#the portal gun is a pain to draw

[tortellinibeanieweenie]

chell doodle

[cemeteryspider]

Family Fragments Part 1

Stanford Pines x Child! Reader

*No use of Y/n* *Fem Reader*

Summary: Flashback~ Ford must protect you, his innocent daughter, from becoming an unwilling pawn in the sinister schemes of an Interdimensional demon.

Trigger Warnings: Possession, Child Endangerment (thanks Bill), Psychological Manipulation, Mild Violence

Word Count: 1.1k

You shifted in your father's arms as he pushed through doors and walked through hallways from the basement of his shack in the woods into your room in the attic. You barely registered him tucking you into your bed and him kissing you on the forehead with his heavily chapped lips.

"Good night, Sweet pea," He whispered and the door clicked behind him. 

A loud tired sigh echoed in the short stairwell down to the foyer. The descent down the staircase was heavy and creaky and when he came to the door in the basement he widened his eyes and allowed the retinal scanner to scan his eye confirming he was not possessed by Bill. He couldn’t help the yawn that escaped his lips as he entered the basement, cluttered with half-finished devices- scattered wires and gears glinting under the dim flickering light bulb hanging overhead.The unfinished portal stood tall in front of him humming a just so a he felt a soft vibration through the soles of his shoes. 

He sat down at the workbench and resumed writing in the third journal. Drawing the new suit he was designing to keep Bill out of his mind for good, however there was the small problem of the brain he needed to complete the thing. However, his mind drifted to the mind erasing gun in the hand of the suit which reminded him of his old friend, who left him alone to work with his muse months ago. 

Then he heard a not so subtle knocking coming from upstairs. At first he thought it was some random drunk knocking at the door and letting the person get bored of the odd old cabin in the woods, but after a succinct series of thuds and a hushed laughter he decided to investigate.

He breathed a sigh of relief—at least Bill couldn't sneak his way down there, not without triggering the failsafes. But as he looked up, his heart stopped. There you were, standing in the foyer, eyes glowing an unnatural yellow and a smile far too wide for your little face. It was a sight so wrong, so unsettling, that Ford could barely bring himself to speak.

Your limbs jerked awkwardly, like a marionette pulled by unseen strings, controlled by a puppeteer who lacked all finesse, "Hey, sixer!"

He stood frozen for a moment. Bill's voice coming from your mouth where your sweet little voice should have been, he swallowed a lump in his throat and forced himself to speak, "What are you doing here Bill?" 

Bill grinned, twisting your lips into a mockery of a smile, "I just came by to see you and it seems as though you've taken certain... precautions to make sure I don't interrupt your research."

A chill went down Stanfords spine, his research into the Anti-Cipher Society, and the plans for the suit I had designed, "Let's talk face to face, Cipher. No need to bring my daughter into this."

"I suppose I could end our contract a bit earlier than I intended," And with that your eyes rolled into the back of your skull, and your scaleras the correct color once more. Quickly Ford ran toward you and stopped your descent before hitting the ground.

Bill floated around looking at the different furniture with great fascination, "What is wrong with you, she's just a child."

He cradled your head while you continued your sleep, "Yeah, quite a while since I made a deal with something so small, very difficult to control such small limbs. Painful falling down the stairs don't you think?"

His eyebrows rose and looked over your head moving your hair around, checking for any blood or bruising that could indicate a head wound or concussion.

Stop being such a stick in the mud, Sixer,' Bill sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. 'She’s perfectly fine…for now.' His tone darkened, and Ford’s blood ran cold as he watched Bill shift, his form flickering like a faulty lightbulb.

Ford clutched you tightly to his chest, his heart pounded erratically in his ribcage, "I think it's time for you to leave."

"Nothing more for me to do here, but just you wait I think I will see you again, real soon," With that the cabin seemed to gain its color back and you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes.

"Dad?" You whispered after a rather large yawn. He couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief at hearing your darling voice. His fingers trembled as they wrapped themselves around your small frame, almost as if you would slip right through his grasp into the nightmarish darkness Bill brought in. For a moment, he pressed his nose to the top of your head and breathed in your familiar scent, desperate to remind himself that you were here with him- still his little girl. A surge of guilt tightened his chest. 

"Everything's going to be okay, Sweet Pea just go back to sleep." And you did. For so long he had stayed awake for as long as possible trying to avoid Bill gaining control of his body he forgot about you. A child with little contact with the outside world, and how easily children can be persuaded by older wiser beings. Bill is a master manipulator and Ford practically opened the door to your mind by inviting him into his. 

Despite the distance he forced Bill to keep from you, he had been in his mind. Combed through his memories his happiest being with Stan in his earlier years, and with you in the present. You never were far from his thoughts and Bill knew his weak spot.

He could pull his own hair from his scalp at his own negligence, scream at the top of his lungs for the danger that he put you in, or cry at the worry he felt after learning of your tumble down the stairs caused by someone he once called his friend. However, he did none of those things.

Once he had tucked you in for a second time, Ford sank into the old chair beside your bed. The springs groan under his weight, the leather cracked and worn from years of use. He stared at you for a long moment, watching your chest rise and fall as you slept peacefully. It made his heart ache. How innocent you looked, under a heap of soft blankets, completely unaware of the danger that lurked just beyond your dreams. A dim lamp casting a light golden glow across the room that seemed like a fragile barrier against the dark shadow Bill Cipher cast on this night. 

Ford’s hand shook as he plucked a pen from your desk and opened the journal he had tucked in his coat pocket, the ink bleed slightly as he pressed it to the parchment. He wrote furiously, his mind racing with all sorts of plans, but one thought rang through: I can’t let him take her. Not my daughter.

[cheemscakecat]

Can’t find it, but I saw someone draw Fiddleford erasing Ford’s memory into goo and it gave me pain. Here’s my reasoning for why that didn’t happen/wouldn’t happen.

Fiddleford isn’t nearly as athletic as Ford. Now, there are probably Blind Eye members more capable of chasing after Stanford if they were trying to forcefully erase his memories, but that doesn’t mean they’d be successful. The man may be depriving himself of sleep, but he’s built up enough brute strength and endurance to escape. He made it home after collapsing in a truck stop parking lot, and managed to fight Stanley in the portal room.

The Blind Eye members wouldn’t know the layout of the forest and mountains as well as Ford. He spend years out by himself in nature, trying to drink in every detail. Even the members who know the forest because they grew up there haven’t looked at the forest the same way as him. These are people scared of the supernatural who willingly joined Fiddleford’s memory erasing cult. They aren’t going to be experts in Gravity Falls guerrilla warfare.

The memory gun eventually made the Blind Eye members forget who their founder was, and the forced use on the townsfolk made everyone stupider. The young people like Soos and Wendy haven’t had their minds erased as often, so they aren’t affected like the adult population. While pre-portal journey Ford would be up against the first generation of cultists before they forgot Fiddleford, I still feel like the effects of the memory gun would hamper their efforts to hunt him down. Especially if he goes into the mountains and woods full of creatures these cultists have been trying to forget.

Bill would be annoyed like a bratty toddler if Stanford lost his memories, so he’d oppose it too. Not out of care for the man [shipping them is extremely gross], but because he’s impatient to get that portal running, and takes too much delight in tormenting Ford. Knowing this group of people is afraid of the supernatural, should Ford be captured by the cult somehow, Bill would intimidate them into letting him go. Or beat them up using his body.

5. Ford was becoming aware of Fiddleford’s use of the memory gun before he left the project. He was already getting [rightfully] paranoid about Fidds before the reveal that Bill was evil, but that paranoia only got worse after the fact. He’s no coward about it; the man still went into town and was chasing Blind Eye members to try and find out who they were. But yes, Ford is smart and anxious enough to watch his back in town, in case the Blind Eye tried to get him.

6. Fiddleford wasn’t just the founder of the memory erasing cult, he was also the most addicted to using the machine on himself. Which explains why he lost his mind and became homeless so quickly, while the other members like Ivan are still sane enough to run the cult. Pre-portal journey would also be the time when memories about Bill were the freshest, so it’s safe to assume Fidds was using that ray on himself plenty. Even though both men were in a deteriorating metal state, Stanford was not as unwell or near the point of insanity.

7. Ford was always better at dealing with the stress of dangerous anomaly attacks and horror, which served him well in those thirty years beyond the portal. He also survived for 30 years while an outlaw, homeless, lost, and still at risk of possession [until he met the Oracle]. If it got bad enough in Gravity Falls and the cult was looking for him, Ford could survive in the wilderness just fine. Or escape to another town in Oregon or the surrounding states. But he’s probably return as soon as he thought they had given up to make sure the portal was secure.

8. For Ford to be turned into a shell of himself like in the drawing, he’d have to have something integral to his identity erased. Something like “the supernatural” or “weirdness” itself. But A. That would probably break the memory gun or require an hour’s worth of memory canisters. And B. That would so obviously send the poor guy back to when he was a toddler that Fidds would immediately realize he messed up. Why a toddler? Because he hadn’t met the bullies at school yet, and extended family would find him more cute than weird.

But yeah, if Ford started talking like a 3-4 year old who thought he’d been kidnapped, there’d be no way to argue that he’s okay. They’d have to try to sort through his dense paranormal memories in that pile of canisters, trying to undo the damage.

9. If they did mess up Ford’s mind that badly, Fidds would feel terrible about it and try to fix it. I imagine Stanley would be contacted using Ford’s old mail, and knock some sense into the cultists on his way to revive Stanford’s mind. And the erasure wouldn’t stop Bill from being terrible to Ford, so it would once again prove that Fidds was wrong to erase his mind in no uncertain terms.

10. Even at the height of his cult arc, I doubt Fiddleford would be so full of it/stupid that he erased “the paranormal” from Ford’s mind. They knew each other for years, he should know that it’s something Stanford cherishes, and has ever since he was a child. Which ultimately means there’s a nil chance of Ford getting lobotomies via memory gun, even with Blind Eye Fiddleford on the prowl.

So yeah, TDLR I must not be over that ancient AU where Dipper gets his entire mind wiped and the cult just keeps him like a servant. Kidnapped a 12 year old boy. [Ivan wasn’t that evil bro].

[chaotickasugaicrows]

Felt like talking about the Charm Warriors AU again. This time it's about some of the powers the gang has. Now we haven't finalized everyone's abilities but we got a couple for each, some more than others. Tanjirō has the most at the moment courtesy of Smol. If you need a refresher on their weapons and power bases, check this post

Inosuke

Inolocation: Inosuke yells and feels the sound waves that bounce off objects on his skin

Overgrowth: He throws bits of sand and dirt at the opponent, secretly mixing in seeds from the flowers in his magical flower crown. The seeds plant themselves in the opponent's body at the points they land. Then, at Inosuke’s command, they bloom and grow rapidly on and along the body. Takes a certain amount of control and precision to make sure the flowers don’t grow too wildly and potentially endanger teammates

Genya

Bullet Hell: Genya can create up to a thousand small portals at the very end of his gun to turn 1 shot into several. Takes a lot of concentration to create and position each portal. Can lead to severe mental exhaustion if used too many times within a short period

Iron Will: Genya can hold iron for up to 1 minute while transformed. Any longer and he has the same reaction as other Fae (the other boys just can’t handle iron at all while transformed)

Muichiro

Blinding mist: Mist can take away regular sight, can take away magical sight, can take away thermal vision, can take away sense of direction, or just be super thick mist that’s hard to see through

Storm Summon: using his silly string weapon Mui can draw the kanji for rain, waves, tsunami, storm, hail, ice, etc and then summon that

Puppet Master: Using silly string like puppet strings. If they remain unnoticed for 30 seconds then the strings will gradually become very fine. The string will then sink into the target’s skin where they were once bound. Once that’s done, Muichiro is free to use the strings to manipulate the target’s body as he pleases. If this move cannot be fully executed, it can transition into Binding String.

Binding String: Silly string surrounds the target and hardens like concrete. Solidifies at Mui’s command and requires concentration to keep solid. Mui’s tutors taught him a technique that uses his magic to increase the maximum amount of time his brain is able to concentrate. Since it relies on him having a lot of magic stored up, Muichiro trains to expand the magical reserve in his body and to absorb a bit of magic from his surroundings. Magic absorbed into the body (specifically, a body made to contain magic like Fae or the half Fae things the boys have become) must be guided into the reserve while avoiding any of the body’s major organs. Mistakes can be extremely painful and too much foreign magic hitting an organ can cause genuine damage. This ability can be used to stick two things together if Mui wants or can be used to make casts for broken bones.

Zenitsu

Sight of Sound: With a lot of concentration, Zen is able to visualize sound waves for a short amount of time. If he uses more mental effort he’s able to focus in on a specific one. It has a very wide range.

Lightning Speed: Zen is able to travel along sound waves at the speed of lightning. Traveling with this method for too long will result in disorientation for up to 2 minutes (Zen learned that the hard way).

Song of the Stars: Zen plays a variety of hypnotic songs using the feathers of his wing ears (and sometimes his own low hums) and imbues the sound with magic. Every time he plays one, the star charms on his body glow faintly. Different songs come with different effects, but each song needs to be played out in full for the effects to work as intended. The songs are Fae songs that he has learned and mastered. He is strictly advised not to play songs he hasn’t mastered or else it will backfire and place a curse on him. Though, in a moment of desperation, he tried to play a song he was in the midst of learning. Since he had yet to fully master the song, he played it wrong, and was instead marked. A spade on his left cheek, the symbol of power, of freezing winters, and of bloody wars. The more he feeds into his wrath, the stronger the mark becomes. As it grows in strength it will increase in opacity until it’s an inky abyssal mass that mars his face. With every increase in strength Zen will feel more power coursing through his veins, he will gain urges for violence that will only grow in intensity, and he will step closer to death’s door. (Blame Lilith for the curse aspect.)

Tanjirō

Cleansing Fire: Attacks something that doesn't belong in the body. It's good for infections, diseases, poisons, and cancer but useless for broken bones, internal bleeding, etc. Also removes curses or, if the curse is too strong, reduces its effects or temporarily relieves the affected from the curse. (You think, I, Smol, would let Zenitsu be cursed without having someone else be able to help him? Also Tanjurō is sick so Tanjirō can help his dad too. Win win.)

Prism: A state that affects Tanji’s entire body. He appears very crystal/diamond like in this state. Magical abilities that hit him get absorbed and reflected back. He can either automatically reflect it back or hold it for 30 seconds so that he can redirect it to wherever. Mainly uses frying pan to redirect but can also use hands or feet. No matter what magic hits him, it’s always reflected back as a high powered beam of energy (the beam is always a fraction more powerful than the original magic).

Kaleidoscope Shield: Extremely defensive, whatever hits it (be it magical or physical attacks) gets reflected many times within the structure and therefore the magical or physical energy is dispersed. Shields have the pretty colorful blooming symmetrical pattern, they look crystal-like. In the beginning uses his frying pan as the shield, later can create multiple copies and larger ones (still in the shape of a frying pan).

Mirror: After a significant amount of time analyzing someone’s fighting style or a general skill (they have to be doing the same general thing the entire time), Tanji can activate his ability which will use magic to fill in the rest of the details and allow him to mirror that fighting style or skill exactly (he does not gain the knowledge of how).

Kamado Charm (joke by others): Includes uncanny ability to incite self reflection by pinpointing the issue that's bothering someone else, the uncanny ability to always say the right thing to comfort other people, inability for anyone decent to hate him for long. Also includes (according to Zen) the ability to be unreasonably good looking and to have the prettiest melody he has ever heard in his life.

[aealzx]

Better Genes part 29.1

Part 1 of 3 extra, illustrated writing additions to the Better Genes comic.

Takes place between page 29 and 30.

Contains: Use of sedatives, character injury, blood, TV Medicine, TV Science, panic attack, mutation body horror, injured eye, severely sprained ankle, overall body pain

Comic: Start     pg 26-29  

Writing:  Part 2    Part 3

____________

I got a couple comments about being excited for monster Donnie content (despite mentioning that there wasn’t going to be much) and felt kind of bad for not having much. ;v; There was no way I was going to add another 30 pages or more to the comic though, especially since I’ve never even tried to do fight scenes in comic form before. X’D

So instead I wrote 8 pages and drew 3 more flat colored pics as a sort of middle ground.

Talking with my platonic waifu, since the comic is on tumblr I’m also going to put the writing on tumblr instead of AO3 despite it being long because cross platform content can be annoying. Everything will be split into 3 posts, underneath a read more break to hopefully not stretch the screen a horrendous amount.

____________

(Story and drawing under the cut)

With a quick swish of his temporarily manifested blade, Leo opened a portal to the part of the sewers that was a short distance from where he’d sent Donnie. He didn’t want to pop in right next to him and startle him into attacking them after all. It would be better if they could sneak up on him and pop a few rounds of sedatives into him first. Unfortunately, when Leo stepped through the portal he was greeted with Casey’s back coming in hot directly at his face, having gotten bodily launched across the sewer tunnel by Donnie’s clawed hand. With a startled, halfway muffled yelp, Leo dodged to the side slightly and flung an arm up quick enough to catch Casey and help him regain his footing instead of crashing into the others filtering through the portal as well.

“Alright there Case?” Leo asked with a forced grin, trying to remain optimistic despite the scene before him being the unwanted route. So much for sneaking up on their brother.

“Sorry Master-! Ah… Sorry Leo. He noticed we were following him and got angry,” Casey babbled hurriedly. His upbringing made him quick to give an update on the situation, which also ended up answering Leo’s unasked question about what had ticked Donnie off.

“Yeah, that sounds like Donnie,” Leo chuckled, removing his hand from supporting Casey now that he had his balance back. “He always was quick to lash out when we got in his space when he didn't want us there. Too bad it’s time for his medicine, so we can’t give into his cranky wishes for alone time,” he added dramatically, gesturing to the injection pens Mikey had now that he and April had joined them as well. “We got the antibodies, so we’re ready to take him down and bring him back home. Thanks for sticking it out until now.”

Casey’s expression turned into a sheepish yet grateful smile, but before he could respond Raph’s bellowing voice echoed through the tunnel from close by.

“LEO! You didn’t mention he’d grown another meter!” Raph complained emphatically as he was grappling Donnie’s mutated mouth with ninpo covered hands. He didn’t fancy getting bitten by Donnie’s new set of fangs, considering his original set of teeth already did enough damage when he was legitimately angry. And if Raph knew anything about Donnie’s levels of anger, then he would guess Donnie was beyond pissed at the moment. That combined with his new size made grappling him a losing battle, Raph’s heels dragging paths in the dirt as he was shoved backwards.

“I figured that was rather self explanatory considering what he got infected from,” Leo sassed back, loading one of the sedative darts into the gun and taking aim. He was hesitant to fire with Raph directly in the path, but luckily for both of them a quick snap from Splinter’s tail saved Raph from being Donnie’s new chew toy. The forward momentum was broken, and Raph quickly opened his hands as Donnie’s head was knocked to the side.

As April rushed forward, her name belted from her lips, Leo figured he should pass a word of caution to them all just so it would be explicitly known. “Try not to piss him off too much please. We need him rather still for Mikey to administer the antibodies,” he warned, pulling the trigger on the tranquilizer gun when he felt he wasn't going to hit anyone but the intended target. He ended up wincing in apology the dart smacked Donnie in the side of the nose, causing him to recoil slightly from the sting before shaking the dart dart off and turning to snarl at Leo.

“...Maybe you shouldn’t shoot him in the face then,” Casey commented lightly with a weak chuckle, a slight tease, and an analytical pause for an opening before he ran forward to join the fray once more.

“Okay, so aiming in real life is a lot different from video games,” Leo defended with a sheepish shrug. Donnie apparently thought that was enough of an offense to warrant revenge, for he started to charge towards Leo, causing him to start backing up. “Mikey, I need a weight estimate.”

“Got it!” Mikey chirped, securing the injection pens into his belts and darting forward to dash towards Donnie before feinting to the side. Considering Donnie was way too tall for him to grapple anything but his arms or legs now, Mikey had coiling chains wrap around Donnie’s middle as additional ones helped fling him overhead. Twisting in the air, Mikey latched onto the handholds he’d created and used them and his momentum to heave Donnie into a rather gentle toss a few meters away. “Uhhhh….He’s kinda like one of those tiny smart car things?” Mikey called back to Leo after landing on his feet again in a crouch. “When do I start poking him?”

A smart car? That was a weird comparison. But it actually made sense when Leo remembered Mikey’s usual choice of throwing arsenal. But that definitely wasn’t something he knew the weight of by memory. Which meant he was digging his phone out of his shell for a quick internet look up. “As soon as you’re confident you can hold it in place for 8 seconds,” Leo answered, half distracted by the phone. About 700 kilograms? Well, it was better than a complete guess. He’d just have to play on the safe side and maybe do one or two doses less than calculated for that weight. Loading another sedative dart as he calculated the maximum quantity he was allowed to use in his head, he tried to push away the usual second guessing his brain did. Based on the tests he’d done in Donnie’s lab with the left over blood sample, the mutated physique caused him to have a slightly accelerated metabolism rate with the sedatives, and therefore he should be able to safely use 8 darts before he risked an overdose. Now that he had a set number Leo raised the gun and fired another dart, stabbing Donnie in the crook of his shoulder. 

That made two.

This felt too slow. Half of his team was already worn down somewhat, and he was taking too long to aim and wait for an opening with all of them swarming around Donnie like flies on old cheese. Every time they tried to break away from him though he was immediately lashing out at one of them, causing the others to rush back in to support. Sliding another dart into the gun’s slot, Leo started walking towards his brother, hoping that closing the distance would make it easier and faster to hit him with more sedatives. It would also be great if he didn’t have to reload the gun after every single shot. But Donnie apparently hadn’t made the gun for rapid fire. Unusual for him honestly. Taking aim, Leo’s focus was split as he pulled the trigger when Raph gave an unusually pain filled yelp. Donnie’s new tail had caught him in the side of the head, close enough to the tunnel wall to bounce him off the surface slightly. It was enough to cause Leo to suck in a tense breath, knowing that Raph’s scar was fragile, and look towards him before the trigger was fully pulled. Consequently, the third shot ended up missing, crashing into the opposite wall and probably snapping the needle. That was fine. That’s why they filled an excessive amount of darts. There were more important issues at the moment.

“Raph?” Leo called in a nervous question, seeing his older brother pushing a palm against his right eye.

“I’m okay!” Raph assured, keeping his palm in place until the sting subsided, then pulled his hand away. While he checked to see if there was any blood on his fingers, Donnie’s back foot knocked him over and ended up using him as a pedestal to stand on while he avoided April’s swinging bat. Raph’s breath left him in a huff, and he wrapped his arms around Donnie’s toes to try and relieve the pressure on his chest.

Figuring he should help Raph out, Leo dashed forward as Mikey lept into a split arc over the top of Donnie, apparently having the same goal. Splinter was focused on keeping Donnie from hurting the others, knocking his clawed hand away when he swiped at April. “Boy! You better watch where you're swinging those!” April hollered, having ducked and shielded her head before realizing Splinter had protected her.

“Try not to hurt him too much, it’s still Donnie!” Leo hollered in return, rushing to dive underneath Donnie in a slide while also pointing the tranquilizer gun at him half blindly and pulling the trigger while barely missing getting swatted instead. Being this close to him it would be hard to miss. Or at least he hoped as such. But he also needed to check and make sure Raph was okay. Skidding to a stop next to Raph, Leo allowed Raph to use his ninpo to shove Donnie’s foot off himself before he took a glancing look at his squinting eye.

[msweebyness]

Mirrorverse Crossover- What Happened Before…

Here’s a special from ya girl, Weeby! I figured we could use a little expansion on Sparky’s intro to the AU, and thanks so much to him for helping with this! Enjoy! @artzychic27 @imsparky2002

The heroes all stood, gathered around IsmaGenie as he prepared to grant Max’s wish, to see alternative versions of themselves from another world, like had happened to a hero of one of his comics. Whatever happened, it would surely be…interesting!

“Alright, is everyone ready?”, the blue-skinned genie asked, and at the nods from his companions, clapped his hands together, igniting a bright flash.

A portal suddenly opened up over the ceiling, and a certain wicked group of teens were dropped through it onto the floor, shouting and cursing at their painful landing.

“What the devil?!”, Mari DeVil shrieked, fretting as attempted to sort out her now ruffled fur coat.

“Again! AGAIN!”, MimRore squealed, clapping her hands and giggling maniacally as her friends gave her looks of annoyance.

“Where in the Sam Hill are we?”, Ivan Oogie groused, rubbing his head, which he had smacked on the floor as Mylensula fussed over him.

“Um, better question: Who in blazes are they?”, YzAlya piped up, pointing and drawing the other villains’ attention to the heroes, both groups just staring at each other.

“Why does that one dude have so much hair?”, Honest Nino whispered to IsmaScar, his eyes focused on Adripunzel, who was nervously messing with his long braid.

“Jeez, that one has to be like ten feet tall!”, Mireides muttered to her girlfriend, gawking at Demolition Denise.

“I feel the inexplicably strong urge to put a curse on that redhead.”, Juleficent said to QRC, her eyes narrowing as she looked at a nervous Sleeping Nath. The dark fae witch then yelped as her scepter was suddenly coated in ice beneath her fingers.

“Unless you want to have the worst case of frostbite you could even imagine experiencing, I’d suggest you leave Nathaniel alone.”, MarcElsa said darkly, summoning a barrage of icicles to his hand. A few of the villains nervously backed away.

“Looks like some of ‘em got a little magic of their own…”, Doctor Cabello mused.

“Marc, hold on.”, said Snow Mylene, gently placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder, “Let’s not jump to violence. What she said was out of line, yes, but they weren’t expecting to be brought here. Maybe they’re just a bit confused.”

This earned her a sneer of disgust from the sea witch, before IsmaGenie stepped up and explained the whole situation to the villains, the whole ‘Alternate-Universe-Counterparts’ thing. The villains looked the heroes over with varying degrees of disbelief and disgust. They were do-gooders in this world? How revolting!

“WAIT, WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT THING?!”, Kimton suddenly shouted, pointing at Julebeast, and looking at her fur, horns and claws with utter revulsion.

“A person, asshole.”, the beastly princess snarled, showing off her sharp teeth as she glared at the hunter, who tried to appear as if he wasn’t intimidated. QuasiIvan stepped up and put a bracing hand on his best friend’s shoulder.

“Ignore him, Jules. He's obviously an idiot who doesn't think before he speaks.”, the bulky teen placated, pointedly ignoring the looks of disgust he was getting from King Marc and some of the other more vain villains.

“Who needs brains when you have guns like these?”, Kimton said smugly, flexing his arms with an arrogant grin. LeOnDine swooned, while the heroes could only watch in disbelief. This was the Kim of the other world?

“Gods, ego much?”, Kimules scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest (without meaning to, showing off that they were respectively buffer and broader than his counterpart’s) with annoyance. But at that moment his attention was caught by his girlfriend, who seemed to be having some trouble breathing as she stared at a certain villain who was bringing back unpleasant memories from the recent past.

As the young demigod tried to help the mermaid calm down, it was then that her condition was noticed by the villains, who saw the opportunity to strike. Mylensula noticed it seemed to be her the princess was afraid of, and gained a particularly wicked grin.

“Oh, whatever’s the matter, little mermaid? You’ve hardly said a word. Speak up! I'm sure you have a lovely voice.”, the sea witch said in a taunting cadence, fingering the shell necklace draped over her collar, which was starting to glow…only to yelp when there was suddenly an arrow pointing at her face.

“Leave her be, witch.”, Kagamerida said darkly, her eyes like flint as she glared at Mylensula, until Ivan Oogie stepped protectively in front of her and glared, which failed to intimidate the diminutive-statured princess in the slightest.

“Alright.”, BluRore piped up, “Let’s try to keep some semblance of civility here. We’re young adults, there’s no need for this nonsense.”, earning nods from the heroes and scoffs from the villains.

Madame Sabrina sneered in disgust as she looked over the group of heroes, her eyes finally coming to rest on the heroic Ismael, who met her glare head on with a quirked eyebrow.

“Why does one of your friends look like an oversized smurf?”, the purple-clad redhead demanded, pointing a manicured nail at the young genie.

“Why does one of your friends look like the lovechild of a burlap sack and the Pilsbury Doughboy?”, Aladdix sniped right back, leaving the villains agape, one in particular.

“WHY YOU LITTLE-”, Ivan Oogie started to shout, only for Mylensula to jump in and comfort him.

“Don’t listen to her, Spookyboo. You’re the most terrifyingly attractive man in the world in my eyes, and you always will be.”, she cooed, and much to the heroes’ discomfort and the villains’ resigned annoyance, the two began making out.

“Okay…can we PLEASE just try to have a normal, non-confrontational conversation here?”, BluRore said in exasperation, placing her head in her hands.

“And just what makes you think you can tell us what to do, Pixie Prick?”, Alix Khan snarled, stalking towards the fairy. Only to be stopped in her tracks by Miremba stepping in front of her girlfriend.

“Back off, runt.”, the royal lioness growled, and the two bared their teeth at each other.

“Alright, that’s just about enough!”, TiAlya called out, “Now, I’ll tell y’all what’s gonna happen. There ain’t gonna be any more insults, or any more fightin’. We’ll take it slow, one at a time, and we’ll sit down and get to know each other! Now, doesn’t that sound nice?”, she spoke in her “Mom Tone” which left no room for argument.

“And what if we refuse?”, Nath of Hearts snarled, reaching for his dagger, only to yelp when an arrow pierced the wall just to the side of his head, “Understood.”

“Alright…let’s get started! Who wants to go first?”, Fairy GodBro said with a nervous smile.

And there you have it! Leave your thoughts in the comments and reblogs!

[sonichaunt]

Don't have a lot of time to do anything more than sketches rn, but I felt like drawing one of the new kids on the block (aka one of the new STH rewrite bosses). Some rewrite spoilers and some of my heroes headcanons, I suppose: Shadow android "gold" is a new boss introduced to 'flesh' out the whole concept of the shadow androids in the game. More lore about its creation below, if you want.

In Sonic Heroes, Eggman has Shadow captured, being Geralt's greatest creation and legacy, as well as a good way to deal with Sonic, Eggman feels Shadow is something he's owned/belongs at his side obeying him (this is based on dialogue from Eggman and the way he treats Shadow in STH05). After Eggman failed to reach Geralt's level of bio-engineering genius despite having shadow in his possession to study, and failed in altering shadow's mind to be loyal to him (yes, eggman was a factor why shadow has amnesia, more on that later) he decided he'd for the time being just create new Shadows from the ground up, it give him a good alternative and maybe it would help him understand his grandfather's design more. But how does one get that amount of chaos energy inside a living creature without it going horribly wrong (see biolizard)? Well you need some special DNA and assistance of this alien immortal "god" thing ofc- but Eggman would not know this. But what he does know is robots fix the need for something silly like supporting life functions and pain, so androids it is. Eggman figures Geralt's chaos drive research might be the key to make it work, that's going to be the power source. Experimenting with it he creates Omega (who in canon is powered by chaos drives, not an animal) a robot able to match shadow's power. While this is just the stepping stone to the shadow android, Omega is a good way to recapture shadow if he'd ever get free, so is tasked with guarding the original. (This is also Omega's canon function)

However what works for Omega doesn't work for the Shadow androids, he needs something extra to make it all work. How did Geralt do it? He goes back to the bio-lizard notes, it was based on Chaos, just like- Artificial chaos! I believe that his study of the Artificial chaos is what helps him come up with the "liquid metal" that Neo metal sonic is coated in to give him the new form. Eggman starts basing this new Shadow android design on metal sonic and this new metal. The first prototypes, which would be mass produced by Metal later, are far from perfect, which is why shadow takes them out no problem in his game later. However, likely after Heroes now that Metal Sonic is temporarily benched for his actions, Eggman creates a new set of Androids (these will all be based on the STH05 multiplayer designs). He starts with 4 variations, metallic looking body and replacing Shadow's signature red with Green, Pink, Blue and orange accents, with the ability to morph one of their arms into a weapon. The final shadow android he creates will not have this metal design, but instead look like shadow if not for the golden accents. How is he able to finally get this done? Because, Sonic battle happens after STH05 on the canon timeline, and Eggman having a direct portal into the Gun's cyberspace network (we know this because exiting this level in STH05 puts Shadow in Eggman's computer room, which is something the rewrite will also explain ofc) gives him access to even more of GUN's data on Geralt, including the Gizoid data. And thus the GOLD prototype is created, this android has a much better control of his chaos abilities while retaining the ability of the special metal to morph. Meaning this one is an actual challenge for Shadow, as well as something that makes him doubt if he might be an android after all, something that the inferior models really shouldn't have accomplished, they were nowhere near his level. Phase 1 of the boss fight will feature the regular appearance with the exception of the arm being able to morph for special attacks. in phase 2, after damaging it in the boss fight, the body will shift to the more metal appearance and make cracks appear on its body where chaos energy starts slipping through as the integrity of the body fails to contain it. What more happens with this Gold android? This post is already long, so I guess more on that later. Feel free to let me know what you think. I also opened asks, though I probably can only respond with text and only respond with doodles when I have more time in November. Bye for now.

[reader-writer-combo]

What if they met my cannon Roland?

I got this idea while drawing Mason by @villiun and Melo by @okkistoops, characters for the Blank Scripts self insert event by @blackkatdraws.

What if Melo and Mason met my cannon Roland and not the Roland found by Narrator [Black]?

Well....

~~~~

Canon Roland = C!Roland

Black Scripts Roland = BS!Roland

~~~~

It had been a long time since the janitors had come into The Parable, each of them now comfortable in each other's company. Joesph had been sent back to his room due to falling sick from overexherting himself. The others tried their best to warn Joseph to be careful, but he didn't listen. Melo leaned back while he listened to Mason talk about the strange growth of different extra bones or muscles he had from time to time.... And how today was one of those days.

Mason sighed, covering the mouth that had grown into his arm. He knew that it'll go away, after a few "resets" as Black refers, but it still hurts whenever it did happened. Still, despite the pain, he was glad that the others were comfortable enough to allow him to sit with them. He didn't like to suffer in his lonesome anyways...

The two janitors on the clock turned their heads when they heard the door swing open and an aggrevated voice floated to their ears. Mason and Melo fell silent. This was not Roland... Not theirs at least.

Roland was always clean shaven and he for sure didn't own a gray pinstripe suit set. The strange man paused before he stepped into the yellowed office space. His brow furrowed and he ended the call. "What is this?" He looked around with cold hazel eyes. "You aren't the people I'm meeting with." He reached behind him.

Melo and Mason put their hands up, knowing that guesture well. "Wait!" Mason exclaimed, wincing as he covered his arm with a blanket nearby. "W-who are you? What are you doing here?"

The mysterious male looked down his nose at the two of them and pulled his hand away from the gun that rested at the small of his back. They aren't any threat... this is an office, after all... He watched the other two relax. "My name is Roland Watchforth. I came here for a meeting with someone."

Mason and Melo flinched when C!Roland spoke. He spoke with authority, unlike BS!Roland, who spoke quietly with a nervous smile. This... Roland... was very strange. He was formal and dressed like a business man...

Melo squinted at C!Roland from behind his hair. He noticed that this man... this version of Roland, looked like he had regret and focus written all over his face. He looked much more exhausted than the Roland they knew... and the world behind him was a city with things he and the other janitors for sure wouldn't recognize.

Mason sighed. Everyone who lived within The Parable knew that sometimes portals would open across the world and across dimensions... but it was still jarring what these portals would bring. "W-well, Mr. Watchforth.. Our world is strange and sometimes it drags random people across... everywhere... into our office..." Mason gulped as he felt the mouth on his arm bite his hand. "You should be able to fix it by shutting the door and opening it again."

C!Roland squinted at Mason then sighed. "Thank you for this information.... I apologize for intruding on your meeting." C!Roland grasped the door and shut it with a light slam. What a strange world....

Melo and Mason looked at each other with a sigh. Could The Parable maybe not try to lure themselves from alternative dimensions here? When they heard the hurried footsteps and a knock on the door, they smiled when BS!Roland stumbled in. "Hi- hi! Sorry I'm late!" BS!Roland wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "I-I couldn't find my nametag."

Mason winced and pulled his, now bleeding, hand away from the mouth on his arm. "D-don't worry, Roland. You didn't miss too much anyways." Melo nodded and grabbed a paper off the table to begin folding.

BS!Roland exhaled and rubbed his neck. "I-is Joseph sick again?" The other two nodded.

The three of them shook thier heads. "We told him he would get sick." They stated at the same time. The three men looked at each other and laughed. They waited a little bit longer for Mason's pain to subside before they left the office to go and clean and patch up The Parable.

[systemadministratorclu]

🌌- Their alternate universe self

A portal opens in front of Milo and Lyle and out falls canon Rourke. The portal closes behind him, he's in the middle of nowhere with these two.

All three men are, understandably, very confused, each for his own reason.

For Milo, it's because there are now two Rourkes, though it's easy to tell them apart, seeing as only one wears an Atlantean crystal and has a Heart of Atlantis tattoo that covers his entire right shoulder. And only one looks at him with warm, loving eyes. The other has a gaze that chills Milo to his very core. There is nothing but hate in those cold, dark eyes that look at him like a wolf waiting to devour its helpless prey.

For Lyle, it is the instant recognition of who the stranger is. Or at least the recognition that it's some other version of him. This of course leads him to wonder where this version came from and why he's here. Neither he nor Milo asks how the man ended up here, they both have a feeling they know. Lyle feels the hairs on his neck stand up as he looks at the other him. There's a sense of coldness, of ice to him, and Lyle doesn't like the way this creep is looking at Milo like a piece of meat.

Surprisingly, it is the stranger whose confusion is gone first. Of course he wondered where he was and how he got here, and why there was a copy of him here. But those thoughts have been pushed aside for the moment. Because he has acquired a target. His sight seems to laser focus on the one who stands in his way. The one who ruined his plans AND escaped his wrath. Not this time, Mr. Thatch, he thinks, his body coiling up like a cobra preparing to attack.

And then, like lightning, he strikes.

Milo has no time to even blink as the immense weight slams him to the ground, driving the wind from him. He's barely noticed that when the barrage of fists begins and doesn't stop. He manages to regain enough of his breath to cry out in pain, both from the blows and the enormous weight crushing him into the ground. He can't see, and he's not sure if he's lost his glasses or if he's just disoriented from the merciless assault on his face. Ordinarily, Milo is a good fighter, he has even beaten Lyle in some of their training bouts. But this man is nothing like Lyle, despite looking like him. Milo realizes this....this berserker Rourke...isn't looking for a fight. He's hellbent on a kill. And Milo's mind is unable to make his body even begin to try and find an escape or a defense fast enough.

Milo is scared now. He's going to die.

The stranger has a mad, almost giddy look in his eyes, even as he pummels his helpless victim into the ground. He sees blood but it's not his so it only encourages him. He wants to draw more of it. He is so focused on his mission to kill Milo, he has made one grave error. He has forgotten about his other self.

Lyle is just as shocked as Milo. But he quickly becomes as focused as the stranger. Suddenly, he no longer gives a rat's hairy ass who the stranger is or why he's here. Lyle cares only about one thing.

The stranger hurt Milo. Is still hurting him. And Lyle knows Milo's skill enough to realize Milo isn't fighting back....because he can't. Milo's cry of pain is like a starter gun going off for a runner, and Lyle strikes just as fast as his counterpart.

"GET THE FUCK OFF HIM!!" He roars as he throws the stranger back, away from Milo. Lyle then puts himself between the two. He fights everything within him that wants to just run to Milo's side. He can't. Not until the threat to Milo is gone. Not until he ensures that Milo is safe from further harm. He does steal a glance at Milo and sees him just lay there, not moving, and now he wants even more to run to Milo's side. Instead, he uses that desire to fuel his fight as he rounds on the stranger.

He doesn't worry about techniques or strategy or anything else. He just wants this fight over as quickly as possible. And just as the stranger did to Milo, Lyle now does to him. Fists and feet fly in a never-ending torrent of motion. It's all a blur to Lyle, until finally, he somehow knocks the other him unconscious, and it's clear the newcomer won't be getting up for a while.

Lyle then gives in to his desire, running over and dropping to his knees.

"Ohh Milo." He gasps at the injuries as tears spring to his eyes and he sweeps Milo into his arms and just holds him for a moment, telling him he's safe now as he checks the rest of Milo's body to see if he's hurt anywhere besides his face, where he definitely has a broken nose and probably other bones, too. It's too serious for him to just heal it with his crystal, though he does use that on any cuts or scrapes he sees, so they don't get infected. The rest, unfortunately, will require actual medical help. For now, Lyle just gently dries Milo's tears as he heals some more cuts. Milo just whimpers softly in pain.

"It's alright, Mi, you'll be okay. You're gonna be okay." He puts Milo's glasses back in place as best he can, then gently brushes Milo's hair back and gives him a soft kiss on his forehead.

Milo sucks in an enormous breath as the crazed beast is pulled off him. He hears Lyle's voice, then the sounds of the two fighting.....he's barely conscious and everything hurts so much. Then Lyle is there beside him, now he's in Lyle's arms. He winces because everything hurts, even at Lyle's soft touch. He knows Lyle is trying hard not to hurt him more or cause him any more pain. But the backs of his shoulders were scraped up by the ground where he'd been slammed into it (his tank top appears to have spared the rest of his back, but these wounds still look more serious than Lyle feels comfortable trying to heal with the crystal). Lyle sets him down only so he can take off his own tank top, roll it up, and slip it inside the straps of Milo's so it covers the backs of his shoulders. It's not going to help the wounds much, but it might spare Milo even a little pain from having the area touched as Lyle stands up with Milo cradled against his chest. He looks back at the spatters of Milo's blood on the ground and his unconscious other self, but doesn't really care. Sure he probably could've finished him off for good, but Lyle is not a murderer and to him it's more important he gets Milo to safety and gets him help for his injuries. He does utter a curse in Atlantean before he stalks off, holding Milo close, telling him he loves him, among other words of comfort, as he carries Milo away from the scene of the fight.

//this got way longer than I thought it would. Sorry not sorry!!//

[anonymousewrites]

Portal to My Heart (Book 1.5) Chapter Sixteen

Loki x Reader

Chapter Sixteen: Out of Fire

Summary: The final battle against Hela begins.

            Bruce kept control of The Commodore as it came to hover over the Bifrost. Behind him, (Y/N) set up the gun, and Valkyrie emerged in her traditional uniform. She was back in Asgard and ready to defend her people in true Valkyrie-fashion. She refused to cower any longer. (Y/N) nodded at her in understanding, and Valkyrie responded in kind. She pushed the gun forward with her hips as Thor banged Odin’s staff, and the sound resonated across Asgard. As soon as Hela entered the palace, the battle would begin. They needed to be ready.

            Bang.

            Bang.

            Bang.

            Silence.

            Hela had arrived.

            “Guys, the Bifrost,” warned (Y/N).

            As the people and Heimdall hesitantly stepped onto the bridge, they were met with Fenris, Hela’s gigantic wolf, standing over the building with the portal that could get them off Asgard and to safety.

            “Let’s put down that dog,” said (Y/N).

            Valkyrie smirked. “Yes, your Majesty.”

            (Y/N) pretended not to hear the disguised jab at her and Loki’s supposed “relationship.” “Just shoot the thing.”

            Valkyrie grinned and let loose on the wolf as it ran at the evacuees who were scrambling back. At the other end of the bridge, however, Hela’s undead soldiers were arriving to create a barrier. The Asgardians were pinned in place. The creatures snarled and attacked, and the battle truly began on all fronts.

            Fenris growled and shook its head, unimpeded by the barrage of fire, merely annoyed.

            “That stupid dog won’t die!” said Valkyrie.

            Bruce solemnly got up from his seat and walked over to the open doors. He watched Fenris run at Heimdall as he guarded the Asgardians.

            “Everything’s gonna be alright now. I got this,” said Bruce to (Y/N) and Valkyrie bravely. Valkyrie looked at him in confusion. “You want to know who I am?”

            “What the hell are you talking about?” said Valkyrie over the wind.

            “You’ll see!” Bruce leapt from The Commodore.

            And he promptly smacked onto the Bifrost.

            Everyone stared, and even Fenris came up short. (Y/N) winced at the sound of impact. Fenris sniffed Bruce curiously before snarling and padding over him toward the Asgardians again. Right before he snapped up anyone, Fenris was sharply pulled back.

            The Hulk pulled Fenris back and slammed him down on the Bifrost by the tail. Fenris snarled, and Hulk roared.

            “…What the hell,” said Valkyrie, staring at surprise.

            “It’s a long story of science gone wrong,” said (Y/N), waving a hand. A portal appeared beside her. “I’m going down to help the Asgardians. See ya.” She jumped through and landed beside Heimdall.

            “Lady (Y/N),” said Heimdall, inclining his head.

            “Heimdall.” (Y/N) nodded in return. “Sorry about the whole ‘getting fired’ thing.”

            “You ruled well,” acknowledged Heimdall. “And Ragnarok would have come at some point either way.”

            “I guess we should work on fighting it, then,” said (Y/N), drawing a dagger.

            Heimdall and (Y/N) charged through the crowd and began taking down undead warriors as they attacked Asgardians. Behind them, Hulk fought Fenris, and Valkyrie against undead warriors that leapt onto The Commodore. The ship spiraled and crashed to the Bifrost.

            Heimdall and (Y/N) were swarmed with undead warriors, and Heimdall was knocked to his back as he took down several in a single swing. He rolled back and defended himself from the onslaught. (Y/N) leapt through portals and sent enemies through them into the oceans of Asgard, but a cut to her arm had her hiss in pain and pivoting awkwardly, falling to avoid another stab. The undead warrior raised his blade.

            Blam!

            He toppled to the side, and a man made of rocks carrying a phaser stood over her. He grinned in a friendly manner.

            “Hey, man. I’m Korg.” He gestured to the insect-like creature with swords for hands. “This is Miek. We’re gonna jump on that spaceship and get out of here. Wanna come?”

            (Y/N) stood and stared to the side where a ship was emerging through the mist. The Asgardians and Heimdall turned as well. (Y/N)’s heart leapt to life, and a grin spread across her face.

            “Your savior is here!” announced Loki as he stood upon the ship. Behind him were all the revolutionaries of Sakaar. (Y/N)’s eyes remained firmly on Loki. He wore a circlet with his horns instead of an entire helmet. He looked strong and powerful, but more importantly, he looked like he had a purpose.

            He came to help, thought (Y/N) happily.

            The ship pulled up beside the Bifrost, and the gangplank extended. Loki confidently walked down and through the crowd while they started getting onboard their rescue ship.

            “Welcome back. I saw you coming,” said Heimdall in greeting as Korg and Miek handled the undead for the moment.

            “Of course you did,” sighed Loki. He entrance was ruin.

            “Loki!” said (Y/N), hands on her hips.

            “(Y/N),” said Loki. “I have arrived to assist you. You were rig—”

            (Y/N) slapped him before hugging him. Loki blinked in surprise but, deciding he did deserve it, jut hugged her back.

            (Y/N) pulled back and slapped Loki’s chest. “You idiot! What took you so long?”

            “If you recall, you did leave me in quite the debacle,” remarked Loki.

            “Well, welcome to the real fight,” said (Y/N), grinning. “Ready to really join?”

            “Of course,” said Loki.

            They spun and leapt into the fight. Loki flipped his daggers and sliced through enemies, watching (Y/N)’s back as she did the same for him, dodging through portals whenever needed. Miek tore through undead warriors, and Korg blasted them back to death. Several Sakaarian warriors fell as well, but no one was willing to stop while the Asgardian civilians escaped onto the ship. However, while they didn’t have reinforcements, the undead warriors did. They kept coming in waves, unstopping and unflinching in the face of wounds.

            Boom!

            Lightning and thunder pierced the sky, and the battle froze. Electricity crackled through the air and struck the palace with the force to shake Asgard. A body in black was thrown from the balcony as the lightning raged though the air.

            Loki smirked, and (Y/N) grinned. Thor had found his power again.

            Thor leapt off the balcony and arced through the air to the Bifrost. Electricity trailed after him, and he smashed through the undead warriors piling up to face him. They shattered against the God of Thunder’s lightning. With one eye missing and the other glowing with electricity, he was truly a divine sight now.

            Thor tore through the undead warriors that ran at him. (Y/N) and Loki jumped through portals and danced around warriors with ease and grace, cutting them down before they could react. Fireworks erupted from The Commodore, and Valkyrie emerged, unharmed and confident. She easily took on the undead attacking her. In the waters of Asgard, Hulk fought furiously against Fenris. The fight continued, but the allies were together.

            Loki flipped his helmet off and used it to attack several undead warriors, and (Y/N) pivoted and spun beneath a blade, stabbing her enemy. Thor manipulated his lightning with ease and broke down enemy lines. The undead warriors fell one-by-one, leaving the allies together.

            “You’re late,” said Thor.

            “You’re missing an eye,” said Loki.

            “Focus, boys,” said (Y/N).

            “This isn’t over,” said Valkyrie.

            There was only one more person to handle: Hela herself. She approached from the Bifrost, horns sharp, body unharmed even from the lightning strike.

            (Y/N), Loki, Valkyrie, and Thor stood side-by-side as Hela walked closer. Their capes or skirts waved in the wind, and they gripped their weapons tightly.

            “I think we should disband the Revengers,” said Thor.

            “Hit her with a lightning blast,” said Loki.

            “I just hit her with the biggest lightning blast in the history of lightning,” said Thor. “It did nothing. Have (Y/N) try to blast her to pieces.”

            “And get stabbed before I can get close? No thanks,” said (Y/N).

            “We need to keep her away until everyone gets on board,” said Valkyrie.

            Thor shook his head. “It won’t end there. The longer Hela’s on Asgard, the more powerful she grows. She’ll hunt us down. We need to stop her here and now.”

            “So what should we do?” asked Valkyrie.

            “I’m not doing ‘Get Help,’ ” said Loki. (Y/N) snorted.

            Thor looked between Hela and the Asgardians fleeing onto the ship. “Asgard’s not a place; it’s a people.” (Y/N)’s eyes widened as she realized what he meant. “This was never about stopping Ragnarok. This was about causing Ragnarok. Surtur’s crown, the Vault. It’s the only way.”

            “Bold move, Brother,” said Loki. “Even for me.”

            “Go and get it, Loki,” said (Y/N). “We’ll get the people onto the ship.”

            Loki reached out and brushed a hand over (Y/N)’s cheek. “Be safe, my dear Advisor.”

            “Only if my prince comes back,” said (Y/N) with a smile.

            Loki grinned, and then he was off. Valkyrie, Thor, and (Y/N) faced Hela as she walked closer.

            “Shall we?” said Thor.

            “After you,” said Valkyrie.

            “Princes first,” said (Y/N).

            Thor jumped into the air, and lightning collected around him. Hela threw two swords at him, and he caught them, swinging at Hela. She blocked with her horns and flipped back as Thor lunged. She sprung back to her feet and received a kick to the face from Valkyrie. She caught Valkyrie’s next attack and threw her to the side, but then (Y/N) was on her. Hela launched swords at (Y/N), but she summoned portals, and the swords sailed through. They reappeared behind Hela, and the Asgardian had to quickly dodge her own weapons as (Y/N) sliced at her and Thor jumped back into the battle with lightning. Above them, Loki used The Commodore to get to the palace to execute their completely insane plan.

            Valkyrie, Thor, and (Y/N) worked together to keep Hela occupied as the Asgardians fled. Valkyrie had her sword, Thor his lightning, and (Y/N) her portals. Unfortunately, Hela refused to go down.

            “Go, go now!” called Thor back to Heimdall as the last Asgardians packed onto the ship.

            As Heimdall got onto the ship, Hela extended a spear towards Thor, and it nearly skewered him, but (Y/N) redirected it with a portal. Hela threw up her arms, and several spears of rock rose from the ocean to pin the ship in place. (Y/N) threw out her arms and redirected as much as possible with her portals, but Hela’s abilities outpaced the humans’, and she knocked her to the side just as she did Valkyrie and Thor. Undead warriors clambered up the sides of the rocks to attack the Asgardian civilians.

            Rapid gunfire disrupted their attack. Skurge stood at the top of the makeshift bridge and fired down at the undead warriors as they ran up at the people attempting to escape. He jumped from the ship in an act of bravery instead of cowardice and shot down the warriors he passed as he landed on the Bifrost. He simultaneously destroyed the spear skewering the ship, and it began to pull away to safety.

            “Hela!” shouted Skurge.

            He blasted through the undead warriors charging him. He was down to the last one, and he clobbered it with a gun.

            A sword skewered him.

            Hela’s sword stabbed through him, and Skurge fell to his knees. He collapsed to his back and watched as the ship of evacuees flew farther from Asgard. His final act had been one of bravery. He died with satisfaction on his mind.

            “Hela, enough!” called Thor, pulling himself to his feet. “You want Asgard, it’s yours.”

            “Whatever game you’re playing, it won’t work,” drawled Hela. “You can’t defeat me.”

            “Duh,” said (Y/N), standing shakily. “But he can.” She gestured to the palace as it exploded into rubble.

            Surtur, hundreds of feet tall, loomed over Asgard in the debris of the golden palace. He roared, a being of pure magma and flame.

            “No…” gasped Hela, taking a step back.

            Valkyrie rushed her, knocking her to the ground, and Thor sent lightning crashing into her. Hela pushed against it, and (Y/N) ran and stomped down on her back. It wasn’t enough contact to destroy it, but (Y/N) packed a hell of a kick. Blue light exploded from the impact, and as the force launched (Y/N) back, it sent Hela and the Bifrost tumbling into the ocean.

            “Tremble before me, Asgard!” roared Surtur. “I am your reckoning!” He swept his sword across the city and razed the buildings into smoldering piles of fire.

            “The people are safe,” panted Valkyrie. “That’s all the matters.” Still, all three watchers gazed at the destruction of Asgard with solemn hearts.

            “We’re fulfilling the prophecy,” said Thor.

            “I hate this prophecy,” sighed (Y/N) in exhaustion.

            “So do I, but we have no choice,” said Thor. “Surtur destroys Asgard, he destroys Hela, so that our people may live. But we need to let him finish the job, otherwise—”

            A hulking green figure jumped through the air and landed a solid punch to Surtur. (Y/N) groaned in frustration.

            “Hulk, stop, you moron!” shouted Thor.

            Hulk punched Surtur’s head, and Surtur grabbed him between two figures and threw him back to the Bifrost carelessly.

            “Hulk, stop!” said Thor before Hulk could do anything else stupid. “Just for once in your life, don’t smash!”

            “Big monster!” exclaimed Hulk in confusion.

            “Let’s go!” said Valkyrie. Loki was circling back to get them onto The Commodore.

            And so, as they flew up to the ship of evacuees, Hela faced Surtur, desperately fought against him, and ultimately found herself staring her own death in the face. Surtur struck down with his sword, and the Goddess of Death was no more.

            Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, and (Y/N) stood at the window of the ship and gazed at the burning remains of Asgard solemnly.

            “The damage is not too bad,” said Korg encouragingly. “As long as the foundations are still strong, we can rebuild this place. It will become a haven for all people and aliens of the universe.”

            Asgard exploded into pieces as Ragnarok ran its course.

            “Oh. Now those foundations are gone. Sorry,” said Korg.

            (Y/N) sighed. She knew it had to be done, but it didn’t help the heartache. The place she’d made a home on was gone. Loki rested a hand on her should and squeezed comfortingly. (Y/N) absently lifted a hand and rested it on his.

            “What have I done?” murmured Thor.

            “You saved us from extinction,” said Heimdall. “Asgard is not a place; it’s a people.”

Taglist:

@alexpangender

@technikerin23

@kikster606

@neenieweenie

@h-l-vlovesvintage

@chronicallybubbly

[justawanderingbabbit]

AerIS' (Abstract Experimental Record Information System) latest test subject was the worst. The absolute worst.

If her creators were still alive she'd have had a long talk with them about how to choose their experiments. Independent thinking was all well and good but this one took it to extremes.

He'd started small. Little rebellions here and there. Knocking her cameras off the walls with his gate gun. Forcing her to revive him over and again because he insisted on testing every last fatal possibility. Sitting dead still in the middle of the room after a test, eyes closed, listening intently.

The rebellions got larger. Once he understood that each solved test just led to another. Once he realized that the one thing AerIS would not do was let him go, even through death, he never hesitated. No matter how painful failure was, no matter what she threw at him, he kept getting back up and trying again.

He did give up on her cameras when he realized she could repair them pretty much immediately. Though that meant he was even more annoying, with the side-eyes he'd give her and the little smirks when he thought he'd scored.

He hadn't. He absolutely had not scored. The fact that he'd managed to destroy thousands of her gunners was not infuriating. She had more. She had millions, or could. It was just a matter of time. Once he reached the final test chamber he'd have outlived his usefulness and could be disposed of.

She watched him draw closer. She gloated as he sat himself down in the penultimate chamber and... did whatever it was he did. She waited for him to - inevitably - finish this test and enter the final gate.

Instead he went to the edge of the abyss he was supposed to cross. Leaned over, so far he was sure to fall. Except somehow he managed to cling on and fire his gate gun into nowhere, somewhere down below AerIS' controls, far below her reach.

Then, walking to the other half of the gate, he paused. Looked at her camera. Gave her the finger. Then disappeared through the gate and out of her reach.

It wasn't until months later, when her systems suddenly failed, when everything that made it possible for her to continue locked up and died, did AerIS realize where he'd gone and why.

She was the most powerful computer of her time, with vast resources and abilities. But no computer could operate with power. And Liu Sang - without fear or hesitation - had found his way all the way to the oldest part of her complex.

And literally pulled her plug.

This Portal Pastiche brought to you courtesy of how much Liu Sang's orange jumpsuit resembles Chell's.

[plothooksinc]

“Then we can try again.  But first, I’m done being lenient.” She straightened, eyes gleaming. “There is, after all, one last room I haven’t searched.”

Casey’s breath stuttered to a halt, and she turned to look at him finally.  “You.  You’re the one that closed the portal, aren’t you, boy?  I owe you just as much pain as the blue one.”

“So come inflict it,” he hissed, fingers curling around his grapple gun, desperate to draw her attention away from the med bay. “If it wasn’t for me, they’d never have known how to stop you in the first place.”

“Delightful,” she drawled.  “I don’t think I shall.  In fact… I believe I’ll get him to inflict it for me.”

[camels-pen]

The Lesser of Two

Ectoberhaunt day 7 - Purify & Infect

Summary: The Observants did not care for the Prince of the Infinite Realms. That did not mean they were not invested in his survival.

warning: vivisection, torture, blood, self harm (not inflicted on purpose)

Ao3 Link | part of the In Service of The Realms series

Maddie poured the bastardization of holy water above Danny’s core and the moment the liquid made contact, Danny screamed louder and higher pitched than he had in the entirety of the past few hours. He writhed on the table, pulling at his restraints harder and harder until he’d scraped his wrists and neck raw, practically covering the restraints in bloody ectoplasm. Then, as Maddie continued to pour, Danny gasped a painful sounding breath and his head lolled to the side, eyes half open but unseeing.

“That is enough.”

Maddie jolted at the unfamiliar voice and put down the beaker. She quickly pulled out a small Fenton gun from her belt, but it was torn away from her, as were the other visible weapons on her person.

Danny’s restraints were unlocked simultaneously. The pins were taken out of his cut open skin and the two flaps were slowly folded back to their correct place, covered by a thin layer of sticky ectoplasm.

Maddie picked up a glowing wooden bat that was resting under the table and asked, “Who are you? Why are you taking my experiment?”

The Head Observant became visible before her and the small group he had brought with him did the same. This vile human needed to know exactly whom she was crossing.

“We are the Observants, counsel to the Ghost King and keepers of order and justice in the Ghost Zone.” He looked to the unconscious Danny held carefully in his subordinate’s arms. “And we will be taking our prince to a much safer caretaker and place of residence.”

Maddie readied the bat, yelling, “I’m his mother! Even if you are ghosts, just think about it for a moment and look within yourselves. You have to know that I have a duty to study and end the abomination that my son became!” 

The Head Observant scoffed. “It is a wonder how we are the ones who orchestrated an assassination attempt against him, and yet you, his own mother, will be the one to haunt his nightmares.” He closed his eye and shook his head. “I thought it impossible for myself to feel pity for that half-breed, and yet here I am.”

He turned his back to Maddie. “Let us go. It is time to see Clockwork.” He heard Maddie running towards him and he turned to shoot a large ball of sticky ectoplasm, trapping Maddie against the back wall.

As they all floated through the portal, the Head Observant said, “Though the Orb showed us he would be one of the greatest kings the Infinite Realms has ever seen, I still despise that we had to save this miscreant.” His subordinates nodded their agreement. He sighed. “I suppose this will at least assuage all of Clockwork’s sulking about not having Daniel as a child.”

“Should we really leave the halfa to the Master of Time?” one of his subordinates asked. “Would they not attempt to use him to get out of their servant contract with us?”

The Head Observant hummed. “A valid point. We cannot allow for that possibility.” He floated closer to the subordinate holding Danny. “I suppose… we must become his caretakers and raise him to be a respectable king.” He laid a hand atop Danny’s head, running it through his hair.  “And should he show any sign of betraying us or the Realms, well,”—he lifted his hand to draw a jagged line down Danny’s left eyelid with a claw. “we already know how to deal with unruly monsters.”

[five-rivers]

Green Sky Highway

Phic Phight Phic for @deuynndoodles

.

The Fenton Ecto Cell Bettery (aka the Better Battery) was designed to draw power from not only an internal, pre-charged store of ectoplasm, but also from ambient, atmospheric ectoplasm.  This meant that it would never run out of juice so long as it was in the Ghost Zone.  The Specter Speeder was designed to travel in the Ghost Zone.  Thus, the Betteries were the perfect power source for it.  In theory.  

In practice… Well, that just wasn’t working out, and Maddie didn’t know why.  She gripped the underside of the dash and tried to push herself deeper beneath it to get a better view of the machinery.  

“Maddie?  You see anything?” asked Jack, who couldn’t fit under the dash.  He’d been inspecting as much of the engine as he could from the inside, which wasn’t much.  The Speeder wasn’t designed to be serviced while free-floating in the Ghost Zone.  

Which, now that she thought of it, was a serious oversight.  

“Everything looks fine,” said Maddie.  “Except that it doesn’t have any power.  Nothing’s lighting up, but all the connections look good. You?”

“I can’t get anything to work.  Anything.  It’s like… we’re in some kind of technological dead zone.  But that doesn’t make sense.”

Maddie pulled herself out to see Jack vigorously scratching his head and shedding dandruff everywhere.  “Ghosts do tend to disrupt technology.”

“But we fixed that.  We designed all our weapons to work with that.”

“We know there are things we don’t know,” said Maddie, “and it’s always good to find new things!  Though not pleasant to find them out like this…”  They should really test their inventions more, honestly.  

But it had been over a year of testing since they opened the portal.  They had to jump in at some point, didn’t they?  That was the whole point of the portal.  

She sighed.  “Well, we didn’t have a lot of forward momentum when the portal cut out.”  She looked out the window.  “We could see if we can get out and engage our jetpacks.”

“Uh, about that,” said Jack.  He swung open the door to the jetpack cabinet.  The empty jetpack cabinet.  “I may have forgotten to put them back after refueling them.”

“Jack…”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

Maddie massaged the bridge of her nose with her mostly-clean knuckles.  This was a repeat of the handle inside the weapons vault.  At least he wasn’t pushing the blame for it back onto Danny or Jazz.  That would definitely have started a fight.  

On the other hand, there really wasn’t any guarantee the jetpacks would even still be functional, so maybe it was for the best. For certain values of best.  

She groaned.  

There was a knocking sound.  “Is that coming from the engine?” Maddie asked.  

“No…” said Jack, slowly.  “I think it came from the door…”

They both turned to stare.  Something moved outside it.  They shifted to get a better view out the window.  

Phantom was out there, tapping on the door with a ten-foot pole.  

“That little unnatural abomination,” cursed Jack under his breath.  “He’s going to scratch the paint!”

Phantom apparently saw them and waved.  “Hey!” he shouted, just loud enough to be heard through the walls of the Speeder.  “Do you guys need a lift?”

Jack and Maddie turned to each other.  

“How did he know we were here?”

“I don’t know,” said Jack.  “Do you think he followed us?”

“It wouldn’t be difficult, but I’m surprised he didn’t show up on our detectors.”

“He does seem to have the ability to drop off of them.”

“True,” said Maddie.  “So, how do we handle this?  Fenton bat?”

“I don’t know, Mads.  He might be, uh, sincere?  That time with the ectofiltrator he did help me.”

“That’s one, single, datapoint.  He’s a been a menace every other time we’ve encountered him.”

“I don’t know that we have much other choice,” said Jack, nodding towards the dead engines and the empty jetpack cabinet.

Maddie huffed out a sigh, then looked back at Phantom, who waved again.  

“Fine.  We still have to decide how to deal with him while we’re cooperating with him.  Or if he decides to show his true colors.”

“Good idea.”

.

Danny knew this had been a terrible, terrible idea the moment his parents opened the door to the Speeder armed to the teeth.  Why did they always feel the need to do that? None of the weapons, with the possible exceptions of the Fenton Bat and the Fenton Crowbar could even work here.

How his parents had, on their first jaunt into the Ghost Zone, managed to run smack into the Time Locked Lands was beyond him. They had to go to the one place in the Ghost Zone that the Speeder wouldn’t work and after coating the Speeder with some kind of anti-ghost spray that Danny absolutely refused to touch again.  Ever. Especially in ghost form.  Except with a ten-foot pole.

(If they’d left the spray off, he could have just pushed the Speeder back out of the Time Locked Lands.  But, no, they had to make everything as difficult and painful as possible.)

“I am not carrying all that,” said Danny, flatly.

(Especially because it would all turn back on once they left the Time Lost Lands, and if there wasn’t a Specter Deflector under all that, he’d eat his own belt.)

“Then we aren’t going anywhere with you!” proclaimed Maddie.  

“You’re stranded in the middle of the Ghost Zone. I don’t think you have a choice.”

“We do!”

“I could literally just fly over there and snatch you right now.  Plus, again, stranded.  Do you even have any food in there?”

“Of course we do!” said Maddie.  “We aren’t incompetent.”

Jack looked guilty.  Danny decided not to bring it up.

“Okay, but still, you’re going to run out eventually, and then you’ll still be floating in the Ghost Zone with no way to get out.  You aren’t going to get another friendly ghost coming by.”

“I’ve never seen a friendly ghost to begin with!”

“Maddie…”

“I can just leave, you know,” said Danny, planting his hands on his hips and bluffing for all he was worth.  He was not leaving his parents here to be used as hostages or who knew what else.  

Hopefully, they wouldn’t call the bluff.  They shouldn’t.  No sane, reasonable person would.  He was their only way out of this mess.  On the other hand, his parents had never been completely sane, reasonable people.  

Danny thought his odds were about fifty-fifty.  Which meant he could hope.  

Jack and Maddie had an intense, whispered conversation. This, thankfully, lead to them divesting themselves of most of their visible weaponry.  Which meant that they still had more guns on them than most professional soldiers during a firefight.  

Well, it was better than he’d expected.  But it was still too many.  

“Take the Specter Deflectors off,” he said.  “What do you think will happen if I try to carry you and you have those on.”

There was muttering.  

“Come on, come on,” said Danny, snapping his fingers. Which really shouldn’t work through his gloves but did anyway.  

Sometimes ghost nonsense was good for making lasers fly from your hands, and sometimes it was good for tiny aesthetic breaks in physics. It was a grab bag, really.  

“Alright,” said Danny.  “I’m going to fly over and pick you up.  Don’t hit me.”

Oh, jeez, he was not looking forward to carrying them all the way over to the portal.  Sure, he could bench press a school bus, but there was a difference between holding up a school bus for a minute and carrying two people who hated his guts a mile through enemy territory while flying slowly enough not to give them windburn.  

Sure, it’d probably only take a few minutes, even then, but those would be the longest few minutes in his entire life.  Not counting his actual death.  

.

Being carried by Phantom had to be the single worst experience in Jack’s entire life.  

It wasn’t the speed or the lack of control – he loved carnival rides – or the height – Jack couldn’t tell you how many buildings he’d jumped off in pursuit of ghosts – or even the fact that Phantom was a sinister specter, and ectoplasmic emanation, a putrid piece of protoplasm – he’d been carried by ghosts before, usually ones who were a lot more upfront about wanting to kill him.  

Actually, Jack didn’t know why he didn’t like it. He just didn’t.  

Maybe it was just how uncomfortable it was?  But Jack did way more uncomfortable things. Like interacting with his sister-in-law. Brr.  

Maybe it was the lurking feeling behind every interaction he ever had with Phantom that there was something he just wasn’t seeing, some hidden truth that would make everything about Phantom, every contradiction, every confusion, make sense.

Nah, that couldn’t be it.  Maddie would have figured it out by now.  That’s why they made such a great team.  He noticed the things she didn’t, and she noticed the things he didn’t.  

“You’re going the wrong way,” snapped Maddie.  

Just like that!

Wait.  That was a really bad thing.

“I’m not going the wrong way,” snapped Phantom.  “I’m avoiding Walker’s prison.  I don’t know how he didn’t catch you on your way out, but I’m not eager to be thrown in jail for a thousand years.”

“Ghosts have jail?” asked Jack surprised.  

“Depends where you are,” said Phantom.  “Walker isn’t really a sheriff, though.  There’s no government behind him and he just makes up rules randomly so he can lock up anybody he doesn’t like.”

“Like you,” observed Jack.  

“Why doesn’t it surprise me that you’re even wanted by whatever passes for the law here?”

“First, rude.  Secondly, there are realms in here that are just as organized and civilized as any country on Earth.  Just because you opened your portal into the equivalent of post-apocalyptic Detroit doesn’t mean it’s all like this.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Maddie.  

“I could arrange that, you know,” said Phantom, stilling.

Jack laughed nervously.  “Maybe another time?”  The ghost would do what it would do, but they didn’t need to encourage him to bring them even deeper into the Ghost Zone.  They were currently banking on Phantom’s obsession with heroics to get them home, but if they changed the equation…  Yeah, Jack didn’t want to deal with the consequences of that.  

Ghosts were like computers that ran only one program. One homicidal, destructive program.

It was like that thought experiment about an AI whose job was to maximize the number of paperclips.  It’d just keep on making more and more paperclips until nothing was left.  Which was why they had to be stopped.  

Easier said than done, as Jack and Maddie had learned.

“You don’t have to be so freaked out,” muttered Phantom. “It isn’t like I’m going to kidnap you or anything.”  He pretended to sigh.  

What was the point of that?  He had to know that Jack and Maddie wouldn’t fall for his tricks. Actually, come to think of it, he was miming breathing, too, and had been the whole time.  

Maybe that’s why Jack was so uncomfortable.  The constant undercurrent of deception.  

Hmmm… something to think on.  

“What’s that?” asked Maddie, pointing.  

“Uh,” said Phantom, who did a double take.  

Ooh, that wasn’t reassuring.  

.

Danny clenched his teeth, his parents’ reactions to him weren’t reassuring, and even less reassuring was the way Pariah’s Keep had moved from its usual creepy location and to this new creepy location. Not that there were any non-creepy locations in the Ghost Zone.  It was part of the place’s charm.  

No, really.  Some part of Danny craved the creepiness.  He was half-ghost, after all.  

(Even if his idea of creepiness was, according to his friends, sort of lame.)

But back to the main point.  The keep really, really shouldn’t be here.  And it was creeping him out.  

It should be okay to just… fly past it, though, right? Just being in its airspace in the past hadn’t done anything bad.  So, flying by with his parents in tow shouldn’t do anything either.  Right?

Danny put on more speed, just in case.  This coincided with a bunch of large ghost ravens (or were they crows?) dive bombing them and forcing him to land to defend himself and parents.  The only land around being the rim of the island that supported the keep.

He knew something like this would happen. Maybe not exactly this, but he just knew he’d be attacked and everything would devolve into nonsense, and—

Huh.  The birds weren’t attacking him, just his parents.  Oh, these were racist (mortalist?) birds.  Gross.  Trust Pariah Dark to have bigoted birds.  He called up a shield to protect his parents.  Whereupon they shot him in the back, shouting about how he betrayed them to the birds, because why not?  

Why was his life like this?

He pushed himself up off the ground.  Starbursts twinkled behind his eyes.  Neither his parents nor the crows were in sight.  The crows could have gone anywhere.  His parents on the other hand…

There was only one place they could have gone.  

Well.  At least none of the nonsentient traps would work on them, seeing as they were humans. What were the odds that they’d run into one of the sentient defenders?

Well… considering the ravens?

Yeah.  That’d be about one hundred percent.

.

“Maddie, I don’t know about this…” said Jack, examining the tall, vaulted ceiling.  

“We had to get away from Phantom.  This was the only way to go.”

“But he came here for a reason, Mads,” whispered Jack, tip-toing.

“Yeah, this is definitely a trap.  But what can we do?”

“Jack?  Maddie? This is not a place you want to wander around in! Oh, holy—” There was a loud thump.  

Maddie grabbed Jack’s hand and pulled him forward. “We have to get away from him.”

“Come on!  This is a floating island!  I’m your only way off!  Why are you like this?”

“He has a point,” said Jack.  

Maddie stopped.  “I guess he does.”

“This is literally the worst place you could have picked to run away!”  A sound like a very large door opening and closing reached their ears.  “This is Pariah Dark’s place!  Where did you even go?”

“Mads?”

“Yeah?”

“Who’s Pariah Dark?”

“I think that was the name of the ghost that sucked the town into the Ghost Zone a few months ago.”

“Please, guys!  I’m trying to help you here!  This place is ultra-dangerous!  You could accidentally – yikes! – wake up Pariah Dark.”  

“Maybe we should…”

“Yeah,” said Maddie, “maybe we should.”

“Phantom!” called Jack.  “Phantom!  We’re over—” The floor opened up underneath them and they fell into the dark.  

.

Maddie woke to a dark room, tied to a chair.  She noticed the faintly glowing ghost in front of her and jolted backwards.

The ghost wore a set of painted and engraved plate armor, a pair of lavender-white eyes glowing from behind the slats of its visor.  A knight, of sorts, Maddie supposed.  

“You…” droned the ghost in a painfully stereotypical ghostly moan.  “Enemies of the king… why have you come here?”

“Huh?”

That was Jack’s voice.  He was tied behind her, apparently.  

“We don’t have anything to say to you,” snapped Maddie.

“Uh,” said Jack.  Something twisted behind Maddie.  “Are you a friend of Phantom?”

“A friend?  A friend?”

“I’m going to take that as a no,” muttered Maddie.  

The door of the room flew off its hinges.  “Fright Knight!” shouted Phantom, pointing a glowing finger.  “Wait, you aren’t Fright Knight.  Who are you, and what do you want with my- With, uh, the Fenton ghost hunters?  Who I don’t know very well at all. Promise.”

“What,” said the ghost.  

“What,” said Maddie.  

“What,” said Jack.  

“Okay, forget everything I just said.”  He gestured at the ghost.  “Who are you?”

“My name is Paladin, my liege.”

“Okay, okay, cool, cool.  I- Wait, what?  What did you call me?”

“My liege?”

Phantom looked like he was having an existential crisis.  

“Maddie was right!” exclaimed Jack, who couldn’t see Phantom’s face.  “You did lead us into a trap!”

“What?  No?  I’ve never even met this guy before!  You are a guy, right?”

“Yes, my liege.”

“Right.  I’m going to put that on the backburner and freak out about it later.  How are you- Why are you—” Phantom shook his head.  “Why are you here in Pariah’s Keep?”

“It’s your keep.”

“Since when?”

“Say what now?” asked Jack and Maddie at once.  

“Look, this is news to me, too.  But, back to the question.  You.  The keep. Why?  I mean, you weren’t here before.”

“That is because Pariah sealed me, my liege.  When you defeated him, I was released and immediately swore fealty to the true king.  You.”

“I am so freaking out right now, but we’ll revisit that. Later.  Right now, I have to get these guys home.”

“But they have hostile intentions towards your person, my liege!”

“Everyone has hostile intentions towards me.  I’m honestly surprised you haven’t attacked me yet.”

“Ah.  My liege, perhaps you should seek the services of a priest, if all your experiences with new people are such.”

“Is that the medieval equivalent of a therapist?”

“I fear I do not know what that is.  Why do you ask?”

“Because the last time I talked to one of those, they purposefully picked at every one of my insecurities and then tried to murder my, uh.  Someone close to me.”

“An evil counselor, then,” said the knight, gravely.

“I want to agree with you, but somehow I feel like you’re talking about something completely different than the image in my head.”

“That may be true, my liege.  Doubtless, you are very wise.”

Maddie was… lost.  

Very lost.  

Even so, her prerogative was escaping.  She started twisting, trying to get to the knots around her wrists.  

“Did you, uh, pilot the castle out here?”

“Yes.  I sensed that mortal enemies of the king, that’s you—”

“I will debate that as soon as my brain stops screaming at me.”

“—had entered the Realm.”

“Right.  Yeah. Thank you.  But I can handle these guys.  And I need to get them home.  Please. I made a deal with them.”

“With these?”

“Hey!” said Jack, offended.  

“I mean, I use the term deal pretty loosely.”

“Hey!”

“But yes.  Please.  Just.  Dang.  How did you tie them up that quickly?”

“It’s a hobby.”

“Do you mind if I take the chairs?”

“They are your chairs, my liege.”

“I’m still not used to that.”

“Are you quite certain you want to take them?  And just… Let them loose?  The dungeon here is very functional.  We even have an oubliette.”

“Raincheck.  But thank you.  Really, I mean it.”  Phantom flew behind Maddie, and she protested as the chair she was in was yanked upward. “Uh… I might have gotten turned around a time or two, so if you could…”

“Of course!  The keep does seem to have sustained some damage, so we will have to take some detours.”

“Phantom!  Phantom! Put us down and untie us.”

“Nah, I think I like this better.  Your kids can untie you once I bring you back!”

“You’re going to drag us all the way through the Ghost Zone?”

“That’s the plan.”

.

The rest of the flight was surprisingly pleasant. No one attacked, and his parents were much easier to carry in the chairs.  Sure, they struggled, but the struggling was much more manageable than the wriggling from before.  

They were mad at him.  But they were always mad at him.  So.  

No loss, really.

With the utmost carefulness, Danny set them down in the middle of the lab, still tied up, and then began zapping then tossing their most troublesome inventions into the gaping maw of the portal while they screamed at him.  

Normally, he wouldn’t do this, especially after successfully rescuing his parents and hopefully raising their opinion of him, but some of those inventions were painful.  Like.  A lot painful.  And dangerous.  Also, he was doing his level best to avoid thinking about the whole ‘king’ thing.  

Which he couldn’t do forever.  

Especially since Jazz walked down the stairs, probably drawn by the screaming, to see Danny shoving half of the Ghost Catcher through the portal sans-strings.  

“Uh,” said Danny.  

“Get that ghost, Jazzy-pants!”

Danny vanished and fled upstairs.  

.

Jazz had seen many strange things in her life, but that scene was one of the weirder ones.  

It took some time to untie her parents, longer to extract herself from the ensuing rant and their attempt to salvage their equipment from Danny’s all-too-explicable rampage.  Honestly, she was surprised Danny hadn’t snapped earlier.  

She opened the door to his room.  It was empty.  She squinted. He was not just leaving her hanging like that, with no context to what happened other than their parents’ ranting.  She opened her door.  

Danny was lying on his side on the middle of her rag rug, hugging Bearbert Einstein.  

“A ghost told me I was king and that I needed a priest.”

Oh boy.  

[jetxstreamx]

( Darrens apartment, probably while Darren is still supposed to be away somewhere / @thecollective-npcs​ ) 

tw: violence, guns, gross behaviour by men, gendered slurs.

It isn’t easy to relax anymore. To find comfort in the surroundings. Darren’s apartment is warm and well heated, but Arya can’t help feeling cold lately. Shakey and a little uncertain. He was worried about Hourglass, and worried about the rest of his friends, and worried about the new insecurities he had been confronted with. The danger was starting to feel way too real, like it could come for him at any second. But he was trying to feel safe here, the way he always had. He just wished that Darren would come home –– even if he was worried that Darren was only putting up with him because he had to, because it was a job. Arya wanted to see his face. Arya felt safer with Darren around, despite his better judgeemnt telling him he should keep on the fence about it. Catalyst would yell at him for trusting too blindly. Hell, everybody would. It was one of his fatal flaws. 

He’s exhausted, despite his inability to relax. He spent an hour or two tacking peices of paper with stray thoughts up to the chalkboard wall, things he meant to tell Darren when he got back, ideas he wanted to share. He felt like they needed to kick into high gear at some point, as much as he wanted to draw this out so he wouldn’t have to leave. But maybe it would be better, at the end of the day. If they solved the mystery and Darren sent him on his way, he’d at least know where they really stood. He’d know if what Clint said was right, or they were something like friends after all. 

He’s washing his face, exhausted, and bleary eyed. He thinks he should lay down and try to go to sleep, make the most of an empty bed –– even though he knows, and Darren probably knows by now, that he sleeps better with company, with someone beside him. He’s imagining a night of laying awake, despite how tired he is, thinking about fire and pain and the collective probably hating him at the end of all this. 

He hears the door open, in the distance, The quiet click and the sound of footsteps, heavy boots. It isn’t completely unlike the way Darren moves, and he doesn’t really stop to question it. He’s the only one whose supposed to be able to get inside, after all. Arya just keeps going through the motions. “You took your damn time out there,” He calls out, as the sounds draw closer, and winces a little at the sting of soap in his eyes, wiping at it with a hand and then his face cloth, letting out a small ‘ouch’. 

“Awh, Jet. Sorry I kept you waiting.” A familiar voice greets him, but not the one he was expecting. And he feels like he could throw up, because suddenly there’s an arm around him, a gun against his side, the smell of cigarette smoke close and cloying. “Your new boyfriend leave you all sad and lonely, huh? I’m so sorry, I know you hate that. But that’s what you get for acting like a traitorous whore.” 

He swallows against the panic, finally blinks his eyes and focuses on Vic. Victor, as strong and imposing as he’s always been. He was such a scumbag, and Arya should have seen it from the get go. But he was a guy with space who wanted to fuck him, had jobs for him to do on the side. It seemed like a good arrangement. And Vic had liked to have him around, to show him off. Real life Vintage Teen Terror to use as arm candy. He swallows, and shifts his hands, ready to portal out of here. But the gun jams closer against his side, and his hands start to shake a little bit. “Vic,” He says, with a breath. 

“Careful, baby. We both know you can’t portal faster than a speeding bullet.” And Vic presses a kiss against his jaw, quick, stubble scratching against his skin before he moves them out into the wider area of the apartment with a firm grip. “Lets get cozy and have a little chat, huh, just like old times.”

“Just chill the fuck out, man.” He says, frantic, boarderline willing to beg. But Vic shoves him, and he feels a sting across his cheek, a small trickle of blood where one of Vic’s rings must have caught against his skin. He stumbles and lands on the soft edge of the couch, thankful that it isn’t the hard floor of Darren’s apartment. And the gun is back, pointed at him too close to escape, even if he could get his hands to co-operate and create a portal for him. 

“Chill out? Chill out, and you’ll be a good boy for me, is that it baby? Sorry if I don’t fucking believe you. You fucked up, Jetstream, and you’re going to learn exactly what happens when little freaks like you run off to the Guardians.” 

He swallows, holds his hand in plain sight, so that Vic can see he isn’t making any moves. “Please, just –- Mind Master is going to be back any second, and he’ll... you can get away. I won’t tell him you were here.” 

“No he’s not. He’s not gonna be home any second.” Vic says, with a chilling confidence, holding the gun against his head, using his other hand to carress Jetstreams hair. “Hes in Cleveland, right? Little birdie gave me the heads up. So we have all the time in the world to teach you your little lesson.” 

[leroyzboots]

you and i are trying, together.

part two.

The amount of unease that can fit into Tommy's more-than-human-less-than-god body is honestly surprising.

Tommy paces back and forth on the floor of the Lambda lab, his Beyblade whirring between his fingers and his precious immortal dog following behind him with love.

They'd arrived at around half past midnight, but it's now early morning and there's been no sign of the other two members of the science team.

Bubby leans back in their chair, crossing his knee-high laced boots over their knee, and bounces the other one out of anxiety.

"Tommy," he barks; "you're scaring the other scientists."

Tommy glances down and realizes that the Beyblade is whizzing madly in the air around his hands, suspended from nothing.

"D-dammit," He mutters, snatching his toy back and returns it to his pocket.

"They sho-should have been back by now."

Tommy stops pacing for a second and stares down the Coomers with his father's intensity.

"Surely, Benrey could have used teleportation?" Harold chimes in, his knuckles bruised slightly from his repeated stims.

"I think that's what he meant, dear," Bubby replies, patting their husband's shoulder affectionately.

"Yes, exactly!"

Tommy throws his hands into his pockets, huffing out his frustration.

"The f-fact that they're not...back yet! Means something has gone-"

A enormous thud echoes from the the floor, a piece of tile juts out slightly and scatters the scientists nearby.

"Wrong," Tommy finishes miserably, drawing his gun and preparing for Xen's creatures.

Beside him, Sunkist snarls, her hackles raised in warning.

The tile cracks and shoots into the air, with accompanying gunfire from below, and a hatch busts open from the hole.

Tommy aims to shoot, but immediately lowers his gun upon seeing Mr. Freeman's tired but happy face, followed closely by Benrey, the bags under his eyes looking darker than usual.

"G-Gordon!!"

Tommy rushes forward, embracing them both, and the knots of tension unravel in his stomach.

Benrey snuggles just a little closer into Tommy's coat, and Tommy releases Gordon to pull Benrey into a full hug.

--

Tommy planned on never admitting it to himself, but these two were the people he loved the most.

Benrey..he'd known Benrey for years.

It started when Benrey was just out of training, and Tommy had completed his certification to become a top scientist.

Benrey was 19, maybe 20 at the oldest, his hair pulled into a ponytail that ran down his back.

They weren't close, then, Benrey had been assigned to guard the G-Man's adopted son.

Benrey couldn't die, and Tommy's line of work was dangerous enough to need protection.

So it all worked out.

They barely exchanged more than a few words to eachother until that one night, that one fucking night and Benrey is tripping over himself in tears, blood pouring from the wound on his back and he's clutching Tommy, pawing at his shoulders.

Benrey trembled like he's made from glass and will break if he falls, and Tommy gripped the back of the others security vest so tightly the kevlar nearly rips in half.

And that's saying something.

That night they sat together and they're closer in distance than they've ever been, Tommy's warm and gentle hands bandaged the wound above the numbers tattooed onto Benrey's tailbone and Benrey spilled everything.

Between sniffles and the occasional sob, Benrey confessed, about the tools that somehow hurt him beyond regeneration, leaving a scar, about the men and their evil sticks of lightning that would seep into his bones and fill him with pain so intense he felt like he would break in half.

Tommy nearly broke in half himself.

He felt helpless, and so he went to the only person he knew would make the ones who hurt his first and only friend pay dearly-

His father.

Oh, Tommy had never seen the G-man so angry.

Black Mesa was a research facility, for god's sake, dedicated to the study of alien life and the progression of the human body.

So when Tommy's dad realized that the prototype imprisonment he had resolved several years ago had resurfaced with an even uglier face, he sent scientists who had never experienced fear in their lives tripping for the door in yelps of terror.

And that had been the end of it.

Benrey continued his job as a security guard, people who had previously been made in the facility were hired back on as scientists in new departments such as mixology and cybernetics, and Black Mesa cut its ties with the military.

Black Mesa, Benrey explained later in his own broken way to Tommy in the quiet breakroom during lunch hour, had been trying to create the perfect human being.

There were thousands upon thousands of prototypes that had been created, and Benrey had been the last.

But there had always been something wrong with the ones they created, whether it was serious physical or mental deformities, or simply a sense of fucked up little creature that ended up resulting in the insane amount of scientists with the ability to grow in size, and the security guards that always had a few too many rows of teeth or glowing eyes and severe anger issues.

They weren't always grown in tubes, Tommy learned, but they were always branded with their serial number on the base of the spine.

The one before him, Benrey quipped with a mouthful of sandwich, had been born to a prototype and a normal human employee, before they stripped them out with a memory wipe and sent them into normal society.

The anxious feeling that haunted Tommy in the years that followed had something to do with that piece of information in particular.

Something told him that the military and the alien planet they were studying wouldn't let go of Black Mesa kindly.

Mr. Freeman confirmed that.

He's in the hallway, on his way to get a soda, when he's met with a newer employee, only worked here about 4 or so years.

He seemed kind enough, if a little loud and stubborn. And alright, maybe it hurt Tommy's feelings when Gordon called him a freak, but that was pushed aside with the Resonance Cascade.

Tommy knew that this was it, this was the boot boys' revenge for cutting them out of the picture, but there was something else, distinctly and unsettlingly alien about the Cascade.

The whole of Black Mesa fell into shambles, with creatures of Xen integrating into their carefully built walls and lives, and Tommy kinda freaked, okay?

He'd seen Dr. Coomer around, always greeting him with a wonderful "Hello!!", and was met with a thrill in his stomach when he introduced another prototype as his husband.

Those two had been with him, in the observation room when the project exploded around Gordon and Benrey-

he wasn't supposed to be in the test chamber, what if it seriously hurt him?-

And maybe that was when Tommy realized he was in love with Benrey.

Over time, he felt a sense of conflict slowly building as he made friends with Mr. Freeman.

He seemed to hate Benrey, they hated eachother, but Tommy liked one and loved the other so he became their middle ground.

He was convinced to himself that Benrey liked him as well, until that room, that dark, dark room, and suddenly Benrey is kneeling in a puddle of Gordon's blood and Bubby is screaming, sobbing, blubbering his apologies to anyone who is listening as the soldiers drag them away and Benrey-

He says it, he says those words and it breaks Tommy's heart into a billion pieces-

"Because I love him, okay?! I'm fucking- whoop-de-doo, in love with Gordon god. G-goddamn Freeman, okay?..."

And then Benrey teleports, and he's gone, and Bubby is gone and Dr. Coomer leaves him in the cold dark sewer by himself.

Tommy cried.

Burying his head in his coat, he cried hard and long, alone on the rocky floor.

And then Mr. Freeman crawls out of the pipe, and Tommy can't help it, he holds him.

Gordon reeks of sewage and his bloody hand smells of copper but Tommy doesn't care, and alright, maybe that's when Tommy realized he's in love with Gordon too.

Alright, Tommy can deal with that.

Something Tommy can't deal with is the fact that his instincts are going fucking haywire.

Tommy's always been very perceptive when it comes to time, maybe he can't stop time like his father can, but he's definitely got a certain sense of time and reality as it surrounds him.

Being able to reach out and touch and feel certain areas, but not control them, and all of time is wrapped around him like a blanket.

So when the floor crumbles away below them and Benrey and Gordon fall deep into the recesses of Black Mesa's hellscape, Tommy freaks the fuck out.

A deep, inherent concern lays nested in the pit of his mind like a pile of cottonmouth snakes, hissing madly and snarling that something, something, is absolutely wrong with how this is supposed to go.

Tommy has a sinking feeling that something terrible is going to happen.

--

Man, Benrey really hates this place.

The scientists of the Lambda lab asked a simple request of the Science Team- go through the portal to Xen, get rid of the Nihilanth, bring back some weird space shit.

Easy as pie.

Right?

Wrong.

Benrey feels sick, feverish on this planet.

As he follows behind the group, his legs feel leaden and heavy, and he tugs at the collar of his uniform, which feels uncomfortably tight around his neck.

He's sweating, unusually warm beneath his helmet, but shivering as though chilled to his bones.

There's a tug, deep in his torso, pulling him along, but it's a nasty, oppressive feeling that makes his limbs feel like noodles.

He swallows nervously, eyes darting across the fetid, blood colored planet of Xen.

The sour smell clogs his senses, and as they trudge deeper and deeper through the portals, away from the floating rocks with little gravity and past strange barrels of highly toxic looking liquid, the heavy pull in Benrey's chest only grows stronger and more sickly.

They push through a final, puke-green portal, and the feeling inside of Benrey swells to near explosion.

A cave, with jagged and dark stone running up the walls in wicked cracks, a deep red flush to the area.

Water is flooding Benrey's boots, a putrid and decaying smell to the liquid, and it only adds to Benrey's fatigue.

The creature before them could only be the Nihilanth itself, and the very sight sends such a fucking shudder down Benrey's spine.

It's disgusting, twisted and pulsating flesh running down what must be its face, beady eyes in a cadaverous socket.

It looks like a fetus, a failed attempt of termination long after the allotted time.

It speaks, and the chorus of voices that accompanies it gives away the fact that Xen isn't just the planet-

It's the entire race.

"So. The humans have finally decided to be rid of us."

Gordon looks tired, beaten, but pulls himself upward and grunts through the pain of his broken shin.

"Get your video game dialogue out of the way," he says, with a dismissive wave of his gun-hand.

"I'm about done with this alien shit."

The Nihilanth laughs, a hideous and painful sound, and tilts its head in curiosity towards the little group of vagabonds.

"But you have brought us the very thing we need, Mr. Freeman."

Gordon groans in frustration, turning back to his friends with his teeth grinding against eachother.

"Why does it know my name?"

Xens' audience shrieks with delight, and the Nihilanth's barely feasible mouth twists into what can only be guessed as a grin.

"Xen knows everything about you, Mr. Freeman."

Benrey sways on the spot, his boots splashing the strange water, and the scene before him blurs.

"Whadda....what the hell are you..talking about, man?"

Xen's creatures seem to roar with laughter, and beside Benrey, Dr. Coomer throws up his fists protestingly.

"Xen has been all knowing, all seeing since time begun. As we grow, so do our minds, until we are forced to repopulate. Regrow."

Beneath their feet, headcrabs scuttle ominously, causing Tommy to jump backward with surprise.

"But human beings became a problem for Xen. Their flimsy bodies failed, burst open upon integration."

Benrey is only just awake enough to process this.

"The scientists of Black Mesa were so eager to learn of a new planet. So Xen took influence, and under the guise of building a perfect human being, created what Xen needed."

Gordon scoffs, his shoulders shaking as he laughs scornfully.

Xen reacts strongly, a collective hiss rising around them.

"Do not laugh at us, human."

The headcrabs stay at a distance, but raise their pincers and click them menacingly as the Nihilanth's speech continues.

"Xen required a human being who could withstand radiation, a being who could lose blood en mass and not perish."

A sense of dread washes over the Science Team, and Tommy instinctively puts himself in front of Gordon.

Bubby ignites his arms protectively.

"Let me guess," Gordon growls, revving up his minigun limb; "you needed me?"

Xen's creatures wail in joy, and Benrey takes that as a yes, and reaches for his gun, when something big and poisonous and slimy wraps around his ankle.

"Xen requires Benrey."

Benrey yelps as the Nihilanth drags him underneath the water, bubbles of Sweet Voice trailing from his mouth as his back bounces on the cragged floor beneath the surface.

The Nihilanth swings him into the air, and Benrey splutters, ears waterlogged under his helmet, which slips from his head and falls to the ground with a splash, Benrey's short black hair now dripping wet.

"Look at you, our once perfect vessel- a mewling, pathetic dog."

Hung upside down by his ankle, Benrey gasps in pain as Xen shakes him repeatedly, and for a brief, sickening moment, Benrey is forcibly reminded of the Finding Nemo movie Tommy showed him-

He feels like a fish in Darla's little bag.

"Bark, bark, bark but no bite. You were made with Xen's own blood and yet you cannot even protect those you are infatuated with."

With that, the Nihilanth throws him to the far wall, and his skull cracks on the rock.

It doesn't heal, and Benrey slumps down, struggling to stand, his eyesight swimming with tears.

"You think the Freeman human loves you? You cost him a limb. You would be perfect save for your one flaw- you kneel before a man you could kill with no effort, and you beg him to love you as you love him."

Benrey shakes, kneeling, and whimpers as he chokes out a sob, not trying to disguise his tears.

"You truly are nothing."

"No."

The word is tiny, barely audible.

Then again, louder, with a crack of his voice but more than enough power-

"No. You're wrong."

Gordon pulls himself to full height, scowling so deeply the age shows on his face.

"Benrey is everything to us. To all of us, but especially me."

"Y-yeah! We're not afraid of you!" Tommy chimes, and Sunkist howls with approval.

"If you or your alien bitches thought we'd just leave him here, you're just as stupid as you look."

Bubby grins wildly, cracking their neck from side to side, his bright and eager eyes flashing beneath their glasses.

"Don't fuck with the Science Team!" Coomer bellows, and Bubby cheers beside him.

"Now I'm only gonna tell you once," Gordon beams, turning away from his family to draw his gun-hand and point it at Xen's Nihilanth.

"Piss off."

Gordon fires, and the accompanying screams of headcrabs and peeper puppies echo across the cave, and Benrey is overtaken with an aching, sweet feeling he usually associates with Gordon.

It's love.

Benrey smiles fondly as his knees buckle and he falls to the ground and submerges in the murky waters.

--

Benrey wakes up and immediately is struck with a massive goddamn headache.

He closes his eyes and pulls the pillow over his ears, but the pain is there and clearly is not going anywhere, so he's going to have to ask for an aspirin or some shit.

Sitting up makes him so nauseous it's not even funny, so he decides it's not worth it to stand.

A loud snore startles Benrey enough to yelp, and he glances around for the source of the noise.

Sitting hand in hand on the floor, against the wall opposite his bed, are Gordon and Tommy, both bearing signs of wear and both dead asleep.

Gordon is clutching Benrey's helmet so tightly to his shirt it looks uncomfortable, and Tommy is curled protectively around Gordon's shoulders.

They're half dressed, like Black Mesa decided that the HEV suit and a bloody lab coat was not appropriate clothing but also did not have a whole lot of options for back up wear.

Benrey guesses this based on the fact that Gordon's not really wearing pants and Tommy's wearing a t-shirt that says "Birthday Girl".

Something about the fact that they're holding hands hurts Benrey, just a little.

His heart aches for a moment as he remembers the warmth of Gordon's hand and the feeling of a hug from the Beyblade enthusiast who was his best and only friend for a very long time.

Benrey shakes his head, decides he's going to repress it, and yawns.

God, his head hurts.

Benrey figures that if he stands, he's going to trip and probably break something, and since he doesn't trust his regeneration ability right now, he's not risking it.

Instead, he picks up his pillow and heaves it at the two scientists as hard as he can.

Tommy jolts awake, blinking, then smiles widely upon sighting the guard.

"Benrey!!"

Tommy shoots upward, and makes the distance between the wall and the hospital bed in one step, leaving Gordon to slump over and yell in surprise as he hits the floor.

Benrey's pulled into a crushing hug, and he wheezes for Tommy to be gentle.

"S-sorry!" Tommy cries happily, pulling back to take in Benrey's face.

"It's..it's g-good to see you awake."

Gordon stands, still holding the helmet, and wanders over to where Tommy is perched on the edge of the bed.

"You've been out for hours," Gordon adds, gently reaching out with his left hand to ruffle Benrey's hair.

"We were starting to get worried."

Benrey swallows his funny retort for once, instead choosing to spit out some clear blue song in response.

Tommy reads it almost immediately, and excuses himself to get medicine.

Gordon takes his spot on the bed, and just looks over Benrey.

Benrey feels like he's being scrutinized, with Gordon's soft green eyes just roaming over his face.

"Alright. Fucking. Get the questions outta the way," Benrey mumbles irritably, sticking out his tongue.

"I know you're fuckin. Curious about the shit Xen said."

Gordon laughs sweetly, setting the helmet down on the bed next to him and runs his fingers over it fondly.

Benrey takes a note of his new right hand, a grey-black prosthetic that clicks when Gordon moves his knuckles.

"I don't really have any questions," Gordon grins, adjusting his shirt.

"Other than, are you okay?"

Benrey's taken back by this one.

Not only did he cost Gordon his hand and almost his life about thirty billion times, but everyone (including him!) also just found out that Benrey was made with Xen DNA.

He's essentially Gordon's enemy in every sense of the word, and Gordon is asking if he's okay?

"....did the Nihilanth hit your head or somethin', man?? What the hell kinda. Question is that one??"

Gordon's smile softens massively, and it makes Benrey's heart melt into a little puddle in his stomach.

"Benrey, you saved my life a whole shit ton of times back there."

"Yeah, I also almost got you killed," Benrey interrupts, but Gordon doesn't pause.

"I've been thinking about a lot of things while you've been asleep, and I've been talking with Tommy a lot too."

Benrey's happy puddle evaporates into a heavy leaden ball inside of his chest.

"I don't need to hear this, dude."

Gordon looks a little confused, so Benrey keeps going.

"You're. I know you heard the shit Xen said about...."

Benrey pauses, unsure if he wants to say it out loud.

That'll finalize it, forever.

He takes a breath, then with a great effort, says it out loud.

"I love you. Have since we were kids, have since I first met you. Xen was...right. They were fucking right, you're happier with Tommy because he's never hurt you or..fuck. Fuck, man, you don't feel the same and I'm done pushin' it on you. We uhh, clear?"

Gordon covers his mouth with his hand, and for a split second Benrey thinks he's made him cry, but Gordon bursts out laughing, clutching his stomach and snorting in between giggles.

"B-Benny, you idiot, I am in love with you."

Maybe it's the sudden affectionate nickname, or the fact that Gordon said he loves him.

But Benrey blushes, hard, and pink-to-blue sweet voice bubbles out of his mouth in surprise.

"Whuh?"

Tommy walks back into the room, bottle in hand, and pauses at the sight in front of him.

"Oh, are w-we doing conf-confessions now?!"

Before Benrey can even speak, Tommy drops down beside him and kisses him on the cheek, putting him and Gordon's hands in his own.

Tommy doesn't say it, but Benrey gets the point.

"Fucking- FINALLY!!"

Benrey just might die for real.

Bubby leans in the doorway, a smug grin on his face, elbow resting on Dr. Coomer's shoulder.

"Ah, young love is beautiful!"

Tommy and Gordon laugh cheerfully at Dr. Coomer, and Benrey buries his face sheepishly in the blankets.

--

It takes a few days, but Benrey recovers pretty well from the Nihilanth.

He's thought a lot about what Xen said.

And he's decided that they were very wrong about him.

His love for other people isn't a flaw, it's his best quality.

He can and will protect the people he loves with his life, no matter what.

And he knows that the people he loves will do the same for him.

With time, Gordon learns not to flinch at the sight of his right hand, or gag when he drinks a soda.

Benrey learns to accept hugs and snuggles from Tommy, and figures out the jokes that Gordon likes and doesn't like.

Tommy is always there to patch up Benrey's injuries, and learns better responses that don't involve soda when Gordon needs to vent.

So Benrey feels safe, and knows that he's not the only one who's trying to be better.

Benrey and them are trying, together.