#the weird earth wind and water appearances... huh...

[redorich]

In the hermit canyon au, who’s the first to find one of the far out overworld builds the hermits do? I can just imagine someone setting up a meeting far from prying eyes and oh, oh wow that was not expected over the next hill, who’s been building a villaige way out here and why is populated solely by dead eyed mannequins?

Why do these things keep happening to Techno?

A villager offers him a map of some weird structure he’s never seen before, so of course Techno buys it. He considers putting it up on his wall with some of his favorite propaganda posters, but every time he passes the map, something about it grates at his pride, and at his curiosity. He cannot in good conscience (not that he has one of those anyway) put a map on his wall without even knowing what the map leads to; he just can’t.

So, here he is, thousands upon thousands of blocks away from home. A gigantic structure looms before him, Tolkien-esque spires of concrete and quartz converging to create a pristine elven castle with floating islands accessible only through terraced waterfalls. It’s beautiful, breathtaking even. There’s just a few things about it that aren’t quite right.

Part of the castle’s incipient third spire is missing, a smooth line in the tower like the entire tip has been lopped off by a gigantic sword. The courtyard outside the tower is half-built; in some areas benches are left to collect leaves, and in other areas the cobbled ground cedes way to dirt. Armor stands, posed to look like adults and children and animals... All of them look so lifelike, but wrong, because they’re missing their parts, like a wax sculpture with its inner wiring revealed or like a sun-bleached skeleton of something huge buried in the desert sand.

Warily, Techno makes his way into the castle. The floor is dirt and grass and exposed stone, and scaffolding of dirt and hand-woven bamboo alike stretches toward the ceiling as though they are fingers of the earth, reaching for the sky. Shreds of distorted light seep through the gigantic rainbow stained glass windows, but most of the castle is still dark.

The castle’s interior, despite its shadowed innards, has no mobs which he can see-- except, he notices, one.

“Huh,” he says to himself, “I’ve never seen a zombie with red hair before.”

It groans, turning slightly away from him. He’s far enough away that it probably can’t see him.

Fossilnet donated $100! 

Name it Susan!

Techno’s brow raises. Well, he was considering keeping the unique mob, but now he has to. Sighing, he takes off his armor so the zombie won’t accidentally kill itself on his thorns enchantment. Warily, he edges closer to it, boat in his hotbar at the ready. He treads slowly, but the closer he gets, the more he realizes that this zombie isn’t going to attack him. Does it even notice him? Its face is nearly pristine, so it shouldn’t have any trouble seeing him--

All at once, the zombie’s face contorts as it throws concrete powder into his eyes. Techno wipes the grit out of his eyes as fast as he can, squinting, but he hears a woman scream, “Fuck off!!” and by the time he can see again, the zombie is gone.

A glint on the floor catches his watering eyes. It’s... a broken bottle. A broken potion bottle. Techno spins around, looking high and low for a hint of a particle effect. It’s difficult in the dark, but once he spots it, he tracks it like a bloodhound.

“Get back here, Susan!” Techno shouts. “The rich people demand your presence!”

The invisible zombie woman flees through the missing door and into the courtyard outside, with its creepy lifeless armor stand statues. “M’ name’s not Susan, you berk! Leave me alone, I have-- I’ve got rabies! I’ll bite you! Joe, help!”

Techno skids to a stop when a man appears before him. He’s got no residual potion particles indicating an invisibility potion, but the ground around the two is flat; there’s nowhere he could have been hiding. The man is unremarkable compared to the wild appearances of the players native to the Dream SMP, but something about him hails from Uncanny Valley nonetheless, just like the castle.

The man-- Joe, Techno presumes-- is of about average height, with brown hair, a brown beard, and normal blue eyes. His shirt is a plain blue thing with an “at” symbol on it, and his glasses are rectangular frames. He looks like a guy who should be working in a library or an animal shelter, not someone who appears out of nowhere to breathe malevolence into the air around him.

“Howdy,” the man says with a thick Tennessee twang. Vile magic drips from his teeth. Despite himself, Techno takes a step back, not-Susan completely forgotten.

White light glints from the man’s glasses. The sun is setting. Herobrine, Herobrine, Herobrine, the voices chant. Unbidden, his mind conjures images he’s never seen before: deep dark tunnels, two by two and going nowhere; gold blocks and netherrack and redstone torches; expansive forests with their leaves stripped, each tree bare and shuddering in the wind.

When Techno opens his eyes again, it is dark and cold. The moon is high in the sky, and the wind bites at his skin. He looks behind him. The third spire is no longer missing its point.

He goes home.

[raineydays411]

And the adventure begins

Bruce Banner x daughter!reader 

A/n: yay! Another part out! Finally lol. Now time to work on my Loki fic and ignore this one for two weeks lol💀 jk I’m trying to keep up y’all I promise. Anyway hope you like it💕💕

Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now that you think about it, maybe you shouldn’t have skipped school today. Maybe then you wouldn’t be in this situation. 

....On another planet. Watching Thor be forced to fight some old dudes “Champion”, whatever that means.

Let’s go back to the beginning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nerves filled your body as you walked to school. You had an audition in the school play today and you were determined to get the part. Tony had offered to take you to school today but you decided to walk as it would give you extra time to learn your lines. As you pushed through the busy streets, occasionally bumping into a random pedestrian, you heard some girls whispering.

“Oh my god is that..”

“Yes! oh my go, he's so handsome”

“Ask him for a selfie”

“No you go ask hm”

At first you rolled your eyes, thinking it was just some youtuber or Tik tok star, you kept walking, eyes down re-reading your script. Then you heard the girls speak again. 

“Thanks Thor, I’m sorry Jane dumped you.” 

Hearing the name, your head swiveled up. You scanned the crowd looking for the blonde man, at first missing him as he wasn’t in his usual outfit of a cape and battle armour. But then you saw him, in a hoodie and some jeans. Picking up the pace, you jog toward the god not noticing the darker clothed man next to him.

“....it was a mutual dumping”

“I didn’t know the renaissance fair was in town” you say, a small smirk making its way on your face at the quip. 

Both Thor and ...Loki?! Turn around in surprise at the sudden voice behind them. Only to see you looking up at them with a arched brow. 

“Lady Y/n! How wonderful it is to see you” Thor boomed as he brought you into a bone crushing hug. Over his shoulder you could see Loki roll his eyes. 

“Honestly, had I known this trip would consist of young woman flocking to you, I would have allowed your hammer to kill me.”

Thor ignored his brother as he put you down. “My how you’ve grown.”

You smile and say, “Well the last time you saw me I was twelve.” Then you eye Loki with distrust. “Um Thor, why’d you bring brother dearest back to New York?” 

Loki looks at you with distaste, “ Who is this child, and why is she conversing with us?”

“Brother” Thor warns and then turns to you, “ Lady Y/n, we are searching for our father, it seems as if my brother” Thor harshly pats Loki on the shoulder, “ Has misplaced him.” 

You look at Loki and then look at the building that has been demolished

, “ Woah, I didn’t know Gods put their parents in nursing homes” You say “ If you want we can go back to the Tower and try to track him down”  

Thor smiles at the suggestion, “ A wonderful idea, tell me, how have my comrades been in my absence?” 

You cringe at the thought of explaining the events of the so called “Civil war”. Then notice a ring of sparks forming around Loki. 

“Uhh Thor” You say as you nod your head

“What’s this..wha.what are you doing?” He asks in alarm. Loki looks confused as the sparks get larger and more erratic.

“ This isn’t me” Loki says in confusion. Then suddenly the ground opens up beneath him and he falls through with an alarmed “Oh!” only leaving behind a business card. You and Thor look at each other, confusion written on both of your faces. 

“Loki” Thor whispers as he nudges the card with his umbrella. You look at him with concern and think to yourself

“Does..does he think the cards Loki?” 

You bend down to pick up the business card and read it out loud. 

“177a Bleeker St” you look at Thor and ask,” Do you know anyone from there?” 

“ No” He says, ‘ i don’t even know where that is.” 

You sigh, looking down at your script and making a decision. “ Well, lets go find your brother.” 

And with that, you turn around and start walking to your destination.

“Oh well, school can wait”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and Thor find yourselves in front of two big black doors. You stand near Thor as he raises his hand to knock. Suddenly, before his hand is able to touch the door, you find yourselves inside the building. 

“What the fuck?” you mutter to yourself as you look around.

“Thor Odinson” a deep voice says. You look up to see a floating figure in the shadows coming towards you both. Thor pushes you behind him as he holds him umbrella threateningly. If you weren’t in potential danger, you would have laughed at the sight. The figure floated into the light and you saw it was a man. 

He was wearing a cloak and some weird robes with yellow gloves. He was relatively handsome, salt and pepper hair that was slicked back, high cheek bones and a goatee. He wasn’t horrible to look at. His deep, baritone voice was soothing.

“God of Thunder” He said looking at Thor. He glanced at the umbrella. “ You can put down the umbrella.” Then his gaze turned to you. 

“Y/n Banner. I wasn’t expecting you here” He said eyes narrowing at you,” Shouldn’t you be in school?”

You chuckled nervously, “ Eh, how can I abandon a friend in need?” 

The man smiles and looks back at Thor and suddenly your in a different room. Looking around in awe you hear Thor start talking.

“So..Earth has wizards now” He says, picking up a dagger from a display on a table, then dropping all of them trying to put them back. You try to hold back a laugh, feeling embarrassed for the god. 

You might have failed though because Thor looked at you with an unimpressed glance. You giggle out loud this time, as you watch him struggle with the knives. Everytime he managed to put one back, another fell. 

“The preferred term is Master of the Mystic arts...” Clank! another knife falls. The man looks very unimpressed, at your giggling and Thor's clumsiness.” You can leave that now.” 

At those words Thor leaves the knifes, trying to regaine his cool, he leans against the table. 

“Alright wizard, who are you and why should I care?” 

“Thor! That’s rude!”  

Ignoring you, their conversation continues, 

“My name is Dr. Stephen Strange and I have some questions for you.”  He says as he eyes you and Thor. “Have a seat”  

Within a second you’re in another room in the building...or least you think it is. The wind blows your hair back as you are suddenly dropped into a chair. You can see Thor look around startled and confused at the sudden setting change. You’re sure your face mirrored his as well.

“Tea?” Dr. Strange asks nonchalantly, a cup of tea appearing in your hands. You look at it in awe, not used to this level of magic, or magic at all. Thor on the other hand looked unimpressed with the cup.

“I don’t drink tea.” He says examining the cup that looked small in his hands. 

“Well what do you drink?”

“Not tea.” Thor says shaking his head. You roll you eyes as you go for a sip of tea, but before you can a large pitcher of beer was in its place. You look up at the two men with a raised eyebrow. 

“I hate to be a bother, but I do drink tea” 

Strange looked at you in amusement as he returns the beer to tea. 

“Jesus made water into wine, you make beer into tea. Interesting..” You say as you sip your tea. It was perfectly brewed of course. Dr. Strange smiled at the comparison

“Well its not exactly like that” Then he turned to Thor, “ So, I keep a watch list of individuals and beings from the realms that may be a threat to this world. Your adopted brother Loki is one of those beings.” 

You scoff and roll your eyes and mutter, “Yeah no kidding.” Then you finish the last sips of tea, as you bring it down, the glass is already refilled

Thor looks up from his glass that he basically chugged,”Thats a worthy inclusion” His beer is refilled as well. He looks at it in astonishment.

“Then why bring him here?” Strange asks leaning forward.

“We’re looking for my father.” 

“So..if I were to tell you where Odin was..all parties concerned would return to Asgard” He then looks at you, “ or upper Manhattan.” 

“Promptly” “Try and keep me away from this place.” 

“Great then I’ll help you...and get to that later” 

You smirk at the doctor, knowing that it’s basically impossible to squash your curiosity once you get started. Then you realized something.

“Wait, if you knew where Odin is, why didn't you tell anyone?”

“Well he was very adamant he was not to be disturbed,” He turned to Thor, “Your father had chosen to remain in exile. Also you don’t have a phone.” 

“Hmm, no I don’t have a..a phone but you could’ve sent an electronic letter. It’s called an email.”

“Thor you don’t have a computer.”

“What for?” 

You lock eyes with Dr. Strange and share a look. 

“Uh huh well, my father is no longer in exile, so if you can tell me where he is, the quicker I can take him home.” Thor then takes a sip of his beer.

“Okay, hes in Norway.” Suddenly your on your feet again standing an a library of some sort. You’re a bit unbalance and catch yourself on the self. Strange is muttering to himself as he looks through a book. Then again, you’re in another room with a shelf. Nearly falling over you cling onto Thor, but he’s in no better shape than you, beer spilling everywhere. 

“Oh we don’t need that” Boom, in another room, this time you do fall and Thor breaks another shelf. He places the glass on a table, shaking the spilled beer of his person. 

“Can you stop doing that?” He asked irritated 

“Please” you add in, looking up from your place on the ground. 

You’re on your feet in a blink of an eye, feeling dizzy at the continuous movement. 

“Can I..I need a piece of your hair.” Strange says looking at Thor. 

“Let me tell you something, my hair is not to be --OW” 

You smile sweetly as you pass the yanked out hair to the Strange. “ Here you go Dr. Wizard.”  He makes a face at the nickname but takes the hair with a nod of thanks. Thor looks at you in betrayal. 

“Don’t be such a drama queen” You say rolling your eyes.  You then walk away from the duo, examining books and artifact that were in the room. You were too caught up in looking at all the cool stuff you didn’t pay attention to the rest of the conversation. Suddenly you were in the front room again. You managed to stay on your feet as Thor tumbled down the stairs. You watched in amazement as Dr. Strange did some hand movements and created a shape in sparks. 

“Could’ve just walked.” Thor muttered as he brushed the dust and wrinkles out off of his clothes. 

“He’s waiting for you.” Then Dr. Strange turned to you,” Would you like to go home Ms. Banner?” 

You looked at him with consideration,” Um Mister Strange, do you think you can help me find my dad?” 

“I’ll see what I can do.” Then he turned to Thor,” Don’t forget your umbrella.

“Oh right.” Thor sticks his arm out like he’s summoning his hammer. You look at him confused. Then you here several bangs and crashes, as if something is being thrown around the rooms. 

“ohhh thats where your hammer went” 

Dr. Strange looks at Thor unimpressed again.

“Sssorry” The umbrella lands in his hands and he brushes the glass off the hammer.” I suppose I need my brother back”

“Oh right”

The a portal appears a few feet off the ground, in comes Loki screaming as he falls and hits the ground. 

He flips his hair back as he catches his breath, “ I have been falling..FOR THIRTY MINUTES” 

You snicker as you go to help the god of mischief up,” Come on reindeer games, lets get you up” 

He doesn’t decline your help but he doesn’t thank you either. You turn to see Thor and Strange shake hands.

“Handle me?!” “Oh boy” “ Who are you?”

“Loki..”

“You think you’re a sorcerer? Don’t think for one minute--”

“Alright bye bye” The portal then is thrown to them as Loki charges with two daggers. 

It’s silent in the room as you whislte,” Well he’s very catty.”

Strange laughs as he nods,” Come on kid lets find your dad.”

You’re then taken back to the library and you give him a piece of your hair. 

“You have had quite the adventure today.” Dr. Strange says as he looks through the books again.

“Ehh, when you live with the Avengers stuff like this is an everyday thing.”

“I could imagine” He says smiling at you. “ Well..it seems like your father is off world”

“Off world?” You question,”why would he be...?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Then a bag appeared in front of you. 

“I have a feeling you won’t stop searching until you find your father.” He nods to the bag. “ Everything you need to survive in Sakkarr is in there, I trust you know how to use knives?” 

“Yeah, Bucky taught me.”

“Perfect, now you must try to get on the grandmasters good side, that’ll give you the resources you need to find your father. Don’t get caught by scavenger or scrapper , you’ll either get eaten or sold into slavery.”

“Slavery?” you ask with an eyebrow raised.

“Sakkarr is known to be the ‘dump’ of the universe. It’s filled with people you must be weary of. The main entertainment are these gladiator type fights the Grandmaster puts on.” He thinks for a bit the conjures up a portal. He pulls a amulet out of it then hands it to you. “If you find your father, or need a quick escape, rub this amule three times t and I’ll make a portal for you to come back home” 

You nod, nervous to go on your personal mission. You look up at Dr.strange and hug him. “ Thanks Dr.Wizard.”

He pats your back uncomfortably,” It’s Stephen.” 

You let go of him and smile,”Well, beam me up Scotty” 

He rolls his eyes and creates a portal, you take a deep breath and look at him. He sends you a reassuring smile and you’re filled with determination. Then you step through.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You step through it to see...the steps to some weird looking palace. You look around to see an even weirder looking city. It looks like its built out of scraps of metal or parts. You walk up the steps and into the palace. You look around, astonished at the amount of people?? 

Beings. So many different kinds of aliens. All different colors and shapes. It was like a Star Wars movie. Then you see a familiar face. 

“Loki??” 

He looks up at you in confusion, you speed towards him, happy to see a familiar face. Even if it is Thor's evil brother.

“Ah Thor's child friend. This doesn’t seem like your type of setting.”

“I’m looking for my father, Stephen says he’s here.” 

He scoffs, looking around the room. “It seems everyone is looking for their fathers.” 

“What are you doing here? I thought you were in Norway with Thor and your dad” 

“Well it seems that father dearest has been hiding a secret daughter. Who appeared after my father died. And is destined to destroy Asgard.”

“Well shit” you blurt out. “Are..are you okay?”

Loki looks at you like you’re a puzzle. 

“What.”

“Well..” you start nervously, “it sounds like a traumatic experience, so..are you okay?”

He’s quiet for a few minutes, just staring at you. Suddenly he turns around. “We must see the grandmaster. He’s the only one who can guarantee your protection, and I’m sure you would prefer not to be slaughtered brutally in the competition.”

He walks ahead of you, and you stare after him wondering what just happened. Then after he noticed you’re not following him he turns and says

“Well, come on. I haven’t got all day.”

“Oh right.” You catch up to him and walk by his side. Looking around in wonder.

“Why are you looking around like that?” Loki asks as he makes his way through a crowd of...pink women. They had their hair in very intricate styles and weird metallic unitards. They eyed you as you passed by them.

“I feel like I’m in a Star Wars movie.” You pass by a man, he looked almost reptilian. He had pale yellow skin with green slits as his eyes. He looks like he was gambling or something.

“I don’t know what that is. Why would stars commence in battle? It makes no sense.” Loki scoffs as he turns to look at you. You laugh at his misunderstanding.

“I just..never seen..” you trail off not knowing how to explain. Luckily, Loki seems to get what you were says.

“ I can see this is a bit of a change for you. But..you have seen people from other planets before.”

“ yeah..it’s just a lot to take in.” You smile at Loki, “ I’ll be fine, don’t worry. I can freak out about it after I meet the Grandmaster.”

He nods his head and starts walking again, but this time he’s closer to you. Finally, you reach a large room. It’s filled with guards all wearing different colored armor. They part as Loki walks through them, confident with long strides. You follow him, shrinking under their gaze. Loki leans down to whisper to you

“ when you meet the grandmaster, do not be too meak . And do not mention anything about your father till I tell you. Actually, just follow my lead.”

You look up at him and before you say anything, a large woman appears in the room. She looks normal to you. Stocky, a stern face with white markings. A slicked back bun. She’s wearing yellow armor with black accents. She’s holding a large staff with an orb attached to the end.

“ Didn’t the Grandmaster just see you” she says to Loki, glaring at him. Loki smiles charmingly and says

“Oh yes, but it appears that I have found a...friend.. of mine. She, like I, has arrived here on Sakkarr by accident and is hoping to meet with the Grandmaster.”

Then Loki nudges you in front of him, and into the view of the woman. She looks at you with distaste.

“ Poor child is skin and bones. She’s puny.”

You look in offense, but before you can say anything Loki spoke for you.

“Yes, and that’s why I have decided to take her under my wing.”

“ Can she not speak for herself? You expect the Grandmaster to—“ “ Easy Topaz”

“Loki! How wonderful to see you again, even though it’s been about twenty minutes”

A voice cut through the air. Suddenly everyone in the room stood up straight. Topaz immediately stopped talking and turned. A man came in on a floating throne. He was wearing red, blue, and gold robes. He had a blue line down his chin and blue under eye liner. He...he looked like..

“Jeff Goldblum?”

Loki looked at you like you were insane and the Grandmaster and Topaz just looked confused.

“What did she call me?” He whispered to Topaz, she looked at him in equal bafflement. She then tries to hand him the staff.

“ Why are you handing me the melty stick?! She had a slip of a tounge! That’s not a capital offense”

“What is wrong with you?” “I’m sorry! It just slipped out!” “ Do you want to die” “To be fair, that was the biggest compliment I could have given him. Jeff Goldblum is basically a god of cinema.”

Topaz looked at the Grandmaster, “ apparently this..Jeff.. is a god from her world.”

“Hm, child.”

You and Loki stop your whisper arugument and turn to the Grandmaster.

“Come forward.”

You look at Loki in fear and step up to the floating throne.

“Hm” The man says as he examines you. You suddenly feel self conscious about what you’re wearing. A Jurassic park shirt (ironically) with a turtleneck under, some plaid pants and converse. To be fair you weren’t expecting to end up on a different planet.

“I don’t know what Jurassic park is, but look there’s a big lizard on her shirt” he says to Topaz, “ you like lizards?” He asks you. Your eyes widened at the question not expecting it.

“Oh I think I’ve embarrassed her, it’s okay if you like them. I don’t personally like them, they’re all scales and fast and blegh” the Grandmaster rambles then Topaz chimes in

“ and they can grow back limbs”

“Yes! That’s disgusting”

“ I’m sorry, it’s not a lizard, it’s a dinosaur ” you explain. “ it’s from a movie, it has Jeff Goldblum...”

You trail off as they stare at you.

“ Go on, you keep mentioning this Jeff Goldblum, I’d like to hear more about him.”

So there you were, explaining all the different movies Jeff Goldblum was in. From the Fly to Jurassic Park. Everyone seemed...intrested. The Grandmaster somehow got it in his head that you were this great storyteller. So now you were on his good side, just like Loki.

“ Storyteller, I welcome you to Sakkarr! I have never met a child with such interesting stories!” He turns to Topaz, “ Aren’t they entertaining?! So adventurous!”

“ I think they’re weird.” “ Oh don’t be such a buzzkill”

“ I thank you Grandmaster, for being so gracious with my...ward” Loki says, “I assure you that I will keep her out of trouble.”

“ Yes yes, now go, if she is going to stay here, she’ll need to fit in. Topaz, see if you can find a tailor for the child, she’ll need a change of clothes. You as well Loki”

She nods and gestures for you both to follow her. As you walk through the futuristic castle, you are completely in awe. Even though you live with Tony, this is a different kind of technology. Topaz gives you both a tour. She mentions the fights and the arena, but you don’t pay too much attention. Finally you make it to the tailor. After being fussed over and much debating, you finally come to an agreement.

You end up with a sort of body armor. With a black catsuit made out of a leather like material, there were pieces of armor covering your legs, hips, torso, shoulders and arms. Blue fabric was wrapped around your waist, draping down the front and under the armor there. There was also fabric wrapped around your upper arm and shoulders preventing the straps from rubbing against your skin. Finally, to top it all off, a long blue cape drape down your shoulders. You felt awesome. You took the daggers Stephen gave you out of the bag and attached them to your hips. And the amulet around your neck.

“What do you think?” You asked Loki. He looked at you for a bit.

“Your daggers should be attached to your thighs, that way the hilts are at your fingertips and not your shoulders.” He squints for a bit, “ that cape looks ridiculous.”

“Fuck off man I look awesome.”

Loki just laughs and goes to put his outfit on. “ Such foul language for a child.” Then he comes out fully dressed. With a yellow cape.

“ oh? My cape was ridiculous?”

“Hush.”

You smile, and a silence falls between you both. You sigh and look down, playing with the end of your cape. Loki looks at you, examines your face, then looks away.

“ Why...why did you ask if I was alright?” He questions, “when you first saw me..?”

You looked at him your face scrunched in a puzzled expression, “ because.”

“Because what?” Loki asks, not understanding where your coming from.

“ I don’t know, because like I said, something that traumatic must’ve been shitty. I know I wouldn’t be okay.”

“I do not understand you. Why care about someone you never met? Nevertheless someone like me?”

“Someone like you?” Now you were really confused. What does he mean by that?

“No midgardian would trust me. Especially after...” He stops, hinting about the attack of New York. “ I am not... not a good person. Nor a good influence. Not for a child.”

“That’s bullshit.”

Your words seem to startle him.

“I beg your pardon?”

“ That’s. Bullshit.” You stand to face him.

“Loki, I’ve known you for about six hours. And in that time, you managed to help me gain favor of a ruler, enough for him to give me a room to stay in and new clothes. You also helped me when you could’ve just left me alone. From what I’ve seen, you’re pretty chill.”

“Chill?” He asks quirking an eyebrow.

“A good person.”

He stops and looks at you, “ you think I’m a good person? Even though I nearly destroyed your planet?”

“ Sure. We all make mistakes.”

He stares at you for a while. Smiles briefly and then gets up from where he was leaning.

“ You, my dear, are one odd child.” He walks out of the room. “Come along, I must get you to your room. It’s late and I am certain you e had a long day.”

You follow him to your room, turns out someone was paying attention to the tour. He leads you to your temporary room, shows you how to open the door and lock it, then makes sure your settled.

“Well, it’s time for me to retire. Good night child.”

When he doesn’t get a response he turns around, he sees you’ve fallen asleep on the bed. He chuckles at the sound of you muttering in your sleep.

“ An odd child indeed.”

Then he covers you, turns out the lights and shuts the door. Leaving you to go to his room.

( he promptly freaks out over how quickly he’s grown fond of you.)

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Taglist: @ella-ivanov​

[spookybreadstick]

Hellooo! Hope you're having a great life, I wanna ask for a crazy headcanon xd. I wanna see the reaction of Masky, Jeff, EJ, BEN and Toby dating a goddess/god reincarnation, like a deity of an element like water, plants, earth, fire, electricity, ice or wind! Thanks for the headcanon and thank u so much!

this was such a great request! it took me a little while due to all of the circumstances that i’m still adjusting to, but i did have fun writing this and i hope you like it!! <3 

(it’s a bit long so i put it under the cut)

(also note: 

Element Age: when the first of your elemental kind emerged

Reincarnation: refers to when your specific elemental self came into being

Earthy Age: the age in which you act/appear to mortals)  

💡 WARNING FOR STROBE/FLICKERING LIGHT GIF💡

🎭 Masky/Tim 🎭

Goddess Reincarnation of FIRE

Element Age --> 400,000 years old (sparked by humans creating fire for the first time; younger than all of the elements except for Electricity)

Your reincarnation --> 500 years old  

Your earthy age --> 26 years old

🎭 In order not to frighten him away, you wouldn't reveal to him your true heritage/powers until you were securely in a relationship already

🎭Truth be told, he wouldn't believe you at first, when you told him

🎭 That's partially because Tim's used to dealing with goofballs like Jeff, BEN, & Toby who are always making up weird things and pulling pranks, so he kind of thinks you might be in on it at first

🎭 And it's also partially because, you know, it sounds really impossible/unbelievable

🎭 Then again, he has seen some pretty wild shit ever since he started at the mansion...

🎭 Seeing Tim's disbelief in your words, you'll have to show him your powers

🎭 You'll start small, just a flame in the palm of your hand

🎭 And he'll just. Stare.

🎭 He's processing this, so hold on and just give him a minute to think

🎭 Once he's finished processing this, he'll just blink, very slowly, a couple of times, then nod his head like he's making any kind of sense out of this situation.

🎭 Now would probably be the best time to tell him of your status as a deity reincarnation

🎭 He'll need a few more minutes of processing this information

🎭 Then he'll just go, "Huh. Okay."

🎭 Which is, you know, a very calm response to this

🎭 But then again, he's got some experience with handling otherworldly/supernatural/inhuman/paranormal things

🎭 So, you know, he's totally chill with all of this

🎭 SIKE

🎭 Tim may look calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside?

🎭 He's freaking out because HOLYSHITHISGIRLFRIENDISAFREAKINGDEITYWITHPOWERS

🎭 He won't pressure you into showing him the extent of your powers, or explaining all of your history, but he'll be happy to watch/listen if you're willing

🎭 Tim also thinks that he's an extremely lucky guy, to not only have a partner as wonderful as you, but also that he managed to date the freaking deity reincarnation of fire

🎭 How fucking awesome is that??

🎭 Plus, you know, he thinks it's pretty hot when you show off the full extent of your powers

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🔪 Jeff🔪

Goddess Reincarnation of WIND

Element Age --> Unknown (existed pre-humans; older than Fire, but younger than Water & Earth)

Your reincarnation --> 100 years old

Your earthy age --> 22 years old

🔪 Jeff would have also been unaware of your powers, until he caught you using them one day

🔪 And it would totally just catch him off guard

🔪 He wouldn't be mad that you didn't tell him or anything, that fact honestly doesn't even register with him.

🔪 He'd just be surprised, finding out that his girlfriend has magical powers..?

🔪 Like, what?? You're... practically creating a little tornado within the palm of your hands, how are you doing that??

🔪 So then you have to explain to him your origins as a deity and the extent of your powers

🔪 And of course, in typical Jeff fashion, his first response would be something along the lines of asking what kinds of trouble you can create with your powers

🔪 He'll want to watch you as you create mini tornadoes with your hands, and he'll want you to teach him how to do it (and he'll be sorely disappointed when he finds out that, because he is not a reincarnated deity of the wind like you are, he cannot make mini tornadoes with his hands)

🔪 Although, it's really for everyone's benefit that he doesn't. I mean, can you imagine the kind of destruction Jeff could do, with only mini tornadoes and such?

🔪 Don't let him find out that you can actually create much larger, real tornadoes and hurricane winds with your powers

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🤍 EJ 🤍

Goddess Reincarnation of WATER/ICE

Element Age --> Unknown (existed pre-humans; the oldest of all elements)

Your reincarnation --> 75 years old

Your earthy age --> 21 years old

🤍  You would have told EJ about your origins/powers before the two of you started dating, but after the two of you would have a solid, close friendship formed already

🤍 EJ would be having his usual moping session over being demonic and "a monster," when you would walk in.

🤍 EJ, already having feelings for you but not the courage to act on them, would try to turn you away. He doesn't want you to see him at his lowest point, because not only is he depressed over his demonic state, but this would be a particularly bad time for him. He'd be thinking all sorts of horrible things about himself, and he would be fervently wishing that he could just be normal

🤍 After a little comfort and gentle coaxing from you, he'd feel safe enough to confide in you about his wish for being a normal human and he'd admit his fear of never being loved & always just being seen as a monster for being different

🤍 It would be then that you'd decided to show him that, although the two of you have very different circumstances, he isn't alone in not being 'normal' and in being viewed as a monster by some.

🤍 You'd tell him all about your origins (which he'd be very interested to hear about) and you'd show off your powers which would greatly impress him (and also get his mind off of his own dark thoughts)

🤍 EJ would be so grateful for your help in making him feel better, and for you sharing this personal bit of yourself with him

🤍 It wouldn't be too long after this that the two of you would confess your feelings for the other and start dating...

🤍 EJ really admires your strength, both physically and mentally, in wielding your powers.

🤍 He also adores the fact that you, with your watery powers, symbolize life. Water is something every creature needs to live, at least in some capacity. It's essential for life, which to him is very symbolic because he feels deeply that you are essential for his life.

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🎮 BEN 🎮 

Goddess Reincarnation of ELECTRICITY 

Element Age --> Unknown (came about during the age of early humans; the youngest of all elements)

Your reincarnation --> 130 years old

Your earthy age --> 22 years old

🎮 BEN would have known from the start of your origins and powers

🎮 Like, hello? His whole thing is technology? Of course he would know all about the goddess of electricity/technology! The mighty deity who controls the mighty lightening bolts of the sky and the simple electricity humming through the walls of people's homes.

🎮 You're a legend to him!

🎮 He's honestly a little star struck when he meets you for the first time

🎮 But that's part of the appeal for you! BEN's this fun-loving guy who is just as interested in technology as you are, while also having tech-powers, but he's totally awestruck over you in a way that's honestly so sweet to see

🎮 BEN will feel as though he's the luckiest guy on the whole planet when you agree to go out with him

🎮 And he's so psyched to be able to 'nerd out' over technology with you

🎮 It's also super nice to have somebody that not only understands, but also shares in, your specific powers

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🪓 Toby 🪓

Goddess Reincarnation of PLANTS/EARTH

Element Age --> Unknown (older than all of the elements, except for Water)

Your reincarnation --> 50 years old

Your earthy age --> 18 years old

🪓 Toby would have known about your existence, origins, & powers from the very start

🪓 You are an inhabitant of the woods, and Slender is aware of your existence (you're on friendly terms, don't worry)

🪓 Toby would have stumbled across you one day, and informed Slender of your presence, requesting guidance on what Slender wanted to do with this 'intruder,' but Toby was simply told that you were not only welcome in the forest, but that you were one of its protectors.

🪓 Toby would have been told not to bother you, but he would have wanted to talk to you so badly! You're just so beautiful, and he's in absolute awe of you.

🪓 You would have sensed his presence, but known that he was under Slender's jurisdiction so he could not harm you. In any case, you also sensed his reluctance to harm you even if Slender had happened to order him to do so, and you had also sensed his curiosity as he watched you tend carefully to plants.

🪓 You would have offered him the chance to accompany you on your daily nature walk, and watch you as you tended to the plants in need of your help

🪓 Toby would eagerly agree to come along, and he would be fascinated with your healing abilities and your abilities for plant growth

🪓 The nature walks would slowly become part of a routine for you both, and you would each begin to open up to one another, as friends at first, but it would quickly develop into something more.

🪓 Toby would probably accidentally blurt out his feelings for you one day, and then immediately regret it because he thinks too little of himself, that somebody as lovely as you would never have feelings for him. Not only that, but you are a goddess. You have no business dating somebody so mortal and lowly like Toby. You could do so much better, or so he thinks.

🪓 You'll have to reassure him countless times that your feelings for him are very real and very strong, and that you are one lucky deity to have the honor of dating him.

🪓 The relationship between the two of you will be very special, as Toby will never stop seeing you as somebody worthy of worshiping. You'll always be a goddess in his eyes, no matter what, and he'll always be incredibly impressed by your abilities.

[ellitx]

Precious | Xiao x Reader

[Name] waits for the Vigilant Yaksha to come back as he went to meet a certain god.

note: i recommend reading it on AO3 (unedited version; refers Xiao as Xiao) or Quotev (edited; refers Xiao as Alatus) for the feels. tumblr’s text post is kind of weird for me

word count: 6.9k

“Xiao!”

A young feminine voice called out to him, chasing after his figure. His stride stopped, slowly turning his head to the source of the voice. Xiao’s amber optics were greeted by the smiling girl, her [eye color] orbs shining gleefully seeing him.

Since when did my name have a special ring to it only when you said it…?

[Name] walked forward and stood beside him, giving him another one of her bright smiles.

“This is fun!” 

Her vocals echoed in his head as he reminisced the time they strolled near the Yaoguang Shoal, enjoying the serene and gentle breeze of the Liyue region. [Name]’s lips turned upwards as she enjoyed the presence of the Yaksha beside her. Just the mere sight of her soft and gentle laughs and grins made his heart tugged.

And if it made you smile, I’d do something over and over for you.

He reminisced about the time they went stargazing at the rooftop of her house near Dihua Marsh. Watching the umbra skies be splashed with little marks of white dots all around as it gives a source of light in Teyvat. 

When did I start thinking such idiotic things like that?

They enjoyed their time being together, especially [Name], and not even realizing it was already morning. Hours and hours of late-night chatting and time have already passed by in a blink.

  Since when did I…?

 —

 “[Name].” 

The familiar voice of the Yaksha made her turn her head to face Xiao and raised an eyebrow at his sudden appearance.

“Eh? I thought you were out.” The female fixed her hold on the basket filled with white sheets that were supposed to be washed until Xiao called for her.

“Yes, but I forgot something to tell you.” Something urgent came up and for her not to worry he had to tell her about it. Sometimes this girl’s worries can come out of hand. He sighed internally at that thought but shook it off seconds later reminding himself of what he was doing here.

“I have to go to the annex.”

Xiao was very straightforward, he need not dawdle on any conversations, he’d rather want it to be forward and straight to the point. 

After letting those words be released from his mouth, [Name] dropped the basket onto the ground and her eyes grew wide and turned glossy. 

“Sorry I have to leave you alone here—“

“Wonderful. It’s wonderful. How lovely!” She cut him off and he was surprised to see how happy she was. It was not something the Anemo-vision holder was expecting. Why was she so happy about it? 

“Huh?”

“It must be something important right? It’s alright, please don’t worry about me!” 

Xiao’s eyes softened and lifted his gloved hand to lightly bump it on her head. His action made her look up at him in curiosity.

“Be good and wait for me to come back.” He said softly.

“I will! See you later!”

The female bid him a farewell and waved her hands at him, watching his figure disappear from the door.

"She’s so happy for you, huh?" Bosacius, another fellow Yaksha, cooed to him.

“Be quiet. Nothing good will come of it anyway.” Xiao scoffed at him as he turned his back.

"So scary~ You’re only kind to [Name], aren’t you?" The adeptus snickered at him.

His hands turned to fists, refraining himself to be ticked off by the teasing voice of his companion. He looked back at you for the last time at the door and saw you picking up the fallen sheets scattered on the ground and placing it back inside the basket. His legs lead him to where the annex will be held and went off on a journey, ignoring the winds mockingly lulling his ears.

It was a bit far from where [Name] lives. He wanted to go back and just stay with her but if he defies an order from a god, surely a consequence will come for him. Xiao gritted his teeth at the thought. A god who merely used him as a puppet for the archon and used his weakness.

How utterly disgusting his god is.

‘You’d better not lash out at your master, you know?’

“Shut the hell up.”

The Vigilant Yaksha’s voice was dark and glared at nothingness. How annoying these spirits are. Playing and annoying the man just for fun, to enjoy the sight of his weakness and see him be aggravated for their pleasure.

Xiao stomped his way to his destination, killing the hilichurls that were blocking his path. He released all his anger to these poor monsters. Fortunately, no one ever bothered him again, and finally reached the top of the cliff to see his master.

The one who’s behind the strings attached to him to see his sufferings, the puppet master— his god.

It already made him sick seeing him. 

“Welcome.” The divinity greeted who was sitting idly at one of the stones, waiting for the man’s arrival.

“It’s been a while since we’ve talked face-to-face.” He smirked at the Yaksha.

His amber optics sharpened and clashed with the god’s black ones. The wind softly danced against them, their clothes ruffling and the leaves flying, though it only made the temperature drop down at the intense aura between the two.

“It’s okay. Come closer, my pitiful monster.”

 —

 [Name]’s gaze was fixated on the streams and lakes, the clear blue water, and bright azure sky made it a good time to do the laundry. She placed the last white clothing on the plastic rod and clipped it to avoid being blown away.

“Xiao should have arrived there by now.” She muttered to herself. “I wonder if they are dining together?” A chuckle escaped from her lips and imagined the immortal and other deities eating together in peace.

“Be good and wait for me to come back.”

The young woman placed her hands together and intertwined her fingers to pray. Hoping the Geo archon will hear her prayer. 

I hope that Xiao will come back at least a little happy.

[Name] closed her eyes, hoping for him to come back to her abode safe and sound.

 —

 “How’s your duty? I suppose you have already killed tons of people, correct?” The god tilted his head to his side, enjoying the sight of the Demon Conqueror’s weakness almost crumbling to pieces in front of him. But Xiao won’t give in, the walls surrounding him are still strong. As if he’ll let the god do what he pleases. 

Just hold it a little longer.

“I’m amazed at how you’ve slaughtered so many. Tell me, did you like it? Were those dreams you’ve devoured— their hopes and dreams— delicious?” The god’s stygian orbs glinted as he fiddled with the stones lying beside him. His grin only widened when Xiao stayed silent and presented his master with a cold glare.

“How’s the bet going? It’s impossible, right? It must be impossible.” He continued to smile in amusement when his puppet’s grimace didn’t falter.

“Now now, don’t look at me like that. That’s how it’s supposed to be… How it’s been from the start. It’s what’s been carved into the wheel of fate for those born with a spirit. Didn’t I teach you that it’s the fate of your lineage?”

The Anemo-vision user’s knuckles turned white. His nails dig deep into his skin and he can feel the blood dripping down. Xiao ignored the pain, it didn’t bother him the slightest but what did was the words that escaped from the lips of the deity.

  “I have nothing to do with that fate! You made me do this! You’re the one who made me do this!”

Xiao grabbed the supreme being’s clothing and clutched it tightly, holding it upwards as if to choke him. 

“Oh? You’re saying it’s my fault? Then let’s make a bet.”

Amber eyes widened at his sudden challenge but his grip didn’t faze. The god’s fringe covered his eyes, not even going to bother to face him.

“If you manage to break the curse in 2 years, I’ll release you and stop being your god. I’ll even let you enjoy the life of freedom. But if you can’t,”

The deity sneered at him, grin outspread on his face enjoying what was about to come for his puppet.

“I’ll lock you up permanently and you won’t ever run away from me.”

Xiao let go of him and stepped back. The upper being stood up, unfazed, and chuckled as he fixed his outfit.

Oh how amusing this was. He loves it, the expression the Yaksha is giving him. The despair in his eyes was so wonderful!

“If you can’t break it, you’ll truly become a monster to everyone.”

 “Looks like I’m going to win the bet after all.” The god picked up the stone and chucked it in the air upwards and the weight of it fell back to his hands.

Xiao clicked his tongue in annoyance. “What? Don’t just assume that. There’s still time. You don’t know that yet.” The volume of his voice increased with each word left from his mouth.

The god suddenly stopped tossing the stone and gripped it tightly.

“Who’s the one who doesn’t get it?”

Before he could speak, the Demon Conqueror was cut off when something hard and rough scraped against his cheek. Xiao felt a stinging pain on his skin and watched the stone that was thrown by the god fell onto the earth.

“Why don’t you get it?” He repeated to him. His gaze was dark and his voice was so quiet that the vanquisher couldn’t almost hear it.

“How come? Did you forget?” The god lifted his own body away from the rock he was sitting on and looked at his puppet with mixed emotions. Anger. Disappointment. Annoyance. Frustration.

He tilted his head to the side and asked, “Why are you so deluded?”

The way he walks was rather crooked and hobbled, he slowly walked to Xiao and he can feel an unsettling aura surrounding the god. 

“Remember. Come on.”

He stopped on his track when he’s finally in front of his follower. 

“Remember that you’re a monster,”

Xiao gulped down the air that was blocking his throat and took a step back.

“And because you’re a monster, everyone is dead.”

Something snapped inside Xiao. His eyes enlarged and his lips quivered. “You’re wro—“

“I’m not wrong.” The god cut him off again.

“No, it wasn’t my fault!” He retaliated to his master loudly. His heart was beating so loudly and sweat was dripping on the side of his head. He opened his hand to summon his polearm but was once again ceased for an umpteenth time when the numen took his wrist to put a stop on summoning his weapon.

“It was your fault. You killed those poor villagers.”

“Stop. Stop! Don’t touch me!” Xiao wriggled his arm but it only tightened a bit more when the deity spoke in a dark tone accompanied by a threatening glare.

“Don’t give me orders.”

His fingers were shaking and only stared at the deity in fear. 

“Those poor villagers. Even though they were just enjoying their peaceful lives, protecting their family, and raising their children, they ended up dying from your hands. And you don’t care about their death, not even mourning once for their death.”

The Yaksha’s lips hung open, he wanted to speak out but no words were coming out. His brows formed a crease between his forehead, fear, and confusion written all over his visage.

The dark aura is surrounding them so fast. It’s so suffocating, he wanted to get out.

He wanted to be released from this god.

‘Xiao, do you know how that poor child felt?’ Whispered the wind.

‘It wasn’t an accident.’ Another told him.

‘It wasn’t a suicide.’

‘Do you know how much grief you have caused to those poor souls?’

‘Do you understand? As a monster, do you understand?’

His gaze was so dull. There was no glimmer or spark in it. It’s as if he’s soulless… He continued to stare at his gloved hands that were splattered with blood. His polearm was lying on the ground, and fresh red liquid continued to drip forming a puddle.

Xiao’s thoughts subsided when he heard the voice of the divinity. 

“You should have died. But sadly you can’t, you’re an immortal after all. Surely, if you didn’t exist, everyone would’ve been happy.” The god’s black eyes glinted under the dusky sky. He stared down at his puppet and tightened his grip on his wrist.

The air is so thick, it’s getting hard to breathe the more the god stays close to Xiao. It’s so suffocating, the atmosphere is too heavy. He wanted to escape from his grasp. He wanted to be free. 

I killed them…

Scenarios of red splatters and cries of pain and agony flashed before him. The screams of the children and adults resonated inside him. Lifeless eyes and cold bodies continued appearing to remind him of what he had done. 

I…

A lifeless body of a young woman.

“Please stop!” Xiao cried desperately either to the god or the spirits. 

“Please… stop…” He begged and fell down on both of his knees. “Please… just stop…” The deity released his hold on his arm and turned his gaze to the birds perching on the branch of a tree. 

“Hey, I’ve been thinking…” The god smiled and knelt down to the vanquisher’s height and offered him another one of his all-knowing smiles Xiao despised so much.

“Is [First Name] [Last Name] the one who’s been encouraging your delusions?” He placed his fingers beneath his chin, feigning that he was lost in thought. 

“She was unperturbed after seeing your true form.” The vision holder looked up at him in panic and shock. “How do you know that?”

The numen’s body raised and let out a huff, glancing once again at the birds. “She’s really amazing. Almost like an angel? The Holy Mother? Or more like…” His voice drifted off and stared at the vulnerable immortal in amusement, letting his lips form into a smirk.

“...a monster?”

Xiao gritted his teeth when he mentioned the female. How dare he call her a monster?! It filled him with rage inside. If anyone talks bad about [Name], he immediately beheads them or kills them in a flash. But this was his god, no matter how much he wanted to do so, they both knew who had the upper hand.

“Really, don’t you think she’s too perfect?” He asked and furrowed his brows together. “Aren’t people who are too perfect actually scary?” 

“A monster who’s too perfect. That’s what [First Name] [Last Name] is.” The god hummed to himself, slightly absorbed to know just who this girl Xiao attached to is.

“People would normally run after seeing you in that form, no doubt.”

  It was raining hard outside and the skies were so gloomy. Xiao’s face was hidden by a blue and teal mask. He dropped down his polearm as it let out a loud thud.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Standing before Xiao was [Name], she looked at him in shock and stayed silent. She could only stare at him, speechless at seeing this form. Black and teal mist were surrounding him. She knew that it was dangerous to get closer but she insisted to stay put. 

She didn’t run away from him.

 Xiao closed his gloved hands and gripped them on his pants.

“How…”

The god curled a brow and faced him, letting out a confused sound.

“How can you say something like that?” The immortal stood up slowly and looked at the deity.

“You don’t know anything. You weren’t there at the time.” His brows furrowed and glowered at the person in front of him. 

“How can you, when you weren’t watching? She wasn’t born a  monster or anything. How can you?” His voice was getting more aggressive and it irked the god. Xiao was enraged at what the divinity was saying as if he was there. As if he saw what happened and claimed that [Name] is a monster.

How disgusting. It made his stomach wrenched in aversion. How dare this god assume everything.

“You…”

  The female hugged his arm, she didn’t care if her clothes were getting dirty or how it was already painted in red. She didn’t care if her clothes were getting wet because of the rain. She didn’t care how muddy her hair was.

She didn’t let go of him.

 “You don’t know how scared she was. How can you say that?!” Xiao’s voice was rough when he screamed those words out. 

   Her hands and voice trembled.

  She was cold. Her face was pale, 

  She was afraid…

  Even just remembering that moment tugged his heart. It hurt him to see how scared [Name] was in seeing it in that form.

“Even so…” Xiao muttered.

“Even so— she didn’t run away from me!” The god groaned and placed his hands on the side of his head to cover his ears. “Shut up.”

“She didn’t run away from me!” He repeated.

Xiao’s god turned away and continued to tell him to shut up. The god was acting childish, he was so stubborn to listen to his puppet. He didn’t want to hear any of it, it annoyed him. But Xiao continued to speak out, his voice getting increasingly louder. It was uncharacteristic of him to raise his voice.

“She… she held my hand!”

He let out a small gasp when a realization struck him. 

   She knew that if she let go of my hand. I would never return.

  The female continued to hold on to him and tears were flowing down on her pale face. Her hold on him was firm, to let him know she would never let go no matter what. She was stubborn even though fear was present on her face.

  [Name] was scared yet she didn’t run.

  “Why… why are you following me like nothing’s the matter?!”

  [Name] was trembling from fear yet she continued to stay.

  “I said stay away!”

  [Name] continued to stay for Xiao. She was afraid she'd never see him again if she let go of his arm.

   That I might never return to anybody.

  No matter how much Xiao pushed her away, she won’t budge. He pushed her again but with more force and it was a success, it sent the female flying to the ground at the strong impact from the immortal. But even so, she stumbled on her way up to reach for him.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you blind?! We both know I’ve done this!”

   She didn’t take up all of my pain.

 He raised his hand and stared at the bracelet dangling on his wrist that was given by the mortal.

   She didn’t fill in all the brokenness.

  Xiao grimaced behind the mask and gripped his hair. 

“Why can’t you just leave me alone?!”

[Name] crawled her way to the Yaksha slowly.

“I don’t need any of your pity!”

Xiao thought she’ll finally leave him alone when she turned her back away from him and walked away. [Name] glanced at him over her shoulders. It hurts her to see him keep pushing her away. But that doesn’t matter, what matters the most is that Xiao is the one hurting here!

‘I won’t run away!’

She ran up to him at full speed— occasionally stumbling on some branches but still continued to go after him.

When their distance was nearing, she reached out her hand at him and wrapped her slender arms around the vanquisher, and held his head close to her chest. His golden eyes widened at the intimate action and he felt her small hands tugged on his shirt. 

   But those… those weren’t important.

  Tears continued to pour on her visage and so too did the rain. He can hear her sniffing and feel the warm droplets on his shoulder.

“Let’s go home. We have to go…” [Name] pleaded to him.

“Back home!” She lifted her face up and stared at the male with persistence and determination.

Xiao clicked his tongue and pushed her once more. 

“Let go of me.”

“No!”

“Don’t you get it?!”

“No, I don’t get it!”

He grabbed his polearm and swung his arm forward so the human will struggle to grasp a hold of him.

“I said let go of me!”

Her hair was so messy that strands of [hair color] were sticking on her face, she shook her head vigorously and clutched on his shirt tightly.

“Right now, even though I hear your voice, it doesn’t sound like you. You’re in a form I’ve never seen and it scares me.” Her voice cracked and continued sobbing but she held it back. She has to stay strong. Xiao knows that she’s afraid. Her fingers were shaking so much and he could see her shoulders shuddering.

“But… but from now on, I want to understand. Just like when you listen to me when I’m discouraged, from now on I want you to share with me when you are! I want you to tell me when you’re hurting, or scared, or feeling weak, and let me worry about you!

Because… because I want to keep living together. To eat, to chat, and worry… All those things. I want to continue--” She held back her cries and pulled him closer to her chest, scared he’ll vanish if she even let go of him the slightest.

   The most important thing…

  “—to continue to live life with you!”

   Was that she stayed with me…

  [Name]’s eyes glimmered in awe at him when she saw him cooking Almond Tofu inside her house. Amazed and surprised to see him creating that dish. 

   Finding joy in the smallest things…

  She smiled at simple things such as collecting seashells together or the time there was a Qingxin flower stuck on his outfit, unintentionally discovering it was her favorite.

   Being happy and smiling so cheerfully.

  She continued to smile even if she was sick. The time he took care of her, she was living all alone and no one was there to tend her…

   Why? She should think of herself more.

  The female looked over her shoulder when she felt a familiar presence behind her. She stopped her task in drying the clothes and immediately strode to him and greeted Xiao with a welcome home.

   Why? Doesn’t she think she’s getting the short end of the stick?

  It hurt him to see her crying all alone inside her abode after he came back from his duties.

   She thinks that she’s stupid, or there’s nothing good about her.

  The time where [Name] bawled her eyes out in front of him. 

She was so vulnerable. 

So fragile that even the slightest touch might already shatter her to pieces.

‘It’s a waste of time to think about the loss of life or life getting harder.’ Xiao looked back at the time the little boy’s spirit shared a story with him.

‘The traveler never thought about that stuff. Even if other people think that makes her an idiot, I just don’t. That’s all. What about you, Mister Yaksha? What do you think when you close your eyes?’

 He put away his gloved hands from his face and stared at them, lost in his thoughts.

  “Xiao.”

The female called out and turned around, greeting him with another one of her bright smiles whenever he comes back to see her or just visit her after his travels.

“Xiao.”

 Her voice was so sweet. He feels safe whenever he hears [Name]’s voice. So soft. So gentle. So sweet and so calming.

He didn’t know there were beads of liquid trickling down on the side of his face. 

   I love you.

 He wanted to come back home and return to her welcoming arms. To come back and enjoy the sense of comfort. 

   I love you so much…

 His chest hurt from this unknown feeling. He never felt this before in his entire life. It felt weird. What is this? It felt like he was yearning for something.

   …Just as you are…

 Tears continued to fall down his face and this amused the god to see him cry in front of him. Xiao’s hair covered his eyes but the deity can still see how the liquid trickled under the disappearing sun. Now, this was another wonderful sight to enjoy the vulnerable state the Yaksha had.

“Are you crying?” 

Xiao remained quiet and the god asked him once more. 

No response again.

The master snickered and lowered his head to take a good look at his weak state. “Are you mortified?” 

His midnight orbs had a trace of intrigue and mirth. 

“Don’t tell me that you’re in love with [First Name] [Last name].”

The god snickered and placed his hand on his mouth to stifle his laughter when Xiao still remained silent.

“Take a look at that. A monster falls in love with another monster.”

The Yaksha’s pupils dilated and looked up at him in anger.

“What? What’s that look on your face?” The divinity’s eyes flashed to him, dark and warning. It irked him to see this side of his puppet. Before Xiao could react, he felt another piercing sensation on his bruised cheek.

“I’m not the one at fault here! You’re the deluded one!” Another slap came to him again.

“And that woman. She acts so insolently even though she’s a mortal!” 

Xiao caught his wrist before he made contact with his skin again.

“If— if you hate her that much, why did you allow this to happen?! You’re crazy. What are you thinking? What are you—“

His breath hitched when he saw the emotions behind the god’s eyes.

“What are you scheming…” His voice wavered when the thought of [Name] disappearing flashed before him.

“You used her…? Why? I don’t know, but…” He tightened his hold on the numen’s wrist and his glare was colder than ever.

“You dragged her into this mess.”

The god clicked his tongue and huffed at his words.

“You’re always quick to make me the villain, huh? So which is it? Do you love that woman?” He pushed him back but Xiao was quick to regain his balance.

“I—“

“Then you’re the real idiot!” He pointed at him in an accusing manner. As if he was the one who had done all these horrible crimes. 

“Do you think you have the right to fall in love with someone?! Do you think that’s allowed!?” He shouted at him as his face darkened. The threatening aura was back again. 

  ‘I won’t forgive you.’

 “Hey, Xiao,” The deity called to him to get his attention. “Think about it. Who’s the real villain here? Who’s the one who involved her the most?”

The vision holder’s brows creased and looked down with a pained look plastered on his face. 

“It was me.” He mumbled. 

The god hummed and placed a hand on his chin to frame his face. “Though, that woman is also at fault—“

The Yaksha halted his statement. He’ll take the blame. All of it. He doesn’t want another word about [Name] to be spilled from his lips. He hated it. He just talks badly about her and he doesn’t like it.

“I’m… I’m the one who—“

  Her eyes were so gentle…

Her touch was so warm and comforting…

Her smiles were so sweet…

 “I don’t love her…” He bit down on his lip and clenched his fists. Xiao glared at the god menacingly as if to prove he doesn’t have feelings for the mortal.

“I definitely don’t love her. I’ll never… never fall in love with anyone. I’ll never fall in love.”

  No. No more.

I won’t let anyone talk bad about her because of me anymore.

 He wanted to protect that smile so much. He wanted to treasure it so badly. He wanted you to be safe in his arms. He won’t ever let anyone hurt you, he’ll take all the pain. He’ll shoulder it all for you.

He fell down onto his knees, shoulders slumped down. Xiao’s figure was weakening from all that was happening, from all the corrupted thoughts that swarmed his mind. 

“Is that right?”

The god glanced at the other side, disappointed that his claims are wrong about his puppet’s feelings for the mortal. 

“I see. I was jumping to conclusions. That’s right. There’s no way you’d love her. A sensible decision from you, for once.”

He faced the pitiful state of Xiao and closed his eyes. “You’ll never break the curse anyway, so your confinement is certain. Don’t you think that’s for the best?”

The deity neared him and knelt on one knee, continuing to whisper the words that will surely plague his mind.

“I’d feel bad to involve her, or others more than you have already.”

The Yaksha's eyes were dark and lifeless. The whisper of the winds was taunting him along with the god. He wanted to shun them away so badly. He wanted to get out of here now. But it’s no use. The strings are still attached to his master’s fingers and he can’t do anything about it but abide by his orders.

“It’s okay. I’m still here even if the curse still remains within you.” He pets his black and teal hair, but it didn’t give him the comfort unlike what [Name] has. It irked him off, it’s like the god was saying to give up and just live with it.

“I’ll be by your side, so you won’t be alone.”

“You’re just mocking me.”

The god ignored him and continued to brush his hair with his fingers. “I care for you. I actually care for you so much, Xiao.”

He leaned forward and whispered in his ears. 

“Be good for me now and just follow my orders. You’ll be stuck with me forever after all.”

 —

 Splashes of water were gently flowing down the placid and shallow stream. The god feverishly washed his hands as if to remove the dirt that was too stubborn to get rid of. 

“I touched him too much. I feel gross.” His dark orbs were so dull when he stared at his pale hands that touched the Demon Conqueror before he left. 

“He hates [First Name] [Last Name], huh… Is that true?” He asked no one but himself but unbeknownst to him, there was another god sitting on the big rocks as he glanced down to see what the other was doing.

Morax watched his figure retreat in the vast land and gently dropped down to approach his previous location. He stared down at the stream as it mirrored his appearance, his narrow amber eyes and long brown hair that has been accompanied with a fade of gold on the tips. 

His eyes softened and remembered the poor Yaksha.

“It can’t possibly be true.”

 —

  “Do you think you’re allowed to fall in love with someone?!”

  “The one who involved her the most…”

  I know.

  “Surely, if you didn’t exist, everyone would’ve been happy.”

 “I know!” Xiao screamed and covered his ears to get rid of the voice that’s been haunting him after the conversation. The voice of the god won’t stay away, it continues to linger inside his head. 

“I know…”

  I’m always hurting others.

  [Name] held him tightly against her chest, it was so warm and soothing, reassuring him everything’s fine. It felt like a haven for him.

  Why didn’t she run away?

She should’ve stayed away from me.

So why doesn’t she hate me for what I have done?

 He finally arrived at [Name]’s home. It was quiet and peaceful, the birds were chirping and the sounds of cicadas ringing in the environment. It felt like a good time to enjoy some naps. Xiao opened the door and was expecting a greeting from the female, but he heard none. He waited for a moment but it was still silent.

“[Name]?” He called out. He glanced outside to see the white sheets hanging up to be dried. The winds softly fluttered the clothing making it dance along with the air. 

Despite everything, why do I look for her?

  “Xiao.” The said male looked at the archon with his cold eyes.

 The Yaksha’s amber eyes widened and immediately sprinted outside to find [Name].

  “Wait, Xiao.” The adeptus raised his hand to stop him from continuing walking. “Don’t step on the poor flower.”

The male glanced down at the Qingxin flower before his feet. Such a lone flower. Its white petals were so pure, quite amazing it was left untouched as there are no signs of dirt on it.

“Nothing’s going to change by protecting this one tiny flower.” He watched the flower swayed. What a lone and minimal flower, he wanted to crush it. 

“What existence is worth a sacrifice, worth more than another’s life?” Xiao asked Morax as he raised his head and glowered at him. 

“Taking everything from someone and trampling over them.” He continued.

The God of Contract fixed his gaze onto the poor immortal and said, “Even so, you’re still here because you still haven’t given up hope yet. It’s because you know that not every soul in this world has rejected you.”

Xiao gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. “What are you talking about? I killed them all, there’s no way someone out there wouldn’t reject me. It’s obvious I did this all!”

“As if there’s someone who would never reject me.”

“There is—“

“There’s no one!”

The Yaksha stepped on the Qingxin in pure spite. The flower being crushed by his foot trampled on the ground and now laying limply on the earth. 

“No one…”

“Even so, even if you don’t have a glimmer of hope now, it will surely come again. However much you resist or trample it, however many times you’re thrown into despair, hope will come again just as many times. Repeatedly, again and again.

It will bloom.”

 Xiao ran as he continued to search for [Name], figuring out where she would be at this kind of time. He hopes she’s safe and uninjured. 

   Forgive me. I understand now. I just pretend I didn’t, but I actually understood.

 He looked all around the area and even climbed up to a tree to get a bigger view and search for the petite figure of the female. 

   I understand that as many in this world reject me, there are just as many people who reach out their hand to me. 

  “Why the long face?” A woman asked him.

   Even though she’ll never come back…

   “Here, take this.” Xiao glanced at the unknown woman who gave him some kind of offering.

    I couldn’t keep it. 

  “She’s my treasure.” He observed the image the woman was holding. A young girl with [hair color] and [eye color] donned in a red and white Hanfu. He grabbed the portrait and took a closer look at the person.

   But she bloomed before me.

 The vision-holder reached the big tree in Dihua Marsh, the place where [Name] tends to take care of the flowers in her free time. 

“I feel like I’ve only caused her sadness.” A broken smile was presented on her face. Xiao can see the obvious melancholia in her eyes.

   She continued to bloom.

  He was standing at the tree’s sturdy branch near the woman’s residence. The window was open and he caught sight of a young girl, her back facing him. She was all alone inside, silently nourishing the meal placed on the wooden table.

   A small… small flower.

 He stopped in his tracks when he saw the familiar [hair color] head, crouching next to the bushes of Silk Flowers near the bridge of the Guili Plains and Dihua Marsh. Her slender fingers fiddled with the crimson corolla. 

   A tiny…

 She plucked the flower from the bush and brushed one of the petals with her index finger. 

   Flower.

 [Name] held the flower close to her and took in the sweet scent. Her eyes softened as they eased her mind and body.

   Precious…

  My precious…

 “[Name]!”

A small gasp flees from your lips and you whip around to see the male you’ve been waiting for standing before you.

“Huh? X-Xiao?” You stood up and faced him properly, still holding on to the Silk Flower in your hands.

“What happened? You’re back so soon.” Her focus went to his bruised cheek and quickly approached him to get a closer look. 

You raised your hand but not touching it so as to not hurt him any further. “Xiao, your cheek…” 

The male obscured the wounded skin with his gloved hand and looked anywhere but her. “Oh, I got into a fight.”

[Name] released a confused sound and her eyes widened, quickly asking if he got into a fight during the annex.

“No, it’s from Hilichurls.” He lied.

“Eh?!” Now that was not what she was expecting. Normally, whenever Hilichurls attack him, he’ll sweep them off in a second. She shook her head to erase the thought and deemed that Xiao can still get some injuries whoever fought him whether it be from Abyss mages or other monsters lurking around the world of Teyvat.

“It’s fine.” The Anemo user assured. “I know you were happy for me, but I’m fine if I’m not summoned.”

He closed his eyes and crossed his arms. “I don’t really care about it anymore.”

When [Name] gave him an unsure look, he raised a brow at her and bumped her head with his fist playfully. “What? You’re not happy I’m back?”

She flailed her arms around and stumbled on her words when he asked that. “Th-that’s not it! I mean, um… er—“ 

An amused smile was shown on his face as he breathed a sigh. “Don’t take it seriously.”

[Name] airily laughed, her cheeks were tinted with red as she beamed, smiling brightly at him. 

“Welcome back.” 

Her warm welcome greeted Xiao for the umpteenth time. She was smiling at him again, her eyes were so gentle and pure of [eye color]— the shine continued to linger in it whenever she saw him. 

“Welcome back, Xiao.”

His mouth unconsciously curved upwards. “It’s good to be back.”

The Yaksha felt the unknown feeling come back again. He felt his heartstrings being pulled every time she gave that bright smile to him. It was odd, it felt fuzzy inside. His amber eyes stared with her own [eye color] ones, so kind and passionate.

   I love you. I don’t want to take anything else from you.

  I don’t want to trample you ever again. 

 The two walked off and journeyed their way back to their home. [Name] initiated the conversation and Xiao was there to listen to her and enjoy the sound of her pleasant voice entering his ears.

   At some point, I hoped we could always be together somewhere far off…

  ‘I won’t forgive you.’ 

Xiao’s visage was downcasted when those words echoed inside him. 

   …but I won’t hope that anymore.

  “I’d feel bad to involve her more than you have already.”

   I won’t hope that I could make you my own anymore.

  I won’t hope that.

 [Name] continued to play with the Silk Flower as they walked side by side. Xiao took notice of this and gently held her hand with his gloved ones. The action made the female’s cheeks heat up, she didn’t notice he already took the flower from her hold.

   So, please…

 He tucked the plant on the side of her head, adoring how well it complemented her beautiful features. 

   At least be by my side for the time you have left.

 The young woman’s cheeks were still warm, speechless of the Guardian Yaksha’s sudden and unexpected gesture. She noticed how he stared at her with fondness and adoration. Her heart was beating so fast and she looked on the demesne to hide her flushed face from him.

Xiao’s train of thoughts was stopped abruptly when he felt a pull on the clothing hanging on his left arm. 

“W-what would you like to eat for dinner?” [Name] mumbled still not facing him.

He lifted one of his brows at her and said, “Did you forget again that eating is unnecessary for me?”

She flinched when he mentioned that and her blush darkened even more. [Name] fumbled on her words and apologized to him. 

“Almond Tofu.”

She processed what he had said before her eyes sparkled and nodded at him with a grin. “You’ve got it! Time to roll up my sleeves—“

The mortal’s footing slipped and the gravity pushed her down, she closed her eyes waiting for the impact to come but instead, she felt an arm wrapped around her waist. 

“Worry about your footing over your sleeves,” Xiao warned her with an exasperated sigh.

“R-right. Sorry.” She apologized to him with a meek smile. He heaved another sigh but nonetheless smiled at her clumsiness.

“What am I going to do with you?” 

It caught the female off-guard to see the immortal smile but her attention was then focused when he grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him to march their way to her house.

   I want to be with you.

 He glanced at her when [Name]’s hold on him clutched back, reciprocating his hold and not going against it. She was smiling to herself, the blush still remained but was eased a while ago. 

   Until we’re separated far apart…

 His gaze softened seeing this side of her. It gave him a warm and fuzzy feeling again.

   …Until the last moment

[a-edgar-allan-hoe]

The Red Witch

Jasper Hale x Reader part 2

A/N: So here is the 2nd part everyone! I hope you like it!

Summary: Imagine being an immortal witch from the Middle Ages and being the previous love of Jasper before he was turned. You two were separated under certain circumstances and cross each other’s path once again, years later in the present era.

Warning: language. Blood

Part 1 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5

“(Y/N)? Are you ok?” You hear your friend Melanie ask you, her voice laced with concern as she places a comforting hand on your shoulder, bringing you out of your thoughts.

Your head was beginning to throb violently and the scent of everyone’s blood was beginning to reach you. You could sense their pulse, the flow of their blood through their veins, and a part of you, deep down inside, hungered for it. Not in the way vampires felt, but in a way that you wanted to rip their souls out of their bodies and bathe in their blood while you only gained more power. And it sickened you. It sickened you to the very core.

“I think I need some fresh air.” You turn to face her, only to hear her gasp when she stares at your eyes.

“What? What is it?” You ask her.

She pulls you to the back of the shop, making sure no one noticed before speaking to you in a hushed tone. “(Y/N), hun, I don’t want to freak you out but, your eyes are red.”

“They’re what?!” You stare back at her in confusion before pulling out your phone to see for yourself only to let out a gasp as well.

Both your eyes were blackened in this deep blood red that covered not only your irises but your sclera as well, resembling something of a demon from the pits of hell. You shut your eyes in response, not even wanting to look at yourself, the mere sight of your eyes horrified you.

“Shit shit shit. This isn’t supposed to happen. I haven’t had this happen to me in a long time, not since I was little.” You hiss, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“Does that mean?”

“Yes. I let my stupid emotions control me. And now look.” You run a hand through your hair as you open your eyes back up, staring at the floor. “I need to go. I need to go before this gets worse and I hurt someone.

“Don’t worry hun. You go and sort it out. I’ll close the shop early. And please, remember to breathe.”

You nod in agreement before taking out a pair of your sunglasses from your purse and throwing them on to cover your eyes. You slip on your black leather jacket, grabbing your belongings and rush out the shop. With a quickened pace, you walk over to your 1967 dark blue Shelby Mustang with white racing stripes and hop in. You strapped on your seatbelt and put your keys in the ignition to start the car, gripping the wheel as you closed your eyes, listening to and feeling the rumble of the engine. It was one of those things that calmed you down, you always loved the sound of muscle cars.

Taking a deep breath you rev up your engine and drive off, the sound of your car echoing through the streets as you race out of town and towards the woods so that you can be away from from everyone. You had your windows down and your radio up, enjoying the feeling of the wind against your face as the scenery around you blurred past.

You pulled up to a small clearing not too far from the road and got out of your car. Looking at the trees around you, you throw your head back and take a deep breath, taking in the smell of the forest. The throbbing in your head was still there but it was starting to fade. You slip off your gloves and sit down near your car. Glancing down at your hands you noticed that they were turning pitch black with tendrils that seemed to wrap it’s way up your arm, like a poison that runs through your veins only to reach your heart to provide an inevitable ending. Your powers felt like a poison coursing through your veins, and the thought of it ever reaching your heart made your blood run cold. You also noticed that your fingernails have grown to a sharp point, like the claws of an animal.

Shit. Shit shit shit. You needed to stop this.

You unlace your black dr martens and kick them off, digging your toes into the grass and feeling the earth beneath you as you closed your eyes, taking deep breaths as you tried to become one with your surroundings. Earth, fire, water, air, spirit.

You hadn’t used your powers in a long time and were out of practice. And yet, you felt like you needed to. You feared that if you didn’t learn to control it, you would eventually succumb to it and then your powers would eventually control you. And that was the last thing you wanted. With a deep breath you open your eyes back up and stare at your hands. Using your sharp nail, you slice into your arm and watch as the blood slips out of your wound before swirling around your fingers. You try to focus on a certain object and watch as the red substance slowly flows together, forming a red dagger in your hand.

So you weren’t completely out of practice. You let out a sigh of some form of relief, watching the blade melt back into blood, slipping back inside your wound before healing itself. Then slowly, your hands and fingernails returned to normal.

Thank goodness.

After a short period of sitting on the grass and listening to the peaceful sound of the wind and the birds, you pull your phone out of your back pocket to look at the time.

Shit.

Your little sister Harper was going to be off of school in a couple of minutes and you didn’t want to be late. You throw your docs back on and get back in your car before starting your engine and racing off out of the forest and towards Forks high school. You had your radio turned up and currently Led Zeppelin was playing as you pulled up to the high school.

You left the radio on and got out, leaning against the hood of your car with your arms crossed over your chest. You stood there, searching for your sister and finally see her appear out the front entrance.

She had her backpack slung across one arm, her 80s style windbreaker blowing against the wind. She was wearing her old white sweatshirt she found at the thrift store that had Scooby Doo on it, tucked into her high waisted jeans that were rolled up to show off her funky new socks that she just bought because they had dinosaurs all over it. The laces of her white converse were hastily tied as she makes her way over to you with her head lowered.

The way she dressed always made you smile, she always looked like she stepped out of an 80s sitcom, and it perfectly resembled her dorky and full of life personality. Standing next to each other, no one would have ever thought you two were related, with your dark choice of clothes and her bright and colorful ones.

“Hey scooter.” You smile at her once she approaches you.

“Hey” she mumbles out quietly, pushing her glasses up as she gets to the passenger side, making you raise your brow.

Huh. What’s wrong with her?

You turn around to get back into your car before a familiar face stops you in your tracks, making your clench your fist as your breath hitches in your throat.

“Oh you have got to be shitting me.” You hiss, looking away once Jasper catches your stare.

Great, so Jasper and the other vampires happen to go to the same high school your sister goes to. Just great.

You catch Harper giving you a wtf look before turning around to follow your eyes to see for herself what you were getting so upset over.

“(Y/n)?”

“It’s nothing Harper, get in the car.” You shake it off as you both get in.

You sensed Harper watching you carefully as you start your car back up and pull back out of the parking lot. You gave Jasper one last glance, feeling him staring into your soul as you drove off.

How could someone you’ve sworn to forget, someone who didn’t even remember you, still have such an effect over you?

“So how was school?” You ask her as you make your way back to your home, which was located away from town. You could still feel her staring at you.

“It was okay. Nothing special.” She shrugs, looking at the road in front of her before turning back to you. “So what’s up with you? How come you’re acting so moody?”

“So what, you’re my therapist now?”

“Well you were totally chill until you saw that weird pale, Lestat looking dude.”

Did she just call him Lestat?? Wheeze!

There was a pause before her eyes widened a little. “Wait, is he? Is he the same guy that’s in your necklace?”

You clench your wheel as your back straightens up, using your free hand to grasp the intricate gold locket you wore around your neck. The one Jasper gave you many many years ago that he had custom made to have a dragonfly on it. The one you put a small picture of him in to remember him by.

“Did you go through my things?” You raise your brow at her.

“.......maybe.”

“Harper.”

“Hey! I was bored okay. It’s not like I did it recently. And you have so much old shit anyways.”

“Hey, language.” You shake your head with a roll of your eyes. “And it’s not just any old shit okay. It’s stuff that means a lot to me.”

“Looks like a bunch of ancient junk to me.”

“Oh so you’re calling me ancient now.”

“Well technically....”

“Harper.”

“Ok! Sorry!” Harper laughs before getting serious again. “But seriously though, who was he? You’ve like never told me about him.”

You let out a sigh, feeling a lump in your throat that felt like it refused to go away. “That’s because it hurts to talk about him. Jasper and I, he used to court me back in 1862. Harper.....we were supposed to get married.”

A/N: Part 3 coming soon! I didn’t want this chapter to be too long so I had to split it. Thanks for all the support you beautiful people! 😁

Tags: @twilight-kpop @cricketlicket @bella-stenbakken @ineffabledears @elisemurphy06 @ashdab2611 @pancake-pages @toomanybandstocare @cammellia

[hyrule-kingdom-updates]

Zavis was clicking his tongue as he walked through the trees.

“Tk, tk, tk, BCC?? Little chugger buddy?? Tk, tk, tk, tk, tk.” He weaved through the trees, sunlight casting tinted green light on his head through the canopy. He was half limping on his left leg, as the nearly-breaking-his-neck-on-a-staircase-and-experiencing-whiplash-as-two-members-of-his-family-threatened-his-well-being event had made his muscles sore. 

With no giant horse in sight, he changed tactics. Zavis took out a banana and started to unpeel it, offering it up to the wilds.

“Pspspsp! Big Chungeroni?? I got your favourite snack! Pspspsp...”

His feet crumpled loose leaves and twigs and he maneuvered through the woods. Finally he came upon a clearing, bathed in open golden sunlight.

Or at least it would have been, were it not for the giant horse blocking out the sun.

Big Chugging Chungus was rearing on his hind legs, snorting and clopping its hooves at a pair of red Bokoblins, who were squealing with fear as they ran off in the direction of the village. Zavis immediately ran up in front of the horse and held out his hands.

“Heyheyhey! Shshsh, it’s me, BCC! It’s your pal, Zavis! Shhh...Shhhh...” He held out the banana and continued shushing the horse like he had always seen his Master Kohga do. Although he wasn’t exactly sure why it was practical. To his knowledge, Big Chugging Chungus had never spoken. Perhaps it was a Yiga Chief thing.

The horse shook its mane, and leaned down to munch the banana out of his hand. Zavis stroked his snout.

“Who’s a good boy? You’re a good boy!”

The horse’s tail swooped left and right.

“Yes, yes you are! You did such a good job! Helping to cause terror and feed chaos onto Kakariko!! Who’s a good troublemaker??”

Again, he wasn’t entirely sure the point of asking questions when he was fairly certain that the horse could not answer for himself. Nonetheless, he continued imitating what he usually saw his dads do.

“That’s right, you’re a good troublemaker!” Zavis then scratched the back of his head. “You’re such a good troublemaker that now we’re just going to help undone all of the work you did for me cause there’s a change in plans, haha...”

He didn’t know how, but he could sense the horse was looking at him with exasperation and disappointment.

“Don’t look at me like that!” Zavis tossed the banana peel back as he threw his arms up. “I got a job to do! OK?”

The horse stayed silent, only flopping one ear around as a bug flew by. Zavis wasn’t really fond of the one-sided conversation.

“What job you ask? Well my job to help the princess, that’s what.” He put his hands on his hips. “That’s right! Helping her find the best way to save the kingdom has been my sole drive since the beginning.”

The horse, once more, replied with the quiet munching of a banana.

“‘Are there any other reasons?” you ask? Well...no! There isn’t!” He crossed his arms and turned away from the horse like he was mad at him. “Did I ruin my family’s hard redeemed reputation by revealing myself as a Yiga? Maaaybe. Did I possibly instigate Mr. Hartell’s complete moral collapse by revealing that the origin of our relationship was based on more selfish desires? Maaaaybe. Did I join the Yiga Clan in an attempt to get closer to my dad, only to discover that his loyalty to the Yiga is like, super-duper strong and possibly stronger than his bond to me, which means that I also have to deceive him in the same ways that I’ve lied and taken advantage of all my other weird parental relationships in my life that have been recently ending in disaster?” Zavis waved his hand in a circle. “...Maybe.”

He suddenly pointed a finger at the horse. “BUT! Do I have any regrets about it as I pursue the path to victory? Do I need tp apologize for the hypothetical damage I may or may not have done to the other people in my life even though it would be entirely useless in achieving the greater end result?” He looked at the horse expectantly, as if begging him for the answer.

Big Chugging Chungus did not.

“...NO COMMENT!” Zavis whirled around once more. “DOESN’T MATTER. I DON’T HAVE TO ANSWER YOU. STOP ASKING STUPID QUESTIONS.”

Zavis started marching off back towards the village, expecting the horse to follow.

He did not.

The boy turned his head back and sighed. “Ugh are you STILL mad at me? Look, you did a good job, the chaos is gonna make the Champions look good. But now we’re just helping out cousin Impa by reversing it just a little bit. You did such a good job, that now we’re undoing the impact of your job! So it’s all good, let’s go!” He pointed forward and took a step, but still the horse was unmoving.

BCC snorted at him.

“What is that supposed to mean?!” He stomped his foot. “BCC? Come.”

The horse spit at the ground.

Zavis gasped so loud and dramatically it could have been mistaken for Kohga himself. “How DARE you! Don’t you know what’s at stake here?? The whole village! The whole world!! And before you try and tell me about being a traitor, this helps the Yiga Clan, too, you know!”

The horse leaned down to chew some grass.

“It does!” Zavis yelled again. “Everyone in the clan is too stupid to realize that the Calamity is probably just gonna stab us in the back down the line. So us helping the princess saves lives,” he stated, matter-a-fact-ly.

The horse considered chewing the grass.

“Don’t ignore me!” Zavis ran up behind the horse and tried pushing him to get him to move. His head barely was taller than the giant horse’s leg. His name didn’t begin with “big” for no reason...

“Is this about losing you at the castle? I left you under a secluded bridge! I thought for sure no one would steal you, cause who goes out wandering for large horses under bridges in the middle of the night.” He tapped his foot impatiently as he gave up on pushing the giant beast. “A-And besides. It’s YOUR fault for letting some rando ride you. So I can’t be blamed here.”

The horse suddenly stopped eating, and perked their head up. He turned and looked Zavis directly in the eye. His gaze was calm and collected, but the sheer power of the horse’s deep dark eyes bore into him, like he was being boiled from the inside out.

Zavis was left sputtering as he walked away from Big Chugging Chungus. “Stop doing that! Stop being so weird! If you don’t like my methods, that’s a you problem.” He let out a “hmph” as he plopped himself on the ground, criss-cross-applesauce.

He pointed at the horse. “I’M not a manipulator who can’t accept the fact that he’s taken advantage of everyone around him, YOU’RE a manipulator who can’t accept the fact that he’s taken advantage of everyone around him!”

After Zavis’ scolding insult towards the horse in question, he scooted his butt back and leaned against a tree. He angrily took off his cracked glasses and shook them in the direction of BCC. “Look at these circular glasses! Would a person in denial be this cute?!” He shoved them back on and continued to pout. The horse did nothing.

Zavis tried again. “BCC? Come.”

BCC flopped onto the ground where is stood.

Zavis palmed a hand to his forehead. “UGHH......” He took off his glasses once more, and wiped the non-existent dirt from his eyes that was causing them to water. “You’re useless! Y-You’ve got no right to treat me like this!”

He used his sleeve to clean up the fog on his glasses. “I’ve been trying to help everyone since the day I was f-fucking born! I’ve been on this journey since I was twelve. TWELVE! So if you wanted to stop me from doing all this other shit, maybe someone should have given a damn and stopped me then!” He was now rubbing his glasses with such frustration, he nearly popped the lens out. He tossed it into the dirt.

“You’ve got no right to judge me! I didn’t have to do this! This isn’t my problem!” He gestured around him, towards the forest, the earth, the mountains, and the sky. “Did I cause the Calamity? Did I fail my job as a king, or leader, or parent? NO! So take up your complaints with them. I inherited their mess and now I want to clean it up, that’s the opposite of selfish!”

The horse’s ear’s stood attentively in the air, and BCC’s gaze once again bore into Zavis. He clenched his jaw in anger.

“Why are you looking at me like that? I-I haven’t done anything wrong...I’m...” He scoffed to himself. “Maybe some other people should have done their jobs better! If you wanted a perfect fucking job done from a fucking kid, then maybe some experience adult should have done it! But no, I’m taking the helm cause everyone else is fucking self-absorbed and too fucking busy to pay attention!

“Now that I’m fucking doing the jobs that they should have done, all of the sudden NOW you’re gonna pay attention to my every action, huh!? Bunch of hypocrites!” He stood up and stomped over. “I thought I was just a kid! I thought I was allowed to make mistakes! Why did no one fucking tell me that the entire well being of the kingdom now hinges on my every fucking choice!” His eyes were tearing up now, be he stared at the horse’s abyssal gaze with fury.

“All I wanted was for someone to look at me and make things ok! Didn’t I have to fix everything so someone could notice me? Or are you saying that I was too impatient and should have waited a little longer?! Was he right?? Was I too ungrateful?? Was I too stuck-up to appreciate everything I was given? Should I have been satisfied with my loneliness? Should I have been satisfied having no one around me to hurt!?”

The dark horse stared at him, unblinking. His red mane moved up and down in the pleasant breeze like soft fire.

“...It’s not my fault.” Zavis whispered. He returned to his tree, and sat in the dirt, picking up his glasses. “It’s not my fault,” he said again.

The two creatures stared at each other for a minute longer. In the distance, someone screamed, but it harmonized with the whistle of the wind.

Zavis sighed. He suddenly opened his palm, and a sudden poof of smoke and talismans appeared, along with his old lute.

He tried once more. “BCC? Come.”

The horse stared at him, expectantly.

Zavis huffed to himself, then started playing a verse, arranging his fingers on some random chords.

Storms are ever winding Storms are ever binding to the ground

The clouds above, her modesty The earth bears her atrocities, profound All her beauty’s on the ground

They say that air is freedom Stone lets the tempest lead ‘em homeward bound

Servant to her royal pleas Bowed down toward the heir’s new breeze and sound Commands her beauty to the ground

I hate it now.

The sky hails down remembrance The sky then fades away Yet here I am, the trodden soil I bear her newest day But she’s away

All of her rain, then she’s away. I never thirst, but she gave, anyway

Zavis withheld himself from playing another chord. He observed the horse once more, to see that he hand been attentively listening the whole time.

The horse looked at Zavis Asu.

“...I’m sorry. Is that what you want to hear? I’m sorry.” He tiled his head towards him. “I’m sorry I forced you to do a bunch of work for me only to kinda make it seem useless. I’m sorry I left you under a bridge. I’m sorry for...”

The mountains greeted his gaze.

“...a lot of things.”

Zavis lifted his lute, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke and talismans once more. He cocked his head again. “Can you help me now? Do you accept my apology?”

The horse drooled into the grass.

Zavis sighed with acceptance. “Fine, I guess you don’t have to. But at the very least can you move somewhere else so that you don’t scare monsters towards the village anymore?”

BCC immediately sprung up and moved toward Zavis, resting his chin on his head for a moment. His hair was now slightly slobbered with horse drool. Gross. Finally, the horse move back and started trotting down the northern path towards the Lanayru Promenade.

Zavis wiped his hair, and fluffed it back up. He stood, and noticed some more bokoblins moving down towards the village. He mentally went over Impa’s suggestions-that-involved-murder-if-not-followed-to-the-T, again.

“Ok then.” Zavis clenched and unclenched his fist. “Time to solve this mess definitely I didn’t make.”

[crowtrinkets]

There are No Ghosts at Fathom Castle

The barista cannot sleep because something or someone is making noises late at night. Felix tries to convince them there are no ghosts. But is it true?

Gender Neutral Reader as always

I hope people laugh at the BuzzFeed unsolved quotes as I did lol. I don't have a set time that this takes place, just sometime after the MC yknow *dead sounds*The trash house story is actually based on a house my friends and I found one, we all dicked around in it like a bunch of idiots and I'm p sure something followed me home :)

Tags: @sadnhvibes @uselessbeanies

Words: 3,514

*THUMP*

I am roused from my sleep, sitting up quickly, frantically looking for the source of the sound. Nothing. What was I doing? I glance down and notice the book in front of me. Right, I was reading and I guess I must have fallen asleep.

"Stella? Did you break into my room again? You better not be knocking Felix's books over again you know how he hates that," I call out. I don't hear the telltale sign of Stella's meows so she must not be in here. I sit up properly, stretching my sore muscles, groaning with my aching bones. I stand and stumble over to my bed, if I'm going to be asleep it should at least be somewhere comfortable. Curling up in my blankets, I let my eyes flutter shut and slowly drift off.

*THUMP*

I snap my eyes open when I hear the sound a second time, this time it's followed by footsteps. That definitely was not Stella. I grab my blanket and wrap it around myself, grabbing a nearby lit candle. I hastily put on my shoes and cautiously approach the door. I slowly push it open, enough that the hinges don't creek.

Stepping out of my room, trying desperately to remain quiet and unseen, I cup my hand around the flame to protect it and shield the light from whoever is lurking in the halls. The steps are getting louder, approaching me ever so slowly. Like its taunting me. I back up against the wall, just before the corner turns, and take in a deep breath. I should have brought a weapon but maybe I can scare the intruder, I grab the corner of my blanket so I can throw it if need be. The steps are louder now, just before they reach the corner I swing around to catch them by surprise.

"AAAAH-AAUGHHHH!" I drop the candle before I can get a good look at the intruder's to face. In an instant, green flames are thrown at me, along with the intruder's screams, I fall backward and toss my blanket at the flames, scooting backward, frantically trying to get away. My blanket catches alight and falls to the ground, a flurry of green flames and feathers. I look up and meet the intruder's eyes, my breath labored and heavy.

"Felix!?" I say. Felix has his hand supporting him against the wall, trying to catch his own breath. He meets my eyes and speaks my name.

"What are you doing attacking me with your bedding in the dead of night?" Felix tries to remain whispering, but his voice is high-pitched with fear.

"What are you doing stalking around at night? And what's with the thumping?" I point at him accusatorially from the ground. Felix eyes me up and down, his gaze dropping to my blanket, which is still very much on fire. The flames illuminate his expression. Casting green light and shadows on his tired yet confused expression. I finally get to my feet dusting myself off.

"I could not sleep… Anyhow, are you alright? Not singed or injured in any way?" Felix's concern seems serious but I can't help but still feel shaken.

"No, but I feel like I lost 5 years off my lifespan," I run a hand through my hair trying to calm my violently beating heart.

"Well, yes, dying and coming back will do that to you,"

"Huh?"

"What?" Felix's eyes snap to mine, the hallway filling with an awkward silence.

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that," I say with a sigh. Just then the fire from the blanket goes out. "Oh great now its pitch black, and I dropped my candle too," I grumble. I hear metal clinking and then suddenly my candle is alight in Felix's hand, who hands it to me.

"Oh um, thank you," I say, reaching to take it from his hand. Our fingers graze and I suddenly feel more awake and aware, or maybe it was because I had the bejeezus scared out of me a second ago. Taking the candle holder from Felix I clear my throat.

"So um, couldn't sleep? Does thumping around relax you or something?" I try to joke.

"Thumping? I'm afraid I don’t know what you're talking about?" Felix states, crossing his arms.

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't Stella,"

"You'd be surprised what she can do," his tone turning serious.

"Well if you weren't making those thumping sounds then who was?" Felix gives me a shrug. I chuckle slightly. "Maybe it was a ghost,"

"Oh please, if there were ghosts here I would know, and besides they wouldn't just make things go bump in the night,"

"Says the man that turned into a ghost and followed me from Porrima back to Fathom,"

"I was not-!" Felix cuts himself off with a sigh. "Trust me when I tell you this dear barista, there are no ghosts in Fathom castle,"

THUMP

We both jump, inching closer together, frantically looking around in the darkness, I hold the candle up to see if I can illuminate the hallway a bit, but it remains dark and shadowy, much to our dismay.

"That definitely didn’t come from Stella," my voice barely above a whisper.

"Please, if anything it's probably Sage trying to mess with us," Felix takes a step forward, trying to appear brave, but I can hear the shake of his voice. "Hilarious Sage, you can stop your charade now though, no need to frighten out friend, the hour is late,"

No response.

"Felix I don't think it's Sage,"

"Isn't there a particular bar calling your name about now?" Felix shouts down the dark hall. Still no response. His shoulders drop as he takes a step back, his eyes still scanning the darkened hallway.

"Maybe it was a ghooost" I mimic my best haunting voice and wave my free hand ominously at Felix who only scoffs.

"If there were ghosts here they would not be able to move objects on their own, and they do not sound like that!" Felix states, but I can sense a hint of a smile in the candlelight.

“Well, I won't be able to go back to bed now, fancy some ghost hunting Felix?” I nudge his side. Felix lets out a sigh as he glances at me, eyeing me up and down.

“Well alright, but don’t get your hopes up, I doubt we’ll see anything,” I can feel the excitement, or maybe fear, well in me, we begin to walk down the hallway together, looking for the source of the sound.

“So Felix, tell me about Fathom's ghostly history?”

“What other than the thousands of Starsworn who died?

“Right… Well, every haunted place has a story of some sort, it explains why it’s haunted,”

“Oh really? Such as?” Felix’s tone is almost teasing, as a smirk form upon his lips.

“Well, hmm… Oh, one time when I was a teenager my friends and I went walking in the dark. We found an abandoned house that was absolutely filled with trash and other items,”

“What does this have to do with hauntings?”

“Well, someone wrote 'it's under the house' on one of the walls,”

“And what was under the house?”

“I’m not actually sure, none of us wanted to go digging in trash, but I'm sure something followed me home, I would always hear weird sounds at night after that day,” I hear Felix scoff once again.

“Even if there were ghosts in that place I doubt they would follow you home, you were probably paranoid,” I shrug off his comment and we continue to walk down the corridor in silence.

Our shoes echo off the walks, the only sound other than the wick of the candle, popping occasionally. We continue to walk in silence, almost like we have run out of things to say. And neither one of us dare to break it. But the thump comes once again, stopping us in our tracks, wind flows through the corridor putting out my light. Without thinking I reach for Felix’s hand in the darkness as I let out a startled gasp. I can hear Felix’s breath hitch as he grips my hand as well.

"Felix, you're not doing that right?"

"No of course not!" the thumping becomes more frantic and louder. It's getting closer.

"Well, I'm not staying to find out!" I grip Felix's hand and book it back towards my room. Dragging Felix back with me, throwing the candle holder in the direction of the sound. He yelps in response but follows me through the dark halls. We finally make it to my room and I close the door behind us.

"Why did you run? I thought you wanted to find the ghost?" Felix says between gasps.

"I'm not fond of being attacked in the dark" I say.

"Well, now you've tossed away our light source,"

"Oh, Ummm," I think for a moment and walk to the table in my room, I rummage through my backpack which is placed on top. I pull out my house keys and remove the miniature flashlight from the key ring. I flick it on and shine it on Felix, avoiding his face, he squints at the sudden light facing him.

"Gods, what is that?"

"It's a flashlight, just a handy dandy Earth invention,"

"Your Earth 'slang' as you call it, never ceases to baffle me,"

"You wouldn't happen to have holy water? Or even a crucifix?"

"A what?"

"Ok, maybe we can just will the ghost away?"

"What? What are you talking about,"

“So we can banish the ghost!” I say almost a little too enthusiastically.

“There is no ghost!” Felix sounds exasperated at this point.

“You’re right, it can’t be a ghost…. More than anything it’s a poltergeist or a demon,” a smile creeps across my lips. Felix lets out a long sigh, he stares at the ceiling almost like he’s asking the heavens ‘why’.

“C’mon Felix it’s just for fun, and besides something is making that sound so we have to find it,” I approach Felix, hoping he’s not too annoyed and will go with me. His eyes meet mine and he stares just for a second.

“Fine, yes, we really should find the source of the noise,” I return Felix's grimace with a smile as we exit my room.

The hallway is just as dark and ominous as before. I scan my flashlight as far as it will reach. It’s a cheap dollar store flashlight I got for emergencies, so it doesn’t reach that far, but it's better than nothing.

“Hey there demons, it's me, ya Earthling,” I call out into the hallway.

“What? What does that even mean?” Felix sounds utterly dumbfounded. I’m now reminding myself to brush him up on the great Earth classics.

“Its nothing, just a little friendly greeting for the ghosts,”

THUMP

The sound again. It comes from one end of the hallway. Felix and I glance at each other and with a nod, we head towards its direction. I light up what little I can of the hallway as we make our way to the source of the sound. Our breath shallow so as to not allow whoever's there to hear us approaching. We make our way around a corner, peaking just before we move forward.

“Do you hear that?” Felix puts a hand out in front of me.

“What I don’t hear-“ I stop when the sound of a wailing echoes silently through the hall. “I-is that a woman crying?”

“It must be the wind, there’s a terrible draft in this castle,” Felix’s voice wavers slightly, but he clears his throat as though to mask it.

“No… that sounds like a woman crying,” I feel my nerves bubble in my stomach, telling me to go back to the safety of my room. But I have to know what this sound is, and even then I don’t think I'd be able to fall asleep. I suddenly feel warmth on my hand, even in the dark I can tell it's Felix. I squeeze his fingers in mine.

“Let's keep moving,” he whispers to me, we then continue down the path, towards the crying voice.

“Yknow back on Earth there's a famous ghost called La Llorona, she wanders the streets at night wailing for her dead children,”

“I guess grief can transcend the grave as well,”

“Well, some people say she killed them,”

“...Maybe we should talk about something else,”

“Right,”

As we continue down the halls, the wailing seems to travel, never in one spot or room, it’s almost as though it wants us to follow. Eventually, we end up outside of the castle, where we approach a rather rickety-looking bridge connecting two sections of the castle together. We walk into the moonlight, the chill air nipping at our skin. I am suddenly mourning my blanket.

Felix pulls his hand away from mine and walks over to the ledge of a wall near the bridge, looking up at the sky. Turning off and pocketing my flashlight I stand by his side.

“Are you usually up this late?” I break the silence.

“Usually yes, my sleeping habits are temperamental so I tend to take walks, hence why I was out and about when you frightened me,” Felix says, eyes never leaving the stars.

“Right, sorry about that, you do owe me a new blanket though,”

“Yes, I suppose,” Felix chuckles. I lean forward on the wall and look at the surroundings of the castle, lots of water, I can also see the forest I occasionally take walks in. Taking a deep breath I start again.

“If you ever can't sleep you can always see if I'm up, and if I am we can take a walk together,” I glance over at Felix who stiffens slightly, but then a small smile forms on his lips,”

“I would very much enjoy that,” he states. The moonlight shining brightly on him, casting his frame in cool blue light, fitting to the cold air surrounding us.

Suddenly a rattling sound startles us. Both straightening from our spots Felix and I look at the bridge, which shakes slightly. Felix and I approach it, gawking at the bridge which starts to shake more and more violently, almost like someone is jumping on it. I look across the other side and see a door in the castle wall, slightly ajar, something white flowing in the corner.

“What is that!” I point across the bridge. Felix squints.

“I’m not sure, but there must be some explanation,” at this point the bridge is rattling loud enough that Felix and I have to yell.

“Is there an explanation for a bridge moving violently like this?!” I wildly gesture at the bridge. Felix winces at my comment.

“No I don’t think so,”

"Screw this," I take a deep breath and grip Felix’s sleeve.

“FUCK YOU, GOATMAN!” I shout at the top of my lungs, running as fast as possible across the bridge, dragging Felix in tow. The bridge continues to shake but I keep my balance and speed. As I run towards the door frame the white object disappears behind the door, I kick in the door, and once Felix and I make it inside I slam it shut. I scan for whatever disappeared behind the door but I don't see it.

“Goatman?” Is all Felix can blurt out.

“Oh yknow, another famous Earth ghost. He attacks people who play on his bridge, thought I would cover my bases and scream at him,”

“Earth is quite obsessed with death and the afterlife, and you call me morbid,” Felix retorts. I look around the room for any doors or hallways, but there are only stairs that lead back to the inside of the castle.

“I guess all we can do is head down,” Felix nods and once I bring out my flashlight, we descend the stairs. Once we reach the bottom I notice a white blur disappear behind a door. I grab onto Felix’s sleeve and pull him close so I can whisper into his ear.

“I saw something go into that door Felix, I think it’s the ghost we saw earlier,”

“I didn’t see anything,”

“Well, I did! And at this point, I'm tired of chasing it!" I storm towards the door, Felix whispering protests behind me. I kick open the door and scan my flashlight around the room. It seems we're in a small mess hall of sorts. There are tables and benches everywhere, but I don't see anyone else in the room.

"I don't see the point of chasing something that potentially isn't even there!" Felix comes up behind me, sounding very done with our hunt. Just as Felix makes his way in, the door slams shut behind us. I shine my light at the door and see no one behind us. I approach the door and pull on the knob, trying to get it open, but it won't budge. I shoot Felix a worried glance, his lips forming into a grimace.

"Open the door!" Felix's voice wavers between scared and annoyed.

"I'm trying it won't budge!" I continue to pull on the door. Felix approaches and pulls on the door as well. But it remains closed. I suddenly feel the hairs on my neck stand, almost like someone is watching me, I tense my shoulders daring not to turn around. Put a hand on Felix's shoulders, I lean in to whisper in his ear.

"Felix I think someone is behind me," without waiting for a beat Felix turns around, his eyes going wide, he backs against the door and grabs my arm pulling me close. I turn around to see what he's looking at. There stands, the shape of a woman, standing a few feet away. White cloths drape her figure shielding her face. She reaches a hand out to us and the wailing we heard earlier in the castle starts to emit from her. At this point, my whole body is shaking.

"Felix I think that's the ghost,"

"N-no! It cant be, it must be Sage," Felix continues to grip my arm, holding me close to him or maybe he's shielding himself but at this point, I'm too scared to question it. "Ok Sage you can let up now, we're trapped in this room so there's no reason to keep going with your little prank," But the figure continues to advance on us. I reach behind me and continue to pull on the doorknob, hoping it finally opens. However, my prayers are answered too soon and the door does open. Felix and I falling backward, our backs hitting something behind us.

"Boo," a deep voice growls into our ears.

"AAAUGH!" Felix and I both jump and swing around to see…

"Sage!!" I shout, my thoughts catch up to me and I turn back around only to see.

"Annie!?" Felix retorts. Anisa pulls the cloth from her face and bursts out laughing, Sage, following suit. In between shaky breathes Felix and I look at the two of them and back at each other, confusion and fear plastered on our faces.

"I think I need to sit down," I stumble over to the wall and lean against it, sliding down until I'm sitting on the floor.

"I knew it was just Sage messing with us, but Anisa! How could you,"

"I'm so sorry! It's just Sage had the idea and I couldn't resist having a little fun," Anisa says as she wipes tears from her eyes. Her fangs poking through her smile. Sage is now on the floor, having difficulty containing his laughter.

"Oh, the look on your faces! And Felix trying so hard to open the door!" Sage grips his stomach until his laughing subsides to which he lets out a sigh and sits up, using his left arm to support himself.

"So the wailing in the castle? That was you?" He gestures to Anisa who nods in response, trying to stifle her laugh.

"What about the bridge that couldn't have possibly been you?" he turns to Sage.

"Tied a rope to the bridge and pulled on it from the moat! I got a little wet in the process but I feel it was worth it," Sage sends a wink in my direction. To which I roll my eyes, still trying to calm my nerves.

"I do hope you'll forgive us," Anisa walks over to me and crouches by my side. I let out a sigh and look between Sage and Anisa.

"I guess it was kind of funny," I say.

"Nothing funny about scaring the lights out of someone," Felix mumbles under his breath.

"I think I can recall a certain someone setting many things on fire as a "prank", Felix?" Anisa shoots him a smug smile. Felix flushes slightly and shrugs. Anisa calls my name to get my attention. "How are you feeling?" I finally sit up from the wall and look at the three of them processing the night I just had with Felix.

"Like, you all owe me a new blanket,"

[chaseatinydream]

pirate king (79) || atz

You can’t breathe.

Every inhale and exhale feels like gargantuan effort, not the movements that should come to your body as naturally as well, breathing. Mind swimming, your stomach heaves with each movement as you struggle to focus your gaze, which insists on remaining decidedly hazy.

What happened?

Groaning, you rub a hand across your eyes, fighting back the nausea. There’s an ache in every part of your body, legs burning like they’re on fire. Your head throbs like it’s trying to split itself in half.

“So, you’re awakening.”

Startled, you sit up as fast as you can and your vision swims, black spots breaking out over your vision. Retching, you turn to the side, body shaking and the taste of bile in your throat. When you look back, your heart leaps into your mouth, lips parting in shock.

A pair of liquid green eyes stare back at you, mouth curled into a sad, pained smile.

“You!”

Scrambling backwards is your first instinct, mind blank and your back hits a wall roughly. You yelp in pain and the man’s eyes widen in worry and he reaches out to steady you but you flinch away. He’s an unknown figure that has taken many forms, a young man, an elder, a young boy - who knows what his intentions are? And yet something in you feels at ease with him, the same feeling you get when you step aboard the Treasure and your body matches the rhythm of the ship’s pitch and roll like it’s your own heartbeat.

“Peace be upon you, I have not come to harm you.” The green eyed man says softly, and his voice sounds like the swaying of leaves in the spring wind. Staring up at him, you frown, and decide that he doesn’t look like he’s about to run you through with a blade any second.

What happened before this?

When you try to recall, pain surges once again and you clutch your head, gritting teeth. The memories wash over you, being separated from your master, overhearing the pirates’ plot, being chased and then...

And then running into that man with startlingly similar eyes to your very own captain, dread seeping cold into your veins. He had been dressed much like the townspeople that frequented the town, in dusty cloths and salt crusted sea boots, but that hadn’t been effective in the least in dampening to power you had felt hidden deep within him, like a roiling, pitching storm.

Instantly, you glance about in wariness, anxiety spiking through you. “That man! The one who I met earlier, I-”

When your eyes catch the sight about you, your heart falls into the pit of your stomach.

The harbor has broken down into chaos. What had once been the pier where the marketplace once stood is now a wreckage of wet timber and matchwood and shredded canvas, and shopkeepers shout in panicked voices to each other, picking their way through the rubble The wooden docks have been smashed into matchwood as well, only the bare structures left standing and wood scraps floating about in the grey water.

But the strange man is gone.

Your mouth falls open. “What on earth?”

People call to each other for help, some cursing and some crying, their voices strangely disembodied. The green eyed man lifts his shoulders gently, looking at them. “They won’t be able to see us,” is all he says in a form of explanation, vague and soft. You open your mouth then shut it, head pounding too much to try and understand what exactly is going on.

“What happened?”

“A tidal wave crashed into the shoreline a few minutes ago.” The man says, crouching next to you. His eyes are filled with melancholy, so acute that you feel it in your own chest. “Miraculously, the Treasure was not destroyed.”

“Freak storm.” You mumble under your breath. You want to ask how he can say that with so much surety, but you give up on trying to figure this man out. Something tells you that you won’t be able to. Instead, you curl up, staring at him with a hint of suspicion. “We’ve met so many times, I can’t even fool myself into thinking that this is a coincidence anymore. Who are you?”

“What am I.” He corrects you, with that same mild, unchanging smile. You blink at him, once, twice and then speak again. “Okay then. What are you?”

He smiles again. “I cannot say.”

He’s about as unhelpful as San when it comes to steering the ship, so you give up prying for answers and move onto your next question. “Why are you here?”

At that, his expression falls, green eyes nearly dimming from the spark that vanishes from his eyes. “Any other time, it would have filled my heart with joy to see you, however, the circumstances under which we meet are unfortunate. I have come bearing a warning.”

Your eyebrows pinch, fist clenching. A chill runs through you. “A warning?” You wonder aloud. “Sounds... bad.”

The green eyed man nods sagely. “You are beginning to experience agony with each step you take, are you not?”

You stare at him for a moment, before you put your head in your hands and rub your temples, as if that will rid your head of the dull ache there. Today has been a crazy enough day already, and if something else decides to happen you might walk right off the cliff of insanity and never come back. “I’m... not even going to ask how you know that. Yes, what about it?”

His green eyes don’t waver as they meet yours, and you can’t pull your own gaze away. “You should have guessed by now that your body is starting to fall apart. It will not be long before you lose all control of your legs as well.”

“Well, aren’t you a ray of sunshine.” You mumble, running a hand through your hair. For a moment, you wonder if Yeosang would be able to create prosthetic legs for you as well. You’d be more wooden than clay at this rate. “You can’t use your voodoo powers and save me, can you.”

His smile is sad. “I cannot interfere any more than this. It is your journey that you have undertaken, and must continue to do so alone.”

“I’m not alone.” You say sharply, voice firm. For a second, you’re surprised at the unwavering tone of your own words. “I have a crew... a family.”

The man’s eyes widen a fraction, before they curve into gentle half moons, looking as content as you have ever seen them. Warmth settles in your chest. “That is something I am happy to hear. However...”

“However...?”

“You are the one who poses the biggest danger to them right now.”

You taste iron in your mouth. “The Royal Navy... other pirates won’t let us off with such a sweet bounty on my head.” The man does not reply. “Although I wonder what will kill me first, the Royal Navy or my sickness. I suppose you don’t know any way I can save myself?”

He looks at you dead in the eye. “There is a way.”

You nearly choke on air.

“What?” You sputter in shock, whirling to stare at him. “There’s a way I can stay alive? Tell me!”

His expression turns stony. “I cannot.”

Rage flares up in you. Part of you wants to throttle the man in front of you right now. “What do you mean? Perhaps you really do want me die?”

Hurt flashes in his green eyes and instantly your heart sinks. All your anger evaporates in a split second and you reach forward to take his hands in yours, suddenly desperate to retract what you’ve said. “Wait, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that, I just... I know you’d never wish any harm upon me, Eorth-”

The second the word leaves your lips, you know you’ve screwed up.

“Ahh!” Your tongue burns, pain so fierce raging in your head that you almost crumple to your knees. You weren’t supposed to say it, you can’t say it. “It hurts!”

The man’s face crumples, and he quickly pulls away from you, rising to his feet. He looks like he wants nothing more than to hold you close, but does not do so. “Your time is nearing its end.” He says quietly, eyes wet with tears. “The hunter is almost upon you. You must succeed before he steals your essence as well, Chin Hae. It’s your only hope.”

“Wait!” You gasp, struggling to sit up. He pauses, and looks at you with an expression so forlorn you almost cry yourself. “You don’t want to tell me, or you can’t tell me?”

The man takes a step back, and suddenly he starts to crumble himself, right before your very eyes. Your mouth falls open in shock at the unbelievable sight. “I cannot. If I did, it would no longer be the way. But now... it is time for you to run before the predator, Chin Hae.”

“Huh?” That’s all you manage to utter, as the man vanishes into thin air, dust blown away by the wind. Distantly, you hear bells ringing frantically, but you feel as if you’re underwater. “Time to run...?”

“Be careful of him... and most of all, beware yourself, Chin Hae.”

The spell shatters, and the sound of the town bells - alarms, you realise - wreck your ears with their desperate ringing. And then you hear the screaming.

“Royal Navy! Royal Navy fast approaching!”

>>>

This day really is shaping up to being one of the craziest days of your very short life.

You tear along the wreckage that is the pier, jumping over piles of timber. The freak storm earlier had caused all of this... and you remember your reflection in the mirror when all of it had started. You wonder if the crazy storm had caused you to have weird visions, or maybe you’d just been struck by lightning and your brain had fried. All you know now is that you need to get back to the Treasure, and you need to get the hell out of here.

As you race down what’s left of the wooden piers, you see other crews scrambling to make their ships seaworthy again, howling to their men to raise the sails and make headway. The appearance of the Royal Navy bodes well for none of them, least of all yours.

Before you reach the dock housing the Treasure, however, white hot pain shoots up your legs and you stumble, nearly crumpling to your knees. You can feel cold sweat dripping from your head, although whether it is from fear or agony, you don’t know.

All of a sudden, a warm arm reaches around you and yanks you to your feet, and you cry out at the agony that tears through them. “Hells, are you okay, Chin Hae?”

You come dangerously close to Wooyoung’s face, gentle eyes brimming with  frantic concern. “Woo?”

“San came back a while back in a panic, saying he lost you and couldn’t find you. He thought you’d be back here with us, but you still hadn’t returned. And then the wave hit, and the Royal Navy... I thought-” He cuts himself off, burying his face in your neck for a second, and you can feel him trembling. “No, it’s alright. You’re safe. What happened?”

“I... I might have sprained my ankle, or something.” You lie through your teeth, guilt seizing your chest. Wooyoung looks horrified, and scoops you up easily, warm arms holding you close to his chest. His heart thuds frantically under warm skin as he turns to run towards the docks, battered planks creaking dangerously under his feet. “Thank the gods I found you. The Treasure is making preparations to set sail.”

You chew your lower lip as you tighten your hold around his neck. “What if... what if you couldn’t find me?”

Wooyoung gives you a flat look. “Captain would have refused to set sail and taken on the entire fleet on his own. And if he didn’t,” he looks straight at you, mouth pressed into a determined line. “Then I would not have left Tortuga at all. I wouldn’t leave without you, so don’t go thinking about silly questions like that, okay? Okay.”

He doesn’t even give you a chance to disagree, you think, and despite the situation you’re in, you let out a tiny laugh. Wooyoung smiles.

“Stop right there!”

Wooyoung grinds to a halt, and you look up in horror to see a man standing at the very end of the pier, between you and where the Treasure is docked. It’s the burly man from earlier, you realise, and there’s a sword in his hands.

You swallow. “Uh oh.”

“Now, boy.” The pirate holds out the massive cutlass, and the blade gleams cruelly in the storm dappled light. “Drop the woman. I don’t want to kill her on accident, when she’s worth so much.”

“I’m afraid she’s worth more than you can afford.” Wooyoung says dryly, although his hold tightens on you, unwilling to let go. “More than money can buy. So I won’t be handing her over to a thug like you. Anyways, shouldn’t you be focusing on running? The Royal Navy is coming, you know.”

Wooyoung isn’t carrying his sword, you realise in horror, and you’ve lost your satchel during the storm earlier. Frantically, you work the straps holding your prosthetic to your arm. It comes loose, buckles clinking.

“Don’t be so stupid, kid.” The pirate levels his sword at the two of you. Wooyoung grits his teeth. “Don’t you know the Royal Navy is offering pardons for anyone who turns her in alive? I’ll never have to live in fear of those bastards again. Hand her over to me peacefully, and you’ll be pardoned too.”

“Wooyoung, walk towards the man, and kick him as hard as you can when I give you the signal.” You murmur under your breath. Wooyoung squeezes your thigh lightly, signifying that he understands. Then he walks forward calmly. He’s putting his trust in you, and you refuse to let him down. “I can be pardoned as well?”

“Of course! There’s an unbelievable amount of wealth too.” He chuckles as Wooyoung draws within striking range, eyes hard. The second he does, the man’s gaze snaps, and in the blink of an eye he’s raised his sword, a triumphant cackle leaving his lips. “But I’ll be taking it all, fool!”

At that second, you hurl your prosthetic right at the man’s head. He shouts as it collides with the man’s face. “Wooyoung, now!”

“I know!” Gripping you tight, Wooyoung is already lifting his leg and kicks the man so hard in the chest that the two of you fall backwards hard, you cradled in his arms. The man, on the other hand, isn’t as lucky and doesn’t have anything to catch him. Instead, he stumbles backwards, realises there’s nothing to step on and falls into the water below with a satisfying splash.

“You’re amazing, Chin Hae.” Wooyoung laughs brightly as he lifts you up again, running down to the docks. The Treasure is within sight, the orange and black flag fluttering at the mast a friendly sight. You only groan, and bury your face in his neck.

“Yeosang is going to kill me.”

“He loves you too much.” Wooyoung replies cheekily, and before you know it, the two of you have cleared the gangplank, feet thudding onto the deck. Your heartbeat seems to sync instantly with the rhythmic pitch and roll of the ship. “Captain, I got her! Let’s go!”

The main deck is in chaos, powder monkeys and gunners rushing about hauling bags of gunpowder, cannon shot, swabbing out the artillery guns and preparing them for a sea battle. You swallow down the panic, look upwards.

“Drop the sails!” Mingi bellows, and in the masts above you see Yunho silhouetted against the sun shouting commands at the rest of the rigging monkeys as they scramble to cut the ropes. At the helm, you see your captain standing with his back straight, red fur coat around his shoulders, cutting a striking figure in the grey light of the storm.

“Crew,” he commands sharply, “Set sail!”

The winds howl, as if in response to his command, and the Treasure surges forward. It’s only then that you notice the number of ships on the wide ocean before you, and your mouth drops open in horror.

It’s an entire fleet.

[codylabs]

The Bottomless Pit

New scifi-horror story! Well, not exactly new, I’ve had it finished for a year or so now, but never shared it on Tumblr. It’s an entirely original story, so don’t expect any familiar characters or places. But it does introduce one or two pieces of worldbuilding for my original universe, which will be important for some of my other upcoming stories, so I figured now would be a good time to share it.

Enjoy.

Part 1

Once upon a time, far from here, at the bottom of the deepest shaft of the deepest mine, two boys stood regarding a pit that led yet deeper.

“You sure about this?”

“Yeah! C’mon, it’s not like there’s anything dangerous down there!”

Louis nervously leaned out over the fissure as far as he dared. It was true, there didn’t rightly seem to be anything at all down there; just blackness. The walls of the fissure passed beyond the range of their headlamps after the first twenty meters, and after that, floors and walls became nothing but indistinct void. It must be fifty meters deep, at least.

“You just let me down,” Peter pointed to the towing winch built into the belt of Louis’s suit. “Until I touch the bottom. And then when you see me standing down there walking around, you’ll be brave enough to come down too.”

“…What if there is no bottom?”

"...What do you mean 'if there's no bottom'? What else would there be?"

"I...? Uh... You know? I dunno."

"Every hole on every single one of the hundred million brazillion planets and moons in the universe has a bottom. Because if it didn’t, it would go straight through the place, and there’d be magma everywhere right? Which would make it not dark. But it is dark. Which means it doesn’t go forever.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Louis’s helmet was rattling around on his head as he shifted his weight this way and that, trying to find a comfortable position where he wasn’t sweaty. Even through a thick pressure suit, the body language was apparent. “I mean, like… Like… Okay, never mind.”

“C’mon dude. This is basic simple science stuff. And since basic simple science proves that there is a bottom, we can therefore find that bottom!”

“Yeah…”

“We know space pirates once used this moon as a hideaway. Maybe they hid treasure down there!”

“That’s stupid.”

“It’s not, it’s true. And it makes sense for them to hide their treasure down in the deepest, darkest hole they could find. And what’s deeper and darker than here? Nothing, that’s what! Look, my GPS says we’re… What, a kilometer below the surface already? No mines go that deep! This must’ve been dug by the first colony! You know. Before they disappeared.”

“Yeah, well…” Louis glancing at the floor behind them. “...Well, I guess the footprints were pretty weird.”

With no wind and no water on this moon, dust and dirt and stone remain exactly as they are until something disturbs them, meaning that footprints last forever, with newer ones layering on top of old ones. In a long-abandoned mine like this, one would have expected the most recent, top layer of prints to have been left by the mining tractor; the one that dug the tunnel. In most of the other tunnels, that’s just how it was. After all, there was never any reason the miners themselves to bodily enter the tunnel.

Except here, the tread marks weren’t the last tracks.

Louis and Peter had followed a set of three tracks, tracks from adult human boots, all the way down here… Two sets had been leading up to this very hole… But only one set could be seen returning…

“It must be pirates.” Peter nodded, as he gazed down into the crevice. “It’s the only explanation… That or aliens.”

“Aliens don’t exist.”

“Yeah, and that just leaves pirates, which makes more sense anyway.” Peter explained. “See, the Captain must have needed help from his second-in command to carry the treasure chest, but when they threw it in the hole, the Captian shot his buddy and threw him in too! Because the Captain knew that all pirates are nothing but dirty thieving buccaneers, so to keep his greatest fortune safe, he made sure that nobody else knew…! I bet we’ll find an evaporated mummy with a busted faceplate down there… And riches… Riches worth killing over… Gold and crystals and ancient forms of currency that have all been forgotten for centuries…”

Louis’s body language said he was almost convinced. (Not convinced enough to believe it, but almost convinced enough to try exploring it.) “But…” He offered one last objection. “Maybe they were just explorers or something. You know, like us. Maybe his buddy just got hurt down there, so he just carried him out… I mean, it doesn’t necessarily mean one of them died down there…”

“But there’s no piton left behind.” Peter gestured to the tunnel floor around them. “And no place where one was driven in… And they weren’t using jetpacks either, because there’s no disturbance in the dust from the downdraft… Which means they had no way back out.”

That tipped Louis over the edge, and he reluctantly began to unpack his climbing gear. “Oh-kaaaay…” He sighed, as he aimed the power-driver at the tunnel floor. There was a burst of compressed air from the driver, and a piton appeared in front of the barrel, embedded securely in the rock. He unspooled a length of cable from the winch and passed it through the piton’s pulley, then handed the end to Peter. “But… Uh… If you find anything scary down there, could you bring it back up so I can see it please?”

“You’re a baby.” Peter locked the cable into his harness, and stepped up to the edge of the crevice. “How are you a boy scout if you’re such a baby?”

“I’m a boy scout because I know everything.” Louis frowned, as he braced his feet against the side of the tunnel to balance out the winch. “I know how to maintenance all the types of engines that we use. I know how to build an airtight shelter out of nothing but rocks and resin. I know how to recycle urine without ever taking off my suit. I can signal for help in 23 languages. If we were crashlanded, then I would be the hero, and you would be the bumbling sidekick.”

“You also know how to be a baby.”

“I also know there was never any pirates on this moon.” Louis added. “Those are just rumors that sprung up around the old military depot in the Eastern hemisphere.”

“Which was destroyed by pirates!” Peter reminded him as he leaned into the cable. He bounced slightly, just to convince his mind that the thin material could actually hold his weight.

“Destroyed by themselves via routine self-destruction. That was standard scorched-earth policy back during the war.”

Louis leaned out over the blackness, at an angle where the cable was supporting the majority of his weight. And he prepared to step out into darkness. “Being a baby must be standard policy too, huh?”

"In certain circumstances yes, maybe being a baby is standard policy.”

“Your mom is standard policy.”

“Negative.”

“Line down.”

Naturally, Louis’s winch made no sound in the airless environment. All Peter could hear were his own boots scuffling and sliding down the first section of the crevice sides, and the faint rhythm of the winch vibrating down through the taught cable. And, of course, there were all the familiar background sounds: the hissing of the life support in his pack, the whirring of the water pump warming his extremities. And above all, his helmet echoed his own breathing back toward him, muffled and close and incredibly loud. That omnipresent, overbearing sound of breathing used to scare him when he’d first worn a space suit; made him feel either profoundly claustrophobic and alone, or feel like Darth Vader was standing behind him.

But now he was a boy scout. And boy scouts are many things. They aren’t babies, first of all. Second of all, they’re responsible, and dutiful, and they know their equipment. Third, they can survive outdoors. So in this day and age, when most doors opened into hard vacuum, you can know for darn sure that a good boy scout isn’t afraid to be out on his own in it, locking his life behind nothing but a little fabric and glass.

This fabric and glass was rugged, and tough, and meticulously well-maintained. It was his armor. And inside it, he was as safe. Safe as he was in his own home.

Peter found that the crevice was widening as he descended. The tunnel wall dropped sideways from beneath his feet, and he soon found himself hovering on his back, suspended from his harness like a sack of freight as the walls continued to recede above him. “Louis be advised.” Peter said. “Tunnel is widening significantly. I have lost physical contact with the wall. Over.”

“How is visual contact? Over.” Louis’s voice came through Peter’s radio, as it always had.

Peter looked left, and right. The ‘hole’ they’d descended seemed to actually be some sort of chasm or fissure, running through the moon’s crust like a cut or a tectonic crack. It stretched off into blackness to either end, far further than his beam could search, must be more than a hundred meters. As for the walls to either side of him, they were widening, dropping off into the distance steadily, like the incredibly steep, jagged walls of an upside-down canyon. He could still see them, but his light could only reach so far; if they became dim enough, he wouldn’t be able to focus on them past the slight glare reflecting off the scratches in his helmet.

And no, he could not yet see the bottom.

“Mediocre, and getting worse. Over.” Peter answered.

“Do you wish to abort? Over.” Louis asked.

“No!” Peter let himself hang flat on his back again, so he was looking straight up the cable at the opening above him. The glow from Louis’s light was brightly illuminating the inside of the mineshaft, forming a jagged splotch of bright brown surrounding the cable’s end. “No…” He repeated, talking to the light. “Just a bigger hole than I thought, that’s all. Don’t blame the Captain for throwing his treasure down here; it’s a good hiding spot. Over.”

Louis ignored that.

The winch continued to spin, the cable continued to unwind, the light continued to shrink above, the walls continued to recede.

“Peter be advised…” Louis’s voice was slow and careful, not quite nervous. “Tension in cable seems slightly uneven. Over.”

“Uneven?” Peter frowned up at his friend. “Louis, please elaborate. Over.”

“It’s decreasing… Like you’re getting lighter… Are you dropping rocks out of your pockets or anything? Over.”

“No… Is your winch speeding up?”

“No…”

There was a brief moment of silence while they both pondered all this.

“Maybe your legs are going numb.” Peter suggested. “Uh, over.”

“Maybe… Yeah, I dunno, I don’t think so… Seriously, if you’re messing with me-”

“I’m not messing with you…” That gave Peter an idea: mess with him. He began to flail his arms and legs to make the line bounce. “I… I think I feel it too!”

“You feel the tension decreasing?”

“No, it’s just kind of… Bumpy… Like somebody’s shaking it…! Are you moving around up there?”

“N-no, I’m not moving an inch!” Louis said. “Uh… Oh, wow, actually yeah, I can feel it bouncing too now!”

“I think something’s on the cable!” Peter cried out. “I think something grabbed it! Oh no, I can see it! OH MY GEEZ! It’s coming toward me!”

“WHATISWHATIS WHAT’S COMING TOWARD YOU?!?” Louis was getting hysterical.

The bumping in the line stopped. All was silent on the radio. Peter held his breath in gleeful anticipation.

“Oh.” Louis said after a few seconds. “Ha ha. Very funny. Over.”

“PFFWA HA HA!” Peter burst out in a spasm of laughter. “You should have heard you! Over.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, you’ve had your laugh, now no more thrashing around, alright? Like seriously, you’ll freak me out… And if you were just planning on making a fool of me, you shouldn’t have invited me on the mission… Over.”

“It’s not a ‘mission’, and I didn’t ‘invite’ you. I said I was gonna go look for pirate treasure, and then you begged to come along. Over.”

“I didn’t beg.”

“Did too.”

“You’re stupid. Over.”

“You’re a baby. Now keep lining down; I never said stop. Over.”

Louis sighed and flipped the switch again.

The winch started spinning again.

Peter continued to drop.

Five minutes later, Louis finally spoke. “Peter come in; please tell me you’re getting near the bottom…! Over!”

Peter looked over his shoulder. “No, still can’t see a thing down there, over.”

Five minutes further, Louis’s voice had a sharpness to it. “WHEN should we abort, over?”

“Would you quit it with the abort talk?” Peter snapped, and shook his fist up at the fading light. “Just keep spooling down until I tell you to stop, okay? You’ve got, like, a barjillion meters of line in your winch, and it’s rated for, what, two tons?”

“Four.”

“Four! Four tons! That’s about 100 of me! In Earth gravity! This is, like, less than half Earth gravity, so that thing should be able to hold 200 of me, easy! I’m literally in no danger at all! Over.”

“But…!”

“Just keep spooling down until I tell you to stop. Okay? Over.”

“…Okay. Over.”

“Great. Over.”

“Yeah… Yeah, great. I will. Over.”

“Over.”

“Over yourself.”

“Over times two.”

“Over infinity. Over.”

The walls were getting wider and wider still, and Peter’s light was getting no brighter. Soon, the passing rock began to fade. Nothing mysterious about it, the walls just receded further and further until they merged with the black background, leaving nothing but blurs and shadows. And as Peter waited, it seemed that even those blurs were inching their way upward, to disappear into the ever-growing darkness he’d already passed.

Only the speck of light from the distant mineshaft remained clearly visible directly above; that and whatever length of cable was near enough to be seen. A pinpoint of light piercing down at him, and the cable pointing toward it like a finger, as if to remind him that he was not some lonely spider suspended on a web, but that there was light, and company, and good solid ground awaiting him above, whenever he should choose to return.

The last glimpses of rocks passed out of sight. There may as well be no more walls. He looked over his shoulder again, hoping, if not expecting, the floor to be coming up to meet him soon. Surely the bottom must be approaching soon, right…? But it was not.

His light had become utterly useless now, with nothing else around to illuminate. And when that realization struck him, it sowed the seed of doubt. Maybe Louis’s right. Maybe I shouldn’t do this. I should abort, let him reel me back topside, come back later with the scout leader and a big crane and some huge ol’ searchlights… Yeah… Yeah, this hole, this CHASM, was bigger than I ever would have imagined, and one kid with a headlamp isn’t enough to conquer it…

No…

No, keep going, Peter.

It’s got to end sometime.

He looked up at Louis’s dot of light above him. It’s got to end sometime. It’s not bottomless.

Unease built.

It festered in the back of his mind, surged forward every once in a while to try to bring him to panic, to get him to give up, but each time he forced it back. More and more he found himself staring upwards at the spot of light. Strangely enough, it seemed to be getting reddish. As if blood were throbbing forward into his eyesockets, or as if he was gradually being engulfed in some fog, or filter. Perhaps this pit was flooded with trace amounts of some heavy, reddish gas, and as he descended the depths of it clouded over.

However it was happening, he had become utterly fixated on that spot of light, measuring how it faded and shrunk and reddened, trying to estimate when that final singular anchor would fade away.

Five more minutes passed.

You know, it was bizarre. He hadn’t noticed it quite as fast as Louis had, since he’d been hanging comfortably by his harness instead of bracing against the walls with the winch, but Louis was right: the tension in the line was decreasing.

How was it decreasing? How did that make any sense? No, he wasn’t dropping rocks from his pockets, no, the winch couldn’t be gradually accelerating, as the motor only went one speed… It didn’t make any sense.

Ten minutes.

The light… Was the light getting fainter up above? It seems that now, Peter could barely make out the pinprick of red light that was the opening of the mineshaft. There was only the cable, and himself, hanging in the black.

Nineteen minutes.

Nineteen and a half minutes.

Peter found himself staring at the timer in his helmet, waiting for the seconds to finally add up to the big two-oh, and he’d finally have a good round number to affix to his boredom, and his boredom was the excuse he would affix to his request that they finally abort this pointless plunge.

“H-hey!” He radioed up to Louis. “Y-you know dude, th-th-this is a drag. It’s been twenty minutes. Let’s just reverse it now, eh? This is getting silly! Bring me back up! Over.” It felt really good to finally say it actually; to admit that his friend was right; to give up. It felt good, in a way, to never have to discover what lay at the bottom of this hole.

But horror beyond all horrors, there was no answer!

“Louis? LOUIS! Louis, come in! Louis, do you read?!? Over!”

He was still going down!

“LOUIS COME IN!”

His friend didn’t respond, but the line kept descending, and the tension kept lowering, and the light was very, very red and kept fading, and Peter found himself in tears, crying and trembling.

He looked back over his shoulder again, but he still couldn’t see the bottom!

What’s going on?!? Why can’t Louis hear me?!? How far down does it go?!?

In a sudden flash of inspiration, he remembered; he remembered what he should have done in the first place, before ever starting into the pit. How could I forget? In all the movies, whenever anybody descends into the dark, they always throw a flare or a flashlight or a torch first! They always drop a light so they can get a gauge of how far it goes! It’s only smart! Heck, forget movies, I’m a boy scout! I should have instantly known to do that, how could I forget?!?

I still can!

With shaking hands he fumbled the emergency flare gun out of his belt, and loaded a brightly-colored canister into the barrel. Then he twisted around in the harness, pointed the gun straight downwards into the exact center of that gaping black void, and pulled the trigger.

The flare burst from the gun, and flew straight down. Gravity continuously accelerated it, and without air resistance, it kept going faster and faster, a brilliant yellow missile glowing with incredible brightness, speeding ever faster.

And continued.

And continued.

And continued.

It slowly faded from yellow to white to blue, growing steadily more distant and small and faint with the distance. Finally, after craning his neck to watch it for what felt like minutes, he found he could no longer even see it.

Good grief! Up on the surface, those flares are normally visible from kilometers out! Kilometers!

Louis was right all along! It’s bottomless! IT’S A BOTTOMLESS PIT!!

He looked back upwards. His panic, which was already skyrocketing, was suddenly compounded when he realized that he couldn’t see the light of the mineshaft anymore. He hurriedly turned off the light in his own helmet, in hopes that he could see better without the slight glare. Yes, that was it; if he killed all his own lights, he could just barely make out the mineshaft, shining like a red star high above. “Louis!” He screamed into his radio. “Louis, bring me up! It’s bottomless! You were right, it goes on forever! You gotta bring me up! Abort! LINE UP!!”

No answer.

He fumbled a second flare out of his pocket, and reloaded. Taking careful aim, the very most meticulous and steady aim, he pointed the missile directly at the patch of light. Perhaps if he could be a totally bona-fide sniper with this little flare pistol, perhaps if the flare traveled dead-center, then perhaps it would get near enough to the shaft for Louis to glimpse its glow, and realize that their radios had been somehow compromised, and reverse the line.

He fired.

The second yellow missile streaked from the gun, this time in exactly the opposite direction of the first.

It went straight up, growing redder and redder as it did.

A minute later, it returned to its yellow color as it came straight back down. It passed by Peter again not 10 meters to his left.

And it disappeared into the dark below with the other flare, once again fading to white and then blue. Now that Peter had his lights off, he thought he could still see the first flare glowing in the incredible distance. It hadn’t hit the floor yet.

Bottomless, bottomless…

He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to look at anything anymore. Wanting to exchange the hungry, malicious blackness around him for the close, comfy blackness of the backside of his eyelids. Anything to pretend he wasn’t where he was. But the silence was heavy on his ears. Louis wasn’t there any more, only the hissing of his suit’s life support, the whirring of its heater, and his own breathing. And of course he couldn’t ignore the tension in his harness; The tension is still dropping! Now it’s about half what it should be; like for some physically impossible reason the cable is just stretching and I’m falling faster and faster forever and ever and I can’t feel it! Except I can feel it! I feel like I weigh half of what I ought, like I’m halfway to the moon’s center. But that’s impossible! How could he lower me so deep? And if I’m so deep, where’s the magma?!? Oh God, how can it not have a bottom?!?

God…

That’s right, God!

Without any hesitation, Peter curled into a ball, folded the gloves of his spacesuit against his helmet, and began to pray.

“Dear God…! Dear God, come in God! God come in, I’m scared! Please help! Please help it not be bottomless!” He wondered if there was some kind of enormous monster instead of a bottom, or if the moon was hollow and infested with Aliens, or if this pit led straight to hell. “Please make Louis reverse the line!” He pleaded. “Please make it be alright again…! And…! Andandand if you don’t do any of those other things God, then please, please, please make me brave…!”

He continued down.

“Please make me brave.”

He never stopped.

“A-a-amen… Over.” He stuttered. And as his prayer finished, he knew that even through a kilometer of stone, even across the vast reaches of space, even from out of the depths of this unbelievable void, God had heard him. That’s right… God is in control… God knows where this pit leads, heck, he probably created this pit! That means he knows when I’ll reach the bottom. He knows if I’m gonna get back out or if I’m gonna die… In fact, he knew all this before I ever got up this morning. He knows what I’ll find down here, and he still loves me… God loves me. He’s still looking out for me.

Even down here.

And God answered Peter’s prayer; God made him brave.

Peter opened his eyes.

And then he turned his lights back on, and found that the empty pit wasn’t quite so empty anymore. Way off in the distance to his left and right, his lights seemed to be illuminating something… Not a bottom, but something along the walls; yes, the walls seemed to be narrowing again, at least partially… That was a good sign.

The walls got nearer.

And now that they were back in range of his light, he could see something really quite strange: they were no longer made of rock. He could scarcely believe his eyes at first, but the walls were made of metal now, shinier and more uniform. On his left side, he was currently moving past some kind of enormous, curved surface, like the flank of an incredible water tank. A line of rivets bordering a seam confirmed its artificial nature.

On his other side, there was what appeared to be some kind of weight-bearing truss, like you’d see holding up the archways of an old bridge. There was another tank beside the truss too, and what looked like a ganglion of pipes, just on the edge of the range of his light.

As he continued downward, there were other structures. There were round, rivetted tanks similar to the first one, most of them smaller and miscellaneous, but a few quite a bit larger. In between the tanks and the trusses, great cuboid somethings were bolted to trusses, and the housings and shafts of unfamiliar machinery poked out and interconnected here and there. All through the labyrinthian industrial complex, pipes of every imaginable shape and size stretched and curled.

He sure was glad that God had made him brave. With that bravery, he hazarded another communication. “Louis, be advised.” He said, just in case his friend was still able to hear him. “The tunnel walls now appear populated with mechanical structures. Looks like it could be a factory or a refining installation of some kind. Maybe something else. Not seeing any movement or people, so I think it’s abandoned. And there are no lights, so I’m assuming it’s powerless. I’m also not seeing any words or language on any of the pipes, so your guess is good as mine as to who made it… Yeah. Anyway, it’s weird. Over.”

Louis evidently didn’t hear him.

“Louis, be advised.” He continued a few minutes later. “Looks like the machinery is ending. The last of it is passing out of sight, and I’m in blackness again. It was all just on the walls, and the pit itself is still bottomless… Over.”

The tension in the line was as low as it ever had been, perhaps a quarter of his own weight. He thought back for a moment to his science classes: Newton said that if he wasn’t changing speed at all, then that means the total amount of force on him balanced out to zero. Meaning the tension in the line must be equal to his weight, which meant that he must be getting lighter. But he wasn’t losing any mass, so that means the gravity must be decreasing. Somehow.

He imagined that if it continued, he would eventually be weightless entirely. It didn’t make any sense to him how that was happening, but he understood how the affect was progressing, and it was consistent and logical in its own queer way.

It was logical. It didn’t necessarily make sense, but it made a sense.

The logic and predictability of it made him feel a little better, and he allowed himself to relax. In fact, as he rested on the end of the tether under ever-decreasing stress, the inside of his suit began to seem very comfy. Indeed, he even began to feel sleepy…

Well… I can’t keep going down forever. Louis doesn’t have infinite cable in his winch, and his winch doesn’t have infinite batteries. He’s smart enough to know when enough is enough, and he’ll bring me back up eventually.

…

Thank you, God, for making me brave.

He turned off his light to save battery power in the suit, and settled back to wait.

[atomic-taco-muffin]

KH x Danganronpa Part 6

Warnings: IDEK

Rating: SFW

(Look at him!)

Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked through a picturesque forest. Goofy put his hand up to block the sun.

"It sure is a pretty day," he said.

"Yeah, the weather is great. It'd be perfect for a picnic," Sora stretched.

"Why do you think we came HERE?" Donald asked.

"Got me, Donald."

"We'll figure it out as we go," Goofy said.

"Okay," Donald sighed.

"I'm sure we were brought to this world for SOME good reason, but can't we sweat it later?" Sora said.

"Fine with me, as long as there's no Heartless. Or Monokumas." They heard a scream and stopped in their tracks, looking around for the source of it. Then with grunting and a final slide, a man fell down the hill behind them. He groaned, massaging his back, then looked back where he came from, where a troop of Heartless and Monokumas flew down after him. The man got up and scampered away, the satchel on his hip flapping with every step. He ran toward the trio with the Heartless on his tail, flailing his arms wildly.

"Make way! Make way! Make way!" he said. Sora, Donald, and Goofy parted so he could pass them, then summoned their weapons.

"Heartless!" Sora said.

"And Monokumas!" Donald said. The man found a rock to hide behind, catching his breath and peering out at the group.

"You see? Soon as you mention 'em, they show up!" Sora said.

"There goes our picnic," Goofy said.

"I didn't do it!" Donald said.

"S'okay. Let's send these guys packing," Sora said.

"Say, since you three seem to know what you're doing, mind if I leave this one to you?" the man asked.

"Yup. We'll take care of them. Go on, skedaddle!"

"You have my thanks." The man gave out a sigh. "The horse was enough. Don't need any monsters or weird looking bears on my trail."

"The WHAT was enough?" Donald asked.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Name's Flynn. Flynn Rider. Flynn pointed to one of the Heartless. "Ohh! Watch out, they look mad!" Donald turned around again and Flynn started creeping away.

"Slowly... Slowly... Outta here!" he said. He dashed away as fast as he can while Sora, Donald, and Goofy took out the multitude of Heartless and Monokumas. After the fight, they saw no sign of Flynn Rider.

"Huh? Where'd Flynn go?" Sora asked.

"He skedaddled," Donald said.

"I think I saw him go thataway," Goofy said. He pointed toward a spot between the trees that veered into a small clearing with rocky hills on each side.

"Huh? But 'thataway' is...just a dead end," Sora said.

"Yeah. That's puzzling," Goofy said.

"Well, did he?" Donald said. Goofy crossed his arms, thinking.

"I say we investigate," Sora said. They searched the area for Flynn and approach the rocky hillside ahead.

"He couldn't have come this way," Donald said. Sora saw no exit nearby and turned to face Donald & Goofy, his back to a patch of leafy vines.

"Well, at least he got away safe. Right?" he said. He tried to lean against the vines but stumbled right through them. Goofy turned at the rustling sound, but Sora had disappeared.

"Hey! Now Sora's gone, too!" he said. Goofy walked over to the vines and heard Sora's voice through them.

"This way, guys! It's a secret passage!" he said. Sora stood up as Goofy and Donald pulled the vines apart to find a small hollow in the mountain. They ran through the cave until emerging into a small valley with a lone tower standing in its center. Made mostly of brick, the tower had vines running along its side indicating it must have been there for years. Behind the tower, a waterfall ran over the mountainside into a small pond that glistened in the sunlight.

"Look at that. A tower! Let's check it out!" Sora said. As they neared the base of the tower, they saw Flynn climbing down the stones on the outside with a pair of arrows. He paused, resting for a moment, when Rapunzel flung her hair down out the window, rappelling herself down the tower. She stopped before she hit the ground and slowly extended a barefoot to the warm grass beneath. She took in the feeling of her first taste of earth and knelt down, feeling the ground under her hands.

"It's so soft!" she said. Several dandelion seeds flew into the wind before her and she stood. "I'm free... I'm really free!"

She started running, not even noticing the trio as she passed them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran over to Flynn as he reached the bottom of the tower.

"Flynn, good to see you in one piece!" Sora said.

"Guys! You're here, and just in time," Flynn said. Rapunzel stepped into the pond, laughing as she stepped over the small stones lining the bottom.

"Oh... Who's she?" Sora asked.

"Uh, that would be Rapunzel," Flynn said. She took a handful of water and splashed it upwards with a shout of glee and loud laughter. "Something tells me this could be her first time outdoors. Give her a few minutes to get used to it."

"First time EVER?" Sora asked, wide-eyed. The sun beat down on her golden hair as she took in her decision and she grabbed her face.

"I can't believe I did this!" she said, happily. She grabbed her head.

"I can't believe I did this," She said, shocked as she spun around. "I can't believe I DID this!"

She gasped.

"Mother would be so furious if she knew I disobeyed her and left the tower..." she said, worriedly.

She sat on a rock holding a flower.

"But that's okay--I mean, what she doesn't know won't kill her... Right?" she said, carefree.

She cried in the hollow cave.

"Oh my gosh. This would kill her," she said, sadly.

She ran through the grass, kicking up leaves. Donald laughed while Flynn rolled his eyes.

"This is so fuuuuuun!" she shouted.

She leaned her head against a tree.

"I am a horrible daughter. I'm going back," she said, devastated.

She did cartwheels through the flowers, wrapping herself in her hair.

"I am never going back!" she said, exuberantly.

She lied facedown on the ground.

"I am a despicable human being," she said, in grief.

She swung around a large tree by her hair where Flynn and Sora waited for her to even out.

"Best. Day. Ever!" she said, exhilarated.

She sobbed into her hands at the base of the tree. Flynn walked over to her, with the trio following.

"I notice you seem a little at war with yourself here," Flynn said.

"A little MORE than a little," Goofy said.

"More like a lot," Donald said.

"Yeah..." Sora said. She stopped crying and turned to see them. She gasped and held out the frying pan toward Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"Stop right there! Who are you?" she said. Flynn stepped in between them.

"I told you before: my sidekicks," he said.

"Sidekicks?" Sora asked.

"May I introduce, ehh..."

"Oh, uh... My name's Sora."

"Donald!"

"And I'm Goofy. Pleasure, ma'am." The chameleon appeared from under her hair, skeptical of them.

"Sora, Donald, and...Goofy," she said as she lowered her frying pan. "It's...nice to meet you, too. I'm Rapunzel."

"Yep. My sidekicks," Flynn said. Sora grabbed Flynn's arm and spun him around.

"Since when is THAT?" he whispered.

"Look, she really wants to see the lantern show tomorrow night. Now, I'm a nice guy, so I've decided to help her. Only problem is those monsters might show up again. I can get her to the Kingdom--but you guys are clearly more cut out for combat," Flynn whispered back.

"That's cause we're heroes!" Donald said.

"Uh-huh!"

"And we're Heartless experts. And we know a little bit about those Monokumas," Goofy said.

"Yeah, yeah!" They posed together and Sora gave a small laugh.

"Just leave it to us!" he said.

"Done," Flynn said. He motioned to Rapunzel and led her forward.

"Rapunzel is interesting..." Donald said. The trio walked behind them as Rapunzel admired her surroundings.

"Yeah, her heart's pulling her all kinda ways," Goofy said.

"The outside world must seem so big and scary. I know how she feels. Lucky for me you two came along at just the right time--and the rest has been unforgettable," Sora said.

"Awww..." Donald said. Sora realized he was getting sentimental.

"Yep, unforgettable...just like your face!" he smiled, pointing to Donald.

"Oh yeah?!" Donald asked. Sora laughed as Donald burst out in anger. Sora ran to catch up to Rapunzel and Flynn, putting his hands behind his head. Goofy chuckled as Donald seethed.

"C'mon, now," Goofy said. He ran after Sora, and Donald followed.

"All for one, and one for all," Sora said.

~~~~

Back at the tower, Mother Gothel had returned to find Rapunzel missing. She scrambled through the house in desperation.

"Rapunzel?" she asked as she ran to her room.

"Rapunzel?!" she shrieked. She frantically tore down the curtain covering the window but found no one there. She clutched her face in terror before a glint of light caught her eye from beneath the stairs. She opened the bottom step and pulled out a satchel. Reaching into the satchel, she removed a sparkling tiara and at the sight of it, dropped it in fear. Terrified, she looked further in the bag, taking out a Wanted poster for one Flynn Rider.

"Missing someone?" someone asked. She whirled around.

"Who's there?" she asked. Stepping out from a portal was a man in a black coat with long rose-colored hair and a woman in a beautiful white gown with blonde hair styled up to make her crown fit. The abrupt entrance caused the frightened woman to drop the poster as Marluxia and Remnant Sonia stepped closer.

"She's such a precious gift. Allow us to assist you in getting her back," Sonia said as Mother Gothel's eyes slowly turned pink.

~~~~

Sora and the others left the lake and continued through the forest, Rapunzel's long hair trailing behind her as they came upon a strange plant stuck in the ground in a clearing alone.

"Okay, that's suspicious," Flynn said.

"Rapunzel..." Sora said.

"Don't worry. I know to be careful around flowers now," Rapunzel winked.

"Whatever it is, it's not normal. I'll take a look." Sora walked closer to the weird-looking plant.

"Watch it," Donald said. Sora approached the odd vegetation and examined it while everyone waited with bated breath. After seeing no imminent threat from the flower, he turned to the group.

"We're all clear," he said. They sighed with relief, but too late, as the flower's petals opened, folding downward as its form changed to that of a creature holding a scythe with a familiar symbol on its face, along with a few Monokumas as well.

"Sora!" Donald said, alarmed. He pointed behind Sora, who turned just in time as the pink and white creature swung its immense scythe at him while the Monokumas attacked him with their claws. Sora dodged away and summoned his Keyblade with gritted teeth, joined by Donald and Goofy.

"These guys?" Sora asked as more appeared.

"They're Nobodies! And there's more Monokumas!" Goofy said.

"Mother said the outside world would be full of ruffians and thugs," Rapunzel said.

"Those aren't ruffians. Those are...uhh, I dunno..." Donald said.

"Rapunzel, Flynn, stay back!" Sora said.

"No. I want to help you fight," Rapunzel said.

"I know. But I'm afraid you can't hurt these guys with a frying pan, plus these bears are really dangerous. Trust me on this. Flynn, could you explain?"

"No problem. Knowing when to flee is one of my specialties," Flynn said as he rushed over to Rapunzel. "C'mon, Rapunzel. Gotta go."

"But--"

"Look, I wanna stay and slug it out too, but my sidekicks have it covered." Sora nodded with a smile.

"All right. Please be careful, Sora," Rapunzel said. They nodded and left them to it. Sora, Donald, and Goofy took out all the Reaper Nobodies and Monokumas and regrouped.

"You know who uses Nobodies..." Goofy said.

"The Organization!" Donald said.

"Yeah. And Mukuro warned us about Junko and the Remnants of Despair. They must be working for them. I'm surprised we haven't seen 'em," Sora said. He cupped and started calling out. "I know you're there! Come out, you has-beens! And you despair loving freaks!"

They looked around and a corridor of darkness appeared behind them.

"'Has-beens'? Now why would you say that?" someone asked.

"And how dare you call a queen a freak!" a woman said. A tall man with long pink hair emerged from the portal, peering at them through yellow eyes while a woman with blonde hair glared at them with glowing red eyes.

"Because bossing around Nobodies? That's the old Organization," Sora chuckled. "Why? Are you in the 'real' one too? Good for you. And you must be one of the so-called 'Remnants of Despair'."

"My name is Marluxia and this is my beloved queen, Sonia." Marluxia kissed her knuckles making her blush.

"Oh, stop! You're making me blush!" Sonia swooned.

"And yes, that is correct. How interesting it is to see you again, Sora," Marluxia said.

"'Again'?" Sora asked. He turned to Donald and Goofy, confused. "YOU know 'im?"

Donald and Goofy shook their heads.

"A shame you've no memory of me, because I remember you exceedingly well. Although...it's THOSE memories I'd soon erase. And you obviously wouldn't know Sonia. She's new but she is very powerful," Marluxia said. Sonia giggled insanely and looked at the trio.

"I don't know what you're saying," Sora said.

"Nor should you. Nor will you ever, for that matter," Sonia said. The trio glanced at them with confused faces.

"Now, if you'll permit me, I've come to ask a favor," Marluxia said.

"Favor? You have got to be kidding me," Sora said. Donald & Goofy nodded in agreement.

"Please hear what we have to say. I'm sure you've noticed..." Sonia said. She mused on this for a moment and Sora raised his eyebrows for her or Marluxia to continue.

"Well, perhaps not. But you should know that maiden with you, Rapunzel, is the very light of this world. I would see you guard her from its dark horrors," Marluxia said.

"Huh?" the trio asked as they took defensive stances.

"Starting with you two, right?" Sora asked.

"All the Organization seeks is balance. You must understand, our ultimate objective is not to clash with the light. We seek to complement it. Use that Keyblade...to keep Rapunzel safe," Sonia said as she and Marluxia vanished into a dark corridor.

"Rapunzel's light..." Sora said. Goofy scratched his face and Sora looked around. "Hey. Where did they go?"

"I guess they musta run on ahead," Goofy said.

"Then we'd better go find them." They continued through the forest in search of Flynn and Rapunzel. Soon the forest turned into marshland and the fog obscured their view ahead. Still no sign of them, Sora sighed.

"I wonder where they went," he said.

"Don't worry. They couldn't have gotten too far," Goofy said. A hooded figure quickly hid behind a tree.

"You just had to stop and talk," Donald said. Mother Gothel peered at them from beneath her cloak.

"Hey! Blame the has-been and the freak, not me," Sora said.

"I think you mean Marluxia and Sonia. I bet that's the name the has-been and the freak would prefer," Goofy said. Mother Gothel averted her gaze and began to leave.

"Hellooo? Rapunzel? Flynn?" Sora called out. She stopped at Rapunzel's name and turned back, lowering her hood.

"Excuse me, good travelers. Do you know Rapunzel?" she said. They turned to her as she walked toward them and exchanged glances.

"Uh, yeah... Sort of," Sora said.

"Why?" Donald asked.

"My apologies. I'm Rapunzel's mother. The poor child left home without a word, and I've just been worried sick. Please tell me: where is my dear, sweet girl?"

"We'd tell ya, but we lost her," Goofy said.

"By accident," Donald said.

"We could look together," Sora said.

"Lost her?" Mother Gothel scoffed. "You're of no use to me."

She waved them off and continued walking.

"I'll find her myself," she said.

"She ran away from home?" Donald asked.

"What if Marluxia and Sonia were onto something back there?" Sora asked.

"You trust Organization XIII?"

"What? No! Of course not. But...what if?"

"I agree. Why is Rapunzel in danger, and what darkness is after her?" Goofy said.

"Well, guys, the first step is to find her." They searched for Rapunzel and Flynn, eventually exiting the marshland into a more bright forest. Soon, they heard a voice.

"Wh-wh-whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, boy, easy! Settle down. Whoa, whoa!" Rapunzel said.

"That voice!" Sora said.

"It's Rapunzel!" Goofy said. Ahead, a terrified Flynn had his back pressed against a rock while Rapunzel attempted to calm down a large white horse. The angry-looking horse peered at the chameleon atop Rapunzel's head. Pascal motioned with his three-toed front feet to settle down. The horse, wide-eyed, raised an ear and set his rump down on the ground with a dispirited whinny.

"You are such a good boy! Yes you are," Rapunzel said as she pet the bridge of his nose and his tail started to wag. "Are you all tired from chasing this bad man all over the place?"

The horse nodded sadly.

"Excuse me?"Flynn asked.

"Nobody appreciates you, do they?" Rapunzel asked. Rapunzel moved closer to give him a hug. "Do they?"

The horse shook his head.

"Oh, come on. He's a bad horse!" Flynn said.

"Ohhh. He's nothing but a big sweetheart," Rapunzel said as the horse nuzzled against her. "Isn't that right...Maximus?"

Maximus stamped his foot and whinnied at the attentive petting as Flynn griped on the forest floor.

"Wha... You've got to be kidding me," he said. Maximus glared at him.

"Look, today is kind of the biggest day of my life, and the thing is, I need you NOT to get him arrested," Rapunzel said. She helped Flynn up and Maximus narrowed his eyes at her. "Just for twenty-four hours, and then you can chase each other to your hearts' content. Okay?"

Flynn begrudgingly offered a hand, but Maximus refused, looking away.

"And it's also my birthday. Just so you know," Rapunzel said. Maximus grumbled softly and offered his hoof. They shook, their scowls unbroken. Rapunzel looked ahead, seeing the trio running toward them.

"Rapunzel!" Sora said.

"You're here. And you're okay!" Rapunzel said. From behind her back, Maximus punched Flynn in the side and smirked.

"Yeah! You too," Sora said.

"And look! I made a friend," Rapunzel said as Maximus walked over. "Meet Maximus. You could say Flynn introduced us. And where one goes, the other follows."

Maximus inspected them dubiously.

"This is Sora, Goofy, and Donald. They've been helping me," Rapunzel said. Maximus nodded and Flynn got up, clutching his side and pointing onward.

"Come on, the Kingdom's not far," he said.

~~~~

They crossed the bridge and entered the castle town, Rapunzel giggling to herself all the way.

"Rapunzel sure looks happy," Sora said.

"She does," Donald said.

"Well, her dream's gonna come true. They're sendin' the lanterns up after dark," Goofy said.

"Cool! We don't wanna miss that!" Sora said. After dancing at the town center, a man shouted for everyone to head to the boats for the lanterns. The sunset and the trio watched from one of the docks, Maximus from another, as Rapunzel and Flynn took a boat to the middle of the lake. They gazed up at the castle against the darkly lit sky.

"I've been looking out a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?" Rapunzel said.

"It will be," Flynn said, calmly.

"And what if it is? What do I do then?"

"Well, that's the good part, I guess. You get to go find a new dream." They look up as a solitary lantern peeked out from behind the castle, floating slowly up into the sky. Rapunzel hastily stood up, rocking the boat and grasping at the stern, as multitudes of floating lanterns pooled out of the castle gates. Soon the entire kingdom was enveloped in a flock of lights floating softly into the air. Rapunzel leaned her head on the wood as she gazed longingly at the magical sight. She turned back to Flynn holding two of his own in his hands. She happily sat back down.

"I have something for you, too," she said. She pulled out his satchel and he stared at it. "I should have given it to you before, but I was just scared. And the thing is, I'm not scared anymore. You know what I mean?"

He placed a hand on the satchel and moved for her to put it down.

"I'm starting to," he said. They set free their lanterns and they joined the swirling bunch in the sky. Flynn gazed at Rapunzel, seeing the happiness on her face, then looked toward the satchel, thinking to himself. When the festival died down, they docked the boat on the edge of the lake and Flynn got out.

"I'm sorry. Everything is fine. There's...just something I have to take care of," he said. He grabbed the satchel and she looked back and forth between it and him.

"Okay," she said.

"I'll be right back." He turned to leave and Pascal climbed onto her shoulder.

"It's all right, Pascal," she said. They both sadly watched him go. From Sora's place at the dock, they watched the lights in the sky.

"Wow!" he gasped. They sensed a disturbance from behind as Reaper Nobodies and Monokumas appeared on the wharf. They got up and turned around, irked.

"Could you guys have possibly picked a worse time?" Sora asked.

"I don't think they appreciate the moment, Sora," Goofy said.

"Not one bit!" Donald said.

"It's time for these wet blankets to go!" Sora said as the three of them summoned their weapons.

"Yeah!" Donald and Goofy said. They took care of the Nobodies and Monokumas plaguing the wharf as Rapunzel waited by the shore with Pascal. Out of the fog over the water emerged a small sailboat.

"Eugene?" she asked. From shore, she saw what looked like Flynn steering the sailboat with the stolen tiara in his hand. "Eugene!"

Unknown to Rapunzel, he was out cold and tied to the mast and helm.

"Oh dear... He's run off with the crown and forgotten you," Marluxia said as he and Sonia appeared behind her.

"No. He wouldn't. Who are you?" Rapunzel said. They didn't answer and she looked back at the boat, still drifting away.

"Forget Flynn Rider. You know where you belong, and it's not with him. And I wish I had your pretty tiara. Now..." Sonia said. She and Marluxia motioned with their hands and two Reaper Nobodies and two Monokumas appeared in front of Rapunzel. She ran away in fear and Marluxia and Sonia smiled. She ran toward an opening between two large rocks, trying not to stumble when her braided hair caught on a fallen log. She pulled on it, trying to free it from the branch when she heard a voice.

"Rapunzel!" Mother Gothel said.

"Mother?" Rapunzel asked. She walked back to the shoreline, where the Nobodies and Monokumas had disintegrated and torn into pieces and Mother Gothel stood with a tree branch in her arms, out of breath. She perked up at the sight of Rapunzel.

"Oh, my precious girl!" she said.

"Mother..." Rapunzel said as she ran into her arms.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" Mother Gothel asked as she touched Rapunzel's face.

"M-Mother, how did you--"

"I was so worried about you, dear. So I followed you. And I saw them attack you, and--" Mother Gothel hugged her tightly. "Oh my. Let's go. Let's go, before they come to."

Rapunzel stopped and looked back at the boat on the lake. She slowly turned back to Mother Gothel, holding a green lantern in her hand. Rapunzel paused as Mother Gothel set the lantern down and opened her arms, beckoning her. Rapunzel's lip quivered and she started to cry, running into her mother's embrace. Mother Gothel stroked her hair as she sobbed. Sora, Donald, and Goofy entered and saw the two leaving.

"Hey, isn't that Rapunzel?" Sora asked. He cupped his hands to his face. "Wait! Rapunz--"

A dark corridor opened and Marluxia and Sonia appeared.

"Show some decorum," Marluxia said.

"You again!" Donald said.

"Marluxia! Sonia!" Sora said.

"The girl has found her dear mother. You should let them be," Sonia said.

"And why is that?"

"Because Rapunzel is far too important. Atop her tower, she must remain out of sight, and live out her days with Mother Gothel," Marluxia said.

"And never see anyone else?" Goofy said.

"But that's like...locking her in some prison!" Sora said.

"That is EXACTLY what it's like. Rapunzel's hair holds the powerful magic of healing. And yes, Mother Gothel wants it for herself. As do others. And, if Mother Gothel's actions will protect Rapunzel, preserve her...then she is doing the Organization a favor," Sonia said.

"What favor?"

"Let's say she's keeping Rapunzel on the shelf for us. An extra pawn in case you fail to find the remaining guardians of light, and we have occasion to call on other hearts of light instead. A New Seven Hearts to fill out the ranks," Marluxia said.

"'New Seven Hearts'?"

"Yes. Seven who inherited the princesses' light after their role was fulfilled," Sonia said.

"So, you don't care about her. You guys just want Rapunzel for your own purposes! Well, you're done here!" Sora said as he summoned his Keyblade.

"Hmph. I just knew you would go and make a scene. Very well, then it's lights out for you," Marluxia said. He extended a hand, blowing a pink wind toward Sora. He dropped the Keyblade, his eyes drooping.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed. They ran towards him as his vision got hazy, his ears muffled.

"You always were such a sound sleeper," Marluxia said. Sonia giggled and wrapped her arms around Marluxia's arm as Sora fell to the ground. Meanwhile, a recently escaped Flynn dashed on Maximus over the bridge away from the city. The morning sun brightened the sky as he rode toward the forest, encountering Donald and Goofy hovering over a still-sleeping Sora.

"Whoa, Max! Whoa, boy," Flynn said. They slid just short of them.

"Flynn!" Goofy said.

"Is Sora okay?" Flynn asked.

"We don't know," Donald said.

"We keep callin' his name and shakin' him, but he won't open his eyes," Goofy said.

"Sora!"

"Wake up!"

"Hmm... Unresponsive sidekick... Wait a minute. I know how to fix this! Max, give him a wash!" Flynn said. Maximus licked Sora's face with his long tongue, rousing him from his sleep. Sora opened his eyes seeing Flynn and Maximus looking down at him. Donald and Goofy peeked into view.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy said as he sat up.

"Well, that did the trick. Nice work, Max!" Flynn said. Maximus smiled haughtily. Sora stood and held his head.

"Huh? How did I end up..." he asked as the events came back to him. "Oh no! Flynn, Rapunzel's being held prisoner!"

Donald and Goofy nodded.

"That's right. In her mother's tower," Flynn said. They trotted forward.

"This calls for a rescue," Flynn said. He smiled down at Sora and extended a hand. "Are you with me?"

Sora gave a small laugh.

"Yeah," he said. Flynn pulled Sora up onto the horse with a proud cackle. Donald jumped up onto Sora's shoulders and Goofy tagged along on Maximus. Suddenly, they lost height.

"Uh-oh!" Goofy said. Maximus's legs buckled, struggling to hold them up, but his face changed to one of determination. He let out a whinny and stood straight up.

"Let's go, Max," Flynn said. Maximus reared back and charged forward. They raced through the forest in the direction of the tower when they were intercepted by a group of Nobodies and Monokumas.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Max!" Flynn said. Sora, Donald, and Goofy nodded to each other and jumped off Maximus, summoning their weapons.

"We'll take it from here, Flynn. Go help Rapunzel," Sora said.

"Thanks!" Flynn said. He took off with Maximus, leaving the Nobodies and Monokumas to them. As they followed along through the forest, their path was filled with Heartless and more Monokumas. They defeated each wave in turn. By the time they arrived, Flynn had climbed up and entered the tower.

"Rapunzel! I thought I'd never see you again," Flynn said. He looked up, seeing Rapunzel chained and gagged. Her eyes widen as Mother Gothel sneaked behind him, striking a hidden dagger into his side. Rapunzel struggled to get free, crying out as Flynn fell over onto the floor. Mother Gothel looked down at him, squirming in pain on the stone floor. She tugged on Rapunzel's chains trying to lead her deeper into the tower, the girl desperate to get free.

"Rapunzel, really! Enough already! Stop fighting me!" she said. Rapunzel, pulling back, lost her balance and fell over, the gag slipping from her mouth.

"No! I won't stop! For every minute of the rest of my life, I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you! But...if you let me save him, I will go with you," she said. Mother Gothel raised an eyebrow.

"No! No, Rapunzel..." Flynn grunted. He attempted to crawl on the floor but the pain was too great. Pascal looked on helplessly.

"I'll never run... I'll never try to escape. Just let me heal him...and you and I will be together--forever, just like you want. Every- thing will be the way it was. I promise. Just like you want. Just...let me heal him," Rapunzel said. Mother Gothel released Rapunzel and shackled Flynn.

"In case you get any ideas about following us," she said to him. Rapunzel rushed to his side.

"Eu...Eugene!" she said. She brushed the hair out of his eyes and he clutched his side, struggling to sit up against the wall. She checked at his wound, obviously bleeding.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Everything is gonna be okay, though," she said as she gathered her hair into her arms.

"No...Rapunzel..." Flynn groaned.

"I promise. You have to trust me." She placed her hair over his wound.

"No! I can't let you do this," he said. They stared into each other's eyes.

"And I can't let you die," she said.

"But if you do this...but if you do this, then you will die."

"Hey. It's gonna be all right," she whispered. He gave the very smallest of smiles.

"Rapunzel... Wait," he said. He began to stroke her hair, his face moving closer to hers, and with a swift motion cut off her hair with a shard of the broken mirror. His hand fell to the floor, dropping the glass, as her hair turned brown, its healing ability lost. She looked down at him in shock.

"Eugene, what--" she gasped. Absolute terror erupted from Mother Gothel's face.

"No!" she screamed. From the strand in Rapunzel's hands, the once golden locks of hair turned a deep brown. Mother Gothel tried to gather them up in her arms before the magic was lost.

"Oh no. No..." she said. Unable to stop the transformation, she grabbed her hand, watching it become wrinkled and withered.

"What have you done? What have you DONE?!" she yelled. The aging spread across her body like a weed, her skin turning pale and her hair a pallid gray. She screamed out in sudden shrieks, her body moving feebly, as she covered her decrepit face with her hood. She writhed about the room, crossing closer to the window, where Pascal pulled on the long bunch of hair, causing her to spill out of the tower. She screamed as she fell, aging out of existence, the shroud flying down through the air as Sora, Donald and Goofy reached the base of the tower. Marluxia and Sonia watched from the hill.

"Fallen to darkness... We can't allow her near our pure light now. Her presence would only cast a pall over it," Sonia said. Marluxia motioned with his arm, suspending the cloak in midair surrounded by petals of pink. An orb of darkness burst forth and branch-like limbs erupted from within, followed by a tail. Another set of limbs and the creature crashed to the ground, the darkness pulling back, revealing a large tree-like Heartless, the Grim Guardianess. It growled down at Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who summoned their weapons.

"What happened up there?" Sora asked.

"I don't know, but we have to stop that Heartless," Donald said. The Grim Guardianess flew toward them, its tail moving like a serpent, as its large mane of leaves crashed to the ground, sending pollen everywhere. Donald and Goofy were sent into a sneezing fit as thorns surrounded Sora. He struggled to get free of the thorns' grip before the Heartless slithered around the tower, spiraling to the top. Sora broke free from the thorny tether as cherries fell from the sky. Sora, Donald, and Goofy raced across the hill avoiding the cages of vines that blocked their way, as the cherry bombs exploded on impact with the ground. Dodging the torrent of bombs, Sora reached the tower and ran up its stone exterior. The Heartless was soon no match for Sora and his Keyblade and was knocked from the tower. Inside, Rapunzel clutched Flynn.

"Don't go. Stay with me, Eugene," she said. Sora, Donald, and Goofy ascended the tower, seeing Rapunzel over Flynn's body. She grabbed his arm and placed it against her hair.

"🎵Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse🎵," she sang through her tears.

"Rapunzel," Flynn said as he opened his eyes.

"🎵Bring back what once was mine.🎵"

"Hey. Rapunzel."

"What?"

"Rapunzel... You were my new dream." Tears welled up in her eyes.

"And you were mine," she said. Flynn blinked once more and his eyes closed, his body falling limp. The trio looked on sadly as she moved her hand toward his face.

"🎵Heal what has been hurt. Change the Fates' design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine🎵," she sang. She moved her hand over his heart and leaned in closer, her face nearly touching his, her song nearly a whisper. "What once was mine."

She sobbed, a tear falling onto the rogue's skin. It settled there, glowing into the shape of a flower. A light burst forth from Flynn's wound, wresting Rapunzel from her sorrow. Sora, Donald, and Goofy stared open-mouthed at this sight. The healing magic swirled into the air like strands of hair, wisping around Rapunzel, her eyes wide. A six-pointed flower magically bloomed from the wound, before the light disappeared inside of him. She moved closer to his face, brushing the hair out of her eyes as Flynn slowly took a breath and opened his eyes.

"Rapunzel..." he said.

"Eugene." she gasped.

"Did I ever tell you...I've got a thing for brunettes?" He smiled and Rapunzel was overcome by joy.

"Eugene!" she said. She threw her arms around him and he leaned on his side to embrace her. Sora, Donald, and Goofy smiled with glee, and Sora threw his arms around the other two, grinning from ear to ear and Flynn tightened his hold on Rapunzel. Later, they all stood at the base of the tower, the warm sunlight bathing over them.

"Wow, Rapunzel! You're finally gonna get to see your real home," Sora said.

"I know! I mean...I can't believe it. I can finally be with my real family! I couldn't have done it without your help," Rapunzel said.

"You're welcome," Donald said. She giggled.

"Well, from where I'm standing, the Kingdom couldn't ask for a better princess. And I couldn't have asked for better sidekicks!" Flynn said. Sora brushed a knuckle across his nose. "Thanks."

"Yes, thank you so much," Rapunzel said.

"Happily ever after," Donald said. Sora crossed his arms.

"Mh-hm," he said.

"Now, Flynn, you and Maximus play nice," Goofy said. Maximus and Flynn exchanged glances.

"Huh?" Flynn asked. Maximus whinnied with laughter. "Fine."

Rapunzel took Flynn's hand and they stared into each other's eyes.

"You're gonna be great," Sora said.

"Huh?" Rapunzel and Flynn asked.

"We haven't seen the guy controlling the monsters in a while, so that's one less worry."

"But there's still a chance that he might be around here somewhere," Goofy said.

"Well, if he comes back and tries to bother Rapunzel again, then Flynn will keep her safe. And we three won't be far behind."

"Come on. Rapunzel's the tough one, if you ask me," Donald said.

"True. But nevertheless, I won't let her out of my sight," Flynn said.

"Oh... Eugene," Rapunzel smiled.

"'Eugene'?" Sora asked.

"Oh! That's my real name. Eugene Fitzherbert. That's right. I never told you guys," Flynn chuckled.

"That's different," Donald said.

"I think it's a great name!" Goofy said.

"Me too. Nice to re-meet you, Eugene," Sora said.

"Hey! I thought I was the only one you were going to tell," Rapunzel said to Eugene.

"Don't worry. I've saved plenty of Fitzherbert-y secrets just for you," Eugene replied.

"Really?"

"Hey! What are you two lovebirds talking about?" Sora asked, pointing at them.

"Nothing!" Eugene said.

"Nothing," Rapunzel giggled.

"Hey, you can tell us!" Donald said.

"Yeah, it's not nice to keep secrets," Goofy said.

"This one is none of your business," Eugene said.

"Maximus, get him!" Sora chuckled.

"Huh?" Maximus glared at Eugene, an inch from his face, and Eugene stopped, unsure of what to anticipate. Pascal crawled onto Rapunzel's shoulder with a determined look and jumped over to Eugene's, sending his long sticky tongue into his ear. Eugene reeled back and clutched his ear, Pascal jumping off with a squeal of glee.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Eugene said. Rapunzel and the rest burst out laughing. Maximus smiled at Eugene, waggling his eyebrows as Pascal chilled on Eugene's head. Soon after, the trio left the Kingdom of Corona.

[kuroopaisen]

Hi! Can i req kuroo falling in love with kenmas best friend?

this got super self-indulgent and super long (it’s about 3k), but,,, i hope you enjoy it!! i really loved writing it 

- admin rowan

they’d done it. they’d done the one thing most people thought was nigh impossible. 

they’d become friends with kozume kenma. 

kuroo stared at his phone, one eyebrow raised. sure enough, the message was there.

KENMA, 3:42 PM: i’m at the coffee shop. i’m meeting a friend for lunch

kenma. meeting a friend? for lunch? on campus? 

oh, he had to find out more. 

“so you’re meeting them for lunch, huh?” kuroo propped his chin up on his hand, grinning at kenma from across the table. the uni cafes tended to thin out in the later afternoon, which had made it the ideal time. this new friend of his might not have been able to encourage kenma to hang out with them if they’d arranged it for earlier in the day. 

“uh huh,” kenma murmured, eyes glued to his phone. 

“where’d you meet this friend of yours, then?” kuroo asked. all sorts of questions were bubbling in his mind. he didn’t know if he had enough time to ask them. 

“one of my electives,” kenma said. “we got paired up for an assignment. i thought it was going to be painful, but it wasn’t.” 

those words were pure poetry to kuroo. this was the first time he’d heard kenma even say something like that. 

truth be told, kuroo had been terrified that kenma would go his entire uni career without making a single friend. sure, it was only his first year, but that first semester hadn’t shown much promise. the uni volleyball team hadn’t quite… bonded yet either. not in the same way nekoma had. but that wasn’t a pain kuroo wanted to linger on in that moment. 

“so,” he hummed, “what are they like?”

he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued. kenma hadn’t made an active effort to be friends with anyone since middle school – the fact that he was going to lunch with them, of his own volition, felt like something kuroo’d have to note down in the history books. 

“they’re cool, i guess,” kenma shrugged.

kuroo pouted. he’d been hoping for a little more than that, but… 

“hi!” a voice rang out behind him. both he and kenma turned to look. 

there they stood, cheeks blindingly red and hands on their knees. 

“sorry i’m late,” they waved a hand at kenma, the other held to their chest. “i got lost, and this campus is far too large, and then someone asked me where the health center was, and–”

“it’s fine,” kenma said, his voice still soft. they stopped their tirade, trying to stand up straighter. “you should get some water.” 

“right!” they nodded. a flash, and they were gone, lost inside the coffee shop. 

kuroo bit back a smile. this was kenma’s new friend? he hadn’t expected someone so… flustered. 

“what?” kenma asked, eyes turned to kuroo. 

“nothing.” 

kenma narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. “don’t be lame.” 

kuroo gaped at him, one hand over his chest in mock offence. “whatever do you mean?” 

“you know exactly what i mean.” 

“i can’t believe they’re charging five dollars for a bottle of water,” they grumbled, appearing out of nowhere once again. both the boys looked up at them, face still flushed. 

“there are places to get free water,” kenma said. 

their expression dropped, but only for a moment. they shrugged. “too late, i suppose.” 

their eyes drifted over kuroo. he could’ve sworn their cheeks turned just turned a tad redder. “sorry, i didn’t really introduce myself, did i?”

“kuroo,” he nodded, looking them up and down. 

“oh, right,” they smiled. “i’ve heard a bit about you.”

a shit-eating grin crossed kuroo’s face as he turned to look at kenma. 

“none of it was good.” 

they bit the inside of their cheek, unsure about whether or not it’d be okay to laugh. 

kuroo just scoffed, raising an eyebrow at kenma. “after all i’ve done for you? you wound me.” 

“you’ll recover.” 

kuroo looked between the two of them, that same sly smile returning to his face. “well, i’ll leave you to it then,” he said, standing up to full height. their eyebrows raised ever so slightly – wow, he was tall. “you kids better not have too much fun, you hear me?”

they didn’t quite know how they felt about him referring to them as a ‘kid’, but they simply smiled at him. 

“it was nice to meet you!” they said, before immediately chastising themselves for their peppiness. god, you must seem so weird, they thought. 

kuroo grinned. “and you.”

and then, he was gone. they turned to look at kenma, tilting their head at him. “he’s that childhood friend of yours, right?”

kenma nodded. 

“huh,” they hummed, sitting themselves down in kuroo’s old seat. 

kenma didn’t talk about the people in his life with much embellishment, and he didn’t like being pushed to talk about them. but, this new friend of his had heard quite a few stories about kuroo; scant details that they’d managed to string together to form a loose idea of a person. they’d gotten the impression that he was a kind, grounding force, one that’d been there for most of kenma’s life.

he wasn’t what they’d expected.  

——–

to say the friendship between them and kuroo felt natural is an understatement. hell, the boy decided he was fond of them that day they met – they’d got kenma’s approval? kozume kenma, known recluse, engaged with them in meaningful ways? nothing had quite warmed the cockles of his heart like that in a while. 

and better yet, they and kenma had gotten close. they hung out a lot – or rather, they spent a lot of time at the apartment he and kuroo shared. and kuroo, nosey as he was, often crashed their time together. not that they or kenma minded; the atmosphere just always felt… right. 

and sooner rather than later, they started to go over explicitly with the intention of hanging out with both of them. as much as kenma loved the both of them, he could only deal with company for so long; but neither they nor kuroo were quite done with the conversation. they’d lost many a good night’s sleep to a long, drawn-out chat with kuroo. not that they minded. not with him. 

and that night looked like just another one of those, at first glance. 

they were both sat on the couch, their legs absentmindedly strewn over his. they couldn’t help it, really; he was just so long, and he’d decided he wanted to take up as much space as possible. mainly to piss them off. 

and, one of them was rambling on about something vaguely esoteric. this time, they’d dominated the conversation. they hadn’t planned to; it’s just that they were thinking about one of their classes that week, and it had all come flooding back. and kuroo, bless his soul, was humouring them. like he always did. 

“what, so there were eight distinct winds?” kuroo asked, tilting his head at them. 

“yeah,” they nodded. “each was it’s own, like… deity? and winds blowing from different directions would do different things to you.” 

kuroo raised an eyebrow. 

“this guy, vitruvius was saying that… well, wind would make you sick, right?”

“uh huh.”

“hot wind specifically would make you really sick.”

kuroo snorted. “why? isn’t it the other way around?”

“well…” they bit their lip, trying to simplify the needlessly convoluted concept in a matter of seconds. “the romans thought the body was made up of the four elements, right? but they thought they were heat, moisture, earth and air. and humans were supposed to have all four in balance, right? unlike fish which had like… no moisture, so they could live in water pretty easily.” they paused. “is this too much?”

kuroo shook his head. “nah. you look pretty into it.” 

they didn’t quite know what he meant by that, but he was smiling. they ignored that weird little buzzing in their stomach and moved on. 

“so anyway, getting too hot was supposed to make you weak and sick.” they didn’t quite know why they were going on about all this. it hadn’t even been a big component of their class that week; it was just a tidbit they’d found interesting. but, as always, they just kept talking. and talking. and talking. that was always the way, with kuroo. they wanted to tell him about everything. 

and half the time, it seemed to be the same thing for him. they’d heard a lot of scientific jargon they didn’t quite understand, no matter how well he explained them to them. 

“oh,” they held up a finger, their favourite fact of the week springing to mind, “they also thought that hot air made everyone horny.” 

there it was. that ugly cackle they’d grown so fond of. “what, really?”

they nodded. “and this was in the mediterranean, so… they would’ve lived through some pretty hot summers. with no air con.” 

“gross.” kuroo scrunched his nose up. they tried to ignore how cute that was. “sounds like a terrible time be horny, to be honest. you can’t be having a good time.” he looked up at the ceiling and away from you. “i’d make sure to have a fan around, at the very least.”

“did you really just say the equivalent to ‘sorry ancient romans, but i’m different’?”

“and if i did?” kuroo shot them one of his devilish grins. 

they had no retort to that. if they did try and throw a quip back at him, the conversation might get into a territory they weren’t quite ready to confront. 

“how’s your assessment going?” they asked. sure, it was an abrupt change of subject, but it was a safe one. 

kuroo groaned, his head falling even further back over the arm of the sofa. “don’t remind me.”

“sorry,” they grinned.

he sat back up with a grunt, his dark eyes narrowed. “i’ve been putting if off. volleyball practice has been my excuse, but…”

“did you get your pracs done, at least?”

“oh, yeah,” he waved a hand at them. “i got those done ages ago. it’s just writing the damn thing up.” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. he froze for a second, turning to look directly at them again. “i saw that care package, by the way.” kuroo’s eyes were much softer than usual. fond, even.

right, the care package. it was just a little something they’d put together for kenma; he had a particularly rough few weeks ahead, with awkwardly scheduled exams and assignments. he hadn’t seemed to be all that stressed about it, but they’d wanted to do something. he always got so… anxious after procrastinating for so long and even more neglectful when it came to his health.

“oh, that,” they waved a hand at kuroo, suddenly very self-conscious of how their legs were entangled. “i didn’t really expect him to use it, but…” they tilted their head to the side. “i hoped it’d remind him to take care of himself a little.” 

a gentle smile crossed kuroo’s face as he gazed at them. suddenly, they didn’t know where to look. 

“thank you for looking out for him.” 

the words left kuroo’s mouth before he’d really thought about them. but he meant it. he really did. 

they shook their head. “i haven’t really done anything worth thanking.”

“you know he hasn’t actively made a friend since middle school?” kuroo said, turning to look at them. 

they turned to him with wide eyes. 

“there were the guys on the team, of course, but…” he sighed. “i think that was more propinquity than anything else. can’t see him ending up friends with them otherwise.” he ran one hand through his hair. “well, there is that kid hinata, but other than that…”

“sounds like he’s made a few friends since middle school,” they smiled. 

kuroo chuckled. “well…” he bit the inside of his cheek. should he be having this conversation? was it wise? 

fuck it. 

“i just… i get worried about him,” he said, the words slurring together ever so slightly. 

“because he’s so reclusive?”

kuroo nodded. “i just… i want him to be okay, and i don’t want him to end up isolating himself, but…”

he couldn’t grasp the words. fuck, he hadn’t even drunk anything tonight. 

“he tends to hide himself away?” 

“exactly,” kuroo nodded. “i’m surprised he decided to come to uni, honestly. even if he wasn’t really academic at school or anything like that…” he sighed. “he still does really well, despite leaving everything to the last minute, but…”

“it’s not healthy,” they said. 

“yeah,” kuroo smiled, running a hand through his hair. “you get it. you always do.” he was looking at them again. 

he really was handsome. tall, broad, with a certain devil-may-care vibe that made it all look so effortless. it was a weird thing to think, but they enjoyed looking at him. not quite as much as they enjoyed spending time with him, though. 

oh. shit. 

it was like he was coming into clarity for the first time. this guy, who loved kenma so much, who looked after him and treated him with the respect he deserved. the same guy who just seemed to get them, to understand them so well even when their words were clumsy – and who genuinely listened whenever they rambled about whatever was on their mind. this guy who was such a nerd, and yet also some of the best company they’d had in a long while. 

they knew he was attractive the day they’d first met – hell, all they had to do was look at him to work that one out – but that’d just been physical. they’d never expected to actually catch feelings for him. 

and all that weird buzzing in their stomach made sense. all the nervousness, all the tension. 

shit. shit, shit, shit. 

“what’s wrong?” kuroo asked, raising an eyebrow at them. 

“hm?” they blinked. 

“you’re staring.”

“oh,” they swallowed, shamefully aware of the blush creeping across their cheeks. “nothing’s wrong, i was just… thinking.”

“about?”

“kenma,” they lied. 

“right,” he cleared his throat, breaking eye contact. 

they sighed, bringing their knees up to their chest. no point in denying it to themselves anymore – they had feelings for a certain kuroo tetsurou. 

“i’m tired,” they said, before really thinking about it. it wasn’t a total lie – it’d be a long week, after all – but they knew they’d said it more as an excuse to get away from him. part of them felt bad about it. 

but the other part of them knew that if they stayed here much longer, they might say something they’d regret. 

–—

kuroo shut his bedroom door with just a tad too much force. 

fuck. fuck. 

this entire time, he’d been teasing kenma about having a thing for them, but… 

fuck. 

he was a fucking idiot. 

of course he had feelings for them. there was no other way to explain any of it; how he looked forward to their visits just a bit too much, how making them laugh made his stomach feel a little funny, how they were the first person he wanted to talk to about the things that’d happened in his life…

and he’d had feelings for them for quite a while now. 

he’d wrote it all off for some stupid reason. something about being happy about getting along so well with kenma’s close friend. or simply the joy of being understood so well. 

but seeing them look at him like that, with such tenderness in their eyes… 

fuck, he’d thought about kissing them. 

and he couldn’t get that thought out of his head. 

was that out of line? was he betraying their friendship somehow, by thinking about them like this? 

he cared about them. a lot. regardless of these… romantic feelings. but would that get muddied? 

and what about kenma? what would happen if things didn’t quite work out? 

no, he was thinking too far ahead. he didn’t even know if they were interested in him. were they? a warm, fuzzy swelling burst in his chest at the thought. huh. he really was whipped, wasn’t he?

kuroo groaned, rubbing his eyes. it’d been a while since he’d worked himself up over something like this. he was getting carried away. 

this wasn’t going to go away overnight. nor would it be easy to ignore. no, it’d been spreading its roots for a long while now. 

he had faith that he’d be able to act normally around them, at the very least. but maybe it was wise to set some distance between the two of them, just for a while. 

–—

“you should just ask them out, you know.”

kuroo’s phone tumbled out of his hand. “what?”

kenma looked at him out the corner of his eye. “you know what i’m talking about.”

oh. kuroo tried to swallow the dryness in his throat. had he been that obvious? 

“you’re like a puppy. it’s weird.” 

kuroo stared at kenma for a long while. what on earth was he supposed to say to that? 

“i don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“they can tell you’ve been ignoring them, you know,” kenma said quietly. “they’re getting sad about it.”

an icy shock jolted through kuroo’s chest. shit, so they had noticed. he’d hoped that the chaos of the past few weeks would give him a good enough excuse to draw back without being too obvious about it. 

of course they’d notice. why was he being so stupid about all this? 

“i…” nope, nothing was coming. 

“if you’re worried about me, you shouldn’t be,” kenma continued, monotone as ever. “if you date and break up i’ll just hang out with them at their place.” 

“wow,” kuroo scoffed. “preparing for the end of the relationship before it’s even begun? you wound me, kenma.”

“so it’s going to happen then?” kenma said, not missing a beat.

kuroo narrowed his eyes at him. “do you want it to happen?”

kenma shrugged. “it’s got nothing to do with me. and maybe it’ll stop you being so lame.” 

that was the second time that afternoon that kenma had struck him dumb. 

kuroo sighed, running a hand through his hair. he was going to have to say something, wasn’t he? otherwise he was going to regret it.

[kissjane]

ONE-NIGHT STAND?! / Short fic

#7 from this prompt list

“Good morning, beautiful/handsome”

It feels like a marching band is practicing inside Lucas’ skull – and unfortunately, it isn’t even a good marching band. He really should stop letting Emma convince him to try out her deadly potions. The last thing he remembers is some frenzied dancing, when she had handed him a neon pink drink, which he had gulped back in one go. He has no clue how he even got home, or when.

God. The throbbing in his skull gets worse with every move he makes, however minute – but he also really needs to pee, and his tongue is parched. Some water sounds like heaven – it might also help with the nasty taste of dead bird against his palate.

He lies there for a few minutes, groaning and lamenting his lot in life, until his bladder becomes too much to ignore any longer, and with herculean effort, he drags himself to the bathroom, when suddenly he hears noise in the kitchen. Yann is away with his parents for the weekend, so – who the fuck is in there, clanking with pots and pans?

It speaks volumes as to the state of Lucas’ hangover, that his first reaction isn’t fear, but rage. Whoever the fuck is in there needs to be the fuck quiet, or Lucas will rip their head off. He stomps into the tiny kitchen, ready to lay down the law, when all the wind is knocked out of him.

There, wearing nothing but boxers, stands Eliott, humming happily and stirring – Lucas cannot pay too much attention to the contents of the pan, for fear of getting even more nauseous than he already is.

His stomping must have been loud enough to be heard above Eliott’s humming, because the latter turns around, and beams at Lucas like the sun itself.

“Good morning handsome! I was making you breakfast… wanted to bring it to you in bed. I didn’t think you’d be up so soon.”

He winks at Lucas, and Lucas – fuck. Lucas feels all the blood drain from his face, his heart is banging painfully against his ribs and he cannot breathe.

He takes it all in in a fraction of a second – Eliott in his kitchen, early in the morning – coincidentally, looking gorgeous in the soft light, but that is no surprise – in his boxers, and Lucas, mercifully also in his underwear, but it’s a tiny mercy, as mercies go – and then it dooms up, a freight train thundering through his brain, and – god. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Please, don’t let this be what it looks like.

“Uh –”, he stammers, forcing his leathery tongue and cracked lips to move, “what – what are you doing here?”

Eliott raises his eyebrows.

“You don’t remember?” He puts his hand over his heart, just under his tattoo – Lucas stares at it, and god, he can’t help it, but all he can think of is run his tongue over it – and mimics being fatally wounded. “Best night of my life, and you don’t remember it?”

Fuck. Lucas wants to die where he stands.

It would be just his luck – having fantasized about his friend for years, only to take him home for a one-night stand when he’s too fucking out of his mind drunk to even remember it.

Eliott stares at him, and Lucas – Lucas has no clue what to do, or say. He hopes against hope he didn’t blurt out a confession of love during their activities – he doesn’t dare to lift up his eyes to Eliott’s.

“What – what happened, exactly? What did we – do?”

Eliott’s voice dropped a few octaves.

“You only rocked my world, Lucas. You did that one thing with your tongue and I died and went to heaven. But I do still feel a bit bad I didn’t manage to make you come a fourth time, though…”

The blood is back in Lucas’ face – he must be as red as a firetruck now – and he slowly sinks to the floor, hugging himself.

“Please, no,” he mumbles, “God, just – this can’t be true…”

For a long beat, all Lucas hears are the sounds of the food in the pan hissing and the coffee dripping into the can and the insistent low drumming behind his eyelids, until Eliott speaks up, in his normal voice again.

“I’m messing with you. I brought you home and I was too lazy to go back out, so I slept on the couch.”

Lucas feels his lungs fill up again at Eliott’s words, and lets out a relieved “Oh, thank fuck!”. He looks up at Eliott – but Eliott is not laughing at having pranked Lucas. He is looking at Lucas with storm in his eyes, and when Lucas opens his mouth to speak, he makes an irreverent gesture and turns back to the stovetop.

“Breakfast is almost done,” he says, his voice clipped.

Lucas stares at Eliott’s back, his shoulders tense, his movements curt and chopped.

“Uh, okay?”, he replies, hesitantly, and it sounds more like a question. “Thanks for cooking. And for taking care of me yesterday…”

“Don’t worry about it. No good deed goes unpunished, right?”

Eliott laughs cynically, and it confuses Lucas.

“Huh? What?”

Eliott doesn’t react immediately, and then he turns off the heat and stands very still, his back still to Lucas.

“I didn’t realize you thought about me like that. Like it would have been such an enormous disaster to sleep with me.”

Lucas wants to say something, but he doesn’t know how to explain without confessing he has had the biggest crush on Eliott ever since high school, so he remains silent – and maybe that is the wrong reaction, because Eliott turns around to face Lucas, and his face contorts with heavy emotion. Lucas tries to decipher them – anger, pain – but his brain hasn’t not fully caught up yet, so he just stares at his friend with an open mouth, unsure about what is going on.

“I get the fact that you’re not into me, but you don’t have to act so fucking repulsed by the idea we might have had sex, Lucas.”

“But… You said we didn’t…”

Eliott’s voice raises.

“No, fuck, we didn’t, but it wouldn’t have been the end of the world if we did, like you are making it out to be! Fuck. I didn’t realize I disgusted you that much. It’s not like I would ask you to marry me just because we fucked!”

Eliott seems really upset, and Lucas’ head spins.

“That’s not it…”, he tries weakly, but Eliott apparently doesn’t want to listen, and he stalks out of the kitchen, into the living room where Lucas assumes he left his clothes. He tries to follow the thread of the conversation, but nothing seems to make any sense.

Eliott steps back through the door a few moments later, fully dressed, and with a grim line around his mouth.

“I’m off. That way you won’t have to torture yourself with thinking about us fucking, since it revolts you that much.”

And Lucas still isn’t thinking clearly, his head pounding, and he cannot stop the words tumbling from his lips.

“But I think about that all the time!”

Eliott, who had been trying to find his shoes, stops abruptly, and slowly faces Lucas, who is still seated on the kitchen floor, his back against the wall, his arms around himself, knees pulled up.

“What?”, Eliott asks flatly, without intonation.

Lucas takes a deep breath.

“I think about sleeping with you all the time. It – it doesn’t repulse me. Quite – well, quite the opposite, in fact,” he finishes lamely, stumbling across the words, staring at the dirty tiles in front of him. They really should mop this kitchen more often, he thinks, when suddenly Eliott crouches right in front of Lucas.

“Look at me,” he demands, but Lucas shakes his head – which is not the smartest move, because the throbbing behind his eyes explodes momentarily – and Eliott repeats, softly, “Please, look at me, Lucas.”

And Lucas is powerless against the gentleness in Eliott’s voice, and he looks up, staring at Eliott like a deer into headlights.

“Then why did you react like that? Like the world was gonna end, when you thought we did it? You sounded so fucking relieved when I said I was joking.”

Lucas knows better than to shake his head this time.

“Because I didn’t remember anything! If I get to have sex with you, I at least want to remember it! And because – because I was worried I had said or done things that would make things weird between us…”

Eliott doesn’t immediately react, and then he says, uncertainly, with a slight hiccup in his voice: “Like – like what?”

And Lucas wants to deny he ever said anything, wants to jab at Eliott as he would usually do, but maybe it’s his hangover, or maybe it’s the strange intimacy between them, on the floor in the kitchen a Sunday morning in April before Paris has woken up, or maybe it’s just time for honesty – but whatever the reason, he takes a deep breath and looks Eliott straight in the eyes.

“Like, maybe, that I would say yes if you asked me to marry you.”

For a long beat, nothing happens, but then, finally, Eliott’s sunny smile appears on his beautiful face.

“You would?”, he whispers, and Lucas nods.

Eliott’s eyes sparkle, and for one insane moment, Lucas truly believes the earth has stopped spinning. Then, Eliott leans in, grabs Lucas’ face between his large hands, and pulls him closer, until their lips are a hair’s breadth apart.

“Will you remember this?”, Eliott asks mischievously, and Lucas rolls his eyes, but hums softly. They are so close that Lucas feels rather than see Eliott’s responding smile, and then Eliott’s mouth is on his, and all other thoughts flee. He does no longer feel the headache, and the light-headed feeling he gets is so much better than any alcohol buzz he has ever experienced.

All too soon, Eliott pulls back and stands up, pulling Lucas along.

“Come on,” he exclaims giddily, moving towards Lucas’ bedroom.

“Wait, what? Where are we going? What are you doing?”

Eliott laughs, carefree and confident.

“Maybe I lied. Maybe I will ask you to marry me after we fuck. So come on already…”

[divinewhimsy]

Ichor Pt 3 (DabixReader)

TW: Blood, Swearing.

I love this crazy psycho more than I probably should.

~~~~~~

Message me if you’d like to be added to the taglist~!

Taglist: @marydragneell​ @velvet-kissesss​

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Part 1: X

Part 2: X

Part 4: X

Enjoy~!

You’re consumed by fire. Blue and brilliant, igniting from every inch of your skin. You’re a beacon in the dark, a sacrifice to your own pyre as you kindle the ground into a sea of flames. They rise around you and into the sky, flickering and lapping at any inch they can devour as they grow higher and higher. You’re the eye of the firestorm, the source and the match to keep it alive. 

Wind sweeps it past your vision until it’s nothing but blue. Rain threatens in the darkening sky to dampen your fire. Your eyelids threaten to dip into your vision, to seal you off from the offering you’re displaying as the sky opens up to red droplets of blood. Rusty and murky and metallic. They ink your skin unlike any other liquid you’ve ever experienced. 

You’ve bled before. You’ve felt the dried and crusted cells on the outside of your skin. You’re akin to the feeling of them slipping through your veins as you rain down on the world. A gift to the lost, to the dying, to the scared. A blessing on two feet and trembling hands. 

But you’re tied to the burning. As your consciousness transitions from the burning figure in the middle of the storm to the one rising above the flames and among the thundering clouds, you feel it. The thick, red thread binding you to both ends of the battle between blood and blue fire. Purple bursts into life as the flames distinguish and reignite with every droplet in the sky. Raining fire down upon the blue to taint it, to change it. 

It’s the feeling of falling that jolts you awake as you feel your body start to sail below the earth and through the swirling sea of churning magenta. Is it fire? Is it mist? You lose the sight as soon as your eyes fly open and you’re looking up at the ceiling of your kitchen. 

You’re laying flat on the wooden floor, your body sore and taught as you pull yourself up. Your eyes glance over the room and you catch the every creeping darkness of night outside the windows. The pot on the stove sits full of water but cold, the vegetables still sitting on the side of the sink. 

Your head throbs painfully and you clench your teeth at the sensation of it trying to peel away. You used entirely too much energy last night. Or was it yesterday? How much time had passed from then to now? 

Your eyes catch the clock at three forty seven in the morning before they swim through pain to look at the now empty couch. 

Dabi. 

Adrenaline rushes past the pain and you surge toward the hallway. He has to be here. He can’t have left. He wouldn’t have, right? If he still doesn’t have his quirk back, why would he leave? 

You bump into something warm and solid as you scramble down the hallway. 

“Oof!” 

Arms fling to the walls to catch the fall before you and the body you ran into crash into the floor. They succeed and you dare a peek as you open your eyes to the figure holding you both up. 

“Do you mind?” Dabi huffs and you stumble backwards, bowing low as your face burns. 

“I’m so sorry! I thought you had left and I was worried-“

You stop and glance back up at the man in front of you. 

Gone is his jacket and shirt, leaving him in just his pants. They’re stitched much like his body as you trace the patterns of burnt skin and staples connecting to his pale patches of healthy skin. 

“A picture’ll last longer.” he mumbles and you avert your eyes, your face burning.

“You stayed.” you murmur back. “You’re still here.” 

“Why the fuck would I leave?” he snorts and brushes past you, back toward the living room. 

“I didn’t see you on the couch…” you turn and watch as he plops himself back down on the aforementioned couch.

“Wishful thinking, huh?” he calls from the living room, his burning blue eyes locking on your form. “Can’t get rid of me that easily.” 

“That’s not-“ you sigh and shake your head. 

Deciding against getting into this little argument with him, you shuffle toward your room instead. Your body aches with the memory of sleeping on the cold, hard floor. Your limbs are stiff with pain and you stretch to release some of the tension. 

The sound of your door closing behind you gives you a moment alone. Away from Dabi, away from the world. A moment where it’s just you and your mind. 

You rub your temples and pad over to your dresser. What are you getting yourself into? He’s a no good childish and insincere brute. And you just let him in your home? 

You did kidnap him. But was it really considered kidnapping if he had the idea first? That abandoned house from earlier was just as bad- if not worse- than you bringing him here. 

You sigh and tug off your dirty clothes. Your pant legs still have his dried blood in the fabric. It’s rusty and brown and acrid and you wince. A good soak would probably help get that out. Or seltzer water and some lemon juice. Fresh lemon juice, judging by the amount that’s stained to the threads. 

Threads.

You suck in a breath and cautiously stare at your wrist. The healing scar is still there, pulsating with the puffy red outline. But as you watch and wait for the strings to appear you notice they’ve all turned into one. The multiple tendrils of strings are all intertwined into one larger thread. It pulses with red light and shoots through the middle of the door. You know without looking who it leads to. The only person it could possibly lead to. 

Dabi. 

But why is it just one? What happened to the others? You worry your bottom lip between your teeth and try to wipe the fear from your mind. It would be easier to just pass it off as your quirk being weird but with everything that’s happened you can’t. He lost his quirk. And it’s somehow your fault. Could it be connected with the large string connecting you two? 

You’ve never focused on your quirk being attached to another person so much. Too much time had passed since your last patient was helped and you couldn’t call upon the same connection. Your quirk only lasted so long but as you scramble to remember the time limit you can’t remember if you ever looked into it. 

Damn it. This was the price to pay for using your quirk and not actually training with professionals. How much farther along would you be if you had? Probably enough to know why Dabi’s quirk was gone, at least. 

You sigh and tuck yourself into your pajamas and then into your bed. Sleep, in your bed and not on the floor, will do you wonders. Who knows? Maybe you’ll even wake up and Dabi’s quirk will be back. 

You ignore the doubt that settles in firmly at the thought. It’s unlikely it would be that simple. 

**

By the time you wake up it’s already afternoon. The light shifts through your curtains blindingly, the sun demanding entrance into your room. When your turn away from it your stomach reminds you just how long it’s been since you last ate. 

You sigh. You last ate yesterday before you went to that battlefield to help. And all that energy you’d had saved up was used trying to take away your aid from Dabi to get his quirk back. 

Shit. Dabi. 

You throw yourself out of bed and replace your pajamas with comfy sweats and a simple t-shirt. There wasn’t any chance you’d be going outside today if you could avoid it, so why dress nice just for some random brute you’d kidnapped? 

You wince at the thought. You’re going to have to find a different word to use. Kidnapped was just too sinister. You hadn’t really done it, not exactly. You were keeping him here to monitor his health. Like a patient. Yeah. 

You shuffle out into the living room and glance around the quiet apartment. Not a hair is out of place- save for Dabi, of course. He’s sleeping soundly on the couch, his entire body sprawled across the cushions messily. Soft snores emit from him and you can’t help but just stare. The man is sleeping so...soundly? Comfortably? You can’t place the word for it but it’s like he hasn’t slept in a long while. Not any real sleep. Nothing that his body needs. 

Now that you think about it, he had puked yesterday. And he didn’t eat after that as far as you know. Had he eaten before at all? Before the battle? If he had no energy and then the sudden boost of your quirk than it could be the reason his body is acting strangely. But if that was the case he’d need to eat soon. 

Has he always been so thin? Even though you can see the shape of his muscles defined in his torso and arms you still see the hints of his ribs peeking out. He must not eat all that often, then. Or he had a crazy high metabolism. 

You shuffle to the kitchen to pick up where you left off with the food. You ditch the pot and instead start with a frying pan for stir fry. It’s a shame you don’t have a Wok but the pan will have to do for now. 

As you set about cutting the vegetables and grabbing some chicken from the fridge to add that extra protein you flick your eyes to Dabi. He’s still sleeping soundly, unbothered by the slight noise you’re making. If only he was this quiet when he’s awake. It would save you more than one headache. 

You blink as he shifts on the couch, his face twitching through his slumber. 

Was he having similar dreams to the one you had? Where you were swallowed by the storm? Where you were both sides of it- although you suspected the blue fire had to be his end of it. 

Your eyes trail lazily to where your quirk binds you two. The thread is there just as it is in your own body. Connected to his chest, right where the heart should be. 

Maybe he had died… But you wouldn’t have bothered if you knew he was dead. You know you wouldn’t have. You felt the fringes of life in his soul just as you felt your own. As you had felt so many others before. Beyond your blood coming directly from your body, what was different. 

You remembered the way he drank from your arm and your face burns at the thought. The feel of his lips as he latched on to your wound and devoured the blood as if it were ambrosia. As if he needed it just as badly as he needed air, if not more than air itself. The press of his smooth lip and the burned skin of his bottom one as they brushed against you. 

Your wrist throbs at the memory. You had to push him away, after all. Did he drink too much? Was that even possible? 

The knock at your front door pulls your attention from your thoughts and you flinch. You glance at the clock. It’s only four in the evening. Who could be here? What do they want? 

You can’t let them see Dabi. You quickly shut the stove off and dash toward the couch as quietly as you can. 

“Dabi!” you hiss in his ear and he blinks a lazy eye up at you. 

“Hm.” he grunts and turns over. 

“You have to move.” 

He doesn’t respond and you shake him lightly. 

“I need you in my bedroom-“ you barely get to finish as his eyes snap back to yours and a devilish smirk crawls up his lips. 

“You want a piece of me that badly, babydoll?” he murmurs silkily and sits up slowly. His hands brush up the outer side of your thighs to your hips and you shove him away, your face bright red. 

“No you idiot!” you seethe. “Someone’s at the door. You have to hide.” 

The excitement bleeds back to boredom on his face and he sighs.

“Lame.” he grumbles but stands and grabs his jacket, heading for the back of the hallway. 

You rush to kick his boots into the closet closest to the door. The person at the door knocks again, more adamantly this time, and you take a deep breath. 

You can do this. Just gotta compose yourself. It’s just a random visitor. No one knows you took a criminal in for medical reasons. Or personal. Absolutely no one saw you. 

Right?

You open the door with an annoyed huff, doing your best to appear upset to have been interrupted. What you expect to see and what you do are two separate things. 

And who you do see surprises you. 

It’s your coworker and friend, Lively. She’s a younger girl in her early twenties with dark brown curly hair and violet eyes. She beams up at you softly from her short height and you offer a small smile in return.

“Lively, this is unexpected.” you manage and quirk a brow. “Did you need something?”

You worked at a blood bank- which among the various ridiculous double standards you knew it contained- allowed you to help in even smaller areas of society. Donating blood just makes sense when you over produce it. Working at a blood bank on top of that? Ideal. It helps you get rid of the excess build up if you don’t come across someone who needs help on the off hand AND you get to help others who do need help. Even if the blood is boosted by your quirk you still think it helps. And thus far no one has suspected a thing.

“Hey I just dropped by to give you the schedule for next month.” Lively smiles. “I know you have some time off these next couple of weeks and I wanted to make sure you knew what was coming up.”

“Oh that’s so sweet, thank you.” you smile and take the piece of paper from her. “You could have just texted me this, you know.”

“I know but I couldn’t help stopping by!” she giggles. “I wanted to tell you about the new guy I’ve been seeing. He’s a teacher~!”

Crap. Of course she’d want to gossip and chat.

“Ah, sorry.” you frown. “Do you think maybe you could just call me about it? I’m in the middle of making dinner.”

“Oh? Sure.” her smile falters but she regains it in no time. “Is it a date?” she wiggles her eyebrows.

“No.” you stay sternly, not wanting her to get any ideas. “I have to discuss some pointers of the last proposal I brought to the medical-”

“Oh, boring stuff.” she fakes a yawn and winks. “I’ll leave you to your boring night in. But text me when you’re done!” she steps down your hall and waves off. 

“Thank you, Lively!” you call back and shut the door. 

You lock it for extra measure and heave a sigh of relief. 

The silence deafens your ears as you stand completely still, your heart hammering in your chest. You hated lying. Absolutely, positively hated it. Especially to those you respect and cherish like your friend, Lively. But even she doesn’t know about your quirk and it’s better this way. Even if it hurts now. It’s better to keep her in the dark about your quirk and the villain in your bedroom.

Speaking of Dabi, your face burns at the implication he assumed when he first woke up. What was he thinking?! Why did he just assume you meant it in a sexual way?! You bury your face in your hands and groan. You’re not going to address this. You’re not going to even mention it. You need to keep things as professional between you two as possible. Well, slightly professional. Casual? You cringe as you try and find the right word but come up with nothing.

You close your eyes and turn back toward the kitchen to continue dinner. You’re just about to turn on the burner before you realize that Dabi’s still in your room. Alone. With all your things.

The thought is unsettling enough to make you dash to your room. You slide down the hall and to your bedroom door, your hand hovering over the knob. Sure, he’d shut the door to be discreet if someone actually walked into your home but what was he doing in there? What was he looking at? Or for?

Regardless if he is or isn’t looking he needs to get out of there. Now. 

You fling the door open and scan the room for the tall man only to find him sitting at your writing desk. His turquoise eyes are scanning the walls and flickering over the photos and memento’s you’ve put up. He turns to you with a bored look as he yawns and you breathe a sigh of relief. He wasn’t going through your things. At least as far as you can tell. Everything looks to be in the same spot as it was before but you weren’t the neatest person in the world so it’s not easy to tell. 

“Did they leave?” Dabi mumbles and rests his head on his fist.

“Uhm, yes.” you swallow and force yourself to keep eye contact, ignoring the fact he doesn’t have a shirt on. “It was a coworker.”

Not that he needed to know who was at the door but you can’t stop yourself from explaining. Especially as he continues to sit in silence. He quirks an eyebrow up at you and you bite the inside of your cheek. Why is he just sitting there and staring at you? 

“And?” he presses and you blink.

“And nothing. She just dropped off my schedule for work.” you sigh and step into your room, skirting past him and toward your dresser. 

You grab your laundry basket filled with dirty clothes to pretend you came in the room to pick it up. Totally not to make sure he wasn’t snooping. Absolutely not. Actually, why even bother trying to hide it? Your bedroom is your most private space and having a stranger in here is uncomfortable. It’s normal to be anxious and suspicious. Right?

“You should probably clean yourself up.” you mumble and start making your way back to the kitchen. “You can shower while I cook some fried rice. Do you want me to wash your clothes, too? I can’t imagine they’re clean after that battle.”

Dabi stands and follows you out of the room, quiet as you ramble on.

“What? Don’t want your coworker knowing a dirty villain is in your apartment?” he scoffs and you roll your eyes. 

“I don’t want anyone to know a dirty villain is in my apartment, actually. Like I told you yesterday, I want my life to go back to normal.”

“And normal is kidnapping then caring for some dangerous stranger?” he chuckles darkly and you feel the heat from his body radiating behind you. 

He’s trying to intimidate you. Or fluster you. And you’re not going to let it work. 

“Both of us understand our agreement, yes?” you sigh, “I figure out how to get your quirk back and then you leave forever. I wouldn’t say I’m caring for you- that’s not what this is at all. I’m covering basic needs. Making sure you don’t smell like a goddamn barn animal? That’s a must. Food? Food is needed if you want either of us to have the proper amount of energy to get through this. Washing your clothes? Mandatory. I’m not going to let you sully my entire home with your filth. If we’re going to get this done as quickly as possible we’re doing it my way.”

He weighs your words for several long minutes before he brushes past you and toward the bathroom. 

“Towels?” he calls over his shoulder, raising a brow. 

“Linen closet.” you point to the door across from the bathroom. “What about your clothes?”

He opens it and grabs two towels, his face blending from bored to an amused smirk. 

“You really just wanna get me naked, don’t you?” he chuckles and meets your gaze as his hands start to slide to the waistband of his pants.

“Just leave them outside the door!” you squeak and turn away from him- much to his delight as he laughs from the hall. 

Dabi’s laugh is unusually delightful. Even though you can recognize the smooth tones of his voice like bourbon on ice, the silky notes caressing your ears with a sultry note, his laugh somehow amplifies the sensation. Goosebumps run down your body and you shiver in front of the washer and dryer. 

You try to push past it and ignore the feeling of his voice sliding down through your ears and into your mind but it reverberates like a toll of a bell. Shockwaves of it linger as you stuff clothes into the washer and listen to the sound of the shower turning on down the hall. Once your basket is empty you grab the clothes Dabi left outside of the bathroom door and dump them in with the load. You start it and turn back toward the kitchen, finally getting back to finishing cooking. 

The food hadn’t grown too cold but you hate leaving it alone for so long. It won’t taste the best but it’ll be food. The point of it isn’t it’s taste, it's the sustenance. The amount of enjoyment is secondary to its primary goal. Food is energy. Energy means you can work more with your quirk and get Dabi out of your hair. 

Yet you still feel the tug of the thread connecting you two. It’s a constant feeling deep in your bones, knotted to the essence of your soul. It’s beyond what you’ve experienced. Sure, you’ve heard about the red thread of fate but that can’t be this, right? It was probably just red because of the blood. That was the central point of your quirk! And blood is red! That’s the only reason those string things connected you two and then turned into one. Probably. 

As you finish making food the shower stops in the bathroom. You set two plates filled with fried rice at your kitchen table. You settle into your own and actually enjoy the first few bites before you nearly choke to death. 

You made the mistake of looking up as Dabi sat down across from you, water still dripping from his damp hair and down his body. He barely pays attention to you as he glances at the plate of food, his eyes scanning the steam rolling off of it. Your eyes are wide and glued to the steam rolling off of him- the patches of burnt flesh and staples holding him seemingly in one piece. Although you know it's rude to stare you can’t help yourself. Some parts of your brain short circuit and freeze all intelligent thinking. 

You don’t know what you expected him to do since you did take his clothes to wash but it wasn’t just to walk out in only a towel. It’s loosely slung on his hips, dipping lower than you’re willing to let your eyes wander. He has another towel draping over his shoulders to catch the brunt of water cascading down from his hair. 

You tear your eyes away from him before you get caught staring and focus completely on your food. Only on your food. Plate. Rice. Vegetables. Chicken. Shoveling the food into your mouth. Never once looking up. 

No wonder he made a joke about you wanting to get him naked. 

If he saw this as an issue before his shower, why didn’t he say anything about it?! You fight off the urge to snap at him for it. You don’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’s gotten to you. If he gets even a hint of your flustered state you know you’ll never hear the end of it. 

“Thanks for the food.” he grumbles and you dare to meet his gaze with a solemn nod. 

You turn your eyes back down to your plate. He totally didn’t have a knowing glint in his eyes. Absolutely not. He’s clueless to this ridiculous miscommunication. 

“So,” he sighs as he picks up his utensils, “your quirk.” 

Do you two really have to talk about this now? Like, right now? Can’t it wait until later? 

“Hm.” you strain to keep your eyes on your plate. 

“Anything different today?” 

You should tell him about the threads turning into one. But you don’t even fully know what that means just yet. Then again, he could help decipher it. But what if he gets the wrong idea? 

“Actually,” you swallow the food in your mouth, “kind of.”

He waits quietly and you dare to glance up to his face. Your eyes catch slightly on his bare chest for a second longer than they should and his smirk lets you know that he caught it. 

“Oh?” he pushes, a cocky look capturing his eyes. 

“H-how it normally works, I guess, is I have these...Threads connecting me to the recipient. Before I helped you I never actually paid much attention to them. I just let the person go with the boost. But there were these threads that connected you to me and when I tried to take them back we both passed out.”

“Yesterday?” 

You nod and push your food around your plate. 

“Ye-Yes. Yesterday. When I woke up, though, I found the threads that had been there before turned into one larger piece.” 

He tilts his head as you meet his eyes. The cocky look and smirk are long gone, replaced by the neutral bored look that seems to be his norm. His gaze dips to the side as he glances at the couch. 

Was he thinking about last night? 

You debate telling him about your dream but decide against it. That was a clear message from your subconscious on how you were feeling. It has nothing to do with your quirk and this situation. It’s just a manifestation of your fears and worries. 

“I won’t try and take it away.” you burst out before he can say anything. 

His gaze flickers back to you, an eyebrow rising on his face. Questioning.

“If it makes us both pass out then it’s not good to take it away.” you murmur. “I won’t do it again.” 

“Can you add more?” 

Add more? But the only way to do that…

The blood packs in your fridge. You jolt from your chair and hurry toward your fridge, throwing it open and grabbing two packages. Just for good measure. You return to the table and step to his side, extending the bags toward him. 

“You’d have to drink more.” you say quietly. 

“Why not from the source? That’s what you did last time, right?” he glances from the blood bags to your face. 

“That could have been the problem, though.” 

“Then why go with that to begin with?” he sighs, “why not just feed me the bags?” 

“I didn’t have them.” you seethe. “Drink one.” 

“No.” he shakes his head, his eyes never breaking from yours. 

Challenging you, he stands from his chair. You keep your gaze glued to his, too determined to let his state of undress bother you. 

“Do it.” you push them to his chest. “It could fix your quirk.”

“Or it could make it worse.” he pushes them back toward you. 

“If not getting it back is the worst that can happen then what’s so bad?” you push them back toward him. 

“I want it the way you gave it originally.” his nostrils flare and you steel your nerves. 

He’s taller than you. And stronger. And more experienced in taking what he wants but you have the fact you have to willingly give him your blood on your side. He can’t just take it from you. 

He grabs the wrist you fed him from originally and turns it over to see the scar. You try and yank it away from him but it’s no use. He’s got a firm grip on you. 

“I’m getting real tired of you ordering me around.” he growls and you squirm to try and tear your arm from his hand. 

He pulls it closer to his face. 

“We don’t do this your way anymore. We do this my way. Even if that means you’re a sweating mess barely able to remember your own name. Even if I have to bleed you dry. I will do whatever it takes to take back my quirk from every last drop of blood you have.” 

“I didn’t- ugh- take it!” you snap and tug uselessly at your arm. “Let me go!” 

“No.” 

“You can’t take any drop of my blood without it being willing.” you hiss. “Bleeding me dry won’t do anything.” 

“It’d kill you.” he says coldly and you freeze. 

He wouldn’t. 

Right?

“Who knows?” he chuckles darkly, “maybe the moment you fade from this godforsaken planet I’ll get my quirk back in full. Maybe you don’t have to give it willingly. Have you ever experimented with it to know?” 

He yanks you to his chest, glowering down at you with fuming fire in his blue eyes. He examines your wrist with a glare as he shoves back your sleeve to reveal your entire arm. 

“You don’t have any idea what I do and don’t know about my quirk.” you spit. “I could choose to kill you with it, asshole.” 

“Oh, can you? Would you? You’re such a saint, aiding any poor soul bleeding before you. You can’t even stomach the thought of killing someone on purpose. The guilt gnaws at your mind, at your precious little heart. I know you wouldn’t dare. You can’t.” 

His body is burning with warmth. His hands on your arm feel like they’re about to burn your flesh down to the bone. Is he trying to summon his quirk? Or trying to roast you alive? 

“You’re content to sit idly by and let the world go to shit so long as you get to stay out of everyone’s attention. But that leaves you all alone, doesn’t it? Your coworker was unexpected but she doesn’t normally come to check on you.”

You feel your eyes widen at his words. He’s more perceptive than you have him credit ford 

“You jumped at the first sign of anyone at your door. You have few photos of you in groups, you’re not a very outgoing person. Your friends know your solitary lifestyle. How long until someone notices you haven’t said anything? Haven’t reached out? I can break you before anyone even knows you’re in trouble.” 

Your heart is racing in your chest, your breath short and panicked as his grip tightens on your arm. You can feel yourself tremble as he speaks. His voice cutting lower and lower until he’s snarling at you, inches from your face. 

“Know your place, [Name]. You’re trapped here just as much as I am. Don’t forget I won’t hesitate to kill you.” 

Your name. You never told him your name. 

Your bedroom. He did snoop. 

He knows who you are. He knows your name. He knows where you work. He knows your lack of social interactions well enough to deduce you’re mostly a shut in. And worst of all?

He’s absolutely right. 

[yourdeepestfathoms]

Beside The Dying Fire (part five)

[DnD AU with the tour!verse]

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Word count:

TW: Blood and gore, wound descriptions

---------------------------

After finally getting away from Holm and the Death Cloud, it was a long walk before the rolling green hills that characterized the north began to flatten out. Katherine and her companions stopped occasionally to gather water from clear streams and to rest, but then they walked again. They traveled south and east, hunting small game in order to supplement their meager rations and living off of the land.

Over the course of two days, their path led them to a lower elevation into rocky, broken terrain. Though it raised Katherine’s suspicions and filled her mouth with a bad taste, she was certain that they were going in the right direction. Before them was a fissure in the earth and a slim pass through which people were meant to travel. Katherine looked up at the overcast sky and shook her head.

Navigating down to the clearest path on the lowest part of the trail leading into the ravine was treacherous, especially with Catalina. Katherine worried over her getting down the slippery slope, with its loose rocks and shifting dirt, much to Catalina’s annoyance.

  “I am FINE!” The Aasimar had barked, and then promptly slipped on an unsteady stone and nearly rolled down the remainder of the slope. Katherine managed to catch and steady her before she could fall forward and impale her stomach on a jagged rock.

  “You are definitely fine,” Katherine said, assisting Catalina the rest of the way down.

  “Hmph. Thanks.” Catalina said.

The entrance to the ravine’s cave yawned open to them, studded with fangs of stalactites. The rocky, uneven walkway was almost manageable compared to the steep, jagged paths Katherine could expect if they had tried to cross on either side. Whatever stream cut through these rocks had long dried up, which made going through them that much easier. Katherine lit a torch on a branch with a piece of flint, then traversed into the darkness with her companions.

The ravine floor was not especially difficult to walk across. Years of hard rushing water have carved a path through the rock and smoothed the stones underneath. But there was a sort of eerie silence that crept through the shadows, slinking after them with every step they took.

  “This place gives me the creeps,” Catalina muttered, looking all around the tunnel. “Not to be a nun, but this place does not feel very celestial.”

Joan nodded gravely. “But it doesn’t feel very infernal, either,” She said, and rubbed her forearms as if she were trying to press down goosebumps. “It’s weird…”

Katherine flicked her ears and looked around. It was harder for her to catch traces of strangeness because of her wood elf bloodline, but even her own hair was standing on end. She didn’t like the feeling crawling over her; it didn’t feel natural.

The shadows of the ravine deepened the further they traveled into it. The sun penetrated the craggy rock formations overhead, but offered little of its warmth. The going got rougher underfoot, and it grew colder. They seemed to be going down.

  “Did you live underground?” Catalina’s voice echoed throughout the cave, making Katherine jump.

Joan blinked up at Catalina. “Huh?”

  “Did you live underground?” Catalina asked again.

  “No?” Joan furrowed her eyebrows.

  “Oh. I thought Tieflings lived in caves.”

Joan flicked her ears back, then shrugged awkwardly. “Maybe. I dunno. My village was kinda small.”

Katherine peered at Joan curiously, only just realizing that she didn’t know that much about her. The little Tiefling had been dragged along in this journey against her will, not that she seemed to mind. She was still very quiet, though, and kept to herself, probably because she was so used to it simply because of her race; Katherine had heard about the stories calling Tieflings demons.

  “My bad,” Catalina said. She squinted through the darkness ahead.

Katherine and her companions took turns pointing out particularly perilous sections of the ground where twisting an ankle would be a matter of a single step. There were grooves and dips in the stone, pressing mercilessly into the arches of their feet as they walked along.

Ahead, the path widened into a kind of clearing at the heart of the ravine. This was the deepest part of the natural formation, and the light was all but extinguished here. Dread was still hanging over Katherine’s head like a silver sword.

As they walked up through a winding tunnel, the smell of smoke waved down at them. Light was slowly starting to return as the ravine began to open up again. But the sky outside the cave was dark and grey, signaling a storm, and wetness coated everything beyond the protective rocky overhangs. The dried out river beds were beginning to fill up again; Katherine wondered if the ravine would be flooded.

It was a perilous climb out of the gorge, but the three of them make it out onto a grassy field that has been reduced to more of a lake because of the rain. They spotted a city around a mile away, smoke whirling into the air from houses beyond a tall wooden wall, and headed for it, hoping for a place to rest.

A few soldiers were huddled around struggling fires, some dressed in spiky leather armor, others in the same peasant garb they were wearing when ordered to serve, most likely because of the city being short handed on fighters. They were all slimed in so much mud and grime that not even the rain could wash it away, and they all appeared very tired, but still jumped up with their weapons when they noticed the group approaching.

  “You three! Stop there!”

Turning toward the voice, Katherine saw a half-elf woman striding through the murk in their direction. She wiped some rainwater from her eyes, twitching her small, pointy ears, and brandished a rake. Katherine took it as a blessing that Catalina didn’t burst out laughing.

  “Chauback is under quarantine. What’s your business here?”

And then, without letting any of them say something, a smaller human guard piped up, “They’re the doctors! Look at the masks!” He had seen the animal masks buckled to their waists. “I told you they would come, Nasha!”

The half-elf, Nasha, paused, looking the three of them up and down again as she considered her next move. “Right.” She pulled her rake away. “Can’t be too careful. I need to clear this with Mayor Oron.” She glanced at them one last time, then hurried through the wooden gates.

The rain splashed around Katherine and her companions and dripped from their sleeves. They blinked at each other, clearly confused. Just as Catalina opened her mouth to say something, a human man came dashing over, almost losing his footing in the mud. He grabbed Katherine’s shoulder.

  “Are you a doctor?” He gasped out. Then, not waiting for a reply, “Come with me. My friend needs medicine. Please.”

Catalina and Joan exchanged looks beside Katherine, but Katherine, sensing the man’s urgency, said, “This sounds serious. Let’s go at once.” without even really thinking it through.

  “Thank you. Follow me.” He took off back through the mud. Katherine and her companions put their masks on and then struggled after him, keen not to end up with a face full of waterlogged turf. He stopped periodically to beckon them onward with an exaggerated wave.

Their short journey took them to a makeshift blacksmith’s table and extinguished forge. It appeared the smith was partway through the repair or creation of some crude pieces of chest armor when the rain cut the process short. The man ducked into a living quarter area attached to the blacksmith building, and the trio followed, vainly attempting to shake rain from their clothes before they stepped inside.

  “Help him. Help Pava, please,” The human begged. “His leg… It’s not healing.”

On the small bed in the corner laid a shaky gnome man, blonde-haired and pale-faced. An unpleasant gash carved a jagged groove down his left leg. He let out a low moan.

  “I’ve brought a healer, Pava. Everything will be well now.” The human moved over to Pava and took his hand, looking at the trio with nervous expectation.

Katherine moved closer to study the wound in Pava’s leg. The gash was deep, a zigzagged red tear in the man’s leg. It was inflamed dark crimson with fangs of shredded flesh and a maw that gargled creamy pus. It smelled foul, but Katherine had knowledge in healing from her life in the forest. 

  “I need honey,” Katherine said to the man. “And ginger.” She swung her head around to Joan. “Joan, run out and get me some old man’s beard lichen. It was out on the trees near the ravine. Do you remember what it looks like? I used it to wrap your wrists.”

Joan cast a dismayed look at the stormy weather outside, then nodded and hurried back out into the rain. The human man followed close after her, but with more urgency in his step. Catalina lingered in the room, shifting from foot to foot.

Once all the supplies were brought back to the house, Katherine began by slathering the length of the wound in honey. Pava cried out and gripped the bedsheets, but didn’t jerk away.

  “What’s it for?” The human asked, glancing nervously over Katherine’s shoulder as she worked.

  “Honey can flush out wounds and remove infections,” Katherine explained. “It’ll help clean the injury.”

The human nodded. “Thank you. Thank you so much. If he went in wounded, they wouldn’t let him…” He trailed off with an anxiety-ridden expression. Katherine looked back at him, but didn’t ask.

After scraping off the honey and cleaning the rest of the wound out with water, Katherine mixed ginger in with the strips of old man’s beard lichen Joan had brought. She wrapped the lichen around Pava’s leg, then dressed it in a second layer of fresh bandages to step back to admire her handiwork.

  “That should keep the wound safe until it heals,” Katherine said. “Make sure to clean the bandages every few hours.”

The human nodded gratefully, vigorously shaking Katherine’s hand. “Thank you, ma’am. Thank you. Thank you.”

Katherine nodded and smiled, even if it couldn’t be seen under her mask, then walked out of the house. Catalina and Joan trailed after her quietly, saying nothing.

Nasha found them as they circled around blindly in the town square. The city was dull and packed, houses pressed together tightly, but with not many people out on the streets. There were a few wooden gates with white X’s over them, which blocked off entrances to alleyways. They were led away from those to a big stone house, where a nervous-looking firbolg was pacing around in a mess of leather strips and metal scraps.

  “Mayor Oron,” Nasha dipped her head. “The doctors are here.”

The firbolg perked up, hitting his head on the low ceiling. He rubbed the top of his skull as he bustled over, gesturing for the trio to come inside. 

  “Come in, come in,” He said. “It’s a relief that you’re finally here. Chauback is in the grip of a pandemic we cannot explain. Hence the general summons for plague doctors. It’s running rampant and eating away at people I need.”

Katherine nodded her head. “We will do whatever we can.”

She missed the confused looks Catalina and Joan exchanged behind her back.

After speaking with the mayor, the three of them found the closest thing to an inn near the heart of the settlement, and its half-orc proprietress looked at their mask-clad selves with open disdain. She gruffly offered a place to sleep, a hot meal and a bath for free of charge because of their service in the village, but she didn’t seem very happy about the lack of payment.

The meal she offered was simple fare: vegetables boiled beyond recognition and a simple fish broth, but it was hot and therefore welcome. After they’ve eaten in a companionable enough silence, Katherine asked her about the illness in Chauback. She bristled at the question initially, but eventually answered.

The half-orc told them in clipped sentences about how the illness had been controlled at first, just peasant people at first, but then migrated into richer parts of the city. The rain and humidity didn’t help either. Chauback had become a stinking cesspool of a breeding ground for disease in less than two years. 

After finishing their modest dinner they were offered a bath. The water was lukewarm at best and there was no soap to speak of, but there were some oils they all slathered themselves in. Catalina got to bathe first, then Joan, and then Katherine, and by the time she got into the bath, the water had turned murky and cold.

They were given a private room in the loft, close to the low-hanging sloped ceiling, and Katherine had to duck slightly to keep from hitting her head when she walked up the steps.

Joan was asleep by the time Katherine’s bath was finished. She was curled up on a straw cot,  snuggled under a frayed wool blanket. Catalina was still awake and flipping through the spell tome Hans had given them. She squinted at Katherine when she stepped into the lantern’s glow.

  “What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

  “What?” Katherine turned to her.

Catalina closed the book. “We aren’t doctors. We can’t help these people. What were you thinking?”

Katherine flicked her ears back. “I know some things. Faedi taught me how to treat wounds and what plants have healing properties.”

  “But stopping an entire plague?” Catalina shook her head. “These people are going to die.”

  “No, they’re not.” Katherine growled, clenching her fists. Catalina caught her mounting anger and furrowed her eyebrows. Katherine relaxed, letting her ears droop slightly. “I just--” She sighed. “I want to try and help people. Because I couldn’t help anyone in Ghent…”

  “Oh,” Catalina said, understanding. “Oh, that’s what this is about?” She got up and hugged Katherine. “Kat… What happened in Ghent wasn’t your fault. You did your best.”

  “I ran.” Katherine said. “I didn’t stay to help them, I didn’t make sure everyone was okay, I just ran away.”

  “You stayed alive for them,” Catalina corrected. “And you’re going to be the hero for them. I just know it.”

Katherine looked into her warm dark brown eyes, then nodded. “Alright.”

Catalina bumped her head with hers. “I’ll stay and try to help here. We’ll do our best.”

  “Thank you, Lina.”

  “No problem, Kat. Anything for you.”

------

The next day was a mess of blood and gore. 

Katherine, Catalina, and Joan saw dozens of patients, all worse than the last. One man had pus-filled boils bulging all over his body, and one woman’s leg seemed to be literally rotting while it was still attached. They had to cut that limb off, and the resulting scream was haunting, but the smell was worse.

Instead of blood, a thick, greenish-yellow liquid came pouring out of the wound. It reeked of decay and burbled endlessly from the severed leg. Joan had careened out of the tent to vomit.

But that wasn’t all. They got a patient swarmed with flies trying to lay their eggs in a gash on his leg, a patient with her skin peeling off in huge, rotting strips on her feet, a patient pox all along his belly, a patient with his face and neck bulging beyond belief.

It was awful. So awful.

When Katherine was getting some fresh air out of the rot-smelling houses, she noticed one of the wooden gates blocking off alleyways creaking open, revealing a hunched form draped in a ragged coat several sizes too big, its face mostly hidden by a matted scarf and a too-big cowl. It took her a moment, but she realized it was a high elf man.

She was not sure if he was coming for her or if he was simply moving on to a new haunt, but either way she felt an uncomfortable tightening in her stomach at the thought of facing this insane-looking person. She could barely tell what he looked like beneath all that clothing of his, but she caught glimpses of bronze skin festering with boils and disease. When he noticed her, the tips of his pointy ears peeking out of his covers perked up.

  “Doctor,” He rasped, reaching out a peeling hand, and then Nasha from the day before herded him back behind the gate and locked it.

  “Sorry about that,” She said. 

  “Who was that? Shouldn’t I help him?” Katherine asked.

Nasha shook her head. “No point. They’re too contagious and way too far gone. The best we can do is keep them away from everyone else. Come on, you need to get back to work.”

So, the day went on, and by nightfall, Katherine didn’t think her sense of smell would ever return to normal.

That night, Katherine heard whimpering in the dark. She got out of bed, and realized that Joan was crying in her sleep.

  “Joan,” Katherine murmured, shaking the little Tiefling. “Joan, honey, wake up. You’re okay. Wake up.”

Joan gasped awake, her eyes popping open into wideness. She whimpered in fright when she saw Katherine looming over her and curled into a tight ball, coiling her tail in close and covering her hands with her head.

  “N-no!” She squeaked. “P-please don’t hurt me!”

  “Shh, shh,” Katherine stroked her frazzled white-blonde hair, and found that it was laden with sweat from her nightmare. “It’s just me, sweetheart. It’s Katherine.”

  “K-Katherine?” Joan peeked out from behind her arms. 

  “Yes, sweet girl. It’s just me. You’re okay. Nobody is going to hurt you.”

Joan whimpered again; it was such a heartbreaking sound.

  “Wanna sleep with me tonight?” Katherine asked.

Joan looked up at her, then nodded. Katherine scooped her up into her arms with ease and carried her to her cot, letting the little Tiefling curl against her.

  “You’re okay, sweetheart,” Katherine murmured, running her fingers through Joan’s hair. “You’re okay. I won’t let anyone hurt you, I promise. I’ll protect you.”

Katherine fell asleep that night with a strong maternal instinct bubbling inside of her.

------

  “It hurts,” Moaned the half-elf man Joan was working on. The lightning bolt-shaped gash in his side wouldn’t stop belching pus and blood onto the young Tiefling’s claws. “It hurts…”

  “It’s going to be okay, Erem,” Said the human woman clutching one of his hands. “They’re going to help you.”

  “Alright, be gentle, Joan,” Katherine instructed. “Slather the honey on the wound. That’ll help draw out the infection.”

Joan nodded and began covering fingerfuls of honey into the wound. But along with the infection, more blood began to come out. And Erem started to whimper in distress, and then went very still and very silent.

  “Erem?” The human began shaking the half-elf, but he did not wake up. “Erem?!” She whipped her head around to Joan and Katherine. “You killed him! You fucking killed him!”

  “She must have accidentally cut a vessel with her claws,” Katherine said, glancing at the oozing wound. She noticed the human take out a knife and quickly put herself between her and Joan. “Woah, woah, woah! Calm down!”

  “You killed Erem!” The woman screeched. “You murderer! Murderer!!”

Katherine and Joan backed up out of the house. People were starting to gather around them at the screaming, suddenly looking a lot more angry. Catalina bustled over with supplies she had run out to grab, confused.

  “What’s going on?” She asked.

  “You’re all murderers!” The knife-wielding woman howled, and Katherine could see that her mind was not all there anymore. Maybe it never had been. “I bet you’re not even real doctors! You’ve just been lying to us!”

The village got enraged when the trio hesitated. Whispers of curiosity turned into roars of fury and insanity. Suddenly, a lot more of them were brandishing weapons, and Katherine ordered Catalina and Joan to run.

They dashed through the city, down streets and across town squares, but couldn’t find a place to hide.

So, it was Katherine who shouted for them to go through one of the wooden gates.

The alleyway they ran into was dark and moist. Solid stone turned to mush beneath their feet, and the smell of rot that infected the rest of the city got a lot worse, so much so that Katherine could taste the decay when they breathed through her mouth.

A scant sliver of sunlight revealed a corridor of corpses and a river of rot running down the alley.

  “Oh my god,” Catalina muttered.

There were so many bodies. So many pale white, limp bodies piled in the street. They were oozing, skin peeling, bubbling with disease. Flesh had burst open from illness, and liquidated organs were pouring down onto the stone below, becoming warm, moist homes for wriggling maggots.

With a jolt, Katherine realized several of the corpses were bearing the mark of Queen Jane Seymour- a white lioness.

  “They’re breeding the disease,” Joan whispered. “That’s why they weren’t letting these people get help. They wanted them to get sick and die...or not die.” She cast a disturbed look over at a man who appeared to still be moving, even with his shoulders and thighs infested with larvae. “I think they want to use the disease to kill off more forces in the war.”

  “This is horrible,” Catalina said. “How could someone do something like this?”

Before any of them could answer, a man yelled from behind, “They went this way!”

  “Come on,” Katherine urged, and they all continued running, deeper into the depths of the disease.

  “Get back here!!” Roared a voice from behind.

Joan yelped loudly when her hooves slipped in the slop below. She jolted up and dashed to the left, disappearing from Katherine’s sight. Katherine felt a wrench in her heart, but couldn’t stop to go after her.

Katherine and Catalina ran into a cathedral in a pavilion. There seemed to be an entire chunk of the city that was blocked off. They shut the door as quietly as possible and ran to the far back, hiding behind the raised dais.

  “Never thought I would return to a church in these circumstances,” Catalina attempted to joke, laughing dryly.

  “This is so horrible,” Katherine whispered, shuddering.

  “I know, I-I know,” Catalina whispered. “We have to get out of here. They’re going to kill us.”

And then, with immaculate comedic timing, a huge, thickly-muscled blue arm burst through the nearby window and grabbed Catalina by the throat.

Katherine and Catalina both screaming as the mayor, Oron, climbed through the broken window and stepped inside the church. He held a wickedly-curved knife to Catalina’s belly, causing the Aasimar to tense.

  “Don’t make another move,” Oron breathed down Catalina’s neck, “or I’ll slice her open and rip out the baby myself.”

  “Don’t hurt her!” Katherine yelled.

Oron peered down at the bump. “What a stupid time to get knocked up. Do you really want the baby to grow up in a time of war?”

Katherine saw Catalina grit her teeth, trying not to move. She looked into her eyes, and they were flashing in panic.

  “I would be doing you and it a favor by killing it,” Oron went on.

  “You have no right!” Katherine growled.

  “And you had no right to lie to me and kill my people!” Oron bellowed back. 

  “We helped you! We helped a lot of people!” Katherine said. “And you didn’t even deserve it! We’ve seen what you’ve done!”

Oron chuckled gruffly. “It was Henry’s idea. When he heard about our problem, he knew he could use it to his advantage in the war. Sending the infected to infect the enemy. A perfect plan.”

  “You’re vile,” Catalina spat, then sucked in a sharp breath when Oron pressed the knife closer to her stomach.

  “Let her go,” Katherine growled lowly. “Don’t hurt her. Please.”

Oron laughed, opened his mouth to say something, and then gagged blood when a shard of glass went through his throat. 

Catalina jerked away when Oron’s arms around her went slack, and she and Katherine watched as he tottered forward, gasping and gurgling as red oozed down his chest. They turned their heads to Joan, perched in the broken window, breathing heavily.

  “Come on!” Joan shouted.

Catalina couldn’t climb through the window, so Katherine escorted her out the church’s front doors. They followed Joan to a back alley against the wooden walls that surrounded the city. There was a gap between the logs, chipped away from weather and wind. 

  “We can get out through here,” Joan said, pointing.

  “Do you REALLY think I can fit through there?” Catalina said.

  “You can try!” Katherine said.

Luckily, they were all able to wiggle through the gap with just a few minor cuts and splinters. Crisp, fresh air hit them in a tidal wave and they all breathed in a sharp breath of oxygen that wasn’t tainted with disease and rot.

  “Holy shit,” Catalina panted after they dashed for a tree line. “That was…”

  “Eventful,” Katherine finished. “God…” She pressed a hand to her forehead and shook her head. “Lina, is there a fire spell in that book?”

Catalina glanced at her, then nodded, understanding. She opened up the tome and flipped to a specific page. She muttered an incantation, formed a fireball in her hand, and then threw it into the walls of Chauback.

The city went up in flames.

After all, not everyone could be saved.

[lallivaesterstroem]

Emil and Lalli. Stargazing. Emil tries to name all the constellations he knows. Lalli knows all of them, but listens to the Swede anyway.

ANON ILUSM FOR ASKING this is such a wonderfully sweet prompt i just had to take it the extra mile and it got away from me once again :’)) so this is waaaay too long for a ficlet LOL but i hope you enjoy it anyway!

EDIT: A BETTER VERSION OF THIS IS NOW UP ON AO3, GO GIVE IT SOME LOVE this will stay up for posterity tho<3

quick summary: Emil and Lalli meet up in a a dream. The night sky is too beautiful to ignore.

--

Lalli knew the colours spilling around him as well as he knew himself. He blinked once, twice, watched the familiar forest and lake take shape, molding slowly into a place he called his own. Then came the gentle noise of water, the rustling of branches and chirping of birds, and he could smell the pine surrounding him. He could sit here in silence, look into the water, wait for a sign and hopefully receive none. And so the mage sat up, arms resting on his knees and head hung low, listening to the sounds of forest, waiting for-

Someone else was here. Not a spirit, he could feel that much, a someone.

He stood up quickly, hoping to all the gods that it was neither braid guy nor Onni- he wanted nothing more than to be alone tonight- which only left the category of ‘things that want to kill him’ open. One hand reaching for his dagger, the other pushing his fur coat away, he spun around, looking for the source of the disturbance.

Emil was standing on the shore, glowing in the speckles of light passing through the branches, confused but smiling, and the moment he saw him, the ground opened up under them.

Once the dust had settled, he found himself on a grassy cliff with a steep slope, overlooking nothing but darkness, one of thousands around the world, yet somehow still familiar. Emil was a few feet away from him, looking around frantically. It dawned on Lalli that it was probably that hill they climbed in Reykjavik, that long day in the pouring rain, but he couldn’t think clearly enough to wonder why they ended up there, why it seemed to have been split in half, why it was the dead of night. The shock still hadn’t quite worn off. Emil had never appeared in his dream before, not like this, not in his dream. They’d always end up in a place like this, in-between together. Never in his space.

When he turned to Emil again, just to make sure they were both still in one piece, his friend was looking up for some reason.

“Your dream has a sky?” he said, and it sounded less like a question aimed at Lalli and more like thinking out loud, as if he were trying to get to the bottom of a problem. 

“Of course. Everything has a sky.”

“I guess I just never thought about it before,” Emil said, still craning his neck, still in that distracted tone, his eyes wide in a strange sort of wonder. Lalli didn’t get it, really. He could see the real light-speckled veil covering the Earth any time he wished, and there was nothing special about the one appearing in dreams. The stars, glittering gold forged by the sky-smith, were now a mere image in their minds, dream-approximation, not worth dwelling on this much.

Lalli looked into the distance instead, trying to make out the shapes- houses but no lights on, a village, indiscernible layout, shifting in the darkness. He couldn’t tell if it was the Icelandic village, or his own hometown, or something else entirely, perhaps a fragment of Emil’s memory. It was like the houses were in the bottom of a murky lake, roofs submerged, waves distorting everything, and by the time it reached his eyes they were unrecognisable. He didn’t dare to peer over the edge of the cliff, didn’t want to look straight down at whatever may be there. The wind whipped around him, against his face, and for a moment he felt completely alone.

A rustle coming from behind startled him out of his thoughts- Emil, sitting down on the grass, still looking up with that smile on his lips. He said something about knowing ‘a thing or two’ about the stars, pointed upwards at nothing in particular, and Lalli decided to join him. It seemed that there was nothing to look at beyond the dark plunge beneath the cliff, which he’d already scrutinised, and the stars in the sky. He sat next to Emil. He waited.

“See that one? That’s the big dog. Those three stars are the head, and then these are the tail,” Emil gestured, eyes fixed on the night sky.

Iso koira. The easiest to spot, with the brightest star at its head. Emil’s struggle to point it out was a little pathetic and a little adorable, depending on whether Lalli was looking at his fumbling outstretched hand missing the mark or his excited expression, squinting to see better. And then he turned to look at him and that excitement was gone, replaced by a frown.

“You can’t tell where I’m pointing at from there,” he said, fake-upset, “look here.”

Emil’s face was suddenly right next to his, an arm around his shoulder and the other still pointing at the sky, and Lalli froze. Perhaps it was the unexpected touch, the closeness, but something about it made him jump. To his credit, Emil noticed, letting go and moving away, an apology already on his lips. But before he could get to it Lalli inched closer, at his own pace, wanting to say that it’s okay, just let me, hoping his expression would do the trick instead. He just needed to ease into it, and soon enough they were close once again, so Lalli looked up, pointedly avoiding Emil’s gaze, in order to urge him to do the same. Back to the stars. 

“And the little dog- huh, shouldn’t it be somewhere around…”

Pieni koira, just a little off to the side, trailing behind Orion. Kaksoset, Härkä, Yksisarvinen. The stars were his constant companions, by his side every night when no one else was. Köli, Ajomies, Virta. His gaze swept across the sky. He knew them by heart.

Not that he’d say a word of it to Emil. It was much more amusing waiting for the realisation, that moment he stops talking and lets the cogs in his head turn: hey, what if that silly Finn who spends all night outside, where the stars are, maybe knows a couple things more about them…

But this was fine too. He didn’t have to think as long as he kept talking. Emil’s hair looked grey in the moonlight but with that same shine, messy from the wind, and Lalli couldn’t help but reach up and tuck a lock behind his ear, just so that it doesn’t bother him. No other reason. Emil turned to look at him for a moment, not enough to read his expression, and then quickly looked away.

“Orion is also, ah, somewhere,” his hand was now flitting between several constellations, none of them the one he was looking for. “This sky is weird. Did you ever notice that? That the dream sky is weird. But you probably already know, because you’re… you know. And I’m so new at this. Not at dreaming! Just, this whole...”

He decided to let Emil ramble nervously until he tired himself out, ending his rant with a frustrated little groan. It was strange that he couldn’t quite focus on the sound of his voice, how he could feel that lilt all Swedes had to their words but still understand him- another peculiarity of dreams he never really noticed until he and Emil became connected like this. Then they were quiet for a couple of heartbeats, taking in the view.

The corner of Lalli’s lips twitched into a smile, as close to softness as he could get. Emil was too busy staring up at the sky to notice. Lalli was too busy looking at him to care.

But something changed moments after. He could feel it in the air, creeping in slowly. Emil’s expression turned melancholy, resigned, and when he finally spoke, he echoed a statement he made a long time ago. This time, he said it with a smile, almost sad, mostly distracted, like he didn’t know the words would come out until he said them: “Makes me not want to wake up tomorrow.”

In the resulting silence, Lalli could hear something from the depths, from the village, and when he looked down, he saw a sliver of orange in the distance, like the stroke of a brush, a splatter. Fire. Emil’s fire. An uncomfortable feeling settled in his gut, a pain for someone else, something tugging at his heart.

“Why? You’re safe now. You have food and shelter,” he said instead, trying to keep him occupied. Steadying his voice took more effort than he expected, but he didn’t want Emil to notice anything was amiss. It was Lalli’s fault that his dreams were no longer silly meaningless thought-leftovers that played during the night. It was Lalli’s fault he was here in the first place.

“But I’m not… like this. With you,” Emil sounded distant, and he was looking away now, not at the stars and not towards Lalli, but at the ground next to him. Like he was trying to hide his face, but didn’t want to go too far, move too much. Like he was counting the blades of grass beneath them.

Lalli knew that he probably wasn’t talking about… whatever it was that they were. He was surely talking about the feeling of safety, the freedom of dreaming- the fact that they were in it together was simply a byproduct of an accident, his own mistake, surely not something Emil looked forward to, surely-

Lalli bit his tongue. He had to force himself to say it while he still could, before the connection that kept them here crumbled again. Before he had to deal with pouring his feelings into words, then forcing those words into the confines of a language he barely spoke. The wind whistled around them and he knew this was his last chance. He put his hand on top of Emil’s, caressed it with his thumb, not quite knowing what he was doing.

“You could be, if you want to.”

And then the world was plunged into darkness and he could feel reality looming in the edges of his consciousness. He’d deal with the consequences when he woke up.

[acidproofnotebook]

OPM Chapter 84, Update 125

As first published online

Translator: u/Mynthence

Title Page: In order to remain solitary, instead of in solitude.

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5

Movements that are a perfect blend of attack and defense.

Even though it’s the same Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist the difference in degrees of completion are plainly evident.

The result is obvious.

Page 6

Fuu!!

Page 7 Page 8 Page 9

grab

Bwoh!?

Page 10

Ubuh!!

Page 11

Wh…what’s…with…

This flashy assault, it’s not like the damn geezer at all…

Page 12

N…not good…

My consciousness is fad…

No….I’m gonna die…

…….tsk!!!

Gwah!

Page 13

What’s with those weird movements

where did you learn them?

Like a beast

Not yet!

Page 14

If I can use the heroes that are unconscious as hostages, there’s still a chance!!

I won’t let you

Ugah

Page 15 Page 16

Bang!

I’ve taken care of all the monsters that came out of the hole

All that’s left is Garou

Page 17

There’s still some monster-like reactions but

Beep beep…

For some reason I can’t ascertain the exact number and location…

Will going through that hole take us to the Monster Association’s base?

The guys from the Monster Association…were they wiped out?

They’re useless…!!!

Page 18

I thought we brought enough forces to capture Garou alive but…

Demon Cyborg…to think that he would be this strong

Silver Fang is here too. With this there’s no chance to take him away…

But if I go back empty-handed after expending all these troops, I might be the next one to be eaten by Orochi…

Page 19

Garou will just have to break through this situation with his own power…

…but it’s hopeless…

Should I start thinking about how to live after leaving the Monster Association…?

Hey brother…if it was you…

Would you still be able to stand up with his level of injuries?

…if I was 60 years younger I could try

…probably

Alright! Just a little bit more!!!

Let’s finish this before the other heroes show up, Bang!

Indeed

Page 20

Gugi…

My arms aren’t working properly anymore…

That geezer Bang, going after his former number one disciple when he’s been weakened…how vicious is he?

Page 21

Not to mention that the geezer that’s beating me up with him is Bomb, the master of the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist

For the leaders of the martial arts world to come at me two-on-one, do they have no shame or care for their reputations?

Even if I pretend to beg for my life to these guys, I’m sure the Demon Cyborg won’t let me go

In other words, in order to overcome this extremely critical situation, I need to kill all three of them

Page 22

That’s impossible.

Know the pain of my “number one disciple” Charanko

Garou!!

Page 23

Let’s play Hero!

Garou. You’ll play too, right?

Let’s play, let’s play.

Eh

Okay

Page 24

Introductory music

Justice Man has arrived!

Justice Man Kick

Ouch!

Hey

Page 25

That’s dangerous

What?

I feel bad for him

………………

Then you should play the part of the Monster

Justice Man Cross Chop

Woah

Why did you dodge

S, sorry Tacchan

I scratched up my hand

You’re the Monster. Why can’t you read the mood?

Hold Garou down

Okay

Page 26

Justice Man Kick!

I’ve defeated the Monster, Garou Poop Man~

What’s this, is it the thing they call a flashback?

This is a fairly private memory I’d prefer to not remember

This should be…Right…Tacchan…the popular kid in my class…

Page 27

Eh? What? Why are the boys fighting?

Did anyone call the teacher?

Garou’s going wild

Garou got mad, even though we were just playing

I can’t…stand it anymore…

What’s with him?

Tacchan

Fight me!

Huh? What are you saying?

It’s just Hero

Page 28 I don’t want to be the Monster anymore! It’s not fun! Fight me, and if I win, you have to promise that you won’t bother me anymore!

Sabuchin, Yochan, hold Garou down

That’s not fair…stop…let me go! I…

Ugh

Damnit!!

Woah, he’s snapped! Call the teacher

Tacchan, run away

Hold him down! Hold him down!

What’s going on?

Perfect timing. You guys help out too.

He got carried away because Taachan’s too nice

Gross

I heard Garou got pissed off at Taachan while they were playing Hero. (lol)

Seriously? What’s he thinking?

Poor Taachan

Page 29

Taachan would easily get carried away

Taachan was good at sports

Taachan liked bullying weak people

Taachan was popular with the girls

Taachan was a disgusting guy

Taachan was popular

I was the gloomy guy who was always alone

I didn’t have any friends

I hated popular people

Why did you go wild?

Teacher, Taachan always

I heard you got mad while playing Hero. Is that true?

They always make me be the Monster

You can’t even tell the difference between make-believe and reality!?

That’s not it. Everyone says it’s my fault because Taachan is popular…

You’re the one who went crazy! How will you take responsibility if the windows get broken!

NO!

Page 30

It’s not that I hate being the Monster.

Is it that I didn’t like Taachan being the Hero?

No that’s not it

I was sensing a crushing sense of unfairness through the Hero game. A game designed in a way that would let the popular kid who was loved by everyone to one-sidedly beat up the weak kid that no one liked.

You did something bad, so go apologize.

I’m calling your parents too

This wasn’t just bullying. The game that faithfully reproduced the children’s TV shows was accepted by the public. You’re free to play any role that you want in this game, but the role of the Hero requires the approval of all those who are playing, so naturally I never had a chance to play that part. And of course, a scenario where the Monster wins doesn’t exist to begin with, so I have to always lose.

Page 31

What’s Justice! What’s Evil! In the end, I get killed because of the majority! I can’t accept that! It’s unfair!

I can’t explain the reason very well but I’m angry!

I just want to let them know!

I want them to experience a weakling’s attack!

I want to deny the positions of good and evil!

Page 32

He’s going to fall

This is the end

Page 33

Like I’d let myself be finished off in a place like this!

Page 34 Page 35

What?

Page 36

Oh!

Page 37 Page 38

What’s with that power…

from that broken body!?

Page 39

Give it up Garou!

If you keep on going… You’ll really die!!!

Bang, above you!

Page 40 Page 41

Woah!?

Page 42

A monster!?

So there were still some left!!!

Page 43

!

Genos!

Bang, you saw his appearance just now!

He’s a monster now! He even has companions!

It’s okay if I shoot Garou down with him, right?

Page 44

Did you hear that!!?

I’ll take Garou away from here

You can crush everyone on the ground right now!

I leave the rest to you!!

???

Page 45

Rasen Shoukyaku Hou (Spiral Incineration Cannon)

Page 46

Elder Centipede!

Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50

What was that!?

Page 51 Page 52

Disaster Level: Dragon Giant Mysterious Insect Elder Centipede

Page 53

W…what….

Is this a living being !!?

Oh no!!!

We need to protect them!

Page 54

Here we go

Page 55 Page 56

So this is the source of the reaction from before…

It’s not that I couldn’t pinpoint its location…it was too big!

Page 57

To think that it could take a direct hit from the cannon and have no injuries

This is going to be a tough opponent…

That centipede is…

Page 58

What do you think you’re doing, butting in like that!

Just let Elder Centipede take care of things here

He is a great calamity that swallows up everything

I’m fascinated by that unstoppable destructive power

You’re not thorough enough Hero Hunter

Once you defeat an opponent, you need to make sure you finish them off

It seems that all those heroes lying down over there are still alive

Page 59

Well…don’t worry

Elder Centipede will end everything

!

Stop interfering!

Let me down right now!

Those are my prey!

Hey, quit struggling

Damnit! Go back!

I won’t forgive you!

Hahaha…why are you so mad.

It’s your fault for not finishing the job.

Also…it’s convenient that we can erase two S-class here.

For the Monster Association, S-class heroes are the biggest threat

Page 60

You also directly experienced it

…..

In any fight there’s something called compatibility

According to our adviser Gyoro Gyoro

Out of all the heroes there are only four who can stand up against the Elder Centipede

Page 61

The peerless one wielding the strongest psychic ability “Tornado of Terror”

The one whose hidden military strength can’t be grasped by even the Hero Association “Metal Knight”

Page 62

The strongest man on earth “King”

And…the top hero that pushed Elder Centipede to the brink of death two years ago

“Blast”

Page 63

They say that Elder Centipede decided to cooperate with the Monster Association in order to get its revenge on Blast

It’s eager to pull Blast, who doesn’t come to the forefront, back onto the battlefield.

But…Unfortunately, those two don’t have the ability to break through this current situation.

Silver Fang is without equal in regards to his strength in hand-to-hand combat, but that only applies to opponents that are of a size that can be affected by martial arts.

Demon Cyborg’s abilities are outstanding but

He shouldn’t be equipped with any weapons that can take on a giant insect beast

And his firepower can’t go beyond the capabilities of his weapons

That’s his limit

Page 64

They will definitely be destroyed

Here it comes!!!

Page 65 Page 66

shine

!

Page 67

Whirl Wind

Water Stream

Page 68

Todoroki Kuuretsu Ken (Roaring Sky Splitting Fist)

Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72

What is that move

We have a special move that takes advantage of the opponent’s openings

We’re counting on you to distract it

It broken that super hard shell into pieces…!?

This is

The pinnacle of skill

Page 73

Not yet Not yet Not yet Not yet Not yet Not yet Not yet Not yet

Page 74 Page 75

Oh….

Goaaaahhhh

!

Guh

Page 76

Oww…

We let down our guard

But it was effective

The shockwave is circulating throughout its body

Blow up into pieces you monster

It’s a super move that can only be pulled off once by geezers like us

I’m glad it hit

Thank you Genos

Page 77

It’s finished

Page 78

Hm?

Page 79

Seriously?

Page 80

This guy molted…!!!

And didn’t it get bigger than before!?

No way!

Page 81

We can’t beat this thing…!

If we have to protect the unconscious heroes at the same time…

What should we do!? Bang!

Even if we back off, it would probably come after us and…

It’s all residential areas outside of Forest Park…

If we leave, it’ll affect the civilians…

Page 82

Bang

I’ll fight it

I’ll hold off that centipede as long as I can so

Take the injured and escape

Page 83

Genos

Are you saying that you’ll fight that thing on your own?

I can’t agree with that…

You don’t need to push yourself. You know that you can’t win

You young ones have still have a future

Genos

Just don’t overdo it

Page 84

Is that…

Really okay?

Page 85

There’s no way

Page 86

That’s okay

Page 87 Page 88 Page 89

There’s no way!

Cannons don’t work on it!

Page 90

This guy

And the guy from yesterday

Page 91

And Garou

Are all part of the Monster Association

This fight

Is unavoidable

Page 92 Page 93 Page 94

Dual Blade Rush

That’s what it means to fight against them

Page 95

I’m participating in this fight

Grind into pieces

Page 96

If you say that’s being reckless

Crack

!

Uh…

Page 97

Genos!!!

At this rate

I…

Page 98

Won’t be able to stay in the fight

Page 99 Page 100

Jet Drive Arrow

Page 101

Uooohhhh!!!

Page 102 Page 103

Ugoah

He went into its mouth

Oh no…

Page 104

!

Digestive juices

I’ll completely melt you in a few seconds

You’re the one that’s going to melt

Page 105

Chou Rasen Shoukyaku Hou (Super Spiral Incineration Cannon)

Page 106 Page 107

…….!!!

He did it!!

Clank

…..

Page 108

Crack crack

Crack crack

Page 109

Crack crack

Crack

grin

Again…

I…

Can’t win…

Can’t protect…

Page 110

We’re getting out of here

sizzle

Brother! Grab those guys and run!!

It’s useless

What’s wrong?

Are you disgusted that you ended up being partially responsible for slaughtering those heroes?

Page 111

That’s not it!

I’m just disappointed by this ending!!!

I…want to defeat them with my own power!

By doing so, I become the symbol of fear…!!

That’s the meaning behind the hero hunting!!!

The symbol of fear? You? Hahaha…

If you were to go back now, you would only end up getting stomped on together with the heroes.

Right now you don’t have the strength to go against Elder Centipede or the officers of the Monster Association.

Page 112

Guh…

Just…you wait…and see…

What should I do…

Page 113

What is it that I lack…!?

Are there still more guys like that?

In front of guys like that…

Am I only able to suck on my thumb while watching them…?

Bang! This isn’t good. If we keep going

We’ll exit the Forest Park!

Page 114

Also…I can’t run for very long while carrying this many people

How old do you think I am

Do or die…

Brother

Page 115

I’m going to go all out for the last time in my life

Page 116

Elder Centipede~!!!

Hey! You pest!!!!!

I’ve brought the “Blast” that you’ve been looking for!!!!!

Page 117

!?

That voice is…King!!?

Blast!?

What…!

!!!?

Look!!

Its movements have stopped

And it’s turned around

Page 118

Blast…?

Yes…that’s right! The opponent that beat you up and made you run away while peeing your pants….the hero Blast!!

If you want to fight against Blast again, come over here!

What’s wrong? Are you so scared that you can’t move!? You’re spineless!!! Hey, if you’re going to shit yourself, do it at home!

A weak little bug like you should go back underground and suck on your mom’s tits!!!

Page 119

King made it to the location in City S where Elder Centipede reappeared!!!

That’s good! King should be able to do something about this situation…

Yes…there are still several heroes in that area

And when I told him that they might become casualties from any fighting nearby

He told me “Give me any information that might provoke Elder Centipede”

He undoubtedly plans on luring the enemy to where he is and fighting it one-on-one

Page 120

When Blast severely wounded it, it escaped and ran away underground

I hope we can defeat it this time…

It was top secret information, but I relayed the information detailing the monster and Blast’s connection to him

Also, I told him that if the battle were to be prolonged or if they were to change locations, the damage to the surrounding areas would be tremendous

And what how did he respond?

Just one word: “Understood”…

Together with the reverberations of the King Engine

Page 121

Draw the enemy this way so there aren’t any more casualties…

If the enemy is wounded, finish it off before it escapes underground…

Finish it as quickly as possible…

Any attacks should be contained within a limited range…and no attacks that might knock the centipede into the residential areas…

That’s all

Page 122

…..

…tama?

Page 123

Saitama~!!!?

It’s going to hit

Page 124 Page 125 Page 126

Ser

Page 127 Page 128

ious

Page 129

Pun

Page 130 Page 131

ch

Page 132 Page 133 Oh

Page 134

Is that you, Genos?

Page 135

So you were here.

Just like King said

Yeah…and it looks like we came just in the nick of time

Good thing we came

Oh…?

Saitama…you look kind of refreshed

What happened?

I kind of feel like I let off a lot of steam

Page 136

I had a lot of stress built up because you kept beating me in those games

So he was still pissed off

Well…I wanted to teach you that your way of fighting with only one style of attack isn’t good…

Saitama-sensei, I wish to ask you a question

What is it?

What do you think I am lacking?

Eh

Isn’t it power?

Page 137

….!!!!

Thank you very much!

Ahhhhhhhh….That’s no good…

You probably shouldn’t use Saitama as a point of reference, Genos…

Sensei’s fights show me the path that I should take

The symbol of strength

That is what I should aim for…

I will also reach that place

Page 138

Garou…so you finally passed out

Rest well

We’ll reach Orochi soon