#okay yeah the people left behind by corporations on a death planet with little to no resources deserve death for resorting to violence to

[snowfall-fanfictions]

A Long Time Ago...

Ao3 Link FFN Link

After making a dangerous and impromptu maneuver, Luke finds himself embroiled in a conflict that ended twenty years ago, with people who were supposed to be long dead. 

Set between ANH and ESB.

Okay, time to blow the dust off of this account and start posting again. My life’s been getting a hell of a lot more hectic in the past five months, which kinda killed my drive to write. But rest assured, I’m still writing and will continue to write, it’s just going to take a little longer between chapters. Also, this is my first non-Frozen piece that I’ve uploaded to FFN and Ao3! Hope you enjoy!

Luke sat in silence as his X-wing blazed through hyperspace. He’d hoped the coordinates that the Rebel Alliance had acquired were legitimate and not some Imperial trap. For the past few months since Luke destroyed the Death Star, the Alliance had been living by the seat of its pants, jumping from system to system, desperately avoiding being captured by the Empire. It was certainly the excitement and adventure he’d been longing for since he was a young boy, longing to finally leave Tatooine to explore the wider galaxy, though he wasn’t expecting to do so under such circumstances.

The thought of Tatooine brought Luke’s memories back to that day when Ben, or Obi-wan, saved him from the Tusken Raiders. He moved his eyes from the streaking blues and whites of hyperspace to his immediate right. There, nestled between him and the cockpit, laid his lightsaber, worn and battered from the years of action it saw. Luke immediately thought back on Ben’s words to him as he placed it in his hands that day.

“I was once a Jedi Knight, same as your father… He was the best starfighter pilot in the galaxy… and he was a good friend…”

The thought of his father being a Jedi mesmerized Luke. All his life he had believed he had come from some spice trader in the Outer Rim, now he knew the truth. Well, most of the truth. Luke thought back to the daring rescue of Leia on the Death Star, how Ben sacrificed himself to Vader to let them escape. Now, in the entirety of the galaxy, there was only one man who knew his father.

And it was the man who killed him. 

Luke encountered Vader only once after destroying the Death Star, on Cymoon 1. In hindsight, Luke considered it foolish for a farm boy from Tatooine to challenge a powerful Force wielder such as Vader. The Dark Force Weilder’s words rang in his mind, “You, boy, are no Jedi…”

And he was right. As much as it stung like the twin suns, it was the truth. Now, with the only Jedi he’d known dead, all Luke could do is hope that he’d find another Jedi somewhere in the galaxy. Luke scoffed at this. He’d have a better time finding a fish in the Dune Sea than a Jedi.

As he was lost in thought, the chirps and whistles of Artoo brought him back to the present. “We’re arriving at the coordinates,” The Aurebesh on the navigation computer said, translating the astromech’s various sounds, “Pulling us out of lightspeed now.”

“Alright, thanks Artoo,” Luke replied, flipping a series of switches and buttons. In an instant, the vortex of blue before him returned to the vast blackness of space, with countless stars glistening ahead of him. Luke scanned the area as best he could from his cockpit, only to be met with the vast infinity of space on all sides.

“Something’s wrong,” Luke said, “You sure these are the right coordinates?” Artoo whistled and chirped as the navigational computer quickly translated for him, “Positive. Looks like there’s nothing here, unless the Alliance was looking for a nice chunk of dead space.”

Luke let out a distressed groan allowing his head to slump back, “Well, beats running into a Star Destroyer, right?”

Before Artoo could reply, the X-wing jolted with tremendous force. Luke frantically scanned around as far as his cockpit allowed in an attempt to see what caused his ship to buck like that. Maybe this was a trap after all and the Imperials had finally caught up to them. The fact that nothing was in his immediate view did nothing to ease his panic. That’s when he saw it: space itself distorting, the stars disappearing into an inky nothingness just barely in eyesight of his cockpit.

“Kriff!” Luke barked, gripping the throttle with haste. With as much strength as he could muster, he thrusted the stick, causing the engines to roar. The X-wing groaned and cracked under the pressure of the black hole as Artoo let out a screech. Slowly, the ship was pulled backwards, chunks of metal could be heard being torn off. Luke’s heart raced as sweat formed underneath his helmet. “Artoo! Get ready to jump to lightspeed!” he shouted, frantically flipping switches and mashing buttons.

“Not advised,” the navigational computer translated, “could lead to serious issues.”

“We don’t have an option, Artoo! Get us out of here, now!” “To where?”

“Anywhere!”

Artoo said nothing more as he quickly calculated their jump to lightspeed. All the while, Luke multitasked between keeping the ship out of the hole as long as possible and locking the s-foils, both in preparation for the jump and to prevent the loss of a wing. After what felt like several eternities, Artoo let out a whistle of cautious triumph, announcing that they were ready for the jump. With no hesitation, Luke gave the throttle one last push as the familiar blue of hyperspace filled his vision before he slumped back into his seat. His heart raced like a skittish womp rat as he sighed in relief. “Th-thanks, Artoo,” he gasped.

After a long winded series of chirps and whistles, the navigational computer read, “We’re lucky to have survived that, you know…” “Yeah, I know. Where are we headed, anyway?”

“Chandar’s Folly. Just picked a random planet from my memory banks.”

Artoo flashed a picture of a brownish green planet on the navigation computer. It appeared to be uninhabited, yet should be in the range of the Alliance fleet. Luke scanned over the information thoroughly. “How long till we get there?” he asked.

“Now,” the computer screen read.

Luke slowly brought the ship out of hyperspace as he was met by a grey overcast. It was unorthodox to land so close to the planet’s atmosphere, but he couldn’t risk being out in open space while the Empire was still searching for him. Mountains rose high above the planet’s surface, with small clusters of trees dotting the landscape. There didn’t appear to be any signs of sentient life, no cities or encampments, which made this a perfect place to hide until the Alliance came.

As Luke scanned for a perfect place to land, a warning flashed on his short range scanner. Before he had time to process it, a loud explosion shook his X-wing. Luke could see his engines smoking as he quickly began losing altitude. Did the Empire find out where he was going? Bounty hunters? It didn’t matter much at the moment. Luke had to focus on not crashing into a mountain side.

He gripped the throttle as he jerked the snub fighter left and right, avoiding the large mountains while still finding a place to land. Eventually, Luke noticed a small valley, long enough to make an emergency landing. With careful positioning, he managed to angle his fighter into the valley. Luke didn’t even have time to activate his landing gears before the nose of his X-wing buried itself into the ground, creating a large streak of churned soil.

Luke groaned as he unstrapped himself from his seat. His arms felt like jelly and every muscle in his back screamed in pain. As he pushed the cockpit open, his nostrils were immediately filled with the smell of sulfur and fresh dirt as his eyes readjusted to the planet’s sun. He appeared to be in some sort of valley, with mountains towering over him on either side. Two sparsely clustered groups of fungus like trees lined the massive skid made by his X-wing.

“You okay, Artoo?” Luke asked, scanning the horizon. Artoo let out a series of beeps and whistles as he struggled to get out of his socket. Luke climbed over and, with a little help from Artoo, lifted the astromech out and onto the ground. Artoo let out a happy chirp as he rocked from side to side, causing the sides of Luke’s mouth to lift up. The young pilot scanned the horizon, listening for any local wildlife, only to be met by an eerie silence.

“So, this is Chandar’s Folly?” Luke asked Artoo. The droid beeped and chirped in confirmation. “Well, you weren’t kidding about it being abandoned. C’mon, let’s see if we can fix the X-wi-”

Luke… a faint voice called out, causing Luke to jump. He instantly recognized the voice.

“Ben?” he responded almost hopefully.

You are not where you’re supposed to be, Luke. There is a great disturbance in the Force… Ben’s voice became fainter with each passing word

“What do you mean?”

Be careful around those you meet, that is all I can say… Ben’s voice trailed off into silence.

What did he mean by that? Luke thought.

A low thumping sound coming from the edge of the valley interrupted Luke’s thought. Artoo let out a concerned moan as he whirled behind the X-wing. Luke jumped into the cockpit, grabbing his lightsaber before joining Artoo. So much for this place being abandoned. The thumping grew louder, becoming clearer and more intense. Stormtroopers, without a doubt. Luke gripped his lightsaber tighter as the thumping stopped. A few seconds passed, yet they felt like an eternity. One of the soldiers stepped forward, which caused some confusion to Luke. The footsteps sounded… mechanical, almost like it was a droid.

“Well, this looks like the crash site,” one of the troops said. The voice was robotic, sounding almost timid and nasally. The familiar sound of a comm unit powering on filled Luke’s ears.

“Corporal, status report,” the voice on the other end ordered. Even through the static of the comms, the voice on the other end sounded monotone, revealing no emotion.

“We’ve managed to find the ship, commander. It’s nothing like we’ve seen before.”

“Is it Republic made?”

“Uhhhhh, looks like it.”

“And what of the pilot?”

“Uhhhhhh… nowhere to be seen.”

“Find the pilot and either secure or eliminate them. We have begun our offensive on the Republic’s defenses, and I cannot have a random variable jeopardize my strategy.”

“Roger roger.” The soldier shut off the comms unit. “You heard the commander, find the pilot, stat!”

Luke’s heart pounded in his chest. He slowly crept his head around the wreckage like a timid Loth-cat. As the soldiers came into view, his eyes widened. Eleven tan battle droids stood rigid, with one standing in front of them with yellow markings on its head and torso. Luke couldn’t understand the sight before him. Battle droids hadn’t been used in combat since the early days of the Empire, at least that’s what Uncle Owen used to say. Did the Empire reactivate the droids? Luke lingered on the droids, trying to piece together what was going on. Then, one of the droids looked him square in the eyes, causing it to jump.

“Look!” the droid shouted, pointing at Luke, “There’s the pilot!”

The droids snapped their heads at the location their comrade pointed to. Luke shrank back, gripping his lightsaber tightly. At this point, his heart threatened to burst out of his chest.

“You are under arrest in the name of the Seperatist Alliance,” the commander announced, at least that’s what Luke assumed, “Step out from behind the wreckage with your hands up.”

Artoo let out a worried whimper. Luke’s mind raced with questions. This had to be one of the seperatist holdouts the Empire dealt with in the early years, during the Reconquest of the Rim. Maybe this was all that was left of the holdout. If so, he could probably take them. Even then, Luke still practiced a bit of caution. He fastened the lightsaber to his side and slowly made his way out to face the droids with raised hands. All eleven of them had their blasters at the ready, tracking Luke’s every move.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Luke announced, “I’m just like you, hiding from the Empire. We don’t have to-”

“Empire?” one of the droids interjected, “What’s an Empire?”

“Wait a minute, this isn’t a clone,” another droid commented, stepping forward. A clone? Luke thought. Clones haven’t been seen since the days of the Clone Wars. Perhaps these droids never had their memory wiped, so they still think the Clone Wars are still raging.

“You’re coming with u-” the commander looked down at the lightsaber resting beside Luke’s hip. “HE’S A JEDI!”

The droids stepped back in shock as the commander snatched the lightsaber from Luke, inspecting it thoroughly.

“We found a jedi? And we’re still operational?” one of them asked.

“That’s impossible!” Another said, “He hasn’t done those weird hand motions yet!”

“Have you tried to fight a Jedi? The only one who has one that isn’t a Jedi is the General!”

“I sense promotions!” the commander waved the lightsaber in the air triumphantly.

All the droids cheered at the commander’s announcement. Just then, the commander began levitating in the air. The other droids stared in amazement, only to have their awe cut short by the sound of blasters. One by one, each droid received an azure bolt to the head, collapsing to the floor. The commanding droid yelled in horror as an invisible force crushed it like a canister in the vacuum of space before falling to the ground with a loud thud. Luke’s lightsaber tumbled out of the droid’s hand directly in front of him. He stared in amazement at the heaps of scrap before him, all sputtering sparks while twitching faintly, before scanning the immediate area for whoever saved him. Artoo slowly crept out from behind the wreckage with a low whistle.

“That… wasn’t you, right, Artoo?” Luke asked half-jokingly, lowering his now tired arms.. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted faint rustling from the clusters of trees. Must be the ones who did all this Luke thought as he carefully stepped over the metallic corpses. He fastened his lightsaber back onto his side before waving in the direction of the trees. “Thanks, whoever you are,” Luke shouted, “Guess this planet isn’t as abandoned as I thought it… was?”

Luke’s approach slowed to a halt as a figure emerged from the tree line. His apparent savior wore bone white armor, accented by black around the joints. The face was obscured by a helmet, and in their hands rested a small black rifle. Artoo screeched as Luke’s heart skipped a beat. Without hesitation, Luke tore the lightsaber off his side and immediately ignited it. The blue blade jettisoned out of the hilt with a screech as Luke pointed the tip towards the trooper.

“I thought the Empire didn’t operate on Chandar’s Folly,” Luke said, “What are you doing on this planet?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the trooper said, raising his hands carefully over his head, “You’re a Jedi, right? Part of this military campaign?” Luke eased a bit of tension in his body.

“Military campaign?”

Just then, another trooper, similarly outfitted, made his way out of the thick cluster. Then another. And another. In total, about ten stormtroopers stood before him, all with weapons pointed at Luke. Artoo began panicking beside Luke as another trooper came out of the brush. His armor was similar to those around him, but instead of bone white, it was accented with dark blues and sported a worn gray kama wrapped around his waist. Luke deduced that it was some kind of elite trooper the Empire was keeping a secret. If he got out of this alive, that would be invaluable information to relay to the alliance.

“Well,” the blue trooper said, “no wonder the clankers were so eager to find this wreck.” Luke cocked his head as he raised an eyebrow. The trooper’s voice was identical to the first soldier who emerged out of the trees. Luke swung the lightsaber towards the elite soldier.

“Who are you?” he demanded. Luke was taken aback when the trooper stood at attention and saluted him.

“Captain Rex, designation CT-7567 of the 501st Legion, sir.” he announced. Clones! Luke thought. There were a few clones in the rebellion, but they were all incredibly old and rarely if ever took active combat roles because of it. The clone’s name rang a bell, almost as if Luke had heard that name before.

“I thought the Empire discontinued the use of clones,” Luke said, “Or are you with the Rebellion?”

The trooper took off his helmet, revealing a man with light brown skin and eyes and blond hair cut so close it appeared as part of his skin. “Empire? Rebellion?” Rex asked, “Sounds like that crash might’ve scrambled your brains.”

“Hey!” Luke blurted out as Artoo whirled behind him. Before Luke could chastise his astromech, another figure stepped out of the farthest tree cluster. Unlike the clones, this man was adorned in blue and maroon robes, with a light gray armor piece around his neck. A faint scar draped itself over his right eye and, on his side, rested a lightsaber, almost similar to the one Luke held in his hand.

“Well, this is… unusual,” the man said, hands clasped behind his back. Luke disabled his lightsaber and approached the man.

“Thanks for the save,” Luke sighed, “Never thought I’d see battle droids in action.” 

The man cocked an eyebrow. “Are you part of the Agricultural Corps?”

Luke looked at the man as if his head was floating off his shoulders. “The what?”

“I assume you’re a Jedi with that lightsaber.”

Luke stared down at his lightsaber before letting out a sigh. “I mean, I thought I was a Jedi…”

“I sense some power inside you… it’s low, but it’s there. When did you discover this power?”

“A few months ago…”

The man’s face reeled in shock. “You have to be at least as old as me!”

“Y-yeah…”

The man rubbed his chin. “Perhaps Master Yoda and the council would know more about this…”

“The council?”

“The Jedi Council… you’ve had to have heard of them, right?”

Luke opened his mouth to speak, but then thought of Ben’s words crept into his brain. Maybe this was what he was talking about.

“Yeah,” Luke lied, “I-I’ve heard of them.”

“Good.” the man extended one of his hands, “Why don’t you come with us? Our forward camp isn’t too far from here.”

Luke clasped his hand and shook it firmly. “Well, we don’t have much of a choice. Name’s Luke.”

“Anakin,” the man replied, “Anakin Skywalker.”

Luke’s eyes went wide as his body stiffened. His mind raced, connecting all the information he had. Jedi Council, Anakin Skywalker, clones and droids… did we…?

“C’mon, Obi-wan will want to talk to you as well,” Anakin turned and made his way out of the valley as the clones followed suit. Luke and Artoo exchanged concerned looks, as if they both came to the same conclusions. 

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Artoo…” Luke said as he followed his father out of the valley.

XXXXXX

The bridge of the Executor was draped in the light blue of hyperspace. The sounds of computers and low murmur of the crew were completely drowned out by the deep and chilling breathing of Darth Vader. The Dark Lord stood silently as he peered out of the Super Star Destroyer’s viewports. Probe droids mentioned a lone X-wing that exited hyperspace from these coordinates. The markings the ship was described with matched up with the one that destroyed the Death Star. The one piloted by Luke Skywalker.

Vader’s own son.

Upon discovering that Padmè had given birth before she died, rage consumed Vader’s every being. Not only had the Emperor attempted to replace him with subpar weaklings, he lied about the death of his child. The Emperor needed to be eliminated, that much was certain. And Luke was the key to his downfall. Once Luke was in his grasp, they would rule the galaxy as father and son.

“Lord Vader,” Admiral Ozzel announced, strolling up to the towering cyborg, “We’ll be exiting hyperspace shortly, but our scanners have picked up something… unusual…”

Vader turned to the admiral, who shrank back in response. “Does it pose immediate threat to the ship, admiral?” Vader interrogated.

“Well, we are unsure, m’lord, but I felt it wise to inform y-”

“If it poses no threat, then we shall proceed as planned. I will not allow this… Jedi, to slip through our hands once again.”

“Yes, Lord Vader…”

As the Executor left hyperspace, Vader was met by a mixture of confusion and shock. Instead of the vast expanse of space, the ship was met with a series of jagged red energy bolts cutting through the stars. Vader felt the Force shaking and bending, as if it were a tortured animal. The bridge was filled with shocked gasps and hushed murmurs from petty officers and stormtroopers. Admiral Ozzel stood with his mouth agape, trying to make sense of what he was looking at.

“What are your orders, sir?” he said after a moment.

“Prepare my ship at once,” Vader decreed, turning to leave the bridge, “And ready a detachment of fighters. I shall investigate this myself.” Vader didn’t stop to hear Ozzel’s reply as the massive doors sealed shut behind him.

XXXXXXX

From the cockpit of Vader’s TIE Advanced, the damage appeared to be much worse. It appeared as if space were a large pane of shattered glass, with pure nothingness hiding behind it. Only a fool would dare venture out here alone. Three TIEs split off from Vader as he scoured for the source of this damage. As they dispersed, a streak of red energy jutted out in front of them. Two managed to alter their course with a deafening roar, but one flew directly through it, incinerating it completely. Fool, Vader thought, These are supposed to be the Empire’s greatest pilots?

Vader’s thoughts were disturbed by the fervent beeping of his comm unit. Upon activation, he was greeted by Ozzel, hands clasped behind his back.

“M’lord,” Ozzel began, “It appears we’re the only ones in this sector, perhaps we should-”

“No,” Vader abruptly interrupted, “Skywalker is here, he must be. Send another detachment of fighters. I want every inch of this sector swept.”

“As you w-”

Before Ozzel could finish his thought, the comm unit abruptly shut off as Vader’s ship rocked violently. The cyborg attempted to restabilize his ship, but only seemed to jostle it even further. Out of the corners of the cockpit, Vader saw the inky nothingness creep into view.

“Admiral!” Vader said, activating the comms link, “Activate the tractor beam, and target myself.” the Sith lord was met with static. “Admiral, respond!” Again, static. Seeing no other option, Vader began calculating a desperate jump to hyperspace. As soon as coordinates were set, he launched himself out of the nothingness and into hyperspace. The tension receded from his body as he attempted to contact the Executor once again.

“Admiral Ozzel!” Vader said, anger rising in his voice, “Do I need to remind you of the Emperor’s decree? I am not to be ignored!” Vader was once again met with static and no admiral. He slammed his metallic fist onto the unit, causing a small dent. He would deal with Ozzel in the future. For now, Vader needed to refocus on getting back to the fleet and refocus his efforts on finding Skywalker.

Vader quickly disabled his hyperdrive as he took in his surroundings. While he was still in dead space, the damage he witnessed was completely absent. While it appeared the damage to space itself was contained, Vader couldn’t help but feel a disturbance in the Force, as if catastrophe struck on a galactic scale. The Sith lord pushed this thought to the side for the time being. His priority was to return to the Executor. Vader activated his sensor array, broadcasting his location to every sector in range.

“This is a distress call from Lord Vader,” he decreed, “All Imperial naval units converge on my position.”

Just as he finished his message, Vader’s TIE shook abruptly once again. Again?! He thought as he was thrown around in his own cockpit. Perhaps it was a rebel ship attacking him. Vader activated his scanner, and his suspicions were confirmed almost immediately. A large frigate had entered the sector not too long after he arrived, with armaments similar to those used by rebels. If they wished for a fight, then so be it, he thought. Vader maneuvered his ship into attack mode, but hesitated once his target came into view. Instead of a Mon Calamari cruiser, he was met by the long and thin outline of a Munificent-Class frigate. He hadn’t seen one of them since the Clone Wars, and no separatist holdout could house one of them discreetly.

Vader’s comm unit lit up with hailing frequencies, no doubt from the frigate. Upon answering the call, he was met by a Neimoidian, his bony fingers steepling as he glared.

“This is General Uurd Mak of the Confederacy of Independent Systems!” he announced, “You are in a military zone, leave now or be destroyed!”

“The Confederacy has been disbanded for nearly twenty years,” Vader replied, “You are in direct violation of Imperial law. It would be wise to surrender now, or the consequences will be dire.” “I assure you, the Sepratist Alliance is active and strong. Allow me to demonstrate…”

Vader felt his TIE jolt as he was dragged towards the frigate. No matter what he did, he couldn’t stop from approaching the ship. Rage began boiling within the Sith lord. First Ozzel refused to acknowledge him, now he had this worm disrespecting him. “If it is a fight you wish for,” Vader said, “Then you shall get one.” And with that, Vader cut the communication just as he was pulled into the frigate’s hangar.

Out of his viewing port, Vader saw hundreds of battle droids, with blasters pointing at him. Vulture droids were perched throughout the hangar, with various tubes and supplies strewn about. Once his TIE landed, a commander droid stepped forward and knocked on the glass.

“Alright,” it said, “Come out with your hands up and you won’t be shot!”

With the press of a button, the top of the TIE opened with a hiss, followed by an eruption of steam. Vader then leaped out of the opening, igniting his lightsaber and cutting down the commander with the crimson blade.

“JEDI! OPEN FIRE!” one of the droids shouted. Every droid around Vader unleashed a torrent of blaster fire, which the sith managed to either deflect or dodge. Vader managed to cut down a few more before the remaining droids ran, leaving him alone with the sound of his lightsaber humming. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but what Vader did know was that no one would be leaving this ship alive.

XXXXXX

The Millennium Falcon dropped out of hyperspace with immense speed. Han and Chewbacca scanned the vastness of space before them in horror. Blood red cracks streaked across the expanse like magma flowing from a volcano. Chewie let out a worried roar, not tearing his eyes from the scene.

“Yeah, I hear ya, pal,” Han said worryingly, “Let’s hope Luke didn’t get too close to those things…” The smuggler and Luke grew close over the past few months, whether it be from sharing their experiences with flying to taking the Empire head on. To Han, Luke was the brother he never had. Well, the second brother, behind Chewie of course, but still like family nonetheless. The two pilots flew cautiously around the damage and chaos, trying to figure out the point of origin. As they were scanning the expanse, C-3PO trotted into the cabin.

“By the Maker!” Threepio blurted, causing Han to jump slightly, “The damage is much worse than Alliance intel relayed!”

“Thanks for the insight, goldie,” Han said sarcastically, “now unless you can tell me how space itself can bleed, I need you to make yourself useful and get Leia up here.”

“At once, Captain Solo, but Alliance Command will be requesting an update on the situation.” “Tell them things have gone to hell, but no Imperials so far. Now get Leia.”

“Yes, sir.” Threepeeo waddled back out of the cabin, leaving Han and Chewie to themselves once more. Chewie let out a concerning wimper directed to Han.

“What?” The smuggler asked, “I know that droid’s a pain to you as much as he is to me.”

Chewie let out a quick bark in defiance. 

“I know he means a lot to Leia and that clone, but they could’ve at least changed his vocal patterns. And who programs a droid to feel fear?”

The wookie simply roared, seemingly scolding his friend.

“You’re right, we need to get back to this. If the Empire has a new weapon that can do this, we’re all in danger…”

XXXXXX

“Thank you for joining us, Commander Rex,” Leia said, “I know it must be difficult with your age to come on these missions.” The two of them sat around the holochess table, which was in desperate need of repair. Upon the table sat Rex’s ARC helmet, greyed by years of use with tally marks on the temples. The clone simply laughed as he calibrated his blaster pistols.

“Never liked sitting around,” Rex chortled, “We clones were bred to fight.”

“I remember the stories my father used to tell me about the wars. Is it true you were under the command of Luke’s father?”

“Sure was. Few Jedi cared about their clones as much as General Skywalker. He and I led the 501st through thick and thin, come hell or high water.” The smile on Rex’s face dissipated as he stared at his helmet. “I just can’t believe he’s really… dead, y’know.”

Leia placed a hand on Rex’s shoulder, “I’m sorry. With all the loss you’ve probably seen, that must’ve been hard.”

“Indeed, but their deaths are what keep me fighting. So that his, and the sacrifices my brothers made, aren’t in vain.”

Leia thanked the aging clone once more before excusing herself to find Threepio. She held a deep respect for the old clone, even before General Syndulla’s recommendation for this mission. Leia remembered hearing that he was one of the five clones that held off an entire invasion force on the moon of Rishi. If the Alliance could get a hold of the cloning technology used for him, the war would be a hell of a lot shorter. Though with these rumors of a new Imperial superweapon, one that rivaled the destructive power of the Death Star, it would take much more than just manpower to deal with the Empire.

Leia managed to find Threepio coming from the cockpit, muttering to himself as usual. “Everything alright, Threepio?” Leia asked.

“Oh, Princess Leia!” Threepio responded, attempting to mask the annoyance in his vocal programming, “Captain Solo is requesting your presence, albeit rather rudely.”

“Has he found the weapon?” “No, but… it’s hard to explain, but it’s almost as if space has been… shattered. Like glass.”

“Bah!” Rex said peering out of the access door, “Space warps, not breaks. With as long as you’ve been around, droid, I’d thought you’d know that too.”

“My visual receptors don’t lie. Also, how would you know how long I’ve been around?”

Rex turned his attention to Leia. “Guess they weren’t kidding about a memory wipe…”

The ship suddenly jolted, nearly knocking everyone onto the floor. As the three of them scrambled back onto their feet, an alarm began blaring throughout the ship. Leia dashed past Threepio towards the cockpit, followed by Rex, then the protocol droid. Han and Chewie were frantically flipping switches and pressing buttons, their eyes wildly darting all across the dashboard.

“What the hell’s going on?” Leia demanded before turning her gaze out to the expanse of space. It was just as Threepio described; space itself seemed to have shattered like glass.

“Looks like we’re caught in a black hole,” Han said, trying to keep his voice calm, “That might be what caused all this.” “How?” Rex interrogated, “Black holes warp space, not shatter it!” “Well, there’s no superweapon out here, so if you’ve got a better explanation, old man, I’d love to hear them!”

The ship bucked again, forcing Leia and Rex to grip the passenger seats to remain standing. Threepio was not so lucky, falling to the ground with a yelp.

“I hope you have a solution to this, otherwise we’re done for!” Leia yelled over the blaring alarm.

“Don’t get your shorts in a knot, Princess! I always have a solution. Chewie, prepare to jump to lightspeed.”

“What?!” Rex and Leia said in unison.

“You two got any better ideas?”

“But sir!” Threepio said as he stood back up, “There is a 99.9 percent chance that the ship will be torn asunder if we attempt a jump to hyperspace!” “Never tell me the odds. Chewie, you got the coordinates?” The wookie let out a bellowing roar. “Then punch it!”

In an instant, the stars became streaks of light as the Falcon launched forward into the emptiness of space.

[sa-gt-tarrius]

Liars Ahead: Proceed with Caution

Warnings:

Foul language, needles, lots of injuries, character death. Tread carefully!

@cakercanart @secret-shifters

This fic is a bit gritty, moreso than what I usually write. If it’s too much for you to handle, or if it’s just not up your alley and you don’t really like the harsher elements, please feel free to let me know! I’d be happy to edit it down to make it less angsty.

***

No one knew exactly how many secrets MIRA Incorporated kept under wraps.

Their kind of work demanded secrecy, of course. When a company is involved in such groundbreaking fields, they are bound to draw prying eyes. MIRA specialized in relativistic aeronautics, atmospheric engineering, and long-term spacefaring. These terms were new-age babble that roughly translated to “living in outer space.” MIRA studied things that science fiction nerds could only dream of seeing. 

However, MIRA understood that profits would tank if any old Joe Schmoe could walk into their headquarters and leak their data. It was no surprise, then, that the employees of MIRA knew so little about their own company. Most workers had to stay on their assigned floor for their entire careers. Three whole levels of clearance were required to use the fancy upstairs bathrooms!

But there was one thing that was no secret to anyone: MIRA was planning something big. Something amazing. And whatever it was, it was going to happen soon. Excited whispers swept through every office and laboratory—the company had something in store that would rock the world. 

But to Henry Newground, this was all a bit underwhelming.

Henry had been tirelessly working at MIRA HQ for five years. He was an accountant for MIRA’s payroll, which meant he spent most of the day staring at lists of numbers and rummaging through file cabinets. When he was first hired, Henry naively believed that he could climb the corporate ladder and become an astronaut if he just worked hard enough. But alas, it was not to be—even after long years of no sick days and lots of overtime, Henry was still a simple accountant. He fought tooth and nail for a goddamn raise, so it was no wonder that his dream job was a mere fantasy. 

At least, that’s what he thought. But then a letter appeared on his desk one morning. 

Mr. Henry Newground,

We at MIRA have accepted your application to join our spacefaring and research apprenticeship program. Enclosed in this letter is a Level 10 Clearance Card. You will need it to access the upper office on the 50th floor, where more details will be provided. Please come to the office as soon as your shift ends. 

Kind regards, 

Elliot Rose 

Chief Executive Officer of M.I.R.A. Incorporated 

At first, Henry thought this was just a joke. His boss Kerri didn’t mention the letter all day, so she must’ve not known about it. (Either that or she had been in on it the whole time. She was a well-known jokester, after all.) And none of Henry’s coworkers spared him a second glance as he quietly left at five o’clock to head upstairs. 

The security guard at the elevator tried to turn Henry away, which seemed to confirm his just-a-prank theory. But as Henry fumbled over a frantic apology, trying to explain that he must have been set up by his coworkers, the security guard spotted a shiny blue rectangle dangling from Henry’s neck: a Level 10 Clearance Card. The guard opened the elevator door without a word, ushering the confused man inside and pressing the button for the fiftieth floor. 

“Ms. Rose doesn’t usually let people into her office,” the guard murmured as the elevator ascended ominously. “You must be helping with that big project they’re talking about. All the nerds upstairs won’t shut up about it.”

“Sh–she said she’d give me details when I got to her office.” Henry spun to face the guard, his face scrunched up anxiously. “Do I look okay? I didn’t have time to put on a suit…”

“You look fine. Stand up straight, we’re almost there.”

Given the air of mystery surrounding the upper floors of the building, Henry had no idea what to expect. But what he didn’t anticipate was to be met with a gust of wind. Henry shielded his eyes as a glare of sunlight began to burn his retinas. He was outdoors—on the roof of the building. It looked like a helicopter pad, only much, much larger. 

The security officer cleared his throat, gently ushering Henry out of the elevator. He jutted his finger towards the other side of the launch pad, towards a hallway that led back inside the building. “Just follow the path for a bit, and then take the left path at the fork. If you make it to the greenhouse, you went too far.” 

“Er, thanks…”

“And make sure you knock. Ms. Rose hates when people barge in.”

Henry nodded tentatively. He took a deep breath and marched towards the entryway, determined to get to the office before chickening out. 

The upper floors weren’t that unusual, Henry thought as he trotted along. He passed by a smelly locker room, a tiny medical bay, and a grimy computer room. Nothing about this place seemed particularly flashy or elite. Henry was starting to think he was on the wrong floor. 

Henry made the left turn, as the guard told him, and arrived in a small alcove with three rooms. One of the rooms was a lab of some sort, although it was barren and empty for the time being. The room ahead was filled with bushes and shrubs, with a large glass tube in the centre. And the last one was closed—a sign reading “please knock” hung nearly on the doorknob. 

Henry knocked three times and yanked his hand away like the wood was searing hot. 

Then the door creaked open. 

No one knew much about Ms. Elliot Rose. Even the managers and supervisors scarcely spoke of her at all. Henry honestly had no idea what to anticipate from her, aside from the cutthroat ruthlessness most company owners tended to have. But instead of a snide, fierce woman who could tear him apart with a glance, the woman standing in the open doorway was hardly remarkable. She was just barely taller than Henry, no older than thirty, and her red hair bristled out in all directions like she hadn’t brushed it in days. Her eyes were bagged and sunken, almost sickly, and her gaze was panicked and wild for a moment before locking onto Henry. 

She frowned. “Can I help you?”

“Ms. Rose?” Henry tried, unsure if he was truly talking to the CEO of the largest corporation on the planet. “My name is H–Henry Newground. I was told to come here at five, I–I have a clearance card if you need to see it—”

“Oh, right. Henry.” The woman suddenly straightened up, swinging the door open fully and gesturing for Henry to enter. “Thank you for coming. I’m sorry to inconvenience you like this.”

“It’s fine. I’m sorry for the delay.” Henry stepped inside, clearing his throat in a sorry attempt to appear composed. The room was nothing special—just a small office with four computer desks and a box-shaped radio. The woman took a seat at the messiest desk, leaning back into the chair. Henry claimed an empty chair from a desk nearby, bouncing his leg anxiously. “So, um… about this spacefaring program…”

Elliot Rose smiled, sinking into the chair cushion and leaning back. “I’ve looked over your application and was very happy with what I saw. I think you have potential, Henry.”

“Thank you,” Henry sputtered, baffled and giddy that the CEO was singing such high praises of him. “I’ve always loved learning about space, you know. That’s why I applied for this job. Even as a kid, I—”

“That’s great, Henry,” Elliot hummed, slipping out a gaping yawn before continuing. “Anyway, I just wanted to run a couple of things by you before we send you off. You got your master's degree in microbiology from Harvard, correct? I’ve also heard you’ve taken courses in astrophysics.”

Henry nodded eagerly. “That’s right. I’ve also taken extracurricular classes on geology, I was the leader of the chess club… a–and I sold drinks at the campus football games,” he finished lamely.

“You see, Henry,” Elliot drawled, twirling a pen with her fingers, “I have thirty-four other applicants with higher education than you do. Half of them have three or more doctorates. I don’t care much about your education.” She leaned forward, crossing her arms firmly over the desk. Something glinted behind her eyes—it was impossible to read. “But you have special skills, ones that could greatly benefit my crew.” Elliot leaned forward, crossing her arms firmly over the desk. “Our coordinators are getting ready to send supplies to Polus on a small dropship. The trip will last about two days. I want you on that ship before it takes off.”

“Y–you want—” Henry choked on his breath. “You want me to go to space?”

Elliot smirked. “Is that a problem?”

“I–I just— Y–you don’t— W–well—“

“Use your words, Henry.”

“I’m just…” Henry sputtered, struggling to find words to say. “Don’t I need training?”

“You don’t sound very excited… I thought you would be happy about this. Didn’t you apply to join our spacefaring program last year?”

“I mean, yeah.” Henry shuffled in his seat awkwardly. “But my application was turned down. I didn’t have enough education for it. Why do you want me now?”

“Things change,” Elliot laughed. “I’d like to personally ask you to join the Polus crew and help document alien life.”

The two fell silent. 

Elliot smirked coyly. “Is that a yes?”

“I–I mean, absolutely,” Henry sputtered. “I’m just… a little confused. Are you sure you’ve got the right person?”

“I most certainly do,” Elliot replied. 

“Okay,” Henry muttered, unsure of how he managed to get into this strange situation with no warning. “So… what now?”

“Go home, get some sleep, and come back here tomorrow. Same time, of course. I’ll get you all the details by then.” 

“Okay.”

“Have a good night, Henry.”

“Th–thanks.”

Henry’s head was still spinning as he made his way out of Elliot’s office. 

“You alright, buddy?” the security guard piped as Henry entered the elevator, his eyebrow raised curiously. “You look like you’re gonna pass out.”

“I’m fine.” Henry gripped his forehead, fighting off another dizzy spell. Butterflies were forming in the pit of his stomach as the elevator descended. “I just need to go home.”

And that’s exactly what Henry did. As soon as he fetched his lunch kit from the office fridge, the young man hopped into his SUV and drove straight home. Not even bothering to change out of his work uniform, Henry collapsed on the bed. His head continued spinning. 

Surely this was a big joke. 

Elliot herself said that many people were far more qualified than he was. So why was she so adamant about having Henry on her crew? It made no sense. 

Henry knew he wouldn’t have gotten any answers that night, not by muttering and mumbling into his pillow like a lunatic. He’d have to get the details tomorrow like Elliot told him to. So instead of uselessly mulling it over, Henry plucked his phone off the side table and quickly dialled a number. The phone barely had time to ring before someone on the other end picked up. “Hey, sweetie. How was work today?”

“Hi Henry, it was good! What about you?”

“Well, I–I was called into a meeting by the CEO. She said she wanted me in her spacefaring program.”

“Oh, that’s… hang on. Are you serious? They accepted you?!”

“Yeah. She asked me to help with some research. She said she was impressed by my application and—”

“You’re going to space!” A young woman’s voice bubbled ecstatically over the phone. She laughed and giggled, even belting out an excited shriek for good measure. “I’m so proud of you! I knew you’d get in, I just knew it!”

“You did, yeah.”

“God, I wish I could be there right now,” the woman chuckled. “I want to give you a big hug.”

Henry smiled faintly. “Thanks, sweetie.”

“I’m going to go buy a bunch of chocolates for you today. I don’t know if it’ll get delivered before you leave, but it can at least be a welcome-back present.”

“Oh, you don’t have to, Sigrid,” Henry replied. “How would you even send it? The post office won’t accept packages that big. I don’t even know if a box of chocolates would fit in the mail truck.”

The woman, presumably named Sigrid, huffed indignantly. “Well, fine. I’ll just think of something else.”

Henry had never actively sought out a relationship. He was too focused on work to consider dating, and his social circle wasn’t large enough for him to start dating around. And yet, for three years now, Henry had been in a lovely relationship with a woman named Sigrid Brandson. She lived in northwestern Canada (according to her), far away from any large cities, and Henry wasn’t yet lucky enough to meet her face-to-face. 

The reason? Sigrid was a giant. 

There few places giants and humans could casually be together—and much fewer ways to travel to each other—so they usually spent their time on the phone or video calls. Henry didn’t mind much, although it was disheartening to have never kissed Sigrid even after years of being committed. 

It was thanks to Sigrid that Henry learned to speak and write Riesian, the language of the giants. When the two first met on an online fan forum, Sigrid spoke very little English, and Henry didn’t even know the Riesian language existed. But with time and effort, the two were able to cross the language barrier, eventually teaching each other their native tongues. 

“Do you know where you’re going?”

“Yeah, she said I’m going to a planet called Polus. They have a research base set up there.”

“Polus?” Sigrid repeated. “Oh… that’s… that’s nice.”

It was then that Henry realized Sigrid’s voice had become a tad crestfallen. He frowned. “Everything good?”

“Just… be careful out there,” Sigrid murmured. “I know it’s probably fine and I’m worrying about nothing, but make sure you stay safe, okay? And call me if you can. I’m so proud of you, Henry.” She suddenly stopped speaking English and switched to Riesian. 

“Bai tcho eim, honey.” 

Be safe.

***

On the days leading up to takeoff, Elliot had been vigorously training Henry. He learned how to fix wiring issues, how to power up engines, how to use the weather nodes, and how to examine and sort specimens that were brought into the base. Henry was very quickly becoming a rather competent spacefarer. 

But still, Henry was on edge. Despite the training and the reassurances from Elliot, something didn’t sit quite right. But none of that mattered—before he knew it, Henry was stuffed into a white spacesuit, complete with the MIRA logo and the American flag emblazoned on the shoulders. Dozens of people swarmed around him, talking to each other and furiously taking notes. A brisk wind punctuated the murmur of the crowd. 

Elliot knelt before him, her hands running along the fabric to make sure the suit would fit Henry. 

“You’ll be accompanying Aesir Vidstrom while you’re on Polus,” she said as she worked. “He’s the new chief of medical staff. He’ll meet you at the landing site and help you get settled in.” Elliot fiddled with the straps on Henry’s waist, tightening the suit until it fit. Henry was quite a few inches shorter than prior astronauts, so his spacesuit needed to be altered before he could use it. “You’re to stay with Aesir at all times unless he says otherwise. Is that clear?”

Henry nodded and glanced away, choosing to stare at the looming spaceship atop the crowded launchpad—a dropship, Elliot had called it. The ship was fairly large, about eight meters in height and width, and the nose stretched outwards almost twelve meters. The jet black paint glistened in the early morning sun, and Henry’s nose crinkled at the smell of something burning. 

“And remember, my crew is always on standby. We’ll be ready to help you whenever you need it.”

“Th–thank you, ma’am.”

“Don’t mention it.” Elliot finally stepped away from Henry, admiring the finished spacesuit. “I think you’re ready. Let’s get you out of here.” She turned around, facing the crowd, and raised her voice. “Five minutes to takeoff!”

“Five minutes!” someone screamed over the din. “Fire up the reactors!”

“Starting reactors! Diverting power to the left and right engines! Standby…”

“All clear, ma’am! Someone get Newground on board!”

“Let’s go, Henry.” Elliot shoved Henry towards the dropship. The large metal plating began to slide up, similar to a garage door. A pair of men in uniform guided Henry up the steps and into the cabin of the ship. Ten plush seats lined the walls—Henry took a tentative seat in the closest one, the farthest to the left, and began to buckle himself in. The men in uniform quickly left as the engine roar increased in volume. The other staff members gathered along the edges of the launch pad in anticipation. 

“Good luck, Henry!” Elliot hollered, waving her arm up over the crowd. “You'll do great, I know it!”

Before Henry could reply, the door began to slide shut. The ship shivered and groaned, and within seconds, the whole thing began to rise and sway. Henry barely had time to squeeze his eyes shut before the ship suddenly lurched forward at unimaginable speeds. 

The poor man clenched his seatbelt like a lifeline. He knew takeoff would only last a minute or two, and yet the ordeal seemed to last a lifetime. Henry felt his body being squished against the chair, constructing his lungs and preventing him from breathing. As much as he tried to, he couldn’t even scream. 

And then, as quickly as it began, everything started to slow down again. The roar of the engine faded somewhat, and the whole cabin gradually stopped shaking. Henry wasn’t quite confident enough to get out of the seat, so he remained strapped in, gasping heavily as he tried to soothe his racing heart. 

Finally, when everything was calm, Henry shakily unbuckled himself and rose to stand. As he shuffled through the cabin, he took the time to properly examine the interior of the dropship he would be riding in. There were various steel crates scattered about, each containing canned rations and various tools. A small laptop was placed on the smallest crate, detailing the dropship’s velocity, fuel levels, turbulence, and current distance from Polus. He made a mental note to check on it later to make sure everything was normal. 

And then, on the starboard side of the ship, a solitary window glimmered.

Henry dared himself to peer outside. 

He paused, then gasped.

Even after seeing outer space countless times in photographs and videotapes, Henry was still gobsmacked by the vast starry void before him. To his right, the planet Earth was rapidly shrinking as he blasted further away, and the sun was a mere speck of light in the distance. This wasn’t a fantasy anymore—Henry was hurtling through the solar system in a spaceship, making his way towards an alien planet. 

A childish grin crept onto his face. 

This was it. After years of daydreaming, Henry was a real-life astronaut—his younger self would be so proud. Henry was so ecstatic that his earlier anxieties and frustrations were completely forgotten, left behind on his home planet. 

In less than two days, Henry would arrive on Polus to begin his spacefaring apprenticeship. He kept thinking about Sigrid, imagining all the stories he’d get to tell her when he got back to Earth. 

This was going to be amazing.

He just hoped nothing would go wrong. 

***

The trip to Polus was progressing faster than Henry ever expected. He wondered how MIRA’s ships could move so quickly and yet use so little fuel—it was a blessing of science, to be sure. 

But by the twentieth hour of the trip came and went, Henry felt anything but blessed. 

There wasn’t much for entertainment in the dropship. Henry could only fumble around on the laptop, gaze out of the window, or pace the cabin a few times. The boredom was excruciating, but the anticipation was even worse. Luckily, Elliot had reached out to him a few times via video calls, answering questions and keeping him company during the arduous journey to Polus. 

“Any turbulence today?” she asked. 

“None,” Henry replied. “No asteroids, either. Everything is fine so far.”

Elliot smiled. “Good. The dropship has a bit of a reputation for rough rides, so I was worried about engine damage. Seems like I was worried about nothing.”

The two made idle conversation every four hours or so, which was a welcome distraction. As much as Henry adored being in space for the first time, he couldn’t deny how lonely and boring it was. And having someone like Elliot to guide him was another welcome addition, even if her presence unnerved Henry somewhat. 

Two more days passed. Henry was munching on his lunch ration. He’d opened the package to find sliced canned meat—bland and oily and smelly. But with the addition of some crackers and canned oranges, the meal made for a decent lunch. However, before he was even halfway finished eating, a rumbling began to overtake the cabin. His lunch contained tumbled onto its side, spilling cracker crumbs all over the floor. Henry instinctively latched onto a nearby crate, trying his best not to fall over as the entire ship swayed. 

A synthetic voice rose over the fray. “Entering the Polus mesosphere,” it announced in a polite, monotonous tone. “Current velocity: 326 miles per hour. Engine temperature: nominal. Distance from indicated landing site: estimate of 833 miles. Please fasten your seatbelt and prepare for landing.”

Henry was knocked to the ground as the shaking intensified. The ship was approaching Polus, and fast. He crawled to the nearest seat, restraining himself a bit too tightly in his haste. The voice continued droning on as the ship entered the planet’s atmosphere. 

“786 miles… 721 miles… 678 miles…”

And then a deafening screech sounded from above. Henry winced and tightened his grip on the seatbelt as the ship suddenly did a nosedive. 

“504 miles… 452 miles…”

A siren overhead wailed loudly. Bright red lights flashed in the corners of his eyes. 

“310 miles… 259 miles…”

Something was very, very wrong. 

“199 miles… 97 miles…”

He braced himself. 

“12 miles… 2 miles…”

Everything went white. 

***

“Come on, don’t die on me.”

Black dots continued to bounce in Henry’s vision as his mind stirred. The young man let out a miserable groan, clutching his forehead painfully. 

“That’s it… Wake up, little guy…”

Henry paused. It took him a moment to realize that the voice overhead wasn’t speaking English. It took two more seconds to realize that the voice was extremely loud, almost like it was coming from a speaker. 

Both these mysteries were solved as soon as he opened his eyes. 

A monstrously large figure loomed above, blocking out the light of the bulb dangling overhead. Ginormous eyes, hazel and bright, were locked onto Henry’s trembling body. And it—he—was smiling gently. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” the giant man murmured in Riesian. “I’m not gonna hurt you, little guy.”

Henry swallowed hard. He took a moment to gather himself so he wouldn’t have a panic attack, then turned his attention back to the giant face hanging above him. The huge, strange man cocked his head curiously. “Ah geez, I hope you’re not broken or anything… That would suck.” The voice boomed and shook Henry’s core, even though the giant was trying to speak softly. Henry couldn’t even keep eye contact without his heart dropping, so he kept his gaze locked onto the giant’s chest. He only barely noticed the white MIRA spacesuit the giant wore, identical to Henry’s suit in every way aside from its massive size. “Oh yeah, you can’t understand me, huh? Maybe we have a translator lying around here…”

“I–I am fine,” Henry fumbled in awkward Riesian, forcing his voice not to waver. He wasn’t even sure if he was even speaking correctly—but he was too nervous to care about his grammar. Fluency was the least of his problems. “I am okay.”

“Sweet.” The giant nodded, froze, then gasped. “...Wait, you can understand me?”

“I d–d–do.”

“But you’re human.” The giant’s face descended further—huge strands of curly brown hair brushed along Henry’s stomach. “Humans don’t speak Riesian.”

“Y–you’re right,” Henry murmured, flinching away from the enormous eyes drilling into him. “It’s a long story.”

The giant suddenly scoffed, his sheepish half-smile giving way to a full grin. “Cheeky bugger, huh? The name’s Aesir. What’s yours?”

“You are Aesir?” Henry perked up. “Aesir Vidstrom?”

Aesir’s eyebrows shot up. “Uh, yeah. You’ve heard of me?”

Henry licked his lips, trying to remember some difficult Riesian words. “You are a… scientist. A space e–explorer. B–b–but Ms. Rose… never said you are a… giant.”

“How about that,” Aesir laughed, stroking his chin. “Never thought I’d meet a human like you.”

Thinking for a moment, Aesir snapped his fingers in a sudden realization. 

“Oh, wait—then that would make you what’s-his-name, right? HQ said some random new guy was on his way. But they never said you’d be a human. That’s MIRA for you, I guess… If they were stupid enough to wreck your ship, then they’d forget to mention that.”

“Wreck my ship?” Henry repeated slowly. Memories began flooding back into his mind. The alarms, the flashing lights, the sudden nosedive…

The dropship crashed. 

“Wait, then I—” 

“Whoa, whoa, slow down, buddy.” The giant winced when Henry scrambled to sit up. “Take it easy, yeah?” Aesir paused for a moment, tapping his foot a few times. “Actually… Wait here for a sec, alright? I need to grab something.”

With that, Aesir moved away to shuffle out of sight.

With the enormous face out of his vision, Henry was able to sit up and finally assess the surrounding area, hissing a bit as he aggravated his injury. He was sitting on a mattress that stretched several meters in every direction. The blue sheets and white pillow were reminiscent of a gurney, like ones you might find in a hospital. And sure enough, upon closer inspection, the room appeared to be a small medical bay, white walls and smell of disinfectant included. There were three other identical beds lined between curtain barriers, just like the bed he was sitting on. Henry peered to the right. He could see the silhouette of Aesir leaned over a countertop through the wall of curtains. 

What was he doing over there?

Henry forced himself to speak. “This is Polus?”

“Sure is,” Aesir replied from beyond the curtain wall. “You were lucky you made it this far on that hunk of junk—if your ship malfunctioned any sooner, you might’ve crashed into an asteroid or something.” Aesir came back into view, sidestepping the curtain to approach Henry. “Now stay still.”

“I… uh…” Henry held up his hands, carefully scooting back a few inches. Aesir hadn’t come back to Henry empty-handed; in his left palm, the giant cradled a glass syringe filled with a bluish liquid. The needle was almost six feet tall, taller than Henry was. “I–I do not need that.”

“Yes, you do. Come over here.” 

“It is t–too big,” Henry wavered, curling in on himself as Aesir continued to approach. “Nothing hurts. I am… un–uninjured. Do not need that. Do not need it.”

Listening to Henry’s trembling voice and weak attempts to dissuade him, Aesir’s face fell. “Look,” he whispered, getting onto his knees to kneel by the bed, “don’t make this harder than it needs to be. When we’re in medbay, I’m the boss.” The giant slowly reached out his free hand, grasping Henry’s shoulder with his enormous finger and thumb. His other hand, the one bearing the syringe, began to drift closer to Henry. “Now stay still, or this will hurt more than it needs to.”

In a fright, Henry leapt away from Aesir’s hand in a frantic escape attempt. He scrambled across the sheet, making a beeline for the white pillow at the head of the bed. 

“Shit—” Aesir cursed under his breath, tossing the needle to the side. He made a lunge forward, both hands outstretched, reaching for Henry’s tiny form. Before Henry could reach the pillows, the terrified human being suddenly found himself encased in musty, cramped darkness. His stomach sank when he realized what just happened—Aesir had trapped him in his hands. 

A feeling of intense vertigo overcame him as Aesir stood up straight; he felt himself being slammed against the giant palm beside him. Despite being very obviously trapped, Henry continued to squirm, searching in vain for an opening to crawl through. He pawed at the skin surrounding him, growing ever more desperate. 

And then a light shone through the fingers above him. “Stop being a brat,” Aesir muttered. Henry opened his mouth to retort, but his breath hitched in his throat when a sharp pain pierced his lower back. He let out a strangled sob, trying not to thrash around and hurt himself more. 

Aesir hummed contentedly. “There we go… nice and easy.” The needle retracted as quickly as it was injected. Henry took the moment of reprieve to dry his eyes and ease his pounding heart. “Told you it wasn’t that bad,” he chuckled. “Just be thankful it wasn’t worse.” 

Henry refused to reply—he focused on keeping his eyes locked downward. Aesir’s lack of empathy was beginning to unsettle him; although the giant paid lip service to Henry’s discomfort, he ultimately seemed to care very little about the pain and terror he was causing. 

Aesir, oblivious to Henry’s plight, lifted his hands to his face, staring down the sniffling, petrified human with unbridled excitement. “Well, now that you’re all drugged up, I figure we’re good to get your suit back on. Don’t want you freezing out here, you know.”

“Suit?” Ah, yes. They were in space, after all. It made sense that he should have to wear a spacesuit, even if they were indoors. “O–okay.”

Aesir pulled his left hand away from Henry, reaching for the nearby countertop. His hand returned quickly, dangling the white spacesuit with his index and thumb. “Legs up, bud. Let’s get you dressed.”

“I can do it,” Henry said quickly, knowing exactly where this conversation was going. 

“Yeah, nah,” Aesir chuckled. “Doctor’s orders. Now hold still this time, you brat.”

Henry huffed pointedly, knowing that he wouldn’t be getting out of this. With heavy reluctance, Henry slowly raised his legs into the air, allowing Aesir to slip the pant legs on, followed by the sleeves and the helmet. Unfortunately, the visor was cracked along the upper edge, but Aesir urged him not to worry. “The glass is three layers thick,” he explained. “You’ll be fine until we can get a replacement.” Surprisingly, Henry didn’t quite believe him. 

Henry had only just gotten the suit fitted (or rather, Aesir did the fitting for him) when someone suddenly spoke up. “Aesir.”

At the sound of the firm, strange voice, Henry flinched. His eyes landed on a figure standing in the corner of the room, dressed in a bulky green spacesuit. Henry couldn’t see her face—the light of the room reflected off the visor, obscuring whatever was behind the glass. Henry briefly imagined that she looked like a war veteran, stoic and hardened, probably with lots of scars decorating their skin.

“Oh, Svikari!” Aesir whirled around at the voice, clearing his throat and donning a lopsided grin. “What brings you here?”

“I came to see the human.” The woman, presumably named Svikari, barely budged as she spoke. It was like she was a statue with a voice of its own. “But I see you’ve taken care of things. I’ll be on my way, then.”

Aesir choked on something. “W–wait! Hang on a tic, alright? Why the hurry?”

Svikari cocked her head, acting as though Aesir’s question was incredibly stupid. “I have work to do. I came to see how the human was doing, and now I have to go.”

“Well, hang on,” Aesir stammered, fumbling over his words. “How about you come with me to storage today? I have to do some refuelling there.”

“I don’t have any tasks in storage today,” Svikari replied curtly.

“Come on, boss,” Aesir urged, lowering his voice. “It’s safer in groups. You know that.” He perked up a bit, raising his cupped hands. Not expecting to be jerked upward, Henry was almost launched off his palms. “A–and I know you wanna meet the human! He’s kind of bratty, but I think you’ll like him.”

Svikari paused. “Hello, human,” she said softly. “I trust you’ve been treated well?”

Henry hesitated. What was he supposed to say? He was tempted to start ratting off all the bruises he was getting thanks to Aesir, but he bit his tongue. Would he get in trouble if he told the truth? This Svikari character seemed far less sympathetic than Aesir, so perhaps there would be no point in complaining. They might even hurt him even more for speaking up. So he swallowed his pride and nodded slowly. “Y–yes, I am fine.” 

Svikari paused, glancing between Henry, who shuddered under her scrutinizing gaze, and Aesir, who smiled hopefully. 

“If you’re that afraid to go alone, I suppose I can come,” Svikari sighed. 

“I’m not scared!” Aesir retorted, tightening his painful grip on Henry. “I just don’t wanna get jumped in there.” Shrugging, Aesir once again prodded Henry in the stomach, chuckling as he did so. “I guess if an imposter shows up, I can use Henry as bait. You wouldn’t mind, right bud?”

Svikari laughed in reply, although something about her tone seemed… off. Henry wasn’t able to tell if the laughter was genuine or sarcastic. Henry said nothing at first, focusing on clutching his stomach to keep himself from throwing up. 

“I–imposters?” Henry finally coughed. “What are imposters?”

“Oops.” Aesir winced painfully. “Uh, well… we weren’t supposed to tell you.”

“I see no harm in explaining,” Svikari interjected. “If he’s going to stay here, he should know.”

“But Ms. Rose said—”

“I’ll handle Rose. Just keep your mouth shut.”

Aesir groaned, scrunching up his face in discomfort. “I mean… you’re the boss, dude. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. She’s scary when she gets mad.”

“Thank you, Aesir.” Svikari nodded, finally turning her attention back to Henry. “I assume Elliot never told you about the strange happenings on this base?”

“N–no.”

“I thought not. It’s in her best interest to keep this all a secret, after all.” Svikari folded her arms, exuding that terrifying, ominous energy that only giants were capable of. “Elliot probably told you that we found life on this planet. The life forms we discovered are what we’ve been calling imposters—carnivorous, man-eating shapeshifters that we’ve been trying to get rid of for the last few months.”

Henry felt his stomach drop. Carnivores? Man-eating? Shapeshifters? Someone had to be pulling his leg at this point. “Ms. Rose said you found plant life,” he countered quickly, not willing to believe Svikari’s wild claims. “She said nothing about aliens.”

“That’s because she was lying.”

“B–but why would she lie?”

“Telling people would be bad for business, I guess. Who knows what goes on in her head.” Svikari shrugged weakly. “Imposters have been wreaking lots of havoc lately. They kill the lights, mess with the reactors, cut off the oxygen supply… and I’m willing to bet they caused your ship to crash.”

“You’re right,” Aesir gasped. “I didn’t even think about that. They probably messed with the radio signals or something.” 

“We’re pretty sure we got rid of them for now, at least.”

“Don’t speak too soon,” Aesir corrected. “Remember what happened to Tor?”

“Of course I do,” Svikari huffed. “It took Bastion weeks to get the blood out of the carpet.”

Oh, dear god. 

There was no room for doubt, then. Henry began to tremble, tears causing his eyes to glimmer. What sort of cruel joke was the universe playing on him? After so long, he manages to achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut, only to find himself stranded on a faraway planet with malicious giants and man-eating aliens. Some malicious deity had to be laughing their ass off right about now. 

“Aww, don’t worry, little guy!” Aesir cooed behind his visor, bouncing the human seated in his hand. “Big bad imposter people can’t hurt you out here.”

While Aesir continued to coo condescending reassurances, bouncing his hand in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture, Svikari stared thoughtfully at the minuscule human. Henry had no idea what was going on in that strange head of hers. Henry simply gripped the coarse fabric of Aesir’s glove, trying his best not to descend into a full-blown breakdown. 

“We should be going,” Svikari said suddenly. “Let’s take care of refuelling so I can finish my tasks.” 

Aesir hummed in agreement. “Okay. Let’s go.” 

***

If Henry was being frank, which he usually wasn’t, he’d say that Polus was a bit… underwhelming. If he wasn’t looking at the dank, snowy, barren landscape, or the abnormally large scale of everything around him, Henry would truly believe he was still on earth. Still, Aesir seemed determined to remind Henry just how small he was at any given opportunity. He’d croon, poke, and tease him incessantly, despite Henry’s continual whimpers of disapproval. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Aesir to fill up the fuel tank in the storage room, which was a cramped little building in the centre of the base. Svikari decided to just follow Aesir around until all his tasks were done, with the promise that Aesir would return the favour afterward. 

Svikari offered to carry Henry while Aesir worked. The giant was visibly hesitant about this proposition, refusing the offer the first few times Svikari asked. But eventually, Aesir relented, and Henry had been relegated to riding in Svikari’s hands. Henry sat in silence, rubbing his newfound bruises absently. He briefly wondered if someone would give him painkillers if he asked, but he pushed the thought away. There’s no chance they’d even consider the idea. 

“Almost done,” Aesir announced after a while, leading the group down a long hallway. Small patches of snow crunched beneath their boots as they trudged along. “I just gotta check the oxygen supply. Svikari, what tasks do you have left?”

A beat of silence passed before an answer came out. “O–oh, I need to fill the air canisters,” Svikari said quickly, stumbling over her words a bit. “And then I have to upload some data to HQ.”

“Cool.” Aesir glanced behind him, eyeing Henry with a cheeky grin. “You good back there, pipsqueak? Need anything?”

“No,” Henry mumbled. 

Aesir laughed, unfazed by Henry’s sneering tone. “Alright, don’t get your panties in a knot.”

After his initial wave of terror had passed, Henry found himself becoming increasingly agitated. He was upset with Aesir for terrorizing him in the lab. He was angry at Elliot for sending him to Polus. And he was mad at Svikari, too. He didn’t have a reason to be, but darn it, he was mad anyway. 

Henry was broken out of his thoughts when something brushed against his shoulder—a thumb. “Hey.” Svikari tapped him gently, her head tilted to the side. “You look upset. Is everything ok?”

With her intimidating presence, Henry could barely keep his eyes on Svikari. His eyes drifted to the ground, locked into his feet as he replied quietly. “Yes.”

“It doesn’t look like it,” the giant prodded. “Did he... Did Aesir hurt you? You don’t look too good.”

Henry bit his lip nervously. “N–no, he didn’t.”

Svikari sighed. “You’re lying. I can tell.” She adjusted her hands, swiveling Henry around so he had to face her completely. “Tell me what happened.”

“I–I...” Henry backpedalled, scooting as far away from Svikari’s looming face. He found his back pressing against Svikari’s curled fingers, and through the shimmering glass, he could almost see two pleading eyes locked into him. “H–he didn’t mean to. I just... wh–when he tried to give me those medications, I tried to run away—”

“What?” Svikari frowned. “Hang on, back up. What medications? What are you talking about?”

“U–um, he didn’t say what it was. Maybe it was a painkiller.”

“...Did he use a needle? Was it a blue liquid?”

“H–how did you know that?”

Svikari fell silent. She glanced towards Aesir, who was walking a ways ahead, and her muscles tensed. “That wasn’t a painkiller,” she said lowly. “It’s an experimental drug that our old medical chief was working on. We aren’t allowed to use it until we test it, since it killed our test subjects a few days ago. Aesir seriously could have killed you.”

Henry’s heart dropped into his stomach.

“I knew something was fishy,” Svikari growled, her grip on Henry tightening slightly. “Aesir was just an intern until our old medical chief got killed by impostors. No one thinks he’s cut out for the position, but we don’t have anyone else who’s even remotely qualified.”

Silence overcame them for a few minutes.

“Aesir,” Svikari finally called, a hard edge lining her voice. “Can we talk?”

Aesir stopped in his tracks. He turned to Svikari questioningly. “Hey, boss. What’s up?”

“About that drug you were working on... Have you tested it lately?”

Aesir paused, tapping his foot as he descended into thought. “Hmm... No, I don’t think so. Not since the rats died on me.”

“I see.” Svikari huffed indignantly. If she weren’t holding Henry, she most certainly would be crossing her arms. “So you haven’t used it at all since then?”

“Nope.”

“That’s funny,” she laughed. “Because I’m pretty sure you used it on the human this morning.”

Aesir’s arms and shoulders locked up.

“Am I right?”

“...Did he tell you that?”

“No, I figured it out.”

“Oh.” Aesir looked down at Henry, a faint scowl crossing his face before he turned his attention back to Svikari. “Don’t tell anyone,” he breathed. “Please. I could get fired.”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” Svikari snapped. “You weren’t worried about killing him? God, it’s just like you to pull a stunt like that. You only care about yourself.”

“I–it’s not like that, boss. I promise.”

Svikari groaned, rubbing her face with her free hand. “I won’t tell anyone. But you have to get your act together or I’m bringing this issue to the captain.” Her fingers curled inward, shielding Henry from Aesir’s view. “And until then, I’m revoking your jurisdiction over the human. He’ll be accompanying me from now on.”

“But I—”

“Is that a problem?”

“N–no, ma’am,” Aesir replied shakily. “You’re the boss.”

“Good.” Svikari nodded firmly. “Now, then... let’s finish our tasks before I change my mind.”

Aesir nodded, ducked his head, and continued walking in silence. His footsteps clomped much faster than before, but Svikari continued at her usual slower pace.

“I’ll take care of this, Henry,” she whispered. “Don’t worry.”

Way to make an impossible request. Henry wasn’t just worried—he was terrified. Not only did Aesir try to make him a test subject for his weird new drug, but now he had to face the wrath of the very giant that could have killed him. The only thing standing between himself and Aesir was Svikari, who Henry wasn’t even sure he could trust.

Svikari probably meant well. At least, Henry wanted to believe that. But something was off about her that Henry couldn’t quite pinpoint. The way she carried herself, her odd way of speaking, her constant bouts of silence… She was weird. No one would deny that.

But there was something else. Svikari wasn’t just strange—she was downright creepy. She obviously knew much more than she was letting on, and Henry couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d met her somewhere before. 

And then a thought struck him. 

Henry craned his neck up to look at Svikari’s visor, and through the glass, he could almost spot the outline of two large eyes. “How do you know my name?” he asked. 

“You told me earlier, remember?”

“No, I didn’t. I never told you my name. Neither did Aesir.”

“Oh.” Svikari slowed to a stop. She glanced at Aesir, who was too far ahead to hear them conversing. The giant huffed and lowered her voice, a frantic tinge lining her words. “I’ll… I’ll tell you later.”

“No. Tell me now.” Henry wasn’t sure why he felt so brave all of a sudden; maybe he was fed up with being constantly treated like a child, or maybe he was just experiencing an adrenaline rush. But he felt he had nothing else to lose at this point—Henry wouldn’t be giving up until he got an answer. “What’s your deal?”

“Deal?” Svikari laughed nervously. “I… I don’t have a deal. I’m just Svikari.”

Henry found it a bit strange that Svikari was caving so easily to his interrogation. She had no problem shutting down Aesir, so why was she losing face in front of a human? It made no sense. But Henry was beginning to put puzzle pieces together. Svikari knew Henry’s name. She was invested in keeping him safe. She was able to tell when he was lying. And here she was, her tail tucked between her legs, being verbally grilled by a human being. 

This Svikari person… seemed awfully familiar.

“Are you?” Henry glared daggers at Svikari’s visor. “Because I don’t think you’re telling the truth. Is that even your real name?”

“It’s—!”

 “Tell me the truth!” Henry hollered, throwing his arms to the air in frustration. “I’m tired of being babied! I’m tired of you two hiding things from me! Tell me the truth right now!”

“Okay, okay!” Svikari hissed. “Keep your voice down, alright? I don’t want Aesir listening.”

At that, Henry sobered a bit, tossing a cautious glance at Aesir walking ahead. Luckily, he didn’t seem to have heard anything. “So out with it,” Henry snapped, facing Svikari with a scowl. “What’s going on?”

“...You were onto something when you mentioned my name,” Svikari said slowly, every word hushed and deliberate. “Just so we’re clear—my real name is Svikari. But you wouldn’t know me by that name.”

“You used another name,” Henry finished, the dots finally connecting in his mind. “When you talked to me.”

The giant’s empty hand falling limp at her side. “I… I was hoping we’d get to see each other on peaceful terms, and… I wanted it to be on Earth, to be honest.”

Henry swallowed hard. “You… You’re Sigrid.”

Svikari smiled, trying her best not to look intimidating. “It’s nice to meet you, Henry.”

“This is impossible. I–it can’t be you. You’re a—”

“You fellas good back there?” Aesir called, swivelling his head around to peek at the pair. “Sounds like a real bout you’re having.”

Svikari cleared her throat. Her hands lowered, taking Henry out of her field of vision. “We’re fine. Just keep going.”

Aesir simply shrugged. “Alright.”

The group hooked right when the hallway abruptly ended. They found themselves standing before a small room secluded in the corner of the building. Something akin to grass lined the ground, and a large, towering tree stood proudly in the centre of the room. Embedded in the trunk of the tree was a small monitor, complete with wires looping in and out of the bark. While he couldn’t be certain, Henry wagered that this was the oxygen supply Aesir mentioned, although he didn’t expect the oxygen supply to be a plant of all things. 

“This won’t take long, ma’am,” Aesir stammered as he stepped into the threshold of the room, bending over to peer at the monitor. His face contorted into an expression of disgust. “Yeesh. Who messed with the RAD settings?”

“Beats me,” Svikari hummed.

“Whatever... Hang on, I just gotta fix this mess real quick.” With that, Aesir fell silent, sliding his fingers rapidly along the screen. Svikari simply stood nearby and waited, while Henry fidgeted anxiously. He couldn’t get their earlier conversation out of his head. Svikari’s words—or rather, Sigrid’s words—echoed in his brain, rattling his thoughts around. 

Svikari, meanwhile, was extremely quiet. Henry gazed at her, opening his mouth to ask a question, only to have a giant finger press against his mouth. Shh. 

Henry blinked, a little unnerved by how Svikari was acting, but nodded slowly. Svikari lifted her head and peered at Aesir, who was still focused on the monitor screen. Then, moving as slowly as possible, Svikari knelt down and tilted her hands, sending Henry sliding onto the grass below. 

It took Henry a moment to orient himself. He diligently wiped off the grass that clung to his suit and looked skyward just in time to see Svikari approaching Aesir from behind. The human watched intently as Svikari snuck up on Aesir, a kitchen knife clutched tightly behind her back, wondering what she was up to.

… 

...A kitchen knife?

Before Henry could even think to look again, he was subjected to the sound of a hideous squelch. There was a flash of red, a pained grunt, and suddenly Aesir collapsed to the ground, motionless. 

Svikari loomed ominously over the limp body, her hand still latched onto the knife that she’d plunged into Aesir’s back. Murky blood was beginning to pool at her feet, staining the grass a horrid shade of crimson. And then Svikari’s head pivoted like an owl, boring her gaze into Henry. 

“Don’t scream,” she heaved.

“Y–you—” Henry’s hands flew to his mouth. “You killed him.”

Svikari faced Henry fully. She extended her hands slowly and carefully, taking cautious steps forward as she spoke. “I know. Just… please stay quiet,” she whispered as she drew closer. 

“G–get away from me,” Henry choked, stumbling backwards and throwing his hands up to protect himself. “Please, don’t— d–don’t kill me.”

“Henry!” Svikari suddenly exclaimed, speeding up and making a beeline for Henry. “Be careful, you’re going to—”

Seeing Svikari quickly approaching, Henry made the split-second decision to spin around and bolt. But by the time he noticed the gaping crater in the floor below, it was too late. His foot whizzed through thin air, and with no further fanfare, he tumbled down into the pitch-black abyss. Time froze—a shout echoed from above. 

Then he hit the ground. Hard. 

Something snapped. Henry yowled in agony. He found himself unable to budge without pain coursing through his battered limbs. Tears began welling in his eyes, but he fought the urge to sob—crying would make it hurt even more. Thankfully, his visor was still intact, although the same could not be said for his bones. He simply laid motionless on his stomach, his arms and legs spread out, praying he would just pass out already.

“Oh no.” Svikari’s voice echoed off the crater walls, but Henry couldn’t see where she was standing. Even if the human was able to move his head and look around, the darkness cloaked everything in the vicinity. There was no telling where the giant was, but she was close. “Henry… It’s alright. I’m going to help you.”

“N–no,” Henry hissed, weakly hacking out the taste of copper from his mouth. “Not like this. Please.”

“Stop that. You’re hurting yourself. Please… let me help.”

“But you killed—” Henry couldn’t restrain himself anymore. He began to cry softly, despite how much it hurt him to do so. Every sniffle was excruciating, wracking his body from the inside-out. “You’re an i–imposter, aren’t you? And you’re going to kill me next.”

“No no no, honey… I would never hurt you.” Svikari’s voice was right next to his ear at this point. A huff of hot breath washed over Henry, rustling his hair. Wasn’t Svikari wearing a helmet, though? How could he feel her breath? “Listen… you’ve gotta trust me. I’m going to get you out of here.”

Henry cast a bitter glance to the side, unsure if Svikari was even standing in that direction. “You’re a liar.”

Svikari didn’t grace Henry with a reply. Instead, two long fingers slowly and deliberately dug beneath his stomach and hoisted him into the air. Henry squeezed his eyes shut as he was pressed against Svikari’s chest. Maybe this would be quick and painless. He could only pray at this point.

“Let me think…” Svikari inched her way forward, snaking through the dark underground pathway so as to not jostle Henry too much. In his daze, Henry failed to realize that there was no way Svikari could fit into the crater, let alone move around freely. But the only thing he was focused on was making peace with his life, knowing that he was about to die at the hands of the one he loved more than anyone else. 

Suddenly, Henry was blinded by sunlight. Svikari had begun crawling out of another crater located outside of the building. The holes in the ground seemed to be interconnected. But how did Svikari know that? And where was she planning on taking him? 

Before Henry could voice any of these questions, a deafening alarm sounded from above. He looked up just in time to see a flashing red light next to a speakerphone attached to the roof nearby. “BODY REPORTED,” a voice blared. “ALL PERSONNEL TO THE OFFICE. REPEAT, ALL PERSONNEL TO THE OFFICE.” 

Svikari swore under her breath. She lifted Henry out of the crook of her elbow, quickly swooping him towards a pocket located on her chest. “I’m gonna need you to stay quiet for now, alright?”

Henry’s breath hitched, eyeing the pocket warily as his legs were swallowed by it. “Why do I—”

“Shh.” Svikari cut him off. “Just trust me. I’ll explain everything once I take care of this.” With those ominous words echoing in his head, Henry was once again plunged into darkness, trapped in the front pocket of her spacesuit. 

There was no way this would end well.

***

[lyrishadow]

Fictober 22: Not a Sole Survivor

Prompt 22 “and neither should you” Fandom: Mass Effect Title:  Not a Sole Survivor Pairing: Egan Shepard/ Kaidan Alenko Rating PG? _ mentions of PTSD, and the effects of it

They were on their way through the Kepler verge when the message came in. “Message from Alliance Brass, Commander” Joker called over the intercom. “Let me take it in my office.” Egan was tired, and it was evident he was going to have to respond to something.

“Commander Shepard, this is Admiral Hackett, we have some disturbing reports I would like your attention on. Alliance scientists have been being killed one by one. Commander, this … this may get personal for you. These scientists were working on a top-secret project on Akuze.” “What kind of project?” Egan asked, although he almost guessed what it meant immediately. “They were studying the thresher maw’s there.” “Oh.” “Shepard, we need to find out what happened to the scientists, but what you do with the information after you find out is up to you.” “Thank you for telling me Sir,” Egan replied swallowing the distaste in his mouth. Six credits say it was Cerberus. Eight says that the last scientist is expecting to pay for his crimes. However, he couldn’t figure out who the person was attacking the scientists. He had been the only survivor. He had seen no-one else and he had checked.

Egan walked out into the mess hall, dazed. Sitting down he put his head into his hands. It had taken him the few minutes from his quarters to here to figure out that this meant he had left someone behind.

“Shepard?” It was Kaidan who saw him, of course, since he had been checking the electronics in the sleeping pods. Everyone else was scattered and doing their own business this time of day.

“Ah, Hi Kaidan,” Egan said looking up, though for the world he wished he had a coffee to drink, a real one not the crap they had for traveling on these longer space trips. “Coffee?” Kaidan asked as if reading his mind. “Thanks.” “I was just about to have a break for an energy bar.” Kaidan did his best to be conversational “So do you mind if I join you?” “Huh?” Egan was not really paying attention, going over the names of his lost squad in his head. Kaidan placed a coffee in front of him and sat down opposite with his energy bar and coffee. “Earth to Shepard?” He asked raising an eyebrow when he got no response he said “Egan?” “What? Oh. sorry.” “What’s going on, I have not seen you this spaced out since…. Well in a long time.” “I got some information.” Egan said, “It… brings up some questions.” “Tell me?” Kaidan said pointing with his energy bar between bites. “You always said a problem shared is a problem halved, or some other crap, but you get the point.” “Yeah… Admiral Hacket called to ask us to look into the death of some Alliance scientists, well more than that, to look for the last scientist that is alive.” “Ok, that isn’t so bad. What is it that they worked on?” “Akuze.” “Shit,” Kaidan swore, as the information, and why Shepard was sitting there shell shocked sipping at a coffee across from him fell into place. “You are telling me it was… planned?” “It would appear so.” Shepard sighed “I’d bet anything that the scientists were part of a small black ops organization that later went rogue…” “Cerberus.” Egan just nodded. “Shepard, I’m sorry. It .. damn it… why would they do that?” “No idea… some misguided concept of what makes a good soldier.”Egan sighed, he would have to face this sooner or later. “I thought with all the counseling and rubbish I was over it. Like the past was done.” “It is, you just have to close it down.” Kaidan said, “and remember that the Geth also got attacked and eaten by the Thresher Maw.” “True enough.” Egan nodded, that had actually been a sight he was glad to see after they had killed a thresher on that one planet. “Kaidan,” Egan said swallowing the last of the coffee “There is one more thing…” “Ok?” “Someone has been killing those scientists. Someone with a grudge big enough to link to Akuze… “ Egan swallowed again “I think that means someone else survived…” “How?” “I don’t know, I checked for everyone, I have been going over it in my head, I went everywhere I could to check for everyone.”  Egan ran a hand over his head and around his neck as he often did when stressed or confused by something “I saw the Maw’s take several of the squad underground. No-one could survive that right?” Kaidan started shaking his head then stopped. It was possible, a slim chance. “I don’t know, maybe? It might be something? I know you checked Shepard, you don’t leave people behind if you can change a situation.” Egan swallowed. “I guess the only way to get answers, is to go there. Get ready to suit up Alenko, grab Tali as well we might need to hack our way into the building.” “Ok I got your back Shepard, you know that.” “I know. Thanks.”

They landed on Ontaron, a greenish planet with wide expanses of the ground and a little bit of water. Science was the only place here really, and as they approached the compound in question, it was surrounded by mercs. “Danmn it., Was hoping to not have to fight my way in this time.” Egan muttered after having a look through the turret on the mako. “Needs are.” Kaidan replied, “Maybe we can use the gun from here rather than getting in close?” “Let’s go. We won’t get far without getting rid of the mercs, and it is more or less what they signed up for.” Tali pointed out. So they dealt with the mercs and entered the building, Egan started to sweat a little in nerves as to what they would find. “Hell Egan, focus!” Kaidan said as he pulled him down just as a shot when wide overhead. “Damn sorry.” “One more room.” Kaidan replied, “Just stay focused on the here and now.” “Did I miss something?” Tali asked concerned. “Explain later.” Kaidan sighed, as he turned back to the fight, with a flare of his biotics that was aimed squarely at the guy who had fired at Egan. The room finally clear they moved on through the rest of the facility.

The three of them entered the backroom to find a merc with a gun pointed at a doctor. “Mr. Toombs, you’re insane, you need help!” the doctor was saying to the merc, trying to not get shot. “You don’t get to lie!” He shifted forward with the gun “You don’t…”  He turned as he became aware of other people in the room. “Shepard? My god… Shepard is that you?” “Corporal Toombs?” Egan gaped his mouth feeling dry as he tried to rationalize what he had seen to who was standing in front of him “But… I saw you die... I saw you killed on Akuze…How did you get here?” “They took me, Shepard, the Scientists.” Egan knew then what had happened, they had been a study, a project for the scientists to use them and see what happens with Thresher maws, and because Toombs had survived being dragged underground and bitten, they thought he was a special part of their project. “You can’t prove any of this!” the scientist turned to Egan “This man is delusional!” “I woke up in a holding cell!” Toombs continued “They were delighted I survived, now they had someone to run tests on.” “Toombs... I… I didn’t see you... I didn’t see anyone….I would have come back for you had I known, I swear!” .” You can’t believe Toombs,  he has no proof!” The scientist cocked his head up and looked at Egan  “I demand a fair trial.” “He was there! He knows the truth!” Toombs said forcing his way back into the conversation. “They are part of some organization called Cerberus, that run secret tests like this… they treated me like a lab animal!” “This man deserves to die, Shepard, For you, for me, for everyone in our unit.” He moved a little shifting his footing “Are you with me?” Egan felt Kaidan place a hand on his shoulder, as he swallowed the anger and chose to look at things rationally. “You are better than this Toombs, you aren’t like them” “Don’t tell me who I am! You got away with a few scratches and a scary reputation! The rest of the unit died and I was tortured for years!” Egan heard Tali gasp behind him “You can’t judge me, Shepard, you don’t have that right!” “Toombs, If I could have done anything to help you on Akuze I would have. I am sorry I couldn’t, but I can now. Let me help you.” A few moments passed before he spoke again, lowering the gun. “Okay, I am not a murderer, they couldn’t turn me into one. Just as long as he goes to trial.” Toombs holstered his weapon and covered his face “Maybe the screaming will stop now, I don’t know.” “These bastards can’t hurt you anymore.” Egan said heartfelt with a glance at the scientist “Joker, we need a pick up from the fifth fleet.” “You.” Egan moved aside so Kaidan could cuff the scientist - one of the joys of having authority in the galaxy. “Out of here now.” “Toombs…” Egan said to the man who shook his head “I am glad you survived, I know you don’t really know that yet, but you can do a lot to shape this galaxy.” “Shepard, you always were full of shit.” Toombs gave him a crooked smile. “I will keep an eye on you as always man, Take care eh?” “Thanks. You too? Please? Take all the help they offer. If you need anything, use my name and I will help you in any way I can.” Toombs just nodded. They had been friends once. “Just take care, Shephard.”

Egan managed to walk outside, and see the mako before going a little further and throwing up. “Egan?” “I’m ok.” He replied “Just…” “Shell shocked?” “I saw them take my entire squad…” he shook his head, “to find out it was Cerberus, and that they took and kept people as science experiments… I mean we kind of knew with Kohaku but…” “Boshtets.” Tali flung out as she came over “Cerberus are. Boshtets.” “Quarian swearing?” “Yes. Shepard, I am sorry.” Tali sat down next to him “I know this is ridiculously insane, and that you have a thousand things to think about all at once, but I am sorry I didn’t know. Didn’t take the time to find out.” “You heard of Akuze though?” “It is a name spoken in hushed whispers by your crew.” “oh.”Egan shook his head. “Let’s just get back, I could use a good night’s rest or more.” Kaidan frowned at him but didn’t say anything until they were back on the Normandy and Egan was again staring at a cup on the mess halls table. “You sure you are okay?” “As much as I can be.” Egan replied, “Definitely interesting things to tell my therapist when I see him and I don’t promise to be over everything. but having the scientist bought in helps enormously.” “Therapist?” Kaidan looked confused “The first time I have heard you mention therapist… oh.. You mean me?” Egan grinned his usual grin “Yeah, you always seem to scrape me up.” “I have heard a rumor it’s what friends do.” Kaidan replied, “plus I owe you for having a beer with a stray.” “Nah that debt was paid a long time ago. Does not mean you can’t do so, but yeah.” “Friendship is like that - give and take, you hear my issues and I hear yours. Both of us bring beer!” Egan grinned at Kaidan’s description of friendship, it had been pretty much this way over the years. “Egan, you let Toombs off the hook for this despair he had.” “Yeah, he was feeling guilt among everything else.: “He wasn’t responsible, and he isn’t alone anymore. He has support.; you didn't let him shoulder the guild for that” Kaidan took a deep breath “and neither should you.”

[bluepenguinstories]

Happiness Overload Chapter Fifty-Five

“Let’s see…” I pulled out a notepad from out of my pocket. It wasn’t there just a second ago. Never mind that detail. “Two down. Now who’s next?” I crossed out the two names that were on the notepad. Don’t worry, it wasn’t a death note. Well, it could’ve been, but that wouldn’t have made those two names very happy.

The first name on the notepad was pretty easy to take care of. All I had to do was tell them (well, him, sometimes her) that Conrad was proud of them. The second person was a bit harder. It was still worth it, I think, but damn, I sure had to pull some strings here and there to make it work. Exhausted, I made little mouths out of my hands. No, not literally (though was that possible?), just the kind of hand mouths you do when you do hand puppets.

“Who knew making people happy could be such work?” One hand asked.

“Yes! But so rewarding!” The other hand replied. On one hand, I could see that hand’s point, but on the other hand…

“It’s just exhausting, y’know? I’m human, after all.” I almost said ‘only human’, but I wasn’t only human.

“Yes! Happy Blanc is good Blanc! Happy friends even better!”

“Mm-hmm…yeah, I care about my friends. Though the first one we helped give a happy ending, Kelly Roger, I never really knew that well.” Conrad knew them better. I never really got to know Conrad that well. Not as well as a previous me, anyhow.

“Know or not, happy is good!”

“Can’t argue with that. Well, I can, but I don’t really care to.”

All the hand conversations didn’t get me anywhere. I was still wandering through those halls, passing by displays of odd little inventions. In a sense, I too was an invention. Well, in more senses than one. Would I want to be called an invention? To be honest, I’ve been called worse.

You could call me whatever you wanted to: guardian angel? Sure. Santa? In a sense, except I existed every day of the year. Hungry Hungry Hippo? I don’t see why you would call me that, but you could. Mostly, I was just a euphoric ball of energy. Well, if that ball was human shaped and that energy was concentrated in sending good vibes. The downside of the whole thing was that in the process, I sacrificed all my smarts.

All for the sake of good vibes! Also, fruit snacks. Yes, a necessary sacrifice if there ever was one. However, that too had been sacrificed. No fruit snacks. No gummy worms.

But these were not sad times! No! Given the circumstances, I should’ve been at least a bit sad, but I wasn’t. How could I be so happy considering I was aboard the ship of an all-powerful evil organization that I happened to be wandering around in because why not? It sure beat the alternative, which would’ve been hanging out on a dying planet. So, how then, could I be so happy considering I just left a dying planet with most of the people in it dead and I may never see home again? Wasn’t that sad, even just a little bit?

The answer was easy: I was happy because I was happy.

There I was, with a hop and a skip, and happy as a clam...chowder. Oh yeah. I forgot. Hunger was still a thing.

“Ugh, I need, like...what’s the term for food that makes you happy?” I pondered. “Junk food, right? Wait. No. It can’t be junk if it makes you happy.” Comfort came to mind, but that didn’t seem right, either.

I continued to brainstorm, but then I remembered that thinking didn’t make me happy, so I stopped and moved on. The nice thing about being so aimless was I couldn’t fail any goal if I didn’t have any goals to begin with. For the moment, all that I was concerned about was my growling stomach and finding something interesting. Okay, you could call that a goal.

Eventually, that aimlessness grew boring. Eventually as in within a few minutes. So I settled on the next room I came across and see what would happen. It was a long stretch before the next room, but when it finally presented itself, I lit up with joy. It was a lit room with the words on the door “Movie Study Room”.

With a name like that, how could I get bored?

Two of us against a horde of guards, soldiers, corporate security, whatever they may have been, one thing was for certain: we would be lucky to make it out unscathed.

Coriander had gotten her little laser backpack thing to work just before we had caused such a distraction. Bless that spice girl.

“They get knocked down, but they get up again!” Coriander seethed as she looked behind her. I did the same. Yikes.

“Wrong band. You’re supposed to tell me what you want. What you really, really want.”

“What?! This isn’t the time for jokes!”

Yeah. She was right. Especially because I didn’t have any means to defend myself. Though I will say it was rather refreshing to rely on someone else. Refreshing? More like depressing. What if she got hurt or killed or something?

“Hey!” I stopped. “I’m getting short of breath!”

“That’s your own fault! I didn’t choose to eat all that junk food before coming here!”

I turned my head. There were more coming. They were already within our sights and ready to shoot.

Through grit teeth, I uttered one word to Coriander.

“Fire.”

Multiple shots from the lasers hit the guards. Coriander, triumphant, turned to me with a smirk.

“How bold of you to give me commands.”

It was too late to think of a clever remark. I’d have to let her have that one. By the time she spoke those words, I was already running toward the fallen enemies, unsure if they were dead or alive, but taking a gamble all the same.

“What the hell are you doing?!” She balked.

“Being reckless!” I yelled my reply as I pried a large gun out from one of the guard’s hands. “I couldn’t let you do everything yourself, could I? That wouldn’t be any fun!”

More of those armored figures piled in. My hands shook as I pointed the heavy weapon toward them.

“I wouldn’t move if I were you. I bet I could fire this thing faster than you guys could lift a finger.”

Coriander cupped her hands “Bet!”

Oh, come on! You’re on my side! You’re not supposed to call my bluff!

“Prepare for ambush,” one of them spoke into their helmets, which I presumed had a built-in headset.

“Really? Come on, guys! I know you all got family and stuff and complex lives I’ll never know, but you’re mooks and I’m supposed to be the hero! Can’t you just play along?!”

They raised their weapons and I heard the sound of boots stampeding across the floor behind Coriander and I.

Ugh. I really don’t want to die like this. I mean, I know death was all but certain, but that doesn’t mean I want to get shot.

Coriander got behind me. Maybe she figured if she was going to get shot, she may as well let me be a human shield, first. How noble. I would’ve liked to believe I’d have done the same. In a loving way, y’know?

Still, that wasn’t about to happen. Not just “not on my watch”, but also because just as I said, death by gunfire wasn’t on my bucket list. So, in a last ditch attempt, I shot below us.

We both fell into total darkness.

Inside the room at a group of folks in lab coats staring at one of those old box TVs. Each of them looked my way.

“Hi guys,” I waved.

They all waved back. I walked past them and noticed an empty chair, so I decided to take a seat. Where I ended up sitting was a spot sandwiched between one Flashbulb member and what I had to assume was another one. Well, of course! But couldn’t I be more descriptive? Hmm…

The one to the left of me had a slicked-back hairstyle and star shaped sunglasses. Coincidentally, he also looked quite glum. To the left of me was a lady with auburn hair in one of those bob cuts. Or maybe it was in a bun. Actually, it may have been both. She had a clipboard in her hands and appeared equal measures friendly and abrasive. Just a first impression.

“How goes it?” She asked me.

“Oh!” I grinned. I wasn’t expecting such a warm welcome. “I was just passing by. Thought this place looked neat, decided to check it out.”

“What department are you in?” Was the next question in the interrogation as she tapped a pen against the clipboard.

“None, really. Well...when I first showed up here, I once told someone I was Dr. David Blaine and with the trash department. It was really just a lie, though.”

“So you’re someone who shouldn’t be here?”

I gave a hearty laugh with a sprinkle of a giggle.

“You could say that! I’m just visiting!”

The tapping grew more intense, but she didn’t look ready to break skulls, far from it. Her gentle, yet volatile demeanor reminded me of a certain someone who went back to her own home not too long ago. Ah, but I knew this person was different, of course! She wasn’t even wearing glasses!

“Well, while you should probably be dealt with, it just so happens that I’m not in any department who deals with intruders. So while you’re in here, I’d say you’re welcome to stay.”

“Cool. Say, you remind me of someone,” I pointed out.

“I get that all the time,” she waved her hand away and laughed.

“I bet! I’d get that all the time, too, if I were in your shoes. Though I doubt we wear the same size.”

We shared a laugh once again.

“Ahem,” one of the members in the room interjected. “Aren’t you going to evaluate our performances and tell us how we can improve?”

“That’s right,” she nodded.

“Oh? So that’s what you guys are up to?”

“Indeed. I’m Dr. Hepburn of the HR Department. These fine scientists were recently defeated by the inhabitants of the version of Earth they were tasked to improve. So I’m here to tell them where they went wrong and help place them in a new department where their skills may be better put to use.”

“That’s neat! But what’s that gotta do with watching movies?”

“So glad you asked! Wanna watch it with us?”

“Sure. I’ve got nothing better to do.”

One of the members of the defeated department got up and put a DVD in the TV’s built-in DVD player. As she went to sit back down, she held out her hand. I shook it. She may have been my friends’ enemies, but I wasn’t about to be rude!

“I’m Dr. Sodapop, by the way.”

“Oh! I’m...um...Dr. Pepper?”

There was no reason to say that since they already knew I wasn’t one of them.

“Well, I’m Blanc, but all my friends call me Dr. Pepper,” I backtracked. Note: none of my friends have ever called me that.

As the DVD booted up and the menu screen came up, it soon became clear what we were about to watch: Grease. Some musical movie with John Travolta that I never paid much mind. But hey, gotta appreciate the classics, I guess?

Dr. Hepburn grabbed the remote and pressed play.

The opening scene was one where a guardian angel visits one of the characters. I thought it was quite cute, and highly relatable, that was, until the guardian angel calls her a beauty school dropout. The next thing that played after a musical number was another musical number where two characters declare “you’re the one that I want”.

“See, this is where you guys went wrong,” Dr. Hepburn pointed out to them. “You thought you could turn people into zombies with ‘greased lightning’, but you forgot the power of ‘you’re the one that I want’. Rookie mistake.”

“Can someone explain this to me?” I stared at the screen and felt like I just took shrooms after thinking they were gummy bears. Just as I spoke, the credits rolled.

“Wait.” I blinked. “Is the movie over?”

Nope. Partway through the credits, there was a new scene.

“Oh, is this like one of those post-credit scenes in movies?” “Shh!” They all shushed me. All but Dr. Hepburn. She looked delighted to answer my question.

“Not at all, the movie’s just playing out of order, and we have no idea what the next scene’s gonna be.”

“It’s really the only way to watch movies,” added one of the other members. “I’m Dr. Rizzo, by the way.”

“Really? How do you figure that?”

“Well, by changing things around, it changes the whole movie and changes the meaning! We can discover new things we didn’t know before that way!” Dr. Hepburn once again answered, ever eager.

“I don’t know. I’m just confused.”

“That’s how it is at first; you watch one of these special editions and you’re a little lost, but then it starts to click and you’re like ‘this is the best movie ever!’ Ever since, I’ve grown to think that way about every movie I’ve seen,” another member added. That one, I learned, was Dr. Danny Zuko.

“I love this part!” One exclaimed. The part in question was Rizzo singing a song to what I believed was likely her love interest, someone named Sandra Dee.

“Wait. Is she Sandra Dee? I thought she was Rizzo.” I shook my head in confusion.

“You got it all wrong! She’s making fun of Sandy! They’re rivals!” One of the flashbulb members corrected me. Then another shushed me.

“Why would they be rivals? They’re in love, aren’t they?”

“No, no, no. Sandy and Danny are in love.”

“Can’t all three of them be in love, and y’know…?”

“Love triangle?”

“Ew, no. I mean, they could all be in a poly ship, y’know?”

“It’s set in the 50s.”

“So? It’s a movie.” One of them looked about ready to get up and deck me, but Dr. Rizzo stopped them. “Let them finish,” Dr. Rizzo told the other member. “They might be onto something.”

That’s when it occurred to me that some of these scientists were named after Grease characters.

“Actually, no, that was all I had. Sorry to let you all down.” I wasn’t really sorry. There was nothing to be sorry for. “By the way, you guys got popcorn?”

“HOLY FUCK!” Dr. Danny Zuko cried out, shocked. After a few heavy sighs, returned to a normal, room temperature voice. “We forgot the popcorn.”

Dr. Hepburn paused the movie, then turned to Dr. Sodapop. “Will you make us all some popcorn with your popcorn materializer?”

“You mean a microwave?”

She smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll grab a bag. One sec.”

After approximately two minutes and forty-five seconds (approximately. No one was counting), Dr. Sodapop returned with popcorn. I grabbed a handful and shoved it in my mouth. Crunch was the sound it made, though it came off as more of a “cronch”.

“We good to continue?” I asked, my voice muffled by the buttery goodness of microwaved popcorn.

“Mm-hmm,” everyone hummed in unison, then Dr. Hepburn pressed play. That I had no idea what was going to happen next was exciting in a dumb way.

But more than that, it was nice to have company.

Up above, there was a faint light. Such a light was already faint when we were closer to it, but down below, we were like a speck. I reached out and felt flesh. Now, if you’ve known me by now, you’d known I could be somewhat of a gambler. So when I reached out to hug the flesh that I felt, there was a likely chance that I was about to hug a corpse.

“Ugh! Get off of me! I can’t see a thing!” Came the lurid voice of one spice that could have tasted like dish soap depending on who was doing the tasting. To me, she tasted just fine, though.

“It’s good to see you! I thought we were both goners!” I squeezed her.

“Well, I can’t see you, so maybe we’re both dead right now.”

“No, no!” I pointed up, a gesture that was rather pointless when we couldn’t really see each other. “Look up! There’s a light! We fell! We might be...in the void of space...or...the void of the space between spaces!”

“So what you’re saying is, we’re dead? Wait. You said ‘til death do us part’. If we’re both dead, does that mean I can just walk away?”

“Nu-uh!”

She got up, pulling me up with her.

“I’m teasing. It’s clear we’re still on the ship.”

She flicked a switch on her little laser backpack thing and lights lit up. Once she did, I could see her cute face with that blue hair I loved to rustle and behind that head of hair was a wall. I went up to the wall and knocked on it. Yep. We were still on the ship.

“Turns out there’s multiple floors. That’s one mystery solved!” I snapped my fingers.

“Ever the optimist,” she groaned. “So what’s the plan now, smart one?”

“Wanna cuddle?” I suggested.

She shook her head. “Those armed guards will probably show up down here any minute. Though I don’t know why they haven’t already. If anything, what we should be doing is getting a move on.”

Aw. But she was right. I knew that going in. It may take a while before we even got a chance to catch our breaths, let alone eat or sleep.

We walked down the halls until we heard someone’s voice nearby.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

Instead of a person, what we found instead was a spare radio. Coriander picked it up.

“Yes. Those two intruders were shot dead. All clear,” she held her hand over the radio and turned to me. “We have to play along.”

“Oh. Uh. Good job? Shit. Um. Wrong number? Jeez. Okay, get it together. You can do this.”

“Is there anything you need to tell us?”

“Us? There’s more than one person there? Fuck. I stepped into this one, didn’t I? Good going, Juniper.”

My eyes widened. I just about let out a gasp.

“No, never mind me, you guys,” she continued. “You guys are probably all busy, what with your intruder killing and all.”

I snatched the radio out of Coriander’s hands.

“Hey Juniper! It’s us! Red and blue!” I yelled into the radio, unable to contain my excitement.

“Red and blue? Wait. That voice! Hey guys! I missed you!”

Coriander grabbed the radio and pulled it out of my grasp, then stuck her tongue out at me.

“Yeah, we missed you too. ‘Sup?”

“Oh, um, I’ve been fine!”

I leaned over Coriander’s shoulder and yelled. “ARE YOU OKAY? YOU’RE NOT HURT, ARE YOU?”

“Ow,” Coriander hissed. “You’re leaning too hard.”

“Oof. Sorry,” I backed away.

“Well...there was that part earlier where this guy tried to kill me with a metal bar and apparently put my brain into a computer…” she laughed. “Oh, but I’m fine now!”

“That’s not something you should laugh off, you know,” Coriander scolded. Well, hard to call it a “scold” as I could tell there was a hint of worry in her voice.

“But I’m fine, really. No need to worry. Verse came and saved the day.”

“Right, I think she mentioned something like that when we talked over the radio. Wonder what happened to her.”

“She went home. It’s all good now, I think. Well, I’m not sure. It seems like she’s got a lot to work through, but I’m glad for her.”

I felt like drawing a sigh of relief that she said ‘glad’ and not ‘happy’, for Coriander’s sake. Although she seemed fine, it may have still been a sensitive word for her.

“Yeah, us too. If nothing else comes from this suicide mission, at least we managed to help one person.”

“Nonsense! I’m not counting you guys out!”

“Okay, thanks. Just for that, let’s disregard our odds for now. You are safe now, right?”

“Well, I am in a bit of danger, actually…”

Oh shit. My mind and my heart raced together to see which one was faster.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, you see...I got roped in with the Medical Department and apparently I’m now a sub for this head nurse called Dr. Nightingale and she’s like really tough and kind of domineering.”

“She hasn’t hurt you, has she?”

“No,” then her voice got quieter, though I could still hear her. “But I kind of want her to…”

Coriander slammed her palm into her face and shook her head. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke once again into the radio. “Juniper,” she groaned.

“Yes?”

“Don’t call again unless you’re actually in trouble.”

She hung up before Juniper could so much as make a sound. Once she shoved the radio into her pocket, she began walking again.

“What? What was that all about!” I threw my hands up as I tried to keep pace with her.

“That woman’s beyond saving,” she grumbled.

“That was still rude! I think...I’m not really sure? Anyway, if she picks up again, you should apologize.”

“Sure. I ought to just accept that everyone we meet ends up being ridiculous in some way.”

“That’s right!” I snapped my fingers. “But we should still try to help them anyway!”

Right on cue, static came in from the radio. Coriander picked it up.

“Look, I’m sor--”

“Hey guys, it’s me, Casablanca.”

In other words, it was Blanc.

“Now, technically I shouldn’t be able to speak with you guys right now. I don’t have one of these things, and I’m in a room with other Flashbulb members. Also, I’m not moving my mouth right now. But if you disregard all those things, we can have a nice chat.”

Coriander handed me the radio. “It’s your ridiculous friend.”

“You mean ‘our’ ridiculous friend,” I corrected her.

“I don’t remember getting custody of them when we got together.”

Together. To + get + her = I got her. Wow. I was speechless.

“I just wanted to let you two know that technically, all the other guards should be able to hear you.”

“What?!” Both Coriander and I were in shock.

“Well, I say technically, because they didn’t. I pulled a few strings here and there to make things easier for you. Anyway, best of luck out there!”

“How’d you do that?” I asked.

“Oh you could call me an ‘Angelus Ex Machina’. Because if you think about it, this ship is one big machine. Anyway, peace!”

“Uh...okay...bye?”

I handed the radio back to the one I was together with. “Okay,” I relented. “That part was ridiculous, I’ll admit.”

With that little distraction behind us, we moved on.

So here’s when things got weird:

Rizzo had a pregnancy scare. That was the scene we were on. I had even more questions.

“So let me get this straight: Sandy, Danny, and Rizzo, are all in a relationship. But then Rizzo is also in a relationship with Kenickie, but then Danny is also in a relationship with Kenickie.”

“You got it all wrong,” Dr. Frenchie corrected me. “Rizzo is in a relationship with Kenickie and Danny is not in a relationship with Kenickie.”

“That can’t be right,” I shook my head. “You saw the way Kenickie and Danny acted toward each other. I don’t even act that way with my best of friends. They’re totally seeing each other.”

Later, as the film went on in its own way, Frenchy (the character) appeared, and was alongside one of the other T-birds. It seemed like all the T-birds went with the women in the Pink Ladies group because they felt pressured to by society. In every other scene, they acted more intimate than each other than the ones the movie insisted they were paired with. That got me thinking…

“Fellas,” I asked the male Flashbulb members in the room. “Is it gay to form a group of all guys and call yourselves the ‘T-Birds’?”

“Hmm…” They put their hands on their chins and wondered. “Yeah, a little bit,” one of them spoke up.

“Ladies,” I turned my attention to the female members. “Is it gay to form a group of all girls and call yourselves the ‘Pink Ladies’?”

“Hmm…” They also put their hands on their chins. Then, Dr. Hepburn raised her hand up and smiled a triumphant smile.

“Maybe they are all bisexual?”

“Bisexual and poly,” I agreed. “Yes, that seems to be implied with the way Kenickie is seeing Danny and Rizzo, and Rizzo is seeing Kenickie and Sandy. Then Sandy is seeing Rizzo and Danny. It’s all connected.”

Upon drawing my conclusion, the rest of the credits rolled as if to signify that my hypothesis was correct. Everyone clapped, me included. It felt like we had all cracked the secret code of the movie.

“Well, that was a fun movie, you guys. Thanks for the popcorn, too!”

“Don’t mention it,” Dr. Hepburn waved her hand away. “It was our pleasure.”

“By the way, while I’m here, what is it your guys’ department did?” I looked around.

They all shuffled their feet. “Ehh…”

“I can answer that,” Dr. Hepburn, always so reliable, spoke up. “They were part of the Population Department.”

“Oh yeah!” I perked up. “I think I recall them when I last infiltrated here!”

“Ohoho, how notorious! Well, those fine folks thought they had a population problem. Or rather, another department thought there was a population problem in the far future in one of the many timelines. First, they thought there were too few people. So they cloned everyone, and named all the clones Katherine. The naming was actually my idea,” she put her hand over her chest. “I’m named after Katharine Hepburn. With an ‘a’, but those ones with with an ‘e’. Go figure.”

“Oh, so you helped!”

“I gave them a little inspiration with the naming. You see, whenever others would see the name ‘Hepburn’, they would think of that other actress. Like, hello? Audrey who?”

“I know, right! I don’t know anyone with that name!”

“Bless your heart for that! So anyway, later on in the further future, I think it was the year 8008135? They had a different problem: too many of the people were clones of each other and there was too many people in general.”

“Wait. How do you define ‘too many people’?”

“That’s a good question!” She jotted that down in her notepad. “Well, they thought there were too many people. It’s rather odd speaking in past-tense, since here we are, in the past, but to these fine folks, those events were their past. But to the Katherine-verse, that’s a very long time from now. Well, there is no ‘now’ or ‘later’ considering where we are.”

“Yeah, I never did have a good sense of time in the first place.”

“That’s okay. Most of us here don’t. Anyway, they came up with the idea of turning all the Katherines into zombies to lower the population back down, and they’d turn them into zombies by triggering a transformation via a rendition of ‘Greased Lightning’. In the end, they were defeated by a rendition of ‘You’re the One That I Want’ and all the zombies were turned back human. But before the rendition, they did manage to reduce the population by ten percent.”

“So not a total loss,” Dr. Sodapop added.

“Basically you committed genocide,” I spoke up. “Eugenics and genocide.”

“Well, it sounds bad when you put it that way.”

“And again, how many people are too many? Who gets to decide? For that matter, why did you think that there were too many people? Just seemed like a big number, and you wanted a smaller one?”

“Well, first it was too small…” One of them began. I didn’t bother naming or knowing who.

“Okay. How much is too small? Who are you to decide what the right amount is?”

“We’re scientists! We have seen the past and the far future!”

“Hmm...yeah, I getcha,” I nodded. “But have you considered those were human lives? Also, ten percent is no small number.” “Indeed! That’s why it wasn’t a total loss!”

“Also,” another added. “They were all clones of each other meant to repopulate the earth after the numbers were too small, so technically they weren’t even that important in the grand scheme of things.”

“But try explaining that to one of them. Were any of them consulted? Did they agree to forcibly turning into a zombie to kill each other just to reduce their own population? Like, on an individual level, personally, I don’t think I’d want to turn into a zombie. Stardust, maybe. An angel, sure. But a zombie? Hmm...no.”

“What is a human life, anyway?” “We’re more concerned with the population as a whole than the life of one person, given that we are, or were, the Population Department,” further explained Dr. Sodapop.

“Now, now,” Dr. Hepburn stopped me before I could rant any further. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure why I was so worked up. Maybe it was some kind of personal kinship with clones, seeing as I was one, myself. “You shouldn’t expect too much from them. They’re not from the Ethics Department.”

“What? There’s an Ethics Department?”

“Indeed,” Dr. Rizzo spoke up. “They’re the only team of ethical scientists The Flashbulb has. Though the problem is, they’re only concerned about the ethics of their own department.”

“Mm-hmm. It seems to be a problem with micromanagement as a whole. I may have to put a comment in the suggestion box the next time I’m in the area. Though that suggestion box is about 500 kilometers away from here. So it may take me a while,” Dr. Hepburn muttered as she wrote more notes in her notepad.

“Well, you guys, it was nice to hang out with you all, even if most of you are mass murderers, but I’m bored, so I must go.”

“It was a pleasure to have some company,” Dr. Hepburn bid me farewell. That’s when I remembered.

“Oh yeah, company! Just so you guys know, I’ve got some friends here who are looking to take you guys down.”

“Interesting...which department?”

“All of them!”

I decided to stay seated. If I was going to dump more exposition, I may as well. Much to my (lack of) surprise, everyone in the room laughed.

“I wish your friends best of luck, but if they really wanted to secure their chances at some kind of victory, I’d suggest they focus their efforts on one department and call it a day.”

Each of the members chatted among themselves and seemed to agree with that notion.

“Yeah, I agree that would probably be the best course of action, but that wouldn’t really do my friends any good. The department that wronged their Earth is already gone.”

“Oh? What department was that?”

“The Morale Department! It was really quite fun, too! But then something happened and I guess you could say it all...overloaded...eh? Eh?”

“Ah, yes. Such a shame, that department. It seemed to be a success story, too.”

I can attest to that. I was both a success and a failure. A mistake. A happy accident.

“Now everyone’s gone crazed and the world’s destroying itself. Sound familiar?” I asked around.

Everyone looked at each other and shuffled their feet. Nervous glances were shared.

“Sorry about your Earth,” Dr. Hepburn waved her hand. “But about your friends, such a feat would take them a lifetime, if not several lifetimes. I have trouble just getting to my office most of the time. Besides, there’s all the logistics to consider. What will they do once they defeat us?”

“Beats me. Don’t know, don’t care. It’s their story, not mine. I’m just here to cheer them on.”

“What a good friend you are,” Dr. Hepburn did her little pen tap. “Just a little bit of advice for your friends: however they end up going about it, they should avoid the Arts and Crafts Room at all costs.”

“Room? Not department?” I was confused as all hell, but what else was new?

“Hm. Was it Arts and Crafts or the A/V Club? Sorry, I’m a little fuzzy on the details,” Dr. Hepburn bowed her head and I shook mine in turn.

“Don’t worry about it!”

“Rest assured, I won’t. Though I do wonder how it may happen some day. We’ve made great strides towards bettering humanity and give us another five, no, ten universes, and I’m sure we’ll get it right. Then, everyone will live in the ideal world, whatever that may look like.”

“Sure, but no matter how you look at it, you guys are the villains.”

“It’s all a matter of perspective. From our perspective, we’re the heroes, and those who try to stop us are the villains.”

“I’m sure I could see things that way, if not for the fact that such things like genocide and enslavement are pretty villainous if you ask me.”

“Maybe so. Nobody’s perfect, after all. But we’ll be perfect eventually.”

“Unless you guys are defeated, that is.”

She smiled and nodded.

For what it was worth, I really did appreciate the time spent with all of them, even if I admit I got a little heated there. Oh well, what could I say? I still cared about some things. Probably.

I got up out of my seat. It seemed like the right decision. There was only so much sitting and chatting I could do before I started to grow restless. I imagined the same thing applied to Euphoria, although she/they had the luxury of both being able to sit and chat and be everywhere at the same time. Me, I had to take the stairs.

“Well, at least your friends aren’t relying on any supernatural stuff, like we had to deal with,” Dr. Danny Zuko lamented. “The ones who defeated our department somehow contacted their alternate universe selves, with NO EXPLANATION AS TO HOW and then their alternate universe selves came over to our Earth and both versions ended up defeating our horde of zombies through SONG. Ridiculous, I know.”

“For sure,” I was stunned in my tracks. Every inch of me filled with goosebumps. “I thought there was a rule that if an alternate self goes to a different universe, the self in the other universe ceases to exist. Either through dying or by never having existed in that universe in the first place.”

Dr. Hepburn tapped her pen against her cheek. “Yes, indeed. That’s a universal rule that most departments in the company agree upon. However, maybe it didn’t apply to the Katherineverse?”

Sure. We were just going to call it that, huh?

“How does that make any sense?”

“Well, it may be a universal rule, but that doesn’t mean it’s an all-encompassing one.”

“That or there’s some serious inconsistencies going on and I’d like to speak with the manager.”

Everyone looked at each other.

“But everyone in The Flashbulb is the manager, technically,” Dr. Hepburn explained. Then, her eyes widened and she held her pen up. “Oh! Maybe you mean Grandmaster Flash!”

“Grandmaster Flash...I wonder if I’ve heard that one before somewhere?”

“Oh yeah. Everyone wants to be Grandmaster Flash, but so far the only Grandmaster Flash is the Grandmaster Flash and no one has met Grandmaster Flash.”

“But haven’t you spoken with the Grandmaster Flash before? Surely, you, being in HR, must mean that you’re pretty high up on the corporate ladder.”

“Erm...no. Not at all! I’m more of a glorified advisor, but even then, all I do is give advice. Most of that advice gets written down and put in a suggestion box and then none of the suggestions are implemented! But we can all learn something from our mistakes, can’t we? Like, maybe we should know why none of the suggestions never get implemented? Or maybe we should have a better means to give feedback. All things to consider.”

“So if you’re not one of the higher ups, who’s higher than you?”

“Everyone! But then again, is anyone lower than me, either? Hm...all things to consider now, isn’t it? I give advice and people listen, but my suggestions are never implemented.”

All trying to figure out how The Flashbulb worked did was make my head hurt, which also did not make me very happy. What would have made me happier was if I wasn’t so confused. Thus, I understood everything. But then I discarded all that understanding because I didn’t really care. Also my stomach growled.

“Right!” I snapped my fingers. “I forgot! I’m still hungry! That popcorn wasn’t enough! Can any of you tell me where I can get some food?”

“There’s the cafeteria,” Dr. Rizzo pointed out.

“Or, if you have a prescription, you can get something from one of the vending machines. But you’d have to go all the way to the medical department for that.”

I turned my head and smiled. “I’ll just see where I end up and go from there! Thanks guys!”

“Take care!” They all waved to me as I left the room.

As I departed, I wondered how Velvet and the spice of her life was doing. Not that I had to wonder, as if I was happy enough to know, I’d already know, but it also made me happy to wonder, so that was just as important.

What a predicament we were in. I began to laugh, which since my raiding partner couldn’t hear my thoughts, she probably thought I was laughing at nothing.

“When are we not in a predicament?” I mused in the midst of cackling laughter. “If what Blanc said was true, what’s even the use of these radios? And then, if we can’t communicate with each other if we get separated, what do we do? How are we supposed to protect Juniper if we can’t even reach her? For something so technologically advanced, I’ve noticed no cameras, no computer terminals to hack into. I feel really out of my element here.”

“Of course you would be. I tried to warn you before. Pretty sure others did too. This is uncharted territory for you and you figured you could just go in blind.”

“Yeah, well considering where we are at the moment, we’re quite literally in the dark.” There were other things to consider as well. Like where the path we were on would lead to, or if there were multiple paths we could take. Why those guards decided not to go down or shoot at us?

“I’m glad you can still find humor in spite of our situation,” Coriander retorted.

“Of course! You know me! I find ways to lighten up even the darkest of times.”

Coriander stopped. She turned around. “I know you alright,” she pointed up at me. “You use humor to deflect from whatever’s on your mind that you don’t want to deal with. So what is it that’s bothering you?”

“What isn’t?” I laughed again, but then sighed. “Everything’s coming to an end, isn’t it? I thought that there’d be a chance we’d have everything more figured out. Or that someone else would figure it out. I never really considered myself the ‘hero’ type or even a good person for that matter, but here we are, flailing about and saving the world just for the sake of it.”

“It really has been a long time coming, hasn’t it?” Coriander seemed to agree. “I mean, it doesn’t feel that long ago that a version of you and I were trying to kill each other, and now we’re here. Really, we had a lot of time to prepare, but the more dire things got, the more everything seemed to happen so much faster.”

“Aw, sweetie,” I patted her head. She swiped my arm away.

“I didn’t say you could do that!” She barked. “I’m just trying not to put you in a goddamn slump. Jeez.”

“Still, what if Verse was right?” I could already feel the slump coming. Please let me pat you more. “What if the best ending had already passed us by and now the only options left are imperfect ones?”

“What, that tired ‘you can’t save everyone’ rhetoric?”

“We already didn’t save everyone. Lots of people died. Most people, in fact,” I started to sigh once more. “When I look back, it’s like, have I ever really saved anyone?”

She stood on her tiptoes and held the hair over my forehead up, then kissed my forehead.

“Hey! How come I couldn’t pat your head but you get to do that?”

“Because the situation called for it. Anyway, you’re an idiot. First, I’m alive. Second, so is Verse. Also, there’s that alternate Blanc, but I don’t think you had a hand in that one, plus they kinda weird me out, not gonna lie. But also, even if you hadn’t saved anyone, that’s not really the point. Most people don’t save others. It’s, like, just not a thing. So just the fact that you managed to save a couple people is pretty impressive.”

“Gee, what would I do without you?”

“You’re plenty capable. Not sure why I need to remind you that.”

“Please remind me. Whenever I’m in doubt.”

“That may either be a lot of reminding or none at all, depending on how things go. But for now, let’s try to focus on what’s ahead.” I nodded.

On the subject of what was ahead, I spied some scrap metal on the floor. I thought of picking some up, but it looked far too heavy. Shame, too, as there could have been some use for them. Maybe it was for the best. More than anything, I needed my mobility.

As we were about to turn left through the hallway, we both spied a sign on the wall.

“Dead End – Turn back now,” we read aloud in unison. Coriander shone her light through the hall. It seemed to extend. I nudged her.

“It might be a dead end, but then again, it might not. We should at least keep going just to make sure.”

She nodded. We continued forward and saw another sign. That one read ‘You’re still here? Why?’ That same philosophical question had plagued my mind throughout my life.

Even still, we kept going.

That was, until we came across a wall. On the wall, the words ‘Told you so’ were written.

“I hate to say it, but –” “Then don’t,” she stopped me dead in my tracks. Well, what really stopped me was the wall, but I wasn’t about to turn back, either. No, because I noticed something off about the wall. Little chips against the corner of the wall. I took the gun I had stolen off of one of the guards and slammed it into the wall with full force. Chunks of the wall fell off and then both Coriander and I saw it: a keypad.

“What the hell? How’d you know there was a thing like that?”

I shrugged and gave a smug grin. “Didn’t, but part of that wall seemed off.”

She examined it and I leaned in close as well.

“There could be a safe behind this wall or maybe a screen will appear and a recording will play. Then again, the most likely scenario is that whatever purpose it may have once served, it no longer does anything now. What with how dark this place is, I doubt anything down here has power.”

No. That didn’t seem right. Considering how advanced and powerful The Flashbulb had been made itself out to be, seeing something so powerless and abandoned didn’t seem like them at all.

“There has to be something. We just have to find the right combination.”

“Good luck with that. Not like you can tell what the combo is just by looking at it.”

“Uhh...I’ll get a number seven, hold the fries,” I joked.

“I regret to inform you that this isn’t a fast food joint.”

I shook my head. Our banter wouldn’t get us anywhere. Though with a bit of luck, the number seven could have one of the numbers for the combination. Then again, it was so hard to tell. There were no indications as to which buttons were the correct ones, let alone, how many digits the combination was. Really, it wasn’t so much of a combination as it was a permutation, but potato pah-tah-toe. No one calls their locker codes ‘locker permutations’, do they?

“Come on, clock’s a tickin’,” Coriander’s voice invaded my mind. She was right behind me. Or beside me. There was no clock, not literally, but there was her foot, and it was tapped against the floor. Then it seemed like she began to tap her hand against the wall beside her. From my peripheral, she seemed to bob her head to and fro, as if listening to some music. Perhaps the music in her head?

Argh! This isn’t working!

But...but...I had to think of something, right? Right?

My thoughts drifted to biting my own fingers off. You know, for those times when the nails just won’t cut it.

Instead, I ran my fingers across the keypad and noticed some indentations. Sure enough, the indentations were made on four of the keys: 2, 4, 6, 8.

2...4...6...8...who do we appreciate? Hell if I know.

If my assumption was correct and the four indentations meant that it was a four-digit permutation, then while it sure narrowed things down considerably, that also left room for it to be something like 2,2,2,2 or 4,6,6,6. Which meant there were still 3024 possible permutations.

“I don’t want to be standing around here forever, you know,” I could smell her irritation even if she had been standing on a whole other planet.

“Fine! It’s...I’ve got this!”

I caught a glance of her behind me. She stood with her arms spread out to their sides.

“What are you doing?!”

“I’m exerting pressure. Are you feeling it?”

“Yes!” I grit my teeth. It wasn’t the time to be frustrated. Just as she said, “clock’s a ticking”. Oh. That was it.

I entered the code, then stood back.

After a single beep, the wall slid out and in its place was a door.

“How’d you know the right combo?” She asked.

“I went clockwise,” I explained.

“That tells me nothing!”

Upon the door was a series of text. Before we went through, we examined what it said. “Arts and Crafts Room and the A/V Club. Authorized personnel only. Abandon all hope.”

“Wasn’t that last bit a little melodramatic?” I scratched my chin.

“Yeah, I’ve abandoned all hope every since I was born, so that’s whatever to me.”

I laughed. “Abandoning all hope should be a prerequisite to arriving at The Flashbulb’s headquarters.”

We both shared a good laugh, and then went through the door. All we had to do was push it open a little and bam! We were in.

Into what, we had no clue. All around us was total darkness.

“We should hold hands just in case something bad happens,” I suggested.

“What’s wrong? Are you afraid of the dark?”

Something dropped onto the floor in front of us.

“What was that?!” She freaked out and grasped for my hand.

Spotlights began to shine down on us. Then, we could see a little better. First, what dropped on the floor? A popsicle stick. Near the dropped popsicle stick? An entire pillar, made out of popsicle sticks.

“For the record, I’m not scared! I used to sit and play video games in the dark all the time!” She let go of her hand and pointed at me.

“I mean, yeah, kinda same.”

Then, a voice from a megaphone came in.

“Hey guys! What are you two doing down here?”

We looked around to see that the voice in question came from above the popsicle pillar, where a lady with black hair in a bun (the key feature being a couple of popsicle sticks holding her hair bun together) was laying down on her stomach, her legs folded up and kicking in the wind. She looked to be painting on a piece of wood.

“Keep on your guard. She’s with them, so she’s probably really dangerous,” I whispered to Coriander.

“No shit,” she replied.

“Are you two new members or something? If so, please leave me alone! I would rather like to be focusing on my art right now!”

“Uhhh…” I didn’t know what to say to that.

“Actually,” Coriander jumped in. “We’re here to overthrow The Flashbulb and put an end to their bullshit!”

Oh no. Why’d you have to go...well, better her than me, I suppose.

“What a relief! I’m tired of those guys!” She kicked her feet and laughed. “Still, if you’re going to hurt me, please make it quick. Us interns are known to be cannon fodder.”

“Wait. You’re...an intern?” I was taken aback.

“Yeah! For sure! Well, I was. Kind of still am. You can call me Dr. Bob Ross! That’s to separate me from Dr. Ross, because if I went by that name, then people would associate me with Dr. Chandler and Dr. Phoebe. Wouldn’t want that? Or, when I’m making films, I’m Dr. Lynch! So...uh...take your pick!”

“I’m severely confused right now.”

“So you’re not our enemy?” Coriander seemed confused as well.

“Not unless you want me to be! Which would be quite the role to take...anyway, you’re in luck! Because I can help you two!”

“Really?”

Coriander and I both looked at each other.

“Maybe this Flashbulb member isn’t that bad.”

“Indeed!” She heard us. “They keep me locked away and everyone’s afraid of me, but that’s only because they’re afraid to get in touch with their artistic side! I only ever get food sent to me and art supplies, but that’s it. It’s quite the tragic tale, really. Especially how everyone thinks I’m evil.”

“If The Flashbulb is evil...and they think you’re evil...wouldn’t that make you good?” I pondered.

“Exactly! Art is the ultimate good!”

I started to smile. Maybe this Dr. Bob Ross, or this Dr. Lynch was just the lucky break Coriander and I needed.

[trashpandaorigins]

The Body Keeps the Score Ch. 15 Where We’re Going Where We’ve Been

You said it yourself bitch, we're the Guardians of the Galaxy." Gamora is finally a part of something. But the past always follows you, eats at you and she must come to grips with her deeds as she tries to build a future. Meanwhile Rocket has never cared much for anyone or anything. Together the two of them discover they are more alike than different and try to heal themselves by befriending the other.

*Content Warnings: Mentions of child/animal abuse, trauma, character death, physical torture/pain*

Title of this fic is taken from the book of the same title "The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma," by Bessel van der Kolk

Daughters sharpen their knives and they hunt for food, others watch their children grow

Mothers going to work, and they shake the hands of a corporate tycoon's ghost

And I'm afraid, ah, I'm so afraid

Ah, what if I lose?, is what I think to myself

I'm finding my shell, I’m afraid of it all, afraid of loving you

So Afraid - Janelle Monae

Back in the beginning when she and the others were newly taken, when they were still themselves, Gamora, Proxima, Nebula and the others dreamt of escaping. Each attempt was futile of course. No matter how strategic Proxima tried to be, no matter how thorough Gamora had surveyed the guards and goons. They were caught. On the eleventh and last attempt they’d been so close. Proxima was getting the stolen ship ready for takeoff, it was Gamora who insisted on waiting for their youngest sister. And when the cyborg girl-more her own flesh then metal at this point-finally had appeared, it was with Thanos. She had told him of their escape plan. That was the first time she had tasted the bitterness of betrayal.

Even now, walking the streets of Tarque with Peter, Drax and Groot she kept a lookout for Nebula. One hand on her sword, the other swinging by her side, ready to reach out and seize anyone who dared come close.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Peter whispered as they walked. His warm breath against her ear tickled, making her stomach flit pleasantly for a moment. “We’ll find some way to explain this to the Nova Corps, there must be a mistake.” Gamora only bit her lip, to have an ounce of Peter’s laid back attitude. I envy it. She forced a nod, maybe it would be okay. Maybe. Probably not.

“We killed their officers and destroyed their ships!”

She whispered back, inching just close enough to him.

“Yeah, well... I mean…”

His voice drifted off.

“Awe crap,”

“What is it?” Drax asked, turning to the two of them.

“Nah, it’s just that I wanted to look over which planets in the Keystone quadrant had Nova Corps bases but I left the little thingy back on the ship.”

“I’ll go,” Gamora immediately volunteered. She needed to clear her head, get some space.

“Gamora, are you sure you want to be walking around alone after our recent battle?” Drax asked, a concerned kindness she almost never saw from the man. She grinned, appreciatively.

“Thank you Drax, but I”ll be fine.”

The destroyer’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded after a time, conceding.

Gamora left the three of them, making down the winding thoroughfare back to the Benatar. Eyes scanning every which way for any sign of trouble.

The Nova Corps would know of the fight by now. They’ll notice that three ships did not come back and none of the officers….they’ll come after us. Kill us. Capture me. The thought of another cage made her heart quake with dread. Thanos, Nova Corps. A prison was a prison. She walked on, darting between people, examining them for any concealed weapons or motives. Tarque was small, but no less reassuring. Gamora looked behind her, every several feet, checking the alleys and shadowy corners. Looking up into the buildings and the ships that flew low above the streets. If she were here Nebula could be hiding anywhere, and so could Nova Corps agents.

Under arrest for endangering my crew? Preventing further harm to planets and peoples? I didn’t endanger anyone…. her mind rolled through the list of decisions, and arguments, and recent actions in the past few turns.Finally out of the throngs of people the orange, blue chrome of the Benatar stood out. Gamora breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked around her once more, palms sweaty. Jogging forward Gamora quickly punched in the codes and ran up the ramp of the ship, sealing the doors shut.

Calm down, breathe. In...out...you’re in the ship, which has more security systems in place than most prisons.

Still she did not let her guard down, peering around each corner and down every hallway towards Peter’s quarters.

Something creaked, Gamora’s heart spasmed a moment, instantly pulling out her sword instantly expecting some enemy.  Right, left….above...down.. something blinked:

Rocket’s data pad. That should have plenty of maps on it.

She picked it up fiddling with the thing. Something blinked, a hologram appearing on the screen.

“Incoming Message: Officer Vakrien of the Nova Corps.”

Her stomach dropped, knees swaying.

No….no he wouldn’t….not after everything they’d gone through. Even someone as selfish and greedy for units wouldn’t...  

Gamora selected the icon. The image of a helmeted Nova Officer appeared, reciting a pre-recorded message.

“Subject 89P13, your intelligence has proven most valuable. We are on our way to you now to apprehend Gamora. We appreciate your cooperation. We are transferring another  60,00000.00 units to you.. However, if your crew or yourself should attempt to hinder our arrest you will also be arrested. We look forward to your continued cooperation.”

The message ended with a static, the hologram of the officer going fuzzy and clicking off showing the blank screen.

He did….he... she swallowed, mouth dry. Her stomach turned with discontent. The wires beneath her flesh pricked and stung. The very arm which he’d taken such good care of now trembled. How dare he......after everything… Gamora gripped the data pad tightly, stuffing it into her pack. He healed me….he...cared…no. Thanos said he cared too, Thanos would heal her wounds occasionally, speaking sweetly as he did to comfort her, reassure her. Only to laugh as she was tested the following day. She warred with herself conjuring the image of Rocket dexterously fixing her wounds. The oddly soft way he’d spoken to her. Thanos whispered nice things too. Made me believe he loved me…. the memories of it threatened to drown her. She stormed off the ship. That miserable….rat! No, he’s not a rat. But... I thought he changed. No he hadn’t and she was fool enough to believe it.

Rage simmered, rushing into the place of raw sorrow and dejection. Betrayal. I trusted him…. she thought painfully.

Then, even worse the realization dawned on her:....... he was my friend.

She sniffed,  straightened and tightened her grip on her sword. Where is he? She bypassed the main street, slipping down alleyways. No wonder the treacherous rodent slunk away as soon as we landed. She walked with purpose, peeking into every bar window.

“How could I have been so stupid?”

How long had he been feeding the information? Since they left Xandar? Since they’d broken out of the Kyln?

“Evmon’s,” Gamora spotted the glowing sign across the way and dashed towards it, looking through the dirty window. There he is, the image of the raccoonoid illicit  an all consuming fury in her chest, weeping out of  the hurt and vulnerability. She pushed open the door, ready for yet another battle.

“You,”

Rocket turned slowly in his stupor. Already reeking and blinking slowly.

“You betrayed me to the Nova Corps!”

The words tumbled out, bubbling up from the place of self-loathing and hatred Thanos had so keenly exploited. Gamora shouted down at him, miserable wretch.

“Star-Shit?” He mocked cruelly, those foreign animal orbs eyeing her. He could see through her, into the feelings she harbored for Peter, he was trying to exploit them.

“Groot,” she corrected.

Make him hurt. He’s a monster….like Thanos and he manipulated you just like Thanos did. You fell for it. After all this time you fell for it.

“ I thought...we were a family after that. That we could be something better. Groot taught me that.”

It was true after all. The large flora had sacrificed himself for all of them, her and Rocket included. Though she’d hardly ever done anything to warrant such a selfless act. The longest she and Groot had ever interacted was when she’d lopped his limbs off.

I never apologized for that, she realized. But in this instance of hurt and betrayal she twisted that guilt back, spouting it upon Rocket.

“I guess his death wasn’t worth much after all. Not to you anyway.”  The words were out of her mouth before she could stop it. The drunk ringtail flinched, alien eyes narrowed.

“You were right Rocket. You are a monster. I’m sorry Groot didn’t realize that sooner. It would’ve saved him if he had.” The grief of it made her voice crack. The raccoonoid was not the only one who missed that calming, innocent, stable presence amid a very unstable life.

Rocket inhaled sharply, his bottom lip quivering. Something beamed within her, satisfied at his hurt. Good, she mused inwardly. He’d hurt her, terribly. But Gamora was never one to succumb to a blow. Oh no, she resolved, she’d beat him back and hit twice as hard because that was the only thing that had ever kept her alive.

“Your heart. You have none. The only thing that's there is a cybernetic pump. No different then this tap,”

The ringtail spluttered for words, mouth agape. His usual blustery demeanor now diminished. Wounded.

“Shut up! You don’t know what the flark your talking about!” He tried to defend, but it was no good. Gamora huffed, eyes wild.

“I saw the scans Rocket. You had them saved on your data pad. You want to know what was in there? A metal pump with wiring connected to your main circulatory system. There’s no heart. Just a machine.”

 The lie was out of her before she could stop it. Of course she’d seen a passing file on the data pad labeled “89P13,” assuming it contained images of Rocket’s past but she hadn’t opened it. She fumed but the traitor in front of her didn’t seem to notice the lie. His own pain turning to anger as quickly as her own.

“Shut up! You're no better than Thanos!”

It was her turn to look struck, though she should’ve anticipated it from someone so defensive as Rocket. I am nothing like Thanos.  The ringtail of all people should know, how hard it was to separate yourself from your creator. His words cut deep, to the bone.

Enough of this,

She snatched him up by the back of his head, depositing him out on the street.

“When we get back to the ship, I’m telling the rest of them what you’ve done,”  she stated. Rocket quaked, trying to gather himself up.

“N...no!” He slurred, giving her one last nasty snarl. She shrugged, not bothering to indulge his tantrum.

Gamora stalked away, back into the crowds. Better to be attacked by a stranger then someone you know.

She found Drax, Peter and Groot shortly, following the little flora’s incessant “I am Groot-ing”

“Gams!” Peter grinned across the way, opening his arms for a hug. “There you are! You got the maps?”

She allowed herself to be wrapped in his arms, if only for a moment. Safe, comfortable. Too safe. Too comfortable. She pulled away, revealing Rocket’s data pad from her bag.

Predictably the raccoonoid indeed have an interactive map of all Nova Corps bases not only in the Keystone Quadrant but every quadrant in the known galaxy. Intel on their total numbers, codes to several of their files included their most wanted list and their registry of bounty hunters in their employ, of which he himself was still registered.

Peter’s words of assurance did little to calm her nerves. Her mind inwardly toiling with mixed emotions of fury and raw hurt peppered now and again by occasional guilt.

I should not have lied about the scans.

“Okay so good news is there’s no Nova base on Tarque!” Peter exclaimed happily. We’ll head back to the ship and go from there. I’ll transmit a message to Danarian Dey, let him know it was honestly our bad for killing those guys and we’ll smooth things over, how’s that sound?”

How Gamora wished she could believe him, wanted to allow herself that peace of mind. His efforts to make things better were heartening. But she could hardly reciprocate, not with the drip drip drop of Rocket’s betrayal eating away at her like acid.

I have to tell him, she looked up again at Peter’s bright eyes. In the moment Gamora managed a nod, and a smile as they turned and headed back to the Benatar.

“I am Groot?”

“I’m sure our furry friend will catch up to us,” Drax assured the little flora with a pat on the back.  

“I AM Groo!!” Gamora swallowed the irritation of Groot’s cries.

“Okay, okay, I’ll go get him,” Peter offered, turning to her as if for permission. This time she could not bring herself to nod or smile, but motioned for Drax and Groot to follow her. She watched Peter taper off through the streets, the air of momentary levity gone with him.

---

Gamora retreated to her quarters as soon as they made it back on the ship. She needed to hide, to get away and be gone from all of them.

Nova Officers would come after them again. They would not give up the hunt, they were ruthless in their prosecution. I got into this mess, by trusting. By thinking that vermin was capable of friendship.

She practiced with her blade the remainder of the evening, swinging and slicing, turning her animosity into something productive, something that could serve her.

“Again Gamora,”

Thanos words toyed with her mind. She thrust forward, stabbing the target with the tip of her sword.

“You will have to do better than that,” and then he’d sigh, or shake his head and gesture for Ebony Maw to take her, for another session of procedures, for more modifications.

“No!” She screamed, twisting and slicing again.

“G...Gamora?”

Peter.

She tried to steady her breath, wiping her head with the back of her arm and wiped her blade; putting it away before she opened the doors to her quarters.

“You look...good,” he tried awkwardly.

“I’m covered in sweat,” she laughed, this time genuine.

“Yeah well...I just mean...you...you look….like, ready for battle.”

She stepped aside allowing him to enter. He looked around awkwardly, anywhere but her.

“You don’t have a lot of stuff in here,” he noticed.

“I don’t have a lot of stuff anywhere. Thanos allowed us no possessions but our choice weapons and I didn’t exactly catch the orb on Xandar thinking I’d join this….this…” she gestured with her hands. Peter’s eyes shifted around, considering, then finally landed on her again.

“I’m sorry Gamora, I didn’t mean…”

“It was Rocket.”

She picked up a weight on the ground and lifted it with ease, focusing on taunt muscle and the sweet burn of her body pushing itself.

“W...what do you mean?”

She put the weight down, with more force than necessary and sat on her bunk, hands gripping the metal rim of it. Body tense and rigid with exertion.

“It was Rocket who sold me out to the Nova Corps.”

Peter blinked, fumbling for a moment and finally sat down beside her. She watched his arm move out of the corner of her eye, almost making to place it around her but stopped, placing it back in his lap.

“He wouldn’t. I mean, he’s bad. But he’s not that bad. He wouldn’t do that to any of us. Say what you want about him. He’s not a snitch and you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Gamora smiled, tentatively placing her hand on his. Large and warm and always open. He squeezed it but made no further motion, stars knew how grateful she was for that.

“Do you still have his data pad?”

Peter nodded it, pulling it out. Gamora found the messages easily and tapped the one from Officer Vakrien. The message played, but she hardly heard, staring down into the floor and curling her fingers around the metal rim of her bunk. That inexorable rage rose in her again, she almost wished the raccoonoid was here.  Her attention moved back to Peter, watching him take it in. His eyes widened, listening then set his lips in a firm line, brow furrowed. The recording clicked off.

“That little…..” the man’s eyes searched for a while, Gamora could only imagine the various scenarios playing out in his mind. Finally Peter’s look softened. 

“....what do you want to do about it?” Gamora huffed, flopping backward uncharacteristically laid back down on her cot, staring up at the chrome ceiling of her small room.

“I confronted him,” she sussed out. “Back on Tarque, I….what’s the expression, let him have it?”

Peter laughed, laying down sideways next to her, one arm propping his head up so he looked down at her with ….admiration? Sympathy? Understanding? Longing? She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“I lied to him,” she finally muttered, redirecting her gaze upward. “Told him I looked at the scans on the file he must’ve stolen of himself.” Peter’s face twisted in confusion but he let her continue, leaning only slightly closer, listening. 

“He told me once, he doesn’t know what his creators did to him. If they replaced his flesh and blood heart with metal machinery like nearly everything else.” She took a deep breath, “It eats at him. I can tell.” The same way it eats at me.  After all, Ebony Maw did much more than simple enhancements for fighting. They were both, as it were, built to be weapons. She shivered. Peter reached out, gently rubbing the ball of her shoulder. Gamora only stiffened once but found herself relaxing under his coaxing touch. He withdrew after a moment.

“But….so what?”

She frowned.

“So what if he has a flesh and blood heart or not? What he did was heartless. He acted heartless and my mom always said actions speak louder than words. Or...I guess...body parts in this case? Man...that’s..weird...but...I guess taken out of context..”

“What’s your point Peter?” She nudged, hopefully not unkind.

“My point, ooof yeah my point is,” he flopped the reset of the way down beside her on the bed, the two of them laying just close enough that she could feel his warmth. I could lean into it...it’d be so nice and safe….relaxing. Peter wouldn’t hurt me. Wouldn’t betray my trust. Maybe he’s the only one who wouldn’t. No….no he could just as well. You felt safe when Rocket was holding your hand in the forest, you felt comfortable when he was checking out your wounds in the common area...Peter is no different. You can’t. You’ve already let your guard down once. Do not do it again. Do not do it again little one. Thanos taunts echoed from the back of her head. She bit back the anxiety, focussing on Peter’s words.

“It doesn’t matter even if he does have a literal heart. Or a machine, whatever is in there certainly isn’t making him into some altruistic hero. He...he betrayed you, he lashed out at Groot, he’s nothing but mean and unforgiving to all of us...he’s acting heartless. And besides, you could be right. They could have replaced a little raccoon heart with something more...uhh...advanced. I mean everything under his skin is probably cybernetic. In all likelihood you’re right. But it doesn’t even matter.”

Gamora nodded, considering. He had a point. A good one. One that was assuring and placated, at least for a moment her guilt at lying.

“You know,” he continued with that impish tone she’d come to recognize as ‘I have an idea. It’s probably not a good one and you’ll never agree to it but I’m going to say it on the off chance you do agree.’She decided to humor him this one time. “We could find out the truth,” he moved his fingers across the data pad, clicking open several files until he reached the one labeled 89P13.  Gamora slapped his hand away,

“That’s private, we shouldn’t.”

“Awe co’mon now I’m really curious!”

“No Peter,” she repeated, though less stern. “I may have been unsure about the truth but that isn’t ours to discover. If Rocket really wanted to know the answer to that question, he would’ve looked at his own scans by now. He hasn’t done that because he knows the truth. He’s a hardened little monster,” she spat. Even Peter flinched this time but did not leave her.

“Well,” he began slowly, putting the pad down on the bed behind him. “I did just see Rocket off. He went somewhere in our last escape pod.”

“What?!” Gamora sat upright,

“Yeah, he didn’t say where he was going just that...I’m to take care of Groot if he doesn’t come back in a bit and...he told me to...tell you that he’s sorry. Wow this makes so much more sense now that I know he was snitching on you and got chewed out for it.”

“Any idea where he went?”

“No,” Peter sat up beside her. “But we can find out. He took the only other escape pod after Nebula grabbed the first one….we really need to start putting some security procedures and locks on those things.”

“The Nova Corps may have already  caught up to him,” Gamora thought aloud. “If he’s caught by the Nova Corps he’ll tell them where we are.”

“...you think he’d do that?” Peter broached slowly. Gamora raised a brow skeptically. The man nodded, reluctant.

The woman reached up, running a hand through her hair.

“How could I have been so stupid? You think running from Thanos and Nebula would teach me a lesson,” she shook her head pursing her lips.

“What lesson?” Peter asked gently, he stood up, coming to her slowly, tentatively as if waiting for her to swat him away. She eyed him carefully, planting her hands on her hips, pacing.

“Trust,” she answered curtly.

Peter looked at her with sympathy, his hands gingerly touching her wrists. He stood close, the scent of leather and fuel and maybe some sweet rellian candies lingering on his body and breath. Gamora clenched her jaw, willing herself not to blush, not to feel at ease, not to lean into him.

“When I was with Yondu as a kid, man, I couldn’t trust anyone, especially not the blue bastard himself. I used to hide in the storage or up in the ventilators in fear of being eaten, or beaten or dragged into some dangerous scheme,” he spoke with unbelievable ease. “...after a while the only person I trusted was myself. But….for what it’s worth, I trust you.”

She glanced up at him sharply, her eyes softened. She took his hands, and allowed him to rub her arms. He smiled, sadly this time, bittersweet.

“You do?” She whispered.

“Yeah, Gamora, I do.”

He inched towards her, face close to her, their noses almost touched. Lingering in that space just before intimacy, so close. Gamora yearned for it, closing her eyes. She was not about to kiss this human on Knowhere, not even with his music in her ears and the shimmering celestial stars all around them-but here….on this ship, now...maybe, just maybe she could…

“Quill! Gamora!”

Drax’s shout from the other side of the door shattered their moment. Gamora’s heart sank as she stepped back. Peter pressed his lips into a thin line, closing his eyes,

“What is it Drax?”

“If you two are not engaging in intercourse I have a plan for how we may seek out and destroy this traitor.”

Gamora gave Peter one last grin, opening the door to her quarters.

The large tattooed man looked between them in confusion.

“So you are not having a sexual encounter?”

“No man of course not!”

“Oh….that is too bad. You would make a handsome pair. “

“What was your point Drax?”

“Well, I have been thinking about this treacherous fiend. I say that we go back to every planet and place we have been since Xandar and destroy anyone we came in contact with if they do not agree to tell us the truth.”

“Drax I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Gamora reasoned.

Do I tell Drax? There will be no hope for him and Rocket if I do, with one so honor bound as him.

“Drax, where’s Groot?” Peter wondered all of a sudden concerned with the well being of the sapling.

“Oh,” the Destroyer looked over each shoulder, then to the ground and frowned. “I do not know where the small dumb tree went. He was annoying me so I went to find you.”

Peter grumbled something, shaking his head and leaving to go find the little flora; not before throwing Gamora one last sympathetic look. She returned it, waving for him to find Groot.

“Gamora,” Drax rumbled.

She stopped, going rigid for a moment glancing at her swords laying nearby.

“I just want to assure you, it was not me who was selling you out to the Nova Corps. I would never betray my friends that way.”

“Thank you Drax.”

“I would very much like to disembowel the honorless traitor myself. But, I will restrain myself. When we find them, I would be honored to watch you laugh as they screamed. And marvel as you bathe in their blood.”

“.....Thank you Drax,” Gamora placed a hand on his large shoulder, the skin raised and taunt, rippling with tattoos. He returned the gesture comfortably with a bubbling beaming smile she had not seen outside of fighting. Warmth crept into her chest, different from that she felt with Peter and different from...the friendship she had felt when she took Rocket’s hand. But still budding and strong with potential.

“Guys,” Peter called. Drax and Gamora took off down the hall towards his voice. “I found Groot!”

They came on to the flight deck of the Benatar, Peter crouching over Groot who was playing with the controls of the two escape pods.

“I found Groot….and Rocket.”

Gamora looked at the screen, used for tracking the pods. A crude map of the Keystone Quadrant with a blinking blue dot shown in the fourth sector, drifting further away. She scrutinized the screen, another set of blinking catching her eyes. The second pod, Nebula.  Her escape pod was flying just inside the third sector. The realization dawned on her slowly, anger returning anew.

“Peter,” she whispered, “I know where Rocket’s going.”

[spectraspecs-writes]

Tatooine - Chapter 60

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 59. Chapter 61.

@averruncusho @marie39544 thank you for reading you get a tag.

A/N: I had a whole note written out but tumblr did me dirty and wouldn’t let me post. Suffice it to say since I can’t leave the house to do my job I’ve got more time to type. Now it just means finding the motivation lol

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

I meet Bastila back at the Czerka office and take the vaporators from her. I also trade the gaffi sticks I got earlier to the protocol officer, which quickly earns me back the 200 credits Bastila spent on the vaporators. Juhani also asks if she can return to the ship - something about the desert disagreeing with her. Honestly, I’d go back, too, but the Sand People are expecting me to return, not one of the others. 

Mission also asks to come, in a way that there’s no saying no to. “If the Sand People killed Griff, they’ll have to answer to me!” she says.

“Mission, I already went through all this effort to handle the situation peacefully,” I tell her.

“Well… okay, they’ll have to answer to me peacefully!” she corrects herself. There’s no telling her no, clearly, so she comes along. Just for Griff, though. If things go south with the Sand People, I don’t want her at risk.

We make the trek back through the desert to the Sand People enclave. (Mission even takes down the mines), and we meet one of the guards at the door. He is obviously not happy to see us, but his Chieftain told him to wait, so he waited. He’s probably been standing here for about an hour. Even through the layers of wrappings, I can tell that he absolutely hates us being here. I give him a nod of acknowledgement and look to HK. “Tell him we have the vaporators,” I say, and HK does. 

“Translation: He will take us before the Chieftain, as he was instructed to do.”

If I can read anything of how the Chieftain is feeling, which is tricky even with the Force, I can tell that the Chieftain is surprised to see me back. He says something and HK translates. “Translation: He did not expect us to return, master. He wonders if we have brought the moisture vaporators.”

I set my pack down and pull them out - it’s a set of two, very lightweight. “I’ve got them right here.”

Another surprised sound, and words from the Chieftain. “Translation: He does not trust you, master, but you have done more than any other outsider. They will not attack, and he grants you his Chieftain's Gaffi as reward.” Well that worked out, didn’t it? “The attacks will be reduced, and he will allow you to explore this enclave, but be warned that any lack of respect will result in death.”

I try to nod my thanks, but I’m not sure how well it comes off. Mission comes up from behind me and asks, quite firmly, “What about Griff? Where’s my brother?”

HK looks at me, and I give him the go-ahead to ask. The Chieftain tells him, and HK translates, “Translation: He says that by his very presence, this Griff defiles their home and land. He is without any semblance of usefulness to them.”

“Yep, that would be Griff,” Mission says. 

“Extrapolation: I would assume we are free to take him. It is doubtful they will even waste the effort to kill him. Perhaps we could do it, master?”

“You’ve got weird taste in droids, Rena,” Mission says, clearly fighting the urge to rip HK’s head off. 

“Ask about those Jawas for Iziz as well.”

“Translation: He says that the captive Jawas are slaves and that have lived past their usefulness. You may take them, if you wish.”

“Thank you,” I say, “That’s all we need.”

“Translation: We are free to leave.”

The Sand People enclave is shaped like a big circle of canvas and cloth. Rooms have been cordoned off using the same wood slats that made up the main door. But it’s all different. Different kinds of wood, different grains. There’s clearly some local plant life, desert plants. Banthas are pretty big and in order to support that size long term, there would have to be some native plants. But no trees, there’s not enough water, no stable soil. Things like that can’t grow here. Odds are it’s wood they salvaged from Czerka or other people who’ve come to this planet looking for something to sell. In some places the wood has been replaced with metal, replaced where it’s rotted. The cloth has been woven from Bantha fur - it’s thin and it doesn’t insulate very well, but it clearly keeps sand out. Any supplies they have are stored in plasteel cylinders salvaged from Czerka or a tight wicker. Mostly plasteel, though - if I were there I wouldn’t waste the rare grasses on woven goods. What surprises me though is the lack of glass. A place with all this sand, I would expect a lot of glass. But on the other hand, glass is fragile and heavy, so it doesn’t lend itself well to a nomadic species. Bantha wool on the other hand is lighter and foldable, and if it tears it can be repaired. Worst comes to worst, just shear the Bantha again.

Any rooms I peer into looking for Griff and the Jawas I close once I see they’re not in there. Most doors are on the inside of the circular track, but at one point there are two rooms opposite each other. If it were me, I would keep my prisoners close to each other. The fact that there are four Sand People here all but confirms it. “Are your prisoners here?” I ask, and HK translates.

“Translation: Affirmative, master.”

“Your chieftain said we could take them.” HK translates, and they leave. So first I open the door on the inside of the track. There are three Jawas inside, which means Griff must be on the other side. “Carth, Bastila, you take the Jawas,” I tell them, “Mission, let’s say hi to your brother.”

I pull the door open, and I can hear someone moving anxiously on the other side, standing up, and I think I hear the words “Kriffing bones.” But then he sees me - looks a lot like Mission, so it’s got to be Griff - sees that I’m human, and relaxes. “Uh... you there! I'm... I'm a high ranking executive of the Czerka Corporation!” Ha! “Eh... there's a big reward if you take me back to Anchorhead!” Good grief.

“Griff, don't you recognize me?” Mission says, sounding agonized, disappointed, “It's Mission!”

Griff’s face changes as he looks at her, really looks at her. “Mission?” he says, in complete disbelief, “Is it really you? I heard Taris was destroyed! I thought you were dead!” He hugs her. Mission doesn’t know how she feels about it. “Joy of joys, my little sister is alive!”

“I…” Mission stammers a little, pushing Griff back, “Griff, I have to ask you something. It's important. I… I ran into Lena. She... she said it was your idea to leave me on Taris. It's not true, is it?”

Wow, if Twi’leks could sweat. “Ah, well... there's the truth and then there's the truth, you know? I always meant to go back to Taris, sis,” he says, talking very quickly, “Just as soon as I had the credits to pay off my debts. But credits have been hard to come by.”

“You mean it's true?” Mission’s eyes start to water. “It was your idea to leave me there?” I want to comfort her, but I know she’s not done. “I'm your sister! How could you abandon me like that?”

“Come on, sis. You didn't need me to look after you anymore.” Griff, that is beside the point. “You may have been young, but you knew how to take care of yourself.” She’s fifteen! “Besides, you're here now - everything worked out fine!”

“That's it? That's all you have to say to me after all these years after deserting me on Taris?”

“Well,” Griff says, “that and uh... could you please get me out of here? You've got a tough looking friend there.”

Flattery will get you nowhere. “The Sand People said you can go. Go on to Anchorhead.”

“What, no speeder escort?”

“Griff…” Mission growls warningly.

“Okay, okay,” he backs off, “I should just take what I can get.” He doesn’t move, though.

“What?” Mission says brusquely, “Is there something else?”

“Uh... well, I... I wanted to thank you,” he says, “and, uh, you look like you're doing well. Financially, I mean.” Good grief. “Say... um... could you spare me a few credits to get back on my feet?”

“You... you're hitting me up for credits?” Mission says in disbelief, “I don't believe this! Lena was right about you, Griff! We should have just left you to the Sand People! Don't talk to me anymore - ever!” And she storms away. Carth looks where she goes, and thinks about following her, but changes his mind. She doesn’t go far, anyway.

“Huh…” Griff says, “...that didn't go well. Sis always was a little too fiery for her own good. She'll cool down in time.”

“Don’t be so sure.”

“Ah, she'll be okay,” he says nonchalantly, “We've had our fights before. Too bad, though. I could really have used a helping hand right now.” He pauses, and I can feel something change in his expression. “Say, uh…”

“Don’t even think about asking me for credits.”

Then his expression shifts again. “Huh - I... uh... guess you've been talking to Lena, too. That's okay - I'll figure out a way to get by without your credits. I always do. Besides, I've already got a job lined up for me.” Then why bother asking me for credits? “Greeta, the manager over at the Czerka supply shop, said I could come work for him if I ever get tired of the mines. I think I'll go take him up on his offer.

“You know, maybe there's something else you can help me with.” I’m too nice for my own good. “I need to talk to a guy first and set up the details, but if you're interested in a job come see me in Greeta's shop.” He starts to go, and passes Mission on his way out. “Goodbye, Mission,” he says, “Uh... I'm glad you're not dead.” Mission huffs at him and turns away as he leaves.

The Jawas aren’t too far behind him. “They’re on their way back to Anchorhead,” Bastila says.

“Yeah, we’ll want to head that way in a bit,” I say, “Iziz, their chieftain, says he knows something about the Star Map. I’m gonna check on Mission, you guys get a head start. HK, how many hours until first sunset?”

“Answer: Approximately four hours, master.”

“Cool. Depending on how far the Star Map is, we may want to stay another night before we get it.” Bastila, Carth, and HK start going toward the exit. I go to Mission. “Hey, you good?”

“I can’t believe him!” she says, more angry than sad, “I’m happy Griff’s alive but I’m mad at him right now.”

“Understandable.”

“And I don't know what kind of job he's got for you, but I don't trust him. It's probably just another scam!”

“Well, I’ve got to stop by the Czerka office anyway to trade in the Chieftain’s gaffi. I’ll see what he has to say, but I won’t make him any promises.”

Mission sighs. “You’re a good person,” she says, “Maybe if there were more people like you, Griff wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Somehow I doubt that. A scam artist is a scam artist. Life situation may affect the type of scam or who they scam, but they will scam just the same. But Mission doesn’t need me to tell her that. She knows. “We’ll never know, I guess,” I say, “Come on, let’s get back to Anchorhead.”

“Yeah, this heat is killing me.”

[winterune]

A Place to Call Home

Entry for Cloti Fall Festival 2019 Day 1 by @clotiweek. 

Prompts: coming home

A/N: my first cloti/FF7 fic. Sorry if it’s weird or too long. So sorry for the late entry too!

Also available on AO3 and FFN. 

~*~*~*~*~

Home.

It was such a lovely word. Not so much as a place you live in but more of a sense of belonging. A place you belong to. A person you belong with.

Ever since Tifa left Nibelheim when she was fifteen, she never really had a place to call home. Her father was dead. Her town was burned to the ground. Sometimes, she wished Zangan hadn’t rescued her back then. Sometimes, she wished she had died with her father. Death felt like a better option than this crushing hatred, anger, and hopelessness she bore against the Shinra Company.

The Seventh Heaven bar she ran in the slums wasn’t much. It was only a deserted place of which someone needed to have their hands washed off. But Zangan had been about to leave and Tifa needed a place to stay—a place to work—because she had to move. She couldn’t stand still. Otherwise, she knew that one day, she would be consumed by these raging emotions she had locked deep within her heart.

So, Tifa opened the bar, and gained what little popularity the slums offered. Then one day, a man with a gun for his arm came and introduced her to Avalanche, an ecoterrorists set on bringing Shinra down.

“Aah~” Wedge sighed contentedly at the counter, a half-empty mug in his hand. “Home sweet home.”

Biggs, who was sitting beside him, smacked him across the head playfully. “Where do you think is your home, huh?” he said with a laugh, his own glass still full.

Tifa was filling Jessie’s glass when she chuckled at the interaction. “It’s all right. It’s everyone’s home,” she said. “So, do you want something to go with that?”

“Snacks, please!” Wedge’s hand immediately shot up. “Any kind is okay.”

Biggs shook his head at his friend with a click of his tongue, bringing his own glass of beer to his lips. Tifa just smiled and said, “Coming right up!”

Jessie, on the other hand, rolled her eyes and laughed under her breath. “You’re too kind, Tifa,” she said, drinking from her own glass. Tifa knew it was only a harmless comment, but for a split second, her hands stilled as she was about to take out plates from the cupboard, her fingers curling slightly.

She wasn’t kind. Not really.

The team had just returned from a covert mission above the plate. That was what they did: infiltrate bases, hack into computers, map out the reactors. Sometimes, Tifa would tag along. Most times, she would stay at the bar and gather what information she could glean from her patrons who had had a couple drinks too much, while also taking care of Barret’s six-year-old daughter on the side.

Tifa hadn’t come with them that day. From what she had heard at their meetings in her basement, they were planning to infiltrate and destroy the Sector 1 Reactor. She had actually come across Jessie building the bomb one night, and the sight of it had made her freeze.

Tifa despised Shinra. She wanted to see them burn for what they had done to her and her family. She still had dreams sometimes—of blazing fire under a scarlet sky, of heart-wrenching screams and dying wails, of her father lying in a pool of blood. She would wake up in cold sweats in the middle of the night, her pounding heart in her chest felt like it would burst. Her body would tremble, and she would curl on her side, shedding silent tears.

She could still see the silhouette of the silver-haired SOLDIER. The tip of his long, thin sword. The maniacal look he had as he cut her down. The scar still smarted sometimes, even though it had recovered a long time ago.

Sometimes, she would go and get water in the kitchen. Other times, she’d go outside for some air. Tifa would look up, expecting the stars would soothe her restless heart, only to frown at the vast metal plate spreading as far as the eye could see. How could people even live here? Without seeing the sky; without feeling the sun; cooped up under some pretense of a utopia that was sucking out the life and blood of the planet.  

If you get really famous and I’m ever in a bind, you’ll come save me, all right?

From the far reaches of her mind, the promise she had made with a certain boy came back to her, and the thought made her smile ruefully.

He never did come and save her. He never returned. Tifa had tried looking for him when she arrived at Midgar, but no one seemed to know him at all. It was as though he had fallen off the face of the earth.

Tifa pursed her lips and clenched her fingers over her coat, wondering where Cloud was and if he were all right.

***

At one point, Tifa had forgotten about it. Running a bar and being a member of Avalanche had made her busy that she didn’t have time for idle thoughts. Gathering information, equipment, and arms; looking for promising new recruits; helping the team form plans—and finally, in a meeting a day before the big day, Jessie came up and said, “Everything’s in place. We have the map, the guard rotations, and of course, the bomb. If we’re careful, we may be able to finish this unscathed.”

Nods and grins. They were confident in this. Tifa knew she should feel the same, but bombing a reactor…did they really have to go to such lengths? What if innocents were caught in the crossfire?

With no objections, Barret closed the meeting and wished everyone good luck and a good rest. Wedge immediately proposed some drinks, followed by Biggs’s “Here, here!” and Jessie’s “A glass for me!”

But Barret frowned and hit the table with his fist. “You dimwits! Drinking the day before your big mission?”

“Come on, Boss,” Biggs said. “One glass won’t do us harm.”

“Yeah,” Wedge added. “It might even pump our energy for tomorrow.”

Barret’s scowl deepened, then shifted his glare at Jessie, who just shrugged and gave a resigned grin. “We’ll have it really light.”

“Real light. Sure,” Barret scoffed. He looked at Tifa, who cocked her head and smiled inquiringly. Of course, she knew that drinking tonight would be a bad idea, but Tifa also felt like she should give them what they wanted. Their first big job—against a giant, billionaire corporation at that—of course they needed to wind down their nerves if they were to have their best performance tomorrow. Barret probably knew that she understood the stakes, and that was probably the only reason why he finally, begrudgingly consented their demands.

They returned upstairs, where Marlene was keeping the few guests in the bar company. Tifa knew she shouldn’t put the girl to work, but she’s actually quite the genius. Keeping the stove off and every knives and other sharp utensils out of reach, Tifa only needed Marlene to take orders for food that she had already prepared in the kitchen. Marlene understood that perfectly and she never once made a problem.

At the sound of their footsteps climbing the stairs from the basement, Marlene looked up from her seat at the counter. Her face split into a bright smile at the sight of her father. “Daddy!” she squealed, spreading her arms wide.

“There’s my little girl!” Barret exclaimed, scooping Marlene up to his arms and giving her a big bear hug.

“That’s probably the only time you’d see a great big goofy smile on his face,” Biggs muttered under his breath, eliciting chuckles and snickers from the rest of them. They went to take their seats on one of the tables, while Tifa walked behind the counter to prepare their drinks and meals.

“Thanks, Marlene!” she said as she passed the father and daughter. “I’ll take it from here.”

Marlene’s reply was a grin and a wave and Barret walked over to his team with her riding on his shoulder.

Behind the counter was one of her favorite places. Not too near the crowd that their chattering and laughter were deafening, yet not too far either that she felt lonely. The perfect in-between place and at times, she could lose herself wiping the glasses while listening to the hum of conversation in the background. Not now, though, as now she had to prepare a pitcher of not-too-strong-but-not-too-weak drink, something that could ease their worries but still had them sober through the night.

Tifa was busy concocting one such drink that she didn’t realize someone had taken a seat at the counter.

“You holding up good, Tifa?”

Tifa almost jumped in surprise when she heard Barret’s voice so close. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. For someone so big, sometimes he could be so stealthy—or was it because her mind hadn’t been truly present?

“What do you mean?” she asked, getting back to her work.

She could feel Barret’s eyes on her for a while. Maybe she did know what he was talking about. She had told him what a girl from a backwater town like Nibelheim was doing in a metropolis city like Midgar—the abridged version at the least. But she pretended not to know, and Barret finally grunted.

“Well, if you’re good then that’s fine.”

Truth be told, she was as good as could be. Avalanche’s presence in her life helped a lot. The bar was as good as their home with how much time they had spent together in it. They were practically like her family now if she thought about it. So yes, she was holding up quite good.

“And about our plan,” Barret went on. “Do you have anything to say about it?”

“Do you want me to say anything about it?” she asked.

Barret clicked his tongue in irritation. Tifa glanced at him from the corner of her eyes before getting back to preparing their drinks. She didn’t answer until she finished pouring everyone’s drinks in their respective mugs. “I’ve said it before,” she finally said. “I’m not too fond with the bombings, but I can’t think of any other way right now, so I’ll follow your lead.”

Barret huffed and offered no reply. Tifa took that as cue that the topic was closed, so she brought the drinks on a tray to their table, where they accepted their drinks graciously. Barret joined soon after while Tifa brought them their snacks. They had saved her a seat and Wedge was telling her to join but Tifa just smiled and said she needed to take out the trash.

It wasn’t much of an excuse, but she felt she needed to take a breather around the town for a few moments. Why she wasn’t too keen with their mission was that bombings meant fire, and fire reminded her of that day. Sure she told herself that she didn’t want innocents to get hurt, but was that really the reason? In her heart, Tifa knew that the real reason was she didn’t want another Nibelheim incident to happen.

The barking of a dog interrupted her reverie. When Tifa came to, she realized she had strayed from her neighborhood and reached the train station. A dog was barking at a man slumped over the sidewalk, with one of the station guards standing over him.

“Hey,” the guard called. The man’s reply was a groan. “Hey!” the guard called louder, shaking the man’s shoulders.

The slumped man seemed to wince in pain, followed by more grunting and groaning. The only response he could utter seemed to be just that.

The guard bent down to look at the man’s face. “Hey, you all right?” he tried again to no avail.

A drunkard? Tifa wondered. Maybe she shouldn’t get too close. But the man’s face was contorting in pain as he groaned and panted, pounding his head or clutching his chest. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t really leave him be, not now that the guard seemed to have given up and left him by himself. The dog started to whine, sitting on his haunches and nuzzling the man’s listless hand on the ground.

Tifa approached the man tentatively. On closer inspection, the blonde hair and the blue sleeveless garb seemed familiar. She crouched down before him. “Are you all right?” she asked, softly.

The man didn’t answer. He only grunted as he had his head down, his eyes shut, hands pressed over his head, fisting over his hair, as if there was a pounding headache he wanted to be rid of. Tifa pursed her lips.

Tifa gently touched the man’s shoulder again and slowly, quietly, said, “Hey.” She bent down her head to look at his face, and as the man slowly opened his eyes and met her gaze, Tifa froze, feeling a tug of familiarity at the face.

…you’ll come save me, all right?

“…Ti…fa?”

That voice. It jogged her memory.

He shut his eyes again, his head falling back, his whole body tensing at some invisible pain. A silent scream followed by a groan, Tifa panicked when she saw him about to hit his head with all the force he had. She grabbed his arms and held him back. He was so strong that it took all the energy she had in her to stop him from hurting himself. She should call a doctor, but she couldn’t leave him here by himself. The guard was nowhere to be found.

Then before she knew it, his body went slack again, his chest heaving with exertion.

Tifa bit her lip. “Come on. You can’t stay here,” she said. “Let’s get you to a doctor.” She moved around to his side, was already moving to put his arm around her shoulder to lift him up, when an indiscernible mumble that sounded so much like her name stopped her.

She looked at him, at the hair plastered to his head with sweat, at the face slowly rising up to meet her, at the glazed yet glowing blue eyes. He was looking at her—really looking at her—as if he knew her. Clarity entered his eyes by the second, and slowly, his lips formed a wearied smile.  

“Tifa,” he called again, somewhat weakly.

And in her mind flashed a memory of a water tower. Tifa! He’d called her. Seven years was a long time and boys had their voices change around that age.

“Cloud?” she asked tentatively.

The grin on his face grew and the pain and exhaustion she had seen in his eyes melted away until there was no more trace of them. She let go of his arm.  

“Yeah, it’s me!” he said, and his eyes were bright, and his grin was lopsided, and it brought back all the memories she had tried so hard to lock away. But it wasn’t the fire nor the deaths—it was the warm and happy times, the smiles of the townspeople, eating dinner with her father, playing the piano in her room. Her friends, and…Cloud—the boy her age who lived next door, whom she would sometimes spot from her window. Before she knew it, tears sprang to her eyes and she had pulled him into her arms and hugged him tight.

All the pent-up feelings she had held for years came bursting out. She hadn’t realized it until she met him, but Tifa had come to miss him over the years, wishing constantly to find him somewhere, to meet him, to make sure that he’s all right. But now he was here, and she hugged him tight, fearing he might leave her again.

Cloud winced and groaned at the sudden embrace and Tifa leaped back, her hands up and eyes wide, forgetting how much pain Cloud had been in a moment ago. “Sorry, did I hurt you?”

“No, that’s OK,” he said, though she could see the grimace on his face as he tried to shift to a more comfortable position. “I mean, it’s been so long, right?”

That grin again. That boyish, lopsided grin. It pulled at her heartstring and made her eyes wet with tears.

Cloud cocked his head to the side, concern lining his face as he said, “Tifa?” She noticed the hand reaching up to her face just as a tear slid down her cheek.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, wiping away the tears and forcing herself to smile and nod. “I’m just—” so happy to find you here. The words were lodged at the back of her throat and for some reason, she suddenly felt embarrassed for thinking such things. “I’m fine,” she corrected herself. “Anyway, what happened to you?”

I looked everywhere for you, but I couldn’t find you anywhere.

Because she had noticed the hollowness in his cheekbones and a gauntness in his face. She had seen the pain in his eyes and the way his body seemed listless just a few minutes ago.

But all Cloud said was, “I’m fine,” and, “Help me get up.” And she did, and she watched as he leaned on that big sword that seemed familiar somehow, and maybe he was fine. Or maybe she just didn’t want to think otherwise. Because Cloud was back. Cloud was with her. And there was no word she could find that could describe how happy she was.

Cloud swayed on his feet, and Tifa immediately had her hand on his arm, only to feel how feeble he seemed. His muscles seemed to be wasted. He looked so thin!

Tifa bit her lip. Who was she kidding? No matter how she wished it to be otherwise, Tifa knew that Cloud was far from “fine”.

Cloud thanked her with a smile, but Tifa only tightened her grip. He looked at her and noticed her concern. “I’m fine, Tifa, really,” Cloud tried to convince her. “I just got dizzy. Nothing a meal couldn’t fix. Besides, we haven’t seen each other for years.” He paused, and for a split second, Tifa noticed his face contorting in pain again, before he said, “Five, was it?”

Tifa froze.

Five? If memory served her right, it had been seven years since they last met. Five years meant the fire incident. Did she remember wrong?

She looked at him and could find no deceit. Had he really been at Nibelheim at that time? She would remember if she had met him somewhere else, wouldn’t she?

Tifa had thought that having Cloud back in her life would mean feeling more like home. She did, for a short while. She was so happy to have her childhood friend back—she didn’t think she would meet anyone from Nibelheim ever again. Having him with her made her feel like she could finally breathe. The oppressing atmosphere was finally subsiding. Everything would finally go back to normal.

However, there was something different about Cloud. Tifa couldn’t tell what. An uneasiness about his behavior and inconsistent memories that she wondered if it were all her imagination and that she was the one with the inconsistent memory. And when he suddenly announced that he would be leaving the city the next day, Tifa felt that solid and warm ground she had finally found after all these years started to crumble once more and she did everything she could to make him stay.

***

Tifa told herself that she only did that because she needed to keep an eye on him, because he wasn’t well, but maybe that wasn’t all either. The uneasiness that had gnawed at her was only an excuse to be with him.

If she were truly being honest, Tifa didn’t want to be separated from him again. He was the last connection to her lost childhood. But, more than anything, she wanted to stay beside him, because not once in the five years she had lived in Midgar had she felt more at home than that moment she found Cloud delirious in the train station.

~ END ~

[newavengersfan]

Avengers Reassemble Ch 1

*SPOILERS FOR SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME & AVENGERS:ENDGAME

“This is a terrible idea,” Peter Parker gulped, looking outside of his aunt’s car.

It was a peaceful evening in Queens as the teen watched his classmates dart into the building of Midtown High School. With the student’s senior year ending tomorrow and graduation in a week, the staff decided to hold a farewell party.

The problem was that the school begged Peter not only to attend, but to also give a grand speech to everybody there. Peter still remembered the class presentations, the charity balls and the court trials, and he remembers screwing up every one of them. But he wasn’t the type to say no to teachers, so here he was.

“Well, no turning back now, kiddo,” Aunt May grinned, “Come on. I overheard you rehearsing it in the bathroom for the past week. It sounds great!”

Peter blushed, tugging at his tie, “It really doesn’t.”

May sighed, placing a hand on the kid’s face. This boy’s been through so much. He’s lost his parents, Uncle Ben, Mr. Stark. He’s lost any chance of a normal life, but he still kept fighting. Even after his secret came out to the world, he still hasn’t given up.

“Hey, Peter, you deserve this,” May smiled, “A break from supervillains and world-ending disasters can’t hurt, right?”

Peter chuckled, “Guess not.”

“You’ve got this, kid,” May pecked a kiss on his cheek.

The boy opened the car door and began to walk towards the building. Students greeted him on the way in. A lot of them brought him into group selfies and asked for autographs. All Peter could do was put on a fake smile and put on a facade.

Peter began to mutter to himself, “Okay, Pete, you can do this. You’ve taken on Thanos, Vulture, asshole reporters. It’s just a simple graduation speech. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Once Peter reached the doors of the gymnasium, he groaned, “Oh, I am so screwed...Alright. Come on, Spider-Man. Come on, Spider-Man.”

He pushed open the door to hear the sound of blaring music and bright neon lights. The gymnasium of Midtown High was buzzing with energy as the class of 2025 was partying it up. He recognized everyone there, including a few members from his decathlon team.

The young boy walked towards the podium, chest out and back straight. People began to clap for him as felt his classmates patting him on the back and congratulating him. What was only a few feet away from him felt like an eternity away.

Once Peter finally got there, he began to fumble with the microphone. Loud noises screeched from it as he tried to set it up. The audience cringed, but at least he got their attention, right?

He laughed nervously before clearing his throat, “Hello, class of 2025! How’s everyone doing tonight?”

The response he received was applause. He heard people cheering out his name, cheering for Spider-Man. It wasn’t easy after his identity was revealed, but with time, he was able to regain at least a little of the people’s good will.

He giggled a little, “Well, I know we’ve all got things to do and, uh, places to be, so I’m keeping it short. Kind of like me, heh!”

The lack of laughter caused Peter to begin to worry. He pulled out a stack of notecards and began to read them out loud.

“Now, I want you to go out there-Wait, no. That’s the, uh, last part. Must’ve mixed it up,” the boy stammered, “Let me just resort them.”

As he tried shuffling them back in the right order, he accidentally dropped the pile, causing the cards to fly away. Peter cursed at himself as he tried desperately to get them back together. The awkward silence caused him to start shaking as he nervously stuttered apologies to the audience.

Before Peter’s anxiety could completely engulf him, he finally noticed a certain someone in the crowd. His girlfriend, the amazing Michelle Jones.

The usually somewhat dour woman looked beautiful that night (hell, she looked beautiful every night) as she gave him a reassuring smile and a knowing look. MJ knew he was Spider-Man even before the incident with Europe and she’s been helping him with his job ever since.

One look from her reignited the boy’s confidence in himself as he dropped his cards, got back up, and leaned towards the microphone. He could do this.

“Now, I know we’ve been through a lot,” he started, “Europe, the Battle of New York...The Snap.”

He noticed the uneasy glances some of the students gave to one another as the memories of these events flooded back. They were raised in a world of iron men and god, where their city could be destroyed at any moment. Hell, they lost five years of their lives to a maniacal alien overlord.

Peter nodded, “Yeah, I know. It can be overwhelming, the world we live in. We thought we would never make it out alive. We thought we were doomed. But we made it. We persevered, we worked our asses off, and we got to where we are now. Well, as it weird as it may sound, that’s honestly no different from adulthood. We think that this is the end of our lives, that we won’t have any future, but...if we can survive Thanos, I think we can survive college!”

Laughter erupted through the audience, reassuring the child that everything was going well.

He smiled, tears of joy starting to well up, “I am so grateful, not only for having been your classmate, but also for being...your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Thank you, Midtown High!”

The sound of clapping and cheering almost deafened Peter, as everyone was chanting his name. As he stepped down from the podium, he waved to everyone, almost like a president would wave to his citizens.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!,” he grinned, “I’ll be here all week! Well, not literally, but...you know what I mean.”

Peter walked across the room to finally embrace one of the people he cared about the most. MJ buried her neck into the boy’s shoulder as Peter stood on his toes to reach her.

Peter sighed, “Well, that could’ve gone better.”

“Well, it was better than that bio presentation from last month,” MJ pointed out.

“You ever gonna let me forget that?,” he asked.

“Not in a million years, Web-Head,” she placed a hand on his shoulder, “Better than being the Menace of Queens, right?”

“Oh, I’d rather not think about Jameson right now,” Peter groaned.

“Yo, Pete!,” cried a voice from behind Peter. He turned to see his best friend, Ned Leeds, standing behind him, wearing his fedora and everything.

“Ned, holy crap, man!,” he hugged his friend, “I heard about you getting the Osborn Scholarship, congrats!”

“Thanks, Peter!,” Ned beamed, “Looks like you’re not the only one working for a billionaire!”

“Ey, last time I checked, Stark Industries is still on top,” Peter bragged. He was happy that even after the passing of Mr. Stark, his wife, Mrs. Potts, still wanted Peter to work for her at Stark Industries. It was only as an intern, but it was still nice to be working for the company he idolized for years.

“Whatever, man,” Ned scoffed, “By the end of this year, Oscorp’s gonna be the best of the best all thanks to yours truly.”

“Well, I’m sure your plans for a fully-functioning Lego Death Star will thoroughly impress your boss,” Peter commented.

���Don’t give Oscorp any ideas,” MJ snickered, “Knowing them, that’s totally something that overly-patriotic, corporate douchebag would build.”

As Ned and MJ went about their usual back-and-forth on Oscorp’s beliefs and policies, Peter could only watch and smile. This was what he loved about this school. This was what he was going to miss.

…

After a few years, the night ended and everybody began to head out. Ned headed out with Betty a half-hour before the party was over, leaving MJ and Peter on their own. 

Everybody was heading over to Flash Thompson’s house to keep the party going. MJ wasn’t the type to party, but she did like skulking in the back to creep out the party-goers. Peter usually liked to watch, but he was just dying to go out and fight crime.

The two walked out, hand-in-hand, as Peter begin to fiddle with his web-shooter on his left arm.

MJ couldn’t help but notice the gadget on the boy’s wrist, “You are just itching to get out of here, aren’t you.”

Peter gulped, quickly tugging his sleeve down to hide the object, “Oh, I, uh, I’m sorry, MJ, this speech’s just got me thinking.”

After a moment of silence, the taller girl scoffed, “Well, you gonna share with the class?”

Peter shook his head, “It’s just that...it’s starting to hit me. I’m now the only superhero still working in New York. I mean everyone else is either retired or...gone. It’s just me.”

The somber look on the boy’s face prompted the young woman placed an arm on his shoulder, “Hey, loser, you might be the only one in this city running around in spandex, but you sure as hell aren’t alone.”

“Thanks, MJ,” Peter said as he embraced the girl he cared about.

“Don’t stay out too late,” the girl commanded to him.

“I make no promises,” he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He only walked a few steps before rushing back, giving MJ a kiss on the cheek. The sight of her blushing got him to snicker as he hopped over the gates of his school and started swinging away.

MJ slowly lifted a hand to her face, “Oh, that nerd.”

…

The boy sat on the roof of a building in downtown Queens. Crime in the city was lax tonight, so Peter didn’t even have anyone to fight. He took of his mask and sighed, looking over the place that raised him.

Peter couldn’t help but feel alone now. He hasn’t had contact with any of the Avengers in about two years, not since Mr. Stark’s funeral. He knew that there were other heroes out there, but he hasn’t heard about them in news in a while.

Dr. Banner and Mr. Barton retired, Thor’s in space, Captain Rogers is in hiding, and Agent Romanoff and Mr. Stark are...gone. No one’s guarding the planet now.

The world needed protectors. Was Peter going to be the only one to step up for that role?

He sighed, “How did Mr. Stark do this?”

“You know, usually a guy getting out of high school would be out partying.”

Peter quickly turned around to see a man in a giant grey suit floating behind him. The guy was so large that even when his slow landing created a loud thud. The helmet popped off of his face to reveal a familiar face.

“Sup, Pete. Been a while,” greeted James Rhodes, the War Machine.

Peter met the soldier briefly during Tony’s funeral. He was nice, helped comfort him during the process.

The boy stuttered, “Rhodey, hey! I mean, Mr. Rhodey! I mean, Mr. Rhodes! Or is it Colonel Rhodes?”

The older man raised his hands up, “Whoa! Slow your roll there, kid. Rhodey’s fine. What are you doing up here?”

“Uh, just patrolling the neighborhood, keeping the city safe, the usual.”

“I saw you walk out of your school,” the colonel said, “You know, when Tony got of high school, the end of the year party he held at his place was something out of a dream. It was the type of thing older Tony would regret.”

“Yeah, figured,” the kid nodded, remembering the stories of Tony from before he became a superhero.

“Not that big of a party guy, huh?”, Rhodey noticed the shy look on the boy’s face.

“Pfft, before tonight, the last real party I had ended with me almost getting killed my homecoming date,” Peter laughed before regaining his composure, “Yeah, I...Parties have never really been that great for me. With everything that’s happened...I’m really not in the mood, you know?”

Rhodey nodded. He was more the type who would get dragged to parties instead of going on his free will, “I can get that. Sorry, I couldn’t help you with that whole Europe thing.”

“It’s cool. I know you’ve been busy,” Peter nodded sympathetically, “So, what brings you to Queens?”

The man in the armored suit began to shuffle awkwardly, “Well this is gonna sound crazy, but…I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.”

[queertazsecretsanta]

A gift for @maggle-the-terrifying, created by @interplanet–janet!

Happy Candlenights!!! I hope you enjoy 😊

Title: remember me love, when i’m reborn

Summary: A series of drabbles featuring the burgeoning relationship between Lup and Lucretia.

It was Year 52. The Starblaster landed on a planet made of volcanic glass, formed from a millennium of magma hitting the sea. The land was shiny and obsidian - and barren. Magnus and Barry had gone out “adventuring” at one point, where they found sparkling basalt spires, and an ocean that was surprisingly, teeming with life.

Lucretia found this out when Magnus burst through the door of the Starblaster, carrying an enormous fish in both arms, soaking wet and singed.

“Look at the size of this guy!” Magnus beamed, as the fish wildly tried to escape his grasp, smacking him in the face with its tail. Barry stumbled in behind him, out of breath.

The Starblaster crew just stared. Taako had even stopped painting Lup’s nails.

“What?” Magnus asked, briefly adjusted his hold on the poor aquatic creature.

“How…” Lucretia began, amused. “How are you both soaking wet and also… on fire?” Lucretia tapped her pen slightly against her notebook. It was difficult for her to be surprised anymore – but somehow Magnus always managed to exceed her expectations.

“Turns out this planet is just volcanoes. We… ran into one?” Barry said, after patting out a few stray embers. “All that black rock? Volcanic rock. Didn’t see any locals around either.”

“But the ocean’s doing great! I even found Fisher a friend!” Magnus said, wrestling said fish.

“You mean… We aren’t going to eat it?” Taako piped up. “Dying of starvation was not really what I had in mind for this year, Mags.”

Magnus gasped. Lucretia and Lup shared a brief look – both silently wishing that Taako hadn’t said that but amused that he had.

“We are not eating Bernard! He’s my friend and I love him!” Magnus attempted to clutch the fish closer to his chest.

Lup blew on her nails softly, wiggling them in front of Taako. “It’s over, T. He named it. There are other fish in the sea.” Lup caught Lucretia’s eye, and winked.

Taako groaned. “Go put a silver in the pun jar, because that was a bad one, Lulu.”

“It wasn’t even a pun, Taako-“

“I don’t care, it made my soul feel like nails on a chalkboard-“

“Money doesn’t even exist as a concept anymore!“

The twins’ bickering faded out as Lucretia reopened her notebook, eager to detail the events that just occurred. And if she spent a little extra time detailing the curl of Lup’s hair or her cackling laugh as Magnus dropped the fish and slipped like he was in a fantasy slapstick routine, then that was no one’s business but hers.

It was late at night during this planet’s cycle, as the amber sky turned a dark grey. Lucretia sat in the ship’s common room, next to the kitchen, nursing a cup of tea. Of which her supply was running dangerously low.

She was stuck on phrasing yet again – it was important to get it just right. It was her job, her responsibility to make sure their journey was chronicled accurately, perfectly.

It didn’t matter that she was hung up on describing their last planet – there’s not a lot to say about a planet full of hamsters.

At least Lucretia thought so.

“Hey! I thought humans were supposed to uh, sleep?” The sudden voice startled Lucretia, making her almost drop her tea mug. “I mean, judging by the fact that I can hear Magnus and Barry snore from my room.” Lup slid into the seat across from Lucretia, resting her chin on her hands.

“Yes, humans do sleep,” Lucretia said, keeping herself from playfully rolling her eyes. “I just don’t sleep as much. I have too much to do.”

Lup snorted. “We’re on a spaceship, for like, eternity! I think we have all the time in the world – plenty of time for you to catch some zzz’s, at least.”

Lucretia didn’t reply, instead choosing to stare intently at the teabag bobbing slightly in its mug.

Lup leaned in close, inches away from Lucretia’s face. “Y'know, if you’re having trouble sleeping, we repurposed one of the storage rooms into a Cuddle Room.”

“Wh.. I’m sorry, a cuddle room?”

“Yeah. Like a room for cuddles. We shoved a bunch of pillows and blankets in there, I think Merle even found a couple beanbag chairs? It’s super comfy. Since Taako ends up sneaking into my bed most nights, and now with Barry… It’s convenient! Like a group hug but for sleeping.”

“And… you want me to join in?”

“Yep! The more the merrier! Sometimes we even do slumber parties. Don’t tell Maggie though, he’s been temporarily uninvited because of the rosé incident.”

“I’ve decided that I don’t want to know what that means,” Lucretia said with a smile.

“Noted,” Lup said, leaving her seat at the table. “But you’ll come?”

“Yeah… Just whenever?”

“Whenever.”

Lup left and Lucretia was alone, listening to the gentle hum of the Starblaster’s autonomous functions whirring away. She put down her pen and closed her notebook.

Writing could wait.

The year was almost over, and Lucretia found herself snuggled in between Lup and Barry. Lup was buried in the crook of her neck, and Barry somehow managed to have an arm thrown over the both of them, while Taako was splayed out on a beanbag, upside down.

It had become pretty common, almost normal.

“Hey Luce?” Lup murmured into Lucretia’s collarbone.

“Hmm?”

“I just realized that once this year ends, we’re gonna have to turn this room into Cuddle Central again.”

“Mm. That’s unfortunate,” Lucretia murmured back. “All this hard work.” she said, eyes closed, gesturing blindly to the room’s furnishings.

There was a rumble in the distance – another volcano erupting, probably.

“D’ya think the next world we go to will be this peaceful? I mean, aside from the rocks trying to kill us.” Lup looked up at Lucretia, her expression unreadable.

“I hope so. But even if it isn’t, we still have each other. You, me, Barry – and uh, everyone else of course,” Lucretia stuttered out the rest, thankful that Lup couldn’t see her blush in the dark. She felt Lup’s easy smile against her neck, her breathing warm and even.

“Yeah. Definitely, Luce. Someone’s gotta keep these dorks in line.”

“But… not you, right?”

Lup snorted.

“Of course not.”

They listened to the familiar rhythm of each other’s heartbeats, until Barry drew them both back into a deep snuggle. Lucretia felt safe here – safer than she’d ever felt on the Starblaster – and drifted off into sleep.

It was year… something. Lucretia hadn’t lost track but rather, had adopted Faerun’s calendar system. After all, she didn’t have to chronicle the years on the Starblaster anymore.

Not after the story and song.

Things were smoother now – she had her friends, the people she had known for over a decade, back.

And they knew her too.

Lup, especially.

Lucretia was sitting at her desk, running through some bureaucratic nightmare in the form of paperwork, once again, before being interrupted by Lup’s new corporeal form sliding across her desk. And knocking off several files (and a snowglobe?) in the process.

“Hey Luce!”

That same warm smile.

“Lup.”

The elf sat on the edge of the desk, swinging her legs.

“Like the new digs?”

“Are you referring to… your… body? Or perhaps your… clothing?”

“Yes.”

Lucretia ran her hand through her hair good-naturedly. Mostly for show.

“I see. Yes. These “digs” of yours. Very sporting.” She missed having to hide a smile.

“Thanks! Oh, by the way. I didn’t come here just to chat-“

“Or interrupt my paperwork?”

“Nah, definitely came to interrupt that. But, we’re having a cuddle party in the break room! You should come!” Lup hopped off the desk, looking at Lucretia expectantly.

“Okay. But if Merle turns it into an opportunity to talk about his new business venture-“

Lucretia didn’t have the chance to complete her sentence before Lup took her arm and led her to the snuggle pile. Somewhere along they way, Lucretia grabbed her hand.

Before, she would have given an excuse, said no, refused to get close. Over every repeating year, every death and rebirth?

Lucretia liked this version of herself the best.