#these two don't seem to have one that would speak to everyone hmmmm

[jazzystudios82]

His Lovely Rose - Chapter 23: Frieza Beaten

WARNING: This chapter contains gore, violence, and potential disturbing imagery.

Previous. . . . Next Story. . . .

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Brier watched Vegeta and Frieza in the middle of their stand-off. It was like watching two rival gunslingers waiting for the other to draw their weapon in those films Kero likes so much. Though it was unclear if the "hero" would be able to defeat the "villain" in this unscripted battle. 

"Sorry Frieza, but I can't let you kill Kakarot." Vegeta said. Brier blinked in surprise. Did Vegeta have a soft spot for Goku after all? "As annoying as he may be, I need him in my life so that I can have someone always pushing me to get stronger." he added.

Ah, so that was why. It made more sense actually. 

"You. . .how dare you, you mongrel?! You coward!" Frieza shouted, angry at having been robbed of his moment. 

'Coward? Says the one taking cheap shots. . .' Brier thought to herself, annoyed. Releasing a sigh, Brier outstretched her right arm and used magic to bring Goku's weakened body to her and the others. As soon as Goku's body made it to the group, Bulma and the Z-Fighters gathered around him.

"Dad, are you ok?!" Gohan exclaimed. 

"Back up everyone." Brier commanded. "He needs room." Everyone nodded and backed away. "S-Sorry about making you do this, L-Lady Brier." Goku said, apologetic. "I-I screwed up big time, huh?"

"It's fine, Son Goku. Though I'm afraid Whis did try to warn you about something like this happening. So you should probably be more concerned with him." Brier told him. 

Goku looked at Whis for a reaction. As always, Whis didn't seem to care. 

Brier then gently placed her hands on Goku's chest and said, "laeH!" In a matter of seconds, the Saiyan's body was healed of its life-threatening injury. 

Goku almost immediately sat up straight, alarming the others (except Beerus, Whis, and Brier). "Goku, take it easy!" Piccolo told him. "Relax! I'm fine! Looks like Lady Brier's magic works as well as the Senzu Beans!"

Upon seeing that his father was fine, Goten immediately hugged him. "D-Dad! I-I was so scared!" he cried. "Hey, it's ok bud. I'm alive, aren't I?" Goku said, attempting to calm his youngest son. 

Before anyone else could speak, a loud blast was heard. Brier looked to see that Vegeta and Frieza were now fighting one another, and that the one known as 'Sorbet' had been shot in the chest, and was almost dying. Whether he was shot by Vegeta or Frieza during the battle was unclear to her, but she didn't care. It was when he made a weak attempt to shoot Vegeta that she decided that she had enough.

He needed to be taken care of now. 

Brier then snapped her fingers and let out a low whisper, "emoC, oreK! Kcatta!" Suddenly, the ground beneath Sorbet turned blood red. Before Sorbet could react, his entire body was ensnared in the massive jaw of a cream colored wolf with glowing ochre colored eyes being pushed back into the sockets of its exposed white skull. The demonic wolf, Kero, was chomping on the now limp, bloody body of the former commander of the Frieza Force. It was such a disturbing sight that Bulma and Gohan made sure to cover the eyes of Trunks and Goten respectively. Pretty much everyone was disgusted by it, except for Beerus and Whis. They had seen this before, therefore they were used to it. 

The giant wolf swallowed the remnants of Sorbet's body and licked his lips. He then looked at Brier, ignoring the others. 

"Is this all that you called me for, my lady?" Kero asked, his voice booming like Shenron's. "Yes, that's all. I just needed you to take care of a pest for me. You can go back home if you wish." Brier said. "Although I wouldn't mind if you wanted to stay and meet everyone." 

"Hmmmm. . . It's probably best that I go." Kero said. His eyes glanced at the others for a brief moment, startling them. "After all, it seems that the Earthlings don't want to be near me. Perhaps another time, with me in a more. . .comfortable form for them to comprehend." 

"If that's what you want, then that's fine. We'll see you soon." Brier said as she bid him goodbye. The void-like portal that led Kero to Earth vanished as soon as his giant wolf head disappeared. As soon as he left, Gohan and Bulma allowed Trunks and Goten to see again. The only one who had the courage to ask Brier who that was was none other than Bulma herself. 

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Bulma exclaimed. "Him? That was Kero." Brier replied, nonchalant. "Kero. . .? Wait, isn't that the same name as Whis' co-worker?!" Bulma asked. "Are you telling me that that thing is the guy that is the same person Whis thought about bringing over for a party?!" 

"Co-worker? I suppose that you can call him that." Brier replied. "Though he's technically my familiar, and-" "Familiar?! Is that a fancy way of saying a 'pet' or something?!" Bulma nearly shouted. "No. A familiar is a daemon who is in a contract with a god or goddess." Brier explained. Brier hoped that Bulma was done asking follow up questions. But alas, she wasn't. 

"If you had something like that, why didn't you use him against Frieza?! We all could have-" "Ms Bulma, like what my husband said earlier, we're not really allowed to intervene in mortal affairs." Brier said. "What? Then why did you have that wolf eat that guy?!" Bulma questioned.

"It's simple. He annoyed me, and I decided to get rid of him." Brier answered with slight cold tone. This comment made Bulma slightly scared of the goddess. In fact, nearly all of the Z-Fighters were a little disturbed by it. Brier seemed like such a kind-hearted being that it seemed impossible to even imagine that she didn't care about taking the life of another person. Even if they worked for a bad guy. 

"Are we finished now?" Brier asked, seemingly back to her regular mood. She then patiently waited for Bulma to answer. "I-" 

An electric blue glow appeared from behind the goddess. "?" She turned around to see that Vegeta had transformed into Super Saigon Blue as well, having the same characteristics that Goku had prior. 

"I-I don't believe it!" Brier heard Frieza shout, sounding shocked. She watched as the Saiyan Prince descended to the soil of the Earth with a smirk on his face. "Things have changed the last time you were around. For starters, I can now do this." Vegeta said. Frieza gritted his teeth in anger as Vegeta got closer. The tyrant then shot at Vegeta with an energy blast, but it had no effect. "?!" 

Brier could tell that this was pushing Frieza over the limit as he continued to shot at the Saiyan. "NO! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!" he yelled. "You of all people should know about me: I don't share the same taste for forgiveness like Kakarot does! You're going back to Hell!" Vegeta declared. He flew straight towards Frieza and punched him in the abdomen, causing him to cough up a mixture of purple colored blood and saliva.

Vegeta avoided Frieza's attempts to punch him, using his newfound speed to attack the one who caused him so much pain. To rob him of his right to be king. 

Vegeta used an excessive amount of force to kick Frieza's calf. The kick was so strong that he could hear the sound of bone shattering. It was obvious that Frieza's leg was now broken. Vegeta watched as the space lizard cried out in pain. To say that this made him feel a small amount of victory already was putting it lightly. But he knew that his fight wasn't over yet.

"Give it up Frieza. You don't stand a chance against the true power of a Saiyan God!" Vegeta said. 

"It's simply not possible for me to be defeated by the likes of you Vegeta! It won't happen!" Frieza shouted. He made an attempt to stand, but was quick to remember what Vegeta did to his leg. He fell to the dirt once more, and to make matters worse, Frieza's golden form vanished, meaning that he was now in his original form once more. "!" Frieza tried to move away from Vegeta, but due to his injuries, he did make it very far. 

"Woah, look at that! He's lost his golden form!" Krillin nearly exclaimed. "I guess this means that he's completely at Vegeta's mercy now." Piccolo commented as well. "Yeah. Sucks to be him, I guess." Goku said. 

"How. . .how could this have happened?!" Frieza began to shout. "OUT OF ALL THE BEINGS IN THE UNIVERSE, THE ONE WHO GOT THE BETTER OF ME WAS VEGETA?! THIS IS NOT THE WAY THIS ENDS!" "Hmph. At least try to face your death with a shred of honor." Vegeta said with a cold smile. He then outstretched his right arm once more and was preparing an energy blast just for Frieza.

He had waited a long time for this. "And don't ever dream of resurrecting again." 

"You. . .YOU CAN ALL GO TO HELL WITHOUT M-" Before Frieza could finish his sentence, a black circle appeared under his body, turning into a dark void instantaneously. Slimy ink-like tendrils formed around the tyrant and forcefully dragged him into the void, covering his mouth to prevent him from screaming. And just like that, Frieza was gone.

Everyone was stunned by what happened. Especially Vegeta.

'Was this some kind of new trick Frieza learned? To escape from his enemies?. . .' Vegeta wondered. He felt around for Frieza's energy to see if he was going to attempt a sneak attack of sorts. But he didn't sense anything. It appeared that Frieza was truly gone. 

"Woah, what was that Vegeta?" Goku asked, he and the others going to the Saiyan Prince. "Did Whis teach you some kind of secret technique or something?"

"What? No, he didn't. I thought that Frieza had some kind of new escape tactic. Unless. . .Lady Brier, did you use magic to get rid of him?" Vegeta questioned, causing everyone to look at the goddess. 

"N-No, I didn't. Believe me, I'm as shocked as you are." Brier answered honestly. "Although from the looks of it, Frieza didn't seem to have known about this. . .thing that took him, so it was most likely against his will." 

"So you're saying that someone kidnapped Frieza?" Gohan asked. "Either that or perhaps Vegeta was right and he used a new method to escape. Or at least, a surviving member of his army did." Brier said.

"So then. . .does this mean that Frieza can come back?" Trunks asked. "Most likely, I'm afraid." Brier answered. 

Everyone began to worry about the potential return the evil emperor, but Beerus decided to break their scared silence. "Oh relax! Even if he does come back, I'm sure that all of you will get stronger in the meantime. That is if you still want to protect Earth anyway." 

"Of course we do! Why wouldn't we?!" Piccolo nearly shouted, but then remembered that he was speaking to a god. Luckily for him, Beerus didn't seem to care. "Good, then you can all worry about this for another day." he added. 

"I hate to say it, but Lord Beerus is right. We should be happy that Earth's been spared for today." Bulma said. "Let's have a get-together at my place. What do all say?" Pretty much everyone nodded their heads. 

As everyone began to get ready, Brier felt an odd presence nearby. "?" She looked around to see where it was coming from. Then her ruby eyes noticed a peculiar bird resting on a nearby tree. It was that damned crow from Bulma's birthday party. What the hell is it doing back here?

"-r? Brier?" The goddess turned around to see Whis and Beerus looking at her. "Darling, is something wrong?" Beerus asked. "What do you mean? You don't see the. . ." When she went to look back at the bird, Brier saw that it was gone. "That's odd." she mumbled, which the two men heard. 

"What is, my lady?" Whis asked.

". . .You know what? It's been a long day, I'm probably just a little tired and seeing things." Brier replied, hoping that she was right. The Titan then walked with Beerus and Whis to follow the others to Capsule Corp for a celebration. 

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Location: Unknown Planet. . . . 

Frieza roughly landed on the ground of a dark and cold room. Well, more specifically on something hard and boney. The sudden fall made the sharp pain in his broken leg worse. "Argh!! Who's the one that brought me here?! Just so you know, I'm NOT in a generous mood today!" Frieza yelled, his voice echoing across the vast room. His blood red eyes looked around for any source of light he could find and use so that he could get out. He didn't find any, it was just a vast darkness all around him.

Frustrated, Frieza created a small red energy orb with his finger to use a as a light source. And the first thing he saw was a wrinkled, lifeless body of what appeared to be a Namekian, who had a forever horrified look on his smelly decomposing face. 

"!" 

Frieza backed away in a panic, his back colliding into something. Or rather someone, given how soft it was. Frieza turned around to see a cloaked figure behind him. He couldn't see their face properly due to their face being partially obscured by their hood.

"W-Who are you?!" the tyrant shouted. "Tell me at once, you bastard!" "Oh my, you're a feisty one, aren't you~?" the hooded person said as a response, his voice rich and melodic. Like a siren. His voice strangely somehow managed to soothe Frieza just a little bit. 

"I apologize for startling you, good sir. It wasn't my intention. And for the mess of the place. I haven't had guests for some time." the stranger said. He snapped his fingers and a strange mist appeared, getting rid of the Namekian body, and several skeletons that were nearby. When the mist disappeared, he muttered something in a language that Frieza couldn't understand. Whatever it was, it resulted in his leg healing.

"There you go. Hope you're feeling better now."

Frieza stood up from the ground and dusted himself off. "Who. . .who are you?" Frieza asked once more, this time more relaxed. "A possible new ally of yours, I hope." the stranger said. He then noticed the small light from Frieza's finger and chuckled, which sent a shiver down Frieza's spine. A pleasant one actually. "There's no need for that, anymore." he said as he then raised a hand up in the air, creating a white hot flame that flew to several chandeliers on the ceiling. This lit up the room properly. Frieza looked at the stranger to see if he could finally see what he looked like. 

Frieza couldn't see the upper half of his face, only the mouth area. From what he could tell, the hooded figure had skin as white as porcelain, and cupid bow lips that were colored a deep shade of pink, and near the left side of his lips was a dark beauty mark. Even though he couldn't see the entirety of his face, Frieza could tell that this man was a rather attractive individual, like Zarbon was when he was alive and in his primary form.  

"Is there something odd about me, Lord Frieza?" he asked. "You're staring." "!" Frieza couldn't believe that he was caught staring. This was not like him. This wasn't like him at all. 

"M-My apologies, Mr. . .?" 

"Right, I never did tell you my name did? I'll fix that soon enough." the stranger said as a black ink-like portal appeared behind him, allowing a half-skeletal crow to enter in the room and fly to the hooded figure and gently land on his left shoulder. Frieza's eyes widened in surprise at the sight. It was similar to the one that brought him here. "Wait, are you the one who saved me from meeting my demise?" Frieza asked.

"Yes, I am. I've had my eye on you for a while now, and I believe that you and I can be beneficial to each other for our. . .respective goals, to say the least." the stranger said, not minding the fact that the crow was now resting on his shoulder. "I have an offer to make, if you're interested that is." 

Frieza raised a 'brow' in suspicion. "As intriguing as that is. . .I would still like to know your name before we talk about your 'offer'."

"Oh! Right! Of course." the hooded figure said. "How rude of me. A thousand apologies, good sir. I'm called 'Montsechia'. Though you can call me just call me 'Monty' for now. Does that sound good?"

"I suppose it'll do. Now tell me, uh Monty, how do you plan on helping me?" Frieza asked. Monty smiled and said, "Oh, I'm so glad that you asked~." He stood up and led Frieza to a nearby table with two chairs that seemed to have been made from bone and silver. Where Monty got the bones from, Frieza didn't really want to know. But then again, it's not like he wasn't capable of performing disturbing acts himself. 

Frieza sat in his chair and waited for his savior to do the same. Upon sitting down, Monty snapped his fingers and it resulted in a bottle of wine and two crystal clear glasses to appear in front of the two. "Would you like a drink?" he asked. "It's chilled."

"I suppose." Frieza answered. 

Monty placed the glasses on the table and poured the dark red liquid in both of the glasses. He gave Frieza a glass and took a sip from his. Frieza looked at the contents of the glass. He sniffed it to see if there was something wrong with it. He didn't smell anything wrong, but that didn't mean that Monty didn't try anything. It could contain an odorless poison that could kill him in an instant.

"Is something on your mind, Lord Frieza?" Monty asked. "Did you put anything in this? Such as a poison that only affects its intended target?" Frieza questioned, acting as if Monty was a criminal in an interrogation room. And Monty reacted in a way Frieza didn't expect: he laughed. Frieza waited for him to stop so he can get his answer. 

"Oh my. . .You're not one to trust easily, are you?" Monty joked, having calmed down. 

"After what I've been through, of course not!" Frieza nearly shouted. 

Monty laughed once more at Frieza's little outburst, revealing a pair of sharp white fangs that glistened in the light from the white hot fire. "Oh, you truly are going to be fun to have around." he said, which caused Frieza to become embarrassed. What the hell is that supposed to mean?

After composing himself, Monty said, "Answer me this: Why would I save you only to then poison you? It'd be a waste, wouldn't it?"

". . ."

"Aw, what's wrong, Lord Frieza? Cat got your tongue?~" 

Frieza said nothing as he took a sip from his glass. He was pleasantly surprised by the taste. How did someone who lived in such. . .morbid and decrepit area have such a fine tasting wine like this? Frieza cleared his throat and said, "Well, I can see now that you mean no. . .physical harm. So tell me: why do you need my help with whatever it is that you're planning?" 

Monty placed his glass back on the table, and let out a sigh. "Well, normally I wouldn't need outside help, but I'm not exactly as great as I used to be back in my prime." 

In his prime? Just how old was this man?! Frieza thought he was a relatively young man, since he seemed to have smooth skin and sounded like he was barely a day over twenty. Maybe he belonged to an alien race that aged slowly or stopped aging at a certain point in their life. 

"I'm building an army. And I need a right hand man to help me with the process." Monty said honestly. Frieza blinked in surprise. "You want me as your right hand man? And what makes you think that I wish to follow you?" 

"Oh please, haven't you ever heard of the phrase, 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours'? If you help me build an army and take back what belongs to me, then I'll help you make the Frieza Empire the greatest force in the entire universe. I can make you the most fearsome being this solar system has ever seen and no one will ever question your rule." Monty said with a grin. "And all you have to so is help me, and everything that you desire will be yours. What do you say?" 

Frieza took a minute to think it over. There had to be more to this deal, right? It sounded too good to be true after all. But if he wanted to take down Goku and his friends, then he's going to need all the help he's going to get, especially if he wanted to be Emperor of the Universe. Besides, if this "Monty" proved to be troublesome in the future, he could always just kill him. 

Frieza took another sip from his wine, and after placing the now cool glass on the table, outstretched his hand for Monty to take.

"Very well, Monty. You've captured my interest. You have yourself a deal." 

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Location: Planet Earth, Capsule Corp. . . .

Brier took a sip from her wine glass as she watched everyone chatting amongst themselves. She herself wasn't in the mood to interact with anyone, for she was mentally drained and wanted to go back home to rest. The goddess stood up from where she sat and was going to walk to Beerus and get his attention. But she stopped in her tracks when she felt someone lightly tug on the skirt of her attire.

Brier turned to see that it was none other Goten and Trunks. "May I help you boys?" Brier asked. "I'm fine, but Goten wanted to say something to you, Miss Brier." Trunks said, gesturing to his dark haired friend. "I just wanted to say thank you for helping my dad." Goten told her. "Oh it wasn't a problem, Young Goten." Brier said, kneeling in front of the boy with a little smile. "Is there anything else that you wanted to say or was that it?" "If it's alright, can you show us more of those magic tricks like you did on Bulma's birthday?" Goten asked with a hopeful smile. The goddess's smile turned bigger and let out a little laugh before replying with, "Of course. What kind of tricks do you want to see?"

The first to reply was Trunks, now getting interested. "Can you do that trick with the butterflies? Only this time, can you make like a horse or something?" Brier nodded and with a flick of her wrist, created a big glowing rose red stallion made up of magical energy. Trunks and Goten became excited and immediately got up on the horse, which sprouted wings and began to ascend up in the air and took the boys for a ride.

Their parents and everyone else noticed and were amazed by the sight. Brier even heard young Marron ask her parents, Krillin and Android #18, if she could ride on the horse when Trunks and Goten were done. After Trunks and Goten were done, the young blonde girl was placed on the back of the magical stallion and began to go for a ride as well, with her mother #18 going with her to make sure she didn't fall.

Brier then felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned to see that it was none other than Beerus. "What is it, love?" she asked. "It's time for us to leave. Whis has gone to bring back leftovers for us, so he'll be back soon." Beerus said. "Oh, is it?"

"We have no business here, and I can see that you're tired." Beerus added, placing his arm around her waist and bringing her body close to his. Brier nodded her head slightly and said, "Of course you noticed. I assume that this means that you want to for us to nap together again?" "We could. But if you still have enough energy, I can think of something else for us to do back home~" he whispered in her ear.

"!" The goddess face warmed up at the suggestion. "B-Beerus!" she nearly exclaimed, flustered. "What?" he said innocently, though Brier knew that his mind was anything but. Brier gave Beerus an amused smile and said, "Very funny, love. As tempting as that sounds, I'm afraid that I'll have to decline. I'm not in the mood." Beerus shrugged his shoulders and said, "Oh well. If that's what you want. I can settle for a nap with you."

"Oh I know you can." "Hey. . ."

Brier gave her husband a playful shove as she walked to the others to inform them of their departure. The first to notice her was Bulma and Goku. "Hey Lady Brier! How're you doing? Is everything alright?" Goku asked, taking a bite of a piece of barbecued meat he had on his plate. "I'm fine, Son Goku. I've simply come to inform you all that Beerus, Whis, and I are going to leave soon." Brier answered. "What? Already?"

"I apologize. But since we don't have any business here, we have to leave." Brier told him and Bulma. "Oh, well that's fine." Bulma said. "Again, I'm sorry for the three of us having to leave so suddenly." Brier said. Just as she was about to leave, Goku stopped her by asking, "Wait, Lady Brier! Are you guys still gonna come to Pan's party?" "Your granddaughter's party? Oh, is it to celebrate her birth?" Brier asked. "Yeah! I kind of haven't done anything for her yet, and Chi-Chi wants me to be a good grandpa for her." Goku explained.

"Hmmm. . .I suppose I can come as long I'm not too busy. And as for Beerus and Whis, they can come with me as well as long as there's good food for them." Brier said. "All right. And this time we'll be sure to have enough pudding for Lord Beerus to have!" Goku declared. "Goku! Don't go making promises that we can't probably keep!" Bulma told him. "What? You have money, so can't you just-"

Seeing that this was her time to leave, Brier bid everyone goodbye and walked back to her husband and Whis, who had a bag filled with food that the chefs made for them personally. The three deities left the planet and were now traveling through space with Whis in charge of taking them all home. During the ride, Brier fell asleep, causing Beerus to wrap his free arm around her body and to hold on tight, so that she didn't fall into the vacuum of space.

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Location: Beerus's Planet. . . .

Beerus woke up to find himself in bed with Brier, whose back was facing him. Beerus softly smiled as he made an attempt to bring her body close to his for warmth. But then he sensed the energy of three deities nearby. What made it odd was that they were three people he wasn't expecting to see for a while. Letting out a low growl, Beerus got out of bed and put on his shoes, ready to confront the trio near his planet. The destroyer made sure to silently close the door so that he didn't wake up Brier. As he was walking through the hallway, he made contact with Whis.

"You can sense it too, right?" Beerus asked. "Yes, I can." Whis answered. "Take me to him, now." Beerus ordered. Whis nodded and used his staff to transport the two off planet. They were now in front of the three unexpected visitors. He was primarily looking at his twin, Champa, with annoyance.

"I've heard of people getting lost, but you're taking it to new heights." Beerus said. "Ha! So you're awake for once, guess there is such a thing as miracles!" Champa said as a slight jest. "You wanna go?!" Beerus nearly shouted, but then he decided to take a minute to calm down. The sooner he can get this over with, the better. "You're in the 7th universe, Champa. Surely you know that as a Destroyer god of the 6th universe, you have no business being here." Beerus told him.

"Will you relax? We were just taking a short cut. Honestly, why do you feel the need to be such a stickler?" Champa said. "How Brier puts up with you, I'll never know." "What was that?" Beerus asked darkly. A woman with bright pink hair noticed Beerus' tone and was quick to jump in. "Please do forgive Lord Champa, Lord Beerus. He didn't mean anything by it." she said, trying to calm him down.

"And you're sure about that?" Beerus asked. "Of course! You know how he is sometimes, saying things without thinking."

"Camellia!" Champa shouted, his cheeks turning pink. "What?" Camellia said, genuinely confused. Not wanting this to take any longer, Beerus asked, "So what's the reason why you came?" "I told you already, the three of us were going on a stroll!" Champa declared loudly.

"If you say so. C'mon Whis, let's go back." Beerus told his angel. "Right away sir." Whis said. "W- Wait, that's it? You're just. . .gonna let it go like that?" Champa asked, shocked. "I'm a bit too tired to care at the moment. Just be glad that I am letting this go and not keeping you here for an interrogation." Beerus said as Whis took them back home.

Beerus and Whis both went their separate ways. The angel went to his room for some much needed alone time while Beerus went back to Brier's room so he could sleep next to her again. But as he opened the door, Beerus was shocked to see that she wasn't in the bed. He looked all over the room to find her, but she was no where in sight. Where was she?

The destroyer's ears picked up the sound of Brier humming a gentle tune, so he followed the sound to learn where she was. It led him straight to the bathroom, and as he opened the massive metal door, he was met with the sight of a naked Brier in the bathing pool. She stopped humming when she heard the door opening and closing, and turned her head to see Beerus by edge of the pool.

"Oh! You're back. Do you want to join me?" she asked, stretching out her wet hand for him to take if he wanted. Beerus nodded and removed every article of clothing he had on and took Brier's hand, joining her in the bath. He wrapped his arms around her body and brought her close to him, her back touching his chest. "So, who was here?" Brier asked. "My annoying brother Champa." Beerus mumbled, placing his chin on her bare shoulder.

"Really? For what reason did he decide to visit Universe #7?"

"I don't know. He said that he was going for a stroll, but I know that he was lying. He's up to something that he doesn't want me to know about."

"Beerus! Why must you always assume that he's up to something?"

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Location: Outer Space. . . .

"Vados, how many have we collected so far?" Champa asked. "So far, we have five in total." Vados answered. "And based on our luck so far, the last two will be much harder to find, yes?" Camellia asked. "It's possible." Vados said.

"That means that we have to be more careful from now on." Champa told them. "I don't want Beerus or Whis finding out that we're almost done with getting the Super Dragon Balls!"

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Montsechia "Monty" Info:

Voice Claim: Hexxus from Ferngully: The Last Rainforest

Age: N/A

Gender: Male

Species: Titan

Powers & Abilities: Magical Prowess

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AN: And that's a wrap on Book One! Thanks to those who stuck around to see how this would go! And in case you were wondering, I did make a picrew of what "Monty" will look like, from here on out, though it's as close as I could get anyway: please ignore the human ears and pretend that they are elf ears and that his hair is straight. As for the purple paint and the blood? Let's just say that he got a bit creative when designing his mask's look.

I'll do proper designs for all of the original characters at some point in the future when I can draw digitally.

Hope you'll check out Book Two when I post it here. If you want to read it right away, you can check out my Ao3 account.

[superconductivebean]

#978: hmmmm

I'm not usually the one to comment on drama. The reason isn't anger control or lettering creatively picked insults for literal ages, but the desire to be very, no, painstakingly meticulous about the case -- that always meets a force opposing it as greatly as it stirs up my mind. A force that tells me speaking publicly isn't worth its time; that force is rather wrong but is also very right, but no elaboration. For now.

Anyway. And sorry for the rant.

That particular kind of drama is very familiar to me and I hate to meet it again and again and again. It migrates from fandom to fandom, you can easily spot it outside internet and it always comes in either of its two equally irking forms.

You are either told to drop something because you are too old.

Or you are told to leave it for someone older, allegedly more capable and knowledgeable, wiser, than the silly little you.

Both I had seen, both I am very tired to hear for what feels like years.

Because it has been years. Decades. In three years I may call myself a fandom vintage because it would be a 20 years mark of me being to fandom, in a broad sense. I've seen it all. And I am appalled, a tad.

First, you are urged to leave, because you are too small. You get a little older and get shushed or lashed at again -- for being too young, still, and that your opinion isn't matter because of your age. Fast-forward would still yield you prejudice but there would be something more to it. Condescending. "You are so clever for your years!" Uh-huh.

Once your bio turns 18, people will suddenly start to look at you very differently.

Cringe you would post will be judged with lesser severity and your opinion will apparently matter to even the smallest degree now because you have come of age! Congratulations!

But. Once you've felt free from the other people's ostentatious desire to show off their utterly fallacious wisdom, -- as their main argument is their belief age matters much, -- it just starts to spin the other way.

People will either mock you, or try to drive you away, because now you're too old to be around. Too old to enjoy things. Ancient for this cosy spaces reserved for a forever-haunted youth. Decrepit and desolate, unfit for this endless, miraculous life stream -- that in the grim reality of things, seems to be off-limits for everyone.

Fascinating, isn't it.

Spitting on the youth and expect it not to ever try and beat anyone back with the same old argument of never being of the perfect bride age but for fandoms. Because humans are resentful creatures.

So,

don't mock fandom elderly,

don't mock fandom youth,

don't mock age; it matters not.

And, don't fall for the centuries old fallacy that inspires one to assume greater age equates to becoming only wiser. The implication of it should be apparent and well-known.

Important asterisk*: It isn't about parenting someone else's child. It is about respect. Understanding. Acceptance. Nice Things. You can't earn it by hitting someone's nose with a tip of your shoe. You earn it by communicating boundaries -- and while doing so, not leaving a landmine field. As much as people like to resent, they actually cherish kindness.

Another important asterisk*: Frustration is a very relatable emotion, yet. It shouldn't raincloud a whole group of people for the 'normal' of whom a tent has been put? Us-and-Thems may look appealing -- any simple thing does -- but when that becomes the case, you are well-past any resolving and facing something worse and of leviathanical proportions. That amount of prejudice and disrespect must be fought on levels far exceeding capabilities of just some fandom homies just wanting themselves a cosy retreat. Doesn't excuse said homies' resentment -- and hence, contribution to the persisting issue they'd rather not have. An ouroboros, if you will.

[tseghoulfan]

what other ships you got? I'm curious now lmao

ok so I have one that's platonic and not romantic, and it's called Red Dead Savior. It's a platonic throuple for Ranboo, Nikki, and Hetch! Because all of them wear red, and can be best friends! It's a powerful friendship that lasts even past death! because Hetch cant die apperently!

I guess even if it was a fan made show, and not actually related to Showfall, Mai and Edgar did seem to have a history, and that always leads to some really amazing romantic potential! She's so obsessed and unable to forget about him and whoever he's around, I don't have a ship name for them yet, but it's got interesting possibilities!

Speaking of possibilities, that Iris cyborg robot thing and Mai would also be so cool. Mai being a mechanic, she could fix Iris up whenever she needed, in any way she needed it done. Painful or not as well if one of the robots malfunctions accidentally hurts Mai and they can pamper each other afterwards! Hmmmm~!

Jasper Rush and his bird Shadow would be a great ship too, not in terms of sexual relationship though, just because of how incredibly close the two were before Shadow sacrificed himself! Leaving behind his wings for Jasper to remember him by was so sweet!

Jasper Rush and Angus is also sort of a tragic type of ship. A vampire and a werewolf, especially both of them being gods changed by their ascensions! They cant ever see each other for very long, for fear of destabilization, but they'll always love each other and long for the others embrace!

Oh, also Bloodmagic! I think Jasper and Marvin the Magnificent would hit it off amazingly well. Both of them are such powerful beings, in different ways. Maybe Marvin would even pray to Jasper and make him his patron, get some special spells of his own from the death god himself, that's exclusive only to him and used only in very special circumstances~.

PuzzlerxRats, or PuzzlerxSneeg also hold my heart, but i don't really think about it as much as the others. I just think it's neat, that he'd choose to teach some rats how to be human, and would mend Sneegs broken heart after he learned his darling Frank was just a plastic toy skeleton.

Oh! Also, I think Carousel Fish would be an amazing dynamic as a ship. Everyone on the carousel just dating each other, the tragedy of them all one by one being picked by an unknown audiance, and losing the ones they love slowly over time. They'd see each other again, their love is ever spinning just like the thing they were tied to where they talked about fish the whole time, for what didnt seem to be the first time it was brought up either! They've talked about that sort of thing before, I'm sure, extensively!

Hmmm, I think that's most of them right now, at least until I get through most of the other shows on the website I have been meaning to binge. We'll see later what others I might think up!

[elfdragon12]

Ah, social media "dog experts"! I would never claim to be a dog expert myself, but I would like to say I've learned some. Or, rather, I don't immediately trust everyone acting like they're speaking fact.

For example, this person:

I fully agree with two of these points. Dogs do not understand concepts like right and wrong. Not all dogs are friendly and can adapt to every situation.

Everything else is... Hmmmm, debatable or not quite proven one way or the other.

Or it turns out this person is pointing at the wrong thing, as shown in the captions:

What this person is actually talking about is reasoning. The dog does remember the couch, but the dog cannot reason that you're yelling at them because of it. (This person turns off comments because "no one can read" and everyone arguing with them is only using anecdotal evidence. As if Instagram is the place to hold your scientific debate with sources.)

Also, a quick search does show that it is proven that dogs (and cats) have some form of long term memory. Here's from PetMD:

Anecdotally, if dogs don't have long term memory, then please explain how my dog remembers her BFF Odin the Rottweiler/Cane Corso mix despite not seeing him all winter or my mother, who she hadn't seen in months.

As for planning ahead, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of scientific studies regarding this, but there certainly are a lot of anecdotes. They are predators, which being a successful one does require some amount forethought. (Or maybe I just couldn't find the right studies.)

Lastly, for complex emotions, I believe the current belief is that a fully mature dog has the emotional complexity of a 2-2 and a half year old. Here's a chart I found:

So, yeah, dogs don't really experience a lot of complex emotions. Stubbornness is a behavioral trait, not an emotion though. I should know, considering how my dog will refuse to move from a spot when she wants to go a different direction (she is a shar pei/husky mix, that will happen). As for spite? Might wiggly, depending on how you define it. Dogs are certainly able to be *mad* at a person though, however. Like when I managed to clip my dog's nail and she got mad at me, refusing to come near until I "apologized" with an appropriate treat.

[i-stand-unshaken]

1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 20

1: I could be here all day, but to narrow it down to just one.... The dog. The myth. The Legend. THE WISHBONE.

2: Yuu Koito x Touko Nanami in Bloom Into You. I love these two with all my heart.

3: Well... I never watched The Mandalorian (and don't really plan to, for various reasons) but I'm sick of seeing Grogu/Baby Yoda everywhere. And speaking of Star Wars... Kylo fucking Ren. I've even seen people who dislike the Sequel Trilogy praise the character, but I'm sorry, he just fucking sucks. I'm pretty sure all the praise is because of Adam Driver's performance, and I can see it and feel so bad for the dude because he gave it his all, but they did him (and everyone else in those godawful movies) so, so dirty with those godawful scripts.

5: Hmm... I guess Touko Nanami. I haven't been through a major trauma like she has, but I too have severe issues with depression and self-loathing, and don't understand why anyone would like me. I just hope my story and self-esteem improves like it did for her.

6: Hmmmm! Lessee... there are several that remind me of one person I know. Twilight Sparkle, Daria Morgendorffer, Frankie Foster, Dib and Gaz Membrane... there's probably more I'm forgetting, but there's one person they remind me of. ;)

7: Hmm... Yuri Tamura from WataMote. We're quite similar and I'd love to just chill with her and watch movies with her, even those dark arty movies she seems to like ("BUFFALO 66!").

10: Limestone Pie from MLP? One of my favorite ponies, but I'm quite a lazy bastard, so we'd probably end up hating each other :'D

12: I'm not sure if "supposed to hate" is the right word since we were definitely intended to at least sympathize with her, but I've seen some fans hate on her (those people are wrong), so... Nanami Kiryuu from Revolutionary Girl Utena. My first impression of her was "Wow I don't like this bitch", and she can indeed be pretty horrible, but I quickly came to love her because she's such a hilarious bitch who fails harder than Tomoko Kuroki. And given a lot of what happens later in the show, yeah I also sympathize with her a lot.

20: Hmmm... one is definitely Batman. It's weird, I didn't read the comics or watch the movies (I DO vaguely remember catching part of Batman & Robin when my parents rented it, and I also remember it being this dark and serious film lmao), and didn't watch THAT much of The Animated Series, but Batman was the only superhero I really had a ton of action figures of. And years later, still my favorite superhero.

[astraltrain]

watching tommy's exile meeting vod from december 2nd, will update with things i find interesting as i watch

"if the roles were reversed, i wouldn't even think about exiling you" - tommy. haha foreshadowing for the actual exile haha

tommy: you have bees.

tubbo: i do have bees!

tommy: if they all died, that'd be fuckin...

tubbo: that'd be awful. probably all of humanity would die with them.

...

"i am addressing the elephant in the room, which is me. although i am not the size of an elephant. in height i am! not in weight. if i was the size of an elephant though -" *laughs* "if i was stretchy, this world would be real different right now." what goes on in tommyinnit's mind.

tommy preemptively preparing everyone for him to fuck up the meeting and no one listening... tommy knowing he was going to ruin it for himself and knowing he'd somehow let tubbo down.... fuuuuuck

tubbo: minutes man, we summon you!

ranboo, materializing in the seat next to tubbo with a book and quill in hand: hey

tommy: what the FUCK,

we all talk about wilbur's acting with his facecam, but tommy does it a lot too. the way he rolls his eyes and shakes his eyes with a confident smirk every time dream speaks, the way he looks shocked when things go wrong. goddamn

jack manifold watching the whole meeting, listening the whole time, just following them around with very little input. hmmmm

he was taunting him. the fucker knew

tubbo desperately wanted a way out for tommy. he wanted to give him probation to escape whatever dream had planned. he never ever wanted to do what he had to do.

dream: "tommy, let the adults speak." hmm, sounds familiar... almost like a line techno would repeat almost exactly a month later, when talking with dream about the favour.

he was taunting him the whole meeting. trying to provoke tommy into snapping.

"this isn't some "insanity arc," i'm not following down wilbur's path!" ouch ok tommy

the way tubbo's voice flattened in tone when he said "you're speaking out of line." he knew tommy had fucked it from the moment he brought out spirit.

god, the second it seemed tommy knew what he was doing, fundy and quackity were on his side. tubbo was the only one who remained serious the whole time, knowing dream had something up his sleeve.

everyone turning on tubbo the second it seemed like they were winning because he was the only one to realize something was wrong. fuck, man

"i don't give a FUCK about spirit." holy shit way to pop off with the voice acting???

the fact that c!tommy genuinely can't imagine being unable to care about things because himself and c!dream are such polar opposites when it comes to attachment. tommy loves with ALL his heart, he cares so deeply and so warmly and so fiercely. dream cares for nothing unless it gives him an edge, an advantage. that's why tommy was certain that holding spirit's remains over dream would help them win. he couldn't picture being unable to care about anything.

"l'manberg can be independent, but l'manberg can't be free." *dream leaves the call.* DANGGGG

tubbo, very softly and calmly: "tommy. you had one job." hoooly shit

the way tubbo snapped at quackity and fundy and began to argue with them while tommy zoned out and stared at dream as he began to extend the walls upwards in disbelief. god

"you couldn't do one thing for me! you couldn't do one! you couldn't do one thing, and it was for your own good! so yeah, if the roles were reversed, you probably wouldn't have exiled me - because i would have actually listened! i would have had a couple ounces of respect! ... you've messed this up for no one but yourself." *pause* "you're selfish." c!tubbo.... :stress:

RANBOO STANDING UP FOR TOMMY???? RANBOO SPINE ARC??????

"tubbo, you said that tommy was selfish. that he doesn't care about anyone else. that's not true. i robbed george's house too. i did it with him. but in court, he said that it was just him. he could have pinned the blame on me, he could have said it was me, there was evidence it was me - but he didn't. he's not selfish. he can't be selfish. me and tommy robbed george's house. we didn't mean for it to burn. we didn't want to burn anything down." HOLY FUCK WHY HAVE I NEVER SEEN THIS SCENE BEFORE

tommy: tubbo, you can't become what you hate. you can't become the next schlatt. if you exile me, you're following in that man's footsteps.

tubbo: .. ok. well, if i can't be the next schlatt, you can't be the next wilbur.

ouch

tommy: the only thing dream wants is the one thing i care about. *realizes, glances at ranboo* well, not the one thing.

tubbo, deadpan: mhm. the one thing you care about.

literal chills from tubbo's voice acting what the FUCK

"what do YOUUU think, connoreatspants?" ok now we're onto the lighter stuff thank god hakshsksjk

fundy: so if eventually the people choose not to exile tommy... what happens to l'manberg?

tubbo, about to come up with a serious answer: i guess -

tommy: it gets fucking simpsons movie'd, bro, we get boxed in

tubbo, immediately breaking character: I LOVE THAT MOVIE

tommy: this guy's a wrongun, ranboo.

techno, literally just vibing: •_•

tommy explaining server history to ranboo? telling ranboo that techno was at fault for the crater of l'manberg? wuh oh

"wilbur died in action, so he didn't live long enough to face the consequences." o h

tommy taking ranboo to the bench to watch the moon go down, not turning to see the sunrise like usual. hey i could make symbolism out of this

TOMMY THANKING RANBOO FOR STICKING UP FOR HIM.... ALLIUMDUO REAL

c!tommy has nightmares about wilbur, huh. interesting interesting interesting interesting

"i knew that if tubbo was president... it would pull us apart, ranboo." IMAGE OF A CAT CRYING HERE

ranboo and connor's first meeting being tommy getting ranboo to help him evict connor from his house hsksbskdjsk

connor: "never trust a british man. that's what my parents taught me, in the 1800s." IMMORTAL CONNOR HAS ALWAYS BEEN REAL WE WERE ALL SO BLIND

LITTLE PENIS LAND

FJDKDHDK JACK APPEARING TO ADVERTISE MANIFOLD LAND

"hey jack you've actually just been exiled from this land here" "no" I FORGOT HOW FUNNY THESE TWO WERE

monkaS

tommy: i've never seen dream that angry.

ranboo: well, this is the first time i've actually ever heard him speak

tommy: oh

OH MY GOD WAS THIS THE DAY THAT TUBBO MADE THE JOKE ABOUT C!WILBUR BEING DEAD TO FUNDY AND HE ENDED STREAM AND LEFT BAHAHAHA

"this is a very wide taco stand" i love dream smp lore

"i don't wanna go. there is no wilbur anymore. i'm on my own. i don't want to be on my own." OK NEVERMIND GO BACK TO THE TACO STAND LORE

wow ok that really was just IT, huh. what the hell man that was heartbreaking

in conclusion. ouch

[heady-senpai]

One Piece 955: Enma

I took all day to write this up just so much to talk about from this chapter!

Let me just start by saying what a chapter!! 8.75/10

I was not expecting it to drop a day early & had no idea what to expect of this chapter until I saw the title...Enma 🤔😏

First things first. I believe Bege & company just stumbled upon Dressrosa. He mentioned they were stopping there for supplies. I wonder if any Straw Hat supporters are still around and if a conversation will strike up about Luffy.

------

Ok now to the chapter...

It starts off with Hiyori telling Zoro & Kawamatsu that she will not meet up with the rest of the alliance in order to not stir unneccessary emotions before the battle. Her brother stated this before so it wasn't a surprise. What surprised me was that Kawamatsu told the rest of the Scabbards that Hiyori was still alive & well.

I guess it's a morale booster but I have this weird feeling that something bad will happen to her now that everyone knows she's ok.

A couple random facts about Hiyori:

• She puts up a coarse attitude but is actually a crybaby

• She was a Tomboy who didn't typically speak refined & politely

(So funny how Momo was like, "A flying kick from someone 18yrs older would really hurt." Lol ik the struggle of being terrorized by a little sister hahah)

Now we get to the crazy good stuff!!!

O-Kiku might be one of the MVPs for finding the randomly lost Nidai Kitetsu. I had no idea where it was. Thought Kaido must've done something with it when Luffy was thrown into the Udon Prison Mines like kept it in a storage within the prison or something. Zoro states that he knew it was a Meito (famous/named blade) I guess with Sandai at his side he could feel the cursed vibes.

Rarely does Oda show us the actual tying of loose ends.

I guess Hiyori didn't go off to retrieve Enma & Orochi doesn't have Ame no Habakiri...Hitetsu Tenguyama had them both the whole time. That's why he had been patiently awaiting the return of the Kozuki Family.

I love every aspect of the design especially the sheath.

Seems as if both swords are of the same grade level as Shusui, O Wazamono, 21 Great Grade Swords. So Zoro won't be getting one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords, Saijo O Wazamono, just yet and I'm fine with that.

Hitetsu tells Zoro only Oden was ever able to tame Enma & ODEN MUST'VE BEEN A BEAST because this sword is crazzyyyyy powerful. Kin'emon even said he himself would not even want to take the blade.

When testing out the sword Zoro tried to cut a tree but ended up cut off part of the cliff/island they were all on! Just insane lmao like I was not expecting that much of a power boost at all!

In the next panel we see the blade going black, coating in haki as Zoro's arm is also clad in haki, but looks drained & frail.

(Sanji's face was hilarious but damn I feel his pain lol Sanji is my favorite Straw Hat & just got a power boost now Zoro's power up makes Sanji's Raid Suit, look not as powerful so I have mixed feelings hahhaha but I love reading Zoro moments.)

So the thing with Enma is that it draws out its wielders haki to maximum extremes by itself. Any average sword wielder would've been drained completely and left dead.

Typically we've seen Zoro have swords with minds of their own but this one is just on another level.

Zoro yells for the sword to give him back his Ryou and takes it all back. Then we get that crazy Zoro smile like he knows this is going to be a challenge to tame the blade but he's ready to take that on to become even stronger. Hitetsu asks Zoro does he want another sword & obviously Zoro says he's keeping Enma, further impressing Kawamatsu.

[Now the text heavy part because I don't want to make 2 seperate posts for this review and want to only use my favorite images from the chapter]

Robin, Ashura Doji, & Kin'emon are discussing the sheer numbers that the alliance and their opposition have. Seems as if there will be approx. 30,000 enemies on Onigashima vs their 4000.

We then get quick panels of :

Franky yelling at his workers to prepare the boat to hold 10,000 men

(made me think hmmm Straw Hat Grand Fleet's over 5000 + the 4000+ men they already have...maybeeeee *Spongebob voice)

Luffy practicing Ryuo in Gear 4th stating that he used too much physical force

Zoro and Momo training in the forest and Zoro states an old man from his village is where he first heard Sunnachi (Snatch) & this surprises Momo.

With two days left before the raid Chopper, O-Tama, and Luffy return to meet with everyone else & the Yakuza bosses have added another 200 men to the resistance's ranks. (~4200 vs ~30,000)

Kin'emon states there hasn't been any word from Law (it's been a few days since he's been free & still hasn't contacted the group....hmmmm)

Silly Shinobu tells Kin'emon to forget about Law and Chopper has to speak some truth like hey Law is super strong. Law clearly makes a substantial difference, he's a cheat code in most situations!

There are still many men locked up in the Capital that wish to fight. I'm guessing only a few hundred more but still any help matters at this point. We also get to see many of the Wano townspeople discussing Yasu's encrypted message. Of course some still don't have faith but they will be proved wrong.

The alliance splits into its respective groups with the Scabbards, Shinobu, and Momo headed to the harbor, meeting Luffy there later.

The literature used here to describe the Scabbards and their shadows as the walked was magnificent. I also loved how the spelling for frost was shimo as in Shimotsuki. 🤔🤔

We see Pedro's & Lord Yasu's grave in the graveyard of Oden & his retainers. We also see Wanda & O-Toko shedding tears at theory loved one's graves. Carrot looks hardened & ready to go.

Hitetsu reveals to Zoro that he was the bladesmith of the Sandai Kitetsu. And states Enma & the Sandai cannot be wielded by the weak. Hitetsu also reveals why Zoro has had a quick take to Enma: the bladesmith who made Enma also created Zoro's main sword, the Wado Ichimonji. It was crafted by Yusaburo Shimotsuki, who fled Wano illegally over 50 years ago. Hiyori probably saw what swords Zoro held (Shusui, Wado Ichimonji, & Sandai Kitetsu) and decided he was worthy of her father's keepsake.

I just cannot believe that Hitetsu said that IN ZORO'S HANDS ENMA COULD RISE IN RANK & BECOME A BLACK BLADE! So then would it become O Saijo Wazamono???? Hmmmm I wonder.

It seems like Luffy has gotten a hell of a lot stronger! Didn't even get close to the tree and destroyed it from the other side (almost reminded me of that scene in Naruto when him and Sasuke battled on the roof of the hospital haha if you know you knowwww)

Law is definitely not the traitor. Like it's too obvious. Simply because Oda telegraphed this traitor vibe a couple times;I swear he's just messing with us.

Will Kyoshiro be revealed to be Denjiro soon?

I just wonder how Orochi found out this info.

And now we get a closing to Act II.

Just an epic chapter.

I swear Oda is hinting that Zoro may be a descendant/relative of the Shimotsuki family along with his teacher Koushirou.

Could even be a family tree like Hinata/Neji but I'm probably reaching there. Very interesting how bits and pieces of his past is flashed in front of us.

I guess only time will tell, but I bet Koushirou's father was Yusaburo Shimotsuki.

[elliotlikespuke]

Requesting a sick Nico? I don't care with what, I just want to boy to suffer. Please and thank you!

Hooooo boy I made him suffer. The good news about this is that it’s not likely contagious, but the bad news is that it’s probably bacterial meningitis. Normal flus don’t really cause this level of confusion. Boy was it fun to write this though. I really love the whole idea of “voyeurism” in terms of sickfics, having people watch a caretaker and a sickie, especially if the sickie would be embarrassed about it if they were coherent. Also I’m such such such a sucker for medic Will being a whole-ass medic and taking care of people in a practical way (not just a demigod magic kind of way).

You can probably tell that I’m hmmmm, pretty rusty at this whole “writing” thing.

Warnings: puke and rambling and reaaaaal rusty writing skills

“How long has he been like this?” Will’s voice rang out through the near-silent apartment. Nico was leaning on the back of the couch, either asleep or close to it. Sally sat on one side of him, Percy on the other. The Iris message was beginning to shimmer. Swearing, Percy threw in another drachma. 

“This is the third day,” Sally replied. “Well, the third day of throwing up. He just had a fever and a headache before then.”

Nico’s head lolled to the side on the couch, almost touching Sally’s shoulder. She put an arm up to guide it the rest of the way down, petting his hair and checking his forehead as she went. 

“He’s still burning up.”

“And he’s not keeping anything down?” Will’s voice was becoming tighter, more fraught with anxiety. He shifted on the desk chair he was sitting in. 

“Nothing.” Will’s reaction was making it hard for him to stay calm. After all the danger Nico had dealt with, this was what had Will worried? 

Will paused and looked towards something Percy couldn’t see. He mouthed something, and shook his head. “Uhh, okay. If he refuses to go to a hospital could you bring him here? I know it’s a long drive but I can only assume he’s dangerously dehydrated and—”

“We’ll do it,” Annabeth piped up from out of Will’s view. “It’s only a few hours. And we’ll speed.”

“Haul ass,”  Percy agreed, nodding. 

Will ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. I’ll see you soon.” 

Percy took a moment to think. Nico was in bad shape, still leaning against his mom and looking as pale as Percy had ever seen him. Annabeth was practically vibrating, getting things ready for a two-hour car trip. Paul was standing between the kitchen and the living room, holding a handful of plastic bags in case Nico needed them. Sally, bless her, was running her hands through Nico’s hair with a decidedly worried expression painted across her features. 

Percy caught his mom’s eye across the sofa. 

“I’m coming with you,” she said. Percy was going to protest, but as soon as he opened his mouth she said, “and that’s final. It’s snowy, and I’m a better driver than both of you.” 

For once, Annabeth didn’t complain about having her abilities questioned. Percy stood, and worked on getting Nico into a standing position. He hooked one of his arms around his shoulders and lifted. Nico was lighter than he expected. Between having no excess weight and having vomited for three days, he was rail thin. 

Percy had never been gladder that his parents had moved to a building with an elevator. It made the eight-flight journey while half-carrying a 15-year-old easier for everyone involved. Navigating the snow was harder. Over Christmas, the sidewalks had hardly been plowed, making their trek to the car frustrating for both of them. Nico, who just wanted to lie down, moaned incoherently until he was in the backseat of Paul’s Prius with Percy buckling his seatbelt.

Nico fell asleep almost immediately once they were on the road, his head propped against the foggy window. The peace only lasted the first half hour.

Nico’s bleary eyes cracked open. His head fell to one side and then shot up straight, suddenly alert. 

“‘m gonna throw up,” he murmured, his voice hoarse with sleep and sickness. He put one hand to his mouth and the other flailed, looking for one of the bags Paul had packed for them.

“Fuck! Hold on!” There was a rustling noise as Annabeth tried to free one of the bags from the tangle of them at her feet. Nico made a muffled, urgent sound against his hand and grabbed for the button on the car door. While his window rolled down, Sally slowed to a stop on the side of the highway. Before it was all the way down, Nico lurched. It was the closest to projectile vomiting he had come since he’d been sick. He barely managed to make it out the window while he sprayed sick from his chapped lips. He let his head fall, and it hung limply as he retched, painting the Prius with yellow bile. Between painful sounding retches, Nico gasped for air. The difficulty of simply breathing was audible. 

Percy looked anywhere but beside him, unlike Sally, who was staring at Nico’s back with pursed lips. 

“Pat his back,” she whispered to Percy. Percy was certain Nico was going to recoil at his touch. But then he didn’t. He continued to heave for another few minutes, with Percy rubbing his back. Even through the thick knit sweater (donated by Paul when Nico had started shivering with fever), Percy could feel every vertebra. Most horribly, he could feel Nico’s taut back muscles tensing, and hardly ever releasing long enough for him to relax.

When all was said and done, Nico brought his head back into the car and collapsed against the headrest. 

“Sorry,” he whispered. His voice was broken by the gurgling is his throat. Annabeth passed him a water bottle from the front seat. “It won’t stay down.”

“I know, but it’ll get the taste out of your mouth.” 

Nico fumbled with the cap for a moment before passing it to Percy, who cracked it with ease. Passing it back to Nico, he caught the blush on Nico’s cheeks. The needy, vulnerable Nico was new to both of them. 

With Nico back in the car, they set off again. Nico kept his eyes closed, but Percy was fairly sure he was awake and trying to coax himself into not being sick again. The rapid movements of his Adam’s apple gave him away. 

Percy wished they could turn on some music, or at least that he could join in Sally and Annabeth’s conversation, but they were speaking so quietly he could barely hear. The rest of the drive passed slowly with nothing to do but play games on his phone. Every few minutes, Nico would cough weakly, and Percy could hear the rattling breath in his lungs trying to escape. It was a pitiful sight.

Finally, they arrived at the base of the hill. Getting Nico out of the car was a harder matter altogether, and Percy had to wrap his hand in a plastic bag to avoid touching the bile now frozen to the door. Halfway up the hill, Kayla met them.

“Want some help?” She didn’t wait for an answer before she grabbed Nico’s other arm and helped Percy march him towards the infirmary. Sally and Annabeth were continuing their conversation behind him, though he couldn’t hear what they were saying over his and Kayla’s panting and the groans from the sick boy suspended between them.

Percy wondered idly if Sally had ever seen the infirmary. It had been updated even since Percy had last been there. Nico had told him it now boasted a tv that Will had fought for, claiming that boredom was pushing people out of the infirmary faster than they should be leaving. Percy suspected it was mostly for the staff’s benefit. 

Despite the lack of snow inside the campgrounds, the wind was still biting. Nico had thrown off his coat in the car, and he shivered so violently Percy thought he might drop him. 

Standing in the door of the infirmary was Will, his arms crossed over his chest to shield him from the cold. He wore blue scrubs, as he usually did when he was in the infirmary. The colour of the uniform set off his eyes, as did the red rim around them. The late hour seemed to hit Percy all at once. It was past midnight.

The group trudged over the threshold, and Kayla pulled Nico, and Percy with him, towards a bed. Will followed behind, trying his best to move with purpose and not look like a lost puppy. 

“Hey guys,” Will greeted belatedly. “Merry Christmas.”

There was a chorus of ‘Merry Christmas’ around the infirmary, and Will turned to Sally. 

“I’m Will, uh, by the way.” 

“We iris messaged a few hours ago.” Sally smiled back at him. He looked temporarily embarrassed until Sally said, “but it’s good to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“All good I hope?”

“All good.”

Will didn’t seem to hear the answer. Once Nico was lying in the bed, everything else seemed to fade away from Will’s vision. He strode over to the bedside to pull two rubber gloves from a box against the wall, and pulled over a rolling chair. 

“Kayla can you get, uh, a one litre bag of saline and a secondary bag of acetaminophen drip? I’m going to do an IV.”

Kayla nodded, happy to be bossed out of the room. Behind the curtains was crowded, and she didn’t think she could stand an awkward meeting-the-family moment between her brother and his boyfriend’s aunt.

“Hey,” Will said quietly to Nico. He grunted, but didn’t open his eyes. Will pursed his lips. He seemed all too aware of the eyes of everyone on the back of him, and his neck prickled uncomfortably. 

“Hey,” he tried again. “Can you open your eyes?”

Nico’s eyes fluttered open, and Will rushed to praise him. “Can you squeeze my fingers?”

Will slipped two of his fingers into Nico’s hand. Through the gloves he could feel how clammy they were. “Go ahead, break my fingers.” Nico smiled weakly and gave a watery cough. “There. You got it.”

Will brow was furrowed, but Nico’s was utterly relaxed for the first time since he’d begun vomiting. He pulled his fingers out of Nico’s hand and Nico whined. Everyone in the room, bar Nico and Will, glanced around uncomfortably. It seemed an intrusion to see them like this. 

Will reached a hand into a drawer by the bedside and drew out an infrared thermometer. The infirmary had gained some new toys since Will had become head medic apparently. There was no chance these were Chiron’s ideas. The worry was palpable in Will’s voice when he announced to the room, “104.3. Has he had any fever reducers?” 

“He threw up every time we tried to give him any.” Sally’s voice was taking on Will’s anxiety. 

Kayla came back into the room, holding several clear bags of liquid. She deposited them easily on a tray and slid it beside Will, drawing over an IV pole. 

“Get some cooling blankets.” Will’s voice had become harder, his medic side lashing out. He set to work cleaning the inside of Nico’s wrist and sliding a needle into a vein. His lower lip was held tightly between his teeth as he worked. Nico protested as valiantly as he could, which ended up being another whine and a slight shift of his arm, which was unable to move much in Will’s vice-like grip. He quickly arranged the IV tubing like he had done it a hundred times before which, Percy thought, he probably had. 

“It’s a good thing he’s so out of it for that. He usually fights tooth and nail when he has to get a needle,” Will was saying as Kayla entered the room.

“Usually Will can’t do it himself because Nico needs him to hold his hand.”

“More like break my hand.” 

The group smiled, except for Will, who remained as tightly wound as ever, staring at the tiny body on the infirmary bed. Kayla arranged the cooling blankets around Nico while Will turned to Percy, Annabeth, and Sally, who were still standing at the end of the bed holding their coats.

“Might as well sit down,” Will told them. “He’s going to be here for a while.”

Graciously, everyone sat down. While Will and Kayla debated over treatment options and tests, Sally looked at Nico. He was still sweaty, his eyelids fluttering now that Will was not touching him. She wondered just how long they’d been like this, able to calm each other with only a touch. Given reports by Percy and Annabeth, and vigorously refuted by Nico, it had been almost instantaneous from the moment they were friends. It was no surprise to Sally they had ended up together.

“He seems to know what he’s doing,” Sally whispered to Annabeth, who nodded.

“He’s got a gift. He modernized everything here. He’s doing good things.” 

Sally realized something suddenly and interrupted Will mid-conversation with his sister. 

“Why haven’t you given him any nectar or ambrosia?” She hadn’t meant for it to sound accusatory. Luckily Will, with all his preoccupations, didn’t seem to notice and took the question in stride.

“He shouldn’t consume anything orally until we get his stomach under control. Plus, it’s a fifty-fifty shot if those will work on sicknesses. They work great on injuries, but sometimes it’s not enough. That, and it raises your body temperature. Nico’s brain is already being boiled inside his skull, and to give him anything like that might give him permanent brain damage.”

Him and Kayla looked at each other quickly and without a word she handed him a pen from the pocket of her scrubs. Will pushed himself towards Nico and clicked the pen. For one stupid moment, Percy was sure it was going to turn into a sword. Instead, a bright light appeared on the end. 

“Nico, can you open your eyes?” It was shocking to hear Will speak like that. He was all business, ordering Kayla to fetch him things or telling everyone to sit down, but his voice softened considerably and took on a cooing quality when he addressed his boyfriend.

Nico groaned. He as if he were swimming through hot jello. Every one of his muscles seemed to weight twenty times what it usually did, and the thought of opening his eyes made him want to sob. Gingerly, he opened one eye, just as he had done before. He had done it before, right?

“Are you experiencing light sensitivity?” Will asked him. Nico could hardly respond, so he groaned. Will slid a thumb onto Nico’s eyelid and held it open, shining the light into it. Nico could feel his eye watering from the wasted effort of closing it against Will’s thumb. After what felt like an hour of a knife being pushed directly into his right eye, Will switched to the other one. 

“Pupillary response is normal and equal,” he said to Kayla. He turned to the rest of them. “That’s a good sign. It means that his brain is still responding correctly to certain stimuli, which means that there’s little chance of damage.”

He sat back in his chair, dropping his face into his hands for only a moment before he heard a choking noise. Sally yelped, and stood to help. He looked towards Nico, who was trying (and failing) to swallow back his gags. Acting on a whim, Will grabbed Nico’s shoulder and rolled him towards himself, placing one hand on his back and the other in his hair while Nico’s gags finally became productive. He coughed, splattering Will’s scrubs with bile. After a gasping breath, he heaved again. This time the sick dribbled out of his mouth and onto the pillow below his head, coating his cheek in it too.  He burped sickly and gave a great, groaning cough. 

Will, who had been murmuring encouragements to him the whole time, grabbed a tissue from beside the bed and began wiping his mouth. Nico didn’t seem to notice. He just kept mumbling, “I don’t want to throw up anymore. Please make it stop. Make it stop. Please.”

Percy’s heart broke for him. He shouldn’t mention this to Nico when he was coherent, or he’d probably be turned to stone with a single glare, but despite the awful situation, seeing Nico being looked after filled him with comfort. He had spent so long being alone and uncared for. As long as Will was around, he’d never have to face that again.