pamcham

[cienie-isengardu]

Mortal Kombat 1 Behind the Scenes AU: Smoke's Fall

[Cage’s Mansion] [Waiting for Liu Kang] [Special Bonus] [Grandmaster’s commentary] [Climbing scene] [Madam Bo’s Inn] [Cage’s Mansion 2 (fire extinguisher)] [Medic] [Shang Tsung’s sad face]

[alchemistc]

i present my latest offering of an au first meeting: the poker game.

Big Blind

Tommy's been on plenty of bad dates in his time, but this one might actually take the cake for worst first date he's ever had. They're just -- not right for one another, and it's clear they can both feel it, but for some reason Jeff just -- keeps talking. About his border collie rescue, and his sixth fourteener (this year), and the his upcoming promotion and the Cybertruck he's thinking about getting wrapped in matte black --

"Jeff," Tommy cuts in, when he starts in on Tesla stock talk. "I'm gonna pay the check and head out. It's been..." he gestures. Considers calling Stout right here at the dinner table to tell him no more blind dates with his stock broker brother-in-laws friends, no matter how gay they are.

He's gonna get shit from Stout's wife the next time she stops by with a casserole, but honestly a half-hour tirade on politeness from Heather Alexandra Stout sounds better than learning how much of an Elon Musk fanboy Jeff really is. Jeff looks like he might be offended by the implication that he wouldn't have paid, but Tommy's already waving down his server and gesturing to the bar by the time Jeff even thinks to reach for his wallet.

"You have a good night."

Andrea slides his check under his elbow with a raised brow and doesn't say a word when he hands her his card immediately, but he can tell she's judging him. Third date in a month he's barely contained his disdain for long enough to pay up, although this is the first he's outright ditched before the bill was even paid.

Gary slides a beer across the bar to him and refuses the cash Tommy tries to give him for it. "Do I look that pathetic, Gary?"

Man of few words, Gary just taps his nose and tips his chin to his date, who is doing a terrible job of trying to sneak out the door.

"You're too good for him, anyway," says Andrea, back already with his card. He tucks an extra twenty into her folder and downs the beer in silence while they watch through the window as Jeff seems to get into an argument with the Uber pulling up in front of the restaurant.

"Maybe it's me," Tommy says, and Gary hums in commiseration. Or maybe he just has gas. "Maybe I'm the problem."

It's been a string of bad dates, and before that a relationship that'd gone up in metaphorical but nearly literal flames. Tommy's spent a lot of introspective time wishing he could kill Gerrard with lasers so that he doesn't have to blame himself for staying in the closet so long that blind dates and Grindr meetups were his real introduction to the dating scene.

"Someday, Tommy, you'll meet someone who can't get enough of your morbid humor and your pessimism and your obsession with haunted cars."

"One car," Tommy argues, although that's beside the point. "I think maybe I should give the search for love a break, Gary."

Gary hums, again.

Tommy drinks the rest of his beer in companionable silence and pulls up his phone to order an Uber himself. Jeff is, thankfully, long gone, and Tommy's halfway through confirming his home address when he remembers the invite he'd received last week that he'd hesitated scheduling a date around. He shoots off a text instead, and updates the address before he slides from the bar stool.

Gary shoots him a look. "Headed home?"

Tommy shifts on his feet. Shoots a look behind the bar. "Nah. Gonna try to hit up a work thing. Pour me a shot of Tullamore for the road?"

Gary accepts the twenty this time and doesn't make a comment about the way Tommy downs a sipping whiskey, which Tommy appreciates.

He's halfway to his destination, enjoying the chat with his driver, when the text comes in from Lucy.

Had to bail, but you should go if the date went that badly. Williams will enjoy slowly ruining the remainder of your night.

Tommy taps his phone once, twice, three times before he makes up his mind not to be the asshole who changes his destination halfway through the ride. Worst comes to worst, he'll tap out early and Venmo Mehta the rest of his stake.

Better than moping at home with the pint of freezer-burned Ben and Jerry's.

-----

He's fairly rushed down the stairs once he's in, because apparently Williams is on some sort of time crunch, or something, and he's fairly certain the drinks are catching up to him as he takes in the table. Mehta and Wilson are regulars, and he's seen Rosen around, but there are two new guys settling in across the table and Tommy has to take a long, long moment to remind himself this is technically a professional setting before he can look too closely at either one of them.

Yeah. Shit, he'd definitely drank most of that second pitcher by himself, listening to Jeff talk.

"Kinard. We weren't expecting you." Rosen's eyes glimmer with amusement. He'd caught maybe six months of her probationary year, but every time she sees him she likes to remind him of the first time she'd seen him post-transfer, at a gay bar in WeHo, and introduced him to the first guy he'd dated seriously in his entire life. Tommy returns the favor by reminding her exactly how terribly that had ended for all parties. "Poker night dress code usually includes more buttons than date night," she jabs, finger circling the olives in her martini glass, and Tommy contemplates tossing one of Mehta's chips at her. Her grin goes wide.

With the momentary distraction, Tommy feels a little more prepared to face the two men now eyeing him curiously.

"Tommy," he says, leaning over the table, hand out to shake. Turtleneck raises a curious eyebrow when Mr. Red Velvet Smoking jacket practically leaps across his lap to shake back. "I'm over at 217."

"This is Eddie," Red Velvet introduces, and Tommy's gaze dances between them, curious. "I'm Evan. We're with the -- wait, 217 -- Chimney's Tommy?"

Tommy's brows dance up the same time as Eddie's do. He is still shaking hands with Evan. Or - holding is more accurate, he supposes, but for the sake of his sanity and the possible date Evan and Eddie are on, if he's reading the introduction or any of the vibes right (they're both stunning and Tommy is smarting from another shitty date, so who knows), Tommy keeps it to shake in his mind. "Well I don't think Howie can claim ownership of my person, but -."

"Sorry, no, I just meant..." Evan's gaze drops to their clasped hands, still now over the felt of the poker table. He gives one more firm pump and drops Tommy's hand. "We're both at the 118. Pretty sure you helped save this guy's ass once." He tips a thumb sideways to indicate the man he'd introduced as Eddie.

Tommy's eyes drift. He's had a few drinks, and up until about halfway through the date he'd been expecting a very different outcome for his night, so he's maybe not keeping a lid on things the way he normally would in a work setting. He's guessing the ass he's purported to have saved would look great, if it weren't firmly planted in his chair and out of view. The rest of the view ain't bad, either.

And.

Shit.

Williams is giving him a look, which means he's not being even a little subtle. "The gas main explosion," Tommy finally gathers from the cobwebs of his brain, and wouldn't it be his luck to transfer out of the 118 just in time for two annoyingly attractive men who may possibly be boning each other to take his place.

Evan grins. Beams, more like, and Tommy slides firmly into his own chair and tries not to be blinded by it. Or entranced by it. God he needs to get laid. Get this - whatever this is - out of his system.

Tommy's cool. Tommy's calm and collected and he hadn't even had that much to drink, actually, so why is he having such a hard time behaving like he's had forty years of experience dealing with attractive men?

Tommy sorts through the memories.

Eddie he can pinpoint fairly easily -- he'd shot off a message to Chim the moment they'd learned one of the 118 had been shot, and had been happy to break the news of his recovery to an anxious Harbor station in the tense days after it had all gone down. Evan, though - he doesn't have a clue who that could be. He's still got a few buddies from B Shift he talks to on occasion, but he doesn't remember any stories about an Evan from them, and Howie hasn't mentioned one, either.

Of course, it's not like either one of them does a great job of keeping in touch.

The mystery is solved a moment later when Williams tips her head at him. "Feels like we're being overrun by the 118 tonight," she says with a grin, but her gaze slides to Evan, rather than Tommy. "And we've got an honest-to-goodness legend tonight."

"You know I still can't believe you survived that, Buckley," Mehta says, and the puzzle piece slots itself into place. "Uh, although we're all glad that you did."

Buckley. Tommy shifts. Reassesses. Eyes the glance between Diaz and Buckley like he's gonna figure out their deal while he's already four and a half drinks deep into the night and hasn't already heard the larger than life tales of this duo from half-a-dozen gossipy paramedics. According to some, there's a secret torrid love affair going on behind the scenes of their codependent friendship. According to others, the ones he more or less trusts not to stretch the truth too far, they're friends -- closer than most, and maybe a little weird about each other, but friends all the same.

Buckley's a shark. Or, if Williams is to be believed, a bit of a cheat.

As the game goes on, and the conversation drifts from the morbid details of Buckley's three-minutes-seventeen-seconds of lifelessness, past the special skills near death experiences are rumored to cause, past the time out where they'd all admired the pictures of Buckley's Lichtenburg scars ("They faded pretty quickly," Evan says, with a soft little frown like he's a bit disappointed not to have any physical proof beyond a few shots of his naked brick shithouse of a chest.) Tommy can't help but admire the shift from bashful to smirking and smug as Evan keeps racking up monumentally improbable hands. He's a bit of a brat, actually, and Tommy can feel Rosen's eyes burning into the side of his head every time he ups the ante just to watch the flicker of triumph aimed in his direction every time Evan wins a hand Tommy raised.

Tommy's no slob with cards, on a normal day, but he's too busy trying not to read anything into the way Evan's eyes keep drifting to the v of the shirt he hadn't buttoned back up just to spite Rosen, or the way he keeps licking his fucking lips every time Tommy takes a sip of the whiskey at his elbow to really care as his chips dwindle to nothing. Tommy can't be entirely sure, but it seems like maybe Evan pouts, a little, when Tommy pushes back from the table to join the rest of the losers crowded around to watch Williams, Mehta and Buckley battle it out.

He's trying to think of a subtle way to ask Howie if Evan Buckley is just like that with all the men in his life when Eddie slides in beside him with a refill on his whiskey. Tommy grimaces. "I shouldn't."

"Thought you were trying to drink away a bad date?"

Tommy shoots Rosen a glare over Eddie's shoulder, but she's too busy chasing her straw with her tongue to notice.

"He was a Tesla fanboy," Tommy intones, and the braces himself for the reaction. He's used to it, now -- the constant cycle of coming out and waiting to see which new acquaintances bow out of getting to know each other any better. This is... earlier, than he usually drops it, but he hasn't been in the mood to lie about it in years, and Eddie had asked. He gets a raised brow and a grimace.

"Don't tell me you didn't know ahead of time," Eddie says, and Tommy loosens the grip on his glass.

"Hazards of blind dating."

Eddie's look is commiserating. He tips his beer bottle against Tommy's rocks glass. "Yeah, my tia keeps finding reasons for me to run into the eligible daughters and granddaughters of all her friends." Which Tommy supposes is answer to half of the question that's been plaguing him since he sat down.

Buckley gets cocky a few times, but it's clear the night is going his way even before Jeshan Mehta's pot gets swept up in Evan's arms. Williams holds out as long as she can.

"Beginner's luck!" Buckley crows, when Williams' last chip is added to his pile. Eddie's been supplying him with a steady flow of drinks for the past thirty minutes, and his smile is crooked as he tilts backwards in his chair for a fist bump. His eyes flick to Tommy's once he's received his congratulations from Eddie, and Tommy pretends he's not a little bit fascinated by the pull of his jacket over his arms, or the way his closed hand lingers near Tommy's even after Tommy has smacked his knuckles against his as well.

Evan Buckley is frustratingly adorable. Tommy's had too many drinks for any kind of decent decision making. He bows out while Evan and Eddie are collecting his winnings.

-----

Tommy's eyes flick to the readout on his phone. He doesn't recognize the number, but it's a local area code, so he picks up on the forth ring. "Go for Kinard."

"Uh - hey, hi. Hey Tommy." The voice is familiar, sweet and low. "It's Buck - Evan. Evan Buckley. I uh -- I got your number from Chim, I hope that's alright?"

Tommy's got a solid fifteen minutes before he has to leave for work, a raging headache that has thus far refused to accept electrolytes or Advil as tribute to his overindulgence the previous evening, and a full understanding that he's going to spend his shift listening to Donato swear up and down she's the better option for finding him a man, but the voice on the other end of his phone might at least give the headache a run for it's money.

"Evan. Hi."

"Hey. So -- you dipped before I could ask -- which is fine, obviously, I'm not -- uh..." He pauses. Tommy can practically picture the way he wets his lower lip while he searches for the right words. "Anyway I was wondering -- would you maybe wanna grab a beer, sometime?"

Tommy spends about fifteen seconds rearranging his entire schedule in his mind. Says, cool, calm, collected: "Sure. When are you free?"

Evan's voice goes distant for a second -- he's putting Tommy on speaker. "I, uh -- I didn't expect you to say yes so quickly. Actually I didn't expect you to answer -- who answers unknown numbers, anymore?"

"Who calls expecting to get sent to voicemail?"

The brat rises up immediately. "Uh, literally everyone. The missed call is just an excuse to text. It's basic phone etiquette, Tommy."

Tommy likes the way he says his name. Soft, sweet and slow, rolling over his tongue like molasses. This feels incredibly like flirting, but he can't get a fucking read on this kid. "Clearly I've missed out on an important cultural shift. I can hang up and we can do this the right way, if you want."

"No!" It's sharp -- louder, like he's raising the phone back towards his mouth. Tommy can't hide the grin leaking across his face. "Uh -- no, it's fine. Too late, anyway, I already know you don't know phone rules."

"Hopefully that doesn't change your opinion of me too much."

"I could be convinced to ignore it, with the right incentive."

"I'll buy first round," Tommy says, and wonders if he's got any other shirts he can play off as fitting better with three buttons undone. The flirting should be enough, but -- Tommy's still not sure drinks isn't just drinks.

"Wednesday night," Evan says, voice further away again. Tommy has a sudden, desperate urge to see what his Google calendar looks like. For all that he'd cut loose at the poker game, Tommy bets it's color coded by type of activity. "If that works. Or Saturday, any time, really. I'm uh -- I'm free then."

If Tommy bows out of trivia on classic car week Cynthia will have a whole ass bitch fit. And it makes him seem a little less eager, to boot. "Saturday. I've got a shift early Sunday, though, so maybe something in the afternoon?"

"Yeah -- yes, th-that works." The stammering isn't something Tommy can get a read off of. He'd done it just as much with Eddie as he'd done with everyone else. "There's a new brewery just off Pico and Prosser -- Chim said you were a fan of craft beer?"

Sounding more date like by the minute, but -- some guys toe the line. Could be Evan Buckley just wants to know more about flight operations, for all Tommy knows. "Text me the details. Look, Evan, I'd love to stay on this rule-breaking phone call and chat but I've got to head in for a shift. Just -- let me know the plan." He's got five minutes to brush his teeth and rue the moment he'd asked Gary for his first whiskey of the night. He's also rolling back his last few sentences and cringing at how abrupt he'd been. "And yeah -- good to know Chim hasn't forgotten the three facts I ever told him about me."

Evan laughs, just a soft little huff but Tommy already knows the grin behind that sound is all sorts of knee-meltingly sweet. "Cool. So. Yeah, I'll text you."

"I'll talk to you later, Evan."

"Yep. Talk to you -- talk to you soon."

Tommy waits a moment in silence. The call doesn't end. "Goodbye, Evan."

Evan huffs out another awkward laugh. "Yeah. Bye, Tommy."

The call disconnects just in time for Tommy to press his forehead into the cool tile beside his bathroom mirror. He might be monumentally screwed if this isn't a date. He hasn't been this fucking charmed by a man since -- well, it's been a while.

Tommy's phone buzzes in his hand. It's a pinned address from a number he doesn't have saved. Tommy swipes into the contact and updates it before the next text makes it through. Saturday 3PM?

Tommy brushes his teeth, downs the rest of his preworkout in the hopes that it'll ease some of the nastier parts of his stupid decision to keep drinking liquor past midnight, and stares at the text all the way out to his truck.

See you then, Tommy sends back, and he has to toss his phone into his passenger seat when he gets a series of incomprehensible emoji's almost immediately in response.

He holds up a hand to Donato the moment she catches his gaze, halfway across the parking lot. The brow goes up, the hand slots to her hip, and she rolls her tongue over her teeth, clearly ready for her speech about how Stout doesn't have a clue how to find Tommy a proper date. Tommy has other problems.

"You worked with Evan Buckley, for a while, didn't you?"

Her head tilt rights itself. The second brow dances up to meet the first. Whatever she'd meant to say disperses behind her eyelids as she seems to work through something in her mind. "Oh, this is compelling," she says, and practically skips forward to loop her arm in his.

[jenuinely-speaking]

A Family Tail Master Post

Behind the scenes, I have so many AUs and stories planned and in the works it's not even funny. I do plan on posting about them because they're all heavy with information, not just what I'm going to post on A03. At this point, my friends and I are convinced I'll be writing beyond the grave lol BUT! Focusing now on a fluff related AU, on that is on-going as I write it as a buffer while writing my AHON AU. It all started with a random thought one late summer afternoon during work: Why is there a lack in Splinter love stories? The guy deserves it. Having gone through a life-changing mutation, raising four boys that also went through the same life-altering changes, and ensuring not only theirs but his own survival and safety? Bruh. Having a friend that is going through single parenthood with 2 boys in life, Splinter deserves medals, spa days for the rest of his years, and love. Being a single parent to four boys, let alone mutant boys, is no easy task. But that's just me and my thoughts. This AU, however? It's not just a love-letter to the best Mutant Dad, but to four brothers and a small family that has gone through hell and back in order to find their peace and loving found-family. Which amped up the original thought to the following: What if the brothers had grown up with a mother/mother-figure? One that not only accepted and loved them, but accepted and loved their dad?

Enter Genevieve "Gene" - A head nurse for an exotic animal clinic, on-call for the local area zoos, and volunteers her time at the reptile sanctuary the clinic runs for rescues and surrenders.

In story, Gene "meets" (more like catches sight of) Splinter first when he sneaks into the clinic to 'borrow' some medicine for his sick, young sons (we're talking toddler ages here). After she left a note with her number and willingness for extending help, some time passes, and she receives a call from him requesting that aide. She does not physically meet him until a few months later, their conversations strictly having been by phone calls. He arrived at night when she's leaving the clinic, to properly thank her for saving his sons. After a tense conversation, they begin a shaky friendship/acquaintanceship, but neither push for regular in-touch basis (though Gene does make regular weekly calls to check up on the boys', and subsequently Splinter's health). She doesn't meet the boys until sometime afterward, but it doesn't take long after the meet that Gene becomes a regular in their lives--providing healthy groceries, presents, furniture and utility updates, and even providing a teaching of some modern hobbies the boys obtained that Splinter was open for them to learn, but lost on providing that type of teaching for his boys. Needless to say, she becomes a staple within their lives that it becomes difficult for all involved to imagine life without her, and vice versa for her towards this small mutant family. Some notes on this AU:

There is no set universe for this story; most likely will be an amalgamation with different cameos and easter eggs, just for the funsies.

An out-of-sync chapter story (attention span is too short due to other projects to figure out a proper timeline); some chapters will be shorter than others, and some will be marked as parts if I decide there is an arc to them.

Splinter in this AU will be a Human-turned-Mutant, Hamato Yoshi, because of plans.

The lair is 100% based on the '87/'90/'03 animation lair design(s) with how big, vast, and multi-room use it is, but with the grittiness of the 14/16 movie set designs.

The boys still learn the art of Ninjutsu -- they wouldn't be Ninja Turtles without it, after all. Gene also learns an impressive amount of self-defense combat, training under Splinter separate from the boys.

By the time the boys are teenagers, Gene is in her late 30s and Splinter is in his late 40s and they are in a solid relationship by that point

How the boys meet April + Casey will be different compared to the other iterations (that's honestly becoming a theme in my AUs, now that I think about it...What is wrong with me?)--April's meet is figured out, but still working on Casey's.

Even though majority of this will be Contemporary Life type genre, there are action scenes planned with Oroku Saki/Shredder and the Foot Clan (kinda hard to stay away from that).

I will be completely upfront: I don't normally write anything fluff related. But my brain has been craving this while I write scary angsty stories. Thus, having me fall to the dangling fruit that is contemporary 'what if's for these guys (including this, I have 4 planned stories within that genre), and I couldn't shy away from thinking up scenarios with turtle tots involved.

Here are the chapter summaries for two of those very scenes (centering around Mikey, because I've been very hard on the guy in my other story):

When the boys are around 7-8 years old: During the time when Gene is making it a good habit to visit the Hamato family during her down time, she is caught painting her toenails in the lair. Mikey gets inquisitive and asks her questions about the process and the 'why's. She is patient and lighthearted with her answers, but stalls when he ends up asking if she'd paint his nails. Instead of answering, she looks up to Splinter, who had been drinking his tea in the kitchenette; he had already been watching the exchange and after a moment, he gives his nod of approval. With the silent permission, Gene tells Mikey that she will prettify his nails, and while she finishes up and lets her toes dry, he can pick out a color, or colors that he'd like to have. When he grabs a handful of colors and asks if she could do a rainbow, they start to plan on how to do this project without making a whole lot of mess. Mikey ends up stealing borrowing a role of tape and paper from Don's rooms so they could tear small strips to make stripe patterns to test out. When Mikey finds one he likes, it's another hour or so of the two of them spending time together of her painting his nails (hands and feet) in striped rainbow. When Don comes out to see what's going on with his 'borrowed' materials, he asks if he can have his done too, but in shades of purple. The lair smelt of nail polish for at least a day after that afternoon/evening.

Sometime after Gene and Splinter begin their relationship: Michelangelo is having nightmares, and normally he'd go to one of his older brothers to pile up on, however he finds that he is wanting the comfort of Gene; her hugs are the best, and her extra squeezes and flop of her body makes him feel loved and safe. On one night she decides to sleep at the lair (it's a rare treat for her to sleep over that's slowly becoming more common), Mikey wakes up from another nightmare and immediately goes to seek out Gene. Only he doesn't see her on the couch or cot in the living room space she normally sleeps in--he hunts her down, doing his best to see it as a game of hide-and-seek to keep his panic down, and finally finds her in dad's room. The two are snuggling in slumber on his mat, with Gene having her back to Splinter and arms splayed before her, while Splinter has one draped over Gene's side and the other cradled under her neck. Mikey almost doesn't want to disturb them (in the back of his mind, he remembers that his brothers owe him their pot of treats), but only almost. He ends up going in the room and when he tries to figure out how to only wake up Gene, she startles awake from feeling his stare on her. He tells her about his nightmares and before he asks if he could have one of her hugs, she smiles and opens her arms for him. When he snuggles into her arms, they both feel Splinter wrap his arms closer against the both of them as they fall back in slumber; Mikey doesn't have nightmares after that (and crows at the breakfast table that his brothers owe him the winning pot of treats).

[takuyakistall]

romeo!

Chapter 1

Synopsis: Ace Trappola from the Trappola Kingdom, there was no doubt that he was a great man that was destined to achieve glory in a few years' time. But, there was one tiny problem. Being a prince from his own country meant that he needed to marry a lady from a prominent household. With much reluctance, he ended up choosing a princess from a neighbouring country—only to find out that the Prince of the Spade Kingdom has his eyes set on her as well. Is this... Competition?

Tags: Fem!Reader, Royalty AU, mentions of death, kidnapping, anything else you would find in a romance manhwa

Note: This piece is purely self indulgent and I plan on writing more for it! But I decided to share the first chapter here. There's no action yet so this is just some build-up.

Ace Trappola was never one to abide by the silly little rules of etiquette, he always thought that they were too nitpicky and stiff ever since he was a little boy. He thought that it was useless to keep up appearances for the sake of his reputation—until he experienced firsthand how cruel high society could be to a mere child who had made a single mistake. Of course, they would never dare to utter a single word in fear that their tongues would be cut off by his Highness, the king. But he would never ever forget the cold gazes that laid upon him as soon as he turned his back.

Which is why he donned a mask. He wore it all day and night as a child, hoping that it would be indestructible as he grew up but that brought him nothing but more of the empty and hollow feeling he hated. Despite already being so well-mannered, so educated, and so charming—he was nothing more than the second prince of the country who always seemed to be overshadowed by his older brother, the first prince. He was the definition of Ace's "perfect".

"Hey uncle," little Ace referred to his butler as such as he closed the storybook he was reading. A spark of curiosity sparkling in his eyes as he continued, "how do I become as amazing as my big brother?"

A childlike innocence could easily be tainted by those with such intentions—the old butler could easily plant the wrong ideas in his head and nurture the seeds of jealousy he planted within him. He stared at him for a second before letting out a sigh, strengthening his resolve when he saw Ace's eyes full of wonder.

"His Highness does not have to do anything, you are already a wonderful child just like your brother."

"Really!?"

"Of course, I wouldn't dare lie to you. If you continue to stay on the right path, I have no doubt that you will be as great as your brother in the future." He patted Ace's head, relieved that the second prince seemed to be satisfied with the answer.

"Yeah... I will!" He declared, staring right back at his butler with an uncontrollably big grin taking over his face.

That was the last time he saw that butler.

The palace staff told him he died because of heart failure during his day off. This devastated poor little Ace Trappola greatly—demanding to be allowed to attend his funeral but was stopped by his father, saying that there was no need for someone like him to attend a servant's funeral. The hand-picked white lilies Ace took that day in hopes of paying his respects, withered inside his room as he cried his heart out.

The next day, they had already found a replacement for his butler. Someone who was far younger than his previous one and was definitely less warm—he went by the name "Rowen" and insisted that the young prince should call him that. At first, Ace put up a fight as he tried to resist everything Rowen tried to do—even if it was just a menial task such as him trying to tie Ace's necktie for him.

But, nonetheless, Ace was still a child and children, more often than not, don't know how to deal with grief. You could easily spot him crying in places he shouldn't be yet no one had the heart to tell him that, even more when Rowen asked the palace staff specifically to not approach the prince if they ever spot him like that and instead, call for him immediately.

Stuck inside the garden, Ace was barely trying to keep his sobs in as he rubbed his eyes with his sleeves.

"I miss uncle…" He cried out, perhaps getting a little bit tired of how colder the palace seemed to be towards him. A pair of footsteps suddenly approached him, Ace quickly stood up and patted away all the dirt from his clothes so it seemed like he didn't cry but his swollen eyes were a dead giveaway.

"Your Highness, I was looking for you."

"Oh, Rowen. It's you…" A dejected look took over his face, was he expecting his old butler to appear? He silently crushed his hopes as he raised a question for his new companion.

"Can I ask you a question…?"

"Of course."

"D-Do you think I can still be as amazing as my big brother?" A few seconds of silence passed by as Rowen crossed his arms.

"Forgive me for my bluntness. However, at this rate, you will never amount to what your brother will be in the future."

"E-Eh? But uncle said that—"

"Your 'uncle' was foolish, perhaps that was why he died." Rowen crouched down, his green irises staring right into Ace's eyes—there was something in his eyes that Ace couldn't put a finger on but one thing is for sure, he thought Rowen was scary during this very moment.

"What you need right now is power," Rowen pressed a finger against his lips. "And that's exactly what I can give you."

"Power? Don't I already have plenty of that, I'm a prince!"

"What you need," he pushed Ace back with his index finger, "is enough power to take the throne."

"But big brother is the only one who can take that!" Ace shouted, trying to overpower the nonsense he was hearing from his new butler.

"Heed my words and I can make it happen." Rowen's lips tugged up into a small smirk before delivering his final words.

"After all, you want to be as great as your brother, the first prince."

Ace felt confused. He clutched his chest as he thought about his words—he did want to be as great as his brother but he couldn't help but be a little wary of what Rowen might ask of him. Ace had to slap himself back to reality, there was no reason for him to think about this so seriously! There was no way he could take the throne for himself and why would he even want to do that…? Isn't he happy the way he is right now?

Ace stepped out from the garden with Rowen following him shortly behind. He stared at the castle building, the maids and butlers working about, and a few noble visitors roaming around.

That was when a little devil's voice started whispering in his ear.

Deuce Spade had been anything but happy upon growing up inside the Royal Palace. Being the sole crown prince of the Spade Kingdom, his life never consisted of flowers and rainbows contrary to what many think. If you asked young Deuce himself about his position, he would simply give you a blank stare before properly processing your question. Once he does, he’ll give you a half-hearted smile before answering with: “It’s a duty I must fulfill.”

He’d never been too fond of the fact that his life was already planned ahead of him the moment the royal palace discovered his existence in his mother’s womb. He would undergo proper education fitting for the crown prince, he would be assigned with tasks that were meant for the crown prince, and he would soon rise to the throne once his father was no longer able to rule.

Rather than inheriting the throne, he yearned for something else. Being the heir to the throne meant that there was almost nothing he couldn’t obtain but he found himself dumbfounded when his elders aggressively denied him of his desire for the first time.

His desire to become a knight.

Deuce was said to be excellent with the art of the sword, easily surpassing other kids his age. But that was not the reason why Deuce had the desire to become a knight.

One of the first things they taught Deuce was the fact that he was in a dangerous position and that there might be cases wherein other people might make an attempt on his life. He thought that it was ridiculous because, after all, who would dare try to kill the crown prince? It would be treason!

And because of that, he was too lax.

One night, the prince got kidnapped and threw the whole palace in an uproar. Little Deuce could barely open his eyes when he tried assessing his surroundings, his eyes were blurry and he couldn’t move a muscle as no voice came out from his mouth. He was beyond terrified, he thought he was going to die that night. He pleaded inside his head, begging someone to come and find him. But for days, he was yet to be found.

He thought that perhaps the Royal Palace had decided to give up on him as he lost hope himself, his eyes growing dull and duller. He had to endure the harsh treatment given to him during his abduction, the only thing keeping him sane was the single ray of hope that someone was going to rescue him.

Just as he felt as if the thread was about to snap, he saw a cloaked man barge into the place where he was held hostage with a sword in hand. Ruthlessly, he cut down the perpetrators without so much as a blink. Deuce could only stare at the scene unfolding in front of him weakly. ‘Am I… being saved?’

It took him every ounce of his strength to stay conscious. And even more when he forced himself to ask the mysterious cloaked man. He wasn’t wearing anything that could discern his homeland, Deuce couldn’t figure out where he came from. His face was covered by the hood of the cloak, he couldn’t see his features very well. Deuce was afraid that there would be no way of him figuring out his identity before he passes out, so he forced a voice out of his throat.

“Who… are you?” His voice was hoarse. The man stayed silent, sheathing his sword before walking closer to the prince and unlocking the rope binding his hands together. Deuce could slowly feel himself losing consciousness but just before he could pass out, the man finally answered his question.

“...A knight.” He muttered.

The next time Deuce opened his eyes, he was no longer in a dark place but instead, in an unfamiliar yet extravagant room. He could tell that it was not the palace in his kingdom, he felt himself panic once again as he remembered the past events. When he heard a knock on his door, Deuce flinched as he hesitantly told them to come in.

A small girl around Deuce’s age entered the room with a plushie in her arms. He told himself to calm down upon seeing her, reassuring himself that the probability of this girl doing the same thing as the ones who kidnapped him were very low.

“Are you feeling better now, Your Highness?” She asked, concern lacing her voice. Deuce clutched his arm.

“Better than before… at least. But before that, who are you?” It was only normal for Deuce to become extremely wary considering what he just went through. The young girl understood that and merely gave him a small grin.

She introduced herself as the first princess of the kingdom he was residing in. Deuce was shocked, it wasn’t his own kingdom that found him but another! Did that mean that all this time he was in a foreign country? Was that the reason why no one had found him for days? Countless questions were swirling inside his head.

The princess was the only one who was let into his room, seeing as how Deuce was more comfortable seeing someone around his own age rather than adults. She was as clumsy as she was kind, Deuce found himself being comforted by her even if most of their meetings consisted of him being gloomy.

A few days later, an envoy was sent to Deuce’s kingdom to inform them that he was safe in their palace. During that period of time, Deuce was cooped up inside his room—thinking about a lot of stuff and refused to come out for hours. When it was time for him to go, he visited the princess one last time.

“Is it possible for me to visit you in the future?” Gratitude? Attraction? Personal interest? The reason behind his words was blurred.

When he returned home, he almost gave the whole Royal Court a heart attack when he declared that he wanted to become a knight. Nobody could tell what Deuce was thinking after he was abducted, it was as if he turned into an entirely different person. But he was thoroughly denied of his desire to become a knight, in which he was highly disappointed in. But, somehow, he found a way to secretly train without anyone finding out.

Using the princess as the shield, he went in and out of your kingdom to train under the pretense of meeting her. But she was more than happy to assist him as they became partners in crime. Deuce couldn’t forget the mysterious knight that saved him and so he idolized him ever since, saying how he wanted to be someone who protected people.

“Princess!” He called out, waving his hand as he grinned at her. This was the start of their relationship with each other. Only time can tell if this was to end happily ever after or otherwise.

[kittydemon9000]

Okay so once again, 3 am thoughts have gifted me with yet another au. It is by no means original but screw it: SmithSwap

The only things I’m switching is their ages, so now Nya is the older one, but it. Gets. Fun.

For specifics, as of the Pilots/S1 Nya is 15 and Kai is 11, because I want bebe kai

Now, prior to Wu showing up, it’s pretty much the same as canon only with roles reversed. Nya mostly runs the shop while Kai is trying to everything he can to make things easier for his big sister, and I mean everything. The only one Nya doesn’t stop him from doing is cooking because Kai is the better chef, though neither can figure out why. Nya also likes to tell Kai stories of their parents since he can’t remember them too well, much to his disappointment.

ANYWAY, Wu shows up, Kai gets upset he’s insulting his sister’s work, then Skulkin show up. Kai does get snatched, much to Nya worry and canon continues.

Okay but also tiny spinoff, it also would’ve been hilarious if Nya still got kidnapped because then when the guys meet Kai they’d be like “who is this sassy lost child?”

So then while Nya’s training, I’m actually going to say what happened when Kai is captured.

You see, a side affect of being really freaking old is that your perception of time changes, specifically how long periods seem shorter. Garmadon decided that because of the prophecy it would be best to snatch the Master of Fire, who he thought would be Ray.

So you can imagine his surprise when his Skulkin bring in a kicking, screaming 11 year old child.

He is, understandably, not happy and very confused.

He sends the Skulkin away and tries his best talking with Kai. Like, as little malice as he can in a gentle voice, and he actually learns a few things. 1) both Ray and Maya went missing years ago, 2) these kids have no idea about anything regarding the Elemental Masters, 3) Kai’s sister has been raising him since their parents went missing, and she’s only four years older than him

Understandably, he is concerned, but also sees this as an opportunity. If he raises the Master of Fire to be loyal to him, then he’ll never want to fulfill his role in the prophecy, thus ensuring his victory. also he really misses lloyd and now when he returns he’ll have two kids!!! how amazing is that

So yeah Kai’s stay in the Underworld isn’t that bad. This Garmadon guy is pretty nice, tells him awesome stories about his parents, teaches him a bunch of things(mostly how to fight), and really just acts like the paternal figure he never had(Garmadad is canon, no matter what form you can fight me on this). The only part that sucks in Samukai, but he’s just a jerk and Garmadon makes sure he’ll never actually do anything to hurt him. He does miss Nya a lot though.

Anyway back with Nya and the guys.

They don’t actually know the exact reason why she was here at the beginning. All they know was that Wu originally left for the Master of Fire and came back with her instead. They know she has a brother, but aren’t quite sure how he falls into it.

They learn her full story the night they’re heading to the Temple of Fire, at which when they’re winding down Zane brings up how she never actually told them how she met Wu.

They are very concerned when they find out the whole story and swear they’ll help her get him back, which is nice.

Then she sees Kai But Actually Garmadon, follows, and bam Sword of Fire time. She isn’t able to fully use it, but she’s able to get a few sparks. However, things then start to take a turn for the worst.

Kai is actually here, very confused why Garmadon’s having him tied to the ceiling, but hey Nya’s here! But then oh no he then realizes that Garmadon is the bad guy, which gets him upset and more then a little betrayed.

Seeing him hurt his sister, the one of raised him, actually has Kai pick up the sword and use his powers. Under normal circumstances, it probably wouldn’t have been bigger than a few sparks, however Kai has his big sister in danger, dealing with the betrayal of an almost father figure, holding the Sword of Fire, and being surrounded by his element.

So yeah. Not that small of a fire.

The guys and Wu are actually able to to witness the truly incredible fire blast he lets out from the camp, put two and two together, and start heading over. Wu didn’t follow Nya…..because plot and was the able to help them fight off the Skulkin.

Anyway, it’s more than enough to dissipate the shadows, however it also wakes up the dragon. Garmadon, who is sort of panicking because That Was Not Supposed To Happen, ends up scooping up an unconscious Kai and the Sword and retreating to the underworld, leaving behind a very pissed Nya and an equally pissed Fire Dragon.

But yeah, Nya deals with the dragon, they get the other ones and head to the Underworld with Wu this time, and he’s actually the reason they’re able to get past all the Skulkin. 

But yeah, Samukai gets vaporized and Garmadon about to leave when a feverish Kai makes his way in and begs Garmadon to not do it and that they can fix things.

And Garmadon….actually pauses for a second and you can see the conflict in his eyes before he shakes his head and says “there’s no going back for me” and walks through. Kai then collapses and the end up heading back home.

As for what’s up with Kai, who would’ve guessed tapping into a kind of power you aren’t supposed to have access to yet in a high stress situation would be bad for the body. He has a really bad fever but he’s fine after a few days.

The few month timeskip in between the Pilots and S1 is mostly spent training Kai, so they have quite a bit less free time. However when S1 starts and Kai hears about Lord Garmadon, he actually wants to check it out himself first.

So yeah, he meets Lloyd by himself and it actually doesn’t go that badly. Kai actually buys some candy for them to share and they leave the town, and Kai actually starts talking with him. Eventually the topic comes up about Garmadon and Kai gives a rough basis about how he sort of got kidnapped, and then his work in progress plan of making him good again. Lloyd is completely down with seeing his dad again and says how they could probably get his dads attention if their got their own evil army.

And because they’re both stupid kids, neither of which have had parents before, Kai thinks it’s a great idea.

So yeah. That’s why they find the Serpentine here.

Ofc, it isn’t a right away type thing. It takes them about a month before they find the Hypnobrai Tomb, and Kai just plays off all his time spent out as him having made a friend, which they can’t exactly argue with.

Ofc, canon still happens and when Kai was busy training Lloyd ended up finding the tomb and releasing the Serpentine, and they do their regular Canon Nonsense. 

However, Kai is not too happy about the whole Attack Villages things and after a bit comes clean to the ninja about their original plan. They very much aren’t happy, but admit his heart was in the right place and they doubt he’d pull something like this again.

Fast-forward a bit more, Kai is mostly chill with Zane’s “weirdness” and unfortunately stays home when the Hypnobrai burn down the Monestary. It’s only because the dragons were able to get out and protect him that he was still alive. Nya’s actually the one who yells at Zane this time around because again. Kai almost died, but it’s all cool later and they find the Bounty :D

Anyway, Canon again continues. Kai is still really good with the dragons and is a little upset they need to leave. He also gets along really well with Ed and Edna. Then when Lloyd joins Kai is a little….well he doesn’t hate him but he does spend a while avoiding him.

Eventually Nya has enough of their dancing around each other and locks them both in the same room so they can talk it out. Turns out the reason Kai was avoiding him was because Lloyd’s betrayal really hurt since they were supposed to do it to find Garmadon, not hurt people. They have a tearful apology, then Kai learns how much of a jerk the Serpentine were and is like “the next time I see any I’ll protect you, since you’re like my little brother and as a big brother it’s my job to keep you safe”

Now it’s Samurai Time :)

You see, this time around Kai has double reasons for being the Samurai. 1) Yeah, he hates being left behind and wants to be involved but also 2) he wants to keep his big sister and big brothers safe

So yeah, that happens. He does think it’s pretty funny when they keep trying and failing to one up him though.

But then :) He gets captured with Lloyd :)))

So yeah, that sucks but it only gets worse because while Kai was able to “summon” his Samurai Mech, he had to send it off to get the ninja away. So that sucks.

Garmadon eventually shows up to help since the Serpentine stole both his kids, much to Nya’s chagrin.

Then comes the freaking Volcano Scene and this one is from Nya when she rescues Kai, then has to choose between Lloyd or the Fangblade. She ends up unlocking her True Potential by essentially leaving behind all negative feels she had for Lloyd and accepting him under her protection just like she did Kai.

The sheer torrent of water easily cools all the lava and thoroughly soaks them. But hey, even Kai has to admit being wet is better than being burnt alive. Also when the ninja start wondering aloud why the Samurai didn’t help Kai bashfully admits he was the Samurai, and this thoroughly impresses the ninja since Kai is like, 12 at this point.

Uhhhh, S2 isn’t too different. Kai is super happy that the dragons are back and is easily Ultra’s favorite. He isn’t hit with either Garms spell nor the Tomorrows Tea, but is there to comfort Lloyd and says that even though he got hit with some magic stuff Kai is still going to protect him since he’s still his older brother. On the Dark Island Kai is heartbroken Nya got corrupted and swears he’ll help fix her. When Garmadon gets purified Kai looses his shit and gets so excited since let’s goooooo not only is his dad not evil anymore they can go out in public together :DDDD

S3, also not too different. During the whole Love Triangle nonsense Kai’s just sitting there so confused. Also Pixal joins team Kai’s Older Siblings. Him getting captured was just him being at the wrong place wrong time. He has a really fun time time in space though, which was nice.

But uh. Then Zane hecking dies, which hits everyone really hard, especially Kai. Only this time, Nya ends up taking Kai back to Ignacia and opens up the forge again, pretty much cutting all contact with the other ninja, Wu and Garmadon. While it might’ve been boring and lonely, at least in Ignacia they were safe. 

Kai is…honestly really miserable, but hides it well. He can barely get up some mornings, but does so anyway since he’s desperately trying to act like things are normal, despite how Nya doesn’t talk very much. He misses the other ninja a lot, even Pixal despite not knowing her for very long, but doesn’t want to tell Nya since again, trying to make things normal again. Nya also doesn’t let him out of the house too often, only really if she’s there to watch him.

This routine goes on for about two months, until Lloyd shows up to try and get everyone back together. And Nya.....Nya doesn’t like that.

She and Lloyd end up having a bit of a passive aggressive argument that is progressively getting louder until Kai just. Snaps.

He yells at them to stop fighting, how they’re acting so horribly and that he wished things could go back to normal, how Zane wouldn’t want this and that he’d be disappointed in them.

The two visibly flinch.

Then Kai realizes exactly what he just said and who he said it to. And he runs.

Nya and Lloyd both spend some time in silence, mulling over what Kai just said because he was right. Zane would hate what’s become of the team and how they separated.

Nya ends up being the one to break the silence, asking Lloyd where and when to meet.

When Kai doesn’t return from the woods, she ends up leaving a note before she leaves, explaining where she’s going and how she’s sorry.

Meanwhile, Kai is having a slight breakdown in a Tree Base he made years ago.

But yeah, fast forward a bit and Kai’s getting ready to sneak onto Chen’s Island, but in a slightly different way than canon. Instead he takes a slightly experimental ship that’s basically a smaller Bounty which he calls the Destiny’s Wish. Think of the comparison like a Car vs a Go Cart. Comfortably, it can fit 2 people long term, but for quick trips can carry as many as 10, but it’ll be a tight fit and the Wish might have some trouble flying.

So yeah, he’s on his own and he doesn’t arrive until a few hours before the EMs all get dropped from the plane. Shade is actually the one to find him first, but has a moment of pause since Literal Child and gives Kai enough time to kick him into a tree and run. The whole chase actually lasts about two hours but unfortunately Kai isn’t able to get back to the Wish and gets caught.

Now for the fun part :)

So all the EMs(and I do mean all because he wanted to “thank them for their contribution”) are in the throne room, their powers snatched, when Chen said aloud “But it is such a shame that we don’t have the Master of Fire, the we’d be able to complete the spell.” and for the briefest second the Ninja Fam are relieved but then Chen does a whole “SIKE, WE GOT HIM” and has some of the guards bring Kai out.

The Ninja are, understandably, freaking out. The EMs kinda are too since Child but only a little bit and it’s not personal

But then just as Chen’s about to snatch his fire, Kai starts saying how Chen cheated since Kai never got to play in a match. Chen refutes it since His Game His Rules but then Kai says that age old statement to get siblings to do Stupid Shit: “What are you, scared?”

Chen is not scared, thank you very much. And you know what, since you’re so confident fine, you now get your own challenge!

So yeah, now Kai has his own challenge.

What is it you might ask?

A vertical obstacle course with a time limit. If Kai doesn’t grab the Jade Blade, the exit closes.

Not that bad you might think. After all, Kai’s been training with the ninja for the past year, he’s probably got this in the bag.

Yeah welllllllll, a little bird told might have told Chen that a certain Master of Fire couldn’t swim.....so he uses Nya’s power to gradually fill up the room and forcing him up.

Surprise surprise, it was rigged against him. I’m talking platforms having false bottoms, ladders being oiled, high pressure water jets to knock him off, the works.

Kai is so close to making it. So close..... but Chen can’t have that happen now can he :)

So yeah, Kai ends up falling in and Nya almost drags all the EMs into the water trying to get him.

Luckily it’s at that moment Lloyd bursts in with Garmadon, frees the EMs and gets Chen’s staff. The EMs bust out and just as Nya’s about to dive in the whole thing starts draining, like an enormous whirlpool.

You see Chen actually thought ahead and realized that “hey, if the kid dies he’ll loose his power” so he made a plan that when Kai was going to fall in, he would use one of the tubes that shot water but in verse and suck him in. Luckily he was able to pull it off before the gem was smashed because if not MMM.

So yeh, Kai is now captured, but still on the island. Skylor reluctantly copies his powers(she got sort of close with Nya and this is the little brother she was gushing about), and Anacondrai happens. However, the two are able to escape, Skylor’s actually able to figure out the Summon Dragon thing, and then they head back to the main group.

Then comes the inevitable question of “how did you get here anyway?” and then Kai shows them The Wish. He actually ends up flying back with Garmadon before all the EMs learn how to Summon Dragon so they can warn people about the ensuing danger.

So yeah, they head out, the Pythor thing happens, canon then Sad because Garm still needs to do the whole sacrifice thing D:

That one hits Lloyd and Kai really hard, but they both use each other for comfort so it isn’t as bad as it could’ve been.

But yeah, this is getting long so tbc for a part 2 :DDD

[nevermore-the-kitsune]

Pokemon Teams for Fictional Characters pt. 2

Damian Wayne

(Also, I'm not including move sets because in my headcannon Pokemon do remember all their old moves. But humans choose to only use four)

For this AU I'm having the Wayne's own the Gotham City Gym, which specializes in Dark types. Most of the cannon events still happened. Just with a few tweaks here and there. (Dick's 20, Jason's 16, Cass is 15 Tim's 15 but younger than Cass and Damian's 13 because I love AUs where there closer in age).

Anyway here we go!

First things first in the Pokemon Universe his alias wouldn't be Robin since they don't exist. Instead I think it would be Rookidee, since thats the closest Pokemon to a Robin.

His Partner Pokemon and ace would be a Gligar

Name: Goliath

Gender: Male

Why: Gligar screams Goliath (his Batdragon) plus the coloring of his evolutions matches with Dami's Robin and Batman outfits

Story: He found Goliath while climbing a mountain for his training. At the time he was four and Goliath was a hatching. Damian ended up giving him some food, seeing that the hatching was hungry.

Grateful, the Gligar followed him hoping to return the favor.

When Damian's hand got broken on that same trip, Goliath was the one to help him finish his mission and get home safely.

Talia was impressed that Damian could tame a wild Pokemon without catching it, so she allowed him to keep him as his first Pokemon.

-----

Next he would have a Meowth

Name: Alfred

Gender: Female

Why: This one has to do with its evolution. Persian are said to only be loyal to trainers it likes and that it takes a lot to get them to like you. Their also said to be prissy and uptight. This reminded me of Damian. How it took forever for him to trust his brothers and his own snobby attitude. Thus I think it fits.

Story: After coming to live with his father Damian didn't know how to act. He saw his "brothers" and father treating their Pokemon so different than how the League did. They all trained hard. But, there was something eles: warm praise for a job well done, asking for insight on a case (they had taught their bipedal pokemon sighn language) and comfort on a bad day. His father and brothers treated their Pokemon like... people

In the League Pokemon where the lowest soldier, lower than the slaves or concubines. They trained, ate then they had to and got in their ball.

He had been a little more lenient in his training with Goliath. When asked he said that he was still a baby and he had to take things slow in this stage or he might develop too much muscle mass and be unable to fly.

He had kept him out of his ball with the excuse of developing muscle mass at a proper pace.

He liked Goliath's company. The Gligar was a good companion. But on the same level as another person?

He had expressed these thoughts to Pennyworth, the only person in the house to give him a straight answer when he needed it.

Pennyworth had explained to him that some people love to hold power over others and that Pokemon where an easy target, since they couldn't communicate their emotions as clearly as people could.

"Think of Mistress Cain. She sometimes cannot communicate with words, but we know that she's intelligent. But some people see her as less than intelligent and treat her as such because of the power it gives them."

Two weeks later Damian would come across a group of teenagers attempting to shave a Meowth. The Pokemon was little more than skin and bone and crying out on pain. So, Damian broke their fingers and shaved part of their heads for good measure.

He kept the Meowth and named her after the man who taught him about the abuse of power.

---

Next, a Poochyena

Name: Titus

Gender: Male

Why: These Pokemon and their evolution are ruthless with their pray, and only obey trainers with external skill.

Story: Raven gave Damian Titus as a gift. She said that she rescued him from an underground fighting ring (where the battles are to the death). He was still to young to battle so he didn't need much rehabilitation. The other Pokemon there though...

---

Now we have a Type Null

Name: Heretic

Gender: ???

Why: This Pokemon was created in lab, and artificial designed for the purpose of fighting, just like Damian. True I could have given him Mewtwo, but that cat seems to fit Kon more.

Story: Damian's mother had spent years creating Type: Null with the purpose of being able to kill any target. As a last test she wanted to see which of her creations was suppirrior. So she sent the Type Null out to (try and) kill her son.

Damian, with the rest of his team, beat the Pokemon but couldn't kill it. He had long since vowed to wash the blood from his hands. Instead he offered his hand to it and asked it to join him.

---

Here we have the hardest to explain... Mimikyu

Name: Habibi (I hope I spelled that right)

Gender: Female

Why: Damian is complex, he wants to be accepted and loved just like Mimikyu but dosent know how. Both try to mimic others in order to get that love, Damian his father and Mimikyu Pikachu. So I see this as Damian's spirit Pokemon in a way.

Story: He didn't know why it was so hard to fit in. Gods know he tried. But... little things confused him. Like how eveyone could understand each other without words or singhing. He had no problems with that on a battlefield, but in day to day life; it felt like he was on a separate server.

Like how Todd knew at breakfast with just a look that Drake was in a bad mood and how to help. Or how Grayson could audomadicly tell what kind of day at school the rest of them had withen a few minutes. Hell even Drake could tell what grunts ment what from father! Which ment good job, Which ment I'm glade your okay, or frustration either at them or at a case (Cass didn't surprise him, she had to learn how to communicate without words and watch body language and micro expressions).

School was no better; sometimes it was to load or bright othertimes, when everyone was doing a test, it felt to quiet. But, to much or to little, Damian was always aware of every movement, every sound. It was like the very instincts that saved his life every night where turned against him.

He turned to his nearly forgotten childhood habits to distract himself from everything around him. That only led to more whisper shouting and what even he could tell where displeased glares with a grunt of "fucking tapping" or a snap of "stop!" He knew it was disrupting but it was all be could do to drown out the noise or silence.

On one particularly bad day at school; apparently during one of their tests one of his classmates had had enough of Damian's tapping and decided to make a scene.

There was some yelling from the kid. A few cries in agreement. Before the teacher had gotten hem to settle down. He had demanded that Damian look him in the eye and when he finally did told him to stop with the tapping or else he would be sent to the office, Gym Leaders son or not.

He was the last to finish that test where he normally finished first. The silence had been to load!!

After that clusterfuck Damian finally headed home. He had texted Grayson saying that he was meeting a friend somewhere to work on a project and to not pick him up. In truth he didn't want his brother reading what kind of day he had had. He needed some time to himself.

That was how he found himself in a nearby park. It was filled with plenty of sounds that didn't suffocate him and the fall leaves where soothing to his eyes. Damian had Titus out of his ball as company, knowing that the pup loved park walks.

They had been walking for an hour when they came across a box set off just on the edge of the trail. "Free to Good Homes" was written on the side in black sharpie.

No sound was coming from inside, so he assumed that the had all been taken. Until Titus went closer sniffing at the seemingly empty box.

"Pooch Pooch"

"Hmmm... what is is it boy?" He asked as he walked closer to his Pokemon and the Box. Damian hoped he was wrong. It was cruel to leave a baby Pokemon all alone, especially since the weather was getting colder by the day.

Inside the box was in fact a lone Pokemon. At first glance it looked like a Pikachu. But something was off. It looked more like a doll than a living creature. If it wasn't for the small chirps it let out and slight way that it was shivering from the cold Damian would have written it off as a toy. No wonder it got left behind...

Damian reached down and picked up the mystery Pokemon as gently as he could.

"Come on beloved, lets go home."

He tucked the Pokemon in his jacket to warm it up before reaching for his phone to call Grayson for a ride home.

That night Damian locked himself away, even skipped patrol, and spent a sleepless night learning everything he could about his newest Pokemon.

---

That was inspired by this comic

---

Finaly, for his last spot Eevee!!

Name: Omni

Gender: Female

Why: I'm going to have all the Batfam members have an Eeveelution. This branch and the Batfam are both growing consistently. We all have our favorites but we love them all the same. So I think it fits.

Story: Everyone in the family had an Eevee or one of its evolutions. Damian's Father said that Eevee was the Wayne family symbol, it was potential, the ability to become whatever you wanted.

Though it surprised Damian that the Wayne symbol wasn't a Noibat or Noivern (Batman's ace) at first he eventually understood the logic in choosing such a Pokemon to represent the family name. That only made things harder for him being the only one not having one. Did they not truly see him as family?

On the one year anniversary of Damian arriving at The Mannor, his family through a small party. Pennyworth made his favorite foods, The Mannor was decorated in tacky streamers (Graysons' idea) and they watched some of Damian's favorite fims, their Pokemon curled up with them. His father had offered to take the day off from the gym. Until Todd suggested that Damian take on the challengers.

The Gotham gym was part of his heritage. Damian had been training for the day that he could finally help weed out the weak challengers just like his siblings sometimes did (think the battles you do before challenging a gym leader in the games).

On that day, if the challengers agreed to it, their final battle wasn't with Bruce Wayne the Dark Knight but instead his son. Most accepted thinking that it would be an easy win, that they had lucked out in not having to battle one of the stongest Gym Leaders in the League and could still get the Shadow Badge.

Those poor fools.

Damian was only allowed to use Alfred, Titus and Habibi since he used Goliath and Heretic primarily as Rookidee.

Damian fought seven trainers that day in 3v3 fights. Only two of them got the badge.

With the day overwith and the night rising, so did Gothams' protecters.

The night ended with exhausted body's and adrenaline crashes. Damian was ready to slip into a mini coma from the day he had but before he could head upstairs to The Mannor...

"Not so fast baby bat." Graysons' voice called out to him. "We got one more surprise for you."

Damian raised his eyebrow at that. What else could they do? His father came back from the locker rooms where he had been desuiting, it always took him the longest because of his "old man bones" as Todd said.

"Son," his father said "its Wayne tradition to get your first Pokemon when you turn ten years old. I missed that with you." He paused, eyes briefly shifting to the floor before they snapped back on Damian's face. "Luckily there's one tradition we didn't miss. When you've lived at The Mannor for a year or the adoption papers get finalized, I give my children this..."

He pulled a Poke'ball out of his poket and handed to Damian. "Go on son, let them out."

He did

Staring at him was his own Eevee.

---

AN: All of Damian's Pokemon (sans maybe Omni, I'm thinking of leaving her as an Eevee) will eventually evolve. Eventually.

[skellebonez]

You asked for more Macaque and Mei, and I shall request more! Possibly from my Parents and Kiddos au with 7 and 36? And you get to decide if this is before or after Macaque decide that this kid is his kid

Yeah so... remember how I told you to remember a very specific piece of art for this au you drew? It gave me a bit of an idea that probably does not fit in the timeline of how Mac took Mei in, but this is my personal take on how he could have decided he couldn't just leave her because he cared too much now.

Warning: short scene of a young child being reminded of a traumatic event unintentionally and by accident, it is very vague while the child is in no danger and quickly helped, but it should be warned for.

Stop acting like a child!/Did you honestly think that was going to impress me?

"Oh... Please, small human, for 3 more minutes stop acting like a child!" The person sitting across from Macaque at the table muttered out, pulled out of trying to focus on their conversation by the small human in the room jumping on the bed. Macaque had half a mind to kick them out then and there, had he not needed the payment they were discussing to afford the room for another night.

"I am a child!" Mei responded quickly, tone terse and tight and more frustrated than a child her age should have to sound like. But Macaque couldn't blame her, stuck in the hotel room and having to listen to two adults (who she did not realize were demons discussing... business in vague terms) with little to no entertainment thanks to the TV being off for this meeting. "Maybe if you did more of your magic tricks I'd be less bored!"

"A-ah... right... my apologies," The person said quickly, sighing as they realized their mistake. While they sat with the appearance of a slightly elder woman in a black and white suit with brilliant red eyeliner to Mei, Macaque could see them for their true appearance through the glamor if he tried. Her disguise would have been a futile effort had Mei not believe the wind based magic she used earlier in their meeting to be a human magic trick and the woman a magician. The crane demon turned back to Macaque, a seemingly genuine apologetic smile on her face as she lowered her voice as much as possible. "I forget small humans are always still children."

"As long as everything is cleared," Macaque replied, watching from the corner of his eye with a smile as Mei curled into a ball and bounced one last time with a laugh before grabbing a book he had... "purchased" for her and sprawling out on the bed to read it. He hated to admit it, but the kid had grown on him. Just a bit.

"Oh yes!" The demon woman said with wide smile, pulling a card from her suit coat pocket. "Here, all the money has been loaded onto here. My brother insisted on a more substantial sum, given the job, so there are more yuan on there than you expect." Generosity for what he did was not exactly commonplace, so more than likely it was a bribe. "Keep your trap shut, Macaque" or "please don't come back and kill us" most likely. Not that he would go out of his way to do the later. Not now. The demon cleared her throat, holding out her hand. "The... you know?"

Macaque did know, pulling out a tiny scroll from a nearby bag to hand to her. It was simple, some kind of spell that could be used against her family specifically, and he watched as she looked at it with disgust.

"You have no idea the trouble you have saved my family, Six-Eared Macaque," she said, pulling out and adhering a sticker of some kind to the scroll. He'd never seen something like it before, but he wished he had taken a second to ask what she had been doing when the scroll immediately burst into flames that were held in place by her wind magic.

The effect was instantaneous. The scroll was engulfed in flame, disappearing and out in seconda. Macaque shot up to his feet. And despite his hopes she had actually been paying attention to her book enough to be distracted, Mei screamed.

He had to rush quickly to stop her running into the table to get to him, tears streaming down the young girl's face as she wrapped her arms and legs around his neck and torso immediately. She screamed and wailed into his neck, muttering "no"s into the fur that had sprouted up as his glamor fell away. She was too afraid to notice.

"Wh-what!?" The crane demon shot to her feet, worry and confusion on her face as she went to take a step forward only to be met with a deep grown and bared teeth from the monkey demon. "I-I just wanted to show you what I had designed! Is she-?"

"Come anywhere near her and I'll gouge your eyes out!" Macaque hissed in fury, raising a clawed hand to the back of Mei's head in the hopes to comfort her. He'd seen this happen before and he knew that she was not listening to him. "Did you honestly think that was going to impress me? Get out. I don't want to see your face anywhere near here for the next few days. If I do you'll have a worse fate than that scroll."

The crane demon stood up straight, face falling into a grimmace. "Y-yes, Six-Eared Macaque..." she turned, making her way to the door before pausing and looking at Mei with a frown. "For what it's worth... I'm sorry. Had I known that would frighten the child I would have waited."

He simply growled at her, ears flared and teeth bared at her until she left and he heard the clicking of the door locking behind her. He waited, listening to her footsteps rushing down the hotel hallway before he sighed shakily and backed up to sit on the bed with Mei still curled around him.

He made a mental note then and there to not only find out what those stickers were (which meant talking to the crane demon again, he did not look forward to that), but to also never allow Mei to be in the room during negotiations with demons again. Even telling them not to use fire around her was too much of a risk. Too much...

As Mei's crying softened against his neck, Macaque sighed and gently rubbed her back and muttered to her that it would be alright. There was no flame. The fire was gone. She was safe. He purred softly, the rumbles hopefully doing something to ease her fear.

It had been an inevitably that Mei would have an aversion to fire, Macaque had known this in the back of his mind the moment he saved her. Regardless of how much or little of the house fire that had taken her parents from her, the one he had rescued her from, she remembered or actually saw. Perhaps, in time, she would be less afraid. Maybe not afraid at all, given the right help in the future. But for now all flames larger than a lighter or kitchen stove horrified the young girl, making her scream and try to escape as quickly as possible. Escape to him so he could save her again.

"Are you going to leave me behind again?" Mei asked quietly as her tears slowed after a long while of crying her heart out, hiccuping softly. Macaque quickly put his glamor back up and ceased the now almost imperceptible demon purrs, not wanting her to learn of his demon form as she finally pulled back from the koala tight grip she had on him. "Please don't leave me behind this time..."

Macaque felt like a knife had been driven into his chest. When he had first saved Mei from the fire he was certain that he would just find someone to shove her at and be done with his good deed. But Mei kept coming back, not wanting to leave his side. He supposed at the time it was understandable, given what had happened, and after a time he had stopped trying to leave her behind the way he had been. He hadn't quite taken her in proper but he let her stay by his side, for the moment. And over time she'd grown on him. Now...

"I'm not going to do that," he said softly, ruffling her hair with a frown as he pulled her into another hug. "Not like that."

"What?" The young girl looked up at him as if she hadn't expected him to agree. "You mean... you're really gonna stay?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod, looking away as more tears continued to fall from her eyes. He wasn't used to this, had never actually wanted kids... at least... he thought he had never wanted kids. "I'll stay with you, happy now?"

He made his tone light, joking almost though his words were truthful. He'd learned over his short time taking care of Mei that she was smart and could pick up on sarcasm and jokes quickly. And she seemed to pick up on the light tone of his voice quickly.

"Really?" She asked in a hopeful tone.

"Yeah yeah, but you gotta stop the water works kid," he said with a smile, turning back to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes with his shirt sleeve. "Or you're gonna run out of tears and shrivel up like a raisin."

"No I won't," Mei countered with all the assurance of a doctor telling a patient they would live, a chuckle escaping her as she wrapped her arms around his neck in another hug. "... thank you..."

Macaque almost told her not to thank him for doing what he should have probably done a long time ago. But instead he held her close, tucking her head under his chin as he tried to hold back the comforting purrs that threatened to raise up again and reveal himself.

He made another set of mental notes as she quickly fell asleep against him and he tucked her into bed before sitting up beside her with a book of his own (thankful he could see well enough in the dark) to distract his racing mind. He needed to find somewhere for them to stay, really stay and not just cheap hotel rooms to hop from. He needed to find someone who could help her with what had happened, no more beating around the bush she needed more help than he could give. He needed to take precautions to make sure she would be safe, just in case given who he was.

Everything else... well. He was never too old to learn how to do new things for his... daughter. Yeah. His daughter sounded right he supposed. He'd be able to play it by ear.

He had 6 of them after all.

[anagentinwriting]

Lifeline - Part 6

Summary: (First Responders!AU) Moving to Los Angeles and living with your brother, Thor, was never part of your plan nor was being a 9-1-1 dispatcher, but plans change when you are faced with your own emergencies. In your case, it was leaving behind a relationship that wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. Will this be the fresh start you were hoping for or will your past find a way to catch up with you?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Odinson!Sister Reader

Word Count: 2800+

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Language

Lifeline Masterlist / Main Masterlist

A few days after your stroll with Steve, you finally had a day off of work, well, more like the next three days, which was a relief. Taking a stool at the kitchen island, you let the hot mug warm your hands. It was a long night with nightmare after nightmare resulting in little to no sleep. You would have slept in, but today is the day you were signing your lease. It was time to stop using your brother as a crutch and get back out into the world by yourself again. Now, all you had to do was tell Thor.

You blew the steam off your mug, hearing Thor come barreling into the kitchen, patting you on the shoulder before grabbing a mug from the cabinet. He has a huge smile on his face, pouring himself some coffee.

“YN, you will never believe what happened yesterday? It was marvelous.”

“You got laid?” you yawned, rubbing your eyes. How he never looked tired still bothered you. I mean, his energy was always way more than you could handle. It was like he was from a different planet sometimes. 

“Yeah, well duh, but besides that?”

“What happened?”

“Steve, you know, Steve--” you nodded your head slowly, wondering where he was going with this “--He rescued a dog from a burning warehouse, and now he has adopted it and called it his own. Here look at the pretty boy.” Thor reached for his phone in his pocket and showed you a picture of the dog. It looked like a golden retriever mixed with something else, but you couldn’t place it. “Steve named him Cosmo.”

“Aww, he’s cute. How did this even happen?”

“He heard a dog barking, ran inside, rescued it, and then got his ass chewed by Danvers. It was hilarious,” he chuckled. “Steve was like the building isn’t clear and Danvers was like don’t you dare, but then he was like blegh and took off--” he smiled, shaking his head to himself. “--once Steve took off, Bucky went right in after him. I tell yeah, those two are like two peas in a pod.”

“The adrenaline makes you do crazy things sometimes.”

“Yeah, but still, crazy morons.” He shook his head. “How are you doing this morning? It sounded like you had a rough night, and not to be harsh, but you look kind of terrible.” He pointed his finger at you, waving it over you as your mouth dropped open.

“Thanks so much for that uplifting compliment, brother.” You rolled your eyes, unable to hide the annoyance in your voice. “It’s fine, a few nightmares here and there, but it’s a take it day by day kind of thing, right.” He nodded. “But there is something I wanted to talk to you about?”

“What’s that?” Thor asked, taking a sip of his mug. “Darryl, my good man, good morning.”

“Good morning to you both,” he nodded at each of you. He grabbed a mug from the cabinet, stepping over to the coffee maker, which Thor was still standing in front of.

“What did you want to tell me?” Thor asked, not even noticing Darryl trying to get some coffee.

You sighed, rolling your eyes. “Thor, move. Darryl wants coffee.”

“Sorry pal, I didn’t see you there.” He smiled, patting him on the shoulder, and moved out of the way. 

Darryl nodded his head at you as if to say a silent thank you. He filled his mug and took the stool next to you. Thor watched him the whole time before his eyes connected with the clock.  “Oh, shit, is that the time. I have to get to the station.”

“I’m moving out,” you blurted out, forcing Thor to stop dead in his tracks and face you. 

“Ahhh...what?”

“I’m moving.”

“No, you’re not. I don’t want you to move out. Darryl--” he pointed at him “--Darryl doesn’t want you to move out.” 

You turned around on your stool to look at him. “While Darryl has been sleeping and living on the couch for the last three months.”

“Darryl doesn’t mind. Do you, Darryl?”

“Well, actually…” Darryl started, but Thor cut him off. 

“Darryl, please stop talking--” Thor held up his hand at him “-- I am trying to have a conversation with my sister.” He turned back towards you. “What if he finds you? Who is going to protect you?”

“I don’t need your constant protection. I can handle myself; besides, I started training with Val, and she has been teaching me a few things.”

“Really? Like you were protecting yourself when you were married to that guy for what...6 years. Yeah, real fine job you did protecting yourself there.” You glared at him, shaking your head. “And what about when you had your breakdown a couple of weeks ago, or how you just told me you’re having nightmares.” You bit your tongue, trying to hold back what you really wanted to say to him.

“Well, I am gonna leave you two to it,” Darryl started to stand up.

“No, Darryl, sit and stay,” Thor stated, forcing him to sit right back down. Darryl stared wide eyes at you and nodded to himself. This must have felt like torture to him, similar to when a friend is getting yelled at by their parents, and you’re like this is a nice wall.

“Darryl, it’s fine. Go and get ready for work.” He stood back up from his stool.

“No, Darryl, sit back down.” He sat back down.

“No, go, Darryl, you have to get ready for work.” He stands up and swiftly walks out of the kitchen to the living room, grabbing his suit and rushing towards the bathroom. 

“Darryl doesn’t even work today?”

“Yes, he does. If you would ask him a question now and then, instead of making him do your chores.”

“He likes doing them.”

You roll your eyes, shaking your head. It was like arguing with a child; once he sees something shiny, he changes the subject. You stood up and took a deep breath. “Thor, I’m moving. I found this cute little one-bedroom condo a few blocks from work in a great neighborhood. It sits in a nook with two other condos and has a top-notch security system. There’s even a neighborhood watch, and the price is too perfect to pass up.”

“But why move when you’re not ready to be out on your own again.”

“You’re the only one saying I’m not ready. Thor, I need to start living for myself again; instead of using you as a crutch that I constantly fall back on.” He shook his head. “It’s the next step, and I need to move forward.” You bit your lip, marching past him towards your room.

“I bet Loki would agree with me,” he yelled down the short hallway.

You stopped dead in your tracks and turned on your heels to face him. “That’s where you’re wrong, brother. He sided with me on this one--” you pointed to yourself  “--he wants me to move on and get my own place. He wants me to FIND myself again, but you...you don’t. You don’t know what it was like living with someone you thought you could trust. Someone you thought loved you and then...then he--” your voice cracks “--forget it, you’re not even listening to me.”  

“Sometimes, you’re just as stubborn as Loki.”

“Well, he is my favorite brother, and that shit is bound to rub off on me sooner or later.” You turned back on your heel and slammed your door closed. 

“THEN, WHY DON’T YOU GO MOVE IN WITH HIM THEN,” Thor yelled, hearing it echo down the hall to your room. 

You bit your lip and swung the door open. “MAYBE I WILL, OR BETTER YET, I'LL JUST GET MY OWN PLACE,” you replied, slamming the door again. 

_______

“Steve, I need to tell you something,” Bucky grunted as he bench pressed with Steve spotting him. 

“What’s that pal?”

“There is this girl, while more so a woman than a girl, but I’ve seen her on more than one occasion if you know what I mean.” Bucky put the barbell back on the rack and sat up on the bench to switch out.  “And man, she’s something else. At first, when we hooked up, it was, I’m not gonna lie, it was hot. The best I’ve ever had. I won’t tell her that because she’ll get all cocky about it, but now I am starting to wonder if I’m the best she ever had, you know?” 

“Buck. I don’t think you’ve ever talked about a woman like this before. It’s almost like you’re catching feelings for her.” Steve leaned down on the bench as Bucky started spotting him. 

“No, I’m not; besides, what do you know, man?” Bucky scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Last I heard, you didn’t know a thing about women.”

“Yeah, well, they can be complicated, but you’re telling this to the guy who was married before,” he chuckled, getting fifteen reps in before sitting up. 

“Why do you always use that line? It's not fair because I have no comeback to it.”

“That’s why I use it,” he chuckled as Bucky shook his head. “It shuts you right up.”

Steve glanced over when he heard a door slam from the locker room. Thor stomped out, wrapping his hands angrily for the punching bag. He grunted, cursing under his breath. 

“Hey, you alright, Thor? You’re really taking it out on that punching bag?” Steve asked, looking over at Bucky, who had a smirk on his face from watching him. “Thor, what’s up?” Thor made a face at them and continued to beat up the bag when the alarm blared, forcing them to stop everything, suit up, and get into the truck.

“Alright, gentleman, it sounds like we have a lady stuck in a donation bin. We have word she has been in there for at least 3 hours, and on this hot day in Los Angeles, best guess it is well over 100 degrees in that metal container. We will have to work quickly to get her out, so here’s the plan…”

______

On-site, Steve got out of the truck and followed Thor to one of the gear hatches. A few news crews were already on the scene along with a crowd of people watching from the barriers the police set up. He sighed, rubbing the sweat off his forehead. It was a scorcher today, and the inside of the bin was only going to get hotter for the woman trapped inside. 

“Steve, I’ve noticed you have a way with words,” Thor admitted, trying to find the saw.

“I have my moments,” he smirked with a half shrug.

“My sister wants to move out,” Thor confided, scratching his beard before grabbing the saw. “She found this condo.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Yes and no,” he sighed, following behind Steve to the donation bin where Val was talking to the woman inside.

 “Hey, boys. Her name is Maggie Lang, and she’s conscious, but she’s burning up. She’s sweating profusely and feels like she could pass out at any minute, and judging by the increasing heat index, it is not going to get any better, so let’s hurry this up.”

“Maggie, go to the other side of the bin as far as you can and cover up with this jacket," Steve advised, handing her his fireman's jacket. "This will protect you from any of the flying sparks while we cut the hinges off." Steve stepped away from the container, shooting Thor a quick nod.

“Ready,” Thor announced as he turned on the saw and started cutting the door hinges. Everyone backed away, and after he got the last one sawed off, the door creaked, falling to the ground. Maggie was holding onto an ugly rabbit stuffed animal, looking very flushed and dehydrated. Val and Sam ran over to check on her.

“Whoa, you went in there to save that ugly thing,” Sam asked, smiling down at the toy.

“It’s my daughter’s,” she breathed.  “My ex-husband got it for her, and I accidentally threw it in the donation bin.” 

_______

Steve started carrying equipment back to the truck when Thor came up next to him. “The thing is, since you’re new…newish, you might not know that YN was married.” Steve widened his eyes at him. “Technically, she still is married, but she left him and ended up on my doorstep.”

“I see,” Steve added, narrowing his eyes, stuffing the equipment into the hatch.

“It wasn’t a happy marriage. It was destructive and took an emotional toll on her, both mentally and physically.” He ran his hand through his short hair. “I don’t think she’s ready to be out on her own yet. I mean, how is she even going to protect herself if he comes around?”

“Think you’re underestimating her man?” Thor stopped what he was doing, furrowing his brows at him. “She got out. She left him. Leaving those toxic relationships is the hardest part. Besides, hasn’t it been three months? If he knows where she is, why hasn’t he come around.” Thor nodded. “You should be proud of her and encourage her. She is moving on and trying to make a new life for herself without her ex.” 

“But my point is, she’s leaving again, and I don’t want us to lose touch like we have in the past. She’s always been close to Loki, so with me getting to know her again has been great.” 

“It’s not like she is moving back across the country, Thor.”

“I know, but we had a fight recently, and she said she was going to either move out or go back to live with Loki.”

“She probably didn’t mean it; besides, if she moves into the condo, you can go visit her anytime you want. YN is building a new life for herself, and you should be proud of her.”

“You’re right, Steve.” He patted him on the shoulder, a huge grin hitting his features. “I am proud of her. I should talk to her after this.”

“Yeah, you should.”

“You sound like Bruce. He is really good at giving advice.”

“Bruce?”

“He is the one that popped my dispatcher cherry. I’ll tell you the story sometime.”

Steve chuckled. “Sounds great.”

_______

You sat on the couch with Darryl on the other end, flipping through the channels, hoping something good would show up. Earlier today, you went and signed the lease on the condo, and you could start moving in tomorrow. It was a big step for you, and you were going to take it whether or not Thor supported you. You needed to do this for yourself.

“YN,” Thor shouted, entering the house, making you jump a little on the couch.

“In Darryl’s room,” you yelled back to him. Thor came in and stepped in front of the television, so you couldn’t see the screen. “Excuse me?  We were watching that.” 

“Are you positive you want to move?” He stepped over the coffee table and sat on it. 

“Yes. I signed the lease earlier today, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind.” 

“Great, that’s fantastic,” he nodded, giving you a thumbs up. “I don’t want to change your mind. I want you to do it.”

“Really?” Your eyes widened, then narrowed with suspension. “Why the sudden change of heart?” 

“I realized I was being childish,” Thor admitted, and you nodded in agreement. “I want you to be happy, and if this is what makes you happy, I’m with you, but are you going to be okay living by yourself?”

“I don’t know,” you shrugged, making him narrow his eyes at you. “But I have to try, right? I 

mean, the only reason I do feel ready is because of you.”

“Me, why?” 

“You convinced me to start over and make a new life here in LA. You took me in, kept me safe, and he still hasn’t come around. Sure, he called the one time, but that was it. I was scared when I left, but you helped me feel safe again. I still have a long way to go before I start to feel myself again, but I am getting there with your help and the friends I have made here. To be honest, I don’t think I will ever be fully ready to be out on my own, but the hardest step is taking that first step.” 

His face broke out into a huge smile. “I’m proud of you, sister, and I’m sorry about earlier.” 

You smiled at him and leaned over, pulling him in for a hug. “You’re forgiven, and thanks for everything, Thor.” You pulled back from him. “Oh, one more thing, I’m moving in tomorrow.”

“Great...yay...so soon,” Thor pulled you in for another hug, squeezing you tighter. From the quick glimpse you saw in his eyes, he wasn’t ready for you to go, but you loved how he was trying to support you.  

“So, I can have my room back, now?” Darryl asked from the couch.

_____

AN: Thanks for reading Part 6! She is finally moving out!! And Darryl just might get his room back! When I was trying to figure out who Thor's roommate should be, I instantly thought of Darryl. I mean, he technically is Thor's Earth roommate, right! 😂😂 So, Bruce popped Thor's dispatcher's cherry....kind of makes you wonder what went down, am I right? 😉🤔 And what about that teensy tiny little comment Steve made, any ideas what might have happened there?! Anyways likes, reblogs, and comments always welcome. Until next week...thanks again!

[feanorianethicsdepartment]

the conclusion to the fëanorian tauriel saga! this one’s mostly about the state of affairs after she gets adopted into everyone’s favourite family of murderers, plus a couple of extra bits and bobs. there’s some more stuff i’d like to put down somewhere - a deleted scene, a minific - but this is mostly the end of my headcanons for this particular au. so far, anyway. part 1 part 2 part 3

mandos may have, in the past, given off the impression that fëanor would remain within the halls until dagor dagorath

that statement was always a bit of a conflation of terms. like everybody else in the halls, fëanor would get a clean pass for reinbodiment as and when he attended elf afterlife therapy and got a handle on his shit. it’s just nobody thought he would ever do that

but he has done that, and more besides. he’s honestly been clear to go for a while now, he just refused to leave until his sons were ready

and since then... mandos will admit to certain political pressures exerted towards keeping fëanor under lock and key

but over time, those pressures slowly yield to the fact that mandos absolutely cannot deal with this lunatic for the rest of arda

death has not put a damper on fëanor’s unstoppability. he was preoccupied for a long while with the damage done to his sons but with them all out he had a conspicious lack of things to Do

and a bored fëanor is a dangerous fëanor

so yeah. fëanor is less released from the halls of mandos as he is unceremoniously kicked out. mandos refuses to talk about it. the maiar of the halls throw a massive party

this all happens on extremely short notice. as in, manwë announces his release like half a day before it happens

this of course throws his extended family (and a decent proportion of the rest of the continent) into this massive frenzied whirlwind of panic. everybody thought they’d get more warning than this, and nobody knows what’s going to happen next

at the epicentre of this maelstrom is the elf himself. fëanor doesn’t know either, he’s still trying to catch up on everyone he left behind and everything that’s gone down since he died. so much has changed, and he’s still stumbling groggily in the darkness

at some point between his long-practiced apology to finarfin and the maglor encounter everyone’s been dreading, though, he makes an unexpected discovery

he has a daughter now. apparently

her name’s tauriel, she smells like woodsmoke. he first meets her when she wanders into the living room, blinks blearily for a couple of seconds, goes ‘hi dad!’ and immediately falls asleep on his lap

and it’s not like he’s not incredibly stoked to have another child, it’s just how???

the first time he asks this question, the motley collection of relatives and old friends he’s talking to all come to the same conclusion

they can either (a) walk him through the history of tauriel’s growing friendship with and eventual adoption into the least reputable branch of the house of finwë or (b) dump the latest copy of the grand unified tauriel conspiracy theory on him with absolutely no context

considering they’re the hellfamily and friends, they go for the chaos option

it takes fëanor, like, two days to read it. the thing was ridiculously elaborate even before people started competing to come up with the craziest possible theories

the people around him keep the ruse going as long as they can stretch it. eventually celebrimbor takes pity on him, and legolas fills in the details

(legolas currently occupies a position in the fëanorian internal hierarchy not dissimilar to fingon’s. he has no idea how to interpret that)

fëanor also just. talks to tauriel. about how she came, and why she stayed

the next day, fëanor loudly announces to the entirety of tirion that he has a new daughter, her name is tauriel and she’s amazing

she’s been a de facto part of the house for years but this is the first official confirmation of it. the news, and the gossip, spreads all over aman

not that this marks a massive turning point for tauriel. even without a big announcement, she made which side she was on pretty clear back when shit went down

and honestly her life hasn’t changed that much since then. she still spends most of her time exploring noldorin country or chilling in the forest with her silvan friends

this isn’t too uncommon a situation for a member of the house of fëanor. they usually do their own thing, whatever that may be. even nerdanel abandons her house every so often to spend a year or two in the mountains

even in tirion, it’s not that different. she still crashes in the same place, hangs with the same people

she just also occasionally does stuff for :mobster voice: the family

she’s part of the second generation’s extremely overprotective mutual defence web. she has a few responsibilities vis-a-vis the definitely-not-minions. she’s not quite as magnetic as her older brothers, but she’s charismatic enough people tend to both legitimately like and let their guard down around her

she goes to court events sometimes, if she’s in town and in the mood. she’s not virulently allergic to it like celegorm but she doesn’t thrive there the way elrond does. she prefers lower-city forge parties. way more booze, way less bling

(the greenwood elves have stopped needing to bring her along to every political meeting for quote-unquote moral support. everyone knows who she rides with now, and the court bureaucrats tend to give her people whatever they want without the need for extortion)

she’s not the rowdiest of fëanor and nerdanel’s brood, but that’s really not saying much. she’s kicked off the last vestiges of social respectably and indulges fully in her family’s ability to do whatever they want, whenever they want, because who’s seriously going to tell a kinslayer they can’t do something?

a decent proportion of the population of tirion, it turns out. eh, the arguments are always fun

that’s the state of tauriel’s life when fëanor comes back. afterwards - like i said, it doesn’t change terribly much, fëanor rocking valinor to its core notwithstanding

he is massively, intensely supportive of everything she does. she knows that it’s partially that this family is just Like That, but she also gets the vibe he’s overinvesting a little? she’s the only one of his children who doesn’t have a reason to hate him

but they get along fine. he’s had a lot of practice at being a dad, and is trying to improve on his personal faults. his relationship with her is blissfully uncomplicated compared to the mess most of his pre-death bonds are, and while she’ll protect her brothers from him if need be she’ll protect him too when the world is out to get him

there’s this moment at one of those fancy court galas. tauriel’s chatting with some sindarin visitors when something explodes a few rooms away

almost immediately, she locks gazes with curufin, who’s peoplewatching some distance away. they have a conversation conducted entirely in eyeflicks that could be summarised as ‘did he just...’ ‘alas he probably did’

they stride out of the hall together to rescue their idiot dad from the consequences of his terrible decisions

that’s another subtlety to the way the fëanorians work, tauriel is discovering. the siblings hellspawn may be a constant fight cloud of bickering nutbags (with the obvious exception of herself) but they all always out-sane their dad

she keeps learning things like this as the years roll on and her families get closer. she finds silvans having tea with nerdanel, tirion craftselves looking for her in the woods. across both of her worlds, she’s building a posse

(just like her brothers did, long long ago under the light of the trees. when next the host rides to war, there will be those who follow tauriel’s banner)

even legolas has mostly gotten over it. their initial friendship, after all, was founded on them both being chaos children. tauriel is one in a way they called silvan in greenwood and noldorin in aman, fully conscious that the powers that be disapprove of her shenanigans and deliberately and vindictively defying them

legolas’ style is more sindarin, vaguely aware that the rules exist but doesn’t really understand how they apply to him. he did sneak a dwarf up the straight road, after all. him and tauriel got up to so much nonsense when they were kids, and no matter who else she runs with, he’ll always be her best friend

he’ll never be fully comfortable with the literal childhood horror stories she’s taken up with, but for her sake he’s willing to try. they might be scary, but, he’s realising, they can be fun too

(even if he does spend most of their family gatherings hiding behind elrond)

and then, one day...

tauriel doesn’t exactly pine for kíli, but she does kind of regret how it all turned out. she wonders what being in a relationship with him would have been like, sometimes

but he’s a dwarf, and she’s an elf, and she can’t leave the undying lands, and dwarves aren’t supposed to come here. they are sundered until the breaking of the world

when she tells this to fëanor, this massive smug grin spreads across his face. ‘unless’

three hours later, they’ve turned fëanor’s front room into a base of operations. maedhros is on project management, caranthir is on logistics, amras is going down a list of maiar they can strongarm. celebrimbor stops by, looks at the plans on the walls, and, somewhat excitedly, goes ‘are we breaking into the dwarven afterlife???’

yes. yes they are

epilogue:

when the end comes and all elves return to cuivénen, certain people tauriel knew back in middle-earth discover what she’s been doing for the past few ages

they get the full skinny later, after they talk to her and stuff, but the first whisper they hear is ‘tauriel’s been taken in by the fëanorians’

reactions vary. tauriel’s mama, who doesn’t recognise the name, goes ‘the spirits of fire? that’s sounds so much like her, i’m so happy she’s made friends’

tauriel’s mummy, who does recognise the name, is laughing too hard to speak

and thranduil cradles his head in his hands. ‘of course’ he mutters ‘of course she fucking did’

[scapegrace74-blog]

Ginger Snap, Chapter 2

A/N I am breaking probably the only rule I gave myself when I started writing fanfic, which was Don’t Ever Post a WIP.  But lord knows I’m not immune to peer pressure and the narcotic that is reader feedback, so here it is, the second chapter of what is now an open-ended modern AU story about Jamie the Chef and Claire the Kitchen Disaster.  Still a first person Claire POV, so I apologize in advance for any stray pronouns.

For the first chapter, I recommend reading it on Ao3, since I’ve made some minor edits since I first posted it on Tumblr.  See above re. not planning on posting a WIP.

Oh, and funny story.  When I decided to check the location of the real Ginger Snap catering company in Edinburgh, it was squished between “FrazersOnline” and “McKenzie Flooring”.  If that’s not kismet, I don’t know what is.  The location I describe below, however, is based on a catering venue here in Ottawa called Urban Element, where I’ve attended a few team-building events.  I have yet to set anything on fire, though.

I checked my phone for the third time, confirming I wasn’t lost.  

Frank and I moved to Edinburgh over the summer, just in time for him to start his position as Associate Professor of History at the University of Edinburgh. Despite our years spent in America, neither of us cared overmuch for driving, so we chose a flat (or rather, Frank chose a flat and I concurred) not far from campus.  Therefore, this was the first time I’d ventured as far afield as Leith, a maritime enclave just to the north of the capital that couldn’t seem to decide if it wanted to be grittily working class or artistically hip. 

When I finally reached the address, I had to smile.  No main street pretensions or non-descript commercial frontage for Ginger Snap Catering.  Before me stood a two-story red brick fire station, still emblazoned with the crest of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Services.  The two massive truck bays were now enclosed by see-through doors that could be drawn back on a sunny day.  Through these a warm yellow light could be seen, spilling onto the grey, damp pavement.

A petite woman with dark hair manned the small reception area, a red-haired toddler clinging to her like a marsupial.  She held a phone to one ear while simultaneously pacing the polished concrete floor.  I stood as unobtrusively as possible near the door, but in such an open space it was impossible not to overhear her side of the conversation.

“... they willna take ‘im back until ‘is fever goes down...  aye, an hour ago when I picked him up but it hasn’t... nay, i dinna think it’s... tis jus’ terrible timing with two weddings t’morrow... Could ye?  Och, I owe ye Mrs. Fitz, a million times o’er... Anytime, we’ll be here.  Alright, soon.”

The speaker turned to me, the harried look of a working mother sharpening her already honed features.

“I apologize fer keeping ye waiting.  What can I do fer ye t’day?”

Before I could respond, the young boy, probably no older than two, began to fuss, rubbing his flushed cheek against his mother’s shoulder.

“Och, mo ghille, Mam kens ye’re poorly.  Mrs. Fitz is coming as fast as she may.”

Unable to quell my instinct to diagnose and then cure, I spoke up.  

“I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation.  Based on his age and the way he’s holding his head, it may be an ear infection.”  At the woman’s penetrating look, I hastened to explain: “I’m a doctor.  Would you mind if I took a closer look?”

Permission granted, I carefully palpated the boy under the jaw and peered as best I could without an otoscope into the offending ear canal.  Confident in my diagnosis, I recommended treatment with a warm compress, an over-the-counter analgesic ear drop, and children’s paracetamol to control his fever.  If, after twenty-four hours the symptoms had not improved, they could consider seeing his pediatrician for antibiotics, but these were only truly necessary for a persistent infection.

“Och, ye ‘ave no idea what a relief it is tae hear ye say so, lass.  He’s my first bairn, ye ken, an’ I can ne’er tell if I’m over-reacting or being negligent.   Can ye say thank ye tae the nice doctor, Wee Jamie?”

My stomach jumped.  “Wee Jamie?  Is he related by chance to Jamie Fraser?”

“Aye, tis his nephew.  I’m Jamie’s sister, Jenny.  Ye ken my brother, then?”

The pieces fell into place, and my insides settled.

“We’ve spoken before,” I explained.  “I’m Claire Beauchamp.  You and your brother helped me with a dinner party emergency last Tuesday.  I came to return your market bags, and to thank you again for coming to my aid during my hour of need.”

Jenny and I spoke for another ten minutes, sharing the superficial narratives of two strangers brought together by circumstance.  She was warm and thistly by turns, and I felt a longing for the honesty of female friendship that I’d given up when we left Boston.  Eventually a matronly woman arrived to collect Wee Jamie.  I carefully wrote down the exact names and dosages of my prescribed remedy.

After Mrs. Fitz and Wee Jamie had left, it occurred to me that Jenny needed to get back to work.  I’d accomplished what I’d set out to do, even if I hadn’t thanked Jamie himself.   As I began to make my goodbyes, however, Jenny interjected. “If ye’re no’ in a rush, why dinna ye join our afternoon cooking class?  My brother will be demonstrating how tae make quiche.  Tis the least we can do, after ye helped Wee Jamie.”

Which was how I found myself standing behind one of six cooking stations arranged across the fire station’s main area, a bright red apron covering my black slacks and saffron turtleneck.  My impetuous curls were slowly breaking ranks from where I’d slicked them into a bun that morning.  I worried I looked like a human Pez dispenser.

I glanced at the workstation immediately to my left.  A slight woman who I guessed to be roughly my own age was engrossed in her phone, a cheeky smirk playing on her berried lips.  Her strawberry blond hair was swept into an effortless chignon that made me twitch with envy.  She looked up from her screen and caught me looking her way.

“Geillis Duncan,” she said, offering a well-manicured hand.

“Claire Beauchamp.  Pleased to meet you.”

“Is it yer first time taking a class, Claire?”  At my nod, she leaned in and whispered conspiratorially: “Ye’re in for a treat.”

Before I could enquire what she meant, a murmur amongst the other students (all women, save one) was accompanied by the heavy tread of work boots on polished concrete and a familiar Scottish burr.

“Good afternoon, everyone.  Thank ye fer joining me on this dreich Scottish day.  I ken a few of ye are new, so let’s start with a brief overview of yer stations and some basic safety reminders, before we tackle the quiche.”

Today Jamie was wearing a pair of olive pants that tapered down his endless legs and a technical shirt that clung valiantly to his upper body.  He looked like he’d just stepped off the nearest rock climbing pitch.  I wondered if he owned anything that answered to the name of a professional wardrobe, but I couldn’t deny that he looked impressive, in an athleisure sort of way.

“See what I mean?” Geillis hissed at me as Jamie made his way to the front of the hall, speaking now about optimal burner temperatures.  “That man is a dozen kinds of yes.”

I concentrated on each step of the ostensibly simple recipe.  Pie crust had been the previous week’s assignment, so I had only to blind bake the prepared dough already at my workstation.  Once I had the crust centered exactly in the pie pan, pierced with a fork in orderly rows and placed in the oven, I rushed to catch up with the others.  I’d missed Jamie’s instructions regarding pan frying the bacon, so I increased the flame, thinking I could make up a little time.  The fatty meat crackled pleasingly as I set it in the lightly greased pan.  I was inordinately proud of myself.

Things went very badly, very fast.  First, my eyes wouldn’t stop watering as I meticulously peeled then dissected the onion into near-transparent crescents. Tears obscured my vision and I tried to wipe them away without contaminating my hands.  To my left I could make out Geillis skillfully cracking eggs into a glass bowl, her pie crust already elegantly filled with crispy morsels of bacon and caramelized onion bits.  

A vague sense of having forgotten something important tickled my mind.  My pie crust!  Grabbing a silicone glove (I wasn’t making that mistake twice) I rushed to the wall oven and extracted the pan.  Giddy with relief, I saw the dough was only a little dark around the edges.  

Before I could return victorious to my station, Jamie uttered a Scottish noise of alarm from his vantage at the front of the class.   We both rushed across the room to where my rashers of bacon now resembled blackened shoe laces obscured by a heavy veil of smoke.  With practiced ease, Jamie lifted the entire skillet into the adjacent sink and turned on the cold water.  A cloud of steam enveloped his head, highlighting his auburn curls.  I bit my lip as he looked my way in amusement.

“I hope ye werena planning on serving quiche to yer faculty guests t’night, Ms. Beauchamp?”

I stood meekly next to Geillis for the remainder of the class, no longer trusted around open flame without adult supervision.   She graciously allowed me to extract her quiche when it was done baking.  It looked like a magazine cover.  Meanwhile, my workstation looked like the scene of an industrial accident.

While we were waiting for her quiche to cook, Geillis and I got to know each other a little better.  She was a Highland lass from up near Inverness.  Married to a wealthy older man, her life sounded like an endless quest for diversion.  Despite this, or because of it, she had a sharp-witted frankness that I appreciated.  She was also a hard-core gossip.

“Wee besom,” she remarked with a nod towards a blond girl who was currently monopolizing Jamie’s attention with endless questions punctuated by manufactured giggles and flicks of her pin-straight hair.  “Tha’s Laoghaire Mackenzie of the Mackenzie brewing dynasty.  They’ve a live-in cook, so there’s only one reason she attends these classes, and it isna for the quiche.”

I watched Jamie laugh over something the girl said, mineral eyes alight and his perfect white teeth on display.  I suppose I couldn’t blame her.  I wasn’t here for the quiche either.

The interminable ninety minute lesson finally ended.  I thanked Geillis profusely and we exchanged numbers before she rushed off for her reiki treatment.  Gathering my trench coat and purse, I tried to slink away without calling any further attention to myself.

“Ms. Beauchamp!”

I cursed under my breath, then turned to face him.

“Please, call me Claire.  After I nearly burned down your place of business, we should probably be on a first name basis.”

Jamie chuckled. It sounded more natural and lived-in than his earlier response to Laoghaire, but I was likely fooling myself.

“Och, wha’s a cooking demonstration wi’out a wee bit of drama.  Will ye be joining us next week?  We’ll be making ceviche, sae I willna need tae put the fire brigade on stand-by.”

“Bastard,” I replied to his cheeky smirk.  “Alas, I don’t think I’m cut out to be a cook.  It appears to be the one science I can’t master.”

“Cooking isna a science, Claire,” he explained with sincere intensity.  “Tis an art.  Perhaps tha’s the root of yer struggle.”

“Perhaps it is.  But in that case, I may as well give up now.  I haven’t an artistic bone in my body.”

His languorous perusal of said body lit a different kind of flame in my belly.  Geillis was right; he really was a dozen kinds of yes.

“I canna say as I agree.  Come back any time if ye’d like tae try again.”

I blushed, thoroughly discomfited by his blatant flirting.  He knew about Frank.  He’d fled from him onto my fire escape, for Christ’s sake!  Maybe when you looked like James Fraser, every interaction with a woman was merely a chance to hone your craft.  Or maybe he was truly ignorant of his effect.

“I’ll take that under advisement.  Thank you again, Jamie.”

“Until the next time, Arsonist.”

[mallowstep]

(Reed anon again)

Just--wtf did Riverclan do with Reedpaw when everyone was rescued? Even in Canon? Like, poor fucking Mistyfoot--two of her kits are with her, but her third and final kit is still in enemy territory, still underneath Tigerstar's paw, Blackfoot is still his mentor. If even a *hint* of Reedpaw's true parentage got out, he'd be fucked. He and Leopardstar would both probably be dead, Leopard carrying Tiger's legacy or not. Tbh I wouldn't doubt Tigerstar'd be petty enough just to kill all of Riverclan itself. Like...Greystripe, you fucking LIVED in Riverclan for a few fucking MOONS. How do you forget or at least NOT recognize/remember the queen that nursed your kits' own kits? You told Firestar you visited them every chance you had. Like...Grey, I get you were worried for you daughter, but dude...you left a child who you saw as a baby to a toddler (thereabouts) under a war criminal. Someone you KNOW had a subordinate who was not against poisoning kits with deathberries. Someone who tried to kill his OWN apprentice. Then, in the Leopard AU, this kid is stuck in the apprentices den during the rescue. Leopardstar and Mudfur cannot get him out without alerting Shadowclan Apprentices. They chose Mistyfoot and Featherpaw's heath and safety (which, at this point it's better than nothing.) And Misty has to choose Feather when Mudfur leads them out of their prison. He then gets to see the absolute horror of his LEADER, murdered, loose a life, to this Monster, see her go through what his mother did, only that IT'S far, far, worse than anything that'd been done at this point. He sees his clan's medicine cat turn against their leader, verbally agreeing and harassing her...just... this poor boy.. In Canon, Misty Au, Leopard AU it all sucks. Dark AU, not so much--still horrific, but Blackfoot is Reed's father in that one, so as his mentor Reed's safety is somewhat assured had Tigerstar not realized Reedpaw was Misty's kit, and that Misty's kits had not all died.

oh my god anon why r u so Damn Good at making me feel things

okay okay okay hm. i'm just gonna -- yeah i'm just gonna put the whole thing under a cut bc i'm a lil too tired to do the thing where i start with the pg-13 and below stuff and then do a cut.

cw: sexual assault, parent being involved in sexual assault of child

heck if i know. i'm like. 100% sure mistyfoot's kits were forgotten about. they were nameless characters for a Long time. reedpaw isn't in any of the allegiances for riverclan in tpb. i...like. i've read tpb how many times? and i honestly didn't know mistyfoot had kits until i checked out the warriors wiki and was like. oh. she had kits? with blackclaw? what the fuck?

i wouldn't put money on it, but i have a feeling the scene involving mistyfoot and her kits could be read as riverclan kits in general. again, wouldn't put money on that, it's just a hunch.

anyway, i kind of just. mistyfoot could have had another litter in the year between tpb and tnp, or during po3, or literally any other time and then we wouldn't have the reedpaw problem (tm).

WAIT

WAIT WAIT WAIT I WAS LOOKING AT THE WARRIORS WIKI AND

HE'S AN APPRENTICE IN TNP

what the FUCK

he's fucking like. several YEARS old. he's 2 and a half years old and he's a fucking apprentice oh my god just give mistyfoot a second litter it is not that hard.

actually. since mistyfoot's litter isn't named...new hc that reedwhisker is a different litter? hm. anyway.

my tangent on the reedpaw problem aside;

oh yeah, he's so fucking dead. imo prob not him and leopardstar -- riverclan would Riot if their leader was killed, and tbh, so would part of shadowclan -- but him and blackclaw. damn.

and yeah? idk? god. i don't know. tbf he's not in prison i don't even know. altho. actually, to give greystripe some credit -- the fact that mistyfoot doesn't ask to go back for him and how risky the riverclan rescue is, i think "not going back" is actually a reasonable choice.

honestly do we have an erin statement that reedwhisker is part of the same litter as prim and co. it's not on the wiki. i want to know. because i think everyone just assumed he was and -- maybe there is a statement but i want to see it.

because mistyfoot is not the type to abandon her kit. like. what? no. mistyfoot? mistyfoot? my brother just died but i am fucking fine get me the hell out of here mistyfoot? no i know i'm starving but like hell you can apprentice featherpaw to someone else mistyfoot? you're telling me SHE would leave a kit behind without so much as a word about him? fat fucking chance.

in conclusion, unless someone can provide evidence an erin said reedwhisker was part of mistyfoot's first litter, i'm going to assume the intention was that he was a second litter.

and back to the actual topic, now that i'm done for real hopefully.

yeeep. he can't be rescued. and -- mistyfoot has very few choices here. featherpaw is dying, reedpaw is safe for the moment, she won't get another chance. she's not happy about it -- she misses him so terribly much -- but she doesn't. yeah. god. that angst. i hope like. someone somehow just Tries to let reedpaw know it wasn't voluntary.

(i'm not Much One for "you left me you didn't love me" angst if you Can't tell. a pinch of it for flavour, but not as a main plot line, y'know? nothing wrong with it it's very good i just don't like writing it.)

god -- god. in my mind tigerstar takes the life from leopardstar privately bc riverclan would fucking riot but just. reedpaw realizes what's happening. so he follows bc of course he does. he's not the reason tigerstar knows what's going on, but he thinks he is.

and he's there hiding and he sees tigerstar kill leopardstar and hears him tell mudfur what's going to happen and he's sitting there in a bush or something just trying not to so much as twitch because he's so dead if tigerstar finds him. he's so fucking dead.

so he just sits there until long after tigerstar and leopardstar and mudfur have left and when he gets back to camp everyone wonders where he went and he can't explain.

and it feels terrible but he realizes tigerstar is still gloating over everything because as pissed as he is that he lost mistyfoot -- now he's truly taken out every thread of riverclan's leadership.

(frankly no i still think tigerstar's most effective control method for riverclan would be to tell stonefur that if he messes up, he'll kill the apprentices and/or mistyfoot and/or rape mistyfoot, and do leopard au on leopardstar, therefore getting all 3 riverclan leaders in blind obedience to him. he'd have to be much more discrete about leopardstar, maybe convince the clans it's a political thing, i'm not sure. the point is, nothing would Visibly be wrong, all three leaders are just going for this, and so of course riverclan would go along with it. but tigerstar's too much of a prideful asshole to appreciate another culture in enough depth to manipulate them effectively.)

anyway. so reedpaw realizes like -- ah yes. i'm escaping punishment because tigerstar is distracted. and -- god. yeah. oh my god.

and at first like -- he doesn't like. witness anything. tigerstar has some sense of subtly. not a ton -- but enough. direct evidence would be a problem. so no, reedpaw is just sitting with this knowledge in his head. mistyfoot escaped and she was carrying tigerstar's kits (was she? he hadn't seen her he misses her so much he hopes prays she's safe), so now leopardstar is going to.

and the thing about letting things sit like that is that the brain is very, very powerful.

(He called my mother a whore, Reedpaw thinks, and he wants to throw up when he remembers it.

Tigerstar and Leopardstar and Mudfur are having a conversation again and Reedpaw thinks of how Tigerstar would wrap his tail around Mistyfoot, like they were mates, and he wonders what Tigerstar would say if he didn't have to pretend.)

so. you know. yeah. good angst oh my god.

and now mudclaw has flipped from -- one of his best protectors to a great enemy. see, here's the thing. tigerstar only tells mudfur he's going to make him watch. leopardstar ain't dead that long. so reedpaw doesn't know what shadepelt knows and shadepelt would tell him but if shadepelt tries to talk to reedpaw...bad for the both of them.

and reedpaw is around blackfoot and blackfoot is a good guard and how long until -- reedpaw is asked to tell blackfoot something while blackfoot is on guard and he hears mudfur say, "You're a slut like your mother" and he -- can't. maybe he freezes, can't remember what he was supposed to tell blackfoot.

("Spit it out," Blackfoot says, but Reedpaw can't remember why he's even here.

"Even your own father thinks you're just a useless whore," Tigerstar says. He's not speaking loud -- Reedpaw would have to strain to hear the words if his entire world hadn't narrowed down to them.

"Reedpaw," Blackfoot growls. "Spit it out.")

hm. yes. god. bad. good. damn.

and yes the dark au seems like. once again "the angst is very different so i don't know how to rank its magnitude because emotions don't work like that" but. on one hand -- his dad. protection. safety. good. on the other -- his dad really did let two of his siblings die and his mom get raped, huh.

hm. good stuff.

[mightydragoon]

Prince Luke fanfic Recs

@silvereddaye you know the drill

For all your Prince Luke Skywalker/ Amidala/Organa etc needs.  Also ft a lot of Leia Skywalker along with that. 

1. The Prince and the Bodyguard  Toomanyfandoms99

Bail is unsure why he’s being told this, but he is intrigued. “Where is the boy now?”

“Here,” Mon smiles, “on this base, being cared for by Shara Bey and Kes Dameron.”

Bail nods upon recognizing the names. Shara is their best pilot, and Kes is their best combat leader.

“However,” Mon states, “they cannot care for the boy full-time. There is something...unique about him. Something you are more equipped to handle.”

Bail narrows his eyes. “What?”

“Ezra Bridger is Force-sensitive,” Mon reveals.

Bail leans back in his chair and blinks once. “I see…”

“If your son is anything like his true parents,” Mon says, “he will soon require guidance. This boy also requires that guidance.”

“So,” Bail says, “you want me to shield them both from the Empire. Get them a...teacher.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22633573/chapters/54092221

2.First Impressions   Idhren15

Mara Jade attended the rich party on Coruscant for one purpose: to kidnap the Alderaan heir, Prince Luke Organa.

She didn't expect any of these complications.

 https://archiveofourown.org/works/22740592

3. Crowned Usurper  planningconquest

Princess Leia managed to capture the elusive rebel Jedi. She finds someone she never expected.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663147/chapters/41657678

4.  The kidnappings of a Sith Lord  maedre13

How a certain Sith Lord may or may not kidnap his rebel son. One-shots. Strongly inspired by sparklight´s “Where Our Intrepid Hero Doesn´t Get Away”.

Current chapter: In which the prince of the Sith gets a new bodyguard (3/3)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10606992/chapters/23453241

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10606992/chapters/52681459 (Part 1)

(Note* Fic is episodic often not connecting, sometimes is, so there is a good variety of stories, some involving Prince Luke others not) 

5. Sparks  SpellCleaver

Vader had every intention of ignoring that petty—if notorious—burglar on Coruscant, until evidence suggested that this "Angel" had Rebel ties.

Meanwhile, Luke never expected his father to actively hunt him down, and he doesn't like it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20031373/chapters/47433331

6. No Distance Far Enough   KaelinaLovesLomaris

Imperial Prince Luke Skywalker is kidnapped by the Rebellion. His father is not happy.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17549516

7. Hostage  Slx99

AU in which Luke grows up as the Prince of Alderaan and Bail and Breha Organa’s son. When Luke is sixteen Bail becomes too outspoken against the Emperor, who sends Lord Vader to take the young prince as a hostage and cow his father into submission. Held captive aboard Vader’s ship, Luke is faced with the unpleasant reality of being the pawn in this power play under his captor’s watchful eyes; until they both realize a thing or two…

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9707774/chapters/21902741

8. Hostage Interludes  Slx99

Interlude pieces of the ‘Hostage’ universe from my ongoing long-fic that don't fit into the main story, but which I still wanted to share. Some will be more fun, others more serious. They have no influence on the main story.

Basic premise of the main story: Luke grew up with Bail and Breha Organa as the Prince of Alderaan. When Bail becomes too outspoken against Palpatine he orders Vader to take the young prince as a Hostage. Luke now lives aboard the Executor. He finds out rather soon that Vader is his father and the story goes from there.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15148811/chapters/35129507

9.  Hostage

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1063433

10. Runaway   SilverDaye

Imperial Prince Luke runs away from home to escape his overprotective father Emperor Vader. Jumping from planet to planet he finds himself creditless on Tatooine. While working for more money to leave the planet, Luke meets an old man named Ben Kenobi. But Luke knows he can't stay in one place for long for surely his father is hunting him down.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14630196/chapters/33813027

11.A Song of Dragon's Fire & Slaves Blood   Fan0fFIM17

A Slave is finally truly made Free.

Lost in a strange primitive Land, he takes advantage of his circumstances to rise to the position of King. A Slave, a Jedi Knight, a Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, Father, Son, all this and more. Read as he Fights for the Iron-Throne!

Winter Is Coming!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15400920/chapters/35743227

12. My sister has it    jedileia (cptnwintersoldier)

"You want me to fight my dad? Kill him? How could you think I would be capable on any of that, after what I just heard? Have I been training just so I could kill my father? Is that what this Jedi training was about? If so then i deeply regret the evening I went to look for parts for my speeder and ended up at Obi-Wan's yard."

Leia, a farm girl from Tatoiine, learns that she is force sensitive and the daughter of the evil Darth Vader, once known as Anakin Skywalker. She begins her Jedi training, meets her twin brother Luke Organa and confronts his father.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6537682/chapters/14957098

13. what is lost in the darkness.....hanorganaas

Starkiller is destroyed, the great Jedi Hero who saved the Galaxy Leia Skywalker Solo and her husband Han are presumed dead, and Luke mourns. But he isn't alone in his grief

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7668604

14. our eyes; they were pointed at the sky (looking for answers) pieandsouffle

The last few weeks have been a nightmare: Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru are dead and gone, the farm is skeletal and dead, she found out her father was a Jedi, brutally murdered by a traitorous friend, and now she's going to die because Han Solo is an incompetent nerf-herder who is apparently completely incapable of opening a krething door.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11159772/chapters/24904917

15.  Possibilities of If May Be - Valerie_Vancollie

Co-authored by Selinthia Avenchesca.

What if two different Star Wars realities started to merge?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12946578

16.  Skywalker Swap -  stitchy

https://archiveofourown.org/series/930435

(Note Series is a mixture of a fancomic and a fanfic and it is glorious) 

17. There Is Another  stitchy

A comicbook retelling of Episode IV in the spirit of the old Star Wars Infinities!

Luke and Leia are placed in opposite homes after the fall of the Republic. Young Leia Skywalker is called to adventure when she meets two droids that belong to the strange witch, Old Kah.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10597686/chapters/23428284

(Note* Seriously this comic retelling is fantastic ) 

18 Here Among The Clouds   stitchy

In a universe where Leia Skywalker joins the Rebel Alliance of her long lost brother Prince Luke Organa, the Millenium Falcon and her crew arrive to Cloud City with a fully functioning hyperdrive. In the weeks following the Battle of Hoth, Lando Calrissian becomes entangled in their their quest to defeat the evil Empire. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13507038

19. A Farm girl, a Twink, and an Uber driver-  Daniellecluck

This is literally just a collection of drabbles of a New Hope rescue scene various original trilogy scenes but gayer and Luke and Leia swapped places.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13345347/chapters/30553272

20. The Adventures of Leia Skywalker, Episode One: The New Hope   MaraWinchester

Nineteen-year-old Leia Skywalker lives with her Aunt and Uncle on the remote desert planet Tatooine, where there’s something ready to kill you behind every corner. Three moons make the nights bitterly cold, and the two suns makes the days unbearably hot. When a droid bought by her uncle contains a message by a prince, asking for help from a legendary Jedi Knight, Leia senses her ticket off world. Little does she know that her journey will take her right and center to a galaxy torn apart by war, involve smugglers of ill repute, and possibly shed more information on her father that she could possibly imagine...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8122483/chapters/18619693

21.  Another Kind of Hope  Skyrissian (ErinacchiLove)

In a period of a galactic civil war, the brave Rebel Alliance has won their first victory against the Galactic Empire and stolen the plans of the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star.

When the starship of Prince Luke Organa, who is transporting the plans, falls under the Empire's attack, the future of the galaxy depends on two droids carrying the secret plans and their new owner, a farm girl named Leia Skywalker.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18705637

22 The Princess, the Smuggler and the Sith Lord's Son  Sassaphrass

Han Solo was trying to rescue her Royal Annoyingness from the Death Star when he runs smack into Vader's kid. Naturally he does the logical thing and takes him hostage. This is where the story starts. OR

Luke just wanted to get some snacks when he ran into a Wookie, a Princess and a Space Pirate. The day's pretty much downhill from there.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5751661/chapters/13252696

23. At Least the War is Over  Sassaphrass

The only thing Luke and Leia have in common are those nine months they spent in the womb and that time they brought down the Empire.

It's hard to build a new family when the last one got blown to smithereens with the entire planet, but Leia's never thought anything worthwhile would be easy.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12663834

24. His Imperial Highness Luke Amidala -  Sassaphrass 

https://archiveofourown.org/series/744999

25.  Chiaroscuro  SpellCleaver

A series of oneshots focusing on Luke and Vader's relationship, with other characters occasionally thrown into the mix. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16363772/chapters/38293637

26. Prince Luke Organa: A New Hope   -lightningbisexual

An AU where Leia was sent to Tatooine with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru and Luke was sent to Alderaan as the prince. It begins from where Luke is captured by the Empire in A New Hope. I follow more his story than Leia's because we all know she's going to be a badass on her own and I really want to see Luke grow up and learn to face his fears.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19024390/chapters/45181531

(Note* see sequel below Leia centric) 

27.  Leia Skywalker: The Empire Strikes Back  lightningbisexual

A continuation of my twin swap fic. Leia Skywalker is being sought by the Dark Side and the Light, who both hope to use her power for their own agendas. However, her ferocity and anger make it difficult for her to train as a Jedi. Han Solo is also developing feelings for Prince Luke Organa and has no goddamn clue how to deal with it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20533487/chapters/48737117

28. Between the Light and Shadows: Luke & Vader One-Shots  SilverDaye

One-shot collection focused on Luke and Vader. All AU.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15128117/chapters/48583628

29. How the Other Half Lives -aradian_nights

(Note* How can I talk about Prince Luke fics without mentioning them cause WOW. 10/10.  I  highly recommend even if you aren’t a fan of the Prince Luke trope cause wow. It is something.  Warning: Angst . )

https://archiveofourown.org/series/609151. 

Trial and Error - https://archiveofourown.org/works/8417668

Layers of Dust  -  https://archiveofourown.org/works/8900971

For Love of a Queen - https://archiveofourown.org/works/9342596/chapters/21167591

Deep Doubt-  https://archiveofourown.org/works/10361913

Vision Void-  https://archiveofourown.org/works/10628475/chapters/23511120

Fate Defied- https://archiveofourown.org/works/10947714

When Destinies Split -  https://archiveofourown.org/works/11017986/chapters/24552093

Risk and Chance - https://archiveofourown.org/works/11506092/chapters/25817655

A Shout in the  Dark -  https://archiveofourown.org/works/11699232/chapters/26341971

Walking the Line Between - https://archiveofourown.org/works/13172817/chapters/30129249

AO3 Tag

https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Prince%20Luke/works

[babyspacebatclone]

Warning:

All who proceed past here, consider yourself a betareader. I can make no promises on quality. All I can promise is I had fun writing this, and my family now expects me to put in some face time so Chapter 4 will have to wait a bit.

But here is Chapter 3. Chapters 1 and 2 here.

Beast and the Princess - And Entrapdak AU

Chapter 3

Kadroh was consumed by panic. Rescue had never even occurred to him as an option; the other Brothers who had been stationed on Etheria had been aware of his trips to the mountains, but would have had no motivation to follow him. That Hordak, his most beloved Brother, would somehow have found him was even further from the realm of possibility.

He could not allow his brother to be captured as well. Kadroh’s situation was the result of his own foolish actions. He refused to have his brother suffer as well from them!

“Oohh?” a familiar voice trilled over his shoulder, making Kadroh jump. The Beast’s habit of moving on their purple extensions tended to make it silent most of the time, meaning its appearance was almost always out of nowhere to his perception. In front of Kadroh, what he would have sworn on Prime’s name was a normal wall suddenly displayed an image of the outside, clearly showing his brother scowling. “Who’s that?”

“No one!” Kadroh squeaked, feeling his back stiffening as his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Lying was, as a rule, unacceptable within the Empire; all truth was revealed within Prime’s absolute light, after all, and so untruths were evidence of darkness. While working with natives, however, it was a truth accepted that their inferior understanding of the Light might require versions of truth.

“I thought he was your brother?” the Beast persisted, leaning over his quivering shoulder to focus unblinking eyes upon the image.

“He is not! He is merely one of my race! I have been informed that people often confuse those of my race for one another!”

“Well, yeah, of course, but other than the fact his shoulders are broader…”

“Wait, what?” Kadroh jolted at the observation; surely not?

“And your face isn’t so pointy…”

“Wait, what??” Kadroh stared in confusion at the mirror image in front of him. Of course, he could identify his favored Brother from the others, could recognize specific individuals, but that there would be actual differing physical features - it must be a trick of the angle of the image, from above his still scowling brother’s head, or the Beast’s own flawed perception. That must be the explanation.

“You really do share enough common features to indicate close familial ties. And anyway, he said he was your brother.”

On the screen, Hordak again gave out a measured, commanding statement. “I wish to speak with the master of this building, and the captor of my brother.”

“See?”

Kadroh’s shoulders sagged, defeated. “Ah, yes. I must not have recognized him.”

The Beast’s padded manipulator limb reached forward and did some obscure motion on the screen. Several things happened at once in response. A loud, grating noise was heard through the castle and reflected through the image from outside; Hordak took a measured step backwards, apparently in reaction to this.

And the wall to the left of Kadroh began to move, rotating, and suddenly revealed…

His brother standing on the outside, through what must have been the open gate of the castle.

The entrance to this shadow-plagued prison had been literally beside him, it appeared. Kadroh wished to cry again.

Hordak gave another, measured scowl at the scene in front of him. His brother truly was an expert at emoting fine degrees of displeasure through the angle of his mouth and ears; Kadroh was often proudly jealous of his emotional range. Hordak then picked up two transportation containers that had been sitting beside him on the bare mountain plateau and, before Kadroh could protest, walked into the castle.

Kadroh squawked in horror a moment too late, as Hordak came to a halt in front of his brother and the Beast. Behind him, the wall rotated again; the taunting light from outside again disappeared, leaving the group within the relative darkness of the castle, surrounded by primitive but resistant metal walls.

Before Kadroh could begin to finally cry, Hordak turned slightly to direct himself to the Beast. “I presume you are the master of this building.”

“Yep!” the Beast chirped pleasantly, holding out a strand of purple towards him.

He ignored it. “I have come to negotiate for the release of my brother.”

“Brother, please, it is all right!” Kadroh protested. “This is all my fault, seriously, you mustn’t…”

“Negotiate?” the Beast replied, utterly ignoring him, titling their featureless face.

Hordak nodded. “Indeed. I have come bearing technological gifts of a level unseen upon this planet…”

“Ohhh!” the Beast gave a shrill call, and the purple strands reached for the large sided portable transportation containers.

Hordak subtly intervened, preventing her direct access. “In return for them, and my presence, I request that you release my brother to his previous assignment.”

“Brother!” This was beyond anything Kadroh could have possibly predicted. “There is absolutely no reason -”

The Beast turned away from reaching behind Hordak with its prehensile manipulators, looking up at him with an almost-curious cock of its head. “You’d stay?”

Hordak nodded, glaring slightly at his brother for silence. “Indeed.”

The Beast cocked its head to the other side. “And what’s to prevent me from just keeping both of you?”

Hordak held up an Imperial communication device. “Unlike my brother, I came prepared with the ability to communicate with my people.”

Kadroh had to cover his face, shamed by his ignorance. “Brother, that will not work here…”

Hordak again glared at him for silence. “Around this structure, there appears to be a field countering the existing interference field.”

The Beast nodded at that. “Yep yep. Way more trouble than it’s worth, trying to get anything done without it.”

“But…”

Hordak continued. “And while the interference field would prevent communication beyond, even within these walls I can access a signal with the insulated cable I laid while traveling here, as it lies within the anti-interference field.” He pressed a button on the communication device, which helpfully beeped and glowed a reassuring green to indicate connection with the greater Imperial Communication Grid.

Kadroh gaped at the device and his brother. Never in a hundred Revelations would he have come up with such a simple and elegant solution.

Meanwhile the Beast cackled in apparent glee, striking its padded paws together repeatedly. “Yes? Perfect! Brilliant! I’m assuming the cable is pretty obvious, marking a path right here, right?”

Hordak nodded. “There did not appear to be a need to hide it; you had made no attempts to prevent my approach.”

“Didn’t realize you were coming.” The Beast clapped again. “Gonna have to fix that; don’t want any unwanted visitors following it.”

Hordak fixed an intimidating version of his scowl at the Beast. “I also did not come unprepared without weapons,” he coldly noted.

The Beast waved its paws and several strands of purple, shaking its head in negation. “No, no, I won’t hurt it, just hide it. You went to all the trouble putting it there!” The Beast stared its unblinking face up at the taller Hordak. “You don’t cause any trouble with it, and I won’t have any need to stop you from doing so.”

He nodded once, simply, a common expression among primitive natives. “Agreed. If you give me no reason to doubt my own or my brother’s safety, I will have no reason to contact my people or attempt harm against you or that under your mastery.” He looked over at Kadroh, still reeling from how fast everything was proceeding. “Provided I am allowed to remain in contact with my brother. It is - comforting.”

The Beast nodded again. “Yep, yep, you can talk with your brother, just nobody else. That sounds fair!” Another clap, this one from both paws and purple strands. “Ok! Gonna go hide that cable, don’t want anyone uninteresting finding it!” And as was the Beast’s most frequent means of leaving, it suddenly reached towards the ceiling with its purple strands and vanished into the darkness above.

Kadroh was still gaping at Hodrak, in all honesty not able to follow everything that had happened.

Hordak turned to scowl at him, a familiar ‘you have not been thinking properly’ version. “By the Light, brother, I did expect better of you.”

He whimpered, shamed. “I’m sorry, I…”

Hordak sighed, softening as he always did with his favored brother. “You never even consulted the natives before you began your searches.”

Kadroh blinked, confused. “But I…”

“You listened, that much is obvious from the notes you left. But you never took the time to talk with any of the natives about this rumor you had become fascinated with, and denied yourself valuable details.”

“Well…”

“Such as the fact that while the legend of the interference and the castle is ancient from the native’s perspective, the tales of the Beast do not go further back than even 10 Revelations.”

“Oh, yes!” Well, that was a useful detail. Ancient native legends generally had a shred of truth, but much more confusion from their primitive understanding of reality. Something worth talking about that had begun - yes, within these natives’ own lifetimes, that would be…

“Indeed, it becomes much more likely that the details have not been corrupted with time. And therefore, collecting the native understanding of the situation becomes significantly more important.”

Kadroh could feel his ears droop in his shame.

“If you had proceeded thusly, you would have then learned that the stories of capture by the Beast not only specify that victims cannot escape by their own devices, but are consistently released within a period the natives view as reasonable. Almost never as long as even a Revelation, to my understanding; eight Revolutions appeared to be the average.”

Kadroh’s entire body was drooping, now, at the level of knowledge his superior brother had achieved in such a short amount of time.

Hordak continued to soften, placing a hand fondly on his brother’s lowered shoulder. “Captured natives never remain within the region, it appears, and were not directly available for interrogation. Obviously, the local natives then dramatize the stories for their own entertainment upon recounting. But I was able to gather enough data to be confident that, if I could offer an intriguing ransom and negotiated with the Beast forthrightly, neither of us would be in danger.”

“But… But you…”

To Kadroh’s surprise, Hordak chuckled. “To be honest, I hadn’t planned on including myself as part of the ransom; I assumed advanced technology would be sufficient.”

Kadroh gaped again at this revelation. “But then, why would you propose yourself?”

Hordak sighed, appearing exhausted. “Do you know when I was last able to work uninterrupted on my projects?”

“But you are on a sabbatical by order of Prime himself! That is your assignment!” Kadroh was horrified at the thought that Hordak might be prevented from the completion of that most noble task.

“However, it appears our Brothers still view me as approachable for questions. Minor issues they would be best solving on their own, frivolous things. But…”

Kadroh understood. Among the Brothers, all served Prime. That was a given. None would even conceive of denying one of Prime’s proclamations or assignments.

But, because all served Prime, because all work on an assignment went by definition to the betterment of Prime and the Empire - it became an implied belief that failing to support a Brother on their assignment was to not desire the completion of an assignment. To, through inaction, allow the work of Prime to potentially fail, and what greater heresy could there be? If aiding a Brother on their assignment did not impede your own, the expectation was to give aid immediately and to full capacity.

And if Hordak’s assignment gave him freedom of action and time, and his knowledge so great and valuable to so many assignments, did his duty not therefore compel him to aid his Brothers with their own?

Hordak chuckled again, recognizing his brother understood the issue. “Here, away from the view of our Brothers, quite literally inaccessible to their - requests…”

What had been a torture to Kadroh, cut off from the outside world with only unknowable tech surrounding him - this would be a rare delight to his more reserved and introspective brother.

And if he felt confident he could negotiate freedom from the Beast before the end of his sabbatical, why, even Prime himself would not be required to know where Hordak had spent it.

“Yeah,” a familiar gravelled voice cut through, causing both Brothers to jump in surprise. “People are annoying. They always want to bother you, make you do ‘important’ stuff, never listen when you say you’re about to revolutionize the world - opps, sorry! - the Empire. Don’t blame you for wanting to get away. That’s what I did, after all!”

The Brothers turned to face the Beast, casually floating on its purple strands and directing its red eyes at them, as though it had been part of the conversation the entire time and not a surprising intruder itself. Out of the corner of his eye, Kadroh could see Hordak was shocked by the Beast’s reappearance, which concerned him. This entire plan depended upon the Beast’s implied good will being genuine, after all…

Hordak coughed, apparently attempting to hide his discomfort. “Indeed. I would believe you have the means to deliver my brother - safely - to the nearest settlement?”

“Yep yep!”

He nodded, then turned to Kadroh. He appeared to be considering something, and then spoke. “I brought Project 13-9 with me to this planet. It is at your assigned residence, along with its transportation case. It and my other personal belongings there should be sufficient for my needs while I remain here.”

Kadroh relaxed; much information had been silently delivered with that. Project 13-9 was Hordak’s most favored, if not necessarily the one with greatest importance to Prime; to be willing to have it delivered to the castle spoke greatly to Hordak’s own perceived control of the situation.

Turning to the Beast, his brother clarified, “If my brother leaves these packages at the point where he is delivered, they can then be brought to the castle, correct?”

“Yep yep!” The Beast clapped. “This will be so much fun!”

“Please remember, both my brother and Project 13-9 are to be considered - fragile, and thus delivered with care.” Hordak narrowed his eyes at the Beast; apparently he’d noticed its somewhat cavalier attitude towards physical well being. Perhaps that had been included in the stories the natives had shared with him.

“Yep yep!” The Beast then picked up Kadroh with its purple strands, garnering a squawk of horror.

Hordak acted as though this were normal, however; what all had he learned about this Beast? And why would he be willing to remain within its control?

“You still have personal access to my private lab,” Hordak casually reminded Kadroh, “if you were to need anything within. With Project 13-9 here, nothing will require maintenance during my absence; however you are welcome to anything within that may assist you in your assignment or needs if they arise while I am away. Don’t forget to contact me if you have any questions, either.”

And as Kadroh was carried away by the Beast down the halls of the terrifying castle, he for the first time since entering relaxed.

Because he finally had the last piece of his brother’s plans for self protection. They could, in good will, follow the Beast’s command not to contact Prime or any other Brothers.

Because with access to the tools and weapons Hordak had within his private laboratory, and continued communication, Kadroh alone would be perfectly capable of extracting his brother from any defenses this primitive Beast could muster.

Author’s Notes:

Yeah, dialogue!! I’m happy with Kadroh’s and Hordak’s. I’m not sure yet about where I’m at with Entrapta’s. This is a girl that’s lived completely by herself for half her life, this time, with only locals she’s been able to nab for getting too close and then scaring straight as any practice. I want her to be even more manic, cheerful, and out-there than canon Entrapta (at least at this stage), but I also don’t want her too OOC. Let me know your take on her here.

This is a complete coincidence, because it was a plot point from the beginning, but I’m tickled to post having Hordak one-up Entrapta through the use of an insulated cable on the heels of the fandom’s most recent rediscourse. I didn’t make the connection myself, when first plotting this, but now it feels like sweet revenge for the entire “uninsulated wires” idiocy canon forces him into.

I wasn’t intending to put in as much detail with the “Brothers pestering Hordak for help on his sabbatical” as I did; I initially just saw it as a joke. But as I was typing it out, I was reminded about how work is (ab)used in cults, especially The One That Shall Not Be Named (think “science” and “ridicu-ology”). So it became a bit more serious, if not too much of you don’t necessarily know the context. But yeah, can’t ignore any opportunity to have Prime ruin something.

[onf-headcanons]

ONF IN PSYCHO PASS AU (part 2)

Setting : angst, murder (influenced mass murder), futuristic society, you can read the introduction post prior reading this AU headcanon (for a better understanding cos some keywords will be slightly difficult for non anime audiences)

And warning long post and shipping hinting (I wont write it over explicit but if you are anime audience you can get the hint of which character I based so its suggestive should you integrated anime counterpart to ONF couterpart) if you are uncomfortable with that just kindly ignore it. Only adding it not just because to follow original series but also for the AU/headcanon storyline conflict purposes

Below is the known situation when the story starts in Yuto's POV

Yuto - Inspector

Changyoon - Inspector

Hyojin - Enforcer former Inspector

Jaeyoung - Enforcer

Minkyun - Analyst

Seungjun & Minseok - dead

And again sorry if its messy (Cos mainly I just want this AU to exist and making it to a birthday gift for myself XD)

The whole structure is followed the anime,but I will fast paced-ify to focus on main storyline. Also I will tweak my words/wordings to a more simpler format so that I wont cause you all headache.

Part 2 lets go (and here is where the story starts to be different from the anime plot, but main structure is kept the same)

1-4

(What's written in the file)

The 1st file

Kim Minseok, deceased at age of 20, was a former analyst in CID

2 years from today, it is reported that Kim Minseok was being held hostage along with his friend. It is his off day and the mall he was at, was coincidentally assaulted by terrorist. It is clearly that the attack is meticulously planned.

The group of terrorist have split themselves into smaller groups and used the first attacked location as their base. The head of the group with a about 20 men stay at the mall while the rest the members head out towards the city and started violence.

The group of terrorist took many hostages and they hid themselves in the warehouse (the only building that is currently safe to hide), threatening authorities for money and even the releasing of some mastermind/potential criminals.

They even mentioned should authorities killed 1 of their own, they will kill 1 hostages. That is the reason why they took hostages with exact number of the members in the terrorist group.

The authorities noticed the detected raise of area stress level. Since military are involved, CID are teamed up other department to resolve the issue while politicians try to juggle with terrorists. The goal is to rescue all hostages.

But while waiting, the terrorist had fun torturing their hostages but still keeping alive, based on witness, they are torturing hostages to kill time. (This also resulted authorities had to put effort to operate Psycho Pass cleansing program. as aftermath.)

When rescuing hostages, as reported by former military staff, that the boss of the group killed a hostage who was believed to be a friend of Kim Minseok. The boss was handled immediately before he can do more damage with Lethal Eliminator wounding him badly. This was proved by Lee Seungjun, former and deceased Inspector from CID who was assigned to back up with hostage rescuing mission.

However, Sibyl system detected Kim Minseok's Crime Coefficient level kept rising and spiked up to a highest record in history, marked 812 . Sibyl system judged that there is no saving for Kim Minseok and is to be executed at once. With some difficulties, Kim Minseok was executed by quick decision made by former military staff.

The 2nd file

Kim Hyojin, current status : alive. Former Inspector and current Enforcer of Bureau stationed in CID.

His Crime Coefficient level has tendency to be unstable after the death of his brother Kim Minseok and his colleague, Lee Seungjun. However it was under control as it did not surpass 100.

Based on witness, and observation, Kim Hyojin believed that Lee Seungjun was murdered instead of suicide. It was believed that he over committed into his delusions due to denial while grieving the loss of his brother and his best friend.

And to the extent he assaulted a former military staff who was also assigned to the hostage rescue mission along with Lee Seungjun. And that moment his the record of Crime Coefficient raised to 224 as he was "clouded by anger"

He was later assessed and treated before demoted to Enforcer.

1-5

(loosely based on episode 6,7 and 8)

Even though vague and its just suspicions, Minkyun voices up about a similarity he noticed from previous cases the team has handled recently. What Minkyun noticed was, even though the MO are different in all cases, the criminal are using a similar tech when they are committing crime

Hyojin and Changyoon's experience understand and believe in Minkyun's intention and worry should there is a mastermind behind and there is a larger picture. The team are in dumbstruck that those two would suddenly agree with each other.

"We need to be alert, cannot afford to repeat the tragic event happened 2 years ago." Changyoon comments

"Should there is another huge crime event, the whole city and country's Psycho Pass will go crazy, what happened 2 years ago only child's play in comparison." Hyojin adds

Yuto could feel his back bone shivers when he heard Hyojin talks about it non chalantly. Does he?

And look at the timing, before they can dig deeper into the tech, it is reported that a girl school faculty had a murder case.

While handling the case, Yuto finds opportunity to apologies to Hyojin because he has read into Hyojin's and Minseok's file. That was when Yuto and Hyojin are at office being a support back up for the crime scene investigating members.

"Wait, Why do I have to get angry, Yuto-ya?" Hyojin replies Yuto with a question. And this was a bit unexpected because Yuto thought Hyojin would feel down or upset or even get angry at Changyoon for spilling his history without his consent.

"I guess should I am angry, that would be solely directed at myself..." Hyojin continues with a thoughtful expression. But there a hint of sadness to it. "I knew something was wrong when I observed Seungjun's dead scene and my instincts told me that it might related to my brother's death. Just because I could not make it into words, no one believed in me."

"Is that why you confronted with the ex - military staff?" Yuto pieced the puzzle together. And Hyojin confirms it with a yes.

Yuto can understand why the word "delusions" are used. But unlike others, he does not push away Hyojin's emotions and "delusions".

Yuto timidly asks, "Lee Seungjun.-sshi?..Changyoon-sshi says he is your best friend...Must be someone you treasures."

Hyojin nods and his facial expression becomes brighter. "He is, I known him for ages, we always got each other's back."

"What kind of person is he?"

"Sometimes annoying, but a warm and excellent friend. Knowing him is the best and proudest thing that could happen in my life. " Hyojin smiles as he reminiscing about Seungjun. "I guess Changyoon already told you that I led the team back then right?"

Yuto nods and quietly listens to Hyojin talks about the old days.

"But actually without Seungjun being the pillar support to the team, I don't think I can lead well. Even though outsiders sees the team only led by me. But..." Hyojin pauses for a bit. "It was also led by Seungjun too. Along with Minseok, I never expect both of them to die in those ways."

Initially Yuto wanted to ask more about the old days, but when Hyojin spoke the name of his brother, Yuto pursues his lips as a sign of hesitation. But to his surprise...

"Do you know that Minseok joined the Bureau in a very young age?" Hyojin raised his head and looks at Yuto with glittering eyes. "Wait, you are 99 liner right? That makes you the same age as Minseok!"

Yuto could not process for a bit, so he went along with the flow. With that, more details about Hyojin's brother came out. So Minseok was filed as prodigy during a young age and arranged to join Bureau as an exception. And due to his young age and no plans for him to head out for action, the Bureau only focused on Minseok's academics and training as Analyst. Minseok did some basic self defense but it is not sufficient to qualify as a fighter.

"Aah... Should Minseok and Seungjun are here right now, they will be happy to meet you. Minseok never really had same aged friends when he is in the Bureau..." Hyojin gazes at Yuto as he mutters.

And speaking of Minseok, Yuto then suddenly remembers something and asks Hyojin about the hostage they met on Yuto's first day. "Hyojin- hyung... by any chance, actually you were not trying to hurt the hostage we met on my first day but were trying to contain them by driving them to a dead end?"

"Took you damn long time to figure that out." Hyojin pouts. "To think innocent people getting involved and caught up to things that are way out of normal....Anyone, even Minseok must have been very terrified and stressed to the extent his hue clouded and contaminated."

"But is he truly beyond saving?" Hyojin raise a question with a cold stare that gives Yuto chills.

Yuto keeps his silence as he worried to speak one wrong word. He wanted to say something but the event was 2 years ago and in file writes Hyojin as delusional, and since Changyoon is awfully cold towards Hyojin... Yuto does not know if he should trust everything the person in red hair says because he is questioning the system or trust his own hunch that Hyojin might have some insight that everyone chooses to ignore.

"Come on, don't look so acted up! Sorry if I scared you." Hyojin pats on Yuto's back and changed the mood.

Yuto smiles back at Hyojin and carefully offers, "Hyung , on next off day, can you bring me to visit their graves? I would like to pay my respect towards them as a junior joining this team."

Hyojin lifts his hand and pats Yuto, he smiles even wider and nods at younger one, "Sure. I promise I will not cause any trouble. Our Little Rookie Inspector."

Yuto understands it Hyojin teasing him again, but he let it slide because the mood is finally cheerful now.

"Thank you Yuto." Hyojin suddenly drop that out of no where. "Ever since I became Enforcer, no one talk about them anymore. It is nice to hear their name coming out from 3rd person's mouth and no one is depressed upon hearing it."

Yuto nods as a reply, and that moment, Minkyun returns with the other team. Hyojin instantly puts his index finger close to his lips, indicating the whole conversation a while ago to be kept secret. And Minkyun caught that, playfully wailing that Hyojin is being unfair and he should not just share his secret to Yuto only.

So the case that they has to attend to this time was young girl students being murdered, dissected/dismembered and later ensemble to look like an art piece of dark and grotesque genre.

It was suspected that a former teacher is committing the crime due to revenge by abducting the students and displaying the achievement by making the corpse into "art form". However, it did not take long for a second case with the same MO to appear and there is still no sign of the former teacher to be found anywhere in the city. Before any new evidence to be found, the Bureau can only back up by help enhancing security at the all girls school.

While looking at the photo of exhibit of dismembered victim, Jaeyoung unconsciously mentioned about genre and art style and the keywords enlightened the team. Minkyun search the data base but none could be found. Leaving the option of dark web, but it is unwise for Bureau to deal with those even if its for case solving purpose..

Hyojin remembers a criminal locked might help and once he gotten Changyoon's approval, Yuto and Hyojin immediately head to the place, hoping the person in Hyojin's mind could lend a hand. Yuto is curious on why Hyojin is so confident that the said person might be helpful, Hyojin mentioned that he was the one who put the said person behind the bars for having high Crime Coefficient level while selling illegal inappropriate artworks banned by authority policy.

Thankfully, the artist in confinement noticed the genre and art style by browsing through MO photo data provided by Hyojin and Yuto. It gave a huge clue, the MO was inspired by a famous underground artist, whose works are banned on market but the sales thrives in the black market. Apparently the artist has black market art persona and the normal persona. Art maniacs knows about this so it is not really a secret unless you dig into to it enough.

The team let Minkyun to run the data base to see if there is any connection between artist and students, even teachers and staffs in the school and BINGO. Apparently the artist's daughter is attending the school.

Knowing its a very suggestive clue, the team rushes to the school to get their culprit. They succeeded on getting the criminal this time but the murder still succeed in doing her 1 last act getting caught by CID. (Here is different from anime)

While monitoring back ups helping to clear crime scene, Changyoon calls Hyojin to have a chat at the Enforcers wagon and let Yuto to monitor Jaeyoung.

Back in the wagon, Changyoon and Hyojin temporary forgot their conflicts and start to piece the puzzles together. Changyoon even though sometimes is a bit not flexible, but when he sees Hyojin acknowledging Minkyun, he knows that the Enforcer in front of him is still the ex superior he knows.

Changyoon scratches his head a bit and tells Hyojin that the current and previous virtual community case felt a bit off. And should Minkyun's hint are actually legit, how should they tie up all the puzzle together?

Hyojin while biting his knuckles he goes, "Even though the young criminal this time has a high IQ. but as a minor, it is hard to believe that they can prepare such intricate crime display."

"I agree. " Changyoon adds, "This is an all girl school with dorm and I don't think our young criminal can gain access to the tools even if she wants to."

Hyojin and Changyoon come to a conclusion, that there is definitely a mastermind or consultant helping out criminals to execute their crimes, but who?

All cases looking irrelevant against each other but with the frequencies of cases occurring here and there, it does not hurt to think whoever behind this definitely is aiming for a raise of area stress level in a national degree. If that so, they might not dealing with a mastermind, but a group of crime syndicate who is trying to initiate a psycho hazard.

Although they both do not have strong evidence to prove their point but should their speculations are true (because of their first hand experience come contact with all these cases), it is already scary. While terror attack can produce fear and violence in large scale straightforwardly, a raise of crime number/disturbing criminal events affecting citizen's mental security can have long term effect. It is also a way to make authority focus on cleansing and clearing the hue and got distracted from something even menacing.

After a few seconds of silence, Hyojin finally breaks the ice., "Do we have a list of mastermind criminals that the terrorist group requested the authority to release 2 years ago?"

Changyoon replies "Yes we have, but... the authority did not really released them for reals. Its just a fake act to buy time...."

Hyojin stares at Changyoon in a straight face as they had thought of the same possibility.

"Hyojin are you suggesting that the terror attack was just to cover up a secret swap?" Changyoon stood up in disbelief, eyes wide open. "Thats crazy! Do you know how many terrorist members are there on that day? That many manpower and gunpowder just to do a human swap? For what purpose?!"

"And if there is a secret swap, are you saying that there is a traitor in our government?" Changyoon exclaims.

Hyojin only lowers his gaze and mutters, "I don't know." and he continues

"And you still think I am crazy?" Hyojin raises a corner of his lips and look at Changyoon with a victorious smile.

"I know you are delusional but this is insane, Hyojin." Changyoon frowns while he mutters. "Why do you have to complicate things and push yourself so hard until your Psycho Pass get clouded so bad?"

"My brother and my best friend both died with unconvincing cause of death. There are numerous points that are quite fishy regarding to the terror attack 2 years ago, Changyoon." Hyojin stares at Changyoon with firm eyes and its overflowing with hope.

"Seungjun wasn't himself after the death of my brother, it was not only guilt and regret he was feeling, he never acted like that before. He knew something. He must have seen something." Seeing Changyoon standing in front of him in silence, Hyojin took the chance to continue.

"I was there, I was the first person to find Seungjun's death scene. And as an former Inspector, I can tell you that was not a suicide." Hyojin starts to get excited as he voices out his points. "Who would choose to burn themselves and set a fire to their apartment room while at it when they can have a quick death?"

Changyoon still looking at Hyojin as if he is looking at a clown.

"You are a smart guy Changyoon, you can definitely tell there is something off if you..."

"Shut up." Changyoon silences Hyojin as he knows Hyojin is trying to persuade him to share common interest, Changyoon groans in irritation and barges out from the wagon, leaving Hyojin startled.

Jaeyoung who come across to this, asks if Hyojin did anything to piss Changyoon off in a concerned tone, Hyojin only denies him by laughing it off.

And Changyoon, who dashes into his car, punches the steering with his might before covering his face with his hands.

"What am I to you then?" he whispers into the silence. "Am I not your friend as well?"

To be continued on part 3

[fericita-s]

We Run a Very Tight Ship

Guest chapter! @sagiow challenged me to write a chapter for the Mercy Street Cruise Ship AU that involves “floor bacon” and “leftover snow cone” and this is the result, heavy on the Emmry. Thanks for inviting me to play in your sandbox! I hope I didn’t make things too dirty!

Thanks @the-spaztic-fantastic for beta-ing and for some research on this chapter that I won’t out you for.  Let’s call it medical.

Previous Chapters by @jomiddlemarch and @sagiow

Quarantine – Day 5

Maple Bourbon Snow Cones

The lewd bag was empty and every time Emma looked at it the same hysterical giggle worked its way up from the depths of her belly, just like the one that had made her gasp against the wall with the realization that she was quarantined in the honeymoon suite with the man she’d been crushing on for as long as she’d had this job.  And then it had been Henry making her gasp, and occasionally the depths of treasure they extracted from the lewd bag.  What hadn’t needed batteries – the lotions, some of the condoms, the novelty lipstick shaped like a penis – was used up or laughed over and then discarded, Emma was still too good at her job to stop taking evaluative notes on what should be added or permanently excluded from future honeymoon packages.  She had berated herself for not thinking to check that the outlets matched the plugs for the plug-in, but who wanted to spend any time thinking on Alice and Frank’s sexual satisfaction.  Anyway, Henry was just as good as a Hitachi.  Better even, what with the stubbled jawline and forearms to admire.

They were ensconced on the bed, the silk duvet and the plush matching bathrobes the only part of the experience that felt vaguely like a sick day.

Mostly, it felt like a vacation.

Three times a day, a steward knocked on the door to deliver food.  There were increasingly entertaining videos livestreamed by PS I Love You Squivers and Henry was just as fun and funny to talk to post-sex, or more accurately in-between-sex, and no one had died.

Emma knew that should have been what she was most grateful for, and Henry was leading with it in the sermon he was live-streaming later, but it was easy to forget the chaos going on in the medical bay when she was on her honeymoon.  Even a borrowed one.

A brisk knock sounded and Henry kissed her forehead as he left the bed to answer.  The voice on the other side immediately scolded him and Emma tilted her head, trying to place it.

“You shouldn’t be opening the door for anyone without proper protective gear on!”

Emma wondered why someone would insist Henry answer the door with a condom on until the door opened wider and she saw the scrubs and mask Dr. Foster was wearing.

“Hello, Jed.  Should I close it?” Henry seemed unbothered though he did take a few steps back, motioning for the doctor to come in.  Emma thought Jed looked like he’d been awake for the five days of quarantine, and perhaps he had.  It gave her a slight pang of guilt that he had been working so hard to take care of her sister and brother and soon-to-be brother-in-law/ex-boyfriend.

“Is Alice alright? And Jimmy?”  She didn’t ask about Frank. Not because it was awkward, but because she didn’t really care and she’d rather keep thoughts of him out of this room where she definitely had not been thinking about him, beyond regretting that she had poured the premium bourbon Frank insisted the room was stocked with down the drain. If she had known she’d be the one holed up in this room, she wouldn’t have discarded the Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve and refilled the bottle with Jim Bean, which at the time had felt like a delightful power move.  Would Frank brag about the superior taste of the good stuff instead of the cheap swill of the masses?  Or would he have a Princess and the Pea moment and demand the high-end alcohol? Either would have been fireworks that amused her; it was just too bad she and Henry had to make do with the cheap stuff.  It made the melted snow cones from lunch more bearable at least, and who could even taste the bourbon with the snow cone on her tongue and then Henry soon after.

“Alice and Jimmy are fine.  The others too. No worse, no better. We just administered the tests and I’ve been assured we’ll get results soon.  Alice sent me to collect the ‘sparkly, pretty, rainbow shoes’.  The payment required for her participation in the swab.”

Emma tightened the bath robe and got out of the bed, her hands lingering on the silk, wishing it could have been longer that this room had gone without the name “Alice” being spoken.  Hearing it twice was like breaking a spell.

“I don’t think her luggage is here.  She was staying with her bridesmaids in an ocean view suite on A Deck.”

Jed sighed and raised a hand like he was going to rub it over his eyes and face, but then stopped, letting it fall back down.  “I went there first.  To Kayleigh or McEnany or MacKayleighAnnie or whatever the hell her three bridesmaids’ names are.  They were next to useless and either lying or clueless, but they weren’t sick at least. Mind if I look here?”

Emma’s eyes met Henry’s and they both looked around the room at the detritus of one lewd bag and four and a half days’ worth of food and condom wrappers. Henry cleared his throat.

“How about we look and call you when we find it? And how about you take a rest in your own room before heading back to med bay? Before you need a cot there yourself?” Henry put a hand on Jed’s shoulder but Jed shook it off.

“Fine. I shouldn’t spend time in here with you anyway, stop the spread and all that. Let me know?”

He left and Henry bent to retrieve the breakfast tray that had been left and kicked at the door to shut it, but the pocket of his bathrobe got caught on the doorknob and the tray jerked out of his hands as he was pulled back with the door.  Emma watched in horror as a plate slid off of the tray and the bacon slid off of the plate and onto the floor.

“Five second rule!” Henry shouted, pulling his bathrobe free of the door and scooping it up.

“On a cruise ship?  During an epidemiological disaster? I don’t think the five second rule applies.”

“Fair,” Henry said, and threw it into the trash instead.  “I suppose floor bacon is not what B Gibson intended for our culinary satisfaction.”

“I’m starting to feel like this is the Battle of Manassas and we’re all on a picnic watching the horror go down with amusement. Should I be doing more to help? Jed seemed pretty exhausted.”

“Manassas, eh? Not Bull Run? Took me five days but I finally found your flaw.  You’re a secret Confederate.”

Emma swatted at him, but then reconsidered and swiped a pancake from the tray he was still holding instead.  “I’m from Virginia.  It’s what the battlefield sign says.”

Henry put the tray on the bed, resettling the plates and arranging the fruit and sausage that remained and took a pancake for himself.  He spoke in between bites and he was so comforting and certain, Emma thought that online ordination must have included some contact hours for counseling training.  He was so good at it. “I think quarantining is the most helpful thing we can do right now.  That and look for these shoes.  We know we’ve been exposed to Alice and if we go out, we just make the problem worse.”

Despite the sentence ending with “make the problem worse,” Emma felt a thrill of victory. For right now, for this perfectly weird moment, the best thing she could do for her job, for her family, for the good of the public health, was to remain in a honeymoon suite with Henry. It was a sacrifice she could handle.

They finished their breakfast and then began searching for the ridiculous shoes Alice apparently needed while prone in a hospital cot. Henry turned the livestream on and they watched with amusement as Percival Squivers apologized for the unhinged magic shows he had been giving over the past few days and then pledged to provide truly riveting content for the remainder of quarantine, however long it lasted.  Then he reached to turn off his camera but missed, and Henry and Emma abandoned their search as they watched, open-mouthed and eyes wide as Squivers pulled a half dollar from behind a woman’s ear as she leaned in to kiss him.  Squivers kept attempting to say, or guess, her name, like it was a magic trick that would have the best reveal yet: Lisette? Linnette? Laurent?   And then what followed wasn't exactly porn, it wasn't exactly not porn, but it definitely wasn't good porn and they turned from it to keep searching.

As she lifted pillows and emptied drawers and looked in the smallest closet to ever bear the name, Emma considered how much easier it was going to be to stop this wedding now that the bride and groom were both sick.  But she wanted it to not happen ever, and the means to prevent it was still not in her grasp.

Henry hadn't asked why and she wanted to think it was because he could tell how awful they were or that he'd do whatever she asked or that he was ready for hijinks of any kind, and not that he expected an explanation.  Because she wasn’t sure she could explain the mortification of her former boyfriend marrying her little sister.  It was cute when Amy March did it, but if Emma had to choose a scene to repeat from that book it would be letting her sister fall through the ice, and not necessarily the rescue that followed.

“Bingo!” Henry called, holding a shoe box aloft that had been stashed behind a pile of towels they hadn’t worked their way through yet.

Emma crossed the room to sit next to him as he opened the lid. The shoes were very sparkly, every color of the rainbow shimmering and shining in the sequins as they caught the light.  Emma lifted them out and frowned as she saw something left behind, half-hidden by the tissue paper surrounding the shoes.

“That’s Frank’s phone,” she said, reaching for it and flipping it over so the rebel flag phone case was at least not offensively visible.  She put in the code she knew he’d use: 1-2-3-4 and a series of pictures was already queued up.

She swiped through selfies of Frank, Jimmy posing obscenely, all the groomsmen posing obscenely, a close up of Alice’s ass, Frank boarding a plane, and then a series of photos with a random seatmate who looked to be the reigning Miss Italy. Photos in the cramped bathroom that left Emma with no doubt that plenty of germs and viruses and perhaps even an entire plague could have been caught from the amount of skin and orifices and fluids being exchanged in the bathroom, fully documented on his phone, in black and white, in video, in various filters that Emma appraised with a critical eye and announced, to Henry's amusement "Yep.  Just as bad as I remember.”

He flashed her a smile. The one that meant this round was over and it had been a good one. “You did it.  You found the evidence.  No wedding.”

Emma shook her head.  “If it was in her shoes, she knows. Nothing matters.  The truth is out there and no one cares.”

A new sound was coming from the livestream and Henry and Emma turned to look, able to see clearly as Silas the pig and Mrs. Brannon came into frame and demanded of Squivers “Did you find it for me? I’m tired of paying you and seeing nothing but lousy magic to show for it.”

“I think we figured out Squivers’s side hustle,” said Henry, but he turned the tablet off at Emma’s blank look.  “The truth does matter.  And I made a no-vow vow.  I don’t break my vows.”

“No wedding,” Emma said, equally solemn.

“The truth matters,” he repeated, and Emma wondered if he meant the revelers still having pop-up parties in hallways and acting like quarantine was a suggestive role play you could opt out of if it didn't suit your entertainment interests.  It would be a good sermon, if anyone could tear themselves away from the trainwreck of the Squivers show to watch.

***

Jed came to retrieve the shoes later, looking marginally better rested but wielding test kits and insisting he administer them so the mad rush of the second round could at least be staggered.  Emma giggled hysterically as Henry yelled “Peacock! Peacock!” and then again as the swab went so far up her nose she thought it was tickling her hairline from beneath her skull. 

“Let’s add some more bourbon to the leftover snow cones,” she said as Jed left, bags and shoes in hand.  The phone they had kept; the plan was still formulating on how to wield it.

“I want it that way,” Henry sang, sounding sexier than a Backstreet Boy though somewhat more nasally as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose and grinned at her.

[the-goddessfighter]

[Werewolf-Vampire AU -SEQUEL VII: The Last War- ]

 by : Little1993lamb

for: Temperans-sama / @the-goddessfighter

Words count : 6378

Warning : long sequel is looong, super lame action scenes (i'm so sorry if it sucks!), slight satisfying gore scene in the end (you will know what is it! i promise it will satisfy you mmmh, especially if you hate the resident douchebag lol)

 Disclaimer: Gaman, the Batarou love child, is Original Character created by amazing @the-goddessfighter. Not mine, I just borrowed him temporarily for this story at her permission ;D

  @kaincuro @metalbatandzenko @dies-first @beautifulnightmareus @guppys-paw @ruby-ess

- VII -

Back to several minutes before, on the Fortress frontyard, Bang and Bomb along with their packs alliances successful on defeating the royal guards who were in charge on guarding the outside Fortress easily. Now they just waiting for Garou and the other rescue team to take Badd and Zenko back to home. But Bomb sensed there's something wrong with this situation, he'd heard with his werewolf's supersensitive ears that there's a horde of people coming towards them. And from the smell of it those scents were similar to pureblood vampire scent are, and it gets stronger as those people approaching them at a steady pace.

Bomb asked everyone to stay alert because these can be more dangerous than their previous opponents. Bang followed his brother's instruction and set his fighting stance right away with Bomb. A few seconds later, they saw an army of pureblood vampires marching towards them from the forest direction. Bang thought it seems that whoever instructed those army to come here, they have an intention to destroy the place or the people inside it. This cannot be good, Garou and the others still in the Fortress and they still haven't know what's happened on Badd's trial right now. Only one way to sort this out: fight those vampires back to prevent them entering the Fortress until everybody inside are already saved.

Finally the army of pureblood vampires stopped their march in the front Fortress gate. From the close distance, their appearance seemed like either trained assassins or mysterious stalkers, with all full body suit and black mantle plus half mask covering the upper part of their face, to prevent sunlight from touching their sensitive skin. On the mantle there's an insignia of highest rank of pureblood vampire family clan, to be exactly Amai Mask's own family.

That moment, Bang immediately understand what's actually happened here. Amai's family planned to wiped out every people in this Fortress along with the evidences so they could overthrow the royal family's Vampire Order. What a horrible clan, Bang thought. He knew from his life experiences that some of the vampire clan are nasty, but never once he encountered a clan nastier than this before. It disgusted him.

Anyways, he wont let those nasty people get their dirty hands on his family. Don't let the tragedy of Badd's own family repeated again now, his beloved son-in-law already suffered the loss and traumatic painful memories too much. He'll doing his best to prevent that from happening once more. With understanding nods to each other, Bang and Bomb ready to lead the packs alliances into the battle against the pureblood vampire army at the front line.

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

At the same time inside the Fortress, the rescue-fighter team trying to evacuate the royal family and all of the civillians to another solitude building in the back of Fortress which is looked more secure. The said building is the Imperial Palace, owned by the royal family as the authority of Vampire Council. Hopefully it could accommodate the refugees and hold back the treacherous clan army's invasion until the battle ended. Garou, Badd, and Gaman defended the civillians from the front side while the rest of rescue and evacuation team on the back side. Because there's also a group of pureblood vampires who sided with Amai's family clan and the remain of Amai's lackeys, they must protect the people from those enemies during moving from court house building to the Imperial Palace.

Currently, they still in the court room to open their way from the remaining enemies in there, so they can open their way to move forward towards the Fortress corridors. As expected, Amai's lackey attacked them from inside the room and from outside the room or from the corridors. In the front line, Garou and Gaman fighting side by side while Badd covering their back. It was amazing to see how those three in action as teamwork.

Garou was like the spear for them, excels in brute strength and flexibility, combinated with graceful movements using complicated techniques that has been perfected by him. Also, as a werewolf he has more powerful regenerative ability than any vampire ever have, so it doesn't really worrisome if he got wounded from enemies' offensive attack, because he wanted to protect Gaman who's still a child and Badd who's his vampire Mate. The protectiveness from being an Alpha Werewolf with a Mate strenghtened his skills and sharpen his natural instinct to keep his family safe no matter what happen.

And to do that thing, he doesn't mind to kill his enemies with his bare hands if it's absolutely necessary. Of course he still taught Gaman to not kill the opponent, same to Badd who's softhearted. Because of that, he wanted to spare them from the guilt of killing a person. Just him alone to shoulder the sin is enough for Garou, no need to made them a "killer".

Badd was like the shield for them, excels in defense or guarding especially to protect his beloved people, yet he also capable to deliver deathly blow if he wants with his metal bat. He's guarding the back of his Mate and his child from behind. Maybe Badd lacked the gracefulness and doesn't really have any technical martial arts, but he's very strong as powerhouse and he got excellent speed to deliver his attack during combat. Also, he could fights both on the ground and in the air because his ability to fly gives him a lot of advantages, especially to fight against his own kind like in this situation. Plus the activated "Fighting Spirit" made him very durable in combat with incredible amount of stamina during a battle.

Gaman's fighting style is more like his dad, with additional advantages which inherited from his father. As a WereVampire hybrid, he could combinated the gracefulness of Garou's martial arts and the hunting instict like what both his parents taught to him. After Gaman was transformed into his Awakening WereVampire form, he unlocked all of his hidden potential abilities such as flying with his vampiric wings, excellent eyesight of werewolf, heightened vampire and werewolf senses, got clawing hands and strong legs like a werewolf, also the most important is his leveled up "Fighting Spirit" which he inherited it from Badd with some upgraded element like glowing aura when it's activated.

So much like some choreographic battle dance, those three fighting along together against their opponents also protecting each other and the civillians at the same time. Garou opening the way by delivering offensive attacks towards enemies who blocking them, he prefer to aims for the vital points to make his enemies lose the ability to fight back very quickly, that way the evacuation process could be done much faster. Badd defends them at behind and at their side, also because he has incredible reflexes combinated with his sharpened vampire senses, he'd know if there's any opponents who's approaching them in the air using their wings or sneak around them. Badd would bashing his opponents into submission before they could even touch his family, the rescue team, or the civillians. Gaman fills the gap by attacking enemies who wanted to attack Garou's and Badd's blind spot, because Gaman is still small so he takes advantages on his agility and the ease of mobility he has during fighting.

They did all of that until there's no remaining enemies capable to fighting anymore from the inside Fortress. Finally all of them had reached the outside building and moving towards the Gate of Imperial Palace. Suddenly they heard loud battle cry from the frontyard area and realized that werewolf packs alliances were in the middle of battling the traitor pureblood vampire clan army. Some of them looked heavily injured but still continue to fight. Garou becomes worried for Bang and wanna joined him fighting at the frontyard with all the fighter team. Badd also want to follow Garou but Garou asked him to keep Gaman save on the back, guarding the Gate of Imperial Palace from enemies who intended to breach the evacuation area.

It's still too dangerous for Gaman to join fighting the most skillful assassin vampires like those army, moreover Gaman had just only transformed for the first time so Garou couldn't risk their son's life in the front lines. About Badd, Garou believed he absolutely capable to fight along with him. But he had to entrusted Gaman in Badd's hand, keeping their beloved son safe and sound. Also he didn't want to lose Badd again, worst if it's permanently. Both Badd and Gaman are very precious to Garou so he must protect them from any danger, included this kind of battle.

Garou said to Badd that he doesn't have to worry about him getting injured, he could heal very quickly and he's nearly invulnerable in his Alpha Werewolf form. Even if he's heavily injured, he still have great endurance to hold it until the battle ended. Only if Badd giving a good luck kiss again. Badd know Garou just teased him, but he's begrudgingly agreed with Garou's decision about coming to the front line alone without them.

With a wide smile, Garou hugged both his Mate and their son before departing to the battlefield. Once he released the hug, he kissed Badd deeply, taking it as his good luck charm from his lovely Mate, and as promise to come back for him again. With heavyness in his heart, Badd letting go of Garou and went separated way: Badd and Gaman rushed to the Gate of Imperial Palace, while Garou running towards the frontyard battlefield.

 -------------------------------

With the guarding from the rescue and evacuation team from werewolf alliances, the royal family and also all of civillians from the Fortress successfully moved into the Imperial Palace hall. For the injured vampire civillians or the werewolf alliances member were treated by the medic team who consists from a teamwork between vampire and werewolf medical staffs, including Zenko and Tareo. Zenko treated the internal injuries, while Tareo treated the external injuries. Both of them were very busy treating and healing the injured people, or assisting the others medical staffs. As teamwork, they're never differentiate the race of their patients, whoever needed health care will be treated equally.

On the outside of Palace, the werewolf alliances guarding at the gate so no enemies could entered it. Only medical team and injured people who need medical treatment allowed to enter. And that's where Badd and Gaman keep an eye for any intruders who's coming from the battlefront.

Since so many fighter team from werewolf alliances has fallen after demolishing a partial of the vampire army and couldn't keep watching the enemies anymore, either too exhausted or heavily injured, it opened the chance of the assassin vampires to infiltrating Fortress. Thus, the evacuation area become at risk as the next target of those army. Badd told Gaman to stay alert whenever there's enemy coming at any time right now.

They must be more careful because this time the enemy were not someone lackeys or unexperienced fighter anymore, those are professional killer thus the next level of dangerous. So they should protected themself, each other, the comrades, and the civillians in the Palace. But whatever happened later, Badd will always protected Gaman, as what Garou asked to him before. Understand fully about what his father saying, Gaman nodded to him as agreement. Both of them activated their "Fighting Spirit" to prepare the upcoming battle.

As the co-leader of the werewolf packs, Badd stood in the front of his team as the vanguard, while Gaman is right behind him. Like what they predicted before, there's a group of vampire assassins coming from the Fortress which already breached by them, not so many like on battlefront but still dangerous enough. Badd and the team were ready in their fighting stance, then they're moving forward to start attacking. The assassin vampires was indeed stronger than their previous opponents, made it difficult to won this battle easily. Even so, they also wont give up easily, too.

If Garou-Gaman-Badd combination fighting style was side-by-side or go around in circle outward-facing, then Badd-Gaman combination fighting style was back-to-back. Badd shielding Gaman from any offensive attacks while moving forward delivering his deathly blows towards enemies using his signature weapon metal bat, channeling his "Fighting Spirit" upon it for every smash of the metal bat. He will absorb all the damages that the opponents gave to him as long as they wont touch Gaman, then he bashed and smashed them out of his way, knocking them unconscious.

While Gaman keeping his father's back or his blind spot safe with his super-agile defensive attacks using his graceful martial arts taught by his dad, combined with his new unlocked werewolf power and vampire senses. Sometimes he'll flight towards the enemies to disarmed them, especially if they tried to sneakily delivering attack behind Badd's back or when he was busy smashing the enemies around. Gaman prefer to used his werewolf-like legs to plain kick, drop-kick, or choked his opponent's neck by swinging his legs and spinning them around when he's flying, because it's more easier to do in the air than delivering punches. Punches usually followed by some clawing to make the damages worse.

Many assassin vampire enemies were shocked about the new revelation of hybrid child's secret power. All they know about him from Amai was there's a werevamp hybrid child who looked like normal vampire kid and were taught martial arts by both his parents, but they never heard or known that this hybrid child already evolved into his awakening form. Especially when said child turned out to be more stronger than they've expected before. They also underestimate Badd's skills at being Fighter Vampire with inherited ability, come from the vampire clan who they've let it perished years ago.

It seems this time Badd wanted to repay what those pureblood vampire clan had done to his late family and his own current family, so delivered his ultimate attack to end this battle at once very quickly by wildly spins with his metal bat strong enough to create a small tornado, wiped out and destroying any opponents on his path. The result, he'd totally demolishing nearly half of army troop that come to evacuation area by himself with the help from Gaman. Such a tremendous power he had on that battle.

It finally ended after half an hour of fighting, with the result most of assassin vampire were killed or in unconscious state after suffering heavy injuries and already restained, many captured alive so they could be interrogated by the royal family's law enforcer. While nobody on the werewolf alliances side had died, many of them really need emergency medical treatment in the Palace so unfortunately the remaining guards keeping on the gate reduced by half.

Resting for a while after battling, Badd felt a bit tired from using too much "Fighting Spirit" today, unless he gulped some of Garou's blood again as his energy fuel. Gaman leaned on Badd, who's already back on his normal form, said he felt sleepy after fighting too much. Moreover, this was his first time using leveled up "Fighting Spirit" with his final transformation form, so it'd drained his energy rapidly.

Badd asked if he wanted to sleep in the evacuation area with Auntie Zenko's and Uncle Tareo's supervised him, Gaman answered no, he still wanted to be with Badd, accompanying him guarding the gate. Ruffling Gaman's hair fondly, Badd offering him his lap so he could sleep more comfortable. Gaman plopped on his father's lap with his head leaned on his father's chest, eyes already closed. Badd hugged Gaman from behind, keeping him warm, safe and secure in his embrace like a protective mother hen.

Back to his duty on keeping the gate with remaining rescue team, he listened the battle noises coming from the frontyard. It seems the war still hasn't ended yet. He's wondering what Garou does right now, so many thoughts invaded his mind: Is he still fighting with Bang? Is he hurt? Why is the battle still not done yet? Are the enemies in the frontyard are much harder to defeat than the ones he just defeated? He really wanted to meet Garou again...

Hopefully he's alright and will come back in one piece, because if it's not, Badd will personally bash Garou's stupid head with his goddamn bat and kick his sorry ass. He didn't want to worry his head off for Garou just to have him fatally injured, or worst, dying. But he trusted Garou's promise and will waiting for him on here with their son. Wishing everything's gonna be alright soon.

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

Meanwhile on the battlefront, Garou, Bang, and Bomb still fighting back the assassin vampires with all their might. The condition was so much worse in there than what Badd had experienced in front of the Imperial Palace's gate.

It seems most of the more skilled assassin vampire was placed in the frontline to fight werewolf alliances because the werewolfs are stronger, while the less experienced ones was instructed to infiltrate the Fortress and Imperial Palace because the royal family or the civillians are deemed weaker by them. Because of they're underestimating the unexpected situation, such as not knowing Badd the Fighter Vampire's and Gaman the Hybrid Child's participation on guarding the place, thus more easier to defeat by rescue team.

In this battle zone, it's more difficult because the experienced assassins were concentrated in the front line. There's already many werewolfs warrior in fighter team were killed, some of them were Garou's close friends and colleagues. But it doesn't mean the werewolf side was losing.

Despite of the situation, they're also be able to push back the army's advance until it just 1/3 of them who still remained capable of fighting, 2/3 of them either being killed or surrendered after suffering fatal damages on their bodies. It showed that the teamwork for werewolf alliances with Garou's leadership in this battle were quite successful, with the guidance from Bang and Bomb. The combination power from those three were devastating, considering they had same root on martial art styles but Garou had his own style already perfected. So, Bang and Bomb were become the shields for the fighter team as defensive forces while Garou becomes the spearhead for them as offensive force.

As the Alpha Werewolf who had his protective instinct heightened after having a Mate, a son, and a whole family packs, really made Garou becomes much more stronger than ever, compared with his past-self back then when he's still a youngling member of Bang's Alpha pack and a student in Bang's dojo. Being a family man truly suited Garou, his desire to protect everyone he loves strengthen him. Watching how Garou grow from an overly ambitious reckless kid who wants nothing but to challenge everyone he deemed strong, into a more matured humble young man who wants nothing but keeping his family safe, made Bang feel very proud of him.

Especially when he proved his amazing skills in this battlefield while they're doing teamwork together fighting those vampire army, Bang didn't regret teaching him his martial art and handing his leadership along with the packs to him. Now that Garou asking for his help to save his family, why not showing off all of his power in full capacity right there, so those nasty vampire clan will realized how to not messing with werewolf packs family, ever. Because Garou's family is also his family, too.

At some point, when Garou in the middle of demolishing vampire army, there's one assassin vampire behind a different kind of mask who's watching over him intensely from a close distance. That assassin looked like he's on stand by, ready to strike an attack towards Garou. Bomb was the first one aware of that, shouting a warning to Garou. At the same time, that assassin quickly swishing forward to attack Garou with sharp clawed hands. It happened so fast that Garou was late to respond or even ready to defend himself, but the blow was already deflected by Bang using his arm. He's not fatally injured but Bang felt something wrong with the wounds, as he becomes slightly dizzy. Was he poisoned? Were those claws coated with poison?

Bomb caught Bang before he could fall, he roared furiously at the assassin who's wounded his little brother. Garou couldn't believe he let his guard off that it would lead into Bang getting hurt. It's all his fault at being not aware his surrounding enough. Quickly Garou asked his subordinates to bring Bang as soon as possible into the Imperial Palace where the medical team could give Bang emergency treatment. Angrily, Garou barked at the assassin to reveal himself right now. He heard amused chuckling for a moment, then when the vampire assassin revealed himself, opened his hood and took his half-mask off, Garou becomes more enraged. It was Amai Mask! How dare he hurted his family again!!

Amai Mask let out cynical laughing once he looking at Garou's mad expression, said he already promised before to fight Garou once more again like the old day. It's unfortunate he couldn't deliver that surprise blow to Garou like what he's planned before, but he's happy somehow it still worked out fine. Afterall, the old man is Garou's close family, his father figure. Nice unexpected target and sacrificial pawn for Amai. Hearing Amai talking about Bang like that, Garou couldn't hold back his anger anymore. He transformed into his Alpha Werewolf form and ready on his fighting stance, intended to end this vampire's life right here and there. Glad his taunting works, Amai Mask responded back with his own transformation into Fighter Vampire mode.

Yes, not only Badd and his tame vampire family clan who could transformed into Fighter mode, Amai Mask's own family could transformed as well. But it's different. While tame clan had Brawler type Fighter mode, then his pureblood clan had Assassin type Fighter mode. It allowed them to move more gracefully while delivering deathly blow for minimal effort. Even though the form looked more nastier than Brawler type, with BrownBat wings, long clawed vampire hands and longer fangs also sharper face features made him less beautiful than usual, it gave him lots of convenience especially to fight Alpha Werewolf.

They clashed so fast, striking attacks to each other ceaselessly, with almost the same gracefulness, trying to suppress the other with murder intention. Because Garou didn't want to accidentally hurting his comrades who's also still in the middle of fighting assassin vampires around him, without ever stopping his strikes he changed his direction for combat location into the forest so he could attacking Amai Mask more freely. Amai sneered at him for being too soft, as expected from a family man and not a true warrior. Garou trying not to listen his taunting talk anymore, it's useless because he's already wanting to kill Amai quickly without any fuss, focused on finding Amai's weakness. Because of that, Garou find a chance to tricked him by giving wrong prediction for movement's direction so Amai become unguarded for a moment. At that time, Garou managed to pummel his body repeatedly before he send Amai flying towards nearby tree by strucked a werewolf kick hard in the face. It even caused the tree fall to pieces.

There was a moment of silence between them while the view obscured by the dust and dirt. When it's cleared off, Amai Mask trying to get up from his current position with enraged expression showed on his bloodied face. Garou ruined his beautiful face, how dare him! With a scream, Amai charging towards Garou again only to have him already moved fast behind Amai's back and kicked him hard on the nape with devastating impact. Garou thought it would killed him by that attack. But he's wrong. Amai still got up once again while laughing maniacally, couldn't believing himself to be cornered into taking his last resort. Confused, Garou asked what last resort. Amai only smiled and picking a small blood vial from the box inside his mantle.

Amai Mask said that it's a pureblood vampire blood, his father's blood. Same like tame vampire clan, when they drink a human's or another supernatural being's blood, they'd activated their "Fighting Spirit". This similar like pureblood vampire clan, but also different. Drinking human's blood just quench their thirst and satisfy their hunger, nothing else more. But when they drink a fellow pureblood vampire's blood? It'd boost their energy and raised their killer instinct into the fullest capacity, same like those "Fighting Spirit", but it's more like "Murdering Spirit" that truly fits for assassin clan like him. But the downfall from this, once they used last resort they wouldn't come back to normal anymore as they swallowed into insanity from drinking a fellow kin's blood. So if he could kill Garou with that form and have all of his plans worked smoothly, he doesn't mind getting a little bit insane. Amai then opened the vial and drink all the content.

Garou had a bad feeling about this, moreover he's already used a lot of his stamina for the battle before, he really needs a rest. And a homemade cooking meal. A cheer up charm hug from Gaman. A kiss of life from Badd. Badd. He really needs Badd right now. What's his Mate doing right now, is he alright? Garou hoped he could seeing Badd again after finishing his business with this maniacal vampire in front of him. A loud growl bring Garou back to reality, and he's shocked at what he saw. Amai transformed further more into an ugly monstrous creature, something like abominable thing that very far from his previous vampire appearance, also he looked like lost control of himself.

Not waiting any moment longer for Garou, Amai flight towards Garou swiftly and kicked him hard on his side as a payback from before. He isn't done yet, Amai continued to punch Garou several times before he lifted him up to the sky and smashed him down fastly onto the ground. Garou could feel his bones shattered by that consecutive attacks, luckily he got excellent regenerative ability so he could heal again at any time. But if Amai still continue to do this repeatedly, he's in fatal danger. Garou got up before Amai stomped his foot onto him, crushed the ground he previously lay on before. He spun around to deliver kicks and punches to Amai, but to no avail because Amai blocked all his attacks. Then Garou tried to clawed at his side only to be deflected by Amai, but he gave surprise attack by stepped onto Amai's arm, spun around in the air then clawed Amai's unprotected neck with his foot claws.

It worked, the vampire's blood gushed from the wound, shocking Amai for being caught off-guard again. It angered Amai. He grabbed Garou's head and smashed him on the nearby tree, hit him on the stomach, and stomped on his chest, leaving Garou unable to move. Not even giving Garou a break, he slashed Garou's torso with those sharp as knife claws repeatedly. That's really hurts, Garou feels like he's being torn apart. He screamed, trying to grab Amai's arms so he could be stopped but his own arms were restrained by Amai's legs. He can't move, his body numbed by the exhaustion and the sheer amount of pain that Amai's caused.

In a moment like this, why did he remember Badd's words? That a "Fighting Spirit" can be learned by anyone who has strong determination, not limited to his family clan only. What the hell was that? And what exactly is the "determination" itself? He started to see his entire life flashing in his mind, was it his time to die? NO! He didn't wanna die like this! Not before he could reunite again with his family, not before he could embrace his sweet Mate again. Badd. The love of his life who he found as the most beautiful being in the world.

Aah.. he could see Badd in his flashing memories. Their first time meeting. The agreement to become his Mates. His awkward courting phase. The moment Badd was finally falling in love with him. Their first time making love as they become Mates. Bang giving his blessing for his relationship witj Badd. Their wedding. All the times he and Badd working as co-leader of their family packs. Badd's surprising pregnancy. All the time he's being a try-hard protective husband to Badd. Gaman's birth. Raising Gaman together as new parents. All the years he watching Gaman grow up along with Badd. Their family moment together with Gaman in the wood, or when just two of them making love all night under the moonlight. His promise to Badd to come back for Badd alive. Badd, who's with heavy heart letting Garou go to the battlefield, he must be so worried right now.

All of his family packs waiting for him. Bomb. Bang. Tareo. Zenko. Gaman. Badd. He wanted to come back alive so he can be always protecting his family. He wanted to save his family. Don't really care if his body was being ripped apart. He had to do it NOW!

As soon as he thought of his final decision, Garou feels a new surge of energy and his regenerative ability kicked back in, healing any injuries and damages he suffered from Amai Mask's attacks. He could feels his entire being humming with new power he unconsciously activated, as the glowing bright aura emanated from his body. His mind also becomes more clearer, his eyes not clouded anymore. Garou could move his body again until he could rise up from his former position. Amai's eyes were wide with shock as his mouth gaped at the sight of Garou's rapidly recovering state. He just watched him in disbelief, because he was sure Garou was supposed to be death now, with all the poisoning from the poison-coated claws he used to slashed Garou's body.

Garou wondering why did he suddenly got this power, but seeing it's so similar with the ones Badd and Gaman had, there's only one answer: [ Is this the so-called "Fighting Spirit"? ] He smiled at the thought of it, because now he finally learned how to achieve the legendary power of "Fighting Spirit": it's a Power of Love. Born from the strong determination to protect the beloved ones or people, with the pure good intention to always keeping them safe.

Garou truly understand it now, how Badd always capable to activate his own power at ease everytime someone in their family need his help. Or how Gaman suddenly could transformed when Badd need their help after nearly assassinated. Or how he finally obtained it after he remembered his promise to Badd to come back safely, reminded his oath and vow to always protecting his whole family. It was because of LOVE. Afterall, Love is the strongest force in the earth!

Garou smiling even wider, borderline smirking. Now the table has turned, time to payback then ended this battle as soon as possible. Then when he goes back to Badd, he will thanking him for teaching him the most important knowledge. Thank you Badd.

Already having new energy to transform back to his Alpha Werewolf form, he's setting up his usual fighting stance. This time Garou prepared to end Amai Mask's life. Couldn't accept his failed plan, Amai charged towards Garou while roaring his frustation. Garou, who got enhanced senses, instinct and reflexes, could predicted Amai's movement pattern so he quickly dodges his attack, grab his arm and twist it hard until it break. Amai yelled in pain. Seeing Amai being distracted by the sudden pain, Garou struck Amai's body by kicking Amai's torso with tremendous power he had until he's slammed back onto the nearby huge trees, collapsing the whole rows of them that caused a huge blast of dust and dirt in the air. Garou just waiting any moment Amai decided to get up again.

And as expected, Amai flapped his huge BrownBat wings to clear the view from the dust so he could located where Garou is and try to give his final blow. But suddenly Garou vanished from his vision, it shocked Amai. Without any warning, Garou appeared from the ground below Amai and uppercut punched him so hard it send him flying and broke Amai's jaw instantly. Then Garou moving forward to deliver the consecutive attacks using his fists, strike him on every vital points of Amai's body so the result of damages become more devastating.

Still didn't want to lose by the werewolf even though his body is beyond broken, Amai decided to attack him from the above in the air using his wings. He'd soar into the sky then diving down fastly towards the werewolf to slash him with his clawed hands or high speed slammed him down to the ground then crushed his body. But before he could do any of that, with the enhanced speed Garou grabbed one of Amai's wing then smashed him first to the ground repeatedly. Not finished yet, Garou threw Amai to the air then he jumped from the ground so Garou slammed Amai right on the back with his strong werewolf leg, and smashed him again on the ground.

Paralyzed and unable to move after Garou got his spine broken in pieces, he just laying down while trembling from the sheer amount of pain. Garou landed beside him while watching Amai with killing intent. He stomped on Amai's broken back, then he ripped his wings apart one by one. Not even the ear-deafening screaming coming from Amai's throat made Garou feel satisfied. The hatred in his heart for this nasty vampire who harmed and hurted his family for so many times after all this year, causing so much pain and grief for Badd, and nearly killing Gaman, not to mention he still doesn't know Bang's fate. All of those because of this scumbag he called himself a noble man. Noble from where?? All what he did were just inflicting pain to others to satisfy his ego and pride. Even willing to do it once more, adding more people to suffer. Now it's Garou chance to end the cycle, so nobody will suffer from Amai's wrongdoing anymore.

Garou threw the ripped wings on the ground, then kicked Amai's side hard enough so he's on his back now. Nearly on the death's door, Amai Mask glared at Garou, insulting words already on the tip of tongue but couldn't speak it out loud because the pain he suffered succumbed him into silence. Garou started to speak, why did Amai doing all of those malevolent acts towards Badd? Was the massacre of Badd's entire family clan not enough to him? Did he held some grudge for Badd? Because Garou was sure Badd never wronged the people around him, even when he did he never get himself away without some sincere apologize first. He demanded Amai's answer.

Spitting blood from his mouth to Garou's feet, Amai hissed his answer, that he just hate weakness those tame vampire clan showed to Vampire Order. He's not talking about their physical power's weakness, for they possessed incredible inherited traits same as his family clan, but he's talking about tolerance and the willingness to lower themself on the same level with any peasants people that have lower social status than them. Not to mention they had been too soft at handling the problem Vampire Order had about the rivalry between vampire race and werewolf tribes. Suggesting that vampires should getting along and coexist together with savage barbaric werewolfs? It must be a joke! He wanted to throw up thinking about that. Just like their namesake, tame vampire clan, they're really too tame to have a dignity as superior vampire race. Too weak for possesing a great power in their hands, too soft to deserve an honourable position in Vampire Order. He hates it so much. They deserve to be just perished.

Garou narrowed his eyes dangerously, snarling at Amai once he implied Badd's family tragedy. But he quickly calmed himself, no need to be more angrier than now at the eventually dying vampire in front of him. Garou coldly explained to Amai, that what Badd and his family did was not a weakness, it's called COMPASSION, something Amai would never comprehend. The feeling to symphatize and emphatize for the other, putting aside the differences between each other, so they can coexist together to make peaceful and better life. That's why tame vampire clan got their strength from, the LOVE, to protect their beloved one and keeping them safe. Even Garou as a member of werewolf tribe could easily understand that. There's nobody would fits the job to guard royal family and their community except the tame vampire clan, his own Mate's clan. And Amai Mask's family dared to make them cruelly murdered! Mentally traumatized Badd and Zenko for their entire life! Garou couldn't forgive him!

So, to make Badd's suffering end, Garou would dirtying his hand. Calmly, he stepped on Amai's heavily damaged body, bend over slightly towards Amai's chest area. With sharpened claws, Garou impaled his chest and grasped the heart, pulled it out forcibly. Leaving Amai Mask gasped from the sudden force while coughing his remaining blood out, struggling to take his last dying breath. Garou clutched Amai Mask's still beating heart, waiting for it stopped as he watched Amai's struggle gasping finally have ceased and his blood red eyes gradually becomes dull. Now the cruel vampire who tortured Badd's life has died, in his hand. Garou made Amai Mask's last moment of life into what he was when he's still alive: a HEARTLESS MONSTER, both figuratively and literally. What a poetic justice, Garou thinks. That bastard totally deserved it. He wondered if the battle has already ended or not, maybe it's time to go back to his family, his son Gaman, and his mate Badd. Badd. Finally Badd is free now, noone will torture him, not anymore. With a soft smile, Garou rushing back to the Vampire Council Fortress to reunite with his family again.

  -TBC-

 Notes:

YOOO we have 3 awesome family moments of them fighting together as a team! We have:

1. Garou-Badd-Gaman teamwork (badass WereVamp family!)

2. Badd-Gaman teamwork (duo father-son!)

3. Bang-Bomb-Garou teamwork (Alpha Werewolfs united!)

I love all of three scenes because it showed how badass they're as fighter family. But I also like soft moment like when Gaman sleeping on Badd's lap while Badd hugged him with so much care. Awww.. motherly love from Badd is beautiful! 😍💕💖

 And in the end we have Garou vs. Amai Mask with satisfying ending. Are you enjoyed it, too?? RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU AGREE! 🙋😆Huehehehehe... *villainy laughter* 😈😈😈

Yeah I kinda like to make Amai to become a super douchebag bish in this story, so I could killed him as a "Heartless Monster" in the end of the story. No excuse to let Amai get away from his wrongdoing, so no sobs story from him, just pure evil. See? He's figuratively known as a Heartless Monster, now he died as literally a "HEARTLESS" Monster. And Garou is totally me in here (yes I'm projecting myself, lol!) 😈

Plus I added some canon moment in here like when Garou discovering himself capable to use "Fighting Spirit" like Badd. I really love that! Thank you Murata for Batarou canon crumbs!! 😭💗💘

And I like to think that "Fighting Spirit" is the Power of Love, always adored this kind of theory. Besides, it fits Badd's protective personality! And to make Gaman and Garou used this too are so hearttouching, they're truly love each other as family awww... 😚💕💞

I'm so sorry if all the fighting scenes are so lame! I never write any action scenarios before so this was my 1st attempt. Forgive meeee aaaaa---!! 😭🙏🙇

Sorry for too long sequel, I was meant to split it to become two parts but it would decrease the tension of story. So, this is the result: gigantic sequel exclusive for battle scenes 😅

Next part is the conclusion of the story, which will showing situation after the war, Batarou family reunion, Garou giving a present for Badd (GUESS WHAT IS IT?), royal family thanking Batarou family, Gaman's recognization, and many more!

Thank you so much for reading this sequel, please keep stay tune with me until the end! 😊😘💕💞💓💖

 -Little1993lamb-