#oh my god. you are the coolest guy. your art is stunning. your personality has enraptured me.

[andiv3r]

Someone save me I think I am deeply in love with the Coolest Guy Ever-

[seokjinsonlyone-main]

Renaissance

this is the photography!harry piece based off of this request:  

hello! can you do where harry is a photographer and he needs a model for an upcoming project or something so he asks y/n since he couldn’t find anyone. and during that process, both developed feelings towards one another.

Y/N liked to sit alone in the dining room. She didn't like to watch people eat or have others watch her eat. And, she definitely wasn't a fan of small talk. Or talking at all. She didn't like it because she wasn't good at it. She wasn't good at it because she didn't do it. She didn't do it because she didn't like it. It was a vicious cycle, really. 

This wasn't to say that she didn't have any friends because she did. Those who bothered to stick it out past her social awkwardness and the unnecessarily high walls she built around herself usually were there for life. Said friends, however, refused to wait for her to get out of class and went to eat somewhere else without her. Since she didn't have a car she was left to fend for herself in the dining room. Which she didn't mind as long as she was left alone. 

Apparently Harry Styles didn't get the memo. He was this real sweet kid she saw around in the arts department a lot. They were both fine arts majors, but she specialised in painting and sketching while he specialised in photography. In their first couple years they had a few general ed classes together, so she was friendly whenever they came into contact with each other but they weren't friends. That was why his sudden presence at her table was so perplexing. They were wave from across the hall close not sit with each other at lunch close. She looked up from her plate, slowly finishing a mouthful of carbonara, eyeing him suspiciously. "How... may I help you?"

He flashed a big, bright smile at her which was honestly a bit off-putting. "How are you doing, beautiful?"

"I'm fine... just, ya know, trying to get some ATP." He looked at her with a blank expression. "Adenosine triphosphate... Like, cellular energy... that comes from– ya know what? Never mind. I'm a nerd. Why are you trying to butter me up?"

He sighed. "I know we don't talk often." She raised an eyebrow at him. "...Or, at all, but I need to ask you for a favour."

She patted around her mouth with a napkin in an attempt to stall time. She wondered why he couldn't ask one of the other million people he knew. Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't her friends have waited for her to get out of class? She figured hearing him out wouldn't be the worst thing ever, though. "Well, I can't guarantee I'll do it, but what is it?"

"I'm working on a project, and I need a model. My last one flaked out on me."

Her eyebrows drew together. "Why?"

"She found out I wasn't paying," he pouted.

She puckered her lips. "Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine. Anyway, I'm doing, like, a modern recreation of renaissance art. And, I really really really need your help."

She squinted her eyes at him. There had to be something he wasn't telling her. She was more than certain that he could convince any other girl to model for him. She knew at least three girls who had a legitimate crush on him, five girls who wanted to get in his pants, and really any living creature could be charmed into doing it once he batted his eyes in their direction. The dude was beautiful. "What aren't you telling me, Styles?"

He winced at the question before blowing raspberries into the air. "Are you... familiar with... The Birth of Venus and Venus of Urbino?"

"Of course I am," she responded immediately. When he didn't say anything, she thought back over what he just asked her until the gears in her brain were fully turning. Her eyes widened. "You want me to pose nude?" she whisper shouted. 

"You wouldn't actually be showing anything!"

"People would be able to see my face! And, I'd be showing everything else. It ain't that hard to connect the dots. No, absolutely not," she said, shaking her head. 

"I could crop the picture at your neck!" he bargained.

"Venus of Urbino is lying down!"

"I can figure something out! Please."

"Harry..." she sighed thoroughly exasperated. She wished he would let it go and move onto another person. "I know a bunch of girls who would willingly throw their clothes at you. Why me?"

"For that exact reason. I don't want someone who wants to get in my pants. I want someone who's as serious about art as I am, and honestly you're just about the most passionate person I know. I always see you in the studio hours after everyone else has gone back to their dorms. Plus, you have a 4.0, and I think that's, like, the coolest thing ever. I'd really like to collaborate with you."

His confession stunned her. She always thought she slipped under everyone's radar. Not that she was trying to, she just got so into her work that she didn't really make time for anyone else. And, in her classes that didn't require studio work she usually  preferred keeping to herself. It wasn't that she straight up ignored people, she just didn't go out of her way to make friends. It was better that way. People came and people went. It minimised the damage. She figured that people saw her the same way she saw herself. "Well, alright," she shrugged.

"Really? I asked your friends and they said you probably wouldn't do it. I had four other bullet points to try to convince you and a backup plan that I was fully prepared to use," he said, ending with his jaw slightly dropped in a state of disbelief.

"First of all, don't talk to Niall and Louis about me. They're knobs. I would know. They're my friends. Second, I agreed because you seem to have some sort of vision. A lot of people ask me for my help and want me to do all their work for them." She smiled tightly at him wanting this whole exchange to be over with, so she could come to terms with what she agreed to. 

"You don't have to worry about that with me," he replied, smiling brightly, suddenly getting super excited. "Oh my god, I can't believe you said yes!" He rounded the table and pulled her into a hug. 

She immediately seized up in his arms. She didn't mind hugs, but she usually saw the moment coming and was therefore prepared to lean in. He quite literally picked her up out of the chair. She could feel eyes burning holes into the back of her neck. "Okay, okay. You're welcome. Please put me down," she mumbled into his neck. 

"Let me get your number!" he chirped, handing her his phone. 

She input her number, then called her phone so she would have his number in return. "Just... text me whenever you're ready to…do this whole thing."

"I will, and thank you so much again." He kissed her on the cheek before making his way out of the dining room, enormous grin still plastered on his face.

Her heart skipped a beat and her entire face flushed at the action, as she brought her hand to the area his lips had been pressed to. She immediately fled the room, not wanting anyone who she was friendly with to question her about what just happened,leaving her wondering what she just got herself into. --- She clutched her bag tightly as she checked the time on her phone for the fifth time in the past minute. He was five minutes late, and she was considering going back into her dorm. That was, until she saw him running toward her, gasping.

She let out a sigh of relief and irritation. "You're late."

"I know. I know. I'm sorry, just–" He held out his finger, asking for a minute, bent over gasping for air. "I was setting everything up and lost track of time."

She decided to forgive him this time. "It's okay, I suppose. Just... don't let it happen again, please." She stared at him finally regaining his posture. The building wasn't that far away. He looked fit, but she guessed he wasn't as in shape as he appeared.

"Why exactly do you need an escort to a building that's like a ten minute walk away? You can literally see it from here, and there are street lamps."

"Yes, because street lamps deter crime,"she said, rolling her eyes and nodded her head toward the path so they could start moving. After they had been walking for a minute or so, she answered his question. "I may be feisty, but I'm still a princess, Harold. I have a general distrust for the human population, and I refuse to be another statistic. That is why I'm on a first name basis with at least eight security guards and the escort service has my schedule posted and my number on speed dial. It's a service I've used liberally ever since I've been a student here. That's actually how I met Niall."

"Then why didn't you call him?"

"Because you're a nice, tall, fairly built guy who I'm practically posing nude for. Figured it's the least you could do. Also, I didn't tell them I agreed to do it. They're absolute pests with big mouths."

He shrugged his shoulders, releasing a chuckle. "Fair enough. By the way, my name isn't Harold."

"Hmmm..." she murmured mindlessly, "Guess you have a new nickname then." They spent the rest of the walk in relative silence which she was grateful for. She knew she agreed to do this and she wasn't going to back out on him, but she was nervous. She'd never done anything like this before and she hadn't planned on doing it ever... in her life. She hoped to god that he actually did come up with something. She let her thoughts consume her so much so that she didn't realise they arrived at the building until Harry gently touched the small of her back causing her to jump back like she'd been shocked. 

"Sorry." He motioned for her to follow him, holding open the door to the studio art building. "I understand why you need escorts. You zone way out."

She shrugged in return. "So, have you found out a way to– ugh..." she cut herself off when she noticed the sign saying that the elevator was out of order. She was going to have to walk up six flights of stairs. She guessed that's why he was so out of breath when he came to get her. "Anyway, I was wondering if you found a way to shoot me less... naked?"

"I actually have."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. I'll show you when we get upstairs."

She nodded as relief flooded her veins. She spent the next few minutes focusing on pacing herself as they climbed up the stairs. She didn't want him to see how winded she could get when she reached the top. Her asthma didn't help the situation. Once they reached the top (with minimal wheezing), she thought about how un-awkward she felt standing next to him, walking down the hall. Whenever she was around people she didn't know that well or at all, she always found it extremely awkward and didn't know how to carry herself. Don't get her wrong she felt awkward, but nowhere near as much as she usually did.

It may have been because of the few text messages they exchanged during the week or the fact that he specifically sought her out and begged for her to work with him, but she didn't feel her usual level of discontent around him. It was weird. She didn't notice she almost walked past the room until she stumbled backwards, caused by Harry's sudden grip on her hand. 

"Seriously, you pay dangerously little attention to your surroundings." She shrugged as he held the door open for her. He had some finished photos hanging on a clothes line, but before she could check them out he cleared his throat. "So, we have two options for the shoot." He was holding up a skin toned body suit in one hand and a skin toned bra and panty set in the other. She slowly walked toward him. "Whichever one you prefer is fine with me."

She eyed them cautiously then took the body suit. She was about to go get changed before a thought struck her. "Wait, which one do you prefer?"

He shook his head. "I just want you to be comfortable."

"I'm never comfortable. I live in a constant state of awkwardness, but I know you have a vision for this thing. What do you want me to wear?"

He rolled his lips together. "I think the more skin showing the better. Like, they celebrated the body back then, and if you had the, um," he coughed, "the bra and, um, panties... it would be easier to catch the more feminine lines of your body." He gently skated his hand up her side in demonstration and admiration and she nearly melted inside.

She nodded her head furiously, sending him a tight smile and going to change into the two piece. "Then that's what I'll do, innit?" She exhaled heavily once she was behind the partition he had set up. Generally speaking, she strayed from physical contact. It made her uncomfortable because people made her uncomfortable. She didn't trust many, so touches were few and far between. Never would she have imagined something to send shivers down her spine in the glorious way Harry's touch did. 

When Y/N stepped out from behind the partition, she looked around the room in search for him. She found him fiddling with his camera and tripod, so she cleared her throat to make her presence known. He didn't know how to react when his gaze landed upon her. The most he could manage was opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. "I know I don't have, like, the best–"

"You're beautiful," he blurted.

She could feel the heat racing to her cheeks. She was at a loss for how to respond, but she knew continuing to stand there in way less clothes than she was used to wasn't working for her. "So... The Birth of Venus, yeah?" --- After she changed back into her clothes, she wasn't sure what to do. One of the little voices in her head was telling her to bolt due to some leftover embarrassment from being half naked with him. Another voice was telling her to at least see if he needed anything else before leaving. She decided to listen to the latter. After all, it hadn't been that bad. She had to give Harry credit. He was extremely professional and made her comfort his top priority. She made her way out from behind the changing screen and shuffled over to him. "Ummm... I was just gonna..." she pointed to the door, "unless you needed anything else?"

He directed his attention away from the monitor which she assumed held the shots he'd just taken. He pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth. "I know I said I just wanted you to model for me, but, uh, could you take a look at some of the other photos for this?"

"Sure..." she agreed. He pulled up a chair next to his in front of the computer screen. "I can just... click through?" He nodded and she began carefully studying each photograph, happy to be in her comfort zone  once again. 

Photography might not have been her forte, but she took a semester of art history and was an artist herself. It was sort of a happy medium for her. She couldn't help noticing Harry in her periphery, toying with his lip, taking turns looking between her and his pictures. She took pride in the sense of humility she drowned herself in, but the pictures he took of her were her favourite. One was of her grabbing a robe. He scanned it into another picture he took of a bathroom so it looked like she was getting out of the shower. The window in the bathroom was open and he had a fan blowing during the shoot, so it looked like the wig she had on was being blown in the wind. She knew it wasn't finished, and it was quite simple but also very intriguing considering the painting it was based on. The other was of her laying down on a couch messing about on her phone. It wasn't as symbolic as the first, but she loved the way he played with the lighting. It looked good. She snuck a glance at him when she was sure he wasn't looking directly at her and couldn't help thinking that he looked better than all of his work. She got lost in her thoughts, as per usual, and accidentally locked eyes with him, then coughed to cover it up. "These are great, Harold."

His lips quirked up in a timid smile. "Thank you."

"There is one, though, that needs a bit of editing." 

His smile turned into a pout. "Which one?"

"The knock off Raphael."

"Hey," he whined. 

"You know what I mean." She clicked through the profile until she got to his interpretation of The School of Athens. "Just, like, the perspective is kinda wrong."

"What do you mean?" he asked, inspecting the photo, obviously not seeing what she was.

"Well, like, that's kind of the main point of this picture. Like, that's why it was so famous. Your detail and everything is impeccable, but the thing that made the original so great was the fact that it has a single focal point ranging from the arch and that's where everything's placement stems from."

He cursed under his breath, slightly panicking. "I don't know what I'm going to do. The assignment is due at the end of the week."

She kinda wanted to leave. She felt bad that she essentially ruined one of his shots. The tension was making her sweat. "Can't you just... fix it?"

He ran his hands through his hair. "I usually prefer not to edit my photos. I have no idea how to photoshop on the level it would take to fix this entire shot."

She stayed silent, yet another war waging in her head. She could help him with it, but that meant she'd have to spend even more time with him and she had these sudden feelings swirling about in her stomach that were making her feel. It was weird. Still, she blurted out, "I can," without the consent of her brain.

"You can?"

She shrugged, trying to play it cool, "I minor in digital art. I've taken quite a few photoshop classes."

He pulled her out of the chair and into his arms, hugging her tightly. "You are a lifesaver. Oh my god. Thank you so much." She wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so... I could kiss you right now."

It scared her how much she wanted him to. --- Y/N was alone in the studio department for the first time in over a week. She'd given up quite a few of her extended hours in favour of helping Harry complete his project. She spent the past couple of days working with him to edit his photos and showing him how to photoshop for future reference. After spending so much time with him, she was finding it even more difficult to focus than it usually was. Her mind was riddled with thoughts of him. Every time she got in a groove, she would think about how he nuzzled his face in her neck when they hugged, or how he smelled lightly of mangoes from the body wash he used or how he could only stand the silence she needed to work efficiently in for so long and would start humming, or how he walked her back to her dorm each time they met up and would make sure to have her on call, making dumb jokes, talking about any and everything, the entire time he walked back to his dorm, as per her request so she could know he was safe. It was a little disconcerting.

She didn't get this way. It was rare for her to get crushes. She didn't even need a whole hand to count the number of people she had feelings for in her entire life. She was okay with that. More than okay. It allowed her to throw herself into her work, yet she had been mixing the same two colours together in her palette for the last ten minutes. An unexpected knock on the door made her drop her paintbrush on the floor. She whipped her head around, finding the curly headed boy she'd been assisting to be the culprit. "You scared me," she breathed out.

"That's nothing new," he chuckled. "Why are you here so late and so jumpy?"

"Uh, I have extended hours because of my ADD. They let me use it after everyone's gone to get work done."

"Ahhh..." he said walking towards her with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "I didn't know you had ADD. Is that why you're really jumpy, too?"

She shook her head. "That would be the anxiety induced paranoia."

"How come you don't just come in earlier, so you won't have to be here so late?"

"I mean... to be honest, I'd rather die," she deadpanned.

He burst into this loud, squawky cackle that made her heart skip a beat simply because she was the one who caused it. He sucked his lip in between his teeth once he regained his composure. "I'm not, like, disturbing you am I?"

She shook her head again. "Nah. I haven't been very productive today."

"Because of the ADD?"

It wasn't, but she couldn't tell him it was because she couldn't get him off her mind. "No, actually, I've just been... having a problem with the colour scheme." It wasn't a lie either. She thought she was going to do this particular piece in a black and white monochromatic style, but she found herself trying to recreate the exact colour of his eyes.

"Ahhh... well, I saw the light on and figured it was you. I wanted to let you know that I submitted the pictures."

"Yeah?" she smiled and he nodded. "You'll have to let me know how you do, although I'm sure you're going to ace it."

"Fingers crossed," he replied and the two were left in an awkward silence. Neither one of them knew what to say or do next. "Well, I'm just gonna..." he nodded his head toward the door, but didn't exactly make a move.

She didn't want him to leave, but couldn't bring herself to let him know that. Instead, she waved timidly at him, mentally face palming herself. 

"Alright then, I'll... see you. Have a good night."

He started walking away, and disappointment flooded her system. She turned back to her work space, wanting to begin painting once more, but it was like her brain could not process anything other than the fact that Harry was walking away. "Actually, can you..." she blurted, whole face scrunching up, then turned to face him to see he was seconds away from being out the door but stopped once she called out to him. "Umm... if you don't mind, could you– maybe– help me with this? Just, I've been looking at these for so long I think I need a second opinion.

"Sure." He smiled brightly, agreeing immediately. 

It made her wonder if he was looking for a reason to stay, as well. She sighed before fetching the other pieces of her collection. She was completing the last one. "I was going to do this one in black and white, but now I'm not so sure. Like, I want it to have colour, but I don't want it to be in full colour." She launched into the entire concept of the collection she had created probably giving way too many details, but she couldn't help it. Once she got talking on something she liked, there was no stopping her. She noticed how intently he listened to her even though she was rambling. It was beyond endearing. 

When she shut up, he slid behind her pressing his front flush against her back. "Is this okay?" 

"Yeah," she croaked, twisting her neck to look directly at him. 

He skated his hand down her arm pointing out possible spots that she could add pops of colour to, but in all honesty she didn't hear a word he said. She was too focused on how she could feel each breath he took against her back and how pinpricks of electricity shot through her whenever his hand grazed hers. Not to mention the fact that she never actually stopped looking at him. The shape of his mouth as he talked art to her was overwhelming and she catalogued the colour of his lips into her mind because she wanted to add that to her painting too. "Y/N?" 

"Hmmm...?" She was still caught up in memorising the planes of his face, so she didn't actually process what he was saying.

He looked down at her with a slight smirk on his face. "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"

"Uh uh," she mumbled.

He turned her around in his arms so she was facing him and slid his hands down to her hips, pulling her flush against him once more. "Is this okay?"

"Mhm." Her breathing was getting tight as they stared at one another. She slid her hands up his chest, resting one on his shoulder and using the other to cup his jaw. 

He leaned into her touch, nearly purring at the gentle way she handled him. He rested his forehead against hers. "Can I kiss you?"

Her throat dried up. She tried to say something but ended up just nodding, not being able to form words. He bumped her nose with his, stalling, savouring the moment, feeling their breath intermingling. Her heart was beating out of her chest and just as she was about to lean in sealing their lips together Louis burst into the room. 

"Oi! Oi! It's 11:30, loser!" he yelled. They jumped back from each other immediately. "Why'd you tell me to come get you if he was going to be here?" he said, a couple seconds later when he spotted Harry. Both of them were too shaken up to respond. Louis looked between the two of them suspiciously. "Did I... interrupt something?"

Y/N snapped out of the haze she'd been trapped in ever since Harry walked in the room, hustling to place her paintings back on the rack. "No, no. He was just giving me a second opinion. I'm ready."

He raised his eyebrows at her, still eyeing them. "You sure?"

She nodded, scrambling to get the rest of her stuff in her bag. She began following him out the room before she remembered that Harry actually was still there, rubbing his thumb over his lips, trying to come to terms with what almost happened. "Just give me a second, yeah?"

He rolled her eyes at her, but made his way outside the room nonetheless. She rushed over to Harry, rolled up on her tip toes, and pecked him on the lips before she lost her nerve. "Text me when you get home, so I know you're safe, okay?"

"Okay," he replied dumbfounded. 

She shot him a smile and walked out of the room. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she made it into the hallway. "Harry Styles, huh?" Louis prodded, waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Shut up," she chided.

"I can't wait to tell Niall." --- Exhausted wasn't the word to describe Y/N. She had to pull a couple all nighters, so her collection could be submitted on time. It was worth it, though. She was more than satisfied with how everything turned out. She was even more satisfied with the fact that she could take a nap guilt free, which was exactly what she planned to do until she heard knocking on her door. She contemplated ignoring it, but the knocks wouldn't stop so she reluctantly peeled herself away from her bed. She gained a little more energy when she saw that it was Harry on the other side of the door, smiling from ear to ear. 

She coerced herself into hyperfocus to finish her work, so she hadn't really seen him except in passing since the night he submitted his photos. Admittedly it had only been two days, but they kind of left things on something like a cliffhanger. "Harry,what are you doing here?"

"I got an A on my project."

"Get out!"

"And my professor liked them so much that she submitted them to the art show and I'm up for an award now."

She launched herself at him. "Oh my god. I'm so happy for you!"

He giggled. "I couldn't have done it without you." He nuzzled his face in her neck and they became entranced into the same reality that overtook them the other night. The reality where they were the only two people that existed, that mattered. It was only her and him. He pulled back just enough so that he was able to hold her face in both his hands, brushing his thumbs acrossthe apples of her cheeks. "Can I kiss you?"

"Please," she whimpered.

He leaned back in and enveloped her lips with his, suckling lightly on her top lip before running his tongue across its crease silently asking for entrance. She followed suit immediately, letting him lick into her mouth at a tender pace, leaving her breathless, wanting more when he pulled away. "Let me take you out," he implored, voice barely above a whisper. 

"You wanna take me out?" she inquired, catching her breath.

He nodded. "You're just about the coolest person I know. I've been crushing on you for forever. Let me take you out."

The butterflies in her stomach fluttered wildly. "Okay."

[foreverwhelmed]

My Brother’s Guide to DC Superheroes

He made this as my Hanukkah present and I thought it was too funny not to share :)

A superhero guide from someone who is not at all qualified to make a superhero guide. Here goes nothing!

Superman:

Superman is easily the most overpowered hero in the D.C. universe. He can fly, has laser vision, x-ray vision, super strength, super speed, and probably a lot more. Sporting a blood red cape (Edna Mode would not approve), a suit with giant letter “S” on the front (which totally doesn’t stand for Superman), and red underwear fashionably worn outside his pants (has nobody from earth instructed him on how to correctly wear underwear?), Superman is a very well-dressed hero. His secret identity is a journalist named Clark Kent, who would look exactly like Superman, had it not been for his combing back his curly q and wearing glasses, which make the two personas completely indistinguishable. Superman’s only weakness is a fictional element, which he should really be able to avoid quite easily given his other powers. Although Superman may seem indestructible, he has one key weakness (other than Kryptonite), the sun. The sun is the source of all Superman’s powers, so in order to defeat him, all one must do is destroy the sun. What could go wrong? P.S. Side note, see this website here:

https://what-if.xkcd.com/49/

for what could, and could not go wrong.

Batman:

One of the most famous heroes in D.C. history, Batman is a very successful superhero despite not having any actual powers. However, what he lacks in superpowers, he makes up for in his multi-billion dollar net worth. Similarly to Superman, Batman also wears a cape (tsk tsk tsk), a suit with a bat on the front, a mask, and underwear worn outside his pants (Because if there’s one thing that makes people think, ‘Wow. That guy deserves my respect and admiration,’ it’s wearing underwear outside your pants). Along with the suit, Batman also carries around his handy dandy utility belt. This belt carries everything a hero would possibly ever need, including smoke, gas, and stun pellets, a tranquilizer gun, batarangs (not a typo, this is how they are actually spelled), various types of grenades, tracers, a rebreather (similar to an oxygen tank), glue globules, and much MUCH more (how heavy is this thing? How can he even walk, let alone fight crime with this thing on?). Although Batman’s weaknesses are not clearly stated (a.k.a. I didn’t feel like looking them up), he is just a regular human being, meaning that he is vulnerable to bullets, falling vending machines, flaming cacti, the word “Martha,” and much MUCH more. Batman’s alter-ego is super rich guy Bruce Wayne, a billionaire philanthropist. Overall, Batman is definitely one of the coolest in comic book history.

Cyborg:

Cyborg is a part-human part-robot superhero. Victor Stone was a popular high school football player with a promising future, until he died (but since we obviously both know how, I’ll spare you the details). Luckily, his father resurrected him and replaced many of his limbs with robotic parts (*COUGH* Darth Vader *COUGH*). Armed with a jetpack, arm cannon, and an upbeat catchphrase, Cyborg is a formidable crime fighting robot-person hybrid. Since we both clearly know everything there is to know about Cyborg, I will leave this section off right here, as to not restate what you know...I mean what we both already know.

Green Lantern:

Hal Jordan is a guy with willpower, and he’s in a space police thing and has a ring that can make stuff…I’m gonna be honest, I know basically nothing about Green Lantern, so I’m just gonna move on.

Wonder Woman:

Wonder Woman is a crime fighting Amazonian warrior. Sculpted from clay by Queen Hippolyta (hey wasn’t that the Amazonian from Theseus?) and given life and superhuman abilities by Aphrodite and other Greek gods (isn’t Wikipedia great?), Wonder Woman is a demigod with a list of powers rivaling that of Superman. She has super speed, strength, reflexes, intelligence, longevity, and much more, to compliment her hand-to-hand combat skills. But she has more than just her superhuman abilities. She also has an invisible jet, a lasso that makes people tell the truth, a sword and shield, and wrist deflector shield things (to use the technical term), and probably some more bizzare things I’ve never heard of. Sporting red white and blue colors on her super suit, Wonder Woman’s color scheme seems oddly American for a character based on the Amazons from Greek mythology (another illusion shattered). Wonder Woman’s alter ego is Diana Prince, who probably has a job and/or does some cool stuff. Her weaknesses include...wait a second, does she actually have any weaknesses? At least Superman has kryptonite. Oh my god, she might be more overpowered than Superman! Anyway, with her countless abilities, powers, and skills, Wonder Woman is among the most powerful superheroes in the D.C. universe.

Aquaman:

Aquaman is one of the most...interesting superheroes on this guide. With countless jokes being told at his expense, Aquaman is considered by man to be the viola section of the Justice League. His powers are pretty typical, such as his super strength and super speed, but what stands out is his ability to talk to and control aquatic creatures (you thought Squirrel Girl was scary, just wait until you face Great White Shark Man or Electric Eel Person). In addition to his powers, Aquaman has his trusty pitchfork, which he probably uses for something magicy or sea related. Aquaman’s super suit has a very...interesting color scheme, with a combination of an orange-yellow shirt and green pants that any elementary school art teacher would tell you clash with each other (that is when he chooses to wear a shirt at all). Aquaman’s real name is Arthur Curry, and as King of Atlantis, you might think he has better things to do than fight crime on the surface, but who knows? Maybe Atlantis is run by the citizens, or maybe the King is just a figurehead, and the lionfish and octopi have been ruling this entire time! Anyway, between the pitchfork, mind control, and countless jokes, Aquaman is a very unique superhero.

The Flash:

Bartholomew  “Barry” Allen, a.k.a. The Flash, may or not be the fastest superhero in the entire superhero universe. Although his list of superpowers is not as long as Superman or Wonder Woman’s The Flash is not to be underestimated. The Flash’s most famous superpower is his notorious super speed, which allows him to get anywhere in a Flash (get it?). In addition, he has super agility and stamina, has a healing factor, and is really smart. Using his speed as his main tool for fighting crime, Bartholomew doesn’t really use any weapons or equipment, other than his suit which prevent him from dying when he goes for a run (at least it’s not a cape). This suit is bright red with a yellow lightning symbol on the center picturing a Flash of lightning (get it?). When he isn’t fighting crime, Barty probably spends his time doing super smart sciency things. Of all the heroes on this guide, The Flash is the only one who has had a Netflix original series created about him. With his intelligence, suit, easiness to make puns about, and super speed rivaled by only Superman and Dash from The Incredibles, Bartho is a pretty cool hero.

Robin:

Note: Due to the high number of Robins in the D.C. universe, I will be referring to the hands down best incarnation of Robin ever created, Richard Grayson from the 1966 live action Batman TV series. With that out of the way, let’s begin. Robin, the Boy Wonder, is probably the most well known sidekick in superhero history. Similarly to Batman, he lacks any superpowers. However, what Robin lacks in powers he makes up for in his extraordinary skills, such as acrobatics, hand-to-hand combat, escapology, investigation, and of course, driving (that’s true! Check this website here to see for yourself. Or don’t. Either way. I don’t really care.) 

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Richard_Grayson_(Batman_1966_TV_Series)

In addition, Robin also has his own utility belt, equipped with whatever is convenient to the plot. Robin’s suit consists of a red shirt, yellow cape (why a superhero who can’t fly wears a cape is beyond me), and green underwear worn outside his pants (*sigh*). In addition, he wears a black mask to conceal his identity, similarly to the Incredibles (but worse, obviously). Robin’s legal guardian is famous rich guy Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman (*Gasp*)! Although powerless, Robin is a formidable foe, and a trustworthy sidekick. “Holy knit-one purl-two Batman!” (A real quote from the TV show)

[jetbootcollection]

A Hero’s Vacation, Ch.2

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Characters: Marinette/Ladybug, Adrien/Chat Noir, Alya, Nino, OC(s)

Summary: Reuniting with an old friend goes about as wrong as it could.

Tags: Fluff, Self-Indulgent Fluff, Angst, No Romance (for canon characters), Gratuitous use of OCs, Headcanons Abound

Words: 7975

Chapters: 2/?

<<Chapter 1 , Chapter 3>>

Nino liked hearing Alya talk. She had that perfect level of sass in everything she said and could make anything sound interesting. But this was getting ridiculous. Ever since that foreign hero had arrived in Paris, Alya had been scouring the internet for info on more heroes. And boy, did she find it.

By now Nino knew that there were heroes in Tokyo, Cairo, and Seattle, probably more he didn’t care to remember, along with then names of a dozen such heroes. For three solid days, Alya did nothing but info-dump about some new hero she had found. No one was safe from her overflowing knowledge, having even cornered Chloe into listening.

Marinette, usually the one to reign her in when she got going on about Ladybug, had done nothing to stop her. If anything, she had encouraged Alya to research Eagle and his teammates in the beginning stages. But now she was suffering alongside Nino and the rest of the school.

“The school should just hire her to teach a class. At least then we would have an excuse to not care.” Nino said while leaning back boneless in a library chair. The librarian had kicked Alya out enough times that this had become the official safe zone.

“Be careful what you wish for. I saw her carry a portfolio into the headmaster’s office, so she may have already asked.” Adrien said from across the table, trying to at least look busy reading a book to justify taking up a seat in the crowded library. Looking up to make sure his friend was not going to break his headphones in frustration at the news, he sees Amoux coming towards them.

“Sorry to overhear, but I agree. Alya needs to chill out.” His French was getting better and he was starting to pick up phrases. He sat down in the last remaining chair and began taking out his own work to do.

“Bro, I am so sorry for you. She’s been on you all day. How did you get away?” Nino asked, genuinely curious but trying to be subtle. Alya’s international superhero stint had started with Amoux, so of course she wanted to know more from the only person she knew with firsthand experience.

Amoux smirked as he explained his escape.

“It was not hard once I say ‘I do not know the words to describe him.’ I start talking in English and she lost interest. I was like, ‘Oh Alya you must understand, [Eagle is handsome and courageous like you wouldn’t believe. And huggable! Just look at those feathers and tell me you don’t want a piece of that.]’ She didn’t want to waste time translating, so she moved on.”

The boy seemed quite pleased with himself, making his English sound as close to Alya’s ramblings as possible. Adrien and Nino had caught on to his impression of her and found it hilarious. Not enough to laugh, because that would get them kicked out and put them at risk of another Alya lecture.

“Sounds to me like you have quite a lofty opinion of Eagle.” Marinette turned around in her chair behind Amoux. She too was hiding from Alya and, though she would never admit to it, had found a seat as close to Adrien as possible.

Amoux’s checks took on a pinker shade as he realized the girl had understood what he had said. Good thing he hadn’t said anything too revealing, or he wouldn’t be able to play it off so easily.

“W-Well, I do. He was the best Seattle hero.” He said, trying hard to not panic when he turned around to face her. This school’s English class was rudimentary but well balanced, so she would have the basics down if she paid attention. During his visit to her home he had noticed a pair of framed degrees from a baking school in London, so she might get some of it at home. Just how much English did she know?

Marinette read his face to mean something completely different.

“Don’t worry about it, Amoux. Thinking about your favorite hero that way is completely normal. I’m sure half of Paris would jump at the chance to steal a kiss from Ladybug.” Marinette assured him, her own checks darkening a bit. She only had eyes for Adrien, but her fans could be very passionate and she would be lying if she said she didn’t get anything out of the attention.

“Don’t forget Chat Noir. He’s quite the catch too.” Adrien offered. Compared to Labybug, he had fewer fans that were bold enough to make a pass at him. But when they did, they went all out. Too bad he only had eyes for Ladybug or he would be the most eligible bachelor in town.

“I hear you, dude. I wouldn’t mind a date with the Chat.” Nino said without thinking. The surprised looks from his friends made him quickly amend his statement. This was not how he wanted to come out as bi.

“He’s the coolest dude I know. A friendly date with a guy like that would be dope.” Nino tried not to shy away from it but failed. If the nervous look on Adrien’s face was anything to go by, he had weirded him out.

“E-Excuse me a minute.” Adrien said and he pushed out his chair and marched off to the library bathroom. Nino was decimated. He didn’t have feelings for his best friend. He didn’t want to lose him either.

“Oh man. I didn’t think he would be that much of a ‘phobe.” He said as he flopped onto the table, popping his hat off and nearly cracking his glasses. Marinette wanted to comfort him but didn’t know how. Her parents might as well be saints, so she had grown up learning that people who rejected love based solely on gender were toxic and wrong. Adrien deserved the benefit of the doubt, but Nino deserved better than this.

“I do not believe that. Adrien is a very accepting person who respects the feeling of others, no matter what form they take. Him running away was likely because he thought you were expressing interest in him directly. It’s possible he was thinking of the clothing line he modeled recently, called ‘The Chat,’ which was inspired by Chat Noir himself, and made the association. Once he realizes his mistake he will return to apologize, happy that you no longer carry the burden of keeping that side of yourself a secret.” Amoux spoke calmly, almost hypnotically. There had been no pauses of thought. His French was impeccable.

The library was a quiet place by design, but the silence had deepened. Everyone within earshot had been listening in since halfway through the speech. Slowly but surely, they all went back to what they were doing but remained in stunned silence.

Adrien came back from the bathroom not a second later. He raised an eye brow at the sudden silent focus in the room. The librarian must have put her foot down.

“Man, it’s quiet in here.” Adrien whispered as he approached, unaware that he had indirectly caused it.

“Nino, listen. I’m sorry I bailed like that. There was this fashion line I modeled and-“ He didn’t get to finish before Nino got up to give his best friend a bro hug.

“Dude, it’s cool. Amoux explained it.”

“Explained what?” Adrien asked. Amoux had gone back to his book to not pull any more attention to himself. He looked a bit sheepish.

“I do not like doing that in public. But emergency times call for emergency measures.”

Being Eagle for so long meant that some of his powers came through even as a civilian, which meant he saw things that most people could not. It went beyond how people held themselves, eye movements, eating habits, stress responses. With a good memory and long enough observation, he could predict how people would react and know their reasoning.

This time, Amoux could not shake the feeling he had gotten lucky. Something about Adrien just didn’t make sense. There was an invisible wall in his mind pushing him back as he tried to look deeper. Despite his drive to develop his talents and desire to be able to read anyone right down to the core, something, some force, prevented him from wanting to pry into the matter.

Thinking about it, only one other person shared that trait. And she was sitting right behind him.

Sophia sat on a bench in whatever random art gallery Alex had dragged her to. In another life they would both have been artists, but Sophia enjoyed the creation process far more than the presentation. It was an overcast day in Paris with the clouds threatening to rain, so they had planned a day of indoor tourist activities. The two needed to fill time while their kwamis recovered from swimming and sprinting halfway around the world, so here they were.

Alex came back from wherever wing of the gallery she had wandered off to and sat down. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the fact that her partner was on her phone in such a beautiful place.

“[Some pretty neat pieces in here. Makes me wish I had brought my sketch pad.]” Alex said wistfully.

“[It would have gotten warped from being in a backpack for so long. But check this out. The local superteam has a really great blog dedicated to them.]” She handed Alex the phone, which had done a decent job of translating the blog into English. Scrolling, she found an article that piqued her interest.

“[‘Heroes of the World’ huh? We might be featured in that.]”

Sophia leaned in to see. The article had a lot of slang that did not translate well, but was surprisingly well put together and researched for a fan-made article. Each hero had an expertly trimmed photo of them in an action pose at the top of a four-paragraph description of their powers and achievements. Finding her own, she liked what she saw.

“[‘Salmon becomes more powerful in water, making her a gift of god to America’s wettest city.’ I wouldn’t mind replacing my wiki page with this. Mine’s so stuffy and rigid compared to yours.]” Alex whined.

“[That’s the point of a wiki page, babe. Straight to the point and dense as hell.]” She did little gestures to emphasize her point, earning a giggle from her partner.

Alex went back to the main page of the blog and finds Eagle in all the thumbnails for the video posts that week. After watching a few, she hands the phone back to Sophia.

“[He’s been in two fights so far. One before we saw him on the news, and one last night.]”

“[Too bad we couldn’t make it to that one. I really want to see those kids fight in person. That Ladybug girl looks like she’s got a lot of spunk.]”

“[We need to find Eagle soon before we run out of money. Too bad we can’t predict when or where their next fight will be…]” Her voice slowed to a trickle as she realized what she was saying. Alex prayed that Sophia had not gotten the same terrible thought she had. Snapping to face her partner confirmed the presence of The Planning Smirk.

“[No. Nope. Nuh-uh. We are NOT going to stage an attack on Paris just to find Eagle.]” But it was too late. Sophia was already looking into her backpack to check up on her kwami. The Planning Smirk had grown to face-splitting proportions as she started giggling menacingly and hurrying to the exit.

“[Don’t you dare! Our visas don’t cover terrorism! Sophia! Stop! Come back here! SOPHIA!]” Alex shouted with growing worry as she chased her partner out of the gallery and onto the street, drawing concerned looks from the tourists they passed.

Sophia knew it was a bad idea. But she was planning to just knock over some small trees, maybe pop a gate off its hinges, make as small a mess as possible as dramatically as possible. She could hear her partner crying hysterics behind her as she ran. As she rounded a corner looking for a rundown park to vandalize, she caught a momentary glimpse of a black butterfly with purple highlights fluttering past.

“[Oncoor! Surf’s up!]” Out of everything her partner had yelled, this is what stopped Sophia in her tracks. She knew Alex was upset with her for charging into her plan without thinking it through, but surely not enough to transform in the middle of the street just to chase her down.

An inhuman roar of rage, followed by panicked screams, was as clear an answer as she had ever received in her live. Her partner was pissed.

Alex stomped around the corner, eyes engulfed in hot blue fire. Her transformation’s usual silver scales were now a vibrant white with orange patches, both tipped with black. Instead of her trident, she carried a pair of oversized fishhooks with some nasty looking barbs.

“[Salmon? Fishy Cakes? Look, I know you’re mad-]” Sophia took a few steps back.

“I’VE HAD IT WITH YOU! ALWAYS RUNNING AHEAD LIKE NOTHING COULD GO WRONG! LET’S SEE YOU RUN ONCE I GET MY HOOKS INTO YOU!”

“[Salmon? What are you saying!?]” She cried, instinctively turning to run.

“I’M KILLER KOI NOW! AND YOU! ARE! FISH FOOD!”

Sophia broke into a full-on sprint, thankful that her many years holding a Miraculous meant that some of her powers had started leaking into her civilian form. While not superhuman, she could out pace and out last Olympians. Her angry partner was no match for her speed normally, but was now keeping pace with some effort.

“[Help!]”

“This Eutectic Point, circled on the graph on page sixty-seven, is the point at which the mixed liquid phase and both the alpha and beta solid phases have the same energy. If we modulate the concentration of the beta phase, we can force all of the alpha phase into liquid form by keeping the temp-“ Ms. Mendeleiev was interrupted by the sound of a crumbling building in the distance and no less than seven phones getting an akuma alert.

Marinette took a deep breath and began her escape.

“Oh my gosh an akuma this close to the school! I gotta hide!” She screamed with a well-rehearsed look of panic plastered on her face. She didn’t care if her classmates thought she was a coward. With as many close calls she had experienced in her civilian form, she felt more than justified given the circumstances and would defend herself as such.

Alya didn’t even bother making an excuse and ran off. Adrien took advantage of her predictable behavior.

“Alya! You can’t just run off like that.” He said just loud enough that she would not hear as he ran after her. Another collapsing building echoed nearby, which got the rest of the class moving.

Some quick transformations later and Chat Noir was running along the rooftops with Ladybug swinging up from the street below. It didn’t take them long to find the akuma and the woman she was chasing.

“Wow, she can run.” Chat said as Ladybug threw her yoyo to swing down to save the woman. Grabbing her, she recognized the woman as one of the tourists they had helped.

“[I need a place to hide!]” She pleaded.

Ladybug could barely understand her through her distressed tone but swung back up to the rooftops.

“Chat!” Ladybug called to her partner while she pointed to a stairwell door, not wanting to verbally give away her plan. They got to the door at the same time and closed in behind them as softly as they could to not draw the attention of the akuma. The tourist put her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

“[Do you know why the…um, monster, attacked you?]” Ladybug asked, searching for a word to use for ‘akuma.’

“[She…was mad…that I left her behind.]” She said between panting. Ladybug quickly translated for Chat.

“That seems like a lame reason to get akumatized.” He said with suspicion. This tourist was recovering surprisingly fast from having just set a land speed record, he noticed. Ladybug elected not to translate it back.

“[Alright, I’m ready. Let me just get my work clothes on.]” She said to a confused Ladybug. Surly she had misheard.

“[Itippa! Full steam!]” A brown streak flew from her backpack to her ear and she erupted into light. A second later, the tourist had been replaced with a masked hero much like themselves. She wore a skin-tight suit made of brown velvet, over which she wore a crop top leather jacket and a wide belt that was buckled with a large brass cog. Old fashioned welding goggles sat on her forehead in front of the stubby beginnings of antlers. Attached to her wrists were a pair of brass hooves that could flip down to cover her hands.

“Much better. We need to be careful with this fight. She’s pissed, but she’s still my partner. I’m Moose, by the way.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir stared in shock at how openly another Miraculous holder had just transformed in front of them and seemed to instantly learn their language.

“You kids alright? All I did was…ooooh. Right. Should probably explain that.” The French heroes nodded, wanting to know more.

“I don’t mind transforming in front of you guys. You don’t know my name and only know I’m from America. Go ahead and try guessing my identity. As for how you can understand me, active Miraculous holders can always understand each other. Learned that one on a trip to Mexico City. I’m actually still speaking English.”

She sure was talkative and it was a lot to take in, but they were used to weird things happening around them. When you fight people that use powers ranging from anti-love to pigeons, strange becomes the new normal.

“So that means Eagle doesn’t actually speak French.” Chat concluded.

“No, Eagle was French to begin with. You would think his suit was meant to be all patriotic, but it’s actually the French flag. How is my little fledgling, anyway? He’s why we came to Paris and…and why Salmon got mad at me…” She deflated a bit.

“I wanted to fake an attack to draw out Eagle. Just big enough to raise the alarm, then put everything back when he arrived. I didn’t think Salmon would get mad enough to corrupt her Miraculous.” Moose apologized. She absently rubbed her hands together, clinking her hoof guards occasionally.  

“It was Hawkmoth that did it. He sends out evil butterflies to make people his minions by amplifying their negative emotions. All we have to do is find what object the akuma is hiding in and break it.” Ladybug explained. It felt weird having to explain it after so much time dealing with akumas. But here she was, explaining for the second time this week.

“Do you know of anything that she was holding that would be important to her?” Chat continued where Ladybug had left off.

“The earring on her left ear is fake. I made to match her Miraculous to even out her look so she wouldn’t have to take it off all the time to not look lopsided. It was an anniversary gift, so I’d say that’s pretty important.” Moose said while stepping back out onto the roof, boots clinking as the brass hoofprint on her heels met the surface. Killer Koi was nowhere in sight, but the angry roar being carried on the wind pointed them in the right direction.

Chat Noir’s ears had perked up, interested in the implied relationship.

“Anniversary? Are you two…“ He could not help but ask as he built up momentum to cross to the next roof.

“We’re married, yes. The superhero program is legally a scholarship for a university that doesn’t exist, so we get more money if we’re married. Might as well elope, right? So we did what any pair of dishonest scholarship elopers would do and played along with the pet names, hugs, backrubs, little kisses, stuff like that. A couple months in we realized it was real and we never looked back.” It was clearly a story she liked to tell.

Ladybug could practically hear the wheels spinning in Chat’s head, even over the sound of her yoyo chord. She knew full well that he was going to redouble his flirting now that he had evidence of partners-in-justice becoming more.

Chat Noir, to his credit, did not immediately launch into a flurry of pickup lines.

Amoux had a hard time finding a place to transform. His classmates had so much more experience finding the nooks and crannies in the school building that he gave up and found an alley way instead. Scanning for any open doors or windows, he opened his bag to poke at a snoring ball of feathers.

“[Avees, wake up.]”

“[Hero time? Bit early. Sun’s still up.]” Avees stretched with a tiny yawn.

“[New city, new hours. Now get it in gear and let’s go.]” With that little pep talk, the tiny eagle lazily floated out of his bag on outstretched wings. One more yawn and Avees nodded that he was ready.

“[Avees! Wings up!]” He whisper-yelled, lifting his arms as if taking his own command. The kwami became a black streak as it shot towards his collar.

Unlike any other hero he had met, Amoux had found his Miraculous at a young age. He and Avees were coming up on their tenth year together. The kwami had explained to him that transformations become more and more complete over time, with total transformation into an eagle taking a lifetime to happen. Changes in form happened in stages, and he was on the third stage. While each stage became more powerful, most Miraculous holders freaked out and/or retired before they got too far. Learning how to shoot his bow using heavily modified feet had been tricky but worth it for the magical accuracy that came with it.

As Amoux became Eagle, his arms melted away to become wings. He flapped to get off the ground before his feet became talons. Not long after, he knees bent backwards. The familiar sensation of feathers growing all over his body was accompanied by the sudden weight of a quiver on his hip. Taking a moment to adjust to his altered anatomy, he hears the telltale sounds of destruction becoming more distant.

Eagle gives an almighty flap of his wings to shoot out of the alley way and into the air. He surveyes the damage done by the latest akuma victim, flying wide circles over the destruction. Following the warpath carved through Paris, he quickly finds a university aged woman wearing a competition swimsuit with white fish scales running a quarter of the length of each limb. The glint off the sharp point of one of her fishhooks nearly blinds his sensitive eyes.

Remembering the unfortunate habit of his old teammate’s trident doing the same thing gave him a rattling thought.

“I guess all super powered fish like to make my eyes sizzle.” He said to himself with closed eyes, dreading the idea of having to fight someone with Salmon’s powers. His quiver vibrated to signify an incoming call, saving him from the terrible thought. But wait, Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous belonged to a completely different set. How could they be calling him?

Kicking the bottom of the quiver to accept the call, a screen extended on a telescoping rod to give him a better angle on it.

“Hey, Eagle. Long time no see.” Moose said through the phone, the background of the video call a rapidly bobbing horizon. Her voice was bright but her nervousness was palpable. Eagle flinched hard enough to send himself into a tailspin.

“What are you doing here?! Whose covering Seattle?”

“Earthquakes don’t happen every day, you know. We can go on vacation without the city falling into the sea…again.” The gasp behind Moose told him that she at least had Ladybug with her. But there was no ‘the second time wasn’t my fault’ in the background. Salmon took every opportunity to defend her honor whenever the Great Floods came up in conversation.

“…Moose, where’s Salmon?” He squinted at the screen. Not to read her face, but to convey his suspicion.

“About that…You got eyes on the fish monster thing?”

Eagle turned to confirm he had not lost his target. He did not like where this conversation was going.

“That’s Salmon.”

Moose closed the phone built into her hoof guards to the sound of a continues string of colorful curses. She knew that Eagle was going to give her a stern lecture once this all blew over.

“You get the location from him?” Chat asked.

“No, but I can practically hear him splitting quills from here. Hang a right.” She kicked off a chimney to make the turn, knocking off a layer of loose mortar.

“We need to keep her out of the river. Call the police and have them set up a two-block perimeter along the north bank. I’d do it myself, but they would probably prefer a hero they know speaking actual French.”  Moose continued. Ladybug rolls her eyes as she pulls up the one cop on her contacts list she was on a first name basis with. So much for the ground rules.

“Officer Roger, it’s Ladybug. I need a huge favor…” She didn’t seem confident it would happen.

“Local police that bad, huh?” Moose asked Chat.

“It’s more like we don’t have the authority. The police set up barricades how they want, usually to protect landmarks.”

“Europe is weird.” That was all Moose had to say about that.

“I know, right? Ladybug can fix anything once the fight is over, so I don’t see why they bother.”

“I take it back. Europe is awesome!” She had been wondering how Paris repaired things so fast.  

A few rooftops later, Ladybug had finished her call. It was only then she realized how far ahead she was. Moose was dragging behind, with Chat keeping her pace to be a gentleman.

“Something wrong? I get it if you don’t want to fight your wife, but we need to get going.” She could see Eagle circling in the distance. The akuma must have traveled halfway across Paris by now.

“She needs me. You couldn’t keep me out of this fight if you tried. I’m just not used to these super even rooftops. I usually use the kickplates mounted on the sides of skyscrapers to get around. Or run on the street in the bus lane. Whichever’s faster.” Moose hid her jealousy of the tools at the French heroes’ disposal. All she could so was punch, kick, and headbutt things real hard. Great for sending stuff into orbit, not so great for getting around town.

“Well, isn’t this interesting. I’ve never had the pleasure of bringing a Miraculous holder under my wing.” Hawkmoth said to Killer Koi through the pink laser mask that appeared in front of her face. It had taken far too long to establish a link with his newest minion.

“Shut up, old man. I’m not here to go your dirty work for you.”

He pecked through her surface memories, looking for something to use. Alone in his lair, he grimaced when he found that she was gay. Hawkmoth chose his words carefully.

“It seems you’ve had a bit of a lover’s quarrel. She will surely have enlisted Ladybug and Chat Noir to her side by now. You will need to disable them by removing their Miraculous if you want to level the playing field.” He offered as advise, exerting as much of his control through the link as he could without resorting to inflicting pain. Miraculous holders were resistant and strong willed, it seemed, and could not be outright commanded to do his bidding.

“…Now that sounds like a plan I can get behind.” The laser mask faded as she went back to raining havoc upon the city.

She had lost sight of Sophia ages ago. That girl could be anywhere by now with that super speed she liked to brag about so much. Might as well keep destroying stuff to draw her out. She was about to leap up to smash an out of place red windmill when the cavalry arrived.

“If you wanted to see the Moulin Rouge that badly, all you had to do is ask.” Moose flirted as she did a perfect three point landing across the street. Despite the serious atmosphere, Ladybug couldn’t help but groan. Chat was taking mental notes, she just knew it.

“Just you and two shoobies? You really think you can stop me?!” Killer Koi challenged as she threw a fishhook at Moose. Thinking fast, Moose flicked her hoof guards into place and punched the hook. The hook was heavier than she thought it would be, stopping dead with a deafening metallic clang instead of being rebounded. And the force behind it just kept coming.

Maintaining the punch meant she was vulnerable to the leaping overhead smash coming down on her. She would have taken the hit had Chat Noir not extended his staff to knock Killer Koi out of the air.

Furious at the interference, she threw her other hook into a vicious spin along the ground to swipe Chat’s feet. The terrible sound of metal scraping pavement shot through his sensitive ears that were already ringing from the sound of the first hook, paralyzing him. Ladybug tackled him out of the way, landing on top of him in an all too familiar position.

“Oh, My Lady, how the tables have turned.” He said more out of habit than flirting. Seeing the spinning hook boomeranging back at them, he flipped Ladybug over his head to swap their positions to dodge.

“That’s better.” This cat never knew when to stop.

Ladybug heard Moose say something about how smooth he was under her breath as she sidestepped out of fending off the hook, sending it careening into a storefront before returning to its master. Pushing Chat off of her by his chin, Ladybug stood up to assess their strategy. There was no reason to drag out this fight.

Killer Koi wound up another attack but her balance was thrown off by two arrows clinking against her hooks. Up above, Eagle nocked another arrow but was hesitant to fire again.

“It’s unlike you to hold your shots.” Moose called up to him.

“Let’s see you shoot at a friend.” He answered in frustration, making Moose flinch.

Ladybug could tell that the longer the fight went on the more emotional damage would be done. This needed to end now, for the sake of their friendship.

“Lucky Charm!” Throwing her yoyo into the air to summon a helpful tool, she was caught off guard when a simple plank of red and black spotted wood appeared about her. Catching it as it fell into her arms she nearly dropped the cooked fillet of fish on top of it. It smelled heavenly.

Moose recognized the fillet for what it was. Depending on how badly her partner had been corrupted, it would either serve as the perfect bait or enrage her into a blind charge. Either way, it would make for the perfect trap. Stepping over to Ladybug, she took the fillet before the younger girl could find a way to use it.

“I’m gonna lead her into a trap with this. Be ready to hold her.” Before the French heroes could react, she was already down half way down the street. At least this time she had a plan.

“Honey! Look at this delicious grilled salmon I’ve got! I’m gonna eat it. All. By. My. Self.” She held the plank above her head as she taunted Killer Koi with it.

“YOU WOULDN’T DARE!” The flames burning from her eyes went from blue to white, doubling in size. Embedding her hooks in the pavement, she charged.

Moose nodded back to the younger heroes, who had taken up positions to grab the akuma. She ran back to them, fillet held high, in a wide arc to keep Killer Koi from seeing the trap until it was ready to be sprung. Depositing the plank on the ground between Ladybug and Chat Noir, Moose jumped high so she would land behind her partner.

Killer Koi ungracefully dove to grab the fish, clamoring to her knees to begin eating like a starved animal. Chat grabbed an elbow and Ladybug followed suit.

“Hey! I was eating that! It’s mine!” She struggled against them but the held firm. Realizing she had no safe way of breaking the earring without giving her partner a super powered love tap to the side of the head, Moose went with the only alternative she could think of. Grabbing Killer Koi’s head from behind, she twisted to present the left ear to the sky.

“Eagle! The earring!”

“I can’t do that! It’ll take her whole ear off!” His arrows were larger than the target. Collateral damage was inevitable.

“We don’t have much choice, do we?” It was taking all her might to hold her partner still.

Eagle steeled himself for what he had to do.

“Eagle Eye!” Activating his ability, the arrow nocked on his bow glowed as he drew the string.

Chat blinked. Something warm splattered on his gloved hand. An arrow was sunk into the street up to the fletching, a black butterfly fluttering out of the small crater. The woman he was restraining went limp as dark purple smoke rolled over her.

Ladybug made quick work of purifying the akuma.

“Pssh ow ow ow ow ow.” Alex held the icepack to her ear. She had fainted after the fight and was only now waking up after several hours. Her memory of her time as Killer Koi was foggy, but she remembered enough.

“[That’s it, I’m going to a different salon for piercings.]” She joked as she sat up in the bed she had been deposited in. Sophia was napping with her head in her lap, curled up to where her body had been.

Looking around she saw a sizable and well-furnished room, much fancier than the hotel they had been staying at. The seal of the United States Embassy hung on the wall above the dresser opposite the bed. A set of passports and visas sat on the night stand next to nearly empty bowls of almonds and chocolate.

“[Morning, beautiful.]” A sleepy Sophia said from her lap. She would have leaned down to plant a kiss on her forehead if a small gray mermaid had not flown into her face.

“[Girl, don’t scare me like that! You got hurt so bad that I-I…]” Oncoor burst into theatrical tears. Alex pet the mermaid with her free hand.

“[Whole ear’s still here. See? It just stings.]” She pulled away the ice pack momentarily, feeling her cold ear to make sure she wasn’t lying. It was painful, but intact.

“[You can thank Ladybug for that. They should be back to meet us in the lobby soon.]” Sophia said while checking the time.

“[Back from where?]” Alex wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but she thought at least one of the French heroes would have stayed.

“[Turns out all three of them still go to school. I’m starting to wonder how old Eagle is.]”

Sophia stretched and wiggled her way to the edge of the bed to stand up.

“[We need to suit up. Ambassador Zeya wanted to talk to you.]”

Two transformations and an escort to the ambassador’s office later, they were informed that they were not in any legal trouble. Zeya made it clear that Salmon was the victim. Once that was settled, they were taken to the lobby to wait for the other heroes to arrive. No less than four guards joined them.

“[Are the bodyguards necessary? I’m pretty sure we can defend ourselves if need be.” Salmon wondered aloud as she sat down.

“[No offence, Agent Salmon, but you just leveled a quarter of Paris. The citizens of this city are quick to forgive, but they’ll need time to feel safe again. You will be under observation for the time being.]” Said the shorter and burlier guard. Salmon wanted to sink through the floor.

“So this is what you look like.” Chat Noir said as he and Ladybug carried Eagle in through the front door and sat him down in a chair, resting his legs on the table. Eagle was used to such treatment, having attended press conferences at indoor venues. Being carried was more dignified than being pushed around on a cart, at least.

“How’s the ear?” Eagle asked once he was situated.

“Stings real bad, but getting better. From what I remember it was not an easy shot. Good to see that you’re not getting rusty in your retirement.” She readjusted her swim cap to stop it from pressuring her ear.

“And you, Little Miss Polka-Dot, deserve a hug for fixing it.” Salmon lifted a startled Ladybug as she stood, spinning the girl around before losing her footing and tumbling over. Her balance was still recovering.

The heroes talked well into the night, sharing stories of daring-do. After a competitive game of ‘My Supervillain Could Beat Up Your Supervillain’ the guards stepped in to ask them to head home.

“Right. I’ve still got an essay to finish. How long will you be in town?” Ladybug asked, getting ready to carry Eagle outside.

“At least a day or two. Need to do some community service to recover Salmon’s PR.” Moose said. They hadn’t checked the news yet but it would take a major, earthshattering headline to overshadow Salmon’s brief conversion to the dark side.

They said their goodbyes before being escorted back to their room by a very confused looking pair of guards.

Agent Dunn had seen more than his fair share of strange occurrences in his time at the embassy. Paris had become rife with oddities in recent years, not to mention the bizarre customs of foreign dignitaries that he was assigned to protect.

This night had been particularly strange. It was unprofessional to do so, but he needed someone to talk about it with.

Once his shift was over, he pulled one of the other guards that had shared his assignment aside. Agent Duncan seemed to share his desire to discuss the matter. They talked in hushed whispers as they made their way home.

“[I never thought I would see the day when keeping tabs on five teenagers in furry getup would be official business.]”

“[No kidding. And what were they speaking, anyway? Sounded like French but it was all English words.]”

“[It sounded like English with French words to me.]”

“[They must have some techo-magic-whatever doing it. Except for that Eagle guy. He stuck with one language at a time.]”

“[But did you see his knees? I get that bird knees are backwards but that has got to be the weirdest thing I have ever seen.]”

They continued on like that all the way to the Metro station.

Marinette was late to class the next morning. Not by much, but enough to get a sideways glance from Miss Bustier. They had come to an informal agreement to let it slide if the lecture had not started yet, allowing for about forty seconds of grace period once the bell rang. Unlike most students with truancy issues, Marinette actually tried to be on time.

“Alright, now that we’re all here, please pass your Voltaire essays to the front.”

Mainette’s throat went dry. The essay was on her desk at home, forgotten in her scramble to make it on time. Miss Bustier read her like a book and sighed.

“Marinette, we can’t keep doing this. If it’s not on my desk by the end of the lunch break, you will have failed the assignment.”

She felt small, wanting nothing more than for the lesson to begin so her classmates were not focused on her failure to remember things. Chloe had other ideas and pounced.

“You might as well give up now, Marinette. No fashion designer would ever hire someone as flaky and incompetent as you.”

She knew that she shouldn’t let Chloe get to her. But those words hurt. It took everything she had to keep herself from crying. Alya rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder but it didn’t help.

The sound of wood scraping tile behind her startled her from the downward spiral she was feeling.

“Adrien. I need your desk.” Amoux commanded as he stomped down the steps. He had watched these girls for some time now, wanting them to sort it out for themselves. But he’d had enough. Adrien had just managed to pull his note pad to the side before he hopped up to sit on the desk, facing Chloe so he was looking down at her.

Amoux closed his eyes and looked upward as he took a long breath. Snapping down to look Chloe right in the face, he opened his eyes and began to read every aspect to Chloe’s being.

It was the most piercing gaze Miss Bustier had ever seen. She knew she should take control of the situation, but a small part of her wanted to see what was about to happen. Rumors of his skill had reached the teacher’s lounge. He was said to work wonders.

Chloe froze, unable to break away from him once he had locked eye. The anticipating silence in the room had become electric, as if lightning could strike any moment. When Amoux spoke, his voice flowed like warm water, washing over everyone listening.

“Why do you do this? What joy do you derive from the despair of others? Has it truly been so long since you have felt loved that this has become your only source of happiness?” His voice was even, calm, and slow, without a hint of the anger that had initiated this forced therapy session.

“I-I don’t know what you mean. Daddy l-l-loves me.” Chloe stammered. Her face ran through a sea of emotions, betraying her racing thoughts. She could feel his eyes bore through her mind. The more she resisted, the more was brought to bear as she tried not to think of certain memories.

“You used to be such a sweet little girl. You lived with your loving mother in a small apartment away from your father, having been too young to remember the divorce. She was your guiding light. If not for her death, she would have become a shining beacon of hope for all of Paris. You were sent to live with your father, who knew nothing of raising children. He showered you with gifts but could do nothing to ease your pain.”

Marinette could feel her dark emotions flow out of her. It was as if Amoux’s voice had washed a thick layer of mud off her bones and poured it back into Chloe.

“Months passed. You constructed a mask of money to hide the pain you felt, buying your way out of your problems as your father did. Any friendships you had were twisted into relationships of abuse. You watched yourself become a wretched person and could do nothing to stop it. In time, you came to believe the mask was the true Chloe.”

Chloe faltered under the weight of the critique, a single choked sob escaping her throat. Yet she could not look away, as if held in place by an invisible hand.

For a brief moment, Amoux considered stopping there, leaving Chloe to fend for herself in the bottomless pit of emotions he had hurled her into. But he could see the gentle soul within her, buried under a decade of guilt and loneliness.

“You had nearly forgotten what kindness was until a hero appeared. Ladybug reminded you that it was possible, even pleasant, to give yourself freely to others. Memories of your mother came flooding back to you, taking you back to a time before the money had made you cruel. For the first time in years, the mask slipped. You saw what you had become and hated yourself for it. Not knowing what to do, you put the mask back on and tried to forget. But it kept slipping. Just last night, you cried yourself to sleep from the regret of what you had done.”

Chloe did not know when she started crying, but her tears had washed away the makeup that hid the dark circles under her eyes caused by a restless night.

“You want to be a better person, someone you mother could be proud of. That is why you focus so heavily on Marinette, hoping to learn from her example. You see so much of your mother’s kindness in her that it hurts. Nothing would make you happier than to be her friend. But the mask is not easy to remove. On days you manage to show your true face, you can’t bring yourself to even look at her. You remember how you have tormented her and put the mask back on to save yourself from being crushed by the regret.”

Marinette could feel her heart explode with sympathy. She didn’t know how she was going to forgive Chloe for the last four years, but she was willing to try.

Amoux released his gaze and his hold on Chloe, who fell out of her seat into the aisle. By the time she hits the floor she is bawling. After a few seconds of trying, the first thing she did once she got a leg under her was to throw herself up the steps to Marinette’s bench. Chloe looked up at the girl with wet eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Marinette. I just wanted what you had. That selfless kindness…it was too beautiful to watch.” It was the most genuine thing Marinette had ever heard her say. Seeing Chloe humble herself like that made her heart explode a second time. She slid down to the end of the bench and lifted Chloe into a tentative embrace, letting her cry.

“You have a long way to go before you become the person you want to be. Marinette can show you the way, but only you have the power to change yourself for the better.” Amoux concluded as he walked around the girls to return to his desk. Sabrina made her way over to comfort Chloe, hugging her around her midsection.

Miss Bustier could not believe what she had witnessed. In the span of seven minutes, Chloe had gone from a textbook example of a bully to a sobbing apologetic mess. In the years she had taught this class she had been powerless to do anything about the mayor’s daughter in fear of losing her job, or worse, getting the school shut down. But here was this boy, breaking her down and building her back up with a gentle ferocity.

“…Right, the lesson. Um…Never mind. Please read the next chapter for your homework tonight. Class dismissed.” Amoux was a tough act to follow.

It took a moment for the class to realize that they could leave. It took a moment longer for them to decide if they wanted to leave. Miss Bustier had to motion to the door to get them going. Once most of the students had shuffled out, she got to work dealing with the aftermath.

“Amoux, Chloe. You should come with me to the headmaster’s office. You can come if you want, Marinette. And Alya, I would like you to delete the video you just recorded. I don’t even know if you did or not, just delete it.”

Alya gave no protest as she ended the livestream and deleted the recording.

  Author’s notes:

-So, Alex and Sophia are kinda based on my friends whom I ship IRL. (Don’t worry, they were thrilled when I clued them in about being superheroes. Jury’s still out on the shipping)

-I make no claim of understanding for how embassies work. Like a hotel with more security?

-It felt incredibly good to destroy Chloe like that.

-Chapter 3 is a definite MAYBE. posted.

<<Chapter 1 , Chapter 3>>

[vonmountain]

From Dust to Dust

*Warning, this story contains a lot of spoilers for the Undertale game. Continue reading if you have played it.

Chapter 4: The Waterfalls

This area changed from snow to a more, greyish stone. A river next to us, this is rather calming. Waterfalls coming down all around us. This would have been a beautiful site to relax. Maybe children would ruin it if they were here with their crying and tantrums. Most likely.

Another one of those sentry posts. Most likely another enemy. What are you looking at? At that flower over there, that blue radiating flower.  Why pay so much attention to it? It looks beautiful but something is amiss with it. It could be a talking flower, we had that before. Caution is needed then.

Another box. Indeed. We are going to get our feet wet. Waddle through. There are supports down there in case you fall off. That is considerate for when people are not able to move across safely when the tide is high. I would not worry about that. That is some very tall grass, or is it seaweed? I can hardly see above this. Stop. What? There is somebody above the cliff. There is? I hope this covers me enough. They are waiting for something or somebody. What was that rustling!? They are on our location. Have we been spotted? A magical spear, that looks like a lot of pain. Silent. Very silent. Okay they went away. That was close. Do you still spot them? Negative. Then let’s hasten the pace.

“Yo, did you see the way she was staring at you! That, was awesome! I’m so jealous!”

What is this for malformed dinosaur? It does not even have any arms. “What are you doing here!? Go away somewhere safe or in any case, somewhere else.”

“I want to meet Undyne! The coolest royal guards’ person ever! You are so lucky she considered your direction! Oh, man what I wouldn’t give so she can look at me.”

This thing got a serious case of having an idol. “How about you go away, your safety is not guaranteed here.” Just kill the brat already. No, this is a child I presume. I will not hurt them. Not yet.

“I am not afraid, Undyne will protect us all from the danger my parents told me about! They are such jerks for not letting me search for her. But come on let’s watch her beat up some bad guys!”

And it is off. I get the feeling it does not know that we are the bad guys. Damn you and your morals and honour. You should have killed it when it ran past us. Complain all you want, you cannot change it. I get the feeling the road ahead only gets more difficult.

Crossing over streams and walking past waterfalls. A beautiful walk through nature. These moments are rare sadly enough. Then enjoy it whilst it last. I will, do not worry about that. I hope we can recreate this scenery, such natural beauty.

The Empress will do her best. If not, we hold the key. A deal is a deal. If she delivers what we agreed over I will not hold it back. And if she doesn’t? Depends on how badly she fucks it up. If she damages her new vassals, we can give her a second chance. And what if she stabs us in the back? In that case, I always found her second daughter a more suitable ruler. But she will not stab us in the back, she is too emotional involved to act in such a way. After all, we hold her heart’s desire. Hahaha. Indeed. It always amazes me how much people are willing to do for their emotions. Even die for something they believe in if given the right reasons. You get it.

More plaques. ‘’When four Bridge Seeds align in the water, they will sprout.’’ More puzzles. Isn’t it fun? Come on at least now you can use your brain for once. Do not test me. So, this is what they mean with bridge seeds. Making a bridge to the other side, seems easy enough.

Do you think it can hold us? I hope so. Just easy going. Watch out! Undyne is behind us! What!? Where!? “Aargh.” Hahahahaha, seems like your swimming lessons paid off. Oh, this is incredible. You damned mongrel! I swear if you pull such a damned act again YOU are going to be the one swimming you bastard. It is just a small little swim. At least your reaction time is on point. Fuck off. Fuck off right now. Sorry, but we are bound. Sadly enough.

There is something off with the water. How do you know? The beeping from the device. How and why is my phone making this sound? It is not just a phone; have you not listen to Balance their explanation? That would mean listening to that cold-hearted hag. Fair enough. Let me see. It has already started as we feared. Then let’s finish this.

There are still people here? I expected them all to be gone by now. Maybe they did not want to leave or they simply do not know about it. A mermaid, long flowing hair. That will be a beautiful sight for sore eyes. Just make sure it is not a siren.

“Well hello there my lady, would you please turn around and show me your beauty?” Trying to woo her? I thought you were faithful. You know what split us apart.

“Of course, I will turn around so you can admire my muscles.”

Oh god. It is a man. I didn’t know you swing that way. I do not! I just thought that he would be a beautiful lady. Not a half fish half horse dude.

“It is okay to be stunned by my biceps, after all, admire me all you want.”

Why is he winking at me? Why is he flexing so much!? “There is only one thing that will be admired and that is your dust on the wind! Mph, so much for horse power.” Now that is done, lets continue. There is only path to go. Jump over that gap will you. It is only a meter or even less, no problem. More blue flowers, more caves. A telescope, what is it looking at? Wow, the ceiling just looks like the open sky at night. I miss those careless nights. No use reminiscing over the past, you got a mission to complete. You are correct, after all it is no longer reality.

The flowers, they are wilting. A by-product of our presence. A product of our genocide. Is this a dead end? It can't be. Aha, a false wall. Clever design. Some more signs, what do those say? “A war of humans and monsters.” No matter where we go humanity is always waging war. It is human nature to covet the things others have and hate them simply because they are not the same. Such are the failures of humanity.

“Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievable strong. It would take the soul of nearly every monster just to equal the power of a single human soul.” So, either those monsters’ souls are next to worthless or the human souls in this setting are incredible strong. The latter is better for us.

“But humans have one weakness. Ironically, it is the strength of their soul. It powers allow it to persist outside the human body, even after death.” Well that doesn't help us, how many are then contained and outside our control?

“If a monster defeats a human, they can absorb its soul. A monster with a human soul. A horrible beast with unfathomable power.” That sounds like something that might make for a challenge.  Or a threat. Maybe they should try stabbing a human with a sharp stick. If their magic isn't strong enough to defeat their soul, then use physical means and ravage their bodies. Doesn't sound all that strange to me. Why use something mundane if you have magic. What is this? This, this is not a creature I would like to meet. It is rather, unsettling.

What happens if we step on that small wooden platform? It moves us forward to the other side, nice. A long bridge, rock pillars far on one side. Perfect place for an ambush. Keeping watch. Above! I knew it! It was too quiet! Run! Damn it is raining spears. The stinging pain, it irritates. Into those bushes. She stopped throwing, we are safe her for now. She is coming into the bushes. Perfect, now we will ambush her. Coming on a bit closer. Why did she stop? Where did that child come from!? Ah damn it, that child ruined the opportunity. There is always next time, let’s leave. The kid is coming. “What do you want!?”

“Yo, did you just see that!? Undyne just, she just, touched me!?” Oh god. Calm down War. Do not do it. “I am never washing my face again! Man, are you unlucky. If you were crouching just a little bit closer. Yo, don't worry! I'm sure we'll see her again!” Can that mongrel not break its neck when it falls. I hoped so. Just end it already! I, I do not want to kill it. You have killed them before, you can do it now. You and your hypocritical morals and values.

Stomping off forwards are we now? There is a table with something on it on your left. Fuck it. Why didn't I take the easy way out, why didn't I just stopped when I could have? Why must I kill even more? Now you must finish what you started. There is a walking fishbowl with a duck inside it in front of you. Damn it to hell.  Excellent, you are strangling the creature with your chains. So, this Is good for you, how about this!? A bit excessive to use 15 different chains to rip it apart, but a solid 9 in the art of getting dust everywhere. Well done. It relieves doesn't it, letting out all your anger on somebody or something? You should do it more often.

Interesting option we have now, either get to the other side or go the long route.  Go the long route, we must miss nobody. Indeed. This place must have been lively before today. Wherever we step, the flowers stop blooming, the birds stop chirping, the winds no longer blow. Such is the passing of death. Mmh, a couple of slimes. Easily dealt with. It's a peaceful walk though. Another history sign.

“The power to take their souls. This is the power that humans feared.” Well I would also be afraid if I knew my friendly neighbour doggo the dog monster could kill me and devour my soul from my still warm body. But the puzzle pieces are falling into place. The humans waged war on them because they were afraid that the monsters would take their souls, but they failed to see that the monsters were weaker and most likely a lot nicer than them.

Something is missing here. A crossroads. There is something hiding in the corner, lurking in the dark. “So, what do we have here? No answer? Very well.” No resistance. So, uninteresting. So Sans thinks he is sneaky? Always watching from afar. Never acting. “The north room hides a great treasure.” Well that is uninteresting.

More history. “This power has no counter. Indeed, a human cannot take a monster's soul. When a monster dies, its soul disappears.” Like it should do when a being dies. ” And an incredible power would be needed to take the soul of a living monster.” At least those aren't being held from us. “There is only one exception. The soul of a special species called a boss monster. A boss monster's soul is strong enough to persist after death, if only for a few moments. A human could absorb this soul. But this has never happened. And now It never will.” Well I am making sure of that.

The sound of rain. Such a soothing sound. An umbrella stand. It is raining over there, I will take one. Haven't you marched many hours through rain and snow? Yes, but I prefer to stay dry. There you got the child. Prepare yourself.

“Yo, you got an umbrella? Awesome!” Who said that the kid could get under my umbrella. “Let's go.” Stay calm, it is just a child. Wait, you are influencing my mood. Yes, so? Stop it now, I do not need to get artificially angry at this child because of you. “Man, Undyne is sooooooo cool. She beats up bad guys and never loses!” There is a first time for everything. “If I was a human, I would wet the bed every night knowing she was going to beat me up. Ha ha!”

“Oh, in the name of god when will you stop spewing your love for her! If you love and adore her so much why do you not French kiss her down under so she could it feel that love deep in her!?”

“What? If I would be able to even touch her I would be happy for the rest of my life!” Ah this child! They are giving me proper headaches. “So, one time. We had a school project where we had to take care of a flower. The king, we had to call him Mister Dreemurr, volunteered to donate his own flowers. He ended up coming to school and teaching the class about responsibilities and stuff. That got me thinking.” Oh, god it is thinking.” Yo! How cool would it be if Undyne came to school!? She could beat up all the teachers!” Could she also beat up your father’s balls so that there will be no second of you? Help us if it already got a sibling. “Umm, maybe she wouldn't beat up the teachers.  She's too cool to ever hurt an innocent person!” The same can't be said of you.

Finally, something nice to look at rather than this yellow misshapen child. A beautiful castle. The king will be there most likely, we got a target. It is a far distance away. Another umbrella stand? I will not keep it with me. A small wall to climb. Nothing too bad. Why is that kind running to the wall? “Yo, this ledge is way too steep. Hmm. Yo, you wanna see Undyne, right? Climb on my shoulders.”

“What, no. I am tall enough to climb it kiddo just step aside. See, nothing to it.” Why didn't you step on its face and break its neck?

“Anyway, I'll look for another way through. Later!” And it is off, I could have carried it to here. How many history signs are there? “The humans, afraid of our power, declared war upon us.” Who would have guessed that with a proper reason to kill somebody, that humans would declare war? “They attacked suddenly, and without mercy.” That sounds like a very familiar plan to me, doesn't it War? “In the end, it could hardly be called a war. United, the humans were too powerful, and us monsters, too weak. Not a single soul was taken and countless monsters were turned to dust.” Hatred has always united humanity against a common perceived enemy.

Another wooden bridge. I can already feel her presence. Run? Run. It caught her by surprise but this is not a logical bridge. The spears coming from the ground aren't helping either. At least you can see where they appear before they strike. This is a problem. This is a dead end. The attacks ended at least. No way but back. Towards her. “You have me cornered Undyne well done, now then let’s have our duel. En Garde!” There are spears coming from above. “What, the bridge. You, you coward fight me aaaaaaaaahhhh!”

All around you are golden fields of wheat and hay, men, women and animals working hard to retrieve this seasons harvest. A bright blue sky with a couple of clouds, some houses scattered around and trees lining up by the sides of the road. You see your siblings and friends play together but you cannot join them as you are the eldest and must help your parents with the harvest. Your father comes to you. He speaks to you about training you on Sunday in shooting with the militia, as you need to learn how to defend your family.

Wake up War! War! Wake up! Huh, what. Where am I? You are in the middle of a garbage dump on a bed of golden flowers which broke your fall a small bit. Is that what happened? It is coming back. Ouch, it hurts. It is logical that it does but you must stand up and continue, lest Undyne finds you and finishes you off. Now that would be a dream. Give me a minute.

So much garbage, so much slugging through it. Garbage, garbage and more garbage. Even a damned dummy. Isn't that dummy like the one in the ruins? Now you say it, it is. It is shaking. It went into the water. Ahead.

“Fool! You think you can get through! I am a ghost that lives inside a dummy. My cousin used to live inside a dummy too until you came along! Not only did you kill them, but also all their neighbours! Despicable. Despicable! DESPICABLE! You're the worst person I've ever met! I've never been madder! Guoooohhhh! My mannequin levels are going off the charts!” It, changed? It changed from an angry dummy to a, normal dummy? “This, this feeling? Eureka. Eureka! EUREKA! Human! That moment of unbridled emotion. It allowed me to fuse with my body! I'm fully corporeal now! My lifelong dream, realized! In return, I guess I won't stomp you. How does that sound?”

“You think this new body or your old one would have changed anything? At least now I do not need to bring out the chains. Goodbye dummy, enjoy your dream whilst it lasts.”

“Wait, can we not be frien-” Blam. Another bullet, another claimed soul. Damned ghosts. Talking about ghosts I have finally got useful information from that ghost from those ruins. Say it. They lived close by in a house, next to them the house of their cousin Happstablook. Nearby is the house of Undyne. I want to see if we can get some more information on this Happstablook. A pink house. How, nice. Force the door? Force the door. Tough door. It finally broke. Ah, this pink is assaulting my eyes. It's their favourite colour for sure. What is this, diaries? Are you going to read them? Yes. That will take too much time! It will not as they see to only write one entry into their diaries, what a waste of paper. Now this is interesting. “Come on Blooky. You know I'd never leave you behind.” This one is also intriguing. “After all, there's no way I can be a star the way I am now. Sorry, Blooky. My dreams can wait for no one.” Are you going to bring that diary with you? Yes, I will. Excellent, playing on their emotions and their feelings of guilt. I cannot stand this room any more.

There is nothing on the right side. There is a rune here. A turtle. “So, we still have somebody here who has not evacuated yet. How come so?”

“Wa ha ha, so you came here. What a treat. So, what have you come in my shop for?”

“I get the feeling you already know what I am here for, yet you are still here. Didn't feel like evacuating?”

“I have lived far too long to be afraid of something like you, but I do not worry. There is somebody out there that will strike you down.”

“Yet she is not able to save anyone it seems as she is never there to protect them. Any last words?”

“With this time we have spoken I might have helped a couple more to evacuate, I am happy with that.”

“In that case close your eyes old timer, and sleep well.” He is correct, this is wasting time. Why so worried? We will get to them one way or another. Ah, the sound of rushing water. Another waterfall. Why are there so many signs here!? Isn't this supposed to be taught in school rather than hang on the wall? Well if it was solely lying in school, we wouldn't know about it.

“Hurt, beaten and fearful for our lives, we surrendered to the humans. Seven of their greatest magicians sealed us underground with a magic spell.” What happened on the surface is not because of magic, correct? Indeed, curious. “Anything can enter through the seal, but only beings with a powerful soul can leave.” We can leave anyway no matter how strong this spell is. I do not think that this spell was created with us in mind. “There is only one way to reverse this spell. If a huge power, equivalent to seven human souls, attacks the barrier it will be destroyed.” Soul magic, a dangerous school. Most likely it requires the equivalent of seven human souls because those seven sacrificed their own lives. At least they didn't murder everybody, sadly enough. “But this cursed place has no entrances or exits.” What is then the hole we fell through. I do not know, maybe that was not discovered when they made those signs? “There is no way a human could come here.” Mhh, seems like it. “We will remain trapped down here forever.”

What is that, thing. It looks like it has some extra chromosomes. It's vibrating. “Hoi, I am TeMmiE!”

“Uhm, hello? What are you? No matter, be gone!” Not so tough. This is one dark cavern. Filled with magic mushrooms. Now, if you want to be kind, let me see the path. There is so little life here, so little sound. They are too successful in their evacuation.  You spoke too soon. Seems like the elder brothers of those slimes. No sentience, there is no satisfaction in fighting them. I cannot provoke them; their attacks are far too easy to dodge. Where is Undyne when you want to have a challenge?

Time to get my feet wet. Knee deep, not all too bad. This is far too dark. Another flower. Is it making sound? “Behind you.” Undyne is behind you. “Got a taste for creating tension and suspense, do you? Come on and get it over with.”

“Seven. Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king, king Asgore Dreemurr, will become a god. With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity. And give them back the suffering and pain that we have endured. Understand, Human?”

“Oh, I fully understand Undyne, but humanity brought that suffering and pain upon themselves so you got nothing to worry about. But I guess you want my soul to make the king a god eh?

“Indeed. This is your only chance at redemption. Give up your soul or I'll tear it from your body.”

“Tear my soul from my body!? Ha! I would like to see you try. Now it is you versus me. En Garde!”

“Undyne! I'll help you fight! Yo, you did it mister! Undyne is right in front of you! You've got front row seats to her fight! Wait, who is she fighting?” What for brains does this kid has? “You aren't gonna tell my parents about this, are you?”

What just happened. The kid intervened and got carried away by Undyne. The lights are on now. Strange. At least the path has been revealed. More to read. “However, there is a prophesy. The Angel, the one who has seen the surface, they will return. And the underground will go empty.” This prophecy. Is it talking about us? We do classify as an angel of death yes. And the underground will be empty of monsters after today. So, this prophecy will come true then? One thing is not entirely right, we are not returning to here. We have seen the surface but we have never been down here.

Another wooden bridge. Another ambush I bet. “Yo!” Damn it, it is the kid. Sneaky bastard.

“What do you want kid, hasn't Undyne told you the dangers of being here?” Kill it!

“Yo. Undyne told me to stay away from you.”

“Well maybe you should listen to that advice!”

“She said you, you hurt a lot of people. But, yo, that is not true, right? Yo, why won't you answer me?

“Because that is correct kid. I am a monster, a murderer, a demon and the devil. I am the reaper of lives and the End.”

“Wha, what are you saying? And what is with that weird expression? Oh, oh man. My heart is pounding out of my chest, what would Undyne do? Yo. Y-you'd b-better st-stop r-right where you are.”

“Or what? Do you truly believe you can stop me, even hurt me? I have said so many times to leave, to go back to your parents but no. Now you want to play the hero, face off against the big bad guy right in front of you.

“Well, if you w-wanna hurt any hurt anyone else, you're, you're gonna have to get through me, first.”

“Hahahahaha, hahahahaha! Oh, this is too good to be true. Very well then. How about you DIE THEN! WHAT!?”

“Undyne, you're, you're hurt.”

“Hurt? It's nothing. Next time, listen when I tell you to leave, okay?”

“Undyne, I.”

“I'll take care of this. Get out of here.”

“What, WHAT!? Out of my way! There is no escape, there is no chance! YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!” BLAM. Finally that brat is gone for good.

“You, you shot them in the back. You humans are all murderers and villains.”

“We are, Undyne, but you see, history is written by the victors. And right now, you are slowly dying from a massive wound and that kid over there is bleeding out to death. You cannot help them, you cannot and could not save them. The wound cannot be healed magically and the bullet is tearing its way through their soul. Do not worry though, it will soon all be over soon. I had hoped that you would have been a challenge, a test to my capabilities. But even Papyrus was stronger than you, even though he never wanted to fight me. Oh well see you later, die easy.” Such a shame. Where is a challenge in this place!?

“Heh. “It's nothing”. No. S-somehow, with just one hit. I'm already. Already.”

“Is “Dead” the word you are looking for, I am surprised you are even capable of standing straight again. Trying to fight? I appreciate the effort but it will be a rather one-sided battle.”

“D-damn it. Papyrus. Alphys. Asgore. Just like that, I, I failed you.”

“Have a good afterlife dust cloud.” War, she is reforming her body. “What, how? This is promising, maybe you are suitable after all.”

“No. My body, it feels like it is splitting apart. Like any instant, I'll scatter into a million pieces. But. Deep, deep in my soul. There is a burning feeling I can't describe.” Get ready to fight. Oh, I am ready. “A burning feeling that WON'T let me die. This isn't just about monsters any more, is it? If you get past me. You'll, you'll destroy them all, won't you? Monsters. Humans. Everyone. Everyone's hopes. Everyone's dreams. Vanquished in an instant. But I WON'T let you do that. Right now, everyone in the world.” That will not be a lot of people. Indeed. “I can feel their hearts beating as one. And we all have ONE goal. To defeat YOU. Human. No, WHATEVER you are. For the sake of the world I, Undyne will strike you down!” Ah this blinding light.

“You're are gonna have to try a little harder than THAT.”

“Oh, do not worry I will, I will. I know something that will up the stakes. If you defeat me, I will give you a human soul that you yourself can use. Only for yourself.” Getting bold are we now? It will not be a problem, she went down in one hit before. This should be easy.

“Challenge accepted human. Consider it mine.”

“Now this is the challenge I wanted! Let's fight! En Garde!” This will be a wondrous conflict. She dodged it? How? This is more of an equal fight than I expected. Aargh. This transformation has really changed her. The chains do not work.

“Ha, you are slow human. You cannot even keep with me old man! Are you the end of the underground, what a joke? You are the soul we need to be free!” We should do our magic. Indeed

“You are a stronger fighter than I am, but you lack experience. Luckily, I can always turn the numbers in my favour. Come on hounds, fight against your former captain.” They will certainly help.

“Using my guardsmen against me, I thought we were having a fair duel to the end! Not this weakness. They will not and cannot stop me. Sorry my friends, but I have to do this.”

She is not fazed. She wiped them aside as if they were leaves. Rather you are strengthening her resolve. Her power increases. Then we need to use desperate measures. “Papyrus, rise and protect me.”

“You dare use him against me!? If I had ever thought you had any chance of redemption, that is over!” Papyrus is preventing her from fighting effective. Excellent.

“I was going to have a fair duel with you on top of that bridge, but since you brought the bridge down with me on top of that, there will be no fair duel.” Let's see what she comes up with next.

“I am sorry Papyrus but this is for the best of everybody!” What is she doing?  Watch out!

“So, this, is it? My overconfidence becomes my downfall.” Her magic could hardly hurt me, but this spear, it is made out of steel. I am still but a human. It almost pierced your heart.

“You are strong human. The spear in your guts should be enough to let you bleed to death but I will give you mercy. Another spear to the heart.”

“No! Argh, grg.” The sweet, cold embrace of death Oh, how I have longed for it. Will I finally have peace? Ha! If you think this is the end you are far from right!

“Not dead yet? Stronger than you look then. Rest easy old geezer. Why the laughter!?”

“Hahahaha, you think you have bested us. You have bested War, but I am something else.”

“You, you are a true monster. You are the true villain here! I will strike you down as well!”

“You want to strike me down? Hahahaha, hahahaha! Let me transform and you will see true terror. For I am Slaughter. And you, you are like cattle before the butcher. Fight a companion of death!”

As the battle between Undyne and Slaughter seems further and further away you find yourself in a hell scape. It has been approximately two hours after the sun has risen. Stuck in a trench you have already lost a friend and 18 other fellow soldiers to the morning barrage of explosive shells. The roads and houses that once stood here are long gone. The seas of wheat, trees and hedges have long turned into muddy, blasted death zones. Called No Man's land by the men on the front lines. You must watch over the fields over and through the barbed wires to watch out for enemy movement, whilst trying to hide from enemy sniper fire. You have managed to survive for this long, but you know that one day, one moment, a shell could hit right next to you. Then, it is all over. Never again will you see your family again, never again will you see your home again. This is your home now, a death trap. Fighting for land, fighting for a chance to leave the trenches and land in the caring arms of a lady. Those are mere dreams now. For now, this hell is your reality. You look to the faces of men around you, faces of men who has seen the worst, faces of fresh men that need to learn the hard lessons of the front, faces of men who went into the war with hope and now have nothing more left inside them but fear, desperation and the last glimmering heaps of hope that they will come out alive. The officer orders us to put on the masks, another gas attack incoming.

Standing here doing nothing but watch until the order comes. Their lines have been bombarded for over an hour now. Soon it will be time to charge. It has been several minutes now. The officer stands up and he calls out the order to attack. We all charge forwards, forwards into a storm of lead and steel. Forwards into almost certain death. We lost many but the enemy were weakened enough. The bullets and the shrapnel scraped my skin but none penetrated it. The first face I saw in their trench was not like the first I have seen in the war. Those were fuelled by pride, hatred and duty, this face only shows despair and the lost will to live. He did not resist much, almost glad that it was finally over.  After the charge, it became hectic in the trenches, the mud made it hard to distinguish friend from foe. We made them run, retreat to the next trench. We lost over half of our men to capture this trench. The officer called it a glorious victory. I call it a waste of men for this amount of land. Thousands of men, young and old, have fought and died for a mere 119 meters of land. What is the death count by now of this senseless slaughter? How many more will die? What is the price of a mile? God, please, when you send an angel of death to collect me from this hell on earth, please, have mercy upon my soul.

The trenches are fading away and the sounds of the duel between the heroine and Slaughter are coming back. Reality is back.

“You are strong, a worthy challenge. But even the greatest hero must one day fall before death. And you, you are no difference.” Seems like victory is yours. Awake again War? It is time to pass judgement.

“You got me in chains monster, now what do you want. Why are you flaking away, wait, you? I thought I killed! Why are you back again!?”

“Do not struggle to hard, those chains will then burrow into your skin. I am back because your suffering restored my body. Now you have proven yourself that you are a great warrior, it is a shame I must find it out this way. Undyne, you will see the surface I promise you. But it will be under a different sun. Goodbye.” BLAM.

She has a lot of potential, we should consider he for the program. She will join it, she will. I think we have found the first promising heroine Slaughter, she was destined for glory, for greatness. She is and will be a champion to her people.

- End of chapter 4: Waterfalls.

Another chapter, another step closer to the end. I want o apologize for taking my sweet time before posting this. I must say that DragonPrincess and Glacier Maniac really pulled me through.

Now we continue onwards to the next chapter

Chapter 1: The ruins

Chapter 2: Snowdin

Chapter 3: War, Order and Balance