can help guard doors to make sure you guys get in?

Donna

Sounds good!

Charlie

Well I’ll go with Henry… the angels likely should lead-we don’t know what we are facing yet ….

Gabe

Whatever you guys decide I’m game

Donna

nods

Gabe

Go ahead belle

Ellen

stays outside hiding with the others

Dean

We can help protect from behind while guarding the doors

Cass

Gabe and I will be right behind

Patience

wishing I'd get a vision to give us a clue

Gabe

Good plan Colombo

Abbadon

Crowley, I’m not thirsty yet

Ruby

"I'll stick with you guys in case I can help"

Sam

It's okay Patience, we know you can't just turn it on and off like that

Crowley

Just this once, trust me. I feel like both our nerves are going to need it.

Claire

stands with the Winchester brothers and the others

Patience

I wish though they seem to come at the worst time

Dean

Hiya Claire

Abbadon

Crow, it's fine. I'll drink later

Claire

Hasselhoff

Dean

watching around everyone for any movement outside watching the rest of the team go in

Donna

Okay! looks a head and moves with my hubby and team into the castle!

Sam

Staying out of the castle sight-lines, I try to move along the edges of the forest to keep watch over the areas I can see clearly.

(Cass and Gabe follow behind)

Ruby

I wave at Sam and head in

Crowley

Your funeral I down the glass myself before going to make Amara one.

Charlie

I stay close to the rest of my team, my dagger in my hand

WIZARD

you two are the most chattery little annoying—- my eyes go wide and fully black, I look toward the window! they’re here!

Dean

move to the shadows finding a better view while keeping the outside crew in eyesight

Abbadon

who

WIZARD

and with Poof of black whisps I disappear!!!

Abbadon

the fuck just happened, Crowley

Crowley

It appears our host has left to greet some guests. Would you like that drink now?

Abbadon

yes

Charlie

inside the hallway it’s a lot darker than I remembered something is different for sure

Dean

I start carefully walking the perimeters looking over at Sam then to Claire, Eileen, and the others

Crowley

I not and conjure a glass Do you want to watch, or do you trust I won’t poison you?

Sam

Suddenly, dark moving shapes begin moving swiftly in our direction. Running back to the others, I yell in coming!

Donna

walking through dark hallways with green ooze! I take back what I said before about this place being beautiful… ewwwww

Ellen

outside patrolling with the others. When some awful looking flying monkeys come and start to attack us what in the world is... I trail off

Abbadon

no, I’ll trust you

Charlie

It used to be-this is strange

Claire

looks up and sees the flying monkeys well it looks like we have a fight on our hands

Patience

Oh hell no not the monkeys drawing my machete I get one chipping his head off

Dean

Fuck!  I look up seeing the monkeys that’s the flying apes!

Henry

green oozes burn through a my jacket. With a yell I throw my jacket off what the hell

Sam

Pulling out my knife and a short machete, I swing with both hands at the little monkey bastards that get close enough.

Charlie

jumping at the sudden exclamation  Henry! Are you ok? Let me see!

Ellen

as I'm in mid-sentence I get attacked. It Flies right up to me knocking be down

Donna

Henry!??

Cass

putting my hands on Henry’s burn  trying to heal him  it’s not working . Donna maybe you can do it?

Dean

pull my blade as one swoops down trying to grab me I catch a claw to my shoulder as I swing my blade cutting it and ripping it open as it falls and two more come diving in

Claire

Pulls out my sword and starts swing it at the incoming flying monkeys

Gabe

Someone, I don’t care who is going to pay for hurting Henry !

Dean

I run to dodge the monkeys joining Sam's side let’s do this bro!

Gabe

fuming at the sight of Henry being hurt

Henry

I think I'm fine. Just a small burn. watches dad get upset

Donna

nods! agreed baby! Let’s do this shit!!!! hair starting to float! let’s kick some wizard Voldemort ass!!!!

Sam

I HATE THESE THINGS Swings and actually hitting a few that fall to the ground

Eileen

I see the monkeys come flying towards us. I pull out my shotgun  and begin shooting at them. I hit a couple and they plummet towards the yellow bricks. I look around and see the other slicing and dicing them every which way. I think to myself: there’s too many!!!

Ellen

I get up and pull out my shot gun where the hell did it go! mad as hell I see fly up turn around and head straight for me I get a shot off but it dodges the bullet, as it gets to me it turns and hits me in the face with its tail and Flies away

Gabe

running behind you

Sam

Ouch! One of them gets in too close and scratches my face

Dean

I’m suddenly picked up by one I missed as I try to beat it off me SAMMY

Cass

calling out. Yeah no biggie I’ll stay here with the humans …..and the demon

Claire

runs over to help the others fight off the flying monkeys and looks around at everyone

Ruby

Looking at Cass, I raise an eyebrow at the comment

Sam

Rushing to Dean's help, I get it off him

Cass

shameful look on my face  sorry Ruby

Ellen

I can feel my eye swelling up making it harder for me to see I finally see the degenerate monkey and shoot at it blowing its head off

Dean

I drop to the ground as another comes diving in at Sam and I jump up slamming my fist into its head sending it flying into a tree

Ellen

I barely see this happening but take a few shots to cover the boys

Charlie

a monkey appears grabbing Claire by the ankles and tries to fly off

Sam

Seeing Ellen is holding her own helps spur me on and I get another one

Dean

dodge a bullet SHIT! I piggie back a monkey stabbing it in the head before crash landing on the ground

Claire

Looks down and starts trying shake the monkey off my leg and swings my sword at it

Dean

I run after the monkey that has Claire and grab my gun shooting it in the wing

Sam

Nice shot!

Charlie

the monkey screeches in pain and vanishes along with all of the other monkeys

Dean

What the hell? I look at Sammy and back at the sky

Claire

well that doesn't seem to be a good sign that they randomly attacked us

Patience

having a vision but I can't make heads or tails of it all I see is black I agree Claire

Ellen

Where did they go!?

Sam

Looks around standing up straight I don't know

Dean

I look back at Sam knowing what it means

Sam

You don't think... I can see that he does Shit

Ellen

You wanna fill us in boys

Sam

Amara...

Abbadon

Crowley, we should hid somewhere

Ellen

Ok. standing annoyed

Dean

SON OF A BITCH WE NEED TO GET TO THE TEAM! NOW

Abbadon

starts looking around the room

Crowley

I sip my drink  I agree we need a shield, but we also need a way to fight. Typical for a Knight to only be out for themselves.

Abbadon

and you aren't? I mean come on. who the hell teams up with the Winchesters constantly I mean come on Crowley. you know that all Crossroad demons are only looking out for themselves

Crowley

I'm more than just a crossroads demon Abby. I'm the King of Hell. I team up with the Winchesters when it benefits me, but also Hell.

Abbadon

screw you Crowley. you aren't ever doing anything that doesn't benefit yourself. you sold your soul. I didn't. I allowed my soul to be tainted in order to become a Knight of Hell which one of us is the smarter one?

Crowley

Being selfless only gets people killed. Yes I sold my soul, but I always knew I was going to hell. Might as well get something out of it right? My soul was worthless anyways.

Sam

I run for the door. This way! Hoping the others will follow me

Patience

following behind Sam

Abbadon

again you are the most selfish person I know

Claire

follows Sam and the others

Dean

I rush towards the castle into the darkness of the halls. I see the green ooze everywhere Whatever you do dont touch that! It’s like acid it will eat right through you

Crowley

I shrug So? I never denied being a terrible person.

Abbadon

I swear I will smack that smirk right off your face

Sam

Looking at the ooze Yeah, Dean good call. Come on, this way… Leading with my gun, I move slowly down the hallway on the left.

Eileen

I follow the rest of the group

Charlie

C’mon Cass and Ruby… we need To find Donna and Gabe. Sitting here isn’t helping

Ruby

"Right with you!"

Dean

follow closely behind Sam as we walk through the castle

Henry

is trying to find dad and donna where the hell did they go? This place is a maze. This place better have snacks and water. I definitely need a nap when this is done

Ruby

Hopefully we won't have to come back again.

Sam

Turning a corner, I see Ruby Ruby? I’m relieved to find Ruby and at least one of our angels and they both appear to be okay. Cass, you guys okay? Where’s Gabe?

Ruby

"Sam! You're alright! We're trying to find Gabe and Donna!" I look around seeing the others made it too

Ellen

walking in with the team

Gabe

heading into the room I spot Crowley , my powers on the fritz I grab him shoving him against the wall letting the blades on both hands slide out WHAT are you doing here? And if you lie to me Crowley I swear I use these to cut out that obnoxious voice box of yours!

Patience

following Ellen into the castle

Dean

Ruby! CASS! henry! Char!

Charlie

I greet my team the throne room is this way… I’m sure that’s where they’re headed….

Ruby

Dean! You made it!

Crowley

I grunt as I'm slammed against the wall I was trying to get information for the team.

Ruby

I run with the others toward the sounds

Henry

That too . Dad is probably going god mode on someone right about now

Claire

follows the other well you all seem to be alright now where are the other people of your team

Ruby

I'm sure you're right.

Donna

entering the throne room with my beloved… I see the two demons! My eyes narrow on Abbadon! And I disappear!

Gabe

I don’t believe you try again! the blades leaving little slices in your neck  much deeper and you’ll cease to exist.

Dean

hears commotion where’s that coming from? Let’s sound like Gabe let’s go!

Charlie

hearing a commotion I think I hear them!

Abbadon

Liar!

Charlie

running ahead I open the door to the throne room

Abbadon

Donna, let me go

Donna

I pop up behind her and use a stretch she never experienced before holding her tight, choking you slightly! give us the info we Need!

Crowley

We were summoned. We were both summoned by the Wizard.

Abbadon

You aren't going to make me a snitch, sis you can go back to hell

Dean

runs towards the noise following Charlie seeing Donna with Abby and Gabe with crowley oh this just keeps getting better and better

Henry

Well looks like dad found his target  runs into the room  how are they here?

Abbadon

struggles in Donna's arms Let. Me. Go.

Donna SPN: Don’t be dense!!!! Give up the info!!!! What is happening!!! No!

Ruby

I stand back out of the fray, watching

Charlie

No idea-but it can’t be good

Gabe

More important how the hell do we get out ?

Claire

follows behind Charlie and the others towards the commotion well this just got better there are other two group members holding the demons

Abbadon

continues to struggle

Donna

Ya… that one!!!

Eileen

I observe the chaos unfolding in front of me

Gabe

Agreed don’t ya know

Dean

How is it these douchebags always manage to find themselves involved? They must have a permanent death wish

Abbadon

stops struggling, knowing I’m not going to be released

Charlie

I gasp as I see another figure entering the room

Henry

Where’s the wizard? throwing more questions out there while I stay back and watch it Was there something about red slippers that makes you go home?

Ruby

Seeing Charlie's face, I turn to see what she's looking at

Claire

honestly I have no clue but let’s just watch but more importantly we need to find a way out

AMARA

walks into the throne room slowly! A regal air about me, the black and smile gone, as I take the throne! let them go. We have much to talk about …Nephew!

Dean

suddenly I see her and I tense up remembering our past and only seeing red

Gabe

AUNTIE! THE ICING  ON THE FUCKING CAKE TODAY grinning big and dropping Crowley why the fuck not?

Ruby

Shit!

Abbadon

stares wide eyed

Patience

in the throne room with the others how the hell do we get home

Donna

I drop Abby eyes wide looking at Amara!

Claire

Shit just went sideways

Sam

Looks over at Dean You were right

Ellen

holy shit

Henry

Now we are never getting home  watches and guess this is the sister of creation

Dean

YOU THINK??? Fuming

To be continued…

……………………………………

Point 1

Ellen gets Dean’s call and shows up with Patience, Claire and Eileen just before they head out. Claire asks Dean what is happening and Dean says they’re apparently going to Oz. Claire scoffs saying Dean has lost his mind.

Ellen remembers Charlie telling her a story, and Eileen asks how they are going to even get there.

Sam settles the team down, while Charlie tells them Oz is very real.

Ruby shows them the letter from Dorothy. Once they’ve determined where to start looking for the doorway, Ruby pops them all there.

Sam, Dean, Henry, Ruby and Charlie search the clearing for the door. They find a brick wall covered in vines. They tear them away finding the door.

Henry finds an odd looking green metal star, Ruby exclaims that has to be it! Dean starts looking for where to put it, and Eileen points to the space on the green door, where the doorknob should be. Patience puts the star in place and the ground begins to shake. Charlie gets excited as she watches the door open and Eileen gasps at the sight of the yellow brick road.

Ruby is wary, and mentions what she felt before and tells the team to be very careful. She also hands out some protective crystals. Staying together, they walk through the doorway and begin to make their way to the forest.

Point 2

Dean cautions everyone to stay together and don’t go off alone.

Patience and Claire are a little nervous. Eileen, Ellen and Ruby do their best to reassure them. Henry is looking forward to an adventure and finding Gabe and Cass.

Dean wants to head straight for the castle but Sam tries to reign him in.

Charlie tells them they have to find Dorothy to see what is going on.

After walking a bit, they come upon a young woman sitting just off the side of the road. Charlie runs over and greets Dorothy. She introduces her to the rest of the group. Dorothy tells them about the new Wizard.

The group grows concerned after hearing the news. Henry asks if Dorothy has seen Gabe and Cass.

Claire and Patience talk to each other about the original story having flying monkeys. Dorothy tells them they are all at the castle with the new Wizard. Everyone is relieved to hear that.

Dean tells everyone he’s heading out whether they stay or not

Meanwhile: Abby makes her way into the emerald palace, the new wizard had called her forth, and while Abby held no loyalty to her, she felt her power could be useful, especially against the new “god” she mumbles to herself about her one true lord and heads inside

Point 3

Dorothy tells them she is waiting for word from her friends about the latest news from Oz. She explains how a new wizard came in and took the palace from her. She and dark Charlie (this is where she lives now) had been trying to come up with a way to defeat her but she was too strong. Charlie winces at the mention of her Alter and suggests they continue on looking for Gabe and Cass.

Dean is more than ready to go.

Henry goes with Dean, leading the way. Sam stays with them to keep an eye on hot headed Dean.

All the women follow behind as Charlie says goodbye to Dorothy.

As they crest a hill, they can look down in the valley and see the road lead all the way to the Emerald City. It looks so close, but Charlie knows it’s much farther than they think.

There seems to be a dark cloud building and heading for the castle

Point 4

Cass and Gabe are walking along the road. They, too, are headed for the castle. Cass thinks they should take a break. It feels like they’ve been walking for hours. Gabe tells him they have been walking for hours. He wants to stop Cass’s griping so he agrees to a short rest. Cass asks why they’re even going to the palace, this wasn’t their world to worry about. Gabe says he has a feeling it may be more their problem than Cass thinks. They disagree and then Gabe walks away from Cass with Cass running behind telling him to wait.

Meanwhile: Abby and Crowley make their way into the throne room of the Emerald Palace and are surprised to learn the identity of the new wizard. The new wizard addresses Abby and Crowley, explaining that she’d finally get her revenge on her brother for banishing her here, Abby and Crowley look at each other blankly and the wizard asks what is wrong. They explain there is no way she has captured Chuck, and tell her why.

Point 5

Henry’s enthusiasm is faltering. He’s getting tired and bored. Patience and Claire are too. Ellen asks if they can stop for a few minutes. Eileen agrees with that. Dean tells them they need to stay close to the road so they don’t get lost. Sam tells them to stay within signt of the group and don’t go beyond. Ruby tactfully takes a roll of toilet paper out of her satchel and holds it up asking anyone if they need it. All the women hold up their hands.

Sam tells Dean he’s going to check for any water source nearby to refill any canteens, Henry goes with him happy to have something to do.

Dean yells for everyone to hurry up or he’s leaving without them.

Meanwhile: the new wizard is furious that her nephew was the cause of her being here. Abby and Crowley are a bit worried about being the bearer of bad news, when Abby realizes that this could work to her benefit—the darkness was definitely something to be reckoned with. She does her best to soothe the wizard while Crowley makes her a drink.

Point 6

Gabe and Cass fall asleep just off the road and under the trees. While napping, the group comes upon them. Henry runs over and jumps on Gabe. They all discuss getting to the castle. Dean prays to Donna, who due to the nephilim powers is able to hear and make her way there. She’s so thankful to see her archangel and Cass alive and well. Donna’s powers seem to be unaffected, Gabe and Cass explain that while they have powers- they can’t seem to leave and they have a feeling that the new wizard has something to do with it. With that being said Donna is angry and leads the way, her hair white and flowing.

Point 7

They finally reach the castle. Gabe, Cass, Dean and Sam plan how to get in. Charlie finds an open door and suggests going in that way. Gabe is reluctant to have the group split up, but it is just too large to be stealthy. He suggests some stay outside the castle under cover and wait for the group going in.Sam suggests staying and watching over the outside group. Patience says she will stay with Claire, Ellen and Eileen, and Henry will go with Gabe- she hoped a vision might come and give them a clue. Charlie says she will stick with Gabe and Donna as well; in case the dark form of her showed up, she didn’t want any confusion. Ruby says she is sticking around this time, she may have some tricks that will be of use. Dean and Sam say they’ll guard the do…

Point 8

Inside the palace Charlie, Gabe, Donna and Henry make their way through some dark hallways where there are pipes dripping green ooze, some drips on Henry burning through his jacket immediately, he takes it off and throws it to the ground while Charlie checks him for wounds. She finds a large burn and cass tries to heal it but fails. Gabe is angry now and says whoever this new wizard is, he will pay for hurting Henry.  He and Donna take off ahead while Cass makes a comment about how it’s ok, he will just wait here with the humans and the demon. Ruby gives Cass a look and he apologizes.

Meanwhile; outside Claire, Sam, Dean, Ellen, Eileen and Patience  are patrolling the perimeter. Flying monkeys appear and begin to attack from all sides. The team does their best to fight them off each of them manage to knock down a few but get a few bumps and scrapes along the way. Just when the battle is at its worst, the monkeys vanish and Sam and Dean give each other a knowing look. Claire remarks that it’s not usually a good sign. Patience agrees as a vision strikes her. She can’t see much except black. Dean swears and says they have to go after the team, Patience questions what that means and Sam says “amara”

Point 9

Crowley and Abby are looking around the throne room for anything they can use to shield themselves. Crowley snarks that he should have known better than to trust a knight- they were always out for themselves. Abby remarks that she could say the same for the crossroads bunch. They argue over who is most useful/smarter

Point 10

Sam, Dean, Claire and Patience run inside, Dean sees the ooze and warns them all not to touch anything. Sam leads the way and before long they run into ruby, cass, Henry and Charlie who are trying to find gabe and Donna. They hear a commotion and run towards it to find Donna holding Abby, and Gabe with Crowley demanding answers about why they are here and who put them up to this.  Abby refuses to speak and Crowley tries to tell Gabe that he was only here to gather information to help the team. Gabe doesn’t believe him, and Donna continues demanding answers as the rest of the team walks into the throne room. They’re all arguing about being stuck in Oz when the wizard walks in and says “if it isn’t my baby nephew Gabriel, I think we need to talk”