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siimjaeyun · 4 years

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Chapter 1: Beast from Below

Synopsis: When five teens set their hearts on mystery solving, maybe they'll just uncover something that's a lot bigger than fake masks.

Series Masterlist

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"Another mystery solved!" Five palms met at the center before the metal bars behind them clasped shut; once more did they find themselves enclosed at the city jail.

"Time and time again. Must I remind you kids about not interfering with city affairs."

The man pinched his nose bridge before giving them a piercing look through the cage. They expected nothing less from Chief Kim: always bossing them around like toddlers and painting them as fools.

"Just fantastic. Can't wait for another pep talk from my father." Heeseung fell to the ground dramatically as he looked at his four friends. This occurrence of the city jail never fazed them, and at this point, neither did the fear of being punished by his father.

A couple minutes elapsed before Chief Kim made his way back to the five teens in the cell. With one movement, the door bolted open, allowing them to go home at once.

"Wow. Only an hour wait. New record." Sunoo mischievously smiled and hung his shoulder over Jungwon, his shorter companion.

"Beats that time we spent the night." Sunghoon only scoffed at the duo, no longer amazed by the words that came out of their mouths.

"Heeseung! Y/n! Hurry up won't you!" You and heeseung strutted through the doors of the city building. You knew heeseung would be faced with utter disappointment from his father, head of the city, but you knew he could care less at this point.

"Park y/n!" You hated the voice trailing in front of you. Your eyes slowly made their way to meet your brothers, a teen boy who's purpose in life was to delight others and be the puppet of any tiger parent.

"Go away Jay." You shoved him in the opposite direction and tried to make your way into the van. Frankly, he was the last person you wanted to see.

"Mom and dad asked me to pick you up. Jungwon and Sunoo as well." He eyed the youngsters goofing off in the background, and when they met his gaze, they walked off the van.

"Catch you guys later okay?" Sunghoon and Heeseung drove off in the mini-van, leaving the four in silence.

You said nothing and sat in the back seat of the old Honda. The smell of pine was obvious, and the stack of prep books in the back seat didn't faze you either.

Jay dropped off Sunoo and Jungwon at their home, and later made his way back to your own.

"It wouldn't hurt to stay out of trouble y'know." He finally broke the silence and looked at you through the car mirror.

"I could care less about what you think. Plus, city jail visits from mysteries beat being my parent's trophy any day."

-------

"You should've seen our parents look. I think they don't bother with grounding us anymore." Jungwon continued to chat about the lack of punishment he and Sunoo received.

"Mine don't mind at this point. They told me to might as well study forensics if I'm into silly mysteries." Sunghoon laughed a bit and scanned the tension of the van.

"Better than whatever my father, the head of the city, had to say. He just laughed and insisted I be a role model." Heeseung added to the conversation as he drove the kids in the van. Being designated driver had its perks and its downs.

"I think I win considering Jay fucking perfect Park had to try to give me the 'stay out of trouble' peptalk." You crossed your arms and entertained yourself with the surrounding buildings. Trees, children running, a giant monster coming out the sewer.

"Heeseung!!" Abruptly, a pile of fog escaped from the sewer, blinding Heeseung who tried his best to stop the van from crashing.

"Looks like a mystery has arrived." Once Heeseung was safely able to stop the car, the rest of you left the van as well.

Small droplets of water dancing were heard from the ground below. The five of you climbed down the ladder, stepping with caution of course.

You trailed off with Sunghoon and let the bright light of your flashlights illuminate the cave.

"Why are we in a cave?" Confusion struck your minds, there was supposed to be a river of sewage water. Why you had stepped foot on a cave tricked your minds.

The teens continued to explore the cave, sharp rocks and pools of water were at your feet. As the light continued to roam the black and gray walls of the cave, a golden object shined from afar.

"Sunghoon, look." You picked up the object and your hands met with a locket. The locket opened and revealed a photograph of a young couple, probably of your same age. Before you could ponder more about the couple, a terrified shriek left Sunoo's mouth.

"What's wrong!??" Heeseung followed Sunoo's fingers and he came face to face with petrified bodies.

Three workers were frozen in a pile of green goop.

-----

"So?" Jungwon asked the officer with signs of intriguement, but he was not interested in the young one's questions.

"Dad." You turned and saw Mr.Lee make his way to Heeseung, grasping his shoulders once he had arrived.

"Do us a favor and go to school." He left almost immediately, and you were scared about what would happen next.

Turns out that 'next event' meant running away with one of the green creatures.

When you had arrived at school, Sunghoon and Heeseung plopped the green creature onto the table of Professor Kang, the science teacher.

"You think you can help?"

Professor Kang placed the stethoscope around his neck and began inspecting the creature.

"Well, it's alive; I'll tell you that." He continued to pace around the table, hesitant in informing the group about the odd human in front of them.

"Hey, sorry to bother you Professor Kang, but um...I was hoping to submit my form." A boy stood awkwardly by the door with a thin piece of paper in his hand. His black hair covered most of his forehead, and the only visible part was his shy smile.

"Come in, you weren't interrupting anything. In the meantime, I suggest you go off with this thing." Professor Kang turned his way to address the newcomer in the room; the boy responded and followed him to his desk.

"Quickly, quickly, I've got a class to teach!" Professor Kang left the room once attending to the stranger's needs.

"You heard the man, lift with your legs." You giggled slightly as you saw Sunoo hesitate at touching the green slime.

"You guys need help?" The voice behind you observed quietly, and almost gasped slightly when seeing what exactly you were trying to carry.

"It's fine, but thanks." Heeseung threw the body over his shoulders and made his way out the door.

"You're Jake right?" Sunghoon immediately began a conversation with the young boy, and didn't see his friends waiting by the door.

"Wanna come?"

The three of you wanted to kill Sunghoon for inviting a stranger to these sort of things, but it was merely too late and the unknown boy looked too nice to shoo away.

"Sure, beats sitting through Professor Min's lecture."

Jake trailed behind the trio as he chatted with Sunghoon. Heeseung through the van spotted the newcomer, and was slightly confused considering no one had ever tagged alonged.

"We've got a monster to catch, hurry and get in the van!" You opened the door with force and welcomed Jake into the back.

"This is Jake by the way, he's joining us for today." Sunoo introduced Heeseung to Jake, letting his mouth ramble on about the few details he had already learned.

"Where to captain?"

"RM's studio of course." The rhythm of the music played quietly in the background, and they all found comfort in having Jake around, they didn't expect themselves to be given their history.

"So you guys travel in a van solving mysteries?"

"Pretty much. We get thrown in the city jail occasionally." Jungwon mentioned the detail nonchalantly and expected Jake's natural surprise.

------

It was late that night when the group gave back the body to Professor Kang.

The teacher's steps were audible as he trailed back and forth between one table to the next. He became startled at the sudden noise of the janitor mopping in the hallway. He peered outward and went back to his work.

Before long, and with an audible gasp, his body was now entrapped and enclosed in the similar green goop on the ceiling.

------

"It's all my fault!" Heeseung banged his head on the table and looked at his friends with a sad expression.

"Don't say that. After all, besides Jake, we all helped steal the body from the authorities." Sunoo patted his back gently and observed Jake who placed a container of green smush on the table.

"I managed to collect a sample, maybe it'll help us."

Jungwon and Sunoo were drawn to the fruity smell, and hunger couldn't stop them from nearing the sample of the monster.

"Don't eat that!!!" Before they could stop him, Jungwon and Sunoo had already placed the oozing substance into their mouths.

"This is lime sorbet.."

"It's Ricky's Rickwracks." Confused, but curious, the other teens dipped their index finger into the mush and tasted it as well.

"You're right...I think we just got our next clue." Sunghoon smirked at the rest of his friends and grabbed the keys from Heeseung's left pocket.

------

[RICKY'S RICKWRACK]

"Since Jake, Sunoo and Jungwon are the shortest, they get to shimmy through the air ducts and open the back door."

"How come y/n isn't coming? We're the same height!"

"Because I refused." You gave him a bright smile and helped the three unbolt the door.

The trio crawled their way through the ducts and yelled loudly when they hit the ground after their sudden fall.

"We didn't mean to crush your body on the first day Jake."

They opened the door and let the three bodies waiting outside came in. The restaurant was dark, slightly humid, and oddly quiet.

"Scream if you see anything." Sunghoon and Jake led you through the left corridor and the others headed right.

There wasn't much to see, but when you had turned your back to face the door, it closed shut. Your six fists banged on the door continuously, but you figured it was useless.

"Y/n! Sunghoon! Jake!" Heeseung's voice echoed behind the door, and he managed to pry it open.

"My hero!" You happily hugged him and it didn't surprise him; apart from your hard exterior, you often liked skinship with others.

"SUNGHOON HYUNG!" the four of you ran back to see Jungwon pointing at a figure, and behold, it was the monster from below.

His bright green and sticky appearance startled you, but his roar bounced louder causing your feet to quickly flee.

Jake had become frozen; it was his first encounter of course. You took hold of his hand and ran off with him.

Constant twists and turns led you through one hall and the next. The six of you managed to head back to the closet that once trapped you.

"I-i think it's g--ahh!" You fell backwards and pushed a box aside by mistake. It was no mistake however.

It was a hole and hidden for a good reason. You jumped first and met eyes with a familiar cave.

The carts and marked arrows in the ground were a good reminder that it was no mistake.

"Follow the arrows."

Sunghoon led the way and you found containers of the same green substance from the monster. It startled you at first, but why had there been this in the first place ?

"Wouldn't this path lead to the bank?"

"By why would he need a path?"

"I'm assuming there's another type of dessert old Ricky likes to indulge in."

"Take those items, let's build ourselves a trap.."

-----

They handled the ropes and buckets in every step.

Sunoo and Jungwon handled leading the creature into the cave, running in terror like always; they were the bait.

"Now!" The trap was set off, a toss here, a toss there, and the cage landed everywhere but on top of the monster.

It continued to chase them, and they soon found themselves trapped inside the cage. Well, everyone but you and Jake.

The two of you continued to run and eventually your two pairs of feet met a dead end.

"I'll help you up."

Jake mounted you on his back and hoisted you enough to get a hold of the floor from Ricky's Rickwracks. With enough strength, you pulled yourself up and stretched your hand towards Jake to pull him up. The two of you continued to play a game with the monster on your trail.

In the meantime, the four boys played with the bolts of the cage until it managed to come loose. They went back to you and Jake and grabbed the hose of the lime sherbet.

At the right time, the creature was pushed towards the wall by the force of the blasting sherbet. His body was now too cocooned like his previous victims.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Chief Kim walked into the store through the front door alongside Heeseung's father, Mayor Lee.

"Well we caught the monster from below of course! Ricky couldn't fool me." But unknowingly, Ricky walked through the door.

"I called the police when my alarm went off."

"Then who?" Jungwon did the honors of pulling off the mask revealing the human within.

"Professor Kang!"

"That's right. When I discovered the cave while looking for samples for science class, I knew I had found my ticket out of this place! I used Ricky's sorbet to cocoon people who came too close and used the costume to scare people off. I even did it to myself to throw you people off. I would've gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!"

"But Mr.Kang, what about this locket?" You held the pendant to an eyes view but his answer let you know it didn't belong to him.

"I say we celebrate at RM's Studio !"

------

The soft music let you guys know of another job well done. A loud ring broke through the silence and Sunoo went ahead to answer it.

"Welcome to RM's studio mix, what can we do for you?"

"You're all doomed!" The seven of you, including RM, closed around the recorder.

"You should've never taken the locket out of the cave, but now you've done it. You've found a truth that has been hidden...a true mystery behind Seoul City has begun."

And just like that, the room went silent.

#enhypen #kpop #jake #jay #heeseung #sunoo #sunghoon #niki #jungwon #enhypen scenarios #enhypen imagines #jake imagines #heeseung imagines

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angst-art-writing · 3 years

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The Edge-The Island(4)

TW: executions, hanging.

The next day, Talyn and Iris prepped the Inn before dawn, none of their residents awake yet. Diana came down dressed in a corset and a coat with intricate black designs on the trim. She usually wore it when something important was going on.

Talyn looked up from the glass she was cleaning and raised a brow. "What's going on?"

"Well," Diana said, cuffing the sleeves of the coat. "Today is a bit important." Her tone was light, almost excited sounding.

Iris, who was wiping down some tables glanced over and raised a brow, Talyn caught he quizzical look she had shot at her. "Is... Today someone's birthday or...?" Talyn asked, setting the glass down.

"No. We have executions set for today."

"Oh." Her heart hit the floor, traveling down from her chest to her toes. Then that...That meant-

Iris was obviously thinking the same, because she then went on and asked, "Who's it for, exactly?"

Diana glanced up. "No one in particular. But our space is filling up, and we need to... Get rid of people. Before disease starts to spread." She sounded so sure, as if that was a perfectly fine reason and Talyn just felt sick.

"We-Well did they get a trial? Anything?"

"Of course not!" She glanced over and smiled, looking at her as if she was stupid. "Only those whose families can afford a trial were kept in their cells. You know this, Talyn."

Talyn tried to smile back. "Right." She turned away and pretended to busy herself in organizing things that did not need to be.

Of course- Only people who could afford a trial or had family could have a trial. Most times, that didn't even work, and the families went poor as the criminal was almost always found guilty with lies Diana's guards would make up. But because Diana was happy...That meant everyone else should be. Once the blood king was dead, that meant all the issues in their world were too, right?

Talyn felt a hand ruffled the top of her head. She looked over and her eyes met Diana's dark ones. "You're going with me. Both of you! Let's see these criminals get what they deserve, no?"

But Talyn's mind was already working, the gears in her head turning. She shook her head. "I- I won't be able to. I promised I'd tutor Will today." She glanced at Iris, who just stared back at her. Talyn had already decided on something, but also decided to not tell Iris.

Diana frowned. "You can't cancel? It's important and I want you to come to one of these at least once." That just made goosebumps rise.

"Afraid not. Sorry."

"Ah. Just Iris then! C'mon Iris, go get dressed up." Diana hugged her then and Talyn was forced into the embrace. She smelled of flowers. She made Talyn think of roses, thorns hidden under plump petals.

Iris gave Talyn a look. But she turned and headed up. Soon enough, both Diana and Iris had left.

And Talyn would soon, too.

-----

Executions were usually held in The Circle, a round section in the middle of the Capitol in front of the building where important affairs occurred with outside countries. A crowd was already gathering, muttering and talking amongst themselves.

An hour after Iris and Diana had gone, Talyn stood on a roof on one of the buildings that surrounded the circle. She was crouched down and had a dark hood covering her face, as well as hiding the quiver on her back. In the center of The Circle was a wooden platform, and a noose.

Some important people Talyn recognized as Diana's workers stood around, holding their children's hands. Talyn was stunned to see them there. Did they really think it was alright to bring kids here? In their false definition of justice?

Talyn glanced up toward the sky, focusing on the grey clouds that swirled above them. Yet, oddly enough, there was no wind. Perfect. Nothing natural would collide with her plan.

She glanced down and spotted Iris's purple head in the crowd. She was right to the side of the platform, where Diana now stood. Diana was speaking to the crowd with her hands folded neatly behind her back and her head held high, but Talyn couldn't register her words. Blood rushed in her ears, and she could feel her eyes pulsing nervously in her head.

Diana pointed, and Talyn followed her finger. Some people dressed in rags were walking in a line led by her guards, their faces sallow and grim. They stared at the ground, just getting back up as the crowd by them shoved them as they walked onto the platform. The crowd were yelling at them, spitting at them. Talyn felt her shoulders tense, and she carefully slid her bow over her shoulder and gripped it tightly. She felt burning in her neck.

Another man came over, the executioner. Talyn pursed her lips. His name was Jarvis, and she had memories of him coming to visit the Inn when she was a kid, tossing her up in the air and chasing her around tables. The memory tasted sour and rotten in her head. Talyn continued to watch underneath her hood, waiting.

Diana went and picked out a man, yanking him forward by the collar of his shirt. He staggered forward and fell to his knees onto the platform, before Jarvis yanked his head up and slipped the noose over his head, making it snug. Then, Diana announced his crimes. Theft, and whatever lies he guards made up. Talyn couldn’t hear. It was all just noise.

The old man kept his eyes down. Talyn loaded her bow and stood slowly, aiming. Everyone’s back was towards her. Her blood was like a waterfall in her ears, her veins buzzing- Though her hands remained steady as she positioned her hands.

"Go ahead, Jarvis," Diana boomed. She nodded her head, and the man went and grabbed the other end of the rope. He pulled, and the man swung into the air while the crowd watched.

No one said anything now. It was forbidden not to. All that was heard was the sound of life being slowly stopped, and Talyn tried to push away the satisfied smirk she could see on Diana's face away from her mind.

She had one shot.

Talyn took a deep breath, her eyes focusing on her target. The man squirmed now, and his gasps were louder than anything at that moment. She drew the string tighter and exhaled slowly. She released, releasing a breath as well.

The arrow traveled through swiftly and struck, sailing through the air and slicing the rope cleanly. The man fell to his knees again and Jarvis crashed, rolling backwards off the platform. Everyone swiveled around, peering up at the archer.

Silence.

No one had ever acted out like this. No one had acted out against Diana, so publicly. It was so silent, but Talyn’s frame upon that roof was screaming.

With satisfaction swelling inside her chest now, Talyn turned and hopped off the roof, slipping inside the back of a library. She took down her hood and placed her bow over her shoulder, the buzz louder than ever. She peered out at the curtains, watching them go by.

She began to laugh, unable to push away Diana's shocked look. She laughed to silence the guilt she was beginning to feel. Afterall, Diana was her mother. Not by blood, but by choice.

Usually that was the best kind of mother someone could have.

Usually.

She laughed and pride swelled inside her throat. She wanted to rip her hair out and hug herself at the same time.

------

"What the hell was that, Talyn?"

Iris and Talyn stood in their training base, the only true place for some privacy now. Clint and Will were seated on the ground, and Talyn had just finished recalling the events of her stunt, proudly. She didn't know why Iris seemed so upset, and why Clint and Will were so silent.

"I was proving a point-”

"No, you were making things worse!" Iris snapped at her, her eyes wide. "Don't you see what you've done?"

"I-"

Iris cut her off, and Talyn's neck grew hot as she was interrupted. Iris pressed on.

"Of course, you don't! Because you always act on impulse! You don't- think! You never do!"

Her words echoed against the walls and slammed back into Talyn as she processed them. She could feel hot tears form behind her eyes, but she fought to keep them contained. Suck it up, she told herself. Suck it up.

"Talyn, if anything- You made it all worse! You think just because you made some shitty metaphorical statement that they're going to stop the executions? No! They'll just be done privately instead of public! They still die and all you did was piss off Diana and making things more difficult!"

The words pushed against her, except these felt as if she had been stabbed with ice.

She hadn't... "Iris, I didn't-"

"When are you going to realize that you can't protect everyone? You can't be some sort of hero all on your own, goddamnit! Are you proud of yourself? They're still going to-"

"Iris. I think that's enough." It was Will who spoke, clearing his throat. His voice was soft still, as it always was. Never had anyone heard his voice rise, even when he was clearly angry. "Theres no point in yelling."

Talyn clenched her fists and looked down at the floor. Iris huffed angrily. "You need to learn to not be so-"

"Enough. No more yelling." Will's voice was sharper there, and his next words were addressed to Talyn. "Talyn, you can't act on your own. What you did has consequences..." His voice became soft again, softer, and he sighed. "You need strategy, you need more opinions. We could have thought of something else."

"I didn't have time-"

"You could have spoken to Iris. She was there. She could have helped, in a way that wasn't so destructive." There was a pause. "We don't work separately, Talyn. You can't pull stuff like that. Other than those people just...y'know.. Diana's group is going to be more powerful in trying to catch the culprit, and then that'll permit them to arrest more innocent people already and blame people for nothing. This was huge.”

"I..I didn't think of that.." She would have preferred Iris yelling at her than Will right now. He sounded so disappointed. It hurt a lot worse than Iris being angry at her. Clint hadn't said anything, but she imagined he was disappointed and angry too. She was glad he remained silent.

"Well, you need to start. This is what happens, Talyn."

Talyn looked up and frowned.

"No training today, I think." He said after a moments silence. "Let's just go home, we won't get anything productive done if we're all upset. Iris, I'll walk with you."

Talyn watched them leave, pushing past the curtain of vines, with iris pinching the bridge of her nose. Clint got up slowly, picking up his coat and shrugging it on. "C'mon. You can stay at our place tonight." He said gruffly before he got up and turned to walk.

"Thanks.." She swallowed back tears, turning and walking beside him. She was grateful he had offered; She didn't feel like sharing a room with Iris.

The walk to Will and Clint's house was a silent one. She wished he would speak, wished he'd say something. But Clint didn't and she was left to wonder at how angry he really was. He must've been angry. Usually he'd explode before, but now he didn't.

By the time they went in, it was dark and quiet. Will's family was asleep, so Talyn just followed him up the stairs. He let her sleep in the bed, and he took the floor.

No matter how much she wished for sleep, it didn't come.

She wasn't laughing now. Her hands went up to her hair, short and fluffy on the top her head, and she pulled at it.

------

Iris went down into the Inn, pulling up a chair at a table. The place was mostly empty, even though it was open- Signaled by the lit lantern outside. Carina had just finished cleaning some of the glasses, when she looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Iris!”

Iris lifted her head and saw the girl with white hair, heading over to her table with two steaming mugs. She smiled at her softly and pulled up a chair, sitting across from her.

"Hey, Carina." Iris smiled a little at her. She took the mug from Carina and wrapped her hands around it. They had their meetings like this, at least once a week. "How are you liking this job?"

Carina shook her head slightly, speaking after she had taken a sip. "Oh, it's wonderful. Cozy, lots of people. I'm learning so much." It felt almost like a home, or what she imagined home would feel like.

Carina was not from the Capital, instead from one of the other kingdoms, Nerin. Nerin was the underwater kingdom, usually of sirens and mermaid. Carina was a mermaid, able to get rid of her tail and shift into legs when she moved onto The Island. She hadn’t shifted back since Iris knew.

Nerin was very secretive, mysterious- Strict. She had been banned from it a few months back, and while swimming in the other unfamiliar parts of the ocean, had been caught by some fishermen. In which Iris and her friends had rescued her. Now, she lived on land, and she was learning their ways here.

"That's good, then! I'm glad you're enjoying the new job. Better than the library?"

"Ah, that's hard to say. I like both." She smiled again. "But how are you? I heard about what happened yesterday. That's just... wow."

Iris glanced up at her, looking down and frowning slightly. Carina knew of what they did, Stealing, helping innocents escape. She hadn't said a word. She would never do that, she owed a lot to them anyways. "It... was insane. It was also Talyn," she murmured quietly, speaking into her mug.

Carina stared at her for a moment, her eyes widening. "Seriously? Taly- Actually, not that surprised." She frowned, recounting the times she had gotten up in large men's faces, ready to start a fight while they had hung out. "They're looking everywhere for her, though. Not her, really- But..."

"Yeah, yeah. My mom's been going crazy. She's furious."

"Oh, dear..." Carina sighed softly, before the door rang with the chime of a bell, and a familiar red-haired boy came in.

"Icarus!" Iris said, and she smiled. He beamed back at her and headed over.

"Hey!" He said, planting a small kiss on her cheek, and Carina glanced away for a second and downed the rest of her tea. He waved politely to Carina, and she nodded her head and mumbled a hello.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to take a walk?" He said to Iris. Carina waited for a moment, and Iris nodded eagerly. "That's okay, right?"

"Yeah! I mean- Carina?" She tilted her head, asking as if she was merely a second thought. And she was.

Carina bit her lip slightly. "I uh... Well, Iris you just got here-"

"I'm sorry, but you know... Don't get to see Icarus that much. I'll come back in a couple hours, okay? Have our tea ready then?" Iris asked her.

"No, no, go ahead. I should get back anyways. You two have fun. We can talk later, okay?" She picked up the mugs, nodded a goodbye to them and turned as the couple headed out.

She sighed as she went behind the counter, setting the mugs down. She dumped them out.

----

“.... And then she just goes and does whatever she wants, and she doesn't even pick up after herself!" Iris huffed, glad to release some of the tension as she and Icarus walked down the shore of a nearby stream. "She doesn't even ask us, especially with something so important- Doesn't even realize how destructive it is!" She tossed a rock into the water and watched it splash.

Cool it. She could feel the intricate lightning patterns begin to prickle on the backs of her hands. She needed to keep her emotions in check.

"I can see how frustrating that would be," Icarus replied, his tone gentle. His voice calmed Iris down, and he slipped an arm around her shoulder, as always. And as always, she leaned into him. It was like magic- A good magic. Different from her own.

"It's very frustrating. She never listens, never thinks. God, sometimes she's so- stupid." She regretted it immediately as she said it, but it just came out. She frowned. "I... Shouldn't "have said that. I don't mean it."

"I think you do."

She turned to look up at him, surprised. "What? No, that's awful of me to even say-"

"C'mon now. It's okay." He smiled a little again. "I mean, all of that is pretty...dumb. When you think about it. Which she didn't."

"Hey-"

"It is stupid, Iris. You just said so. We're merely stating the obvious, dear. Your sister can't rely on just impulsiveness." He steered them around a rock as they walked. "One day, it might get her hurt. Might get you all hurt."

He was right. Really, he was. Talyn’s impulsiveness would be her downfall. She just shook her head and sighed. "Yeah... I just feel apart from her, I hope it goes away. I don't like being angry at her."

Icarus rubbed her arm with his thumb. "You two will be fine, I'm sure. It'll pass." Her hands still prickled, and she looked down at them. She sighed softly and glared down at them. "Man... I hate these things."

Icarus looked down at them. "You should wear gloves for them. I can get you some."

"Really? Thank you." Iris sighed softly, sticking her hands in her pockets then.

---------

It was dinnertime for Clint and Will. Him and his family sat around the table, three younger siblings and his ‘mother’. Clint and Will sat side by side, eating their soup quietly. Clint glanced up at Will's mother, Aliane, pausing for a moment. Aliane looked tired. She went to work at the library early in the morning and left Will to take care of the kids, then after her shift at the library she would go to work at some bar and work late into the night.

Still, it wasn't enough to cover the costs. The youngest was barely a few months old, and the father had left. He was Will's half-brother. Their fathers had left a long time ago and left Aliane. Will didn’t remember his own father too well. But at the face Aliane made whenever he was brought up, something told him he didn’t want to.

Diseases were such a dangerous thing They traveled fats, especially with houses and people so close together. The kids would get sick almost every two weeks it seemed, and the medicines only grew in expense. Especially when the baby got sick, panic and stress would cover the house like a suffocating blanket.

Clint and Will would bring home what they could. Talyn and Iris would send them home with baskets of food and herbs that may help, but it wasn't enough. Clint felt like a burden here. They had been so kind to take him in, all those years ago when he ran away from home... But still... Would it be easier if he wasn't around? That was less people to feed, less people for Aliane to worry about, to support, to house. Aliane wouldn’t let him stay at the Inn though. Aliane hated Diana as much as the rest of them. She barely accepted Talyn and Iris.

He would find that out soon enough.

"How was your days today?" Aliane asked, her voice soft as always. She looked up at the two boys in front of her, swirling her spoon in her fork.

"It was fine," they both said at the same time.

Today had just been hanging out outside while the kids played, after taking them to their teachers. As well as helping Talyn feed some of the poorer communities in the area, covering her while she stuffed her bag with treats and bread.

"Oh, come on! Tell me more, I feel like we haven't talked in ages!" She exclaimed in an exasperated tone, and she leaned forward in interest. "I want to know what you're both up to. I know I'm not home often but... Y'know. You are still teenagers. I still have to try and keep an eye on you two."

"Alright, alright. We've been stealing, making our with girls, throwing tra- I'm kidding!" He said as he noticed the wide eyes from Aliane.

"You better be!" She grinned at him. "I know I've raised you well. You wouldn’t pull any shit like that.”

"That's right. But I did take your piece of the bread." He held it up.

"Give it to me-" Aliane huffed and snatched the piece out of his hand, rolling her eyes. "Anything else?"

Clint hesitated for a moment. If I don’t do it now, it would never happen. "Actually, there was something I had to tell the both of you. " Out of the corner of his eye he saw Will's eyebrows go up. He faced Aliane, tapping one finger on the table. In sync, his leg bounced up and down rapidly.

"Oh?" She spoke. Clint didn't talk much- So he knew this must've been a surprise.

"I signed up for the Front. Training starts in a few days." Right as he finished uttering the words his tongue felt as if he had swallowed something sour and bitter. Involuntarily, his gaze shifted down to his bowl of soup.

There was a silence that followed his words. Aliane stared at him for a second before she spoke, her voice much softer, much quieter. "Oh..." No one knew much about them, the Front. There were no opinions really- Just honor them. That's why Clint had been so surprised to hear Will's opinion on them. Clint closed his eyes for a moment and saw the word Puppet.

He opened them again and met Aliane’s gaze, feeling Will staring at him too- But he didn't look over. She didn't look mad, only surprised. "I'd just like to ask... Why?"

Clint inhaled for a moment. "Because I want to do something. I want to do something that is going to help people. I want to be someone these kids can look up to." He gestured briefly towards the younger ones, oblivious to the talk. One of them was holding their spoon the wrong way.

"But they already look up to you. Well, they must see but- You already help people, Clint. You help us out. There's no wars, anyways-" Will spoke up this time. His voice was less soft, stricter and more linear. Almost whiny.

"There is," Clint interrupted. "There will be. Not a war we're really concerned in, but Lilura and Eira are getting more and more... tense every day. They'll probably call on us to aid them."

"Oh, no.." said Aliane. "Do you know why?"

"One wants to abolish the other. I'm not sure, but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon." Clint sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just wanted to let you know. I'll be living and training on the base, though. I'm already signed up.”

"You did this without letting us know first?" Will exclaimed, his eyes narrowing a tad. He looked upset, almost hurt.

"I didn't want to change my mind. It's been on my mind for forever. I decided to get it over with and just do it."

"Will, please." Aliane leaned forward some. "Will there be visits? We still want to see you, Clint."

"I- I'm sure there will be." God, he hated stuttering. He cleared his throat and talked more clearly, forcing his voice to be steady. " I'm not sure when but... I still want to see you all too. It's not like I'm going to drop off the face of the earth."

"You better not. You know I'll kick your ass," Aliane joked. She looked more comforted by that fact. Clint wasn't sure why. He was only another mouth to feed. Will, on the other hand, was hard to read. Part of what Clint read of him- looked almost hurt. He couldn't get why, though.

Will looked up at Clint, but not directly in the eyes as he had always done before and sighed. "I'm glad you're...Making your own way. I'm happy for you. No matter what you choose you’ll always have us for support."

Clint could feel his throat tighten slightly. All he managed then was a quick nod.

"We’re proud of you," added Aliane. She smiled at him gently when he looked up.

"Thank you. It... means a lot." Clint swallowed down whatever was crawling up his throat.

Aliane reached over the table, placing her hands over his and Will's. She didn't say anything else; she didn't need to.

#writing #whump prompt #whump #whump writing #whump series #writing series #oc works #The Island with No Name

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the-final-sif · 5 years

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Also, I know it doesn't even really make any sense, possibly, but how do you feel about the headcanon that Katsuki's good at singing? It's kinda more a guilty pleasure headcanon, as far as I can tell, considering there's not much of a base like there would be with Jirou, but. Y'know. For those singers out there wantin' to project, I guess. And I just wanted your thoughts on it, so...?

!!!!

Okay, so this exact thing came up in the discord a little while ago, and it’s a headcanon based 100% around the fact that I love the song Fire on Fire and I think it’s a great todobaku song.

So! Katsuki, Izuku and Shouto are all interning together with Endeavor and Hawks is hanging around because he does that. They were on a mission that was supposed to be easy, but turned out to be a trap. The villains lured Shouto off and hit him with something akin to the trigger drug, basically it makes his quirk/him go nuts and super ramps up his power levels.

That causes him to create a giant fire and ice storm, with his quirk lashing out at anyone that tries to get close, and with his range constantly increasing. A bunch of other heroes + a lot of their classmates are called in to help evacuate people and try to help but nothing seems to be working.

Izuku reverts to his default Quirk Nerd state and discovers that there’s a weird conditional to the drug Shouto’s under, the person trapped in it can still kinda hear people outside and previous heroes facing the villain have had success with song in particular breaking the person out of the quirk’s effect. A suitable soothing/emotional song can lull the raging emotions of the effected person and draw them out of the panicked state long enough for them to regain control of themselves.

Since he figures it’s worth a shot tries to sing, but he’s quiet and awkward about it and also he can’t sing, so it doesn’t work at all. Several of his classmates are nearby and they quickly debate on what the issue is and make an incorrect assumption based on too many movies that it has to be ‘true love’s song’. The collected students all agree that the best person for the job is obviously Momo because they’re dumb and think Momo has a crush on Shouto (she doesn’t, she’s a lesbian), and so they’re trying to track Momo down on the battle field while the Shouto’s fire and ice is raging around them, and things keep getting in their way, and it’s to the point where people might die.

But then Katsuki finds Momo, and Izuku radios over to Katsuki trying to relay that they need Momo to sing a love song to beat the quirk. Only, the radio is cutting out, so all Katsuki hears is that someone needs to sing a love song to free Shouto, and that’s really fucking weird, but what the hell, he’s willing to try anything at this point since people’s lives are at stake.

Throwing aside any sense of embarrassment, Katsuki just grabs his phone and goes for the first instrumental that he has that’s a love song and which is somewhat fitting, Fire on Fire.

And then he sings and by god, can he sing. Katsuki has an amazing singing voice when he’s trying, like, it’s partially the music classes he took when he was young, partially just his voice being naturally good, and partially because when he was younger he loved to sing along with the birds when he was hiking (something he still does when he’s alone). He isn’t quiet about it either, this boy has some fucking projection and he commits to this with 110% intensity, just like everything else he does

Unlike Izuku, the effect is immediate, with Shouto’s fire/ice storm near stilling. Katsuki walks forward while singing, and as the song goes on, it’s clearly extremely effective. The fire/ice basically abandons it’s ‘battle’ with everyone else to follow Katsuki’s voice and clears a path for him to reach Shouto, shrinking/calming as he gets closer.

Now, obviously, both Endeavor and Hawks + some other pro-heroes are around, and none them have even 1 clue what the fuck is going on.

1 minute they’re struggling for their lives, the next minute, Katsuki, known hell child, is singing amazingly with an oddly calm expression on his face, walking slowly towards the center of the fire/ice storm and taming the raging quirk effects as he goes. But like?? It’s working??

Towards the end of the song, Katsuki reaches the center, the fire and ice pulling back into Shouto’s body. He was suspended by the ice/fire at like 20 ft up, so when the drug’s effect’s subside, he falls and Katsuki catches him at the end of the song, singing the last lyrics and letting the music fade as Shouto blinks awake to see the last of it.

Shouto is exhausted and he has 0 (zero) idea what the hell is going on, because he wakes up to Katsuki holding him and crooning out a gorgeous love song. Later on, he’ll actually be able to remember more of the song and Katsuki’s progress towards him, reaching out to help him, but in the moment that’s all he sees.

His left side catches on fire as his entire face goes red and Katsuki drops him (quite literally like he was burned).

Thankfully, neither of them are hurt, but Katsuki is just super done with everything so he rounds on Izuku and his group and yells at the lot of them for not saying that that was an option sooner because they could’ve resolved this ages ago. Totally back to being an Angry Hell Child. Everyone else is just stunned and trying to figure out if what they saw actually just happened or it was a collective hallucination.

Shouto is still smoldering on the ground, wide eyed and in some state of shock. Hawks is the first one to react and swoops over to grab him and get him to medical. He’s trying to be good about the situation, but he can’t help but ask Shouto if he and Katsuki are a thing, Shouto says they’re not.Hawks pauses for several long seconds and then asks Shouto if he wishes they were. Shouto looks him dead in the eye and says,

“I have never in my life considered my sexuality, romantic options, or that Katsuki would play any part in those considerations until 3 minutes ago, and yet somehow, I think the answer to that question might be yes.“

He passes out a few minutes afterwards, but when he wakes up he’s in a hospital and there’s a replay of the attack on TV and he gets to watch the whole song from an outside perspective and just how pretty and romantic Katsuki looked, fire and ice swirling around him possessively as he walks forward without a trace of hesitation or fear, also, fuck, Katsuki is good at singing and Shouto can’t get over how good he sounds particularly with the knowledge that Katsuki is singing for him.

His classmates visit him in the hospital as he’s waiting for the okay to leave, and everyone kinda awkwardly dodges around the obvious elephant in the room, until someone finally cracks and asks "Hey do you think if I went and ”“accidentally”“ got myself hit by the quirk Katsuki would-” and Shouto gets really growly/jealous with them even though they were definitely 100% joking maybe kinda.

Katsuki also gets interviewed by the media after this, they obviously ask if he and Shouto are a couple and Katsuki says they absolutely aren’t and explains it was just a dumb requirement to undo the quirk effect (and that he was “the only one of these fuckers that could sing worth a damn”). The reporter understands and then tries to make a joke about how awkward it must’ve been for Katsuki to sing a love song to a male classmate. Katsuki shuts that right the hell down and outs himself as gay with no fucks given, totally stunning the interviewer and throwing the media into a secondary frenzy.

Katsuki really doesn’t care though, and he’s so confident and firm about it that it ends up with everyone just kinda,,,,, moves on because there’s nothing else to be done. So then things go back to kinda normal, except Shotuo is a pining mess towards Katsuki, and Katsuki is completely oblivious to Shouto being a pining mess for him.

#todobaku #katsuki bakugou #shouto todoroki #bakutodo #hawks bnha #fangirl-trash-can-66 #bnha #mha #my headcanons #sif speaks #sif writes #sif answers

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sleepdepwritings · 4 years

Text

Presented for archival purposes only, the first part of a story I wrote many years ago and will not be continuing no way it’s very bad.

A Save the Spiders Gig

by Cody L Ralston

Chapter 1

The vampires stormed the stage while we were in the middle of "Walking is Still Honest," which was not fucking cool.

First of all, it's my favorite song by my favorite band. You don't go with the stage name "Against Steve" unless you love Laura Jane Grace. Second, Ted steps back and lets me sing lead on that song, and I fucking shred at it. I shriek that motherfucker, alright?

And third, y'know. Vampires.

The gig was a bonfire/kegger/minor riot some local kids had arranged in the badlands outside of town. We were set up on a platform we'd jerry-rigged from some old wooden pallets and milk crates, wailing sloppily at two or three dozen drunken, pill-popping, weed-smoking punk kids and a handful of older crusties who thought we were "true punk" because we sucked. Everyone in that crowd was screaming, slamming, arguing, fighting, and a few on the outskirts of the firelight may have been screwing right there in the dust.

In all the chaos, it was easy to miss things that would otherwise have set off warning signals. Like flying bottles. Or jagged-toothed undead monsters leaping for my throat.

The first vampire, a young man with a mop of dark hair, came at me just as I made a flamboyant motion with my bass that ended with the body of the instrument coming up hard into his jaw. I choked on the line I'd been singing and made to apologize before I noticed that two other people had leaped onstage, and that all three of them were baring huge sharp teeth at me and my band. All three had dirty, claw-like nails to match, and their skin and eyes had a pale blue tinge that put me immediately in mind of dead things.

"Shit! Vampires! Shit!" I yelled, right into the microphone. The audience probably thought I'd gotten high and forgot the lyrics, but Kassie, Ted, and Dave dropped the song immediately and made to defend themselves.

"Steve! Catch!" Dave yelled, throwing one of his drumsticks toward me. I dived for it, but one of the vamps tackled me, cracking the pallets as our combined weights slammed down on them. I clawed and scrambled for the drumstick, but the vampire had me pinned by the legs and lunged for my neck at the same time.

There was a solid "THONK" and a whine of feedback. The vampire rolled off of me, hissing at Kassie, who had just clubbed him over the head with her guitar without bothering to unplug it from the amp. Holding it by the neck like a golf club, she hammered another blow into the vampire's temple while I got my feet under me and grabbed at the stick.

Wheeling around with the stick clutched in both hands, I brought all my weight down on the dazed vampire, driving the length of wood right into the center of his chest. The stick splintered and broke when it hit his sternum, but one splinter must have made it through the rotted bone to his heart. He shrieked with pain and rage, convulsing, tearing at the ground with his clawed hands and tossing his head back. I fell back, Then, suddenly, his cries died off, his body went slack, and his flesh began to slough off, dissolving into a putrid, green-black goo that bubbled and stank.

Kassie reached out one heavily-tattooed hand to me and helped me up off my knees. I winced- her grip had driven some of the splinters deeper into my hand.

A few yards away, Ted was holding one of the other vampires off with a mic stand. He had butted the foot of the stand into the hollow of the bald, emaciated creature's throat, and was pushing with all his might to keep the frenzied thing at arm's length. The vampire howled and lunged, forcing him back.

"Guys, I need help!" Ted screamed, panic rising in his voice. "He's really dumb but he's really strong!"

I looked around for the nearest weapon and found nothing but the splinters of the pallet at my feet. Cursing through clenched teeth, I grabbed an arm-length piece of splintered board and lunged at the vampire's back, leading with the sharp(ish) tip.

Said tip sank several inches into the creature, right between his shoulderblades. Unfortunately, while the board stopped at several inches, I didn't. My momentum carried me forward into the now dying vampire, who in turn slammed forward into Ted. We all hit the ground with a muffled "Shit!"

For a terrfying instant the wailing, snapping, clawing thing was trapped between us. Then, finally, it stilled, melting into corpse-goo all over my fucking shirt. Ted's shirt too, I guess.

Breathing hard, we got up, shaking and covered in rotten sludge. Ted sputtered and wiped some of the stinking shit out of his beard. Kassie, ever appropriate, was pointing and giggling at us.

"You guys actually made vampire-slaying look pathetic!" She snorted. I glared and looked to the back of the stage.

"Where's Dave?!" I yelled. Our drummer and the third vampire had disappeared from sight, which was a hell of a trick considering dave is six foot two without his massive green warhawk.

"Oh, right here." Called a voice from my left. I whirled around to see Dave step into the firelight nearly twenty yards away from the rest of us. How the hell did he get over there so fast?

"One of the fuckers tried to run. Don't worry, I got him." Dave hopped up onto the stage, and I noticed he was gripping a ride cymbal in his left hand. He took his place behind his kit and replaced the cymbal. One edge was bent sharply and stained black. Dave looked to me, smiling beatifically.

"Shall we?" He asked casually.

I turned back to the partygoers spread out in front of us. All of them had stopped to stare at the fight. A few were gaping dully, some were murmuring questions to each other,and a few near the front looked like they were about to start screaming. For my part, I stared back at them, wide-eyed and soaked in what I was pretty sure was someone's liquified intestines.

Ted, natural showman, was the one who finally acted.

"Guess our friends jumped their cue a bit, huh?" He laughed into the nearest mic. "Hope you enjoyed out little skit there. He's some Misfits covers for you. ONETWOTHREEFOUR!"

***

We fumbled our way through "Astro Zombies" and "Last Carress," then ran for Ted's van, parked with the cluster of other vehicles beyond the fire. We huddled around the far side to discuss what had just happened.

"What the fuck Dave?!" I hissed. Dave drew back, looking indignant.

"What? What did I do? Some vampires just attacked us, why would you blame me?"

"What the FUCK, Dave?" Kassie and Ted spoke simultaneously.

"Dave" is not Dave's real name. We all took stage names when we formed our band, Save the Spiders. Theodore "Ted Kennedy" Paige is four lead singer, Kassandra "Kassie Kriminal" Jones our guitarist, Steven "Against Steve!" McCool (me, nice to meet you) our bassist, and Dave G. Abortion is our drummer.

I don't know Dave's real name. I don't know if he has a real name. What I do know about Dave is this- he is tall, tan, has dark eyes and typically Navajo features, and the night I met him I saw him transform into a ten-foot-tall insectoid monster and bite off a man's arm. The man survived. Don't worry though, because after a lot of explaining and screaming and vomiting, I helped Dave hunt him down and finish him off before he could eat a couple of toddlers.

Oh, and he's a decent drummer. Kind of a showboat though.

Since that night, we had all had further encounters with monsters and magic, and almost all had been attracted by Dave and his mysterious powers.

So we stood there, scowling, daring him to keep denying that this was somehow his stupid fault. Eventually, he sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Look, there are LOTS of vampires who don't like me. It'd be hard to narrow it down to one group and one reason."

"What, didn't you recognize any of them? You got real up close with the one guy." Kassie said. Dave shrugged.

"They were all fairly fresh. Probably servants to whoever had the real grudge. I expect there'll be more coming."

Ted groaned.

"Why are we always in the crossfire with you? Why can't they kill you in your sleep and leave us out of this?"

"Why, because you're my best friends and stalwart companions, and killing you would hurt me more than any wound, of course!" Dave grinned and tossed an arm around Ted's shoulders. Ted jerked away from him.

I shucked my ruined shirt and tossed it onto the rocky ground. I ran my hands through my shaggy blonde hair, trying to think up a plan of action.

"Okay, so. Dave, you need to ask around and figure out who's in town that might want you dead-"

"Long. List. Dude."

"What the fuck ever! Go through it! And we need to set up some kind of defense system at the house. I don't want to be eaten on a futon, I'll disappoint my parents." I glanced in the direction of the party, which had gotten back into swing. "And we can't take any gigs until we've got this sorted out. We don't want to get normals involved in this shit."

"Good thinking, by the way, Ted." Kassie interjected. "Passing the vamp attack off as part of the show. Think they bought it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Everyone there was off their skull on booze and speed. Half of them won't remember it happened at all, and I'm sure no one is going to leave here convinced they saw real vampires."

"I know I saw real vampires."

The voice came from behind us, between the cars. Everyone jumped and raised their hands in vague, ineffectual defensive motions.

A young man, probably around nineteen, stepped forward hesitantly. He was black, on the short side, with a swimmer's build and close-cropped hair. He wore a faded denim jacket, blue jeans, and a Ramones t-shirt, all rumpled and a bit ratty. His eyes were cast down shyly. While I should have been concentrating on what he was saying, I couldn't help thinking to myself that he also had a really cute face.

"Those were real vampires." He said, louder this time.

"Kid, you do NOT want to go around saying that." Kassie said, quirking a pierced eyebrow. "Normals will want to lock you up and vampires- if they existed, which they don't, nuh-uh, no way- would want to kill you. If they existed. Which-"

"I KNOW they exist." The kid looked up to meet our eyes, indignant now. "I know they exist because I've seen them before. They took some of my friends. I think they ATE them. And I came here tonight because someone told me you guys have handled creepy stuff like this before. I came here for your help." His eyes flicked down again, and his lower lip (his really quite full and soft-looking lower lip, I noted, like a fucking idiot) quivered. "They're after me, too. They know I know."

The band exchanged looks. If this guy had contact with the vampires, he probably knew who they were and maybe where they were holed up. And if they were after him, we had a duty as non-assholes to help him.

And, well... For all Ted's bitching, we all knew we were nursing a big stupid hero complex.

I held my hand out to him.

"My name is Steve McCool. And we're going to help you however we can, alright?"

He looked at me with relief in his shining eyes. He shook my hand, his own clammy and sweating.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm Jamie, Jamie DeVries."

"Well Jamie, this is Kassie, Ted, and Dave. Hop in the van. We're going to pack up and then we can take you to our place and you can give us some details on these bastards." I turned to the others.

"Alright guys, let's haul ass and get back to the squat."

#Fiction #Fantasy #Bad #Stupid stupid stupid

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blatherkatt · 5 years

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I know y'all have a lotta AUs, so I gotta ask: what would the Blumenthal Drei's relationship be like had Caleb never had his breakdown? I know the circumstances have dramatically changed in the fic (re: Astrid may uh, may wanna murder Caleb, which ain't, y'know, conducive to friendship), so I'm curious how the relationship would be at a "base state." We get glimpses of the relationship's natural state through flashbacks, so I'm curious how that would've evolved with time had Shit Not Hit The Fan

The sort of scenario I think you’re describing here is one that we haven’t really talked about much honestly, and on top of that if we did it’d still give some tangential spoilers unfortunately. However, I am instead going to use this as an opportunity to talk instead about what Ed and I have been calling the “Allura Drei AU”, aka The One Where Trent Was Visiting The Area Around Draconia Right When It Fell And Friggin Died And The Blumenkids Got To Grow Up Without His Nonsense

it’s what he deserves.

ANYWAY.

im gonna give a general overview without going into toooo much detail on the kinda things we imagine here because we’ve talked about a lot of stuff, this one’s a happy place favorite, but like, this is the golden timeline, lets put it that way. so. without trent in the picture, the three kids were noticed and mentored by probably someone else at Soltryce, or potentially might’ve just gone through it as normal students and just generally done great there, but they all stick together when they graduate and after hanging around doing stuff in Rexxentrum for a while eventually decide they wanna set up a proper tower somewhere quieter than the city, so they pack up and move out to Felderwin.

Is this confusing and kind of alarming for the people of Felderwin? Yes. yes, it is. ANYWAY the extremely short summary is that the three of them befriend the Brenattos because they need to get components somewhere and it makes sense to be good friends w/ the local apothecary, plus their little family group has a kid about the same age as Luc so it just sorta makes sense, and they’re all very saddened when Veth dies etc etc. but when the Krynn attack Felderwin the three of them chase off the attack and, upon noticing that Yeza’s been apparently caught up in some nasty stuff that has him wanted by both sides, promptly decide the best course of action is to lowkey kidnap him themselves (he’s ok with it actually) and keep him in their tower without telling anyone. and just. let both sides think the other has him while they figure out what’s going on.

and then through a series of shenanigans involving molly (who is still alive because this is the Good Timeline Okay caduceus is still here too its an au let us have this) getting to know the boys and astrid being stuck in some trouble she cant get out of on her own and needing rescue, the three wind up basically serving as an Allura-equivalent for the mighty nein. its very cute and very good.

but to answer more of your actual question now that the stage is set:

when thing were working well between the three of them, and there wasn’t a certain bastard man around to screw things up, the three sort of keep each other in balance ~~especially with sig around too but i still cant talk too much about him and i am dying, i want to so bad ok~~

Astrid and Bren have been fierce rivals since they were kids and that’d likely continue, but Eodwulf functions as an emotional center and a mediator, keeping tensions from boiling over and making sure that it stays just as a playful rivalry. They push each other to do better, and that’s part of why they’re both (Really, all three, honestly) are constantly improving at the rate they have ever since childhood. Bren and Astrid can both get too caught up in things, but Eodwulf is real good at keeping that from ever going too far.

Astrid and Eodwulf, meanwhile, like I’ve said previously, have very different languages, so to speak, but she and Bren have been on an extremely similar wavelength since pretty much the moment they met. But at the same time, Bren’s also good at reading Eodwulf. Astrid and Eodwulf are opposites in a lot of ways, and Bren’s a good happy medium who can help bridge the gap and serve as a translator where it’s needed. The two of them can do alright without him, as you can see in Ghosts, but there’s hiccups. They do best when they have a third party to help bridge the gaps in communication that sorta naturally happen between them. Plus, without Bren, they really never would’ve become friends in the first place, so that’s another reason he’s important to the triad. And then there’s Bren and Eodwulf–they do real well on their own, and would by this point definitely be married in this timeline, since, uh, canon stuff never happened. But. Even if it’s not as bad as it would be with trent’s trauma, Eodwulf is still somewhat conflict averse and struggles with RSD a lot, and Bren can, yknow, get caught in his head, plus he’s always been the natural at everything so wouldn’t really push himself as much on his own. Astrid drags them both out of their comfort zone, pushes Bren to keep improving because of the looming threat of her surpassing him always lingering, and Eodwulf straight up wouldn’t do a lot of the things he’s tried if Astrid weren’t around. She’s constantly pushing herself, seeing how far she can go, and she’s caused both of the boys to do so as well!

She’s also, weirdly enough, the moral center of the three in this scenario, if only because her morals are the least flexible. Like, she’s always up to pull pranks and mess around, but she’ll be the first one to really call someone out on something she thinks is Actually Wrong, even if the person doing it is someone she cares for deeply. Trent unfortunately poisoned her sense of morality and shaped it to suit his own purposes in canon, but since in this AU that didn’t happen, she’s really the one keeping the two of them from crossing certain lines. Her sense of morality doesn’t leave a lot of room for nuance, which is, yknow, not great, not to mention the whole reason she’s such a problem in Ghosts, but it’s good to have someone who can draw a line in the sand and say “no, actually” especially when dealing with extremely powerful wizards.

(It’s worth noting too though, that’s a thing I forgot to say about her in the ask about her relationship w/ eodwulf, and i also forgot to say likewise that Eodwulf helps remind her to slow down now and then; stop and smell the flowers, that sort of thing–he’s good at noticing bright spots and at spoiling himself and others, and that’s a thing Astrid wouldn’t be as good at on her own without people to keep her tethered. In this AU eodwulf’s extra good at that because he wouldn’t be such a MASSIVE misanthrope, and bren probably helps slow Astrid down now and then too, albeit to a lesser degree.)

anyway they’re an insanely good team and that highkey freaks out the rest of the wizards of the assembly, since wizards kinda have a well deserved reputation of not getting along w/ other wizards due to being a bunch of intellectuals with Opinions and Complexes and seeing three actually LIKE each other to the degree that they all live together and such is confusing and distressing and so the assembly largely just…..leaves them alone,,,

are parts of this probably very unrealistic? yeah. do i care? no its great feel free to ask more about it theres a lot to talk about

also all four of the adults (including sig who is not a wizard but, yknow, astrid’s here so he’s here) absolutely dote on brand who i cant talk about yet either im still dying whats up

#asks #zemnianghosts

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crusherthedoctor · 6 years

Text

Sonic & Tails: Beyond the Stars - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Drop of Life or Death

"Just keep following me, guys!" Sonic called out to his pursuing friends as he breezed along the ocean with his amazing namesake. Who needs a boat when you're the fastest thing alive? He directed his attention towards what appeared to be a tranquil beachside area, which courtesy of its boardwalks, and its white, pristine sands, he couldn't help but be reminded of his favourite relaxing spot in Station Square.

"Where are we headed to?" Amy asked quickly, as she continued to hold onto Cream while the latter flew in the air.

"The local coastal resort is not too far from here," Lutrudis replied, while she did the same with Tails. "Being such a destination, it's naturally a popular spot in Viridonia. If Dr. Eggman is the kind of character I've been led to believe, it's possible he may be sabotaging the place for... whatever selfish reason."

"Maybe he's forcing everyone to worship him..." Cream pondered out loud fearfully.

"If he's not busy worshipping himself," Amy added with a bit of sass, having known the evil scientist's self-aggrandizing habits for some time now.

"Eggman makes me feel older..." Tails muttered somewhat absent-mindedly.

"Did you guys say coastal resort?" the sea-walking Sonic questioned, with a notable drip of dread in his voice. "There won't be too many unavoidable pits of water around, will there?"

"...Aren't you running on water right now?" Tails pointed out, trying hard to hide his amused tone.

"Not the same thing!" Sonic denied defensively, as he dashed off to their destination. The remaining four exchanged glances with each other, before picking up the speed themselves. Unbeknownest to them however, the blue droid from before was spying on the group once again. High above their own heights, he rubbed his hands in glee, in tune with the siren atop his cranium.

"Heh heh heh..." he giggled, betrayed by his unthreatening voice and nervous pitch.

---

Coastline Resort Zone

CR Act 1: Shining Shore

Lutrudis' Badnik Logs: Crabmeat - “Yet another 'classic' in the doctor's repertoire of mischievous metal myrmidons. Not only do they use those great big pincers to pinch you in the backside, like any crab with a short fuse, they also fire pellets from afar. Better turn them into Crabscrap before they cause you grief.”

Gameblow - “Based on the older model known as Game Game (darling name, I must say), these innocuous looking turtles spin their shells like a deadly frisbee. Regular frisbees are bad enough, but at least they only hurt your neck rather than, y'know, potentially slice it.”

Aquis - “Despite being based on seahorses, these ones never touch a single drop of water, instead opting to swim through the air... as well as rain down bullets on you. Not very advertiser friendly.”

Sweep - “Can you run on water? So can these pests, unfortunately. Trimming along the deep blue with surprising grace, they like to insert their spiked noses into your person... I trust it goes without saying that this would hurt quite a bit.”

At the risk of disappointing Sonic greatly, welcome to your first water zone in Viridonia. There may have been the odd watery area in the previous zones, but this will be the first one to really make use of your swimming skills... or non-swimming skills. Well, it may not suit the Blue Blur's tastes, but you're not gonna stop Eggman otherwise, right?

Anyway, you won't have to fret too much about inescapable underwater sections for the time being, as this act takes place at the lovely beach by the sea. If you expect this to simply be a textbook Emerald Coast however (you know, like Wave Ocean), you've got another thing coming. True, there's elements of those stages here and there - the palm trees filled with juicy coconuts, the wooden boardwalks leading off into the ocean, the occasional flashy yacht floating along to make you feel dissatisfied with your own life choices - but even a quick glance will reveal the beautifully decorated plaza, the higher cliffs teeming with stunning waterfalls, and the tall torches complimenting the gradually darkening sky, as it's close to reaching sunset by this point.

You can even stop by the tourist centers if you want to, of which their residents will be happy to provide you with interesting facts about the place... when they're not grumbling about rival tourist destinations, that is.

"I heard that Apotos once got corrupted by a dark force, causing its residents to act out and commit heinous acts of evil... Now between you and me, would they have went through all that suffering if they came here...?"

"You know the worst thing about that Dr. Robotnik? His vacation planning make no sense! Who puts a theme park in space? Was it his plan all along to kill everyone through lack of oxygen?"

"Soleanna? More like SoleanNAH... Look, I don't get visitors often..."

By this point, you'll have noticed that Lutrudis isn't the only one tagging along with Sonic and Tails this time around. Amy and Cream are tagging along too, and like Miss Hadeer, they'll try their best to help out here and there, as well as provide banter that doesn't get repetitive or redundant. You can't rely on them too much though, or else this would be far too easy. The Crabmeats and Gameblows still put their focus on you when attacking, though the Aquis seahorses will prove to be the most obnoxious of the set due to their tendency to hang around in the air. Suffice to say, Tails can get rid of them a lot quicker, unless you're really good with Sonic's momentum.

By the time you reach the home stretch, represented by an impressively sized lighthouse, an orca whale will pop out of the water. Luckily, despite your initial reservations, this one is friendly to blue hedgehogs, as it happily allows you to run along its back... But once you jump off its back, and leap high into the air, another orca will suddenly jump out to try and eat you. After narrowly avoiding the hostile orca's vacumn of a mouth, you're quick to notice that it's been equipped with highly advanced armor... and it appears to be acting against its own will, as you also notice the blue robot hovering down with a remote control...

Amy: What's going on!?

Sonic: Wait, that's-!

Gunner: Heh heh heh...

As the first orca wisely flees the scene of the crime, you're forced to run away from the clutches of the second, mechanized orca. As tense as orca chases were in the past, they didn't fire lasers and bombs at you. Poor Cream in particular is frightened beyond belief, but you've made it out of these situations before. Unfortunately, the actual terrain is a lot more complicated than past incidents of this sort as well, as you must traverse through piers, caves, AND cliffs to escape the jaws of the beast.

Eventually however, the ray of the lighthouse will shine upon the mecha orca, and with its temporary distraction, it'll crash into the nearest cliff, Monstro-style. Don't worry, it's not dead. But it did get rid of the armor encasing it, thus freeing it of its operator's control.

Gunner: Ohhhhh nooooo...

As the robot rather pathetically crushes its remote in anger, before flying away, you can finally complete the stage by freeing the critters from the end capsule. But in the distance, you can hear a lot of splashing, and a lot of children in particular yelling out gleefully. Or could one of those be a manchild...?

---

"Who was THAT weirdo?" Amy wondered as she squeezed the last drop of water out of her quills. "Eggman's newest hunk of junk?"

"Is the poor whale okay...?" Cream worried to herself. Lutrudis was quick to nod in reassurance, and gave her the A-OK hand signal for good measure. Amy also nodded sympathetically as she rubbed her little friend's head in affection.

"That wasn't a new guy," Sonic muttered, still soaked from head to toe, and not too pleased about it if his slumped body language was of any indication. "That was a Heavy."

"A what?"

"A Heavy, Amy. A Hard-Boiled Heavy to be precise. Me and Tails tangled with them long ago... I didn't think I'd ever see them again, but here we are."

"Them?" Cream asked nervously. "How many of them are there...?"

"Five," Tails answered bluntly. "They were tougher than they looked too," he added dejectedly.

"Drat," Amy cursed out loud, complete with a fist in her palm. "And I guess Eggman didn't decide to only rebuild one of them? Now we have a whole GROUP of jerks to watch out for."

"There's five of us though, right...?" Lutrudis gestured with her left hand. "Surely they're not much different from the doctor's other robots."

"Well actually," Sonic scratched his ear as he looked to his side awkwardly. "These robots were enhanced by a really weird jewel."

"Oh... of course..." Lutrudis trailed off, before quickly regaining her confident burst. "Well you still beat them once before. We can handle them... At least, you guys can... Myself, well..."

Before Sonic could argue with what he perceived as an error in her statement, Lutrudis cleared the last set of bushes that revealed the source of all the excited noise: a hustling, bustling water park. The vaguely ancient architecture suggested that it was formerly a set of aquatic ruins, but with the addition of industrial gizmos and doodads in the modern age, it was now a colorful array of seaside adrenaline. Dazzling fountains were dotted all over, and it truly caught the group's attention.

"Wow, this place looks cool!" Tails beamed with youthful glee. His tails couldn't help but twirl around in excitement. "We should hang out here for real when this is over! What do you think, Sonic?"

He was quick to notice the look of subdued resignation on his lifelong buddy's face. Evidently, the blue hedgehog had wearily accepted that he was about to get very wet once again.

"Oh man..." Sonic sighed, as Lutrudis put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

---

CR Act 2: Crazy Rapids

Lutrudis' Badnik Logs: Lobstrike - “These lobsters practically become heat-seeking missiles the moment they spot an enemy. Fortunately, while they're certainly fast, they can't turn around once they fire at you. Can't say I was fond of the taste of lobsters anyway.”

Scuba Pawn - "The most clever thing about these Pawns is that they're sea green. Slightly less clever is their tendency to throw their floatie rings like boomerangs, as well as launch a torpedo if you're under the sea. The doctor's compulsive need to mix deadly and daft would be almost admirable if it weren't for his equally compulsive need to conquer the world through it."

Returning Enemies: Crabmeat Gameblow Aquis Sweep

Doesn't this place look amazingly fun? Not if you're aquaphobic. Good thing no one on the team is, or else this would be very awkward.

Being a water park, you have a plentiful amount of gimmicks to experiment with. Water slides, water whirligigs, giant bubbles for you to substitute for temporary platforms, and even jacuzzi hot tubs that launch you up in the air with their overwhelming heat. Everything's coming up wet around here! The hybrid of marble ruins and wacky equipment certainly makes for a memorable scene, but don't get too distracted, lest you get bumped off by a Scuba Pawn.

Speaking of which, does no one here realise the gravity of the robots' presence? One lanky zebra in khaki shorts seems to have a unique take on them...

"Yoooo! Digging these mascots, dude! So full of life, know what I mean dawg?"

As you attempt to avoid shutting down emotionally upon hearing the word "dawg", let's discuss the swimming in this adventure at last. As Sonic, you naturally can't swim, but as Tails, you can count on that cute little doggy paddle of yours to help you go places. Compared to the old days however, Tails can now swim a lot faster, making underwater sections a lot more bearable than they would be otherwise. Of course, Tails will still tire out if you doggy paddle for too long, and regardless of who you're playing as, failure to obtain oxygen in time will result in a certain memorable countdown... followed by death.

That's not to say that you can't complete underwater stages with Sonic. The level design is always laid out in a way that ensures he can still make it through as well. But basically, you're better off with using Tails in these type of stages, unless you have something to prove.

And what would a place called Crazy Rapids be if it didn't have any rapids? There's a whole bunch of them, and you gotta watch your step, as the current during these sections is way too speedy for you to swim through without getting washed away. Like the honey in the Hornet's Nest though, you won't die if you get caught in it. You'll simply be momentarily inconvenienced... which is nonetheless a big deal when there's Lobstrikes willing to take advantage of your situation.

After all the slides, the rapids, and the trips in and out of the water, you'll eventually find yourself running along a straight path that takes you to the park's information center... But right before you enter it, you're suddenly bombarded with missiles. Once you dodge them for a brief period, the source of the missiles will hover down and reveal itself... a familiar helicopter, with a familiar passenger. With a push of a button on its control panel, the copter dispatches the rotors in exchange for a round underside, and the vehicle slams down onto the floor behind you with a mighty crash, breaking the floor apart instantly. With the contraption now taking the form of a boat, you must run for your life as an old friend tries valiantly to earn himself some much desired payback...

BOSS: Heavy Gunner

On one hand, this is kind of like your original fight with the police-themed Heavy, in that you're keeping up the pace against his vehicle of choice, and he's firing an onslaught of missiles everywhere he goes.

On the other hand, everything else is completely different.

For starters, Gunner's boat is always behind you, and its chipping away at the ground you're cruising along. Falling into the water here won't technically count as an instant death, but you'll be a sitting duck for the balloon-sized bombs that he sends down your way, so try to avoid that fate as best as you can. Should you stay above the ocean however, Gunner will opt for continuing his missile assault with his trusty yet blocky bazooka.

Now, Gunner's missiles have different colours, just like your past encounter with him. But this time, he fires red and green, not blue. Red missiles go straight for you, while green missiles arch upwards, loop around once, and then crash down onto the floor ahead of you, thus risking a watery trap for your character. The cybernetic sail on the front of the boat prevents offensive measures from the front, and neither type of missile can be deflected back, for it is proven that a robot can learn from his mistakes. So what do you do?

Wait for a green missile. Then, when it loops around and is close to ground level, grab onto it. Keep holding on until the missile is at the highest it can go, and right before it crashes down to the ground...

Gunner: Uhhhhh ohhhhh...

...let go of the missile and slam yourself down onto the boat with all your might. Gunner's subsequent arm flailing and eyeball popping will indicate that he did not account for this maneuver, and his boat will notably sink ever so slightly.

Three more rounds of this is all it takes. But be warned, for in an effort to prevent you from pulling that stunt again, the pattern of the green missiles will grow increasingly erratic after each hit, culminating with some truly fast zig-zag sweeping. As well as that, he'll also start firing missiles while you're up high in an attempt to make you lose focus. But speed is your middle name, so you've got this in the bag. After four strikes, the boat will finally give way and sink altogether, but not before Gunner ejects from his craft and jets away. This won't be the last you see of him, but you've foiled him for now. Let's just hope his buddies follow the same destiny...

---

"Y-you'll pay for t-this..." Gunner muttered timidly, as he used his jetpack to fly off to an unspecified destination.

"Sorry cop, but you ain't taking me in," Sonic quipped. "Wasn't fun being in jail the first time around..." He and his friends carried on running through the path, only to stop by an isolated building hidden away by trees and bushes. Upon taking a step inside...

"Look, Mr. Sonic!" Cream clasped her hands happily.

"Huh?" Sonic turned around after making sure Gunner was gone, and to his own surprise, occupying the lobby area was a whole bunch of Chao, of different colours and shapes, all playing around without a care in the world. Some of them were enjoying the pool, others were sliding down minature slides and throwing balls with each other, content with the other's company.

"A Chao Garden...?" the hero wondered.

"Yep," Lutrudis answered, hands on hips. "You didn't think we'd have any of our own here?" she asked with a teasing smile.

Sonic said nothing, too caught up with watching the little Chao. Amy and Cream wasted no time in petting and playing with the nearest Chao they could find, and even Cheese greeted himself to them through their own unique language.

"Chao!"

"Chao Chao!"

"Chao Chao?"

"Chao! <3"

As they got along with each other, Tails turned to Lutrudis. "Do you come here often?"

She nodded wistfully. "I love Chao." She rested one arm on her hand. "They're such beautiful little creatures... And so calming to one's senses. I've considered having one of my own, actually."

"Why haven't you got one?" Sonic questioned, as he crossed his arms.

"I'm not sure if I would make a good parent figure for them..." the horse rubbed her arm, while looking aside. "I don't really have the experience for that... and I doubt that'll change anytime soon..."

"Well, I think you'd be great with a Chao," Sonic gently nudged Lutrudis with a wink.

"Yeah!" Tails agreed. "You've treated the rest of us fine, right? You're nowhere close to having the inhospitality of someone like-"

"Guys, watch out!" Lutrudis suddenly called out to Amy and Cream, after having briefly glanced up at the transparent glass roof. Before they could react however, said glass roof suddenly exploded in a shower of broken shards, which threatened to cause serious damage to everyone within the lobby. Thinking fast, Sonic used his speed to get most of the Chao out of harm's way, and his four friends followed suit to the best of their own abilities. While the damage had been done to the surrounding area, the Chao were understandably in a state of panicked frenzy.

Sonic looked around to make sure his friends were okay, and he was subsequently relieved to see that Lutrudis had successfully herded all the Chao to a safe corner of the room, and was currently attempting to calm the poor things down. Before he could do anything else though, he immediately sensed another's presence. He didn't need to guess who it was. He could already hear the culprit's voice in his head before it even came out, as he had arguably heard it more times throughout his young life than even his own. Yet sure enough, out it came.

"Well, well, well... Sonic, my old pal. Long time no see, eh?"

The hedgehog looked up with distaste, and there he was, floating above in his signature hovercraft. The man who had caused so much trouble over the years. The man who saw himself as an emperor. The man who had a lifetime score to settle with people a quarter of his age. His two lackeys of questionable usefulness, Orbot and Cubot, were alongside him, as expected.

"Hey, what's all this commotion?" A burly duck in a suit and tie had walked into the scene, not at all happy with the carnage he had just heard, and certainly not with all the collateral damage. "Do you KNOW how long this will take to clean u-"

The duck immediately froze upon seeing the notorious scientist. He stood there in silence for a few long seconds, as his life flashed before his very eyes. The doctor simply turned to him, awaiting the expected reaction. Cubot was at least friendly enough to wave at him.

"R-R-Robotnik..." he stammered. "Gotta go...!" He promptly bolted out of the room, having cared very much about his own mortality.

"Oh, please, come back!" Eggman called out sarcastically. "I'm only here for a chat!"

"What are you doing here, Eggman?" Sonic asked with apprehension, ready as ever to put up his dukes if necessary. Tails and Amy were likewise quick to prepare themselves.

"What am I doing here?" Eggman pointed at himself with artificial innocence, as if he were hurt by the remark. "Surely the real question is what are you doing here. Must you always be like this, Sonic? Always following me wherever I go?"

"I think you've got that the other way around, doc," Sonic muttered, unimpressed with the man's fooling around.

"Just tell us your stupid plan already!" Amy complained, gripping firmly on her hammer. "Like you always do!"

"Now now, that's not how you greet yours truly," the doctor slowly waved a finger at the temperamental pink hedgehog. "I was just in the mood to visit the Chao that I hold so dear to my heart!"

"Because he wants to kidnap them," Orbot helpfully added. Eggman wordlessly glared at him.

"Kidnap the Chao...?" Cream contemplated with horror and revulsion. She immediately held Cheese tightly to her chest. "Why would you do such a thing!?"

"Yeah, why would you do that?" Tails questioned in a more quizzical tone. "What do you need Chao for? You're always after stuff like the Chaos Emeralds, and you've never cared about Chao at all until now..."

"Ah... I don't think I'll be telling that," Eggman leaned back and chuckled deviously. A grin started to appear on his face. "You see, things are a little different this time-"

"Don't you say that every time?" asked Cubot.

He got smacked in the face for his troubles.

"Things are a little different this time," Eggman repeated, looking in Cubot's direction in annoyance while doing so, before turning back to face the heroes. "If I explained everything right now, I'm afraid none of you would understand any of it! You'd have to reach MY level to get it." He smugly tapped his bald head, clearly alluding to the genius he prided himself so much on. "So if it's all the same with you, I think I'll be taking these girls and boys with me now."

Sonic was ready to thoroughly jeer at Eggman's amazing optimism in expecting to do as he pleased without his say in the matter. But before he could do so, another voice spoke out for him.

"You're not taking any of them."

Eggman looked confused as he wondered who had dared to say No to someone of his self-appointed stature. He quickly turned his Egg Mobile around, and saw Lutrudis standing in front of every last Chao. Her arms were outstretched, fully indicating that he would have to go through her to get them. The Chao were all terrified.

"Oh, right, you," the doctor commented. He stroked his right whisker. "I almost forgot about you. You're the new one, aren't you? The newest friend."

"~Ooooooh, friend!~" Orbot overdramatically clasped his hands joyfully.

"~Friend!~" Cubot added, and did the same in response.

"You're not taking these Chao," Lutrudis reiterated firmly, unflattered by the mockery directed at her.

"Surely you know who I am...?" Eggman asked.

"Yes, I do."

"Then you also know what I'm capable of...?

"Yes."

"And you know full well what I could do to you right here, right now...?"

"...Yes."

There was an audible hint of anxiousness in the horse's voice. This was her first face-to-face encounter with the most dangerous criminal in the world. She knew that he could mess her up in unimaginable ways, most likely with the push of a button. There was palpable fear on her face... Yet she remained where she was, not budging for a second. Even if it resulted in misfortune for herself, she refused to hand over the Chao.

"Then why do you dare to oppose me...?"

"Knock it off, Eggman," Sonic commanded fiercely. His hand began to curl into a fist, and his ears were straight up. His spines also sharpened a tiny bit.

"Why do you dare to oppose me...?" Eggman repeated, with added emphasis. His face was now inches away from the horse's own. "What's your story, hero?"

Lutrudis simply glared, despite the fear in her eyes. "No one owes anything to a rotten madman like you."

"...Madman...?" Eggman sneered venomously at her. Orbot and Cubot both shook their heads in fearful unison, explaining to Lutrudis non-verbally that saying such a thing to their master's face would not end well for anybody.

"Hey, egghead!" Sonic called out impatiently, tapping his foot. "We're still here, you know! You think WE'RE gonna let you take them?"

Eggman turned to Sonic with irritation. "Right, okay, let's get one thing sorted out about this 'egghead' business...!"

While the doctor was distracted, Lutrudis noticed that Cream wasn't too far from where she was. With a whisper, she called Cream over, to which the rabbit obliged. Kneeling down slowly so as to prevent her leg bones from straining, Lutrudis whispered in Cream's ear for a few seconds. When she finished, Cream nodded without a word, and she in turn called Amy over with a whisper of her own. Amy briefly looked to make sure that Eggman wasn't paying attention to her...

"If you absolutely HAVE to make these puns, why not go for something more original? More refined?"

...before tip-toeing over rather daintily to her two friends. After Cream whispered to Amy in her ear, the hedgehog nodded too. Eggman still didn't notice...

"Is this really the best you can think of, hedgehog? Have all those years of getting in my way gotten in YOUR way of coming up with something clever?"

As quickly as she could, Amy grabbed every last Chao, which turned out to be complicated given there were at least a dozen of them. But, not to be underestimated, she had them all in her mighty grasp... or at least, they were grasping her. This was then followed by Cream picking Amy up, and flying her out of the scene, taking the Chao along with them.

"...And that's why you need to come up with more original insults! 'Egghead' is so bottom of the barrel! Now then, the Chao..."

Eggman turned once again in Lutrudis' direction, only to notice her smiling with her hands behind her back, looking as innocent as can be. He also noticed that the Chao had all mysteriously vanished.

"Huh...?"

"Ha! Nice one, Trudy! Catch you later, egghead!" Sonic promptly dashed off further into the building.

"Better luck next time!" Tails added playfully, as he too followed Sonic's course of action.

After seeing them leave, Eggman stared at Lutrudis with confusion, who simply saluted at him with a smirk.

"See ya."

And with that, she ran off to follow her friends. As he watched her run off - but not before noticing she ran in a weirdly stilted way - Eggman simply floated in his craft in silence. He crossed his arms in thought.

"Oh dear, looks like you got tricked," Orbot thought out loud.

"Aw, you'll get 'em next time, boss," Cubot reassured. "Unless you lose next time, and the time after that... and the time after that..."

"I don't know why we're treating this as a loss," Eggman simply said, backed up by his surprising degree of calm nonchalance. "I'm still one step ahead, and maybe a few steps more..." He continued looking to where Lutrudis once was, as he gave his moustache another stroke. "Clever girl, that one. But she won't feel clever for long... Ho ho ho ho..."

"Hey, I heard a lot of noise earlier, what happ-" The pelican that entered the room turned tail and ran out as quickly as he came in. "Oh god, Robotnik's here! I'm too young to die!"

Eggman merely glanced at where the pelican was, and shrugged to himself.

---

"Where did they take them?" Sonic questioned as he kept jogging.

"To my castle," Lutrudis replied, trying her absolute best to keep up with him. "It should keep them safe, at least for now."

"You think they'll be alright with the Chao?" Tails asked in concern.

"Dude, Cream's oldest friend is a Chao. They've got this." Sonic looked around the hallway they were running through. It was rather fancy, with dark reds and silvers complimenting the mood, as well as a black and white checkered floor. "So uh, where are we actually going?"

"This takes us to the aquarium," Lutrudis informed him, while attempting not to sound like she was already out of breath. "I don't know what use Eggman would have for it, but his robots have been everywhere else so far, so..."

"Ahem, excuse me," a polar bear with a beard stepped in the way of their path to the entrance of the aquarium. "I'm afraid this area is reserved for celebrities only."

"What? But..." Sonic didn't often like to flaunt his world saviour status, but given the potential stakes at hand, it was evident that he didn't have much of a choice here. "But I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Oh yeah?" The gruff polar bear raised an eyebrow. "What's your proof?"

The hero stared at him in silence for a few painful seconds.

"...I'm Sonic the Hedgehog...?"

The bear shrugged. "Can't argue with that. You may enter."

The three friends simply looked at each other, each of them as baffled as the other. They soon made their way through the entrance in a single file, and once they were out of the bear's sight, Tails turned to Lutrudis with one ear lowered.

"Not to be mean, but that guy wasn't very good at his job, was he?"

"Apparently not," Lutrudis lightly brushed her ponytail aside to scratch the back of her head. "I don't recall anything about this place only accepting celebrities... Still, considering the circumstances, we should be grateful for his ineptitude."

"I just hope we don't need to make too many dips here," Sonic added, though his weary tone confirmed that deep down, he already accepted the reality.

Meanwhile, the bear looked behind him to check that they were gone, and upon confirmation, he smiled deviously to himself. All of a sudden, a puff of smoke had engulfed him, complete with a few dramatic sparkles, and when the dust settled, in his place was a droid much like Gunner, only this one wore yellow and a top hat... it seemed to be unable to stop moving its hands around.

"Hmm hmm...!" the robot chortled in a feminine tone, before disappearing in another puff of smoke.

---

CR Act 3: Aquarium Gallery

Lutrudis' Badnik Logs: Blastoid - “The good news is that they stay put. The bad news is that they're often placed in a rather intrusive fashion. Little do they know however that with the help of a certain shield, their projectiles can hardly put up a fight in the slightest.”

Shelly - "Looks like a bog standard seashell, right? Wrong: they may look all pretty and divine, but the moment you go near it, they'll clamp down on you like a deranged bear trap. Doesn't necessarily motivate me to sell seashells on the seashore..."

Returning Enemies: Crabmeat Aquis Sweep

This is the friendliest and the deadliest aquarium you've seen yet. There are fishies of all shapes and sizes (and colours) here, but as it turns out, some of the normally docile fish have been forcibly turned into mindless killing machines, just like the orca from earlier. You can leave them be if you want to, but freeing them of their armored shells will net you more points, and also make you feel good about yourself.

Tails: Why did Eggman do this to these poor fish?

Sonic: I don't know Tails, but I'm not standing for it.

Lutrudis: Perhaps they're being used to guard something from us...

Blastoids make an appearance in this stage, and they're the same as ever, right down to being rendered inefficient if you have a Water Shield, as you can simply deflect their projectiles away. However, they can still pose a threat, as they're fond of sitting atop glass roofs that - should their pellets make contact - will break a piece off, potentially sending you into the water below with a mechanized fish for company.

As you progress through the stage, you'll notice a change of environment. The red and silver halls filled with glass tanks and statues will gradually get phased out in favor of beautiful turquoise caverns, with the ripples of the water reflecting on the cavern walls. Speaking of the water, that too takes up a mildly turquoise hue, as do the stunning waterfalls found all around. Giant seashells rest easy, with funky patterns... just make sure you don't get them mixed up with Shellies. You can even see a little bit of sunset poke through the holes in the wall. Is this even part of the aquarium? Who cares.

What you should care about is a new force of nature at work: cybernetic sharks, with metal teeth and glowing red eyes. They're huge, they're fast, and you can't hurt them at all. You can only evade them, as starting a fight with one will cause them to eat you without a second thought, thus making you die instantly. Don't you just hate it when an enemy is inexplicably invincible?

But as long as you avoid the robo sharks, you'll make it out in one piece. The end of the stage takes you outside the caves, showing off the sunset in all its rich glory. The purple and red contrast beautifully with the briny blue sea, but you're also quick to notice what looks like a dam. It looks... rather old, actually...

---

“Tch, there sure aren't a shortage of weird buildings around here,” Sonic mused as he examined the rusty dam beyond him. It didn't look to be of Eggman's design, but it certainly gave off a creepy atmosphere all the same. Despite that, for all its decay, it was still sturdy enough to keep the nearby water under control. The sunset shined brightly upon the dam.

Tails noticed that the park they were in not too long ago was now a short distance away from where they were at the moment, having spotted it far away from the dam. Those caverns they came through must have been more expansive than they realised.

“Do you think Eggman plans to do anything with this?” the young fox asked. His eyes glanced left and right, as if to seek out the evil scientist.

“I can think of some ideas, but I'd rather not blurt them out in case he's... listening,” Lutrudis answered lightly.

“Good idea,” Sonic added, having also glanced all around for Eggman's possible whereabouts. “He always appears at the worst times, like back pain.”

“I know the feeling,” Lutrudis joked, as she stretched her arms.

The three of them went further down the path to the dam. The size of the structure impressed them even more the closer they got, and though a relic of an older time it may have been, they couldn't help but marvel at the effort of construction that went into it. For all their attempts to locate him however, the doctor himself was in fact standing at the very top of the dam. He was on his own, and he looked down at the curious adventurers. He kept watching.

They looked at the entrance with wariness. It appeared to be empty inside, but they knew better than to think they would be so lucky. Sonic turned to his two comrades.

“Well...?” he motioned towards the gate.

His friends simply nodded. Lutrudis had her bow in her hand in preparation for an unexpected attack. As they went inside one by one, Eggman took one of his hands off the nearby railing, and pulled out a communication device from his pocket. He put it right up to his ear.

“Now,” he commanded.

---

CR Act 4: Hydro Plant

Lutrudis' Badnik Logs: Drisame - “Watch out for that hammerhead! They hide in walls before leaping out to ambush you, and they also love to shove you into other hazards. If you get them facing upwards though, you can actually stand on them like it's no big deal. I don't think that was an intended feature on the doctor's part...”

Inkbrink - “These elongated squids can poke you with their sharpened noggins. They can also soak you in toxic black sludge, and if you're REALLY unlucky, that monitor of yours will temporarily get covered in the gunk as well, thus blinding your vision for a brief period. (Incidentally, what exactly is that monitor for...?)”

Returning Enemies: Crabmeat Gameblow Lobstrike Blastoid

It's quiet here. Possibly a little too quiet, if one were to be cliche. Well at least you're given a chance to breathe. Though the inside of this old dam is a tad dreary and full of shadows, you don't have to deal with too much at first. There aren't even that many enemies. For now, use the conveyor belts to go even faster, which still work perfectly fine despite their age. You can even stop to look at the occasional bit of graffiti, which includes inspiring quotes like:

Stand Up 2 The Pain + Turmoil

Toot Toot Sonic Warrior

All Hail Shadow

For The Mania

justice for kidd

One of them is tragically spelled incorrectly:

Make belif reborn

Anyway, as you go further down, it gets darker, but not to the point where you can't see anything. There's the occasional robot hiding around, mainly Drisames, but hardly anything for you to worry about. The sunset once again seeps through the few windows here, but don't get too enraptured. It might feel like a maze, but Lutrudis tends to go the right way, so just follow her if you're as clueless as a grey hedgehog during his debut.

It's subtle at first, but you might begin to notice that the area is growing slowly more high tech. The near-withered bricks and stones are gradually exchanged for silver metal, some of which is shiny enough to show a reflection. It dawns on you that this is the heart of the plant, and what's keeping it functioning despite appearing to have seen better days from an outsider's point of view. This is where the enemies ramp up in presence... along with underwater dives, to Sonic's misfortune. He even expresses envy when Lutrudis shows herself to be highly skilled at swimming by comparison.

Sonic: I really gotta learn how to swim sometime...

Lutrudis: I can teach you if you'd like... y'know, when this is over.

Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if you picked Tails, since he can swim. But you can still make it with the blue one. Just be sure to keep grabbing those bubbles for air regardless of who you're playing as. Inkbrinks and Lobstrikes can be troublesome in the tunnel sections here, but if you get an Inkbrink's sludge on you, it'll disappear after five seconds... better hope you don't run into another one during that time. There'll be no S Rank for you anytime soon if that keeps happening.

As you get closer to the end, you can spot a very complex, towered structure in the distance, full of bright green lights that contrast with the blue and silver all around. Some of Eggman's minions seem to be making an attempt to break it down, but you're not having any of that. Beat them up, and you'll hear the doctor himself chime in:

Eggman: You bothered to come all the way down here? I expected nothing less from you fools... but at least this will be entertaining to watch now! DROWN them, Crabgrind!

Right on cue, a crab mecha of intimidating stature bursts out of the ground like a possessed drill. It immediately starts drilling away at the structure, and it doesn't take long for the heroes to realise what the intention is:

Tails: Wait a minute... this is the heart of the dam... he's trying to cause a flood from the inside!

Sonic: And it'll seep through to the outside... we gotta end this fast!

BOSS: Crabgrind

Don't let the name fool you, it looks nothing like a Crabmeat. It's more like a hermit crab in design, if the shell had a bunch of spikes all over. Mix that in with a couple of drill pincers, and you've got a formidable beast. At least it's slow... right...?

This is NOT a timed fight in the traditional sense, despite the current urgent situation, but you'll want to do it as quickly as you can anyway, because the longer you keep at it, the longer Crabgrind will get to drill through the structure, and the more water will fill the arena, which will of course reduce your speed a little. There will be air bubbles if it gets to that point, but... try not to let it get to that point, okay?

As for the fight itself, Crabgrind may be focused on the structure, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have time to spare for you. As it does its work, it'll fire the spikes off its shell like pointy missiles in an attempt to keep you away from its job. Due to the size of the spikes, they're actually rather tough to avoid, especially if you're avoiding them underwater. It's not impossible, though. A well timed spin dash is enough to do the trick. If you try getting closer to the shelled monster, it'll use one of its pincers with the intention of drilling through your fleshy body. This is fortunately not shown in realistic detail. You can knock the pincer back to prevent the attack, but that won't damage it. What's the secret?

Like the Paindozer, Lutrudis is your key. In the brief period that Crabgrind's spikes are detached from its shell before gaining a new set of them, you can spot some fragile-looking wiring through the holes. Lutrudis will try to shoot an arrow through one of those holes, but Crabgrind will in turn try to attack her if she does so... unless you've got it distracted. Reflect its pincer a couple of times, and that'll be enough time for Lutrudis to fire an arrow through a hole without issue. Upon getting an arrow lodged inside, Crabgrind will start spinning around in a frenzy to try and get it out, while firing its spikes more erratically all the while, before clumsily falling on its side... revealing a weakpoint on its underside. Give that a whack to damage the mecha.

This carries on initially, with not much variation bar the expected longer periods of attacking, and ramping up the defensiveness... After six hits however, things take a dramatic turn...

Eggman: Hmm, this is getting a little boring now... Time for Plan B, Crabgrind! Ha ha HA!

Without warning, Crabgrind will cease attacking the structure... and instead lunge straight for you and Lutrudis, knocking you into a conveniently placed chute where you're constantly sliding along the current. You may be reminded of certain adventures from an earlier period, but now is not the time to dwell on the past, for Crabgrind will now use its shell to poke through the water and shank you. You can tell where it'll appear by spotting the bubbles that briefly pop beforehand. Even then, this demented game of Reverse Whack a Mole can be hectic. Keep your nerves under control, and you'll be smooth sailing.

Again, Lutrudis is your key. After several rounds of it popping in and out, Lutrudis will use all her strength to straight up grab one of its pincers with enough grip to actually slow it down temporarily, to the point where she's now surfing along the water with her feet. An impressive display, but not an easy one for her...

Lutrudis: Quickly...! I can't hold on for long... not with these bones...!

While she's grabbing one pincer, Crabgrind will go multi-purpose again and launch the other one at you in confused rage. Dodge the drill, notice the exposed point in the now empty pincer, and give it mayhem. This will take that pincer out of commission for good, though it will still hang there and limp along. Repeat this procedure with the other pincer, and then - with both pincers rendered unusable - Crabgrind will lose its mind and fire all of its spikes everywhere, without even bothering to aim at you. You don't even need to wait for an arrow at this point. Wait for a hole in the shell, jump through and attack his core, and watch as the once fearsome crustacean slowly sinks one last time. Tragic... if it weren't a mindlessly evil machine.

---

"Okay, that's the crab down, but now what!?" Tails asked in fright as they continued getting swept away along the tunneled river. The current was too fast to handle, even for Sonic.

"Relax!" Sonic grinned sheepishly, clearly hoping this wouldn't kill him. "What life or death situation haven't we gotten out of? We made it out of the fake emerald ordeal in one-"

"Look out!" Lutrudis pointed with wide eyes.

"Oh sh-"

A barrier had appeared at the end of the tunnel, which sent them flying over it, and through to outside civilization... represented in this case by more sea. Sonic was especially unlucky to have banged his head on the barrier, which knocked him out hard. His unconcious body began to sink in the sea, as Tails and Lutrudis came to their senses.

"Sonic!" Tails panicked. He and Lutrudis immediately swam below to grab him, but their own fatigue from their experience proved to be an issue. Thinking quickly, Lutrudis snapped her fingers. She motioned for Tails to grab her from behind, which he did. She pulled out her whip, closed one eye to aim as best as she could, and launched the whip in the drowning hedgehog's direction.

As luck would have it, the whip latched onto Sonic's leg. Lutrudis turned her head to Tails and nodded. Tails nodded himself in response. Using their combined strength, they pulled, and pulled, and pulled... and they pulled just a little bit too much, for Sonic's body was suddenly sent flying out of the water and into the air. Their eyes bulged in disbelief upon witnessing this, and Lutrudis pointed up frantically. Getting the message, Tails shot out of the water like a turbo submarine.

Meanwhile, Sonic was beginning to regain consciousness.

"Huh...?"

He was quick to notice he was falling back down to the sea.

"AHHH!"

Mercifully though, Sonic's initial panic came to a halt as Tails grabbed him. Sonic looked left and right in puzzlement, then looked up to see Tails' relieved face. He looked at his foxy friend for a second, then gave him a sheepish thumbs up.

"Is he alright?" Lutrudis called out to Tails from below.

"He's fine," Tails answered. "Just a little dazed."

"Yeah..." Sonic muttered in agreement, as Tails hovered down to pick up Lutrudis. The horse grabbed onto the hedgehog's legs, and they began to fly away together.

"What happened...?" Sonic wondered.

"You, uh, nearly drowned," Tails awkwardly explained.

"Oh... well it's a good thing I didn't. Thanks, guys." Sonic then thought to himself for a moment, then looked down at Lutrudis with a lighthearted smirk. "I don't suppose there was any mouth to mouth?"

"Oh no, no, not at all," she shook her head lightly. She looked down for a moment, and then looked back up. She smirked as well. "But I could give you that, if you want..."

Sonic paused abruptly. He looked like a deer in the headlights.

Lutrudis laughed. "I'm kidding," she gently teased him, to which the blue one chuckled somewhat bashfully. "Let's head back to the castle. Amy and Cream may be good with Chao, but there was still a lot of them. We better help them out."

"Right!" Tails obeyed. As they began their journey back, Sonic couldn't help but look down at Lutrudis once again. This time around, his expression was that of warm amusement.

Less amusing was who was spying on them from afar... Eggman watched them fly away in the comfort of his Egg Mobile. Despite witnessing the miserable defeat of his minion, he appeared to be in a good mood. He floated away in a different direction, smiling fiendishly to himself all the while.

---

Back to Chapter 2-3 Interlude...

To Chapter 4...

#Sonic & Tails: Beyond the Stars #Crusher's Fanfiction #Sonic the Hedgehog #Fanfiction

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staytheb · 5 years

Text

Like Oh 2.0 - #HAPPY20THBAMBAMDAY

Previous Chapter: Study Session Word Count: 4,092 Summary: The girls end up celebrating BamBam’s birthday with the rest of GOT7.

Like Oh 2.0 masterlist

12th chapter here and yes that hashtag was used at the time for BB’s birthday, too! um, so the story has moved on to the month of May and we’re heading to the rest of the year as more dates and what not hapens. anyways, happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

Serena returned home to another planned hangout of her sister, friends, and GOT7 in her apartment without her permission once again and unlike last time, Serena had a whole new makeover now. She had a light pinkish slash whitish pastel duo tone hair color, wore a light purplish colored contacts, and was dressed in a somewhat sexy pretty flower outfit and accessories with a matching flowery umbrella while carrying a cute tote bag with a panda on it. "Hi." Serena greeted the group shyly as she stared at them and they stared at her in confusion. Before any of them could say something, Serena tried to make a mad dash towards her room, but the other girls intercepted her. "No!" Serena tried to push pass them, but they continued to block her path with cheeky smiles.

"Whoa, Serena, what happened to you?" Jeannie asked giving her friend a once over. "This is the most girlie I have ever seen you and I've known you a long time." "Yeah, Rena, I agree with Jean. This is the girliest we have ever seen you. I like it." Jasmine agreed with a nod of approval. "Well, in the cutesy kinda girlie way, that is." "Is this because of Chloe?" Melanie asked once she took in her sister's appearance. "She did a good job. She always does and I'm a bit envious." Serena sighed. "Yeah. Clo had an assignment today and I was her guinea pig. I just thought it was hair only." "Serena twirl around." Jeannie demanded as Serena complied. "You're so cute." "Shut up." Serena grumbled as she tried to get past the trio again. "Can I just go into my room, please? This feels a bit embarrassing."

"Are you cos-playing the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?" Jackson asked in English while he imitated on holding an umbrella. "I'm confused. That's Jyongri noona, right?" Yugyeom asked while looking at his fellow members while pointing in Serena's direction. "Is it cosplay?" "Jyongri noona, you're really pretty dressed like that." Jinyoung complimented as Serena became shy and awkward from the younger male's words. "Yeah, noona. Pink and the flowers really suits you!" Youngjae complimented her further and Serena just wanted to get away. She let out an awkward laugh as she finally got passed the other three females and into her room. "It's so fun teasing her." Jasmine chuckled as Melanie agree. "I know. She's so easy."

"Jyongri noona is here and we're all gathered together can we finally celebrate my birthday?" BamBam asked with a grin as everyone rolled their eyes in good-nature. "Your birthday isn't until tomorrow, BamBam." Jaebeom stated as the younger male nodded. "I know, but Jackson hyung and I have that Real Men schedule tomorrow and we can't hang out on my actual birthday." "That's why we're here bugging them again?" Jinyoung asked as BamBam grinned. "Of course." "Wow. That's a big cake." Mark commented upon seeing the three females walking back into the living room with BamBam's half a sheet of cake. "Jyongri unnie ordered the wrong size." Melanie explained as she and the twins set it onto the small table before putting in a few candles onto the cake. "But she got the design on point." Jeannie chuckled.

"True" Jasmine agreed as she held up a lighter. "Unnie needs to hurry up and change so I can eat this cake." "Y'know you guys could have done it without me." Serena said from behind them as she handed a box over to BamBam. "Happy birthday, Bam." Serena wished him a happy birthday in Thai as BamBam took the box with a silly grin. "What is it?" "Open it." BamBam opened the box to revealed Taeyeon's debut album, I. "You're giving this to me?" BamBam looked up at Serena who nodded her head. "Yeah. "Wait, how come I didn't get a present?" Jackson interjected as Serena looked at him. "Because it was like not even a month since we met at that time and I thought it might be awkward." Serena admitted as Jackson pouted. "Ugh, that's no fair and I thougth we were friends."

"Where are you going, Jyongri noona?" Youngjae asked upon seeing the older woman leaving again. "I'll be back." "Did you have to make her feel bad" Mark asked Jackson with an amused look as Jackson continued to sulk. "Because I didn't get a present, Mark hyung." "Hey, isn't this the album that unnie got from her friend?" Jasmine asked Melanie as Melanie stared at the album in BamBam's hands. "Um, probaby. Unnie's not a fan of hers, but now that you mention it I do remember unnie asking me if BamBam was a fan of Taeyeon though a few weeks ago." Serena returned shortly after and handed Jackson a large gift bag. "Here, kid." "What's this?" Jackson asked with an excited look. "Look inside." Jackson happily removed all the tissue paper and pulled out a stuffed Squirtle plush doll.

"Whoa!" Everyone let out in awe as Jackson awed louder upon examining the Pokemon plushie. "This is really mine?" Jackson asked as Serena rolled her eyes and responded sarcastically. "No, Jackson, it's Mark." Jackson frowned. "Why Mark?" "I dunno. Because he's sitting next to you." "Oh, but JB hyung is next to me, too." "Because both you and Mark are tied to Pokemon." "Oh. Thanks, noona." "Welcome." "Hey, does the sunglasses come off?" Jaebeom asked curiously as he pulled on the sunglasses to which did stretched towards him. "Wow, that's cool." "No way!" Jackson slid it off and hugged the doll closer to him. "This is so cute." He put the sunglasses mask back on. "That's cool." Melanie looked at her sister. "Isn't this the one that joins Ash and is part of the Squirtle Squad." Serena grinned. "Yeah."

"Alright!" Jeannie clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Let's sing the birthday song and eat this amazing cake!" And soon enough, the group of eleven quickly sang the birthday song and wished BamBam a happy birthday. Once everyone got a piece and settled themselves around the living room, Mark noticed Serena taking a picture of her cake which reminded him of something. "Hey, Jyongri." "Hmm?" Serena acknowledged the male, but didn't face him. "What was that thing about the whole pictures between you and Jinyoung two Fridays ago?" "I don't know." Serena denied as Jinyoung grinned while casting a sly look in the older woman's direction. "It was on that night when we had the sleepover and played GOT7 Jjai."

"Oh you mean the pictures that unnie took of all of us while we were asleep that night?" Jasmine asked innocently with a small smile. "Those are some really cute pictures." "Whoa, whoa, what pictures?" Jackson asked as Yugyeom added while making a 'camera taking' motion. "You took pictures of us?" He smiled cutely. "Can I see them?" "I deleted them already." Serena said as she moved away from the group to sit afar from them. "No she didn't. She still has them." Melanie stated as Serena glared at her, but she just cast her sister a playful smile. "Yeah, unnie, just showed them." Jeannie coaxed the older woman as Serena rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Here." Serena unlocked her phone, went to her photo gallery, and slid the mobile device towards the group of boys. "Have fun."

Youngjae was the first to grab it and went through the images. "These are actually pretty good." He then burst into laughter upon seeing himself. "Is this how I look like when asleep?" He asked to no one in particular. "I know they're pictures and videos of us, but this one is different." "Because it wasn't expected, Youngjae." Mark stated as Youngjae handed the phone over to him. "This dog plush looks way bigger than you, hyung." "It is bigger than me. It's huge. There was another one that was just as big." "Let me see when you're done, Mark hyung." BamBam said as Jackson looked over at Serena. "How come you took pictures of us?" Serena shrugged. "Just felt like it." Jinyoung settled himself beside the female. "What?" She asked him as she saw a smile gracing his lips.

"Nothing." Jinyoung answered as he quietly ate his cake and Serena eyed him while eating her own. "You want something, don't you?" "No I don't." "Yeah, you do." "Noona, I don't." He chuckled as Serena scooted a few inches away from him. "Mmhmm." "Hey, unnie." Melanie called out for her sister. "What Chaewon?" "Jaehwa unnie wants you to set up the karaoke machine." "Why?" "Because BamBam wants to try it out after I told him about it" Jeannie answered with a sheepish laugh as she pointed at the entertainment center. "He found it because he wanted all of us to go to a karaoke place to sing for his birthday when I told him you had one of your own." BamBam held up a microphone. "How about we do some karaoke for my birthday? It should be a lot of fun."

"Only because it's hashtag Happy twentieth BamBam Day. Such a long one. Just don't break it like my table." Serena went to set up the karaoke machine and explained how it work as her karaoke machine was a lot different than a normal one. Once she explained everything and showed the group how it work she then left it to Jeannie and Jasmine to take care of it since they enjoyed using the machine more than she did along with five of the GOT7 members that wanted to join in on the fun. A moment later, Jaebeom and Melanie went on a late night run for more snacks and drinks due to all the boys eating and drinking them all and Serena hadn't had the time to re-stock since their last hangout a week ago. Anyways, Mark went to go bother Serena who was in the kitchen to get away from the commotion as she wasn't in the mood to sing or watch them get into the song and what not.

~~~~~~~

"Why are you always following me, Mark?" Serena asked when she sat at the kitchen table before removing her glasses to rub at them, but didn't put them back on. "I'm not following you, Serena. I just wanted a bottle of water." Mark answered as he opened the refrigerator door to grab the said item. "Mmhmm. Sure, right." Serena grabbed several notebooks from out of her tote bag she had left there yesterday and began reviewing the rest of the students' English notebooks. Mark didn't say anything after taking a swig, but he continued to linger around as he was casually leaning against the counter and glancing at the female every now and then. "Do you need something, Mark?" Serena asked him not looking up from the current notebook where she was scribbling something in the margin.

"Nope." Mark answered nonchalantly. "Then leave." "Why?" "Just cause." "Cause what?" He mused knowing full well that it would annoy Serena further. "Because you're annoying." The male chuckled as he took a seat across from Serena who just glanced at him before returning back to what she was doing. "Jerk." She muttered under her breath, but Mark heard her and let out another laugh. "You're funny." He said. "How so?" "You just are." "Mmhmm." Silence fell between them as Mark slid the bottle back and forth between his hands onto the table's surface whereas Serena moved onto one notebook to the next without paying further attention to the idol. "Are you sure you're a fan of us, Serena?" Mark asked a moment later.

Serena paused in mid-writing, sat up straighter, and looked at the male with a confused expression. "Why wouldn't I be?" Mark shrugged. "I dunno. You don't seem to show it." "But it doesn't mean I'm not a fan, Mark." Mark averted his eyes away from Serena as she continued to talk slowly. "Kinda like you, Mark, I say and do things when I feel like it. I'm initially quiet, reserve, and shy." She began to tell him a little more about herself. "But I open up when I'm comfortable or know the person a bit better to behave a little more freely" She averted her gaze to the notebook before her. "I just choose to be indifferent and blend in the background as it's easier to be and to go with the flow when no one is really paying much attention to you." Serena finished as she went back to writing her notes in the students' notebooks.

Mark returned his eyes onto the older woman, but remained quiet as he tried to form his thoughts before saying anything. "Sorry." He finally said as the female looked up with a tilt of her head. "What for?" "I didn't mean to make you feel like you had to explain yourself. I'm sorry, Serena." Mark apologized as Serena dismissed it. "It's all good, Mark. Don't worry about it. Must be kinda weird when you're an idol and you're hanging out with one of your fans, yet the fan doesn't act like the other fans you're so used to. It makes sense." She smiled at him before finishing the last notebook and putting it away with the others. "Thanks for saying that and understanding, Serena." Mark thanked her with a small smile as Serena looked at him with a smile of her own. "You're welcome, Mark."

Serena then grinned at him. "Now you can go run along to the rest while I go to my room and sleep." Mark narrowed his eyes at her. "You're doing it again." "Doing what?" "Being mean after saying something nice." "So? What's your point, Mark?" Mark shook his head with a wry smile. "Nothing." "Okay, cool. Night." "Wait." "What now?" "Why did you color your hair? I was getting used to the magenta one." Serena raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Oh really? Well, tell that to my friend next time when she decides to use me as one of her assignments." Mark laughed. "Oh, is that why you were dressed up like a flower girl?" "Yes." Serena answered as she folded her arms onto the table to place her head on top of it. "Like four hours for the hair and like two hours for the whole outfit. And then another hour or so of posing for the camera." "Wow. Seems like you were at a photo-shoot for a magazine for something."

"I really wish I didn't say yes to her at two in the morning when she called me about it." "And here you are although you said you hated people earlier." Mark smirked as Serena groaned while turning her head so that her cheeks were pressed against her forearms. "Shut up." Mark didn't reply, but he did lean over the table to mess with Serena's hair. "Cheer up. Life gets better." Serena raised her head and tried to smack Mark's hand away. "What did I say about my hair, Mark?" "That your friend dyed it to use your for one of her assignments." He cheekily responded as Serena narrowed her eyes at him. "You win this round, Mark Tuan." Mark looked at her with amusement, but didn't say anything. "I'm going to bed and you go bother the others." Serena flashed him a tired smile as she got up and left the kitchen as Mark sat there for a few seconds longer before returning to the living room.

~~~~~~~

"This is a lot." Melanie muttered under her breath as the basket was filled with all sorts of items as Jaebeom added another strawberry milk into the basket. Melanie eyed the idol as he looked at her indifferently. "What?" Melanie handed the basket over to the male. "You're carrying it since you keep adding more strawberry milk. Plus, all of y'all keep eating everything every time you guys come over." Jaebeom chuckled. "Okay." The male followed after the female as she wandered into the next aisle while mumbling a few things to herself while scanning the products. "So you do talked to yourself." Jaebeom commented from behind as she stopped walking to glance behind. "Huh?" Jaebeom repeated what he had said as Melanie nodded. "Yeah, it helps me remember sometimes."

Melanie grabbed several items and was about to placed them into the basket, but didn't. "We need another one. That's too full." She began to walk towards the front when she spotted Yerim entered the store. "Shit." She quietly let out as she quickly turned around to just run into Jaebeom. "Whoa, are you okay?" He asked while steadying Melanie and making sure that none of the products had fallen. Melanie didn't say anything as she placed the items into the already filled basket and then maneuvered herself and Jaebeom towards the back of the store to keep a good distance between them and Yerim. "What's wrong, noona?" Jaebeom asked once the two were settled. "Um," Melanie stalled as she doubled checked to see where Yerim was within the convenient store and saw that she was at the front counter.

"Chaewon noona?" Melanie finally looked at him. "Sorry, but Yerim's here again." "The one from the group date, right?" "Yeah. Have you crossed paths with her like I have with Kyungtae?" The idol shook his head. "No." "I see." Melanie glanced behind her and saw that Yerim was now making her way through the aisles. "She might just be here for fun, but I don't know for sure." Jaebeom tried to assure Melanie of the situation, but she scoffed. "Yeah, right. She's not here for fun." Melanie turned to face the male again. "Seolbi told me that Yerim's been trying to get your information, but Seolbi or the others don't know anything. She hasn't gotten anything from your buddies either since your friends have been busy." "I told them to not leak my contacts. Glad to know they haven't." "That's good."

The female glanced behind and saw that Yerim was now heading closer and closer to where they were. "Look, I'll buy the stuff and distract Yerim just so that you can make your getaway, okay?" "But what if she does something?" Jaebeom asked in concern as Melanie smiled in reassurance. "She won't. She's not the type to fight physically. I'm good." "You're sure?" "Yes, JB, I'm sure. Now go or faced a sasaeng fan at this hour." "Alright. Be safe." Jaebeom squeezed her right shoulder while handing the basket to her. When he was in the clear, he quickly made his towards the exit while Melanie walked towards Yerim like she didn't know the younger female was there. "Oh, hey, Yerim. What are you doing on this side of town at this hour?" Yerim looked over at Melanie with no expression. "Just hanging out since Dayoon went to Busan for the weekend. What are you doing here, unnie?"

"I'm hanging out with my sister and friends." Melanie answered as she made sure to stand where Yerim wouldn't look towards the entrance. "Oh, okay. Is that all for you guys?" Yerim pointed at the filled up basket while Melanie glanced down at it. "Yeah." "That's a lot of strawberry milk." Melanie looked at the female who was looking at her a bit too closely. "My sister really likes strawberry milk. She doesn't drink no other milk besides this flavor." "Oh, I see. So," Yerim began like they were close, "I heard that one of the guys from the Konkuk group date has been stalking you." Melanie's eyebrows furrowed. "Who said that?" "I overheard Seolbi unnie talking with Haeryong unnie a while back." "It's all settled now. A misunderstanding." "I don't see why he would follow you around though."

"What do you mean by that?" "I'm just saying that you don't seem like his type that he would go after." Yerim shrugged as Melanie wanted to roll her eyes, but didn't. "What do you think is his type, Yerim?" "I dunno, unnie. Someone more girly and not well, you." "Well, I need to get going or my sister is gonna throw a fit if she doesn't get some strawberry milk soon." "Yeah, me too. Bye, unnie." Yerim waved with an air of politeness as Melanie gave her a small wave. "Yeah, bye." Luckily, Jaebeom finally made it out of the store before Yerim left. Melanie rolled her eyes while letting out a deep breath. "That girl is gonna get it one of these days." She muttered to herself before making her way to the cashier to buy the items. "Luckily I still have Serena's card to pay for all this." She chuckled to herself.

After Melanie paid the amount and gathered the three bags before making her way out of the store and back towards the apartment complex. The female totally forgot that Jaebeom had accompanied her until someone matched her pace. Melanie turned to look at the person and realized it was Jaebeom. "Oh, hey, you. I thought you went back." "Yeah, I wouldn't do that. Anyways, so how did it go?" "It went okay. I think she was still looking for you though." "I see." "And she heard that Kyungtae was stalking me." "Really?" "Yeah." "By the way, I talked to him." "Okay. What happened?" "Kyungtae said that you were the one that asked him to be all protective over you." "But I didn't. I don't even know how this whole thing started as I didn't even talk to him at the group date thing." "I know." "What else did he say?" "He said that he was your boyfriend and he was looking out for you." "Bullshit." "I know." "Ugh, I just wanna smack him."

Jaebeom chuckled as Melanie eyed him. "It's not funny." "I'm sorry, noona." Jaebeom recovered from his laugh, but a smile was evident upon his face. "I just wish I didn't go to that dumb group date." Melanie muttered, but Jaebeom overheard her. "Then you wouldn't have met me, noona." Melanie cast him an indifferent look. "Well, I would have eventually somehow. I already interacted with you guys a year ago during your fanmeet in San Francisco." "Oh, wow, really?" "Yeah, saw you guys three times that year." "You flew out to just see us?" "Yeah, why not? But no, not really. Family stuff at the time." "But didn't you attend anything while staying here?" Melanie shook her head. "No. School got in the way and so did work for Jyongri unnie." "Oh." "Yeah, but it was always an excuse to fly back home." Melanie smiled at him as the two continued to walk to the complex now in a comfortable silence between them.

By the time they arrived back to Serena's apartment they witnessed Youngjae and Jasmine arguing about the scores they got after singing. It was because Youngjae was upset that Jasmine had beaten him on every song challenge that they had done since the duo had left. Jinyoung reminded the younger male that the machine calculates on its own accord and that Jasmine couldn't have cheated. Youngjae was still upset. As for the others they just ate the rest of the cake and the snacks and drinks that Melanie and Jaebeom had recently bought and watched both Youngjae and Jasmine go at it again to see who could get the highest score. Jasmine won again and Youngjae just continued to sulk. As for Serena, she never came back from out of her room as she did ended up falling asleep and Melanie let her sister be for the rest of the night.

Soon enough it was already quite late and both Jackson and BamBam needed to rest before their schedule later that day to which none of the females were told as they had to find out like the others. The younger males cleaned up the mess they had made in the living room whereas Jeannie did the dishes with Jinyoung. Jasmine took out the trash with the help of Mark and Jackson as the two males didn't realize that there was so much because of them. Melanie ended up putting away all the things of Serena's karaoke machine to make sure everything was intact so that her sister wouldn't be cursing up a storm if something was amiss. Once it was all clean and done the three females bid good night to GOT7 with the girls wishing BamBam a happy birthday once more. GOT7 returned to their dorm while the trio headed off to their own room to crash. Staying up late has definitely become routine with good company.

#staytheb #got7 scenarios

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