#most recently from Regiment where he gets that dark dangerous Look in his eye and says

[emilybeemartin]

Yesterday someone very kindly and earnestly suggested that if I like Sean Bean I should definitely check out Sharpe, it's like his defining role, and I sincerely hope that person is having a really good day, just so full of love and warmth and good things

[marvelyningreen]

Aftershocks - Night 1

Night 1 | Night 2 | Night 3 | (deleted scene)

[Summary: Peter Maximoff is an unflappable sorta guy. He’d never let anything get to him before, and this recent misadventure will be no different. ...Right?

Warnings: mild language, references to injury, general trauma-related angst

Notes: Peter Maximoff x reader, of the established relationship variety. A ‘what if Fietro really was Peter?’ scenario. Same continuity/reader character from Linger and Late-bloomer. ]

On your first night back from Westview, you hesitate at Peter’s door. You’ve gotten so close to saying goodnight to each other half a dozen times, but here you still are.

“Why don’t you stay for a while?” Peter asks after an awkward few seconds of silence. “I’m not really all that tired. Are you?”

“Not really,” you lie.

Judging by the dark circles under Peter’s eyes, he’s not being entirely honest either.

It was late afternoon when you’d gotten back. Well, it was late afternoon here, at least. The passage of time in Westview was nebulous, to say the least.

Hank had been there to meet you when you all emerged from the portal – Peter, yourself, Mr. Lehnsherr and the professor, and the newcomers: Wanda Maximoff and her twin sons, Billy and Tommy. Hank summarily hurried you all off to the lab for debriefing, and also for a precautionary exam. Who knew what side-effects there could be from traveling between realities?

None, as it turns out. Wanda and the boys were just fine. Peter was a little dehydrated and underfed, but was otherwise in good health. You were ultimately the most scuffed-up from the experience.

In addition to the same issues as Peter, you’d amassed a fair amount of cuts and scrapes and bruises. Thankfully, the worst of it is just a badly sprained knee that’ll take several weeks to heal. Inconvenient, but bearable.

Peter has been pretty positive the whole time. If anything, he’s maybe a little too chipper, all things considered. But then again, he was immersed in playing cool uncle to the twins, and was probably just trying to keep their spirits up. They’d been through quite a lot, too.

“You should at least try to sleep, though,” you say, as you limp into Peter’s room.

Peter scoffs good-naturedly. “Are you trying to baby me?”

“Well, one of us has to be the responsible one.”

Peter rolls his eyes. Before you can blink, he’s changed into shorts and an old Pink Floyd t-shirt. He leans in to kiss you.

“I’ll try to sleep if you’ll at least sit down,” he says. “Deal?”

You smile. “Deal.”

As Peter climbs into bed, you settle yourself on the sofa. To say that it’d been a long few days would be understating things to a criminal degree.

You’d stepped through a mysterious portal to rescue Peter from wherever he’d been abducted to. You’d found that the culprit was a witch who’d taken him in an attempt to steal the power of another witch, and that witch is an alternate reality version of Peter’s sister… sorta? Or maybe not. You still aren’t completely clear on how any of this works.

Regardless, you’d ended up helping a woman named Captain Rambeau – who has powers like a mutant, but apparently isn’t one – to free Peter from the witch’s control. And then the young sons of Peter’s not-sister were in danger from some military creep, because said military creep had apparently made a cyborg zombie version of Wanda’s late husband.

Or something. Again, this was a lot to take in in a short period of time.

And no sooner had the business with magic and the military been cleared up than the professor and Mr. Lehnsherr appeared, intending to serve as backup. Luckily, there was no need.

Peter went to make his goodbyes and, in true Peter Maximoff fashion, wound up inviting Wanda and her sons to come back to the mansion with all of you. You weren’t the least bit surprised that the professor was fully on board with this. He’s always the first to reach out with compassion to a soul that’s lost and hurting.

What shouldn’t have surprised you as much as it did was hearing Mr. Lehnsherr do the same. Between the three of them, Wanda was convinced to come to the school and to learn about her powers in a place where she and her sons would be safe and among friends.

It was at this point that Peter was trying to be in two places at once – serving as liaison to Wanda and the boys, and also making sure that you were alright. He only succeeded in making everyone dizzy, until Mr. Lehnsherr stepped in. He instructed Peter to focus on guiding the newcomers and volunteered to look after you himself. You found yourself leaning on Mr. Lehnsherr for support as you limped through the portal and back to your own world.

“Y’know what I can’t stop thinking about?” says Peter.

“Hmm?”

He turns to grin at you. “Your strawberry rhubarb pie.”

“I know I canned some of that this summer,” you say. “Do I have any left…?”

“If you don’t, one of the students has plant manipulation powers. I’m just sayin’.”

You laugh, and the conversation goes on in much the same vein - talking about a hundred little things that don’t matter.

Westview isn’t brought up, and neither are witches and magic. Nobody mentions Wanda and her twin sons in the room down the hall.

Peter hadn’t been able to give very clear answers to Hank’s questions about his experience. He said that it was all pretty blurry, and chalked up to a side-effect of that weird mind-control necklace thing.

You aren’t sure whether this is cause for worry or not.

The conversation with Peter has been fading in and out for a while now. Typical sleepover experience, really. Silence for a few minutes, and then a bit of banter, and a scattered response here and there, and then more silence.

It’s… It’s actually been silent for a while now. And when did your eyes close, anyway?

You look at the clock to see that over an hour has passed since you last checked the time. But you’re awake now, and you find that you’re not tired anymore. Moonlight streams through the windows, falling across Peter’s bed. He’s still sleeping, thank goodness.

At first you think that the sudden sense of reassurance is just because Peter’s getting some rest. He’s had quite the experience, after all. But there’s more to it than that. You realize that you’re just glad that Peter’s home and safe.

You haven’t really thought about it before, but part of you had always seen Peter as, well, sort of invincible. He’s clever, and capable, and impossibly fast. He can outpace an explosion. He can redirect bullets as easy as breathing. Nothing outside of a godlike entity or an otherworldly power had been able to touch him.

But you can’t stop thinking about this other man – this Pietro. He was fast, too, and he was probably just as capable. That didn’t prevent him from being shot to death while saving the lives of two other people.

Odd coincidental similarities aside, Peter and Pietro aren’t the same. You know this. And yet… You’ve already almost lost Peter once.

In Westview, once you’d found yourself abruptly separated from Vision, you’d realized that you were in way over your head. There was something sinister going on, and you had no idea whether Peter’s kidnapping was a part of it, or if it was something else entirely.

You’d wandered the streets, trying your best to look like you were supposed to be there. At first glance, everything seemed normal. But the more you looked, the more things just felt… off.

It seemed to be summer, but there were no kids at the pool, or in the park, or riding their bikes up and down the block. All the cars looked just a little too shiny and new for a small town. All the yards were too perfectly manicured. Every single person wore well-coordinated outfits. It all felt staged.

Down the block, you noticed a mailbox labeled with the name “Vision,” and-

You hesitated. Maybe best not to go barging in, right? Leaning against a streetlight, you pretended to rummage for something in your bag while you kept an eye on the house. Again, the oddly regimented behavior continued. People walked past the house at intervals that seemed random at first, but weren’t quite. It was more like they were spaced out intentionally to seem random.

Aside from that bit of weirdness, nothing unusual had happened. You hadn’t seen any trace of Peter in your wanderings. This Vision guy was your only lead. Steeling yourself, you started walking down the street, intent on knocking on that door and figuring out the rest from there.

And that’s when somebody clamped a hand over your mouth and twisted your arm, pinning it behind your back. Before you had a chance to struggle or even scream, the scenery in front of you blurred and darkened.

You blinked. The world was still again. You were in a dark, oddly-shaped room. It might’ve been hexagonal, but you couldn’t move to look around. The person who’d grabbed you was still holding you immobile.

“So, they sent another one in, huh?” said an unfamiliar voice. “You’d think they would’ve learned by now, but that’s military types for you.”

The speaker stepped into view. It was a woman – middle-aged and dark-haired. She wasn’t worried like Vision had been, nor was she blithely serene like the other people you’d seen. Her presence was commanding, unconcerned. There was something about the way she sized you up that unsettled you.

“I’ve got it from here, thank you,” said the woman.

The other person released you, and you immediately felt some strange energy wind around you. It tightened around your wrists and ankles, binding them fast, and yanked you several inches into the air.

“Who are you? Let me go!” You struggled to free yourself, but you couldn’t budge the restraints even an inch. Even your powers seemed to glance off them ineffectually.

The woman raised an eyebrow.

“Now that’s interesting,” she said. “How did you manage to get into Westview with your personality intact? Even he was calling himself ‘Ralph’ at first. You’re not with S.W.O.R.D., are you? And I can tell already you’re not a witch. Let’s see…”

The woman made some complex gesture with her hands. A purple mist crept across your vision. You felt something wrapping itself around your mind – covering it like a net, humming like an electric current. You shook your head, trying to clear it away, but it clung like a spider web.

The professor. Just before you’d left, he placed some sort of psychic shielding around your mind, just in case. He wasn’t sure what sort of dangers you’d be facing. You doubt this was what he’d been anticipating, but whatever this woman was trying to do to you, the shield resisted it.

The woman’s eyes narrowed. You felt the web’s grip on your mind tighten, vice-like. At first it was just uncomfortable, but the pressure increased until it was a stranglehold on your consciousness. The edges of your field of vision started to go gray. There was a pounding in your head, a ringing in your ears. You tried to scream.

You couldn’t breathe.

You couldn’t breathe.

And then its hold released, leaving you gasping for air. If you hadn’t been suspended in midair like that, you would’ve collapsed. The woman watched you with something like fury in her eyes.

“What are you?” she demanded.

Dazed, you blurted out an answer. “I’m nothing. I’m nobody. I’m just trying to find my friend.”

You nearly ignored the movement in the corner of your eye as you tried to pull yourself together. You’d honestly forgotten that there was somebody else in the room. You looked up, and-

Your blood ran cold.

“Peter!”

He was there. He was alright! He-

No. No, he wasn’t. Something was wrong.

Peter watched you with the blank, nonchalant gaze of a stranger.

“Sorry, babe,” he said, shrugging. “Peter’s not here right now.”

“Wha… What did you do to him?!”

You wrenched uselessly at the restraints and Peter… he actually laughed.

“What, him?” said the woman. “He’s fine. I needed a replacement Pietro, and he was the best I could do on short notice.”

She eyed him critically, reaching up to adjust his hair like some sort of demented stage mom.

“Get your hands off him!” you snarled. “And who the hell is Pietro?”

The woman laughed incredulously. “You’re really not from around here, are you? You followed him from that other reality, and- Oh. Oh… I see it now. Oh, that’s too adorable. You’re in love with him.”

Her laugh turned into something that was almost a cackle, and Peter joined in. You felt sick.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do to this town, but Peter’s got nothing to do with it. Let him go.”

“What I’m trying to do-? Oh, pumpkin, you have no idea what you stumbled into.” The woman shook her head in feigned sympathy. “Sorry, but I’m not done with my Fietro yet. And as for you… I won’t be able to get rid of you, but I can’t have you running around getting in my way. I’ll just have to put you someplace for safekeeping, and I know just the spot.”

The woman raised her hand again, and smiled menacingly at you.

“You can try to tell them who you really are,” she said, “But I wouldn’t count on anybody believing you where you’re going. Buh-bye, hon!”

Movement in the room catches your attention, drawing you out of your reminiscing.

Peter stirs in his sleep. He reaches out for a moment, and then his hand falls back onto his chest. He exhales heavily – not quite a sigh – and is still once again.

Then, his hand moves restlessly towards his throat, fingers gripping at nothing like he’s trying to pull at the collar of his shirt, or-

“No, please,” he mumbles, “Please…”

Your knee is stiff from being motionless for so long. It just about gives way under you as you scramble to Peter’s side. You stumble, falling rather than sitting on the edge of the bed.

You catch Peter’s hand in yours and smooth his hair back from his forehead.

“Peter?” You’re surprised at how frantic your voice sounds. “Peter, wake up!”

Peter snaps awake with a gasp. He yanks his hand free of yours, scrambling to push himself back towards the headboard and staring wildly around the room.

You hold up your hands where he can see them, careful not to reach towards him at all. “It’s okay! It’s okay. It’s just me.”

“You…?” Peter stares at you for a moment, as though trying to remember where he is. “Listen, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but can you tell me something only you would know? Anything. Please.”

For a second, your mind goes blank. Something only you would know? You’d spent enough time with Peter that there has to be…

You’ve got it.

You look Peter in the eyes, giving him a little smile. “Who else would know that you’re my hummingbird?”

Peter’s laugh is brief, but genuine. You’d called him that once as a joke – saying that it’d be a fitting codename with his speed, attitude, and love of sugar – and it’d since become your teasing pet name for him. You’d never said it in front of anyone else, though. You may only use it to get a rise out of him, but you never wanted it to become an embarrassing nickname for him or anything.

Peter’s initial panic is replaced by an apologetic smile, but you’re certain that his heart is still racing.

“Thanks. And I’m sorry,” he says. “Bad dreams, y’know?”

“No kidding. You wanna talk about it?”

“I…” Peter looks away, frowning slightly. “I can’t say I actually remember what I was dreaming about, to be honest.”

If you were unsure before, you’re definitely starting to worry now. You make up your mind to talk to Hank and the professor about Peter’s memory lapses. Maybe it’s nothing, but for your own peace of mind, at least…

Still, you don’t want to let on to Peter that you’re worried about him.

“Are you gonna be okay?” you ask. “Need me to get you anything?”

Peter musters up a grin. “Oh, I’ll be fine. And there’s no way I’d send you off to get anything for me with your knee all messed up. But… would you mind staying a little longer? Or you don’t have to leave at all. I mean, it’s already late, and it’s pretty cold out there.”

“I don’t have anywhere to be,” you say, smiling gently. “You just lay back down, alright?”

Peter nods. Once he’s resettled himself under the covers, you lean down to kiss him.

“I love you,” you say.

“I love you, too.”

Peter reaches over to hold your hand. He takes a deep breath, and closes his eyes again.

That Peter falls back asleep within the hour is a testament to how wore out he must be. As for yourself, you remember seeing the horizon brightening outside the window before you finally drift off.

[welllpthisishappening]

Welllp These Are Books: the January 2021 Edition

Tumblr’s gif search leaves a lot to be desired, so there’s no actual gif of her slamming the book shut, which is—y’know, disappointing. Still, the continued ability of the public library system to send books to my Kindle ensures that I continue to read every romantic comedy and fantasy story I can find. Of which I have plenty of thoughts and opinions. But, like, what’s the point of having thoughts and opinions if you’re not putting them on the internet? There isn’t one, obviously. Books and links and feelings and more ridiculous headlines all under the cut. 

BEST BOOK AWARD WINNER OF A VERY WEIRD JANUARY THAT HELPED DISTRACT FROM A VERY WEIRD JANUARY

The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend. She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

This was so good?!?! I finished the first book and them immediately started the sequel, like no break whatsoever?!! I wish they weren’t teenagers?!! But seriously I wish they hadn’t been teenagers. Like, I get it. It’s YA. That probably sells better, something about markets that I don’t understand. I don’t care. It was weird that they were teenagers. Also, some of the plot points just kind of...happened? And I’m not entirely sure they were ever resolved. (Although there are a bunch of short stories, so. Maybe I just haven’t gotten there yet.) Despite that, the writing was gorgeous, I remain as prone to swooning over sad boys patent pending as I was when I was sixteen and Shahrzad was a fantastic heroine. Nine out of ten (would have been ten if they weren’t teenagers) and have already put holds on other books Ahdieh has written. 

OBLIGATORY RAGE-INDUCING ROM-COM

Head Over Heads by  Hannah Orenstein The past seven years have been hard on Avery Abrams: After training her entire life to make the Olympic gymnastics team, a disastrous performance ended her athletic career for good. Her best friend and teammate, Jasmine, went on to become an Olympic champion, then committed the ultimate betrayal by marrying their emotionally abusive coach, Dimitri. Now, reeling from a breakup with her football star boyfriend, Avery returns to her Massachusetts hometown, where new coach Ryan asks her to help him train a promising young gymnast with Olympic aspirations. Despite her misgivings and worries about the memories it will evoke, Avery agrees. Back in the gym, she's surprised to find sparks flying with Ryan. But when a shocking scandal in the gymnastics world breaks, it has shattering effects not only for the sport but also for Avery and her old friend Jasmine.

I stopped reading it. Honestly. I got, like, 46% of the way through, kept complaining to Justin about how goddamn annoying Avery was and how no one had any personality and I wanted them all to fall off the beam and he was like—stop reading it, then? And I was like—I can do that? And then I did! Also, I understand it needed conflict, but the “shocking scandal” in the description is a sexual assault that was not only NOT my cup of tea, but felt like a massive attempt to be topical by using what happened at Michigan State without actually saying it was about Michigan state. 

PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW SPORTS WRITE SPORTS AND DO IT OK

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes In a sleepy seaside town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth “Evvie” Drake rarely leaves her large, painfully empty house nearly a year after her husband’s death in a car crash. Everyone in town, even her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and Evvie doesn’t correct them. Meanwhile, in New York City, Dean Tenney, former Major League pitcher and Andy’s childhood best friend, is wrestling with what miserable athletes living out their worst nightmares call the “yips”: he can’t throw straight anymore, and, even worse, he can’t figure out why. As the media storm heats up, an invitation from Andy to stay in Maine seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button on Dean’s future. When he moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie’s house, the two make a deal: Dean won’t ask about Evvie’s late husband, and Evvie won’t ask about Dean’s baseball career. Rules, though, have a funny way of being broken—and what starts as an unexpected friendship soon turns into something more. To move forward, Evvie and Dean will have to reckon with their pasts—the friendships they’ve damaged, the secrets they’ve kept—but in life, as in baseball, there’s always a chance—up until the last out.

I am admittedly a sports snob. Writing about sports is my thing and I’m super particular about reading about it. But this sounded good and for the most part it was good. Emotional, too. Like, “jeepers, that was intense” kind of emotional. But also some of the things Dean talked about were just...not how sports work and that drives me nuts. Also another story that was, as mentioned, super emotional only to get tied up in this nice little bow. Which, cool, but also...not? Just felt rushed at the end. 

IN WHICH SHIPPING IS QUESTIONED AND I JUST LIKE BEN BARNES

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold—a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed. Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country's magical military elite—and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation. Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems.

I wanted to like this so much. So, so much. And sometimes I did. Sometimes I did not. At all. World building is my weakness and this has got it in spades, but the characters are kind of—boring? I couldn’t really bring myself to care about Alina and I wanted to kick Mal in the shins sometimes. The only interesting one was The Darkling who’s like the embodiment of all evil and I am not here to ship-shame anyone, but it’s kinda weird to ship him and Alina. I pictured Ben Barnes the entire time. I’m still excited for the show. I’ll read the sequel at some point, probably. 

BEING A JERK IS NOT ROMANCE, YOU’RE JUST A JERK

Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters It's Evie Summers's job to find out. Because if she can't convince her film agency's biggest client, Ezra Chester, to write the romantic-comedy screenplay he owes producers, her career will be over. The catch? Arrogant Ezra thinks rom-coms are unrealistic—and he'll only put pen to paper if Evie proves to him that it's possible to meet a man in real life the way it happens on the big screen. Cynical Evie might not believe in happily ever after, but she'll do what it takes to save the job that's been her lifeline . . . even if it means reenacting iconic rom-com scenes in public. Spilling orange juice on a cute stranger? No problem. Leaving her number in books all over London to see who calls? Done. With a little help from her well-meaning friends and the adorable father-daughter duo who keep witnessing her humiliations, Evie is determined to show Ezra she can meet a man the way Sally met Harry. But can a workaholic who's given up on love find a meet-cute of her very own?

I love cliches. Love ‘em. Want to read about ‘em, want to write about ‘em. Here for happily ever after. Much less here for the overused and antiquated cliche of dude doesn’t believe in love like girl does, dude ridicules girl’s belief, dude was secretly in love with her the whole time. It’s super dumb. And we should stop writing it. Also really done with rom com girl can’t figure out her life! she’s overworked! she doesn’t have time for her friends! Super duper dumb. I don’t know guys, this book happened. 

FAST-PACED ROMANCE ISN’T AS WEIRD WHEN IT’S WELL WRITTEN AND THERE’S A MOOSE INVOLVED

The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler He had a strict "no tourists" policy...until she broke all of his rules. When Graham Barnett named his diner The Tourist Trap, he meant it as a joke. Now he's stuck slinging reindeer dogs to an endless parade of resort visitors who couldn't interest him less. Not even the sweet, enthusiastic tourist in the corner who blushes every time he looks her way...

Two weeks in Alaska isn't just the top item on Zoey Caldwell's bucket list. It's the whole bucket. One look at the mountain town of Moose Springs and she's smitten. But when an act of kindness brings Zoey into Graham's world, she may just find there's more to the grumpy local than meets the eye...and more to love in Moose Springs than just the Alaskan wilderness.

This story of Alaska marries together all the things you didn't realize you needed: a whirlwind vacation, a friendly moose, a grumpy diner owner, a quirky tourist, plenty of restaurant humor, and a happy ending that'll take you away from it all.

I’m not one for slow burn, but I also have a hard time believing romances that happen in, like, a blink. Not the case here! It was so goddamn cute! There was a moose! Graham kept calling Zoey darlin’ and it made my heart try to explode in my chest! Stars Hollow-levels of small town with lots of side characters and a good plot and a restaurant that everyone always went to! You guys know I’m trash for everyone always going to hang out in the same restaurant! I’m reading the sequel now, so that’s how much I enjoyed it. 

AMAZON BOOKS THAT CONTINUE TO BE WAY BETTER THAN THEY SHOULD BE

Elodie of the Sea by Shari L. Tapscott (part of the Eldentimber Series) Eight years have passed since the marriage tournament that decided the fate of Princess Pippa of Lauramore and strengthened alliances between the kingdoms of Elden. The competitors have moved on with their lives. Some have found adventure; some have found love. Prince Bran of Triblue, however, has put his life on hold, preparing for his father's crown. Two days before Bran's winter coronation, just when the prince cannot afford distractions, a girl washes onto the Triblue shore. She has no memory of her past life, no clue who she is or where she belongs—nothing but a ring on her finger and a peculiar marking on her cheek. And the newly crowned king has more than a mysterious girl to worry about. The sea has become unpredictable. Storms claim ships in the dead of night, and sailors return with horrifying stories of monsters from the deep. It soon becomes clear the girl and the bizarre events are connected. The girl came from the sea... and the sea wants her back. But Bran isn't willing to give her or his kingdom up without a fight, even if it means he must request help from every corner of Elden.

Listen, sometimes you have to read about a mermaid who lost her memory and the soon-to-be-king who’s, like, immediately in love with her. I mentioned Tapscott’s books in the 2020 post and the sentiment remains the same. You ever read a book that reads like fic? Lots of banter, some romance, steady pacing. That’s what her books are like. There are five in the Eldentimber series, all about a different princess in a different kingdom, but they all connect so characters pop up again and again and then they kiss. It’s real good. 

[rosierocks30]

Hidden: CH.17

Chapter 17: Paranoia 

(Eren)

It’s been a few days, since Eren found Eve or Natasha. He had noticed how his girlfriend had been acting strange. She was distant towards him. Eren wanted to know if he had done something wrong to make her feel like that. He thought about it. Deep down he didn’t do anything to pissed her off recently. Maybe she’s just naturally moody. He’ll let her be for now. 

The titan shifter was walking along with the group to the location where Commander Hange and her last remaining soldiers were. The forest was dense. Everyone stopped to see two Scouts soldiers and two men who dressed like Connor. Probably they’re assassins. Connor had mentioned it at one point. 

“Halt. Enemies or Allies?” One of the soldiers said with their rifle pointed at them.

Both Commanders Rico and Nile reassure them. “At ease, men. I’m commander Rico Brzenska of the Garrison Regiment. Your commander, Hange had sent one of her men to find us to work together.” Rico said. 

The other soldier lowered his rifle. “I’m sorry Commanders, we have been on edge for days or weeks. We couldn’t recognize either of you. Please follow us. We’ll lead you to our cabin.” The group followed the soldiers while the assassin hid in the shadows to patrol for any danger. 

Eren used his hood to hide his face just in case. This will be the first time he’ll see some of his old friends and Commander. He knows what’s waiting for him. He deserved it for being misguided. He noticed Eve also hid her face. She had her reasons for being Levi’s granddaughter from the future. Soon, she’ll meet her young version of her granddaughter. 

As the group got closer, Eren felt nervous. He will get a legendary beating from his friends and mostly from his former captain, Levi Ackerman. Sadly, he won’t get to see Armin nor Mikasa since they are in Marley for a mission. One day, he will be reunited with his best friends. 

Finally, they reached the cabin. There are people busy outside. Only a few people  entered the cabin in which he was one of them. Natasha was outside sitting alone on a bench. Before he turned away, he noticed that Ricky was walking towards his girl and sat next to her. This asshole, why all of sudden he decided to talk to her again? Didn’t he distance himself from her? It doesn’t matter right now. Eren may be irritated about seeing Rick being close to his girlfriend, but he has other important matters at this moment. He trusts his girl. That's all it matters. 

Once he’s inside the cabin, Commander Hange was standing in the middle. On her left, a man he never met; but Connor gave a description of William Miles, Mentor of the Assassins. On her right, Jean, his former rivalry and comrades glared straight at Eren. Fuck, here goes nothing. 

“Oh look, the traitor is here. What the hell are you doing here, bastard?” Jean was pissed off when he saw Eren in her view. 

Commander Hange raised her hand to gesture Jean to stop talking before things got ugly. “He’s here because Armin had vouch for him as an ally now.” 

Jean shut his mouth. He doesn’t see why they should trust Eren. Wasn’t he the one of the reasons this nation became shit? Sure, the Templars made the first move to attack Paradis and Marley, but Eren and his precious Jaegerists had secretly worked against them before this sudden war. 

Niles spoke as a reminder why they are here. “In these difficult times, we will need allies to defeat these invaders. We will need Eren the most especially Zeke and the Jaegerists still believe Eren is on their side. This is an opportunity to defeat them and that imposter, Lord Nathaniel. Our true ruler is Queen Historia Reiss.” 

“That’s wonderful news. This will make it a bit easy to make a surprise attack.” Hange said. 

William nodded in agreement. “We only have one of my assassins acting as a spy. So far, he mentioned, the Queen is safe but apparently, my grandson got caught.” He frowned at the thought of his grandson, Levi being kept on the animus machine. The same machine he and his youngest son, Desmond had been on. The side effect was served. The longer you spend time in that machine; you start developing the Bleeding Effect which could lead to sucide from the madness it causes. One of the victims, Clay Kaczmarek or Subject 16 took his life because of the madness of the Bleeding Effect. 

Rico Brzenska was confused. “Your grandson? You mean the Captain Levi is captured? As Humanity’s Strongest is held hostage?” 

Hange and Niles looked at each other then at the new Commander of the Garrison. 

“We have a lot to discuss to catch you up.” Hange spoke. 

Rico looked concerned in what had happened since  she and Niles had been in hiding.  Eren on the other hand was more concerned in the condition about Historia. He heard rumors that the queen gave birth to the baby but it had lived for a few minutes. He doesn’t know if it’s true or not. After all Natasha is the granddaughter of Historia and Levi. Either the baby had survived and was saved somewhere or both Levi and Historia had another child. 

“Let’s all sit. I’m sure both commanders are exhausted from your journey here.” William gestured his hand to lead everyone to the table ahead. 

Everyone nodded then started to walk towards the table. They all sat on to their chairs. Once they are comfortable enough, both Hange and William explain to Rico from Historia’s pregnancy to her secret relationship and marriage to Levi. Finally, they mentioned the birth of the prince. Eren sighed in relief the child survived and now Sasha is protecting him all the way across the world. 

“Huh, the Captain and her Majesty? That’s a pairing you never see coming.” Rico said. She had absorbed what had been said to her. 

“I was actually surprised too when they told me to be their witness. Armin was the first when he accidentally eavesdropped on them.” Hange chuckled from remembering when they came clean to her. 

“Still I didn’t expect Captain Levi Ackerman to pursue a relationship with the queen. He’s so-” Rico was interrupted. 

“Stoic, aloof, cold, and reversed…” Eren  spoke out in a soft tone. “But, I can see why Historia had fallen for him. He’s dedicated, loyal, empathic. He and the queen have so much in common it’s hard to believe if we don’t know them too well.” 

“I’m surprised you’re telling us this especially from your little stunt the last time we have seen you, Jaeger.” Hange raised her brow curiously from his words. 

“I was not myself that day…” Eren looked down in shame. The odd artifact he has in his possession was powerful to control him. He was the thing he despised most. A slave. He still has it but made sure to be very careful so it won’t possess him again. Historia is a beautiful woman. If he was a normal man, he would crush on her like his old former comrades had done. 

Dating or having a crush on any girl wasn’t on his agenda until he met Natasha. Before meeting her, he had dreams about her. That time he didn’t know who she was or what she would be for him. The first dream about her had awakened his sexual desire. He remembered that first dream still. She wore a white see through dress with a flower crown made of lavender and winter roses. The setting was in a dense forest with some sunlight shining through the trees. Eren could feel a heavy mystical energy. He had thought she was some goddess trying to contact him like this Minerva being. He had followed her as she playfully ran and giggled. It sounds so innocent and pure so he thought. Finally, she turned around to face him to speak. 

“If you want me, you have to seduce me…” 

“Show me, how much you desire me...only me.” 

 Then that innocent phase had disappeared when her dress slipped off from her flawless body. Her long wavy chocolate brown hair flowed from the light breeze. Her breasts were covered by her long. The way her eyes stared was full of daring, lust, and passion. He wants to get closer to feel her if she’s real. She had a mischievous smirk while taking a bite of a red apple then a yellow snake slowly slither down from the tree to her shoulder and further between her breasts. 

That’s when he woke up with an erection. It was painful too. Eren shook a bit to focus on why he’s here. 

“I see. You looked like a mad man that day, but if you show any signs of madness or an act of betrayal, I would hesitate to put a bullet in your head but your a titan holder of three so don’t worry, I won’t hold back to make you pay for it, so don’t test me. Do we have an understanding?” Hange glared firmly as her tone was dark. Eren thought Levi was scary but Hange had taken first place in that category. 

“Yes, Commander Hange. I swear on my mother’s soul.” Eren said with a serious tone. 

“But you still have a long way to have our complete trust with you.” Rico added. 

Silence had took over the group. Then Will broke the silence. “We are going to need two more spies for the plan to work.” 

Everyone stared at the Mentor Assassin. They all wanted to take their home back and end the war for good. 

“Armin is going to ask Mikasa to have her convince the nation, Hizuru, to ally with us again. In return, we’ll give them what they want, our resources. Since Marley is under attack by the Templars; Armin vouchers for the new Commander in Chief wants to make a peace treaty and ally with us to defeat this war. Since the three of you are the last hold that represent this nation and Her Majesty’s military, it’s your call. But I would let old grudges go for the sake of this island and the rest of the world. If the Templars win to gain control of this side of the world, the next will be the other side where my home is and the infant crown prince is located.” Will said. 

“Even though we do like the Marleyans for their attacks from many years ago; I will put aside my differences to save my country, my people, and my family.” Niles said. 

Rico sighed. She can’t let her bad judgment ruin the opportunity that will ensure a better future. “I agree. We’ll have a peace treaty and allied with our former enemies.” 

Will turned to his lover to await her answer. “Hange?” 

Zoe Hange was contemplating while tapping her finger on her chin. “Oh I’m all forward with teaming up the Marleyans. So who’s the new guy in power in their military?” She asked. 

“Reiner Braun, the Armor Titan.” Will said. 

Everyone was shocked. The Marleyans would have never chosen an Eldian as their higher up. This explained why all the sudden they want to have peace and have an alliance. 

“So, do we all agree to accept this new alliance with Marley?” Jean said. 

“Yeah, I will use the telecommuter to talk to Armin.” Hange said. 

“Zoe, it's called a laptop.” William corrected her. She chuckled embarrassingly. “Oh how silly me. I’m still getting the hang of it.” 

 “Who do we choose to spy on Jaegerists and the imposter?” Rico said. 

“Hm, Eren can be a double agent to spy on the Jaegerists. For the templars, we have Reggie spying on the templars and the grandmaster. So that leaves for spying the imposter.” Niles contemplated on who they should pick for that part. 

Rico glanced at the window to see certain figures sitting on the bench talking to each other. “We can use Rick and Eren’s girl as spies. One spy for the King and the girl can play the queen’s handmaiden.” 

Eren glanced at where Natasha was outside still chatting with the other guy. He glared at Rico for considering that. 

“No. She’s not part of any of this! Are you trying to put her in danger? Absolutely not.” He was angry for the Garrison Commander wanting to put his Eve in danger. “Can you choose someone else?”

“Eren. Stand down. Remember what I said earlier?” Hange said. This made the titan holder stop talking but the expression was still upset. 

“Take it easy Jaeger. The girl is perfect since she’s not recognizable. Plus, having you and Rick close to her; I’m sure she will be safe. The Jaegerists are allied with the templars and Lord Evans. So having a few more spies in each factor, it will give us the chance to get enough information to destroy them once and for all.” Rico continued.

Eren sat back down trying to contain his anger. This is what he’s afraid of. Having his girlfriend in a dangerous place and being killed. Oh fuck, he hopes it does not come to that or he’ll awaken the Rumbling to have the world wipe. She’s the reason why he’s considering his original plan to be at halt. The thought of losing her will be the same pain as the day he lost his mother. 

While he was absorbed in his paranoia, he didn’t realize one of the soldiers had already called Natasha and Rick to enter. He could hear her light hearted laughter when she made her appearance alongside Rick. He turned his body to peek a glimpse at her. Eren can’t believe how lucky he is to have a woman like her loving him. She may have so many flaws, but she always has a fiery spirit that overshadows her other qualities. His green eyes stared into grey ones. Natasha gave a warm smile then her sight focused on all three commanders, the Mentor, Jean, and him. 

“Rick and Eren’s girl, we have a very important task for the both of you.” Rico said which Natasha became annoyed at how Rico didn’t bother to say her name. Eren had told both Nile and Rico of her name yet only Rico kept calling her Eren’s girl, Girl, or Useless wanderer. 

“What task would it be, Commander Brzenska?” Rick curiously to his superior officer. 

“I’m glad you ask, Private Rick.” The Garrison Commander continued. 

“We want both of you along with Eren to be our spies. All three of you will go undercover but you guys will go into different factors. Eren will go back to the Jaegerists to play his role as their leader. You, Private, will go undercover as one of the king’s trusted guards. The girl will go undercover as one of Queen Historia’s closest handmaidens.” Rico was interrupted by Natasha. 

“I’m not Girl or any of the names you label me. My name is Eve. E...V...E. Eve.” Her tone was feisty. Rico grunted from being disrespected. 

“You should watch your tone when you're speaking to a commander.” The platinum blonde woman glared at the brunette. 

“Thank god you’re not my commander or I’m not in the military when I could get court martial for defining a superior officer.” Eve said. 

“Ok ok both of you. We’re not here to fight, right Commander Rico?” Nile glanced at Rico hoping she doesn’t keep provoking. These two had always argued ever since they met. They just don’t like each other. 

“Eve? What a unique name for a lovely woman.” William said to get Eve on their side. 

“Yeah, my parents were very religious.” Eren knows that’s a lie but she needed to invent some background so suspicious won’t arise. 

“Eve what?” William continues. 

“Eve or my full name is Eveline Potts.” Natasha continued. 

“Your accent is familiar. Are you from the States?” He said.

“Yes, I’m from New Orleans, Louisiana. I was here by accident. I was adventuring in the ocean with my boat then I got caught into a storm that drifted here on this island.” Her tone seemed very convincing if Eren didn’t know the truth. She’s seriously a very good liar. 

William nodded and took her words for it. “Very well. Can you perform this task? I promise you once the war is over. My assassins and I will happily take you back home.” 

“I can. If you need me to be a queen’s handmaiden, then you got the right person.” She made a graceful courtesy that high born ladies do. She had one of her famous smirks. 

Hange was observing. To her, this girl has a bit resembling a dear friend of hers. Maybe the commander is seeing things. Well, it doesn’t matter. They got their spies. 

“Tomorrow, all three of you will go to the capitol and play your part. Assassin Garcia will assist both Rick and Eve on getting into the new positions as royal guard and handmaiden.” Will said. 

Once everything was settled, both Eren and Eve were finally alone in a room where they will rest for the night until the following day. Eren had held his feelings of agreeing letting his girlfriend take the role as a spy. 

“Eve. Why did you agree in taking the task? You don’t have to join the cause or anything. It’s dangerous. You could get caught or worse get killed.” Eren sounded frustrated but also worried. 

“Eren, I know you're upset and worried for my safety, but I can handle this. Please, trust in me? You will be in the same area.” Eve goes to wrap her arms around Eren’s neck as Eren pulls her close to him so he can hold her tight. 

“I’m scared that something could happen to you. I can’t lose you. You’re the one who gave me hope. You’re helped me realize my plans are too extreme and there’s another way. You have already changed this timeline in a good way by saving the majority of the human population. That’s how important you are to me.” His head nuzzled on her chest. His tears fall from being scared of losing the woman he loves. 

He can feel her fingers softly brushing his long dark hair. Eren can feel how relaxed he becomes under her touch. “I will not hesitate to awaken the Rumbling if the world takes you too. 

Natasha bent to eye level him. “Eren, listen to me. You have to promise me not to use the Rumbling at all cost. Promise me, Eren. Promise...me.” Her hands were placed on his cheeks.

He could see how it frightens her that he’ll bring destruction if she dies. He didn’t mean to scare her. All he wanted to wake up from this nightmare and glance at her sleeping form. But this is a cruel world. The only beautiful thing the world had to offer was her. His Eve. His temptress. 

Eren turned around to grab his bag where all his possessions are inside. He dug his hand to find an object. Once he pulled it out, it was a small silver case that has aged throughout time. He slowly holds both hands to place it on his lap. His emerald green eyes stared into steel grey eyes. She was curious why he held that case. Slowly Eren shuffled which Eve stepped back to give him room. The titan holder slowly goes down on his knee. Natasha gasped as she realized what he was about to do. 

“Natasha Eve Ackerman Stark….I can’t live without you. These short weeks had been up and down already. But I know the moment I met you, you were becoming special to me. You’re my light to this madness world. Even if we get separate by time, I will one day find you. We are meant to be. I’m so crazy about you, I kept asking myself what had you done to me?” He chuckled then kissed her hand softly. 

“I know it was not that long I have hurt you. I’m still sorry for the reason that made you cry. I just want to say. I love you. I love you always and forever.” He saw how her eyes got watery then watched how her tears fell from her beautiful face. 

“Will you marry? I want to be your husband. If one of us dies, I prefer I will be the one. I can’t bear the thought of letting time pass and not having you beside me. Be my wife, Natasha.” His soft passionate tone made her sobbing on how his proposal speech was romantic. 

She sniffled and tried to find the words to speak. “Will you still love me even if I had a past that labels me as being an easy girl?” She feels if he wants to marry her, he needs to know her past of the party and sex life she had. “Becaause in my time, I was known to be a party sex addict girl.” 

“I don’t give a shit about your past. That was you before. All I know, I fell in love with a strong, confident, funny woman that is capable kicking my ass if I fuck things up.” He chuckled which she did too. 

“Then yes. I will happily be your wife. I love you 3000, Eren Jaeger.” She whispered to him with a sweet velvet tone that made him go crazy.  He gets up to sit back on the bed but this time; he pulled her to sit her on his lap. His hand still holds the case. He opened the case to reveal a bulky ring that’s shaped like a huge teardrop. The jewel had a perfectly cut shape, real emerald and outside of it there’s small diamonds.

Natasha gasped at how antique and beautiful it looked. How could Eren afford this ring? “Eren this is so beautiful.” Natasha picked it up gently to see inside the ring there was something written. It’s not in Eldian for sure. It looks Turkish. Why does he have an Turkish ring? 

“Try it on. I asked a jeweler to make the band into her size finger. Natasha nodded as she slid the ring onto her finger. It does fit a perfect match. “Where did you-?” Eren interrupted her. 

“It was my mother’s. Long ago before she died. She showed her most valuable possession which was this ring because it was a family heirloom. I don’t remember much but she said many centuries ago. A beautiful woman  who came from a far away land. She ran away from being assassinated at her family’s palace. I don’t know if she was a princess or a bastard of some king. It had passed down through generations of females until I was born. Maybe one day, we’ll have kids and pass it on to them.” Eren explained. 

“The only thing I can’t figure it out is the writing inside the ring along with some sigil it has.” Eren gently grabbed her finger where the ring was. 

“It’s in Turkish. This ring looks so old that you might be a descendant of some Sultana who had escaped. You probably have Turkish royal blood in you.” She teased him. On the other hand, he rolled his eyes. 

“Then my dad must have a thing for royal women.” He said in a joking tone. 

“Well, after all you are his son. You’re forgetting I got royal blood.” She giggled. 

“It’s a good thing I don’t care because I love you for you.” Eren learns to give a soft kiss. 

“Good, because I love you for you. Even if you did try to activate the Rumbling because I know you have a good heart. You’re a good man, Eren Jaeger. Just remember that. “ She leaned in to kiss him more. 

(Mikasa)

Mikasa had been busy doing small errands that Reiner kindly asked her to do. So all day, she ran around the base to send messages to other ranking officers. Sometimes she takes turns to help out the soldiers defending their last frontlines against the enemies. The raven haired woman was so occupied that she forgot to check in with Mentor Miles. Luckily, Annie got her back to check in for her. These several days, the Marleyan soldiers were slowly warming up to Mikasa, Armin, and Annie. Even though Annie is an Eldian-Marleyan, they label her as a traitor in the beginning. The Female Titan holder doesn’t seem to be bothered by being spew insults at first.

One day Armin had enough and defended Annie. Mikasa was shook and amazed how Armin began to gain confidence to speak out. He usually stayed quiet and let things go. She was proud of Armin in what he’s becoming. Annie had been good for him. 

Speaking of relationships, Reiner had been busy being the commander in chief that he rarely had time to spend time with her. It’s fine for her since this is war. They are lucky to be together despite having heavy burdens in trying to stay alive and win the war. Mikasa was now sitting on her desk writing in code to send to Ambassador Kiyomi for help. Armin had told her to have the nation, Hizuru, to help them in time of their need. He was sure they would not reject them because Mikasa was a kin towards the Ambassador. She is an Azumabito as much as she's an Ackerman. 

Her mind shifts to her other estranged kin, Captain Levi Ackerman of the Survey Corps. She may have issues with him due to her being overprotective towards Eren. Other than that, Mikasa was worried about him. News had reached to her that Levi was captured. She wanted to go back to the island to rescue him, but Reiner talked her into some sense. Mikasa is now trying to do her part so the government of Hizuru can assist them to fight off the templars. 

Mikasa sighed once she finished coding her message. The letter was folded to be placed into the enveloped and sealed. She heard heavy footsteps coming towards the room. As the door opened, she turned around to see Reiner. 

“Hey, what have you been up to?” Reiner hugged Mikasa. 

“I was writing a letter to Lady Azumabito for help.” She hugged him back. 

Mikasa gets up to be comfortably hugging her lover. Her cheek pressed on his chest to nuzzle gently. This is one of their rare times to embrace each other. As both couples had been busy doing their part in the terrible war that is happening.  

“Armin already told you?” The blond haired man was starting to kiss her neck affectionately. 

Mikasa let out a soft moan from having his warm soft lips on her skin. They haven’t had this type of contact since they had sex first time with each other. She uses her fingers to run through his golden hair. “Mhm...he did. I- n-need to g-give this letter to be s-send.” 

The Asian-Eldian woman was losing in her thoughts. Reiner had a smirk when he noticed how distracted Mikasa was. 

“Don’t worry about that, baby. It’s a good thing I, your boyfriend is now the commander in chief.” Now his tone became deep with husk in seducing his lover. 

Mikasa was feeling her knees wobbly from the way his tone changed. Her hand traveled down to give a teasing squeeze on his covered manhood. A deep moan came from Reiner when she groped his bulge. 

“I’m aware of your position, Commander.” Now Mikasa uses her seducing tone on him as she’s in control. “Try to be patient for a few seconds, baby. I am going to send this important letter then I’m all yours.” She smirked back at him. 

The female assassin stepped back and went to the desk to pick up the envelope letter. She turned around to give a tender sweet kiss to Reiner. Reiner kissed her back from enjoying the kiss. He saw her walk away from the room to go send the letter. 

Mikasa didn’t take long to come back to Reiner who had been waiting patiently in the room. She opened the door to see him lying on the bed staring up the ceiling.  Once she has closed the door, Mikasa goes to Reiner and straddles on top of him. 

“What have you been thinking?” Mikasa stared at Reiner who was lost in his own thoughts. 

He noticed the weight of her body on him. Reiner glanced to see Mikasa laying her head on his chest while running her finger on his small exposed part of his chest. 

“I’ve been thinking about you. How lucky I am having an amazing strong woman by my side.” He smiled at her. The raven haired beauty blushed from his comment. Her hand already started playing his buttons which some were undone. 

Mikasa slowly rubbed his chest as she leaned in to kiss him again. They let the sweet kiss become passionate and hunger for more. Reiner slowly undoing  her trousers. She kicks off her pants then goes back straddling on his lap. The blonde man hovered his lips on her neck to mark her skin. Her breathing pattern became shallow from attending his lips to her neck. Mikasa loves feeling his lips on her neck. It’s one of her favorites he does to her. She pressed herself down to feel his throbbing bulge as her hips rolled slow and steadily grinding on him. 

Reiner groaned when her body grinded on him. His eyes were dark with lust. The Eldian from Marley stared at his girlfriend while she zones out from grinding fast. The titan shifter groped some parts of her body until he flipped her underneath him. 

“Reiner...I love you.” Mikasa said breathlessly. Her steel colored eyes stared into his amber eyes. 

Reiner gave a soft smile from hearing Mikasa saying those three words. He thought it would take her months or probably the last minutes when he dies for her to say it. He kisses her softly with love and gentleness. 

“I love you, Mikasa.” He responded back. Mikasa was feeling shy as she expressed her feelings towards him. She rarely showed her emotions in general unless she saw her friends happy or in danger. She used to be reckless when it came to Eren but once she realized his feelings will never be mutual, Mikasa slowly disciplined herself to control her emotions. Being an assassin had also helped her with containing them. 

She had removed his shirt as her lips kissed on his bare chest. In return, Reiner took off her shirt too. It didn’t take that long for them to be completely bare nude. Mikasa moaning from his fingers teasingly caressing her exposing body which her skin started to get goosebumps from this intimate pleasure. 

Her body made an arch the more her body temperature had risen. Mikasa placed her palm on his chest to add pressure for him to shift their position back to how they were earlier. She climbs back on top of him, but this time she gently slides herself onto his hardened cock. Both groaned together when their pleasure intensified. 

Mikasa felt his length stretch her walls. She slowly rocks her hips. Her hands were on his solid chest to steady herself. Reiner had already placed his hands gripping on her curves. His eyes can’t stop watching the way her hips roll gracefully. It’s like seeing an artistic dancer blowing away her audience with her skills. He’s a man who got hypnotized. 

Reiner moaning along hers as their pleasure increases more. Her pace began to shift with speed. Now, he started to thrust upward onto her body rolls which she’s bouncing. 

“Fuck Reiner...I love you…” She chanted again and again like a spell while being lost into pounding him on top. She leans in to roughly kissing his lips. Mikasa knows something within her wants to take over. She doesn’t know what it is, but for years she was scared to let that thing take over. 

It’s one of the reasons she tried not to let her emotions get out of control. Sometimes when she dreams, the thing had always taunted her for being blinded with love to a human who had rarely appreciated her enough to be her potential mate. The thing in her dreams had looked like her. The only difference was that her eyes glowed silver. Her smirk looked devilishly. Her look-like stand proud like the warrior she was. Mikasa is the opposite based on whoever that monster was with her face. For years, it had neither given a hint who or what the monster was. When her eyes locked on Reiner officially on the day they spar together, that demon in her had awoken. Mikasa had swept under the rug to deal with that thing. 

Reiner could hear her mumbling ‘I love you’ over again. She’s getting comfortable with expressing her feelings. He thought mentally. He was close to reaching its peak soon. The sound of their wet skin making slapping sounds echoes the room. He won’t be surprised some of the soldiers will hear them. 

“M-mine...mine, mine..” He doesn’t mind Mikasa getting a bit possessive but it doesn’t sound like her the way she said. His eyes took a glimpse to see her beautiful dark grey eyes he adore had become glowing silver. This had raised concerns for him. 

“Mikasa?” He said worriedly. 

Mikasa was still riding on him, but her warm shy smile turned into a devious smirk. Her facial expression had lost her shy, reserve, caring that made her genuine to love. The titan shifter was in a dilemma because a part of him felt a bit scared but also felt Mikasa won’t  cause harm to him. He felt her nail from her index finger tracing his face as if she’s toying her prey. 

“Shhh my darling mate. Mikasa is asleep for now, but don’t you worry about that handsome face of yours for her. She is safe. My host can be stubborn in fighting to keep in control from me.” This new Mikasa rolled her eyes annoyingly at the amount of times both titan and host fought to be in control. She would have been cooperative if Mikasa had embraced who and what she truly is. An Ackerman titan. 

Reiner was speechless. Nobody knows where the origin of the Ackermans is or how they are able to gain superhuman-like abilities to slay titans or massive armies. After all they are legendary to his people in Marley. His mother used to tell scary stories about the mythical clan of the Ackermans. When he went on his mission to Paradis Isle and encountered Mikasa Ackerman, he was scared and worried that their mission would not succeed. Turns out she was just a quiet girl who protected and smothered Eren Jaeger. During his betrayal, his perspective had changed when he saw how deadly Mikasa and Levi were capable of while fighting off them. Yet, he was still astounded how beautiful and strong Mikasa is. She was like a goddess of war raging into the battlefield. 

“Y-you’re not Mikasa?” He said with confusion. This possessed Mikasa let out a velvety chuckled. 

“Oh no, my darling.” she purred. “I’m Styx, it’s a pleasure meeting you, Reiner Braun.” 

“Styx? Like the Greek mythology Styx?” He was still turning to understand what was happening. 

“No, not really. But I picked that name when I was awoken when this woman saw her family being murdered. Poor child. We needed to survive. It’s who we are.” She leaned close to him to take a long sniff. 

“Oh you do smell very nice. I have tried to get Mikasa to open up by taking you as our mate. I swear, do all Ackermans are stubborn and blind to meet their other halves?” She sighed. “Anyways, no where are we? Let’s resume our mating. I loved how you give me euphoric pleasures.” 

Reiner was about to say something but he forgot his cock was inside her as she teasingly rocked her hips. He moans while letting Styx/Mikasa bounce on him. The blonde man let her continue until they both reached their orgasms. Both let out a final loud moan and Reiner cums inside her fill her with his hot seeds. 

“Please don’t be scared of us. We’ll never want to hurt you. You’re ours, mate.” She cupped her hands on his face to kiss him passionately soft. 

Reiner is still grasping on what this Mikasa or Styx had said. He nodded to ensure her, he understood. Styx nuzzled on him while resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her to hold her tightly. He knew now that Styx is part of Mikasa and he will always be by her side no matter what. It will be strange, but eventually he’ll get used to it and grow to love the titan Styx too. 

(Levi/Arne)

Kahr, Eldia Empire

 One year had passed since their wedding. Arne and Ingrid had moved to a small home in the port town of Kahr. The town was bigger than Leira. After all, there’s many merchants from parts of the world. The trade routes from the Empire to other kingdoms  like Hizuru, France, and Italian Provinces. They rent their home from a wealthy landlord who Arne’s father knew long ago. 

Both couples worked hard to meet their ends. Lady Ingrid was determined to work hard in her job as a barmaid. She struggled at first to figure things out but eventually she got the hang of it. For Arne, he worked in construction for new homes. This was their daily life. For the past year, they had an awkward rocking marriage until a month ago they cave in and confessed to each other about their feelings. Since then their relationship blossom. Today, it was gonna be a busy day.  It was morning, Arne woke up to see his wife not sleeping on the bed. 

“Hm. She’s probably left early.” He mumbled sleepily. He got up to get ready. By the time he was dressed and walked to the small kitchen, he saw Ingrid making breakfast. Usually, she never makes breakfast, only supper. Arne was fine with it. He understood Ingrid was never taught how to be a wife of a mere peasant like him. She was a noblewoman who was betrothed to a prince. 

He was amazed she had prepared a hearty meal for the both of them. Maybe someone taught her how to increase her cooking skill? The grey eyed man made a sound to get her attention. 

“Oh? Good morning, Arne! I hope you slept well. Come sit down. I made breakfast. I have learnt a lot from working at the tavern.” She gave her warm cheerful smile. Ingrid placed a basket of fresh berry muffins. 

Arne was still processing seeing her here in the morning making breakfast. He sat on the chair and glanced at the table that’s filled with two bowls of porridge, a pile of strips of bacon. Inside his porridge, there’s two slices of lemon and drizzles of honey with some brown spice sprinkle on it. He was curious where Ingrid got all these pricy ingredients? They barely could afford a ration of porridge for supper. Yes, that’s what they eat everyday for supper. It annoyed him since he was used to eating a variety of meals from his mother. One time Ingrid was frustrated because that’s all they could afford. Living in a town like Kahr was too expensive for them to live. 

“Ingrid, where did you get all these ingredients? I appreciate you putting your time to make breakfast, but we can’t afford to buy lemons or whatever spice you bought.” He moves the lemons to see better the spice on his bowl.

“I didn’t buy them nor the ingredients to make our porridge more tasty. My boss gave me leftovers because they were gonna go bad by tomorrow so he was kind to give me. Don’t worry, I’m not an idiot to spend our money carelessly.” She gave off  a hint of cynicism. The one thing she doesn’t appreciate from him was his thought of her being an ignorant person. 

Arne sighed and took his spoon to scoop into his bowl and eat the porridge. His eyes widen from the amount of flavor in one scoop. His tongue feels the explosion in his taste buds. He moaned enjoying his breakfast. Once he swallowed the porridge, his eyes glanced at an smirking Ingrid feeling proud of her porridge recipe. 

“Sooo what do you think?” She said. 

“It’s not that bad. So what’s the brown spice stuff you put in the porridge?” He asked. 

“It’s grounded cinnamon.” She said while scoping her spoon into her bowl to eat her porridge. 

“I like it. It’s zesty, sweet but nutty too.” He began to eat a bit more face pace. 

“I’m glad you are enjoying it. Here is a muffin. I just took it out of the oven.” Ingrid gave a warm muffin to Arne. He grabbed it and thanked her. 

“Arne, I need to tell you something. I got a letter from my cousin, the leader of the clan.” Arne dropped his spoon to stare at his wife with worry. “He found us? When did you get the letter? You could have told me when you got it, Ingrid. Damn it. We need to leave right away.” He was panicking. Who knows her family or the king’s guard would be here very soon or they’re on their way here. 

“Please Arne be calm. He’s not going to turn us to the king. He made a promise to me. He said in the letter that he wants us to go see him in my ancestral home in Völse. I know this sounds suspicious but he will keep his honor of not sending us to the king.” Ingrid pleading with her husband. 

“Ingrid, didn’t you once mention that he was vouching for you to be married off with the prince? How can you be sure he’ll not trap us to our doom? I’m more concerned how he found us.” He rubbed his temple spots from the anxious feeling he was getting. 

Ingrid looked down while playing her food. It’s best to come out clean to her husband. “I’ve been keeping contact since ten months ago…” Arne was in disbelief in what his wife had said. 

“Wait what? You have kept this secret for ten months? Why? Do you have any idea you put both of us at risk? My parents' effort to make sure we are safe will be in vain. What has gone into your head, Ingrid?” He can feel his anger rises. He was trying to stay calm and level headed but this is a betrayal to him. 

“I’m sorry….I know I should have told you in the beginning, but I thought you will shut down the idea to have help from my family.” She tried to explain her reason. 

“I might at first but I would have considered it after. What gave you the idea to trust your cousin? We don’t know 100 percent if he’ll backstab us. He didn’t give a damn about his honor when you told me he sly his way to be the leader of your clan when it should have been you to lead.” He pointed it out. Arne gets up. 

Ingrid couldn’t help to let tears slip from her eyes. She knew that her betrayal had hurt her husband. She loves him so much it broke her heart to see the look on his face. She thought it was the right way until for sure her cousin was being honorable this time and will help because they are family.  

“Please Arne understand that I just wanted to know he was being honest about helping us. He regrets pushing me to be married to the prince. He thought he was doing right for our clan’s survival. I was selfish for not understanding how in danger my clan is. I didn’t mean to hurt you..” She sob from the situation she causes in their peaceful marriage. A month ago, they finally confessed to each other and consummated their marriage with love and passion. That result now led her expecting their first child. She just found out last night from a local midwife when Ingrid was having her sickness. 

Ingrid feels if it’s the right time to tell him this news, but that’s what got to their argument right now because she had kept things to herself from him. Maybe telling him that she’s pregnant will calm him down and end this argument. My gods and goddesses, she hates crying in front of anyone especially to her husband. 

Arne had been quiet. He looked down to not aggravate which he sees how Ingrid is crying. He didn’t mean to get over worked up for this secret she told him. It just hurts that the woman he loves doesn’t trust his judgment enough to know the letters she kept in contact to her family. This is one of his issues he had mentioned to her. Trust is very important to him in a relationship. He needs to leave to have time for himself before he says something to make her upset and hurt. He felt ashamed to make her cry. 

“Arne...I also need to tell you something important.” She struggled with her words as he was still angry but quiet. 

“What? Is it another secret you didn’t bother to tell me?” His tone was dry cold that made his wife flinch in hurt for now being labelled as untrustworthy in his eyes. 

“I..I’m with a child. I just found out last night by the old midwife. You were asleep when I got home..I didn’t want to wake you up.” She sniffled while whipping her tears away. 

Arne lifted his head up to glanced at her. He doesn’t know what to say about this news. It should be the happiest moment but all he can think about is the fear they will do something terrible to Ingrid and their unborn child? He’s now a family man. He can’t trust anyone around. What if their child grows up and is being used as a pawn for their political game? He needs to pack up and run away with his growing family to protect them. 

“Arne? Please say something?” She looked scared and worried. 

Arne walked to her and kneel to eye level her. “You’re with my child.” He placed his palm on her flat belly. He made a small smile at the thought his love of his life is carrying his seed, their child.

“How long are you?” He asked. 

“A month exactly. I have been feeling ill and you told me to stay home to rest but I was stubborn to stay so at work; I passed out and the old midwife was there having her meal to check up on me until she found out I’m pregnant.” She said. 

Arne had his hand cup her face while his thumb caressing her soft cheek with dry tear stain. “You really are a stubborn woman.” He whispered softly then leaned to kiss her lips. 

In return she kissed him back. She was glad how his reaction was good about her pregnancy. They pulled away from their sweet kiss. “You married one.” She tried to make a joke. 

Arne nodding then gets up. “It’s getting late. I need to head out to work. I want you to try to rest. Please?” 

“How about I work until noon?” She negotiated. 

“I will stop by at the tavern so we can have lunch together then we come home and talk about leaving town.” He kissed her forehead affectionately. Arne is still hurt for lack of trust his wife has on him, but at this moment. He doesn’t want to distress her in her vulnerable time. 

She nodded in agreement and watched him grab his stuffed then packed some muffins. Probably to share with his worker buddies. 

“Arne, I love you..” She said gently as he was about to exit their home. 

He glanced at her. “I love you Ingrid.” He stepped out of her view and walked to his work. Ingrid sighed and started to clean up to get ready to go to work. 

The rest of the morning goes by quickly and noon arrives. Arne was off earlier as the few homes were built for the day. He was walking on the streets to get to the tavern where his wife works. He entered the place to spot his Ingrid cleaning the mugs. 

Arne went towards the bar and sat on the stool. Ingrid glanced up to see her husband in front of her. 

“Arne! I’m glad you’re here. How was work?” She placed the mug orderly on the shelf. 

“It was well. We finished the houses for today and I got my pay for this week.” He smiled. “How about you? Have you been feeling well with the baby?” His tone was concerned for her well being. 

“Yes, I’ve been ok and our baby had made me get hungry that the cook kicked me out from kitchen duty. That’s why I’m at the bar.” She giggled. 

“I’m happy you’re ok.” He smiled and admired her giggles. 

“Let me get some lunch in the kitchen. Take any empty table and I’ll meet you right up.” She said. 

Arne goes to pick a table to sit and waits for his wife. At the entrance, there were two men with strange foreign clothing coming. Suddenly, the sound of gunpowder was heard and all hell broke loose. The people duck under the tables to protect themselves. He glanced to see his wife frozen in place with two plates of warm meal. She whimpered in terror. Luckily, no harm towards her yet. 

Arne Ackerman saw a knife on the floor and grabbed it just in case. 

“It’s her.” One of the men said to the other. The other unscrolled the parchment to double check the image matched her. 

“Take her. The king has been looking for her.” He mumbled. 

Ingrid uses the plates to throw at them then make a run. When she was about to reach Arne, a third man snatched her. She screamed and struggled to get out of his grip. 

“Arne!” She glanced at her husband. Arne had a fear expression as his worst nightmare is happening right now. 

Arne roared in rage to use the knife and take charge to both of them. He barely made a slashed mark on one of the men’s faces as they screamed in pain. The other was behind him and knocked Arne down unconscious. 

“Take this one too. Since the king wanted to punish him as well.” The men grabbed both Arne and Ingrid. Ingrid curses at the kidnappers while they drag her away. 

Noooo Arne you gotta get up…

Fight or fly…

We’re Ackermans. We protect our family…

Back on the other side of the Animus, Levi was moving his body in despair. He knows the familiar feeling in what Arne is going through. Feeling useless and despair. Dr. Andersen pulled him back to reality as he stopped the machine. 

“I think that’s enough for today. You’re showing signs of the Bleeding Effect.” His tone was concerned for Levi’s well being. 

Levi opened his eyes and gasped from what he just witnessed. He sits up quickly while mumbling with anxiety. “I need to save her. I need to save her, my wife…” 

Davos Andersen observed Subject 18’s behavior. Huh? Very Intriguing. “Historia?” The scientist assumed. 

“Who is HIstoria? I meant my wife, Ingrid. Who are you?” Levi's accent changed. 

Davos assumed Levi is Arne as the Bleeding Effect sometimes can make you believe you’re one of your ancestors. It will come and go unexpectedly, but it doesn’t last long. 

“Arne, everything will be fine. We’ll help get your wife.” He said. This was the only way to calm Levi down until he was back to himself. 

Slowly the male Ackerman blinked his eyes and he glanced around to try to remember what had happened. “What the fuck was that? How long was I blacked out?” He rubbed his head from the intense headache he’s familiar with. 

“Ah, I’m glad you’re back to normal Levi. The Bleeding Effect has got you already. We will take it slow the next session. You can go back to your cell. Guards escort him back to his cell. We’ll continue tomorrow.” Davos said as two guards escort Levi out of the white room. 

It was a short walk since the white room is very close to the dungeon cells. One of the guards opened the cell and pushed Levi in, then cuffed him to the chains as he is one of the dangerous beings to be held captive. Once they chained him and locked the cell, they left the dark dingy cells. On his right, he spotted a familiar figure next to his cell. Pixis was in the cell along with other important rank military men and women from different regiments. Some noblemen were locked too on the other side of this dungeon; there were extra cells but they were less dark and there were brightness from the outdoor ray’s. 

“Captain Levi, I see they pushed your limit to be able to use the machine?” Pixis observed the younger man next to him. 

Levi chuckled darkly. “You can say that.” He started to feel drained from exhaustion. 

“Try to rest, soldier. You are our humanity’s Strongest but also our hope. Especially our beloved queen’s hope. I understand this is bs for you, but you, the queen are our hope. We are inspired that we’ll win this war.” The older general continued. 

“I want to destroy those who crossed the line with us. I missed my Historia and our son..” He mumbled. Levi doesn’t care if the rest of his cellmates know about his relationship with the queen and that they have a child together who is alive and safe. 

Just as he predicted, most heard what he said and started to mumble. The raven haired man scoffed annoyingly then rested his head on the hard stoned walls to try to rest. Soon everything was quiet. He can hear his titan counterpart talking in his mind. 

Very soon, well drained the city with our enemies’ blood. It’s been a long time since we have feast on them.

A/N: This felt like a month had passed that I barely finished this chapter. There were some parts I struggled to where I wanted it to lead. So, enjoy the chapter and let me know what you guys think? Until next time!

[xx-thedarklord-xx]

Match Divided in Heaven

This can be read as a standalone, but the first part can be found here If you are interested in reading this with both parts combined, that can be found on my Ao3, I just posted it.This is a 6k word part, so keep that in mind when reading on Tumblr. There are some vague graphic depictions of violence. I dedicate this to @rmh8402 @staganddragon and @dewitty1 These three really wanted more of this. Hopefully you all enjoy!

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           “Did you hear about the war in Hell?” Zacharias’ grating tone had Remus rolling his eyes. The young angel was a pompous moron—why Flitwick put him in his garrison was beyond him.

            “You call that gossip?” Parvati argued, wings flapping in annoyance. “I could have told you about the war weeks ago.”

            If it wasn’t for his flock being over a millennium old, Remus would think they were just fledglings.

            When Zacharias smirked, Remus knew this wouldn’t be good. “But did you know that Dumbledore was killed?”

            A few gasps could be heard, but Remus ignored those. He just wanted to know where the other angel heard that. His superiors hadn’t announced the outcome of the war just yet and they demanded that the lower angels were to be in the dark until they had more information.

            “Which group finally did it?” Seamus called out, breaking his meditation enough that an explosion ignited from his fingertips. “Damnit, not again.”

            Zacharias spread out his wings in a dramatic flourish. “Riddle and Potter’s regiment combined forces to take him out.”

            Remus hummed thoughtfully. Whoever was Zacharias’ source, they were good. That had been restricted information. He should probably force the idiot to keep his mouth shut, but he was getting fed up with the higher-ups and the way Heaven was being governed.

            “So hell is being comanaged?” The heavy inflections of doubt in Parvati’s question was amusing. Remus had gone through the same line of thinking himself. Demons aren’t one for getting along. It was unwise to believe a pact would last long.

            “It would have been, if Potter’s regiment hadn’t killed Riddle’s entire squadron afterward,” Zacharias smirked when mouths dropped open.

            An uneasy feeling was beginning to pool in the pit of Remus’ stomach. Riddle had been around far longer than Remus. The man had been brutal, cruel and deadly. Potter was just as deadly, but lacked the power it would have taken to get rid of Dumbledore and Riddle. Something was changing in the underworld, and Remus wasn’t sure Heaven could withstand it.

            “I think you are making it up,” argued Seamus, casting fire on purpose now.

            Zacharias glowered angrily before crossing his arms as his wings twitched in annoyance. “I’m not lying. I heard it from a reliable source.”

            “Then explain how Potter’s regiment managed to get rid of Riddle?” Parvati demanded, hand rising to flick her hair over her shoulders. “Dumbledore and Riddle fought for many millennia. Long before we ever came to be. You are telling me that Potter—a demon barely older than us—managed to get rid of two archdemons. I don’t buy it.”

            Remus faced Zacharias, curious to see if this would be where he would give up his sources. There was a wicked gleam in the younger angel’s eyes and it had his interest piqued.

            “No,” Remus rolled his eyes at the dramatic pause before Zacharias continued. “Potter’s power wasn’t what won him the war. His mate helped.”

            That had Remus freezing. An angel mate? An angel helped win a war in Hell?

            “His demon mate.”

            This time when an explosion went off, Seamus wasn’t even paying attention. His eyes were riveted to Zacharias and a horrified expression crossed his features.

            “What?” Remus whispered, voice betraying his confident stance and barreling the entire room into a panic.

            Never in his entire existence had there ever been demon mates. Never. That kind of imbalance could crumble everything. If this was true, no wonder Riddle and Dumbledore fell. Two demons combining powers on a level that is unparalleled would shake the foundation of the world.

            If Potter and his mate took control of Hell, then the next logical step would be overthrowing Heaven. Why were the higher ups doing nothing? What were they going to do? And why did no one seem fit to explain any of this?

            Comforting his flock would have to wait. Without a parting glance or single word uttered, Remus flew out of the room.

            He needed answers. Now.

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            The sounds of begging, whimpering and pleading was exactly what Harry needed to hear. The destruction of the latest battle was welcoming. The bodies littered on the ground were of the opposing side and not a single of his own demons had been harmed.

            “What should we do with the survivors?”

            Harry spun around angrily, wanting to see the face of whoever dared to interrupt his musings.

            His regiment stood straight, no one meeting his eyes. Before he could demand an answer, a slight tsk could be heard.

            “Now, now Creevey, that’s a stupid question,” came the airy voice of his second in command. The sound of a knife unsheathing reverberated around the clearing.

            Harry watched the knife strike one of Riddle’s men right through the center of the forehead.

            “What survivors?” The question was voiced in a mocking tone as his second in command stopped in front of Creevey. “As far as I am aware, your job isn’t done until they are dead.”

            There was a scrambling as they all rushed to be the ones to finish off the last of Riddle’s men.

            “Lovegood, if you were anyone else, I would have killed you,” Harry reminded her. Such bold behavior wasn’t tolerated among his ranks.

            Lovegood’s eyes stared up at the desolate sky as she began humming an unrecognizable tune—probably something mortal. “We both know you wouldn’t have let them survive. I know you, Potter.”

            They both knew the truth. Despite this, Harry glared at her anyway. He knew it would do nothing, Lovegood feared no one.

            “The air is changing.”

            The cryptic statement was unfortunately normal when dealing with her. Harry arched his brows, waiting impatiently for Lovegood to offer more. When several minutes passed and the only sounds audible were the deaths of Riddle’s men, Harry growled. “Lovegood.”

            Lovegood smiled as softly as a demon could, eyes still staring at something Harry wasn’t sure was even there. “The power your union brings will grant you what you seek, but you need unwavering support of the fallen to maintain such an atmosphere.”

            The implications that Harry would need more than Draco’s support wasn’t welcome. He knew demanding more information would grant him nothing in return. Lovegood wasn’t clear on where her information came from, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know either.

            Harry sighed heavily, watching his regiment celebrate a successful battle by bathing in the blood of the recently departed. Such a site would normally lift his spirits, but the unknown of Lovegood’s prediction was enough to send him in the opposite direction.

            A second opinion was needed. Preferably Draco’s. He missed the pretentious prick—and Satan knows what his mate was getting into without him.

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

            In hindsight, storming a gathering of several generals was a bad idea. If Remus had been less concerned, he would have reconsidered barging in as if he belonged.

            “Remus,” Fudge began slowly with narrowed eyes. “Do I need to remind you of your place? We are having a heavenly conclave.”

            That normally would have had him contrite and stammering out apologies, but the knowledge of demon mates was enough to have his bravery flooding forward.

            “Is it true? There are demon mates taking over Hell?”

            A few intakes of breath could be heard, but Remus tuned them out—his eyes were narrowed on Fudge.

            “Remus, where are you getting your information from?” Scrimgeour’s voice barked out loud and booming.

            The question was meant to fluster or stall him, but Remus wasn’t going to fall for it. They may be generals, but they haven’t seen a battle in centuries. He wasn’t going to succumb to their stupidity.

            “I was told to ready my garrison, that skirmishes could make it to earth.” Breathing calmly was something that was evading him. Sirius used to be his anchor when it came to controlling himself. But his mate wasn’t here, wasn’t ever going to come back.

            “Skirmishes are nothing compared to the bloodshed that will arise if demon mates make it to the gates of Heaven. Downplaying the danger will get us killed.” He glared heavily when Fudge broke eye contact.

            “Of course nothing will happen to any of you.” Remus knew he should have stopped right there, but the anger in his veins was pumping far more than his blood. “Since you sit on your hind and order us to the death.”

            A booming sound of thunder rattled the room and Remus winced internally. The sound of cackling laughter filled the air—the sound alone making him regret every single life choice that led up to this.

            “My my, the little runt thinks he can play in the big league.” The sound of Bellatrix’s voice was nearly nauseating. The angel was a few feathers away from being as vicious as a demon. Her being the mate of Riddle clearly resulted in her cruel behavior. He wondered if she would mourn the demon. Not that they ever had an actual union. Most mates only tolerate the title and continue without solidifying anything.

            Remus knew that she had the power and capability to send him to isolation, so he said nothing as she approached.

            “A good angel follows their orders without question, listens to their superiors despite no information provided. You are not a good angel,” It was sneered at him as if this was an insult. These days Remus wasn’t sure what was moral any more. Perhaps he didn’t want to be an angel any longer.

            Verbal defiance would be a bad idea, but Remus wasn’t going to do nothing. He lifted his nose into the air and looked away from her outraged expression.

            “I can see it,” Bellatrix whispered taking a step forward. “I see Sirius in your actions.”

            Remus couldn’t stop the pain from contorting his face—the sound of her cruel laughter reverberated around the room in an echo that had him clenching his fists tightly.

            “Not over his death, are you?” The false sympathy in her tone was expected. “I would say I can relate, but I never cared for my mate.” Mourning would be out of the question then.

            “Sirius was brash, defiant and a constant pain in my side.” Remus was rather proud of that. Sirius was one of the best angels he had ever met. When it had been discovered that they were the first angel mates in history, Remus had been overjoyed. They could do so much good in the world with their powers.

            Only… it raised them both as a target. Sirius had been the casualty of an attack from Hell.

            “Sirius was a better angel than you ever will be,” Remus spat out, knowing this would lead to major repercussions. Bellatrix was an archangel and held command over most of the garrisons. If she wanted him punished, he would be—without question.

            An odd purring came from his superior and it had Remus bracing himself for something. “One would think that angel mates would be powerful, but separated from Sirius, you are nothing.”

            The insult didn’t hurt. Remus had long ago come to the same realization. His spirit was only half what it was supposed to be. When Sirius died, he took a part of Remus with him, a piece that he will never get back. Each day is hard enough but the daunting twelve centuries he has been without his mate was almost too much.

            “That kind of power in the wrong hands is deadly.”

            That had Remus freezing as a shift in the atmosphere caused the other angels in the room to become restless.

            “Especially in the unworthy.” There was something dangerous in her eyes. Remus wasn’t sure what this had to do with his own insubordination. “Sirius didn’t suspect a thing.”

            Remus’ wings snapped out, fluttering widely. It was against several codes of honor to display wings at another angel in a negative manner. Flashes of memories began pouring into his mind. Sirius’ confusion when he was called to be on the frontlines of a demon invasion. If it had been truly dire, other garrisons would have been called out too. At the time, Remus figured it was just a misunderstanding somewhere. But now it was making sense.

            “You sent him into an invasion with no backup!” His voice cracked at the thought that his own kind would’ve done this. And for what? “One angel against an entire legion of demon warriors! You wanted his death out of fear of what we could have been together.”

            Bellatrix’s wings were larger than his own and more intimidating, but Remus was too far gone to care.  “The two of you could have taken over control of Heaven.”

            The logic was not only true but also completely unfounded. “But we wouldn’t have.” An arched brow and another sneer had him barely containing his rage.

            “Do you think Heaven would function if things were left up to chance?” Bellatrix mocked with a sadistic laugh. “Order is the only province we can have. Chaos is detrimental to our survival. The two of you were a liability. Something had to give.”

            Despite the danger he was in, Remus closed his eyes in agony. Sirius was loyal to a tee and would never have harmed another angel. Never. The thought that an archangel would do such a thing was unforgivable.

            Strategy was always something he was good at—one of the reasons he made it to a garrison commander in the first place. Typically, options would be something he would consider, but at this point there was nothing. He couldn’t stay and here and be under the thumb of any of the angels. Especially Bellatrix.

            In the back of his mind, Remus could hear Bellatrix taunting him, but he tuned her out as he allowed his wings to lift him in the air. Every ounce of power he possessed went into lashing out downwards. He could feel the angels below him, feel their emotions and could even pinpoint where they were located. Remus pushed past that and continued down onto earth. The pull of billions of people was strong, but not worth stopping for.

            “What is he doing?” Fudge yelled, causing Bellatrix to stop mid-rant. Her eyes widened as she felt his connection to Heaven fading.

            The feel of all those inside Hell was almost enough to make him weep. The human souls banished to the underworld were in desolate anguish. A pain of their own doing. Demons were everywhere, but that was precisely what he wanted. He allowed the lure of their power to pull him in.

            “No!” Bellatrix yelled, taking a lunge for Remus.

            The pain of losing his wings was unlike anything he had ever experienced. It was losing a limb, one he had treasured all of his life. The only thing that kept him stable was the righteous anger at the betrayal. Sirius is what kept him going. His mate would be horrified at his choice, but Sirius wasn’t here.

            Remus snapped his eyes open, taking in his new abilities in interest. A growl left his mouth at the sight of Bellatrix lunging at him. He sidestepped the movement and dodged several angels as they attempted to contain him.

            “Enough!” Remus bellowed, taking a step back. “What transpired here is nothing but your own doing. You worried about my powers with Sirius, well worry about them now as a fallen.” The transformation was beginning to take place; the pain of his anatomy changing to that of a demon was stronger than expected.

            Before Bellatrix could respond Remus gave one parting message before falling straight to Hell.

            “The next time we see each other, I will kill you.”

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            As Draco walked the confines of the prison, he couldn’t help but wonder why Dumbledore had ever bothered. What was the point of keeping prisoners? Kill them all and be done with it. Had the man thought they could change their ways? The thought alone had a harsh sneer forming.

            Lower demons were caged, bound and barely conscious. At least the atmosphere was pleasant. A few called out to him in cries of pleading desperation—not that he cared for that. If they couldn’t handle punishment in silence, then they weren’t worth his time or attention.

    ��       Draco looked over his shoulder and called for Weasley, his second in command. “Kill them.”

            When she grinned in delight, he rolled his eyes. “I’m only doing this to keep morale high after the battles.”

            “Since when do you care about morale?” She argued, hands already reaching for her daggers.

            His patience was wearing thin. “Either kill them or I will.” Draco knew she wouldn’t pass up a chance to kill for no reason, so he left her to it and continued down the cages.

            The sight of blinding white wings had Draco freezing for just a moment as he turned a corner.

            “No way.”

            Killing angels was a rite of passage, capturing one however was nearly impossible. Angels fight to the death and never waver in their annoyingly self-righteous attitude. To think that Dumbledore had captured an angel and said nothing was nearly unbelievable. If the knowledge of a captured angel had been even rumored, it would have tipped the scales of the war in the dead demon’s favor. Dumbledore could have amassed legions of demons wanting to be on the same side as someone powerful enough to take an angel alive.

            Defiant pale grey eyes narrowed as Draco approached. Angels were hard to differentiate, mainly because they never take pride in their names and choose to function in unity—just another reason angels were incredibly stupid.

            “Well, who might you be?”

            When the angel said nothing and only lifted his nose into the air, Draco smirked maliciously. Oh, this would be fun.

            Wings twitched in response to his question and Draco just knew that the angel was itching for a fight.

            “Fuck you,” The angel spat out as his chains clanged against the stone wall.

            “Feisty for an angel,” Draco mocked, taking enjoyment from the anger permeating the air. “Do you kiss God with a mouth like that?”

            The sound of the chains clanging increased as the angel pushed against the restraints. The sight had Draco laughing in delight.

            Thoughts on what to do with the angel were circulating around his mind. Killing a captured angel would be no fun. Draco figured he would talk to Harry about it first, see what his mate thought of this.

            As Draco went to leave, his eyes caught sight of something curious. Or rather the lack of something had him pausing. Angel anatomy was very different than that of a demon, at least internally, but what they had in common was the power thread of a mate. It was easy to spot whether an angel or demon had gone through a matching. This angel had the tell of a mate, only instead of it showing a demon mate, it was something else.

            Draco furrowed his brows as he stared at the thread. It wasn’t familiar at all, nor had he seen it on anyone else. In a way, it reminded him of the thread of power that linked him to Harry.

            Realization struck, and it had Draco taking a step back. “You have an angel mate.” He had never stopped to consider that there would be a counterpart to his union with Harry. They were the first paired demon mates to ever exist, and Draco was horrified that he never stopped to wonder if there were paired angel mates. This changed everything. No wonder Dumbledore imprisoned the angel.

            “Weasley! Find me Potter now!”

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

            The air was morphing into something that hadn’t been felt in many millennia. Several demons raised their hands in the air and welcomed the energy that was brimming. New blood was entering their ranks and it was a cause for celebration.

            Luna inhaled deeply, relishing in the power of the fallen as she locked eyes on the gates. It wouldn’t be long. Soon, they would have a fallen angel amongst their midst. It would seem that Zacharias was good for something.

            The angels wouldn’t stand a chance, let alone mere mortals.

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

            Harry waved away Weasley as he made his way towards the prison. Knowing Draco, he was surprised the structure was still standing. What was the point of keeping any prisoners alive? What possible use could they have?

            As he passed open cages with dead demons spilling outward, things began making more sense. This was more like Draco.

            When Harry rounded the corner, he noticed the stiff posture of his mate and it had him tensing for a threat. Anything that could make Draco stiff was a bad sign.

            “Riddle’s men are dead. We lost no casualties.”

            Despite the good news, Draco was barely listening, all of his attention was focused on the prisoner.

            The lack of response had Harry arching a brow as he approached his mate. One look into the cage had a low whistle escaping.  

            Harry had seen many angels in his existence. Most of the time it was just for a few moments as he took away their life force. Seeing one imprisoned? That was new. It was unheard of to capture an angel. That alone had him suspicious. Dumbledore hadn’t really been the kind to capture anyone at all, demon or angel.

            “He has an angel mate.”

            The words took Harry’s breath away. Oh no. That was not what they needed. Not now. Not when they were finally making headway. Dumbledore and Riddle were dead. Battle strategies to take over Heaven were already underway. If there were angel mates out there, then this was going to ruin everything.

            Draco watched Harry try and compartmentalize this in amusement. He wondered if this is what he looked like. He turned his attention towards the angel and took in the horrified expression.

            “You are mates.”

            Harry snorted derisively, the angel wasn’t the brightest. “That we are.” He allowed a malicious smirk to form and took pleasure in the flinch the angel released.

            “We could kill him,” Harry offered turning to Draco, knowing the decision would most likely be up to his mate.

            Draco ran a finger down Harry’s chest, loving the way green eyes darkened. “What fun would that be? He’s our counterpart, surely that means we can mess with him some. Plus, imagine what his precious mate would say when we storm the gates of Heaven and regale them all of his fate.

            Harry would give Draco anything. If his mate wanted to torture the angel, then he would just watch from the sidelines.

            As Harry nodded his head and let Draco know to begin, a strong pull had them both freezing.

            With Dumbledore and Riddle out of the way, Harry and Draco now had control over Hell. The power of souls entering the underworld was at their grasp. Only, this wasn’t that.

            Harry spread his arms wide, closing his eyes when he felt the power of a soul unlike any other.

            “Mmm,” Draco felt his eyes go half-lidded as the only explanation for such a power became clear. “We have a fallen angel approaching.”

            A gasp could be heard from their prisoner, but that wasn’t unexpected. There hadn’t been a fallen angel since Lucifer. This would truly decide the fate of Heaven.

            Harry backed away quickly, allowing plenty of room between him and the cages. The fallen angel would feel the lure of his and Draco’s power as they fell, leading them directly here.

            “An angel and a fallen angel in one day, what more could we want?” Draco clapped his hands together in excitement. Being co-sire of Hell was already more than he could have ever imagined.

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

            The force of the fall slammed Remus into the ground, but he couldn’t bring himself to get up. The pain of his body morphing was too much. His bones elongated in some areas while they shrunk drastically in others. The agony of his missing wings was more emotional than physical and that alone was enough to have him wanting to weep.

            This wasn’t what he thought his life would be like. All he had ever wanted was to be a good angel. Following orders was easy and he had been good at it. Until Sirius came along. His mate had been the best thing to ever happen to him. Despite Sirius being defiant, brash and a rule breaker, Remus couldn’t help but love him. His mate had been the definition of pure chaos, but that was what enthralled him so much to begin with.

            Without Sirius, Remus had been barely functioning. The only thing that had kept him afloat was the memory of his mate. But with the knowledge of Sirius’ death being orchestrated, he couldn’t handle it. Couldn’t handle anything. If the demons didn’t want him, then he would allow them to take his life. Heaven wasn’t worth living for—he just hoped Hell would give him the solace and peace needed to survive.

            And wasn’t that just a scary thought?

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

            Draco circled the fallen angel appraisingly. “Good build, decent bone structure, muscles need work, but his power is strong. Far stronger than the weaklings some demons try to pass off as.”

            Harry loved watching Draco get like this. It was enticing to have such an intelligent and keen mate. “Do you think he could be trained?”

            The question had Draco narrowing his eyes in concentration. “Hard to determine. The reason he fell will matter. We can only do so much emotional manipulation; if he holds strong feelings of kinship with the other angels, then he will be of no use to us.”

            Harry cocked his head to the side when his mate continued to be fascinated with the new demon. “If he ends up being of no use, his life will be forfeit.”

            That had Draco frowning heavily. “A fallen angel hasn’t been seen in our lifetime. We aren’t going to kill him.”

            “I won’t have him being a hindrance to our plans,” Harry informed Draco, arms folding firmly. “We didn’t work this hard to have a fallen ruin it all.”

            The tone had Draco growling, claws extending outward as his wings lifted upwards. “We rule Hell together. What happens here on out will be decided by the both of us. Don’t tell me what to do.” The downfall of two demons together would always be how similar they were to each other. Draco knew that going in, and arguments were to be expected.

            Harry narrowed his eyes, not afraid of Draco’s power or the threat in his tone. He pulled on his mate till they were pressed together, allowing the claws to sink into his back. The pain was grounding and far more pleasurable than verbal fights.

            “Draco,” The whisper was so soft, Harry knew no one else would hear it. “We can’t be blind sighted by new power. If he becomes an issue, then we have to take care of him.”

            Draco hated the way the utterance of his name had him relaxing into the hold. He allowed his claws to retract, smirking at the gasp Harry released. “I won’t let him become a hindrance.”

            Harry searched Draco’s eyes before nodding. “I trust you.”

            Trust was for the weak. They both knew it. Trust would always be the downfall of the unintelligent. Demons don’t believe in trust, it wasn’t something that would be sensible. But Draco trusted Harry with his life. Not only because they were mates, but because of the kind of demon Harry was.

            Draco didn’t repeat the sentiment, knowing that Harry didn’t need to hear that the trust was mutual. He chose to run his nails along the wounds in his mate’s back, relishing in the way Harry shuddered.

            “For some reason, I expected fights between demons to be more… explosive… than this. Anticlimactic actually.”

            A loud gasp drew their attention to the fallen angel.

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

            Remus forced his body up when he the heard the sound of his mate.

            “Sirius.”

            The sight of Sirius chained up against a wall and behind a cage was barely a blip in his mind as he tried to come to the reality that his mate was alive. “They said you died.”

            Draco wrapped an arm around Harry’s waist before whispering, “Things just got more interesting.”

            “Remus.” The anguish in the angel’s voice was amusing to Harry. It was a personal torture, something neither Draco or he could have provided. “What did you do?”

            “Bellatrix set up the ambush that got you here!” Remus knew he was shouting but he couldn’t help it. Not when he had been living the past 12 centuries thinking his mate was dead. “I mourned you.”

            There was a crack in Remus’ voice and it had Draco sneering. That would have to go. Demons don’t succumb to emotions.

            Harry couldn’t help a small growl escape at the name of the archangel. Bellatrix and her squadron of complete idiots had been a pain in his side for centuries. The angel never sullied herself to actually fight, choosing to send her underlings instead. One of these days he was going to kill the bitch.

            “You fell, Moony.” Sirius looked close to crying, but Remus couldn’t change his choices. What was done was done. “Bellatrix’s betrayal is not up to you to avenge. She will answer to God in the end. Her sins will not excuse your own.”

            The spiel of morality and the mantra of good was honestly nauseating. Remus couldn’t take it. He clenched his fists tightly as power exploded outwards, blasting the cages open.

            “I am sick and tired of being told what is right and wrong! Angels are ordered around as mindless followers with no thought. Humans get free will, but not us? Why must I be restricted? Every time an order demands me on the frontlines, I get no choice in the matter. Why must my life be seen as a means to an end? Every time an order commands me to go against God’s original wishes, I get no choice in the matter.”

            The power building up inside the fallen angel had Harry and Draco taking several steps away. It would seem that kinship wouldn’t be a problem. The fallen held heaping amounts of pent-up rage—which would be the best weapon in getting him to do their bidding.

            Remus couldn’t bear to open his eyes and see disgust on Sirius’ face. “Archangels forget that their position was not one of power, but one to guide the rest of us forward. The love that used to run Heaven has fallen. You judge me off of standards that Heaven has forsaken. I don’t want to be a part of a Heaven that conspires to get rid of its own kind. I don’t want to be a part of a Heaven that doesn’t care for all angels equally. I don’t want to be a part of Heaven at all.”

            A distressed noise had Remus opening his lids, watching the tears build in Sirius’ eyes. “I love you, Sirius. I have loved you long before we were paired together as mates. I loved you during every single moment we had together. And I loved you long after you were declared dead.” He watched the tears fall down the angel’s cheeks and Remus had to look away for a moment.

            “But you took every good piece of me when you left. It was as if every single positive thing in my life related to you. I realized how codependent I had become. Only instead of fixing that and learning how to exist without you, I flopped. What did structured order and fighting the inevitable even matter? What good am I to Heaven when the hole of your absence was stronger than my own presence?”

            Harry nuzzled the side of Draco’s cheek. “Angels are disgustingly emotional.” Love. What a weakness.

            Draco purred as the scent of his mate meshed with his own. “Completely irrational. Never did understand the concept of love. How it tames thoughts and bends the will of the strong.”

            Remus ignored the demons behind him and focused on the confusion on Sirius’ face. “I have lived 12 centuries without you. 12 centuries of becoming a completely different person than I once was. The blind faith that Heaven expected of me quickly vanished. I questioned my orders and thrived to think for myself. Only Heaven doesn’t want that. They don’t want free will or for us to think at all. I can’t be what I once was.”

            Sirius shook his head rapidly “But falling? Surely there was another way? You have damned yourself to Hell. A fate worse than death.”

            Draco scowled. “Excuse you, we do live here, you know.”

            Despite himself, Remus snorted. “Heaven will fall. Demon mates have already taken over Hell. Heaven isn’t telling the angels anything, the higherups are guarding their secrets. It’s not only doomed for failure, but Heaven doesn’t care. I would rather die than be apart of that. If you are going to have a belief in morality—fine—just make sure you update your facts before dismissing me.”

            Remus balled his fists and turned around, not wanting to see his mate in this manner.

            “Remus—I don’t—I can’t—I don’t know what to think,” whispered Sirius, voice so quiet Harry and Draco had to lean forward in order to eavesdrop. “I’ve spent so long imagining what would happen if I could get out of here. The normalcy of the Heaven I left is the only version that makes sense. If Heaven isn’t what it used to be, then there is no hope. I need hope.”

            Before Remus could really begin to respond, he was interrupted.

            “It matters naught what you think,” Harry taunted. “You are nothing but a prisoner of Hell.” He had been worried about what would happen if the angel’s mate found out about the circumstances, but this was better than he could have expected.

            “Fallen, you are welcome to visit your mate at any point during your stay in hell.” Harry watched the way Remus finally gave them the attention that should have been there to begin with. When the newly turned demon’s eyes widened, it was clear that their power had been recognized.

            “However,” Draco took over, glaring at Remus. “You will be bound to servitude until we see fit to release you.”

            Remus hummed in confusion. “Why? I am of no threat to you.”

            “That hasn’t been decided,” Harry pointed out. “Although, that isn’t what Malfoy meant. You will be bound to servitude because we feel like it.”

            “I don’t have to listen to you.”

            Draco’s wings snapped outward with a harsh slap against the wall. “That is where you are mistaken. Not only will you listen to us because we are the rightful commanders of Hell, but because you made a fatal mistake.”

            Harry watched the confusion on Remus’ face and it wasn’t until guilt crossed Sirius’ face that he knew the prisoner understood.

            “Remus,” Harry and Draco said in unison, allowing their power to smother the demons. “First thing you learn in Hell is that names hold power. A power that we now control.”

            Remus closed his eyes and submitted willingly. He held no free will in Heaven, what would a lack of free will as a demon really change?

            “What do you want of me?”

            When both demons grinned, Remus knew that his life would become a series of disasters.

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

            “So what does God look like?”

            Lovegood smacked the back of Creevey’s head hard enough that the lower level demon made contact with the conference table.

            Remus shook his head, trying not to find them amusing. “I don’t know, I never met God.”

            When several demons looked at him incredulously, he shrugged. “I imagine it’s the same as Lucifer. Have you ever met him?”

            Creevey shifted in his seat and sighed in disappointment. “No. There hasn’t been a sighting of Lucifer since the beginning of our creation.”

            Remus lifted his hands, gesturing that it had been the same for him.

            “What if there is no God or Lucifer?” Brown asked with a scandalized gasp.

            “Quit your conspiracy theories or I will slit your throat.” The sound of one of their leaders had everyone sitting up straighter.

            Harry made his way towards one of the chairs at the head of the table. “If one of you doesn’t give me good news, I will kill the first one who stands up at the end of the meeting.”

            There was a scramble as several demons tried to deliver reports of their assigned tasks.

            Remus cleared his throat, smirking internally as a few demons glowered at him. “I found a reliable source that can provide updated battle strategies of the angels.” It would appear that Zacharias was a spineless git and buckled under the slightest bit of pressure.

            “Now that is good news.” The praise had more demons glaring at Remus, but he ignored them completely. It wasn’t his fault they were incompetent.

            Harry placed his hands under his chin. “Before we get into what Fallen has discovered, I would like to introduce a new demon to our ranks.”

            Whispers broke out, a few bringing up the power that was felt earlier in the week. Some questioning whether it was a human turned demon, or perhaps something else.

            The door to the room flew open, causing all heads to turn towards the entrance.

            Harry nodded his head towards his mate, watching Draco lead in their new demon. “Everyone, this is Black. Another fallen angel.”

            Heaven was fucked.

[swipestream]

New Release Roundup–12 May 2018: Science Fiction

Space dragons, the King of Space, legions of space marines, caravans of space refugees, and the deadliest unpaid intern in the galaxy feature in this week’s roundup of the newest releases in science fiction.

Bandwidth (Analog Novel #1) – Eliot Peper

A rising star at a preeminent political lobbying firm, Dag Calhoun represents the world’s most powerful technology and energy executives. But when a close brush with death reveals that the influence he wields makes him a target, impossible cracks appear in his perfect, richly appointed life.

Like everyone else, Dag relies on his digital feed for everything—a feed that is as personal as it is pervasive, and may not be as private as it seems. As he struggles to make sense of the dark forces closing in on him, he discovers that activists are hijacking the feed to manipulate markets and governments. Going public would destroy everything he’s worked so hard to build, but it’s not just Dag’s life on the line—a shadow war is coming, one that will secure humanity’s future or doom the planet to climate catastrophe. Ultimately, Dag must decide the price he’s willing to pay to change the world.

Beyond Atlantis ( Ascendant Chronicles #4) – Brandon Elllis

Jaxx thought the Kelhoon were bad enough – a race of aliens enslaving humans, Atlanteans, and other ET’s, and shipping them off to their factory farms on Callisto, Jupiter’s second largest moon. But when Jaxx lands back on Callisto to free those bound in chains, he encounters something far worse.

The Agadon has followed him there. A psychotic sentient race of artificial intelligent Beings hellbent on wiping out all life in the Sol system – human, Atlantean and Kelhoon alike.

Now Jaxx must persuade rebel Kelhoon to join him in a battle against an intractable enemy.

With only one chance to succeed, Jaxx might just save everyone, or he might fail and die. When the Atlanteans offer him a deal that fulfills both, he may have no choice.

And he’s running out of time.

Broken Stars (Universe on Fire #1) – Ivan Kal

Sixty-seven years ago the Qash’vo’tar conquered Earth. They had judged humanity as dangerous and unworthy of joining the other races among the stars. Ever since then, the aliens had ruled from above, keeping humanity from even thinking about reaching for the stars. The Qash’vo’tar did not care what humanity did on the ground, as long as they didn’t attempt to build anything that could get them to the stars. Outmatched in every way and not willing to accept the cost of fighting back, the United Earth gave up ever again reaching beyond the boundary of Earth’s sky.

In its isolation, humanity turned its eyes from the sky and pointed them to the ground. Instead of the stars, humanity explored the oceans, burrowed deep underground, and broadened its understanding of laws of physics. Until finally they could take no more. In secret the United Earth’s best scientists attempted to find a way out. They experimented, and in a single moment changed the fate of humanity. Accidentally, they broke through someplace else, created a breach in space-time. Deep underground, they created a portal to another universe.

They made a breach to a universe where there was magic. This new universe changed them, changed their own universe. This one accident gave them a new weapon against the Qash’vo’tar. A weapon that the aliens had no knowledge of. It gave humanity magic. And they studied it, integrated it with their technology, and they waited for the right time to strike back against their alien overlords.

And now, sixty-seven years after they had been conquered, it was time for humanity to show the Qash’vo’tar that they had been right to fear humanity. Now was the time for humanity to reclaim its world and carve a place for Earth among the stars.

Freedom’s Fate (Freedom’s Fire #6) – Bobby Adair

War in the Heavens for Freedom on Earth

The first interstellar war, a generation ago, left humanity enslaved. Now humans fight in the armies of their masters to save themselves from annihilation.

At least, that’s what the propaganda insists is true. What the layers of lies keep hidden, is how badly the new war is going for the people of earth.

Now it’s Dylan Kane’s turn to blast into the heavens and join the battle, but what his masters don’t know, is that by putting a weapon in his hands, they’re giving him the key to unlocking his hopes of freedom.

In this finale of the Freedom’s Fire series, the Free Army tries to salvage victory from what looks like a total loss. They’ve found a weakness in the Gray-Trog alliance they think they can exploit. But they’ll need to ally themselves with the hated MSS, and put their trust in people they’ve sworn to overthrow.

Hunter Killer (Wardogs, Inc. #2) – G. D. Stark

All war is murder for profit. Some corporations are just more open about it.

WARDOGS INCORPORATED is one of the largest and most professional mercenary corporations operating in the Kantillon subsector. If you need a bodyguard, an assassination team, or an armored cavalry regiment complete with air support, WARDOGS Inc. can provide it for you… for a very steep price.

Fresh from the nuclear-scarred battlefields of Ulixis, Tommy Falkland and his squad mates are happy to be assigned to a simple corporate bodyguard contract when the interstellar corporation Datacon Verlag inadvertently offends a seriously strange religious cult with an advertising campaign and turns to Wardogs Incorporated for protection. But the contract proves to be considerably more challenging than expected when the executive they are guarding ends up dead, murdered by a military-grade toxin, and they find themselves ordered to track down his killer. But how do you solve a murder when your two primary skills are breaking things and killing people?

The King of Space Must Die (Space Team #9) – Barry J. Hutchison

It isn’t just war. It’s space war!

Geronimus Krone, the most dangerous man in existence has altered the course of time, appointed himself King of Space, and now rules the galaxy with the help of his four monstrous generals and their armies.

Cal Carver and his crew are the galaxy’s only hope. But, reeling from their recent loss, they can’t stop Krone on their own. Fortunately, they’ve got a whole bunch of friends they can call on for help.

With Krone’s grip tightening around thousands of helpless star systems, a much larger Space Team must find a way to crush his armies, defeat his generals, and finally face off against the King of Space himself.

But first, they’ve got a funeral to attend…

Knights of Saturn (Void Dragon Hunters #5) – Felix R. Savage

Betrayed and undermined, the Dragon Corps is in tatters.

Scarred by losses, the Dragon Corps is placed under ADCON by the Department of Defense. Jay Scattergood returns to Earth with his Void Dragon – and finds himself reluctantly spearheading a plot to break a traitor out of prison. The daring strategy enmeshes Jay and his friends in conflict with their own side, as they struggle to head off a calamity caused by the traitors who sided with the Offense.

Jay and Tancred have one last chance to save humanity. But enemies surround them on all sides. The Void Dragons are exiled from Earth. Their only hope is to flee … into Offense territory.

The final battle is coming. The Void Dragons will face their ultimate test at Saturn.

Last Man Out (Poor Man’s Fight #5) – Elliott Kay

Meet the deadliest unpaid intern in the galaxy.

Some people struggle to get to college. Tanner Malone had to fight through an interstellar war. Far from home, under a cloud of scandal and propaganda, hunted by assassins and haunted by trauma, Tanner is finally enrolled in a top university.

He didn’t plan for an archaeological expedition on the far side of human space. He didn’t want more corporate mercenaries or space pirates in his life, either. Yet ancient alien secrets don’t come without cost.

If his classmates want to survive the summer, their infamous intern is the only chance they’ve got.

The Midnight Sun (The Four Horsemen: Omega War #2) – Tim C. Taylor

War has come to the worlds of Humans. The rich planet of Tau-Rietzke, however, is far from Earth and the Mercenary Guild’s invasion, and its alien-registered mercenary companies are a safe haven for Humans on the run. Organizations like the Midnight Sun Free Company.

Having just completed another successful mission and taken possession of three Raknars, it was party time for Saisho Branco and the personnel of the Midnight Sun, and they were enjoying a little down time…until the war spilled over into their corner of the galaxy and two competing mercenary organizations showed up to steal the Raknars.

But no one takes the company owner’s toys, and Gloriana has given the Midnight Sun a new mission—return the Raknars to her at all cost…or don’t return at all.

This is the hardest mission the Midnight Sun has ever taken, and it will test not only the military prowess of the company, but also its members’ loyalties as well. When everyone is against you, and your race calls you to war, do you heed the call or continue to trust your shadowy employer? Outnumbered and outgunned, the Midnight Sun must decide whether to fight or to give up the Raknars and save their lives. Little do they know, it’s a decision which will impact the war being fought hundreds of light years away!

Odysseus Ascendant (Odyssey One #7) – Evan Currie

The Empire has set its sights on its next target: human Terrans. As effective allies of the Priminae, the denizens of Earth have proven themselves enemies to the Empire, and now the Imperial forces know more about the Terran home world than ever before.

The battle for the planet’s survival will see the Odysseus first into the breach. But more perils loom for Commodore Eric Weston and his comrades. They’re at odds with the political conflicts dividing Earth’s government and challenged by the mysterious presence haunting their vessel—its intentions unclear, and the extent of its powers unknown.

As the Empire brings the battle home, the crew of the Odysseus will need to determine whether this entity will support them in their fight for survival, or prove to be another dangerous foe.

There’s no turning back…and the only way forward may be a pathway to doom.

Rage of Winter (Terran Strike Marines #2) – Richard Fox and Scott Moon

One Shot. One Kill. One sniper to strike fear in the heart of alien invaders.

Hoffman’s Strike Marines pursue enemy agents across a wintry world, desperate to stop an insidious threat festering in the heart of the Terran Union. Their hunt is disrupted when the fanatical Kesaht invade and the team is split across the snow and ice of a harsh planet.

The team’s sniper, Duke, plays a deadly game of hit-and-run to slow the aliens’ advance and earns the ire of the enemy commander.

Hoffman, trapped in the frigid wilds, leads his Marines and their cunning prisoners back to the front, where they must join the fight against the Kesaht before the planet is lost.

Single Shot (Justice of the Covenant #3) – M. R. Forbes

Hayley, Quark, and the Riders are finding it hard to trust anything after a series of betrayals has left them battered and on the run, heading for a safe haven to regroup and reload.

If they want to have any hope of preventing an intergalactic war, they’ll need to break onto one of the most highly secured planets in the galaxy and pull off one of the most unexpected heists ever committed.

When friends reveal themselves as enemies and enemies become accidental friends, there’s only one thing left to do:

Throw caution to the stars, take the leap, and make the single shot.

Storm of Vengeance (Crimson Worlds Refugees #5) – Jay Allan

Earth Two is a world beset by dangers, inside and out. It’s genetic groupings, the cloned “Tanks,” the “Natural Borns” and the hybrid “Mules” exist uneasily, each wary of the others, even as they rally to face the deadly threat of the First Imperium’s robot warriors.

President Max Harmon and his inner circle have played an elaborate game of chess for twelve years, a deadly battle of wits with the genocidal alien Intelligence known as the Regent. They have moved fleets, spread deceptions, built decoy planets…all to hide Earth Two’s location, to protect it from the deadly onslaught of the enemy.

But sitting and waiting is a losing game. The Regent’s resources are just too powerful, its technology too advanced. It will find Earth Two eventually…and when it does, it will consign the planet to the apocalypse of antimatter devastation. Harmon knows his people must do something…and when a scouting fleet sends back word that it has found the enemy’s antimatter production site, it seems almost too good to be true.

Harmon suspects it is all a trap designed to lure his fleet to its destruction. But, more than one side can lay a trap, or turn one around, and the elimination of the Regent’s antimatter production will go a long way to evening the two sides, and setting the stage for a final showdown the humans can win.

The War for Earth (Children of Earthrise #4) – Daniel Arenson

The basilisks. Giant serpents from deep space. Their true name is unknown. Their homeworld is cloaked in shadow. But one thing is certain: They’re killers.

And they vow to kill us all.

We humans have only just returned to Earth. For centuries, we lived as refugees among the stars. Hated. Hunted. After a long war, after devastating losses, we began to resettle our world. Only to find it swarming with monsters.

The basilisks show us no mercy. They constrict our children like boas, shattering their bones. They devour our loved ones, digesting them alive and screaming. Their starships hammer our colonies, destroying all that we’ve built.

They’ll never stop. Not until we’re all dead.

But we did not survive so many hardships to give up now. Our hope still burns bright. We will fight the basilisks. We will defend our planet. We will win the war for Earth!

A Warrior’s Home (Assignment: Darklanding #9) – Craig Martelle and Scott Moon

Thaddeus Fry became a sheriff, but he never stopped being a soldier. TerroCom needs him and he can’t say no.

A frontier world. One sheriff. The Company and all the action one spaceport can’t handle.

A warrior is never far from battle, even if the war is long over. Thad is torn between his new home on Darklanding and the familiarity of combat. His quirky friends or his fellow warriors. Whose call will be the strongest? Maximus deploys with the sheriff as they go off world to find out.

Fans of Firefly, Bonanza, and Tombstone will love this space opera / western and all the characters that make the story great. Join us on the latest journey through Darklanding.

New Release Roundup–12 May 2018: Science Fiction published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames