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nika-the-hunter · 4 years

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House of Mist [Ch. 11]

Central Seattle Ruins, Pacific Northwest. House Mist Territory +157 days

Nicole and Rykis walked down the path that had been worn through the tall grass. The old road surface was clearly visible here under the dirt. It was cracked and crumbled, resembling gravel more than the flat concrete it had once been. The other trees, not the evergreens, were starting to get their leaves again, and were bringing brighter shades of green to the pale urban ruins. This was her first spring, and it was wonderful, everything was so full of life.

Her meeting with Fort Discovery had gone well; so well in fact that she was absolutely convinced that working with the House of Mist had been the right decision. She and Rykis had spent the remainder of the day walking around the small settlement named after the original park it was built on. There had been a fort there before at some point in ancient history, but its name had been lost to time.

She met many Humans in the fort; over half of them had ties to the region that went back to before the Collapse. Those that had migrated over to Fort Discovery from elsewhere had interesting stories of the world outside the region as well. She had made it a point that return trips would be common for her. The children that her Ghost was entertaining followed him the whole time, trying to play tag with the mechanical ball.

Pedro and Athena had ideas for expansion that Nicole could help with. They had been in radio contact with a group of people due east that were worried about a band of Fallen lurking around their town. The town had been cautious about Mist, but stories of the friendly Fallen out west had apparently made the journey to them. They were willing to move into Mist territory but had no way to do it without drawing the attention of the local Fallen crew. Pedro had planned to bring it to the Kell’s attention soon, but the campaign against the House of Devils had kept the Kell busy. Now that things were calming down, he would bring it up and suggest that Nicole help convince the others that Mist was extra safe.

When Nicole finally left Fort Discovery, she found the Archon taking a video call with an Eliksni Vandal who wore a banner she did not know. Though there was a lot she did not know already. It was hard to tell the color of the armor with the screen glare from the angle they were at, but it looked green. Marakis had ended the call and turned to face the two who had approached. He briefly mentioned that he was speaking with the House of Exile, before asking about their tour. Later Rykis told her that the House of Exile was an Eliksni collective that lived up on the moon. Mist apparently had a trade deal with them regarding Ether.

On the flight back to the Archons compound, they all talked briefly, Marakis was interested in how she and Rykis were getting along. He seemed really excited with a Guardian and Eliksni living together and seemed to read the subtext of what was really going on quite well. Sparing them the embarrassment of just saying it.

The day was nearly over by then with the sunset lighting the sky in a bright gold. Their walk back towards downtown kept them in the shade already. Her Ghost spent his time orbiting around the two and occasionally flying off to scan something dangling in the old windows. The ruins were mostly empty, Mist Eliksni lived in the newer buildings that were further downtown. Those buildings were still old pre-Collapse construction, but they were in much better shape than the stone and steel skyscrapers that made up ninety percent of the city. Over the centuries after the collapse, those buildings had remained free of overgrowth and were still somewhat waterproof, unlike her hotel across the lake.

“So, are we headed back to the Kell to catch that truck back, or are we walking home on our own?” Nicole asked.

“No, the Kell gave you the choice of living elsewhere now. You’re not restricted to Baron Acskis’ outpost.” He replied.

“So... where are we headed then?” He did not really answer her question.

“We’re headed to where I lived before. I think that you might like it.” She could see the edges of his face move behind his mask in what she recognized as an Eliksni smile, then he shrugged. “If you do not, then we can go to your hotel tomorrow, or maybe somewhere else.”

“Oh, alright. It’s been a while hasn’t it?”

“Mm, not as long as you think, I visit it whenever you’re busy around Bellevue.”

Nicole nodded. “Well that’s good; I’d hate to keep you from home.”

There was a bleep from her helmet that was clipped to her belt. She looked down and saw something flashing on her visor. “Oh hey, give me a second.” Her helmet slipped over her head, but she did not activate the seal.

The blinking icon opened into a list that took up half of the view screen. The word Quests was in bold at the top, with little icons and what she guessed were the quests themselves listed on it. There were only a few entries. The currently highlighted ‘quest’ had a graphic of one of the metro trains she had seen in the tunnel over a banner for Umic. Memory Troubles was the name with the description “Locate Metro Security Records.”

The chirp of her Ghost sounded from the helmet’s internal speaker. “Hey! You finally checked out the Quest tab!”

“What is this?” She asked.

“Well, you seemed to be getting a lot of things to do, so I decided to put together some of my own quests for you. Usually these come from the Vanguard at the Last City but given how we’re not planning on going there any time soon, I’ll do it for you for now.”

“Okay... why did it just pop up now?” she stopped Rykis. “Hold on for a second.”

“Well follow the marker and find out!” the Ghost replied, at the same moment a diamond shaped marker appeared. He sounded excited which was very unlike himself.

Nicole nodded in the direction the marker showed and started to go. “Sorry Rykis. My Ghost found something he wants me to see. We gotta’ detour.”

“Then lead on, Neh-cole.”

The marker led back and over one block, to the front doorway of a tall office tower. The building's stone facade was crumbling in places, leaving piles of rubble underneath the trees. Once at the door, the icon appeared again further inside. It stopped at a stairwell leading down into the dark. “Alright, we’re here. What did you find?”

Her Ghost appeared from inside the doorway and played his flashlight over the remains of a sign hanging on the wall. The letters had faded but most were still legible. -Metro Transit Authority. Regional Security Office.

“I found the place!” He did a spin inside his shell. At first, she was not sure what he meant, but the name of the ‘quest’ connected the dots. The camera down in the subway tunnel had been looking right at where her body had been. It was still working and sending the data back somewhere and something was still giving it the command to record. Robust systems were still working somewhere. But if she wanted to find out what had happened to her, all she needed to do was go down and find the network hub. It was not a priority; she had actually forgotten about it up until now. The discovery of her cause of death was more of a hopeful curiosity than an actual objective. However, there it was... at the bottom of the staircase were some answers about her previous life. Under the helmet she bit her lip and gave it a good two seconds of thought. The answer was obvious.

Down she went. Quickly at first, but immediately slowing for caution; the stairs were slick and covered in moss. That was something she was used to seeing out there. Buildings, trees, rocks, and even growing on the side of Eliksni crates that had been sitting just a little too long; moss was everywhere. The bottom step was submerged beneath a few centimeters of water and somewhere deeper in the basement she could hear flowing water.

At the far end of the large open space, Nicole could see dozens of blinking green lights hidden behind a window. The working systems were a good sign that this was the right place. She stepped into the ankle-deep water and apologized to Rykis. He was not wearing any sort of water-resistant footwear, but he followed her anyway without complaining. Sloshing through the water, Nicole noticed that people had died down here fairly quickly. A few had died at their workstations, leaving their skeletons collapsed over keyboards and left computers in stand-by mode.

The sign on the side of the door said that it was the data-storage room. It was exactly what they were looking for. The blinking lights were the status lights for over a dozen large computer racks. The hum in the room was loud, and the air was warm. The doorway was raised higher than the water, someone had some forethought when they built the place in the basement, so there was no water inside. Once inside with the door closed behind them, Nicole could not hear the water flow anymore.

Nicole had no idea how to search all this for what they wanted, so she waved to the machines. “Okay Ghost, do your thing.”

He chirped and flew over to one of the stacks. “This might take a while. These cameras have been recording for centuries...” The Ghost flew from stack to stack, an optical beam connecting with each tower. “Just have to find the feed from your station and trace where it goes. It was Olympic... I think?”

“Well take your time, Ghost. It’s not like Rykis and I can do anything.”

After a few minutes scanning through the various racks, he had found the data. “I got it!” he exclaimed with all his fins expanding out from his core. “Well, are you sure you want to watch this, last chance.”

Rykis looked at the Ghost, and then to Nicole. “What did he find, what are we looking for?”

“Well he found the recording of how I died. The first time.” Nicole grimly smiled. “I'm hoping it’ll give me something to work with. So yes, Ghost, start it up.”

He floated over to a dormant computer station and interfaced with the monitor. The screen flickered and flashed to life. The multiple camera feeds from across the station appeared. There was even sound.

Olympic Park Station -28 minutes

Umic Security Officer Nicole Walker rushed down the escalator leading into the chaotic subway station. Her heavy plasteel ballistic vest almost knocked her off balance in the shifting sea of Seattle citizens. Thirteen hours ago, she had thought that the vest had been overkill; her regular uniform had woven strands of sapphire wire which was good enough to stop mid-caliber ammunition. But as the day progressed, she no longer felt that way, and was grateful for the vest.

Gunfire at the top of the stairs brought her around with her rifle, aiming the carbine towards the odd colored daylight streaming in at the top of the shaft. The citizens and refugees parted and dropped to either side, clearing a firing lane to the doors. At the top of the stairs her partner, USO. Keane, fired out the door and onto the street. An explosion rocked the shaft and people fell, more pushed deeper into the station. “I’m gonna’ close the doors!” Keane shouted. “Get in here now.”

He fired again, Nicole tried to get back up the escalator, but the parted sea had closed and everyone that was up near the top was making their way down whether she was in the way or not.

A cluster of blue energy shots peppered the wall above Keane. A large group of people finally made it through the doors, and he slammed his fist into the switch on the wall. The station’s storm shutters dropped from the ceiling and bounced once off their rubber seals.

They were locked in, and the bad stuff was locked out.

Another explosion from outside shook the ground again, more gunfire erupted nearby, it was all muffled by the storm shutters. “Everyone downstairs.” Nicole ordered. People that had remained on the stairs, even after the crowds fled, slowly got to their feet, and moved down to the station.

The trains were still running, “Thank the Traveler...” Nicole muttered. There were casualties and moving the injured on foot down kilometers of tunnel was just not going to work.

“Please form a line! Cue up at the marked positions!” A Transit cop in a high-visibility vest was directing the panicked people to where they could board the next subway car. “We’ll get you all out of here as fast as we can. The trains are running double-time and filling up at previous stations!”

Nicole walked over to one of the small coffee shops along the wall that had its lights still on. The windows were smashed, but two of the original employees were busy passing out water and snacks to anyone who came for them. She grabbed two bottles of water and a small bag of sugar cookies. Downing her bottle in one go, she headed back into the space between lines where Keane was wiping the sweat from underneath his helmet. “You alright?” She offered him the other water.

Taking the water, he also drained it. “Yeah... uh... just glad those doors are doing the job.” He nodded over to a group of Seattle Police Officers talking on the other side of the next line. “They got working radios. Military’s been trying to get up here for hours apparently. Something is bogging down the roads, and the weather is just insane.”

She nodded. “We could really use the help. A bunch of street cops and some deputized, heavily armed, and highly skilled, security guards ain’t going to help everyone.” Nicole smirked; trying to add some humor into the situation.

Keane returned the look with a thin smile. “Yeah, doesn’t mean we can’t try.”

The ceiling chimed. “Train approaching... train approaching.”

At the front of the lines, the Transit cop checked his wrist pad. “Alright people, this train is only two-thirds full! Stay in line and wait your turn. We’ll all make it out, just don’t push.”

The sleek subway train slid into the station and squeaked to a stop. The cars were packed, but apparently only part full. Once the doors opened, no one got off, and the lines began to squeeze in wherever they could. With a blow of their whistle, the crowds stepped back and allowed the Transit cops to get the doors sealed and sent the train on its way. “Next train arrives in... five minutes,” chimed the ceiling.

Two more trains came and went, but the population count in the station did not seem to be decreasing. People were just spreading out now that there was more room.

Nicole noticed a lone kid standing in the middle of the station clutching a stuffed animal. It was covered in dirt, but she thought it might have been an Orca. The little girl could not have been older than five, but she did not look scared or sad. Nicole walked over and took a knee beside her. “Hey there kid, where are your parents at?”

The girl looked at her and shook her head. “I dunno, mommy went to get daddy. She said to wait here.”

“Well which way did she go?” Nicole asked. Hopefully it was not far.

The little girl pointed the stuffed Orca up the stairs. “She went up there.”

Nicole looked up that direction and frowned. That was not good.

“Train approaching... Train approaching.”

Unknown to Nicole, the station security system picked up a conversation going on down one of the maintenance corridors, coming towards the station.

“Holy shit Sam, where did you get those?” Voice one spoke out, in audible surprise.

“From nowhere. I ain’t telling.” Voice two was gruff, and noticeably angry. “Here, take it, it's loaded.”

Voice one huffed and had to hurry to follow “What the hell are we going to do with them?!”

“We’re getting on that next train. I'm getting us out of this place.” A sharp click-clack sound was registered with the system. It was identified as the racking of a shotgun pump by algorithmic analysis.

It would have alerted the authorities if there was anyone left to pick-up. There was not.

Back in the station proper, the next train was slowly gliding into the station. It was only one fourth full. Plenty of room for evacuees. The door in the backside of the station burst open and out rushed two men. One had an assault rifle, and the other in the front was carrying a large gauge semi-automatic shotgun. He fired it into the ceiling once. “Everyone fucking back off. We’re getting on that train, you hear me?” the man bellowed. Chunks of plaster fell to the ground around them.

People froze in place, some dropped to the ground. The traffic cops had their hands on their sidearms, but nobody drew their weapons; not with a threat like that in a crowd of civilians. “Hey now, there's plenty of space for everyone. Just put the guns down.” One of the cops motioned slowly.

“Nah, we’re going. Now. Get everyone out of the way.” The guy in front swept the gun across the station. “Stay the fuck back.”

Nicole eyed the gunmen, both the shotgun and the rifle had large drum magazines, however the guy with the rifle seemed put off by what was going on. That did not change the fact that he was still waving the gun around the crowd.

One of the cops that had been back near the coffee shop came around slowly and half crouched. He looked like he was going to try and tackle the shotgun wielder. If shots started flying, things would go bad very quick.

Nicole threw herself in front of the kid who was just out in the open, well in the line of fire. Too many potential targets had been behind the kid.

The man with the gun reacted to Nicole's sudden movements and fired at her. Under normal conditions, if that shotgun had been loaded with buckshot, it would have just caused a few dents in her plate vest. However, that gun had been loaded with high-velocity solid slugs.

At the range they were at, there was nothing that could be done. The slug smashed into the center of her plasteel plate, causing it to deform beyond its threshold. Her chest cavity was crushed. The plate had stopped the bullet, but not in any manner that would have saved her life.

Central Seattle Ruins +157 days

Nicole watched her original self crumple to the floor and die. The others, who she did not know or recognize, took down the men with the guns. They tried to revive her, but it was no use, she was already gone. Her fellow security guard was visibly distressed and started to kick the guy who had shot her while he was detained. However, the officer in the bright yellow vest pulled him off and shoved him away. The girl was loaded onto the train with the Umic guard and sent away almost immediately.

The people that remained in the station pulled her body far out of the way, moving it to its final resting place on top of the mezzanine above the tracks. One of the people that helped carry her body placed her arms on her chest and draped a tablecloth from the store over her. He seemed to say a prayer and leave, but there was nobody else up there to witness it.

“Well there you have it.” Her Ghost blinked. “There is more to the recording near the end, but that's how you died.” The video sped up and the station eventually emptied, leaving her body sitting alone on the platform. Nobody else entered the station after the last train zipped down the track. “Huh...” She had expected some firefight with the cause of the collapse, not getting shot by fellow Humans. It did not change anything though, she had hoped that when she found the video of her death it would unlock the memories of that past life, but nothing came from them. No insight into who she was, or any of the people they had known. It felt almost like a wasted trip; the question of how she died was answered, but there was no extra reward. “I can tell you're disappointed. If you thought that it would help your memories, I could have told you that it wouldn’t.” The Ghost replied to the look on her face. “This bit at the end though might cheer you up a little.

Nicole sighed as the video clicked and moved on. With no movement it switched to an ‘extended event monitoring’ mode. There were only subtle indications on how fast time was passing in the station; a steady drip became a flood of water down the tunnels, drowning the track. Dirt piles slowly grew across the floor from the corners, eventually enough for plants to grow and sprout under the steady station lights. Her body rapidly deteriorated on screen, becoming food for moss and other things that made the station their home.

The video would briefly slow when the occasional animal triggered the cameras, or some big event like part of the roof caved in. The system timestamp degraded into error symbols before the first lightbulb went out.

When the station was looking similar to how it was when she was revived, the camera slowed down back to real time. Movement appeared from the other side of the platform and an Eliksni scurried in looking around the space. They were small and about the size of one of the Not-Dregs.

Rykis made a sound behind her, like a squeak almost, but she continued to watch.

The Eliksni on screen cautiously poked around the ruined metro station, digging through the shelves and boxes left in the cafe. They crossed out to the station mezzanine and came across the moss-covered remains of Nicole’s former life. The Eliksni knelt and picked up the old ballistic helmet, the skull still secured by the chinstrap. However now that it was disturbed the skull slipped free and fell to the ground with a loud thunk. A dull ache spontaneously formed on the back of Nicole’s head and then faded.

Setting the helmet upside down, the Eliksni carefully returned the skull to its place on the remains. Then they pulled a backpack out from under the moss and ferns that laid beside her body. Digging through it, they pulled out a tablet and what looked like a small stack of notebooks. They put the notebooks back into the pack and threw it over their shoulder but put the tablet into another bag.

The image froze in her head as the video went on. She had seen that bag before. It was so familiar, still covered in paint brushes and other small tools. Her eyes slid over to Rykis watching from beside her. The same bag was slung over his shoulder, looking a bit smaller after all the years. If an Eliksni could look any more guilty, she doubted it.

“Rykis is that you?” Nicole asked him. “Did you take my backpack?” She would not say he stole it; she was dead at the time after all.

Slowly, Rykis nodded. “Yes. that was me. Years ago.” His fingers tapped together nervously, and he seemed to think he needed to say more. “I still have your stuff; I was going to give it back when we got to my place.”

Nicole raised her eyebrow. “Oh, really now? How’d you know it was mine before we saw this recording?”

He nodded towards the screen showing the current status of the old station. “When we went down there on your third day. You stopped over where your body had sat for so long. I recognized it right away. Yours were the only bones in the station, and the only bones I had seen down there that day.”

“Well we just saw why. I hope that guy made it somewhere safe. We’ll never know though.” Nicole sighed and waved her hand in the air. “Alright, we found what we were looking for. It didn’t help me, but let's get out of this flooded basement. Rykis, lead on to your place.” “Yes yes.” he chittered. “Follow me.”

They headed back up to the surface and into the early hours of night. The occasional streetlights continued burning brightly through the trees that grew around them. Some lights were still on in the various buildings, making the skyline an odd patchwork of light and dark. The walk only lasted a few blocks, not long at all. It was actually directly behind the Kell’s hall. Rykis had probably gone home after her last meeting there. She was mainly mentally exhausted, there was a lot that had happened today.

The building Rykis called home turned out to be the old Art Museum. She smiled at that, of course the local artist would choose to set up shop in an art museum. The windows had all been patched over with metal scrap, just like he had done over in her building, and the door was sturdy and weather-proof. He held it open for her to go in.

“Anyone else live here?” She walked in and found herself inside a small tunnel made of hanging tarps. The light was provided by the warm Eliksni tube lights that stuck up from the floor every few meters. Her question was nearly answered by voices from behind some of the curtains that broke off from the tunnel. “Yes actually. Many of Mist’s more artsy Eliksni live in the building. But there is more than enough space that I can have this for my own,” Rykis replied. He closed the door behind him and latched it shut.

Taking the lead again, he took her up the stairs and through a set of double doors, to a half sphere structure in the middle of a room. Tarps and string lights spread out from the structure which was attached to the walls and ceiling of the big room they were in. Nicole could see faded and water damaged paintings hanging from the walls which had to be old Human art. The dome structure was obviously Eliksni construction with heat and light pouring out into the cold building from behind the curtain. “Come in, this is my... uh... home.” He pulled the curtain open and gestured her inside.

"It looks very cozy." Nicole followed him through the curtain and into the space. He had probably left it to warm up while he went to meet her.

There was a mix of Eliksni and Human furniture inside. In the center of the space was a table covered in small jars and brushes; she could see a few unfinished canvasses sitting around it. It appeared that Rykis was quite good at traditional painting.

Rykis had walked over to a locker leaning up against the wall. "Take a seat, let me see if I can find it..." He motioned for her to sit at the table with his lower arms.

Nicole sat where he pointed and watched Rykis dig through the locker. From there she was able to get at a better look at the canvases he had leaning against the bench.

She recognized the scene in the painting. The looming Spiderwalker in the snowstorm. Nicole had been standing a meter to the right when this had happened. It was the battle at the Pass, when Rykis had charged the tank with a flare to alert the artillery on the ridge.

One of the other paintings was of the interior of her hotel tower, after she had done some cleanup of the swamp, and made it more like a pond. The light was captured perfectly, and the colors were wonderful. Her art viewing time was cut short as Rykis brought her attention back to him when he placed a hard-backed case on the table. It looked just like the one from the video, just a bit cleaner.

“So, this was mine? From before?” Nicole picked it up and looked it over. The case was made from a slick stretchy material, and the edges cracked when she bent it too much. The straps had rotted away at some point and their remains dangled haplessly at the side.

“Yes, it should be everything.” Rykis nodded, sitting across from her. “I was young and looking for salvage back then, I had tried to trade your tablet, but it didn’t work and wasn’t worth anything. I did like looking through your sketchbooks though.”

“Sketchbooks?” Nicole pulled open the bag and heard the rubber seal peel apart, still holding strong over the centuries. Carefully, she emptied the bag and found an old data-pad, and a few notebooks.

“Yes, there were some really old, stylized drawings that I think you did. Just take a look.”

"Well if you say so." Nicole opened one of the old notebooks and slowly paged through them. The pages were remarkably well preserved; they were filled with drawings of places and things, as well as some random animals and creatures she did not recognize. They were not as good as Rykis' drawings, but they were fairly good. If these belonged to her, Nicole wondered if she had retained those skills as well as her warfighting abilities.

While carefully flipping through the pages, a small rectangle fell out from between them.

The piece of plastic material was a photograph; it was not even faded at all. Five people were standing in a semicircle, and they were posing with bright yellow guns which looked really strange. She saw herself near the middle of the group in a Umic hat and leaning up against a man wearing a vest with Mars Tactical stitched onto the chest. On the other end of the group was the other Security guard from the recording.

She flipped the picture over and found that it was not actually a piece of paper, it was something more advanced. The back flickered and began to form words across its surface. "11th Quinquennial Intersystem Defense Technologies Convention. SimFire Combat 3rd place team. Hosted by Clovis Bray"

"Huh," Nicole muttered. "Check out me back in the day." She passed the photo to Rykis and put the sketchbooks back into the bag.

The data-pad looked to be in okay shape, but when she tried the power switch nothing happened. At the moment, it was not really worth her time. She figured she could get her Ghost to fix it, but she should probably save it for later. A lot had happened today, and her head was a little fried.

Setting the data-pad back onto the table, Nicole ran her fingers through her hair and let out a sigh. "Well... This has sure been a day. Wanna take me to bed and call it a night with the newest member of Mist?"

Rykis let out more of a purr than a chitter. "Mmm... Yes Guardian."

He dropped the photo on the table and came over to pick her up. By the time they reached the bed on the other side of the room, her armor and her Ghost had made themselves scarce. Hopefully the neighbors did not mind the noise.

#destiny #destiny the game #fanfiction #fanfic #fan fiction #eliksni #fallen #guardian #hunter

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jokessho · 7 years

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[Update]: Still stuck

I wanted to be lazy and combine one of the remaining prompts with this continuation of ‘Stuck,’ but then I got to the end of this thing and realised that I never used the prompt quote…

(Quick recap of Stuck: Jyou, Taichi, and Yamato were stuck in the school basement and Nishijima comes looking for them and locks himself in, too)

“So let me get this straight.” Jou said, sitting in a circle with the others on the cold concrete floor of the basement. Nishijima to his right, Yamato to the left, Taichi across. “You sent the rest of the group home and came looking for us?”

Nishijima coughed into his fist, stalling for time.

“Yes..?” He himself seemed unsure whether he was asking or answering.

Yamato ran a hand over his face, eyes moving up in a silent prayer. Taichi glanced at his best friend, before fixing their teacher with an unamused look. Jou fixed his glasses.

All eyes turned to Yamato as he took a deep breath and asked: “Do you at least have your phone with you?”

Nishijima threw him a glare.

“Of course I have my phone.” Proudly, he pulled it out, tapping at the keypad. A pause. He tapped again. “Uh.”

“What?” Taichi asked, leaning over to try and get a look at the screen.

“…there’s no reception.”

“What?” Taichi repeated.

Nishijima waved his phone around in the air, trying to find signal.

“We can’t contact anyone?” Jou asked, eyeing Yamato warily; the blond was the perfect image of the calm before the storm.

“Well, wait.” Nishijima said. He got up and starting walking around the room, waving his phone in the air.

He paused frowning at the phone.

“Still nothing?” Jou also got up to join the teacher. “Try closer to the door?”

“Good idea.”

Nishijima and Jou both made their way up the stairs.

“Signal!” Nishijima cheered, quickly tapping at his keypad again. He brought the device to his ear and waited for it to ring.

And he waited.

Jou leaned closer, trying to hear the beeping that indicated the call was going through. He heard nothing. Worried, Jou looked down at his two friends.

Yamato was rubbing his face aggressively, whilst Taichi was rubbing his shoulder gently.

Brown eyes met two pairs of obsidian. He raised his eyebrows in a question.

Nishijima pursed his lips, dropped the eye contact, along with the hand holding the phone, and shook his head.

“No one’s picking up?” Taichi’s question caused Yamato to look at him, then at Nishijima on top of the stairs.

“No one?” Yamato pressed.

“Well…” Nishijima cast a quick glance at Jou, as if begging the younger man to shield him from what he knew was going to be an onslaught of hate. He mumbled something.

Jou’s eyes widened and he stared, mouth agape, at Nishijima.

Taichi and Yamato looked at each other, then at the two men above them.

“What?” They asked in unison.

“He said that his phone died.” Jou tattled, in almost full-fledged panic.

Nishijima grimaced. That was not how he wanted the two youngest to find out.

“Are you kidding me?” Taichi asked, standing up, fists clenched at his sides.

Yamato rearranged himself, bringing his knees up, arms wrapped around them, and buried his face into them. Taichi glanced at him and continued his questioning:

“So we’re stuck in here until someone, someday needs something from here and opens the door?”

“That’ll probably be tomorrow.” Nishijima said, throwing a glance at Jou before the two started making their way down the stairs. “I mean, it’s a school day tomorrow, so Takenouchi or someone will wonder where we are and come looking for us in here.”

“I’m going to be late for school. And I haven’t even finished my homework.” Jou lamented, sitting next to Yamato, mimicking his posture.

“I’ll give you a note to give to your teachers and explain the situation.” Nishijima assured, patting Jou on the head.

Yamato stood up, eyes on the floor. Taichi looked him over, concerned.

“Alright?”

Yamato lifted his eyes at Taichi’s question and looked around. He walked towards the back of the basement, poking at some boxes against the far wall.

“If we’re going to be stuck here for the night, then we should probably find something soft to make beds out of.”

“Is there anything?” Taichi asked, joining the blond. He looked into one of the cardboard boxes. “Hey, there are clothes in here! Those will work.”

Yamato nodded. “They’re probably leftover costumes form some plays and other performances.”

Taichi started going through the closest box. “Does Knife of Ramen store their performance clothes in here? Aha!” He pulled out a light green princess-dress. “Apparently you do.”

“Har har.”

Jou and Nishijima chose that moment to join the two and look for bedding material.

“So what’s the deal with this ‘Knife of Ramen?’” Nishijima whispered to Jou, sifting through a box.

“I’m not really sure.” Jou admitted, leaning over the same box and speaking from the corner of his mouth. “It’s one of their things.”

“Meaning?”

“They have these things that they do and say that no one else really understands. We’ve all just learned to accept and mostly ignore that stuff.”

“Ah, I think I get it.”

Taichi and Yamato had abandoned the boxes and were standing with their arms crossed over their chests. They were eying the two elders.

“You do realise,” Yamato started, “that we can hear you, right?”

Startled out of their bedding search, Jou and Nishijima looked over at the two.

Jou looked sheepish and rubbed the back of his head. “Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean anything bad by it.”

Taichi’s arms fell back to his sides and he cocked his head. “What other things are there?”

Yamato glanced at Taichi, then back at Jou, giving the latter a curt nod that told him to answer Taichi’s question.

“Well, it’s stuff like… I don’t know… Just these little things you do and… stuff.”

“Descriptive.” Yamato commented.

“It’s not that easy to explain.” Jou whined. “It’s just what you do.”

“So about sleeping here.” Nishijima said, breaking up the budding fight and changing topics. “We should, instead, stay up most of the night telling ghost stories.” He looked excited at his own idea.

“We have school tomorrow.” Jou pointed out.

Nishijima brushed that aside. “I’ll let you all skip to make up for the trauma of being stuck in here.”

“You’re not my teacher, though. And even if you did manage to get me permission to skip, I can’t afford to miss even a single class or I’ll fall behind even more.”

“And I’m not skipping class just to listen to some stupid ghost stories.” Yamato said, glaring at Nishijima.

“Scared?” Taichi smirked, elbowing Yamato in the side. “I can sleep next to you and hold your hand, if you want.”

Yamato turned his glare at the brunet. “Shove it.”

“Where?” Taichi grinned, leaning in.

Nishijima laughed openly. “Didn’t you know, Taichi? There’s really only one place you can ‘shove it.’”

Yamato blushed hotly and turned away, moving to look behind the stacked boxes.

Jou coughed into his hand, slight blush on his cheeks, and grabbed some random pieces of clothing. “Since we can’t do anything about dinner, we should get started on those stories or get an early night.”

“Ghost stories!” Nishijima voted, grabbing at some stray costumes and throwing them onto the floor in a heap. He flopped down on them heavily. “Ouch.” His hand dug around the pile underneath and he pulled out a plastic dagger. “Thankfully it’s not real.” He tossed it aside, then looked at the teens with a predatory grin. “I might start with this one story that does involve a real dagger.”

“Really?” Yamato asked flatly. He had found some padded mats behind the boxes, and he and Taichi were arranging them on the floor. “We’re honestly going along with the ghost story idea?”

“Of course. And I’m starting it off.”

Yamato gave Taichi a look, but the other just shrugged with a: “Not like we have anything better to do with our time.” He offered the light green dress to Yamato. “Blanket?”

Yamato accepted with a wary look. “Not really a blanket, though, is it?”

Taichi smiled at the unsaid ‘thank you.’ “Cover, then.”

“Whatever.”

“Can I start telling the story already?”

“Wait.” Jou hurried to pull out one of the mats Yamato had discovered. “I haven’t organised myself yet.”

Nishijima waited for a minute, then started telling his story, when Jou had settled.

Two and a half ghost stories later had everyone a bit edgy. The basement was creepy enough without the lurking thoughts of them not being alone.

“And then,” Nishijima continued his story. “The door—”

The door burst open and the four males jumped, emitting startled sounds that none would later admit to.

“Daigo?” Himekawa’s voice echoed around the basement.

Hearts racing, the four males stared at each other for a few seconds before rushing to the bottom of the stairs in unison. Maki stood at the top with the door held open into freedom.

“Maki!” Nishijima had never been so happy to see his old friend.

“We’ve been saved!” Taichi cheered.

“I’m so glad someone came for us!” Jou praised.

“Whatever you do, don’t close the door!” Yamato yelled over everyone else.

Everyone stared at the blond, who just shrugged.

“It’s how we got stuck in here in the first place. Twice.”

Maki stared at them, as if unsure of their mental states. “Twice? What?”

“We’ve been locked in here for hours.” Yamato explained from the bottom of the stairs. “The door locks itself if you close it. And, for some strange reason, there’s no lock on this side.”

Maki blinked at the door she was holding open. “Be that as it may, you kids should get home; your parents must be worried already.”

The four started making their way up the stairs, glad that the ordeal was almost over.

Himekawa glared at Nishijima. “I tried calling you, but it wouldn’t connect. Izumi said that you’d sent everyone home except these three. I tried calling everyone, but no one answered.”

“Our phones are in our bags, which are back in the classroom.” Jou said, being the first to reach the door. Himekawa let him pass, into freedom. “Thanks.”

Yamato followed Jou, nodding his thanks to Himekawa. Taichi followed after Yamato, arms stretching above his head when he got into the hallway.

Nishijima, followed by Himekawa, were last out.

“Thank you very much for letting us out.” Jou said, bowing to Himekawa. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to hurry home to finish my homework.” With that, he left in a rush, heading for Nishijima’s classroom.

“You two should hurry home, too.” Himekawa said to Taichi and Yamato.

“Yeah, I guess my mum’s wondering why I wasn’t home for dinner.”

“Dad’s probably wondering where dinner is.”

Taichi threw an arm around Yamato’s shoulders, leading him towards the classroom and their bags.

“I wouldn’t worry; you always have something in the freezer, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s not as good as having a fresh meal.” Yamato’s face scrunched up at the thought of having to re-heat old food. Taichi just laughed.

“I’m sure your dad won’t mind, as long as it’s food.”

The two reached the classroom and moved away from each other, towards their respective bags.

“Guess so.” Yamato grabbed his bag, then smiled. “At least he’ll appreciate the reason why dinner wasn’t ready.”

“You mean he’ll be laughing his ass off?”

“Yep.”

The teens made their way down the stairs and out of the school. It was already dark out, so they quickened their pace.

“Looking back on it, it really was quite funny, wasn’t it?”

“It’ll definitely make for an amusing story, that’s for sure.”

The two walked for a few minutes in silence.

“You know,” Taichi got a sly look on his face. “I never did get that private love song.”

Yamato shoved him playfully. “In your dreams, Juliet.”

“Hey!” Taichi grabbed Yamato in a headlock. “I’m Romeo; wasn’t that your dress in the basement?”

“Oh, right.” Yamato said, pushing Taichi off him with a laugh. “How could I have forgotten?”

“Whatever will you wear tomorrow?”

Yamato stopped walking and held his hands out towards Taichi. “I have nothing else to wear! Will you come back with me to get it?”

Taichi had also stopped and took Yamato’s offered hands. “I’d follow you anywhere. Let’s go!”

The two laughed, and continued on their way home, hand in hand.

#fic #drabble #ask prompt #stuck continuation #digimon adventure tri

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drawingsdrawingseverywhere · 8 years

Text

Trollhunters Dadswap AU part 10

Aka

the stuff that was supposed to be in 9 but I decided to trim off for the sake of length

Jim approaches Vendel after the fight with Bular and tries to talk to him further about the bridge and the Changelings, but he won’t listen. Basically it’s a situation like “I am fine with you training, as now you have proven yourself worthy of that armor, but that does not mean I trust you.”

A little disheartened, but still kind of proud of himself for surviving the fight, Jim heads home- mind buzzing as he tries to figure out how he’s going to find the bridge and stop the changelings. Meanwhile Strickler’s phone goes off and he answers, and it’s Barbera.

“Mr. Strickler,” she pauses when she hears the cheering from the arena, “is everything alright?”

“hm? oh yes I’m just... uh... at a game. Give me just a moment to get outside. There. Now how can I help? Is Jim ok?”

“oh no everything is fine. I just wanted to invite you over for dinner tonight. We were having some company and I wanted to see if you could join us.”

“Sensational idea, but I’m afraid it may take me some time for me to get there. Who else is attending?”

“Well, I went over to the museum earlier today and invited Mr. Takato over. If this goes well maybe he’ll drop the charges he put on Jim.”

“Sounds- wait did you say Mr. Takato?”

“yeah. I want to help Jim out, and figured this could be a good way to do so- I mean he’s been so busy as of late with the chess club and the play and-”

Strickler looks around frantically for Jim and/or Angor Rot.

“You know, Barbera, I think I can already see the outcome of this game. I’m on my way! Uh... Don’t start anything without Jim or me!”

When Jim arrives at home, Mr. Takato is pouring Barbera a cup of tea.

“It’s a shame your assistant had to retire so suddenly. I hope you can find a replacement for Nomura, soon!” Barbera looks over as Jim enters the dining room. “oh there you are, Jim! Mr. Takato and your teacher Mr. Strickler will be having dinner with us this evening. I hope you’re alright with that.”

“Not at all, mom! It’s fine. It has been a long day though, so I think I’ll head up stairs and clean up.”

“how could a Chess Club get you so worked up?”

Jim starts walking up the stairs, grabbing his bag along the way. “Hoo boy, you have no idea. I just had a match today and man was it intense. Be down in a minute!”

Jim runs upstairs and pulls out his amulet when his cell rings. He answers and it’s Strickler.

“Jim, your mother-”

“Invited Mr. Takato over, yes I already know! He’s downstairs pouring tea like nothing happened!”

“Jim listen to me, your mother has no idea what levels of danger she is in. No matter what. do not let her drink the tea. I’m on my way with Angor Rot but I’m not sure how quickly we can get there. Stay safe, Young Atlas!”

“got it.”

Jim hangs up and slips the amulet into his pocket before heading back downstairs.

“Hey mom, I have this amazing drink I want you to-”

But Barbera is already drinking the tea with Mr. Takato. She looks over and smiles.

“Jim you have to try this! I don’t know what it is but there’s something about the tea Mr. Takato brought that’s amazing!”

Mr. Takato smiles and takes a sip of his cup, “it is a family recipe.”

Jim enters the dining room and that’s when Barbera passes out. Mr. Takato turns his head to Jim and his smile turns sinister.

“Don’t worry. It isn’t poison. Just a sedative.” He rises from his seat. “unfortunately, She will be horrified to awake and find her son’s bleeding body pinned to her table.”

Jim reaches into his pocket.

“oh really?”

Mr. Takato transforms and smiles, drawing his katana. Jim pulls out the amulet and begins to recite the incantation.

“For the glory of Merlin-”

Mr. Takato leaps forward and knocks the Amulet from his hand. it’s now a fight for survival as Jim tries to retrieve the amulet and also dodge the changeling’s attacks. He thankfully finds it and makes it up the stairs. He locks and barricades his bedroom door, and quickly summons his armor and sword. There is a chilling silence as Mr. Takato rises up the stairs. He can hear his claws scratching across the floor.

There is silence, and then Jim sees a blade slowly slipping through the crack of his door.

<found you> Mr. Takato hisses in trollish.

Jim braces himself for a fight as the katana slices through the door, and as the barricade is kicked down he tackles at the changeling. The two battle in the hallway and Jim kicks Mr. Takato down the stairs. Mr. Takato looks at him from the bottom of the stairs and narrows his eyes- wiping some dirt off his cheek.

Jim runs down the stairs and the fight continues, going from the dining room to the kitchen. Mr. Takato gets the upper hand and he is about to strike, when suddenly a third party tackles the changeling. The two crash through the backdoor, and Jim is shocked to see Bular head to head in a fight against Mr. Takato.

For a time the two swordsmen are locked in combat, but finally Bular is able to get Mr. Takato off of his feet. He grabs Mr. Takato by the legs and thrashes him about before tossing him miles away. Bular takes a few deep breaths before turning to Jim who is standing surprised in the doorway.

“Bular?!”

“I heard what you were trying to tell Vendel. I didn’t believe it at first, but I wasn’t going to risk some impure killing you if I was wrong. Such a thing should be my honor.”

“Uh... thanks?”

Jim lets Bular back inside and the massive troll lurks about until finding a place down in the basement.

“with Impure after your head, you will need protection. I shall take refuge here.”

“you sure?”

“I cannot return to Trollmarket. At least not until I reclaim my honor.”

“you don’t mean killing me, do you?”

“No. As fun as that would be, killing you would only further dishonor me by this point. If I have to stoop low enough to share housing with you to kill you in your sleep, then what kind of warrior would that make me?”

“Ah.”

Just then Jim hears the front door open and it’s Strickler and Angor Rot.

“Down in the basement, guys!”

Bular sits down beside the furnace and sharpens his swords while Jim explains what happened.

“It’s expected for a defeated warrior to find refuge in the home of the victor, but to take on Takato...!”

“hey, I mean, he’s cool now. I guess. I mean he did just save my life- so. It’s cool if he stays here. So long as my mom doesn’t see him.”

Jim takes a deep breath and stands.

“Speaking of her, you guys should get outta here. I can make up something for when she wakes up.”

Jim pauses at the door and looks down at the massive troll starting to curl up by the heater.

“hey Bular,”

Firey red eyes look up at him from the basement floor.

“Thanks.”

Meanwhile, Heimdrel is meeting with his master once more.

“My queen,” he bows, “I bring... unfortunate news. The boy discovered the bridge. We have since moved it, but he is becoming a nuisance. I will see to the bridge’s completion and the boy’s elimination, but I request aid. The Changelings are not enough. Bular has taken refuge in his home and has since become its protector.”

The Queen’s eyes narrow and Heimdrel continues, “I intend to summon a stalkling, but perhaps an extra set of eyes- trained to kill as I have- will supply the edge I require to bring the boy to a swift end.”

The Queen snaps and a crystal lands in Heimdrel’s hand. He looks it over and then back up to her.

“The... Beast? My queen, I do not question your judgement, but can he be trusted after all these centuries? After he aided in the liberation of the Assassin?”

“Aarghaumont is foolish. Years of isolation in that prison has broken him. Offer him his freedom, and he will do whatever it is you require. “

Heimdrel closes his hand on the crystal and bows.

“it shall be done, my queen.”

#Trollhunters #Dadswap AU #GUESS WHO'S COMING SOON #IT'S THE BOY

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