#this fic grabbed me in a chokehold until I finished writing it (real)

[isjeonginsoup]

Double Surprise!!! Sike you thought I'd procrastinate for another month didn't you!!!!! (is currently vibrating)

Yes, this is the 24k one. Honestly don't know where it came from, but gee, there was a lot of it. So. Yeah. Enjoy?

[ur-jinji]

wallflowers: part two

zuko x reader modern au

warning: sokka throws up a lot. sokka always ends up throwing up in my fics

summary: after a night at a party with the gaang and meeting zuko, you join them for breakfast and find time alone with him

a/n: i had no intention of writing a sequel & left part one off with a little bit of cliffhanger just for the fun of it but i got like two comments asking for a part two and i was like damn i feel like i owe it to yall for ending it like that,, so here you go :) i don’t really know how to feel about it

Unknown: hey :) it’s zuko

Your eyes widened at your phone in surprised.

‘He actually texted me,’ You thought to yourself in awe.

“What are you smiling about?” Katara questioned from the drivers seat of the car. She raised an eyebrow and a very smug smirk was wiped across her face.

“Uh, nothing,” You lied before turning back to your phone. You stared at the message for a moment, your fingers stuck. Why were you so nervous to text him back?

You: hey :) how’s the party?

Zuko: really boring now that you’re gone :( aang and i just went up to the guest room for bed. everyone started to leave

You smiled softly.

You: you’re so sweet!!

Zuko: i heard we might go to breakfast tomorrow. will you be there?

“We’re going to breakfast?” You asked Katara.

“Yeah, once they all rise from the dead. Sokka and Suki will probably be the ones most screwed up tomorrow,” She replied, causing you to laugh and nod in agreement.

You: yeah i’ll be there :)

Zuko: good :) see you then

You put your phone back into your pocket and could not stop smiling. Butterflies were swarming in your stomach. You eventually made it to Suki’s apartment, and you and Katara had to practically drag them inside. Once you tucked them into bed, you made yourself comfy on the couch in the living room. You pulled your phone out of your pocket and saw another text.

Zuko: did you make it to suki’s okay??

You: yes :) thanks for asking. we had to put sokka and suki to bed. i think theyll be out for the rest of the night so no funny business haha

Zuko: just give it a minute

Just a moment after Zuko sent that text, you started to hear a consistent creaking of a mattress coming from the other room

You: oh my god you’re right they’re going at it

You: i don’t even know how lmao they were knocked out a second ago

Zuko: i’ve suffered through many long nights in the same house as them. they always find a way -.-

You: god theyre animals lmfao

You: i’m gonna get some sleep, you should too!!

Zuko: okay, sleep well :)

You: you too :)

You awoke the next morning with a sliver of sunshine from the mostly closed curtains shining brightly directly on your face. It was sometime around noon. You rubbed your eyes tiredly and noticed a sound from the bathroom that sounded like gagging. You were suddenly very thankful you only had one drink the previous night. If it weren’t for Zuko, you probably would’ve had more.

You stood from the couch and followed the noise of gags. The door was wide open and you could see Sokka leant over the toilet. You walked towards him, concerned.

“Hey, buddy. Want me to get you some water?” You offered kindly as you placed a hand on his back, rubbing circles. He looked up at you with a look of disgust on his face and nodded slowly.

“I don’t know how Suki does it. She’s perfectly fine,” He mumbled before burping and leaning back over the toilet. Some vomit came up. Gross.

You made your way to the kitchen where you saw Suki, all readied up, pretty, and ready to go.

“Hey, Y/N! How did you sleep?” She chirped. She handed you a water bottle for Sokka, already knowing.

“I slept good. The couch was very comfy,” Yoh replied with a smile.

“I didn’t mean to get so trashed last night. Did I do anything embarrassing?” Suki asked.

“Nope. Sokka on the other hand...” You responded, gaining a laugh from her. Katara appeared in the kitchen and greeted the two of you. She also looked ready to go. You felt embarrassed that you were the last one up.

“I’ll go get ready real quick!” You told them before speed walking from the kitchen. You bee lined to the bathroom and gave Sokka his water.

“Thanks,” He muttered sickly.

“I’m gonna get ready in here while you puke, mkay?” You told him. He nodded and took a long drink of water. He fell backwards onto the tile floor and stared miserably up at the sealing. You went over to the vanity and rushed to get ready using Suki’s things and an extra toothbrush she left for you. As you ran a brush through your hair, you heard Sokka scramble to get back up and upchuck into the toilet some more. You finished up getting ready and made your way out of the bathroom.

You joined the girls on the couch in the living room and chatted for a while until Sokka was able to hold down his vomit. He appeared in the living room and stared miserably at the three of you.

“Don’t you look pretty,” Katara teased. “Now let’s go. Aang, Toph, and Zuko just got to the diner.”

The four of you made your way out to the car and you somehow got stuck in the back with Sokka. He looked like he was about throw up all over you.

“Suki, I hate you for calling shotgun,” You told her. She turned around from the passenger seat and giggled.

“I’m not about to be thrown up on!” She reasoned.

Sokka grumbled something incoherent and then rested his head on the window, closing his eyes. Maybe if he does throw up, he’ll just do it on the floor? Maybe.

You arrived at the diner without any puke on you and you all made your way inside. Aang waved you over at a large table when he saw the group walk in. Your eyes landed on Zuko, who had already noticed you. He smiled warmly. He was seated at the very end of the table with Toph on the other side of him. You took a seat across from him, and Suki sat beside you. You were grateful Sokka didn’t sit by you.

“Hi, Y/N,” Zuko greeted you from across the table. You greeted him back, adding a grin. You looked over the menu to busy yourself. You felt yourself becoming very nervous again in Zuko’s presence, and feeling his gaze on you didn’t help.

“You’re lucky we’re in public, snoozles. I’m ready to put you into another chokehold,” You heard Toph say, presumably to Sokka, earning laughs from the rest of the group.

The table’s waitress came over and took everyone’s orders and then proceeded to say that it may take longer because the kitchen was super backed up. Your stomach grumbled loudly in response.

“God, I’m so hungry,” You said when she walked away.

“Me too,” Sokka said moodily from the other end of the table.

“I’m surprised you even want to eat!” Katara replied to him.

“Do you think you can wait?” Zuko asked.

“I mean, I have to,” You said with a chuckle, thinking you were stating the obvious.

“I have a granola bar in my car if you want it?” He offered softly to you, nudging your shoe with his.

“Really? I wouldn’t mind having one. I’m literally starving,” You responded, ready to jump out of your seat to get the dang thing.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Zuko said as he got up from his chair. You followed him out of the diner and into the parking lot, making small talk on the way to his car. Once you arrived at the destination, he opened the cardoor and fished a granola bar from his school backpack.

“I always have an emergency snack just in case for...y’know...emergencies,” He explained, his voice sounding anxious. You thanked him and ripped that sucker open. You split it in half and handed a half out to him.

“Please share it with me! I don’t want to spoil my entire appetite on accident,” You begged him.

Zuko grabbed the other half and then leaned against the door, munching on his half. You joined him against the door and looked up at him.

“So, did Sokka and Suki keep you up?” He asked.

“Not really. It was quickie,” You answered with a chuckle.

“You’re lucky. They kept me up for two hours once. It was awful,” He said, breathing out a shaky laugh. His nerves were becoming more and more obvious. “I’m not as bold as I was last night.”

“Well, the nickname liquid courage might explain it,” You joked.

“Wanna go for a walk?” Zuko asked with a hopeful expression. You nodded in response and the two of you began a trek out of the parking walk and down some sidewalk. The two of you spent the time sharing stories about your past and friends. You couldn’t help but notice how every so often, his hand would accidentally brush against your knuckles as you walked, causing a few blushes. You ended up at a large mural on the side of an abandoned bricked building on an empty street. It depicted the city abstractly. You looked up in admiration.

“We don’t have very many murals in my town. Just graffiti of random names,” You said to him. “It’s beautiful.”

You walked up to the mural, and as you got closer to the bricks, you reached out a hand, touching the paint gently, and running your fingers down the bricks. Zuko copied you, and his hand accidentally got a little too close to yours. His index finger lightly grazed your pinky. You both froze for a moment, taking in the rush that the contact gave. Zuko turned to you with a soft expression, which you returned.

“We should probably head back. Our food might be ready,” You said, nerves taking over you. You pulled your hand away from the bricks.

“Wait,” Zuko told you hurriedly. “I’ll regret not doing this.”

Before you could ask him what he meant, his hands found their way under your cheekbones. Zuko leaned forward and his eyes fluttered shut. His lips touched yours, causing a rush to race throughout your body. You immediately kissed him back, feeling like you’ve been deprived of his touch all your life. His lips moved quickly against yours like it was urgent. You opened your mouth slightly, welcoming his tongue, which seemed more than happy to enter. You eventually pulled away to catch your breath, both of you panting heavily. Zuko smirked and then leaned in for one more quick kiss, then another, then another, then another, pulling away for a second inbetween each one.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been wanting to do that since last night, but didn’t want to give you the wrong idea. I just really like you,” Zuko explained through his deep breaths. You grinned and pulled him back in for more to tell him you felt the same way. You eventually separated again, and you shared a smile with him.

“I like you too, Zuko. You replied, caressing his cheek, smiling and breathing out one final deep breath. “Let’s head back before our food gets cold.”

Zuko nodded with a small opened mouth smile. The two of you began your walk back, and he surprised you again by taking your hand in his, entwining your fingers.

As you walked back, you couldn’t help but think about transferring colleges.

-

taglist: @complainsalot @teelagurl558 @coldlilheart

[uponrightful]

Hi! I’ve just finished Welcome Company-it was so good, your writing is amazing! I have a question about one of the last scenes if that’s OK? Partly about Pups point of view, because a lot of what happened to her post Order 66 is clearly in her mind, but seems to read differently emotionally later if that makes sense? I’d also like to know why you decided to include the scene of Pup having to fight one last time. -RebelMedic99

“Wolffe! Please!” She sobbed through the pain and fear, whimpering when the kid pulled her own arm around her throat, locking in a chokehold she was unable to break from. He laughed dryly in her ear, yanking on her broken wrist to elicit another scream.

“He’s not coming back you little slut.” He fell into another fit of laughter, “And even if he did you’ll be so used he won’t even want to look at you.” His evil words cut right through her. She was already broken, and yet another piece was about to be taken, and smashed on the floor right in front of her. She felt the pain of his remarks, feeling just as useless as he’d appraised.

She wanted to fight anyways.

The pain in her wrist didn’t subside, but it wasn’t going to stop until she got his filthy hands off her. And without that blaster, she really didn’t have a chance at getting off the ship, or keeping the ship safe until Wolffe got back. She struggled to keep her breath even, fighting to pull her broken wrist out of his grasp so she could get free.

Think fast…

Get him off guard…

“You really want me?” She choked out, wincing from the abrasive words cutting at her tongue. If he was that young, there was a chance he’d fall for it and drop the -hopefully- act long enough for her to grab the upper hand.

“You’re a fucking slut! Already turning towards the closest man you can get in your pants!” He snarled, yanking her wrist again. The girl held back her cry, again repeating the question for him, praying it would make a bigger impact this time.

“I’ll behave. I promise.” She faked convincingly enough through her tears. The kid’s grip faltered just for a second before retaining its unflinching need to inflict pain again. Yet, by miracle, he released her wrist and stepped back with the blaster dropped down at his side. Miraculously, his anger suddenly disappeared, and a look of disbelief came over him.

“Pick me.” He ordered harshly, as she turned to face him.

Everything moved so quickly.

Commentary Track for Welcome Company

Copy 500 words -or more- of any of my fics and I’ll give my thoughts/rambles on what was going through my head -or the character’s- when I wrote it!

*send one in here*

This one is challenging, but we'll see if I can explain it without sounding like a complete dumbass... 😅

***

We'll start with addressing her emotional shift towards Order 66 first, and that will help set up the reasoning why she had this "last stand" at the end. (This won't be from her POV, it'll make things a little simpler.)

Pup's true knowledge of what Order 66 is comes in small bits and pieces after she flees Coruscant. It's obvious right away that something changed, but it's not for a really long time that she finds out that there might be something "unwilling" about the whole situation. In this time frame -of a couple years- she's actually left to her own devices and thought-process to make sense of it all. And a couple of years can really take a toll on someone's perception of what is really going on.

There is talk of manipulation, and how 'robotic' the clones are. All of it culminating in a bunch of half-assed theories as to why they suddenly have this unbending will for the Empire when they fought for the Republic for so long. (The bar fight Wolffe was in, is where I tried to explore this a little bit with the Cerean.) But Pup only hears rumors, and those weak excuses aren't enough to dissuade her fear of seeing troopers again. Because ultimatley, there are hundreds of them who'd been to her home, and in her mind, it's possible that they could come after her and punish her for that. It's not a realistic fear, but if you combine it with her last experience with a clone, it's one that would easily create a serious emotional trigger.

I meant for it to be a tad bit confusing when reading her emotions. Pup wants to love the clones -and she still does- but seeing one of them in real life would be fucking terrifying. Their sweet memories are always there, and she does her best to only think of those. However it's easy to be reminded of why she can't still see them, when she's living on a backwater planet to try and reassure herself that she'll never have to risk seeing a clone again. Because all of the love that they'd given her -in her mind- is completely gone the second she's shot by one.

And her entire being is damaged assuming that Wolffe is no different than the rest of them. Pup knows all the clones are acting this way, and Wolffe is really no exception. So even though she loves him dearly it's really scary when she sees him for the first time after all these years. Is he safe? Is there something still wrong with him? Does he want to take her with him, back to the Empire? These are all questions she has, because she's never seen a clone after Order 66 without a functioning chip.

The reason her change of heart is so sudden, is because Pup didn't let go of the good memories she had of her troopers. That integral part of her character is to forgive and be patient -even if she's been damaged by something or someone. Yes, she keeps it bottled up. But that was because she couldn't get rid of her base traits. You can't wholly change your personality very easily, and Pup never really wanted to in the first place. She was just forced to create this harder persona so she could survive. Then after Wolffe comes back, and he's painstakingly careful in trying to prove that he's not under influence any longer, it makes that desire to care for him -like she's always had- come back much smoother.

(It's a continuity error that I never gave a proper scene dedication to it; But I did have a draft that included an Order 66 conversation with Rex and Pup during that scene in Chapter 14.)

I chose not to include it because I wanted someone to focus on Pup's traumas faced during the transition period of planet-hopping. It might sound cruel of me to not include his struggles, but they've been covered so many times in other fics, that I gave the assumption my "Initial Implementation" scene and "Chip Removal Scene" would be emotionally sympathetic and exploratory enough of how Wolffe felt during and after, without needing to express it to you directly. Not to mention, after Pup and Wolffe are reunited, she's not stupid enough to not infer that it was against his will. She quite frequently notes throughout that his guilty looks and hesitancy to make physical contact with her are very noticeable and telling of how he feels about his time with the Empire.

All of this said, now her fight scene:

Right before they leave the cabin, she's feeling a little loss of home. But really, Pup never had too much of an attachment to her house on Takodana in the first place. What's really getting her emotional at this point is the realization that she finally has Wolffe back. It's security she's wanted this whole time, and although the boys aren't letting her help with the bounty, she's willing to do whatever they want because she understands that they've got the experience here. Plus, she's really not physically able to do a whole lot after her slight hypothermia exposure.

I wanted her weak for this: Emotionally, physically, mentally. It had to be that way for a reason.

Until this point, Pup hasn't ever shown a real motivation to fight for anything, other than making the trip to the outpost to save her friend. BUT. That's risking herself to save someone else. Pup has never done anything for her own benefit, without it being equally helpful for someone else. Even when she got Wolf, it wasn't just for herself. Iahcen was getting something out of it as well.

I know it's cliche, but her last moments alone on that ship waiting was where her character development needed to reach and end. Because I made the overarching plot of fighting for love, but I needed that same lesson to be learned in-story, as well to round it out. It had to be Pup, because she's been running this whole time. Wolffe can't learn it, because he's been fighting the entire time.

The kid is a symbol of kindness not being returned. This is key, because Pup has always been nice -even when she didn't need to be. And he attacks her for that. He comes in as the tool to show her that being kind doesn't always work; And sometimes you have to stand against something, instead of running or letting someone run over her. I also made certain to have the kid attack Wolffe's character. This was essential, because Pup has nothing else she wants to fight for. Wolffe has always been her one essential thing, and he was what made her realize that being a little selfish and desiring something isn't a bad thing. This kid is a product of her sympathetic nature, and he's willingly insulting and threatening her chance at having the one thing Pup has always wanted.

Pup needed fight or flight, and the only time her 'fight mode' kicks in, is when she realizes there's something she wants. On Coruscant, she had nothing, so she ran. Pup wanted to live for Wolffe, in the hopes that he might still be alive, and that was the first time her fight response kicked in. Then her friend was in danger of dying, that was the second time she chose to fight.

Her love and security in Wolffe was being threatened, and that was Pup's final character development, and why she needed this fight scene without Wolffe -or anyone else's assistance- in the matter.

***

I hope this wasn't garbage 😅 and I explained it decently... If not, please let me know. I'll do anything I can to answer your questions!

Much Love, Rightful 🤍

[fangirlandtheories]

Hi, I was wondering if you would write a fic where Dulaque kidnaps or somehow hurts Ezekiel, and Jenkins, who has a paternal kind of affection for Jones decides that it's been a while since his father saw how dangerous it can be for someone to hurt someone Jenkins cares about.

Hi! So sorry this took so long to write! I wanted to make sure it was done by Jenkins/Lits week. I strayed a but from your prompt but I hope you’ll enjoy. 

Tick. Tock.

Five minutes. Ticking down, quickly, sharply. Five minutes to be in and out. Impossible some would say. Those people never met Ezekiel Jones. He dedicated his life to speed in times like these. His hands gave him the familiar itch, his chest fluttering with excitement. Ezekiel Jones was about to begin a heist.

Since he had become a Librarian, he was more responsible. Perhaps it’s because he was one of four people the world depended upon when they needed saving from magic. He focused more on missions rather than what exhibits were coming into museums. That didn’t stop him from getting bored, however. It was a boring day; no missions, no extra research, just a day for him to go home and be bored. When he got home he opened his mail slot to collect his things. He rifled through the junk mail until his hands stopped on one particular ad. In bold letters it read: Join us as we travel, city to city, showing of the genuine Holy Grail. He was first grabbed by the shiny gold leafing used for the lettering. Then by the words themselves. Certainly can’t be the genuine Holy Grail… could it? He was the best thief in the world, he’d be able to tell. Sure it wasn’t a Clippings Book Mission but it was his day off…

Ezekiel wasn’t expecting so many people to surround such a cheap looking cup. It was like a dollar store participation trophy. He sighed as he pulled the camera up on his phone, trying to blend in with the crowd of other tourists taking pictures of the Grail. Despite it being a low budget, crappy museum, most museums know his face. A sudden golden twinkle from the ‘Grail’ caught his eye as he circled around the display. From a 45 degree angle it was a plastic cup, but as he walked further it became a glistening golden chalice. He stopped quickly, suddenly seeing around the magical glamour.

“Clever girl.” he mumbled to himself as he stepped closer to the display. He was about to check over the case and see what it would take to nab it, he felt a hard hand lay on his shoulder and hot breath in his ear.

“Ezekiel Jones…” The familiar voice spewed venom into his name. “You are very predictable.” The hand turned him around as he came face to face with him. Dulaque.

“I’m honestly a little impressed that it actually worked.” Morgan purred from the corner. She waved her hands and the people of the room disappeared, leaving only the three of them and the museum displays. “Just a little illusion to make this all seem real.”

“What do you want?” Ezekiel growled, realizing that there was nothing he could do. He suddenly realized that his phone was still in camera mode, so he subtly switched it to video mode and laid it on the display.

“We have our plans, you’ll discover them in good time. You are simply a tool for something much bigger.” Dulaque smirked. “I see you left your phone on record mode for them to come rescue you. Lady Morgan, shall we give them a show.”

“Of course.” She gave a sickeningly sweet smile and he picked Ezekiel’s phone up and began recording her. “Galahad, there is a reason we chose the Holy Grail. You’ll find us where you were meant to bring the Grail all those years ago. Be prepared to negotiate for his life. Remember that he is simply a mortal and everything we do to him can kill him with ease.” Then Dulaque filmed her approaching the young thief, hands raised, mumbling an incantation to herself.

Ezekiel suddenly felt his air supply cut off as she choked him with magic. He sunk to his knees, hands clawing at his throat, despite knowing it wouldn’t help. His vision was blurring as the pair laughed on, tightening the chokehold. He mustered up his strength to spit out one word. “Help.” before passing out from the lack of oxygen.

“Where is he?” Eve paced angrily as the rest of the team sat ready to go on a mission, missing a key member. She pulled out her phone to call him, but only got his voicemail again. She veiled her worry with anger. Skipping out on a mission was something old Ezekiel would do, so something must be wrong.

“Can’t you do the ‘find my iphone’ thing?” Jake asked.

“I mean I could but I would need his cloud password.” She answered. Cassandra leapt from her seat and grabbed a small leather book from her bag.

“You can’t tell him I told you this but he gave me a book of all of his passwords and information to memorize just in case anything were to happen to him.” She flipped furiously through the many pages until she found a section about his phone. “Here we go.” She read off the long, complicated password to Eve.

“He’s in the Bartlett Institute and Museum.” Eve told them, confusion lacing through her voice.

“I’m going to kill him. They’re hosting an exhibit with ‘the genuine Holy Grail.’” Jake flicked through the website.

“Doubt it’s the real deal. I have seen the real thing, no museum could contain it.” Jenkins muttered as he walked by.

“He totally went to steal it.” Jake grumbled.

“Alright, here’s the plan: we get him from there and then we go on the mission.” Eve sounded more relieved knowing that he’d probably just gotten caught up in the heist.

“Is that…”

“Yup.”

“But I’ve never seen him without…”

“I know.”

They stood in the empty room, surrounded by a collection of cheaply made, fake artifacts. On top the glass was Ezekiel’s phone, but no one was in sight. It was eerie. The air crackled with magic. Cassandra picked up his phone and began scrolling through it.

“There’s this video…” She pressed play and they began to watch.

“This is not good.” Eve shuddered as she watched her youngest charge crash to the ground. She felt numb. She couldn’t get the image of him, whimpering for help before going limp. The worst part being that she had to help the others save the world before even beginning to help him. Luckily, they seemed to want Jenkins to negotiate anyways, and she trusted the knight implicitly.

They went back to the Annex through the Backdoor and showed Jenkins the video. He paled as he watched them toss Ezekiel aside like a limp doll, challenging the knight to come and rescue him

“‘You’ll find us where you were meant to bring the Grail all those years ago.’” He repeated, mulling over the thought. His expression darkened. “Sarras. It’s been quite a while since my last trip there.”

When Ezekiel woke, he couldn’t move. His entire body was in some sort of paralysis spell. He glanced around, eyes still blurry from lack of oxygen,until he saw Morgan and Dulaque watching him with sinister smirks, enjoying tea time together.

“You have to admit, he’s a tough one.” Morgan chuckled. “Despite being so scrawny.” Ezekiel squinted at her, not trusting his own voice to do anything, even if he could speak. “Oh don’t be angry dear, we’ve only just begun. There’s still fun to be had. Don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything.” She snapped her fingers and the spell keeping him from moving dissolved.

“Aren’t you two supposed to not like each other?” He hissed, voice raw from the assault prior.

“That’s ancient history. My Guinevere is long gone and now I’ve moved on. We realized that individually, we had been defeated, more or less, but together we were too strong.” Dulaque explained.

“So you just want to team up to defeat the Library and to do so you needed to hold me hostage to get them to fall into your trap?” Ezekiel laughed. “Mates, you’ve made a crucial error.”

“And what would that be?” Dulaque growled.

“You thought they’d care.” Ezekiel’s tried to say that like it didn’t hurt, because he knew it was true, but it still pained him to admit. “I am a thief in a room full of geniuses. They don’t need me to do their job and they know it. They won’t come.” Suddenly his body was held his the air, by magic. His bones felt like they were shattering, the breath forced out once again, by pain this time. Every part of him was enflamed in a robe of agony. It sapped him of his energy, unable to even scream because everything simply hurt.

“That’s enough.” A deep voice called from behind.

“I’ll decided that on my own, Galahad.” Morgan hissed at him, head turning a full 360 degrees on her neck to face him. “He tried to tell us that you wouldn’t show up. That he was the expendable one. I’m glad that your stupidity proved him wrong.” Ezekiel struggled from above, choking on the raw pain. A drop of blood ran from his nose, the rest of his face hidden in an unnatural pallor.

“Don’t forget about your father.” Jenkins turned quickly to find a sword pointing at him.

“You should know three things. 1. Ezekiel Jones is not expendable. 2. I am much better with a sword than any other weapon. 3. I don’t negotiate.” Jenkins ripped the sword from his father’s hands and pointed it at his throat. “Release him.”

“If it’s a fight you want, then you shall get it.” Dulaque grabbed a sword from the wall and they began to fight. It was a very equal fight, but after much hacking and slashing, Jenkins had the upperhand. He took his father’s sword and his own and held it against him. Then he hesitated. “You never could do it could you? Finish a fight like a man.” Dulaque jeered.

“Goodbye Lancelot.” Then Jenkins drove his sword through his father’s chest. Then he heard a bloodcurdling scream from behind him, and turned around. Ezekiel’s body was curled into a fetal position as she pelted him with heavy magic, torturing both his body and his mind.

“Choose your next move very carefully because it will be his last.” Morgan’s voice was calm for such a threat. Ezekiel’s eyes were heavily lidded as tears slid past them unintentionally. The pain was simply too much to bear. She dropped him from his position about five feet in the air, but continued the torture, knocking him unconscious.

“What do you want?” Jenkins cried out.

“A trade. You want him to live don’t you?” Morgan smiled.

“Yes. Yes I do.” Jenkins answered quickly.

“Then let’s make a deal.”

The Back Door was kicked open, which caused the rest of the team to jump.

“Clear a space.” Eve cried out as Jenkins carried in a very bad looking Ezekiel. He was unconscious and looked very haggard and bruised. “What happened?”

“A very powerful torture spell.” Jenkins answered grimly.

“I’ll get a healing potion.” Cassandra scrambled towards his lab, but stopped at the sound of his voice.

“Miss Cillian… it won’t work.” He informed them grimly. “This is specific magic, only this will work.” He pulled out a small blue potion and poured half of it into Ezekiel’s mouth. He turned to the others and for the first time, they had seen real emotion on the old man’s face.

“Jenkins, what’s wrong?” Cassandra searched his face for answers that weren’t there.

“I have lived a very very long time. I’ve never been so afraid as I am right now. In my years, I’ve met every kind of person, but you are the best of my life. Each of you hold a special place in this building and will be honored for your brave services. Miss Cillian, please remember that life isn’t always fleeting, stop and enjoy what you now have. Mr. Stone, You have talents beyond belief, never hide them again.” Jenkins whispered.

“Jenkins-” Jake started.

“Colonel. You need to be easier on yourself. Things will always happen, but they won’t always be under your control.” The old man cut Jake off as he turned to Eve. “I want him to know that this wasn’t his fault, and that I don’t want him to spend his life being afraid of loving and losing because to love is the only true happiness in life.” He nodded towards Ezekiel.

“Jenkins wait-” Baird tried to stop him.

“It’s been an honor to serve with you.” With that he drank the remnants of the potion. The room filled with a blinding light. Ezekiel’s body quickly patched itself up and his shallow breaths filled with life. Jenkins’ ceased. A trade. Life for life.

Despite of what he had been told, Ezekiel blamed himself everyday. His goal in life was to make Jenkins proud, something he feared he’d never achieve. Everyday was a struggle but like all things, time made it better. Life really is one large clock and each day we tick closer to death. Ezekiel spent his life avoiding being caught by the tock that inevitably followed the tick to become the man Jenkins would want him to be. Perhaps the man would be proud of him after all.