#to the point of sonic yelling at his face with a murderous look

[beevean]

(Silver in IDW-anon again! ^^) So Duo (aka concealed Mimic) is on the cover of issue 67... Not to be pessimistic, but any and all worries I had about Silver not being taken seriously by the Diamond Cutters just got a tenfold worse. Of course, covers always lie and what-not, but I cannot recall any prominent instances that IDW actively lied with their covers about what characters would be in a story. Can't wait for Silver to get mocked and sent away because how dare he accuse the newest well-meaning member of their team of any evil-doing, probably with a smug "It's no use😏" from Duo thrown in there (at least one "It's no use" in either issue 63 or 64. I am calling it, so hard.), presumably also after completely blowing their training by getting all in Whisper's face despite being far more powerful than she could ever hope to be with a Wispon, and with some fake apology to follow up on it all that paints Silver as the bad guy for not talking constructively about his misgivings or whatever.

Yay.

(hello! nice to see you again :D)

Lmao they already wasted their "It's no use" quota in 60, from Shadow. Will they use it again so sof course they will.

But yeah, didn't the blurbs of #63 and #64 already spoil that Silver will make a total fool of himself?

Stuck in the past with no clear directive, Silver decides to spend some time with the Diamond Cutters and their new member. But he’s too busy being star-struck over Whisper to notice that he’s interrupting their training! Elsewhere, Sonic takes Blaze sightseeing so she can enjoy her vacation.

This issue is all about Silver the Hedgehog! First, he's incredibly suspicious of the Diamond Cutters' new member and he jumps to a conclusion that leads him to some hasty accusations. Awkwardness ensues. Then, Blaze comforts Silver as they bond over being away from home and in Sonic's world.

(love the advertising. Yay, it's all about your favorite blorbo Silver! 🥰 Being used as a vehicle for cringe comedy! 🥰 literally, "awkwardness ensues" please my soul is already leaving my body at the thought)

#65 will be about Knuckles and the Babylon Rogues, we still don't know anything about #66, so I wonder how they're going to stretch the Duo arc for so long. I'm inclined to believe that yes, we'll get a whole issue of Silver being seen as a paranoid idiot and being sent off, then Mimic will do his Mimic thing while Surge and Kit try to complete their character arc. Then Silver will have his emotional moment, a Silvaze ship tease moment will ensue, and the day will be saved.

I'm betting money. Who's with me?

[nethhiri]

Marooned: Chapter 49

Kid x FemReader x Killer

Warnings: Violence, murder, kidnapping, imprisonment, rape, mentions of forced pregnancy

Could Be Worse

Killer got concerned when neither you nor Kid had come back. He ordered the Victoria to leave. He would call them when it was safe to return. Killer grabbed Mini, sure she would get him to where you were the fastest, and with luck, probably where Kid was, too. Killer hopped on her back and prayed to whatever god would listen, that nothing bad had befallen either of you. Any hope of this was shattered as he approached. One ship was already halfway out to sea, and he saw the unmistakable shape of Kid being taken to another. Killer was in action within seconds, nearly cutting the other ship in half with Scyther Sonic. Then he did cut all the marines in half, rushing to Kid's side before the last one dropped to the ground. He took Kid by the shoulders and shook him, yelling his name. Then he saw the red dripping from his head and nearly broke down, thinking he was fatally wounded. The sob caught in his throat as Kid groaned. Killer put his hand into Kid's hair and felt a long groove where a bullet skimmed his skull. It had to have been seastone or Kid would have reflected it. The force of the impact itself had knocked Kid out. 

"KID! Wake up!" Killer saw a flash of brown as Mini ran over to the ground some distance away and sniffed. "Where is Y/N?!"

Kid felt like his eyeballs were rolling around in his head and his skull was split open. Why was Killer fucking yelling so early in the morning? Couldn't he tell Kid needed his beauty rest? Kid heard your name and his eyes shot open, remembering what had happened. "FUCK!" Kid looked around getting his bearings and saw the lights of several marine ships in the distance. "FUCK!" He grabbed his throbbing head. "She's- He got her." He kept shaking his head. Maybe it was a dream.

Killer wasn't sure he was hearing correctly. "Kid... tell me that's not true." The way Kid looked at him reminded him of the way 13-year-old Kid looked at him when Victoria died. "Tell me it's not true!" He grabbed Kid's shoulders. "What happened?!"  

"I had her in my arms, Kil. I had her. They drugged her or something because she couldn't move. I thought- I thought she was dead at first. But I had her and I was about get her out of there and- everything went white." Kid was suddenly panicking. "We have to get back to the ship! We have to follow them! She's in one of those." He pointed to the ships at sea. 

"I sent the crew off. If they stayed any longer, we were all going to be captured. I told them I would call when it was safe." 

"WHAT! Killer, we can't wait that long!" Kid thought about some of the scars you had and the fear he saw in your face as you recalled details in your memory of what had happened previously. "What if-" Kid put his fist into the dirt.

"I know, Kid. I know." Killer had been thinking about it, too. "We need the crew safe first or we won't be getting anywhere." Killer got up and went to where Mini was. "Now, tell me was she hurt?" Killer squatted to inspect the blood-soaked ground.

"Nah. The guy, his hand was bleedin." Kid curled his lip, "And I put a spear through him. But I missed his heart." Kid pushed himself up after his head had stopped swimming. He picked up your weapons and your jacket, which was shredded.

"Good." Killer scooped up the blood soaked dirt and tore a piece from the fabric at his waist, wrapping the dirt inside to carry it. "We can use this to track them." He looked at the boar. 

Kid held the material of your jacket balled in his fist. "Killer. Wherever they took her. I WANT IT ERASED FROM THE FACE OF THE PLANET!" Kid's eyes were watery. "I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO BE ABLE TO PIECE TOGETHER THEIR BODIES. And if they hurt her.... THE DEVIL HIMSELF WON'T BE ABLE TO PRY THEIR SOULS FROM MY FUCKING HANDS!" Kid screamed until his voice cracked.

——————————————————————————————————

Your limbs felt like lead. That was your first thought waking up. The second was that your mouth felt like sandpaper it was so dry. You moved slightly and heard the unequivocal clink of chains. It was all coming back to you. Your eyes flew open and panic set in. How were you going to escape? They had been successful, as you predicted they would be. Though, you were bewildered at the lack of pain you were in. You weren't even in a cell or on a concrete floor. You thought for sure you would have been abused in some way already. You were actually comfortable, in spite of the circumstances. You were in a medium sized room. The light from the porthole didn't do much to illuminate the surroundings. You were in a bed and there was a door. That was the extent that you could observe. 

A draft tickled your bare legs. You were in a pink, silk nightie, and not much else, something you would never wear of your own accord. Nothing that was about to happen would be of your own accord. Your hands were above you, bound in seastone cuffs. Your legs were shackled as well, with chain enough to walk. Neither end was attached to anything, however. You could move around. You could run. It couldn't be this easy. How would you get the chains off? Where would you go? Where were you in the first place? If you could kill every man on what you presumed to be a ship, with your hands bound, even you would be impressed. There was no way. Besides, Warthin liked to play games like this. He was probably right outside the door. The second you tried to leave he would do something to punish you. 

Actually, fuck it. Bad things were going to happen to you if you stayed or if you tried to run. They would definitely be worse if you ran. They would get worse regardless. You had to try now while your adrenaline was elevated. As soon as it faded, the seastone would drain you. You slid to the edge of the bed, careful not to rattle your chains. You peered out the porthole, seeing nothing but ocean. If you could free yourself, you could use your devil fruit to get away in a rowboat. Fuck, maybe you should crawl out the porthole and get to a rowboat. You might be able to avoid detection. Then, either the Kid Pirates would find you, or you would die. It was more or less the same options here. 

You pressed your ear against the door. There was no one in the hallway. You were familiar with the layout of marine ships. Where would the key be? Either Warthin had it on his person, it was in his office, or it was in the brig with the rest of the keys. The safest option to try now was Warthin's office. You didn't make a sound as you moved into the hallway. You picked up the slack of the chains so they wouldn't clink together or drag across the floor. You rounded a corner. Only two more turns to get there. You pressed your back against the wall when you heard talking. It was two people. You let go of the chains and lifted your arms over your head. As soon as they came into view you smashed the seastone into his skull, took a step, and swung upwards in the same manner, cracking the jaw of the other one. They both fell with an unceremonious thump. Now you had to hurry. You picked up the chains and ran to the office doors. If he was in there, you would be fucked. 

As quietly as you could, you peeked in, then slid the rest of the way in when you saw he wasn't there. You tried not to get your hopes up. There was a large desk that you went straight to, throwing open every drawer, feeling for secret compartments as best you could with clunky cuffs on your hands. You paused at a heavy thunk when you shut one of the drawers. You reopened it to find a gun. No way. And it was loaded. This was your lucky day. This was too good to be true. He was definitely fucking with you. You just had to beat him at his own game. 

You heard voices in the hallway and the rattle of the doorknob. Quickly, you sat on his desk facing the door and hid the gun between your crossed thighs. You took a breath, willing yourself to appear calm. Warthin walked in, smile brightening when he saw you. 

"You're awake! Finally!" He opened his arms like he was going to hug you, coming closer. 

Not yet. He came closer. Not yet. He was almost touching you. You shifted so it seemed like you were leaning in, uncrossing your legs and grabbing the gun from where it was hidden. Your finger squeezed the trigger, but his hand had moved yours enough to redirect the bullet away from him, snatching the gun out of your hands. 

"Tsk. And I thought we were going to get along this time." He put the gun in his waistband and held your hands in one of his so you didn't try anything else. "You tensed right before you shot, and you let the hate flood your features. You gave yourself away, my darling." 

"Don't call me that," you growled. 

He fiddled with the tag on your collar. "What's this? Do you prefer Rotten?"

"Keep that name out of your mouth!" You punctuated your sentiment kicking him where you saw Kid put the spear, knocking him backwards and almost causing you to fall on the floor. 

He grabbed his chest and wheezed in pain. "I tried to play nice with you. Remember that."

You spat on him. "You were never going to be nice for long."

He laughed. "You're right. I wasn't." He grabbed a fistful of your hair. "You know me so well." He pulled you off the desk, taking you back to the room you woke up in. He dragged you over the bodies of the two men you knocked out, not even looking at them. 

You were thrown on the bed. This time he made sure you couldn't get up, attaching the chains to hooks built in. 

"Well. I was waiting for some tests to come back but there's no harm in starting early."

You didn't have any clue as to what he was talking about. 

"So the Kid Pirates huh? How'd you make that deal?" He stood over you, lackadaisically taking his uniform off. "You fuck the captain? I bet you did, you traitorous whore. Is that where you've been hiding all this time?"  

The reference to Kid brought worry to the forefront of your mind. You can been so focused on escaping and survival that you had blocked what happened to him out of your mind temporarily. Was he still alive? You should be worrying for yourself in this moment, but your heart twisted at the thought. All you could think about was seeing him get shot in the head. Over and over again.

"Is that it? Did they rescue you from the ocean in exchange for you to be their whore?" He grabbed your chin. "Or did they take you for themselves and I rescued you from them?" He was down to his underwear. There was a bandage around his chest, wet with fresh blood. The wound reopened from your kick. "Shame I couldn't get my hands on the captain. I wanted to collect a bounty."

"Mine isn't enough?"

The grin on his face was sick. "Oh. I'm not turning you in. Not quite yet. Maybe not at all. You're mine." He got on top of you. "Don't worry. I'll keep you safe."  

You spilled silent tears while Warthin had his way with you. They weren't for yourself, though he thought they were. At least it made him get off faster. You dissociated and thought about Kid. If he was dead, would they come for you? Killer felt strongly about you. You knew he did.  But he was also the most pragmatic and less likely to put the entire crew at risk for one person. If Kid was alive, they would definitely come for you, right? You had to hope, as foreign as it was for you to rely on someone other than yourself, you had to hope they were coming. It was the one thing that was going to get you through this. 

Warthin rolled off you, sighing. He put his hand over one of yours, just holding it.

That was really weird. He was acting as if you were lovers or something. It wasn't violent at all. It was rape with the intent of sex, not the intent to control. This almost made you sicker than what he normally did. What was his game this time? Psychological? 

"Wouldn't that be great? If it happened the first time? And maybe I could even have it cut out early. Ten months is a long time to wait."

"What are you talking about?" You said quietly, afraid of the answer. 

He splayed his hand out on your stomach. "You're going to have my child." 

You knew that wasn't possible. But how long would it take for him to find out? And what would he do when he did?

Next

Tag list: @bbnbhm @nocturnalrorobin

[brights-place]

Hey, do you write for Hobo Heart and Homicidal Liu? If yes, could we get some hcs for Liu or Hobo? :) Thx!

Dating Hobo-Heart and Liu Headcannons + Sully

Pairings: Hobo Heart and Homocidal Liu (Seperate)

Warnings: Cursing, Mental Illnesses, D.I.D, Sully being a little bitch- I mean awesome friend!

A/N: Wassup! Sorry for you request taking about so long to write I have been focusing on my socials but glad I finally got this out due to having it in my drafts for awhile to upload! Tbh hobo heart needs more love! LIKE PLEASE HE’S A SWEETIE PIE! Ignore the fact that they are all murders for a moment yall shush AND I MEAN SHUSHHHH!!! Anywyas hope you enjoy this gift :>>

Liu

- Due to having D.I.D I think he would find it difficult sometimes maintaining Sully.

- he hated the fact he fell for you… he loves you yes but you didn’t deserve him he thought you deserved better.

- If you are having an breakdown he would be there faster then sonic exe.

- When you are bored you two decide to walk around in the woods together hand in hand as you blabber on about things you like or something that happened.

- You two ended up dancing in the rain one time while some soft music played in the background. It really was like an romantic scene.

- you two got sick after but it was so ducking worth it.

- whenever he would switch he would bawl his eyes out cause he didn’t like you being around sully.

- sully is seven years old for god sakes but is an menace so you try your best to relax the other alter in Liu is body.

- Sully loves talking to you about what Liu says about you all the time.

- You and Sully at night time like to gossip and shit talk people but liu doesn’t know cause he is asleep.

- Give liu all the love he deserves after everything he's been through

- make sure your close to Jeff since he finds bonds with family are important and knows that he can trust you

- if you ever want to make his day. Just be there in the room he will immediately park up and will tell you his worries

- if you wanna make him even happier cut off Jeff’s head and bring it to Liu that man would panic but at the same time he happy

- if you do cut off Jeff’s head… Sulky would complain about how he wasn’t the one who did it

- he made you an playlist for your anniversary and you cried cause he put down all your favourite songs

- he learned how to make flower crowns with Sally and Lifeless Lucy. He gave you said flower crown and you bawled your eyes out.

-More earth and nature tones and aesthetics. It reminds him of his childhood, where he grew up by a creek.

- Being from New Orleans he loves music mainly Jazz and Pop

- He has violent impulses even when he was a kid and before the… incident

- but he would never take it out on you. If he ever did he would lock himself up and yell at himself.

- When sully gets violent you use the spray bottle

- Liu hates his scars with an burning passion.

- kiss his face, kiss the scars to make him feel whole atleast he will hold you tight.

- He knows how to play the alto-Sax Idk why HE JUST DOES!

- When his scarf ripped he panicked so much.

- you sewed it back up/or knitted it back together he was so happy he wouldn’t stop peppering your face with kisses

- He HATES absolutely HATES seeing people give him looks for his scars.

- Even though Liu/Sully's normally never seen with anything covering his face. Sometimes when Liu/Sully gets insecure he puts on a mask to cover his stitches in public to avoid getting stares and causing a scene.

- He’s the type of guy who would take your heels (if your an woman or identify as one) and give you his own shoes and will walk barefoot even if it’s painful as shit he would do it for you.

- Liu can cook like an fancy ass rich chef. He’s one of the main people who cook for dinner, and lunch

- Liu isn't very open his emotions when you first started to date. you need to take things slow and let him open up when he's ready for it.

- Asking about his brother isn't something you should do at this point, its a very touchy subject.

- he likes nature walks but he also likes late night drives

- it’s an thing you both would do if you had free time together.

- He loves holding you close to him.

- he doesn’t want to lose you and neither does sully… even if he won’t admit it Sully loves the gossip night time sessions.

Hobo Heart

- He doesn’t want to be hurt again…

- yet he fell for you

- he found it difficult and hard he was stressed out not wanting to have these feelings that he had before.

- he was wary and didn’t understand at all

- He has REAL trust issues

- he needs constant validation and reassurance, and he needs you to give him that he craves it.

- I know DAMN FUCKING WELL! That his love language is Acts of Service and Quality Time

- He's a really careful and analytical guy so the fact that he's dating you means he trusts you A LOT

- He doesn’t show much affection due to not understanding it at all.

- But if needed to comfort you secretly and the most subtle way possible he will hold your pinky with his pinky.

- He literally stole someone’s heart and offered it to you.

- (if your an Cannibal) he would also steal the organs for you but leave the kidneys for Jack

- he doesn’t like cooking but he LOVES baking.

- If your sad he would make you some sweets and give you some.

- Him and Sally which is an rare sight making sweets for her tea party.

- you caught them when you came back earlier from an misson.

- he loves flying into the sky when the sun is about to set or rise and likes taking you up with him.

- he worries that you will leave him so he will try his best for you NOT to leave him

- you always assure him about it and pepper kisses on his face.

- he made you an boquet of flowers from what he found in an persons garden and around the woods.

- it took 4 hours for him to find the Right flowers

- He'd protect you from any threat coming his way and put you above anyone else and everything else

- You get hurt?

- he will fly away from the scene with you in his arms or he will ruin an bitch and tear them to shreds

- He loves going on walks with you

- Whenever he's stressed out he likes knowing that you're there with him, and holding your hand is the perfect way for him to do that.

- he hates how he didn’t find you sooner

- He loves his dog so if his dog likes you he would like you too

- he melted when you two met and it was the best thing for Hobo Heart to see.

- It takes a little while for him to be openly vulnerable with you, but when he did, you're thoughts about his never changed, if only it made your feelings for him stronger and the same goes for him when he first met you.

- you wanted to dance in the rain? Hell no he wouldn’t want to get sick or see you get sick.

- He ended up dancing with you in the rain and flying towards the sky above while you danced around happily

- He loves watching you just talk about things you like and hate it let’s him get to know more about you

- Ocassionally you two like going out for picnics. You prepare everything and go to the nearest park to eat. Then, you sit on the grass and see the sunset together.

- he loves playing with your hair or you playing with his it makes him relax

- his wings are like an weighted blanket so he likes using it as an blanket for you when your cold

- He loves and cares for you something he felt once but got ruined.

- but you changed it for him. He will forever be in your debt for taking him out of his sad sink while and made him open up more around you and some others.

[pagesfromthevoid]

A Fucking Duck | a.c. | Finale

Adrian Chase x Bat!fem!reader

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: Violence. Mentions of death. Murder. Language.

Author’s Note: Here we are. The end. We did it boys

Series Masterlist | Talk to Me! | Buy me a coffee?

It was after the fourth fart joke that she finally put her foot down.

“Jesus Christ on a fucking cupcake,” she snapped. “Don’t forgive Adebayo. But get over yourself, Smith. You didn’t kill your brother on purpose. As far as anyone is concerned, your fucking dad did it.”

There was silence that fell between the four of them as Chris and Leota exchanged wary looks. Adrian simply seemed annoyed that the joke was over and everything was serious suddenly.

“We’ve all read your file, Chris,” Leota explained, looking up at him. “She’s right. You didn’t mean to kill your brother. But you can’t make death meaningless. That’s not how this works.”

The RV pulled to the side, coming to a halt. Emilia pulled the back door open, giving them all pointed looks. With a huff, she stood and squeezed by Adrian and Leota to get out. Adrian hopped out behind her, stretching out dramatically as Emilia looked to Leota.

“Since Flash doesn’t seem to be answering our calls, see if your mom has any pull with the Justice League,” Emilia ordered.

“He definitely left me on read,” she offered as an explanation. “To be fair though, I don’t blame him —I did sort of ghost him.”

“You ghosted the Flash?” John demanded, looking at her in surprise. “There is something seriously wrong with you.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Emilia rolled her eyes as the two bickered back and forth, turning to Leota again to confirm the conversation. Leota was arguing with her mom now as Adrian wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders.

“You ready to kick some alien ass?” He asked, looking down at her, mask dangling from his fingers.

She shrugged a bit, looking up at him as she finished loading her guns. “I’m as ready as I can be. Are you?”

“Can you believe Amanda Waller is her fucking mother?” John sudden asked, walking out of the trailer. Chris trailed behind him.

She followed his gaze to Leota. “Not really.”

“I fucking can,” Chris countered, sneering towards Leota as she talked to her mom.

“Emilia’s in charge,” Leota announced, gathering up whatever weapons she could as she hung up.

The team started their trek through the forest, each carrying various weapons. Adrian had slipped his mask back on, humming happily as she followed behind Emilia, whispering quietly about their plan of attack.

It was simple: get the sonic boom helmet into the barn. Activate.

*****

Nothing is fucking simple, of course.

At first, it was because the helmet was dropped by the fucking bird randomly (she had demanded why they trusted a fucking bird in the first place). Then it was putting John in a uniform and pushing him into the fray like he was nothing but mince meat. The bigger issue wasn’t that he wasn’t capable, it’s that he fucking panicked and didn’t even get the helmet all the way into the cave below.

And now they were throwing themselves into a fight —six idiots against an army of aliens.

Armed with two of Adrian’s hand guns, plus a iron rod she’d snatched up as they entered the field, she took to swinging into their heads like she was playing baseball. Adrian had gotten lost in the fight, but she could hear his nonsensical commentary as he yelled at the butterflies. It wasn’t the most graceful fight; every whack in the face ended with a bullet to really nail that they were dead.

She turned to cover Emilia, when suddenly a butterfly was trying to force itself down Emilia’s throat. Rushing to help, she bashed in several heads before dropping down and pulling the creature out of Emilia’s mouth and crushing it. Emilia gasped, blood squirting from her throat as she tried to catch her breath.

“You cannot fucking die, not right now,” she ordered as Leota ran passed her, screaming. “What the fuck are you doing?” She called after her, standing up with her metal bar in hand.

“Helping Chris!”

“You’re going to fucking die!” But Leota was long gone as she looked down at their de facto leader. “Don’t die. I have to go help them.”

Emilia made a pained sound but nodded weakly as she took off after Leota. Adrian fell into step with her, sword in hand as he appeared from the chaos.

“Where the fuck is everyone?” He asked, slashing one of the butterflies with ease.

“John broke his leg,” she explained, swinging at an attacker and cracking their skull open as they dropped. “Emilia’s got blood coming out of everything basically so I don’t know if she’ll die. And Adebayo and Chris are inside.”

“Duck,” Adrian snapped suddenly and she followed orders, just as he decapitated another butterfly. “We’re not winning, are we?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted with an annoyed huff.

A gunshot rang out suddenly, and she ducked again. But nothing had hit her; it had hit Adrian. She turned, panicked overwhelming her, as he held his side and looked down at the blood. A knife launched behind him as he dropped, cussing. The same overwhelming panic from earlier in the day returned, when he blown himself up. The thought of her brother dying; the absolute devastation her family had felt. And now it was happening again as he hit the ground.

“Fuck, no, Adrian!” She cried, dropping down to flip him over. “No, no, no, you can’t die too. I can’t lose you too.”

“You’re so fuckin sappy, babe,” he managed to say, laughing some as she tried not to cry.

“Adrian, shut the fuck up, you’re dying,” she snapped at him, wiping her eyes.

“I just…I just need a nap —“

“No, don’t fucking sleep!”

But he had gone still, breathing uneven as she sat beside him. His sword sat on his other side, and it was like all she saw suddenly was red as she snatched it and stood. She thought of Jason, who suffered needlessly because of Bruce. She thought of Rick, who died at the hands of Waller and her bullshit. She thought of Emilia, who laid dying on the ground, alone and bloody. And she thought of Adrian, who she just got and was about to lose. And that anger, that pain —she channeled into every swipe, every slash, every decapitation as she fought her way through the butterflies.

As she prepared to bring the sword down on one more, however, an explosion rocked everything. She ducked, covering her head as the barn exploded, knocking out everything around them. She dropped, debris scattering and pelting her as it started to subside. Pieces ripped and pieced through her suit, cutting her skin. When she thought it was safe, and she looked up though, a piece of wood had struck right into her shoulder, piercing through her.

“Fuck!”

She stood there limply for a moment, staring at the piece that stuck out of her body. After a moment of processing, she took a deep breath and yanked it out. A quiet hiss escaped her lips as she gathered up Adrian’s sword once more, making her way back to his body —but he was wobbling towards her, clutching his side.

“Hey, there you are,” he announced, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

She stared at him for a moment, before dropping the sword and running at him. He winced as she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tight, but he returned the gesture soon enough.

“I thought you were dead,” she whispered, pulling back to look up at him through his visor. “How are you not dead?”

“No idea. But I’m not, so that means we won, right?”

“I think we did, actually.”

He grinned, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to support himself. She flinched, minding her own wound, before she walked them back towards where Emilia was. John was pressing on Emilia’s wound as Leota and Chris walked from the rubble.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Adrian asked as Chris lifted Emilia into his arms slowly.

With the butterflies food supply gone, they were in desperate need of medical attention as they limped their way out of the field. Not a word was spoken between them, the feeling of impeding doom still heavy on their shoulders as the team made their way out of danger. Lightning flashed on the horizon, crackling loudly as it seemed the sky opened up.

“You’re late, you fucking dickheads!” Chris yelled, shoving passed Aquaman. “Go fuck another fish, asshole.”

“Yeah, fuck you,” she snapped at Flash, point at him. “SOS means help, not fucking leave me on read.”

“I still came —“ Flash tried to argue.

“After I finished for once!”

*****

“Yes. That does mean that Christopher Smith never wrote that diary,” Leota announced.

She looked up from the coffee stand in the visitors area, listening closely as Leota spoke on the news.

“The Peacemaker, Crossfire and the costumed crime fighter Vigilante were working in a deep-cover operation called Project Butterfly —“

She grinned to herself, walking back to Adrian’s room. Her foot pushed open the door, just as Adrian disappeared out the window. She dropped the coffee cup, rushing to the window and practically dangled over the edge.

“Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you?” She yelled down at him.

He looked up, grinning like the dope he was —hospital gown and all. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were here!”

“Adrian, you were shot!”

“I told you —I just needed a good nap!”

She stared down at him, huffing once before glancing over her shoulder. Then she shook her head. “Fucking hang on.”

She shook out her hands, then hopped out the window herself and landed on the ground in the signature superhero pose —which made Adrian laugh. As she stood up straight, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked home.

“What now?” He asked as they walked.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, taking the hand that hung off her shoulder in her own. “We go home and go back to fighting crime?”

“Home like —here home? Or Gotham home?” He asked, looking down at her. He seemed hesitant.

“I told you already, Adrian.” She pulled his hand to her lips, kissing it gently. “I know where I belong. And that’s with you.”

Adrian smiled down at her, leaning in to kiss the side of her head gently. “Now I definitely know that I love you.”

———

Taglist: @ladybug023 @pedropascalfanclub @se-fucking-hun @chelseaxteens @sannie-san-shine @notalxx @tubble-wubble @inmate-marmalade @fanofverymanythings @truly-abysmal @dallasvakarian @why-so-red @rexorangecouny @asherella-is-a-dork-3 @speedypeter @droopingdatura @maybememoriesx @mushroomsandcream @caswinchester2000 @alexloveskili @are-y0u-sirius @themartiansdaughter @1800-fight-me @sevenseasofcats

[awindylife-writes]

Voyage of the Damned Part 3

Relationships: the Doctor x reader, Astrid x reader (platonic), Astrid x Doctor (platonic)

Summary: Voyage of the Damned rewrite. The Doctor and you find yourselves on the Titanic, space edition. You meet Astrid and get ready for a wonderful day, but then a meteor shower hits the ship and it starts falling towards Earth.

Author's notes: There was a number of things l didn't like about this Christmas special so again, l rewrote it.

Warnings: a ship crashes, multiple mentions of dearth bc a lot of people die, Astrid dies

"It's for the Doctor!" Astrid yelled at Midshipman Frame over the comms. She needed to teleport NOW. "Y/n and him are down on deck thirty-one, alone, against all the Host and Gods know what else and they're doing it for us!" Silence on the other end. "It's time we did something for them," she ended her speech with a finallity.

A moment passed and she feared she'd failed.

But then, "Giving you power," came through the comms.

~

"Only one person could have the power and the money to hide themselves on board like that. And l should know, 'cause..." the Doctor trailed off. You stared at the strange compartment you had found on deck thirty-one.

"My name is Max," a voice finished for him. A strange machine with a head in it came through the smoke.

"Who the hell are you?" it demaned.

"I'm y/n, and this is the Doctor," you pointed at your friend with false cheerfulness, "Hello!" you wiggled your fingers in greeting.

~

"You wreck the ship and the board find their shares halved in value." The Doctor was spelling out Capricorn's plan.

"But that's not enough," you interjected. From what you've learned about them, mad billionares who were losing all their money didn't do things half-way.

"Oh yes,"  the Doctor went on. "'Cause if a Max Capricorn ship hits the Earth, it destroys an entire planet. Outrage back home!" he growled. "Scandal! The buisness is wiped out!"

The billionare's head nodded. "And? The whole board is thrown in jail, for mass murder!" His eyes shone with revenge.

"While you sit here, safe in the- what's it called?" you turned to the Doctor.

"Impact camber," he filled in.

"I have men," Capricorn gloated now, "waiting to retreave me from the ruins. And enough off-world accounts to retire me to the beaches of Enhaxico Two where the ladies, so l'm told, are very fond of... metal."

You were going to puke.

"So that's the plan," the Doctor growled in rage. "A retirement plan. Two thousand people on this ship, six billion underneath us, all of them slaughtered and why? Because Max Capricorn is a loser."

"I never lose," the billionare's head scowled in threat and your voice immediately rang out, mocking, "You can't even sink the Titanic!"

"Oh but l can, pretty girl!" he laughed. "I can cancel the engines, from here!" Red lights and alarms were suddenly flaring everywhere before you could spit in his face.

The Doctor yelled behind you, "You can't do this!"

"Host, hold them!" Caprocorn ordered in turn and began the Gloat 2.0. "Not so clever now, are you? Shame we couldn't work together, you two are rather good. All that banter and yet not a word wasted." The head sighed. "Time for me to... retire."

Ugh, you thought as you furiously tried to get free. That pun alone would be enough to kill a buisness.

"The Titanic is falling, the sky will burn, let the Christmas inferno commence!" Capricorn yelled in victory and called his minions. "Kill them!"

The robots brought up their halos and went for the Doctor's neck.

"NO!" You fought with everything you had but you were late, you'd be too late!

"MISTER CAPRICORN!" a voice you knew cut through your fear.

And it ignited terror. It was Astrid, sitting in a forklift. "I resign," she told the head and drove forward, ful throttle.

"NO!" the Doctor and you screamed, "ASTRID STOP!" "ASTRID DON'T!"

She didn't listen and rammed into the life support system, but its engine was too strong. They were equal and couldn't move each other.

You bit, kicked and screamed, anything to get free.

But then she caught your eyes with hers and everything stopped. There was an eternity in her face. She looked at the Doctor too but you still stared at her.

Then she turned away and stepped on it. The life support lifted and she drove on.

There was no sound. The world was mute as you watched Astrid go over.

You were suddenly at the edge, looking at her disappear into the fire. Someone was screaming. Someone was screaming and you wanted to calm them, help them.

Then you realized it was your own voice.

The world came back into focus. The ship was falling apart and the Doctor was silent at your side. He was staring at the spot where Astrid had disappeared. His face was pale and his eyes blank. You laid your tears aside and took his hand.

"We need to go," you told him, your voice wet with tears. He didn't move.

"Doctor, we need to go,"  you told him again calmly. You thought that was why he looked at you suddenly, and then stood up.

He rewired a Host with lightning speed. It took you each under one arm and off you went.

When you broke through the ceiling of the bridge, you were still in one piece. Arms you had used to shield your head were a bit bloody and you were sure there were at least two splinters in them. You don't look the gift horse in the mouth, even though you would prefer a different Christmas miracle.

"What's your first name?" the Doctor asked the injured Midshipman Frame.

He answered in confusion, "Alonzo."

"You're kidding," the Doctor breathed as a shocked smile spread on his face. You didn't know. You just didn't know anymore. You were drowing in the emptiness inside you but his name was Alonzo.

"Allons-y, Alonzo!" the Doctor yelled and you held on tight. You didn't scream. You didn't even open your mouth. There was nothing anymore.

The Doctor whoohooed when he managed to right the course of the ship and you were just there. Were you there? Astrid wasn't. And that was what mattered in the end.

~

"TELEPORT!" the Doctor yelled and it didn't matter. "Y/N, SHE WAS WEARING A TELEPORT BRACELET!!!"

That woke you up. You ran faster than ever before, to the main deck where the teleport was.

"Brixton, sonic," the Doctor demanded from the billionare and caught it as it was thrown. "Mister Copper, the teleports, have they got an emergency setting??"

"I don't know, they should have?"

"She fell, Mister Copper, she fell!" the Doctor told him while pulling apart the machine like a madman. "What's the emergency code?"

The billionare interjected, "What the hell are you doing?"

"We can bring her back!" you yelled with everything in you.

The historian explained, "If a passenger has an accident on shore leave, their molecules are automatically suspended so they're in stasis, so if you just trigger the shift..."

"THERE!!!" the Doctor screamed and flicked the switch.

And there was your Astrid.

"Falling..." You could hear her voice!

"Only halfway there, come on!" The Doctor wasn't finished with the teleporter.

"I keep falling!" She was scared. Your friend was scared and you wanted nothing but to calm her. You carefully walked up to her and took hold of her hand. It felt like holding warm smoke.

There were tears on your cheeks already, again.

"If l can find the molecule grid, boost the restoration matrix and-" The computer snapped and threw sparks. "NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!!" the Doctor screamed in desparation, "need more phase containment-"

You sobbed, but you knew what was coming. You just looked at your Astrid Pith, into her crystal blue eyes and sushed her. "Hey, hey Astrid, it's alright. It's me, it's y/n, remember? You're alright. l've got you," you promised with a voice as soft as sunlight.

She didn't look as scared as before. Then, so slowly you thought you were imagining it, she looked at you.

"Let her go," you could hear the historian and you sobbed again.

But then Astrid's voice cut through. "Stop me falling?" she asked and you nodded. You found her gaze with yours and promised her, "Anything."

"She's just atoms," you heard Mister Copper from behind you. "An echo with a ghost of consciousness."

"She's stardust," you concluded as your voice broke. "You hear that Astrid?" you asked, still looking into her blue eyes."You're stardust."

She didn't seem to hear, so you did the only thing you could think of.

"There's an old tradition," you told her and softly kissed her cheek. Then you kissed the other, and then her forehead.

"You dreamt of traveling," the Doctor came to stand beside you. You were still sobbing when you pulled away from her and you didn't try to stop. There was no one there you needed to save face for.

"Now you can travel forever," you told her. You knew what the Doctor would do, and your eyes didn't leave hers for a moment.

You heard him soothe her, "You're not falling Astrid."

"You're flying," you both said in one voice.

You watched as she floated away, through the window into the universe.

Then you turned to the Doctor and buried your face in his chest as you both cried.

~

"I transferred all my shares to Max Capricorn's rivals. It's made me rich," the billionare Brixton admitted, disbelieving.

You were empty, and you were tired. That was the only reason why you didn't tear this man limb from limb. Astrid was dead.

"Mister Copper," the Doctor's voice woke you up. "I think, you deserve one of these."

You turned around and saw him holding a teleport bracelet out to the historian. Then, after the latter took it, he slipped one on your wrist. He took your hand and suddenly you were standing in the snow.

~

"But l can have a house, and a garden and-" You couldn't help but smile a little. At least Mister Copper would be alright.

The Doctor yelled after him, "Where are you going?"

"I have no idea!" the man replied in joy.

"Well, we don't either," your alien smiled gently at you and you tried to smile back, you really did. He looked at you, his brown eyes full of sorrow, and pulled you to him. You held onto him tightly as he hugged you.

"But! Y/N!" the historian yelled and you turned in his direction.

"I won't forget her," he promised you. You were tired, so so tired, so you just nodded. "Thank you," you told Mister Copper for her. "We won't either."

"We won't," the Doctor assured you softly, just to be sure.

Then he opened the TARDIS door and stepped into your home after you. You walked up the way and then stood in front of the controls, lost.

The Doctor walked up behind you and decided he would do anything, anything to keep away the blank look in your eyes. He turned to you and pulled you to him again. You let him, your movements sluggish and dazed.

"I've got you," he assured you. "I've got you, y/n. You aren't alone, and you aren't lost. You've got me." And that was enough. You sobbed into his chest, you didn't know for which time today.

But this was different. This was yours, and you clung to the Doctor as everything in you came to the surface.

His tears joined yours. He'd lost Astrid too, and he hated seeing you in pain. He slowly brought both of you down to kneel when you were too tired to stand.

And that was it. That was what you needed and that was what you had. You would be alright. In time, you would be alright.

[fleetsonourgecentral]

You latest prompt stories were amazing, as always! 🥰 Would you be willing to write one for prompt #9?

Aww thank you! I'm so glad you like my fics so much adhadhshf I really thought it'd be just me

9- “None of this, seems healthy.”

Scourge didn't do sick people. Sick people were whiny and needy and insisted on spreading their gross sick people germs to everyone else. Honestly, he'd never understood it. Whenever he was sick, he locked himself in his room and yelled at people to go away, because really, who the fuck wanted to be perceived when they were sick and vulnerable?

Amy had said that sounded like it probably related to his trust issues. Scourge had told her to go fuck herself.

Point was, Scourge didn't do sick people. Being sick sucked, and he didn't want to run the risk of also getting sick just because some asshole couldn't stay in their fucking room and ride it out.

So when Sonic shuffled out of his room - after Scourge was already awake, a red flag if he'd ever seen one - sniffling and shivering and coughing, the first words out of Scourge's mouth were, "No. Absolutely not. Get the fuck back to bed."

"Don't tell me what to do," Sonic muttered. His voice was hoarse and scratchy, and lacked its usual snide edge. Definitely sick.

"I'll tell you whatever I damn well want. Get your ass back in bed and away from me."

"Afraid of a few germs?"

"You fucking wish. But if you're up, that means you'll spread it to me, and I don't want whatever you have. You might enjoy feeling like shit, but I don't."

"I'm fine," Sonic huffed, although his point was immediately refuted by his shivering. He kept shuffling to the kettle on the counter. "'S just that bug that's been going round."

Oh hell no. Scourge had no intentions of catching that.

Scourge snatched the kettle just as Sonic was reaching for it, leaping onto the counter to better hold it away from him. Sonic would definitely try to wrestle it away from him if he stayed on the floor, but in this state he was in no shape to be chasing Scourge onto counters and tables. Sonic glared at him like he'd personally murdered his parents and unborn children.

"Give that back," he said lowly.

"No," Scourge said, holding the kettle higher. He'd told himself he'd never get between any of the mobians from this dimension and a kettle again after the last incident, but really, what could Sonic do like this? "Go to bed and stop spreading your gross immune system infection everywhere."

"You're not even allowed to use the kettle! It doesn't matter if I get germs on it because you can't use it!"

"It's the principle of the thing. Get."

"Scourge, I swear if you don't hand me that fucking kettle in the next ten seconds, I'll-"

A violent coughing fit interrupted his threat, harsh, wet hacking straight from the chest, making him double over. At least he had the decency to bury his face in his elbow. Scourge's face scrunched up in disgust, but he didn't say anything, and he felt a brief pang of pity before another cough chased it away.

It took a while before the coughing fit subsided, and when Sonic finally lifted his head, he somehow looked even worse than before.

"And that," Scourge said, "is the exact kind of shit I don't want you doing all over the base."

Sonic's glower was murderous. Or at least, it would be if it weren't for the bags under his eyes. Must have been a rough night. "I'm fine."

"You sound like you've been gargling nails for six hours straight and you just tried to cough up a lung. You're not fine."

"Then I'll be fine," Sonic corrected. His grab for the kettle was uncoordinated and half hearted at best. "Gimme that."

"No."

"Just give it. All I want is a fucking cup of tea."

"Yeah, and then all you'll want is to go out on a run, and then pick a fight with Robotnik, and then-"

"And then is my business," Sonic snapped. "Get down here and give me the kettle."

Scourge met his eyes - unfocused, a little glazed - and waved the kettle challengingly. "Come and get it."

Sonic's eyes narrowed. His gaze fixed onto the kettle, and they were still for several seconds, before Sonic leapt for his prize.

And failed miserably.

"Come on," Scourge taunted, giving Sonic a teasing wave with the kettle. "If you want it that bad, you'll have to try harder than that."

Sonic tried to grab his legs to pull him off balance, but his reflexes were slow and Scourge easily stepped away before Sonic had the chance to reach him.

"Are you even trying? Come on, I've seen Porker put up a better fight than this."

Scowling, Sonic jumped again, hand just barely brushing the kettle. He couldn't get a decent hold, though, and despite being such a small jump, his landing was unsteady and he wobbled dangerously, grasping the edge of the counter to right himself.

Normally Sonic could jump much higher than that. Normally Scourge's challenge would've resulted in an actual struggle, one that likely would have destroyed the kitchen.

Sonic's display was... kind of pathetic.

"That's what I thought," Scourge said, softer than he intended. "Back to bed."

Sonic glared up at him, but didn't attempt to jump for the kettle again. "I'm fine. I just need-"

"Oh for fucks sake. If I make you some fucking tea, will you go back to bed?"

Sonic's face contorted in horror. "Absolutely not. You can't brew a decent cup of tea to save your fucking life. I've never met anyone who can make a worse cup of tea than you."

"Fuck off, I'm not that bad-"

"You put it in the fucking microwave!"

"That's how we do it back home! How was I supposed to know it wouldn't work here?"

"I'm not drinking your shitty, gnats piss tea-"

Another coughing fit interrupted him. This one wasn't quite as long or violent, but it still wasn't good, and when he finally took a breath, Scourge could see the way it rattled his chest.

"It's my shitty, gnats piss tea or no tea at all," Scourge said firmly. "Pick your poison."

Sonic shot him a filthy look, but didn't respond, too focused on breathing and trying to not set off another coughing fit.

"I won't use the microwave this time," Scourge offered. "Promise."

Sonic stared at him blankly. Scourge stared back.

"Fine," Sonic relented, voice raspy. He must really feel like shit if he was giving in so easily.

Yeah, Scourge definitely didn't want what he had.

"Good," Scourge said, waving him away. "Now fuck off. You look like shit."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Can't you tell I'm the pinnacle of health?"

"None of this seems healthy. You're not even walking straight."

Sonic muttered something under his breath, but he turned around and started to slowly shuffle back to his room, so Scourge decided to ignore it.

Hopping down from the counter, Scourge put the kettle back in its rightful place and switched it on. At least, he hoped he'd switched it on. He saw a thing he could press down and press down he did, and then the kettle made noises, so he assumed it was working.

Rooting through the cabinets, Scourge grabbed the first box of tea he could get his hands on, then paused. Was he supposed to use this tea for someone who was sick? Wasn't herbal tea better? Or was that green tea. Maybe ginger tea? Fuck, why were there so many different kinds of tea?

Scourge combed through the cabinets again, but despite finding seven (seven!!) different boxes from a variety of brands, he couldn't find any herbal, green, or ginger tea. Really, he didn't know what he'd expected. He'd never seen anyone in this dimension drink anything other than... black tea? Was that was it was called? Whatever. Point was, they didn't drink any other kind of tea, and this was probably the tea Sonic was so desperate to get anyway, so it would have to do.

He grabbed the only box that claimed to be decaf - he didn't know if caffeine was bad for sick people, so better to play it safe - and shoved the rest of the boxes back into the cabinet, closing the door on them before they could topple out again. He grabbed a mug from a separate cabinet, dumped a tea bag in it, then hesitated. He... wasn't entirely sure what came next. He'd been winging it the last time he'd made tea, and it showed from the way Sonic had spat it out all over him and promptly banned him from even thinking about making tea ever again. How much water did he have to pour in? How long was he supposed to leave the tea bag in for? Was he supposed to add milk or sugar? How much? Fuck, what was the need for this much variety in tea making?

Fuck it. He'd just wing it again. At least he wasn't using the microwave this time.

He added enough water to fill the mug and pulled a teaspoon out of a drawer. He could just leave the tea bag in there, right? Yeah, that would be fine. Or was he supposed to stir it? Would stirring even do anything? The tea would come out of the bag either way, what difference would stirring do? Yeah, there was probably no need to stir it. If it tasted like shit, well, Sonic already knew to not expect tea miracles from Scourge.

He fished the tea bag out of the mug after a couple of minutes, dumping it in the trash. He added a small amount of milk, careful to avoid making it overflow, and gave it a little stir for about three seconds, more out of desire to just stir something than any actual knowledge of if it needed stirring.

Whatever. It couldn't be worse than his last attempt.

Scourge reached for the handle of the mug, then hesitated. It... didn't seem like enough. Should he add something else? Some sugar, maybe? Was that even good for a sick person? Fuck, Scourge didn't know enough about tea or sick people for any of this, where was Amy when he needed her?

Oh, right. On vacation with her girlfriend. Damn couples in happy, fulfilling relationships.

Scourge gave the cabinets one last search, and his eyes landed on a jar of honey. Honey was good for sick people, right? And even better, Scourge was pretty sure it could go in tea.

He added two spoonfuls of honey to the tea, then with a satisfied nod, brought it to Sonic's room.

"Your tea, m'lord," he said, giving a little bow.

"Shut up. Gimme," Sonic mumbled, making grabby hands to the mug Scourge was holding.

"Rude," Scourge snorted, handing it over. "I make you tea and this is how you talk to me? Not even a please? I'm hurt, Sonic, I really am."

Sonic hummed, taking a long sip of the tea. Scourge folded his arms and waited for the verdict.

"Well?" he asked once ten seconds had passed without said verdict.

"It's shit," Sonic said, cracking one eye open. "Did you even stir it?"

"When?"

"At all."

"A little. When I put the milk in. Don't look at me like that! I don't drink tea, how the fuck am I supposed to know how to make it?"

"You're hopeless," Sonic muttered.

"Fine," Scourge huffed, though it lacked any heat, "see if I make tea for you when you're sick ever again."

"Please don't. That would be a blessing."

"Asshole." Scourge squinted at Sonic, reaching out to hit the light switch. Sonic hissed and recoiled as light flooded the room. His face was paler than it was in the kitchen earlier, and sweat was beading down his forehead.

"You have a fever," Scourge said.

"No shit. Turn that fucking light off, my head's killing me."

Scourge rolled his eyes but obeyed. "There. Now stay the fuck there and don't come out of this room until you're better, got it?"

"Wow, I didn't know you cared."

Scourge didn't bother to dignify that with an answer as he turned and left the room. There. He made Sonic his stupid tea and got him to stay in his room. The bug would pass and Scourge would stay illness free. Job done. Finished. Over.

A pitiful coughing fit slipped through the closed door.

Oh, for fucks sake.

Scourge dipped into the bathroom to grab a washcloth, running it under the faucet - seriously, why were there two? What was the need? - until it was cool, grabbed some aspirin from the medicine cabinet, and slipped back into Sonic's room.

To his surprise, Sonic was still sipping at the tea, hands curled around the mug like it was a lifeline, although his face scrunched up every time he took a sip.

"Why are you still drinking that if it tastes like shit?" Scourge asked.

"Better than nothing," Sonic said. He sounded miserable, which, yeah, fair. "Did you put honey in this?"

"Yeah. Was I not supposed to?"

Sonic took another sip, eyes fluttering shut. "... No, it's fine. The honey masks some of the shittiness."

"Oh. Uh, good, I guess?"

Tired eyes shifted to look at Scourge. "Why are you back? You were so desperate to get me out of your fur. What changed?"

"I brought you some medicine," Scourge said, tossing the box to Sonic. Sonic made no attempt to catch it, and it landed on the blankets on his lap. "And, uh, this." He held up the washcloth.

On a normal day, Sonic would have said something snarky. Today, though, he just nodded, setting the mug aside to fumble with the box and pop some aspirin in his mouth, washing it down with the tea.

"Thanks."

Yeah, he must really, really feel like shit.

Scourge approached the bed, washcloth in hand. "Just, lie down or whatever. Sleep or something."

"Why are you bothering with this?" Sonic asked, although he did as instructed. Apparently he'd figured out it wasn't worth fighting Scourge without the energy to keep up with him. Good. "You hate being around sick people. When Pixel Brain got sick two weeks ago you kept prodding him with a stick if he got too close to you."

Scourge considered ignoring the question. He really did. What could he say? The truth? In all honesty, Scourge wasn't even fully sure of the true reason himself. But Sonic was a stubborn little shit, and even if he let it go for now, he'd be on Scourge's ass pestering him for an answer once he was better. Best to get it out of the way.

"Because I don't want your fever to get so bad it makes you delusional enough to get out of bed," Scourge said. "And I don't wanna listen to you bitch about your headache."

Sonic huffed a laugh. "I knew you loved me."

"You wish," Scourge scoffed, although his chest did... something at the words. He better not be getting sick already.

Sonic was still sweating, would until the fever went down. A bead of sweat rolled down his head and dropped onto the pillows below him. Gross.

Scourge had to fight the urge to run the washcloth down Sonic's face to clear up the sweat. That would make it weird. Weird for them, at least.

He placed the washcloth on Sonic's forehead with more care than he expected. Sonic's eyes fluttered shut, and he let out a little noise of relief.

Scourge should leave now. He'd given him medicine, provided a washcloth, even made him fucking tea. There was no reason to keep standing there, breathing in Sonic's germ riddled air.

But he did. He watched as Sonic drifted off, sickness combined with the medication allowing him to slip away quicker than normal. He watched as Sonic's face relaxed and softened with sleep, his breathing evening out, although it still rattled and was punctuated with coughs every now and then.

Scourge had never seen him so... peaceful. It... almost made him want to lean down and ki-

Nope. Scourge turned on his heel and marched out of the room. Nuh uh. Not going there. Not in a million years.

He hesitated when he reached the door frame, glancing back at the figure in the bed. Still sick. Still someone Scourge should want to stay a million miles away from.

... Maybe he should bring him soup later. Just to make sure the idiot didn't try to get out of bed again to get some food. Yeah.

Scourge left to go scrub the kitchen clean from any Sonic germs, pointedly not slamming the door and disturbing his rest. Which was definitely the nicest thing he'd done all day.

Another cough from Sonic's room. Scourge wrinkled his nose.

Ew. Sick people.

[saiilorstars]

Metamorphosis

Ch. 5: A Companion’s Guide

Current Masterlist // Previous Story // Renata’s Masterlist

Fandom: Doctor Who // Pairing: 11th Doctor x OFC

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother​ @anotherunreadblog​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​ @stareyedplanet​ @perfectlystiles​ @natalie-the-whovian​

[If you would like to be added to this specific OC’s taglist, let me know!]

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Chapter summary: The time travelers have to figure out who's behind the creature snatching people up while working with Liz 10 and in the end, Gabby has to urge Amy to look past the Time Lords’ anger to see what they’re truly all about.

The entire group had fallen into the chute and were thrown out only to land in a splash somewhere full of oddly colored liquid. The Doctor jumped back on his feet soon as he got his bearings, though he noted the flooring underneath was a bit odd. He flashed the sonic around to see where exactly the chute had brought them to.

"High-speed air cannon. Lousy way to travel!"

Renata thrashed the water before getting up. "You have got to stop throwing us down things when you've no idea where they lead!" She made a show by splashing some water to the side.

Despite knowing she was properly upset, the Doctor found it much too funny to be serious. She was covered in whatever liquid they'd landed in - he suspected a food refuse judging by the smell - and so all of her hair was sticking to her face. Her dress was pressed against her body again, something he'd begun to accept would be his downfall one day. She was trying to be angry but she kept scrunching her face and yelling about the horrible stench around them. Her kicking the food refuse was just a plus!

Yup. Completely, adorably, funny.

"Doctor, where are we?" Gabby was close to gagging with the odor around them.

"600 feet down, 20 miles laterally - puts us at the heart of the ship. I'd say... Lancashire. What's this, then - a cave? Can't be a cave. Looks like a cave!"

"WHO CARES WHAT IT IS! GET US OUT!" Renata shivered excessively. She might just throw up there and then.

Amy was still on her knees beside them. She kept touching the ground. "It's a rubbish dump, and it's minging!"

"Yes, but only food refuse!" the Doctor Doctor confirmed, not that it would make it better. "Organic, coming through feeder tubes from all over the ship."

"You are so dead," Renata threw him a murderous glare he chose to ignore.

"The floor's all squidgy, like a water bed," Amy pointed out. She'd been trying to figure out how best to describe what she felt and that was as close as it would get.

"But feeding what, though?" the Doctor asked while he took another read off the sonic.

"It's sort of rubbery, feel it. Wet and slimy!"

"Uh, Amy, let's not keep touching that," Gabby helped the woman stand up. "You never know what it could actually be."

And a moment later, the Doctor heard a distant moaning. He froze, letting his eyes dart to the dark 'walls' of the so-called cave. "Er...it's not a floor, it's a…" he put his screwdriver away and prepared the best way to explain his discovery. "So…"

Renata narrowed her eyes on him. With all her thrashing, she missed the moaning. The Doctor was grateful for it because now he had a few minutes to come up with a way that wouldn't get him killed.

"What is it?" she demanded a dangerously low tone.

"The next word is kind of a scary word." And it was a pretty scary moment for him right now. He moved closer to her, taking her sticky hands into his. "Take a moment. Get yourself in a calm place. Go 'omm'. Everybody! Omm!"

Gabby and Amy had no idea what he was doing but they would go along with it and see where it led. "Omm!" they collectively said.

"...it's a tongue," the Doctor had swallowed very hard, almost making it so that Renata couldn't understand him. Almost.

Her dark eyebrows arched up as her eyes widened. "A...tongue?"

"Aha...a great big tongue!" He couldn't help the excitement that crossed his face for a moment. It was a tongue! They were standing on an actual tongue! When could that ever happen!?

It was that same excitement that drove Renata mad. "I'm gonna kill you!" she pushed him away. "I hope you've enjoyed your small time in that incarnation because it's about to end!" She actually lunged on him, knocking them both to the ground. Her hands may have curled around his neck but she got a taste of the food refuse from their splash and nearly gagged on the side.

The Doctor was stunned that Renata had actually lunged on him, but he was close to laughing too. This new incarnation of hers was truly going to be an adventure. Perhaps it was a sign that things were going to change for the better now.

"Renata!" Gabby burst into laughter. Amy perhaps would've laughed if she wasn't still stuck on the fact they were inside a mouth.

Renata still narrowed her eyes on the Doctor under her. "You are so lucky there's witnesses!"

"I'm going to love you even more after this," he said before laughing. A blush bloomed across Renata's face, even more so when she realized their position.

Make a fool out of yourself why don't you? She quickly got off him and tried pulling her hair off her face. "How do we get out of here?" She reached for her pocket and took out her own sonic.

"What, you have one too?" Amy blinked at the golden-white sonic in Renata's hand. It even made the same sound as the Doctor's.

Renata gave a dismissive nod while she took a look at the readings. "This place is huge! Doctor, of all the places…"

"It's gorgeous!" the man exclaimed. She rolled her eyes in response. "Blimey! if this is just the mouth, I'd love to see the stomach." Of course soon as he heard the grunts in the back he regretted his words. "Though not right now."

"Doctor, how do we get out?" Gabby called to him. She would like if he didn't keep saying words that could get him killed by the mouth or Renata.

"OK, it's being fed through surgically implanted feeder tubes, so the normal entrance is…" the Doctor made a turn towards the white set of teeth properly shut. "...closed for business."

"We can try, though!" Amy said determinedly. She left Gabby's side only to take two steps and hear another grunt. "Or...not…"

"Oh, great, it's started," Renata lowered her sonic to her side.

Amy swallowed hard. Whatever was starting was her fault. "What has?"

"Swallow reflex." The Doctor said just before they were thrown back into the refuse. Renata yelled as soon as her entire body was covered in the refuse again. In a quick second the Doctor used the sonic on the walls to get another process started, one that he was sure Renata would thoroughly scream at him for.

"What are you doing?" Amy sat upright, too afraid to stand until somebody else did too.

"I'm vibrating the chemo-receptors!"

"Chemo-what?"

"The eject button!"

"How does a mouth have an eject button?"

As expected, Renata loudly screamed. "I really hate you! I hate this entire place and this entire ship!"

Gabby was about to ask for another explanation when they heard the creature growling and a wave of vile coming towards them. Oh, she might scream too.

The Doctor helped Renata stand up but she looked so close to murdering him he almost thought of letting her go. He winced at himself for that thought. "Sorry Renée. Only way out."

She would've indeed yelled at him had it not been for the terribly huge wave coming for them. "O-o-oh no…" Her hands suddenly clung to him.

"Right, then, this isn't going to be big on dignity," he tweaked his bowtie, not that it would matter in a couple minutes. "Geronimo!" He wrapped his arms around Renata's body to shield her from as much bile as he could.

Gabby and Amy tried cowarding behind one another, ushering the other one ahead before they would force each other to switch places. In the end, they all screamed as the bile collected them in its way.

~0~

When Gabby and Amy came to, everything was a bit distorted. They could see each other a few inches away but things were blurry. They could hear warbled voices in the background, going fast. It took a few minutes for them to realize they were lying on a hard, cold metal ground and that the voices they heard were actually Renata and the Doctor going back and forth in some conversation...or argument. Gabby wasn't sure.

"You really had to bring us there, huh? I always thought there was a wire in your head that's plugged into some box with the words 'act stupid' on the front!" Renata was watching the Doctor sonic the metal door that wouldn't open for them.

He looked over her shoulder at her, his expression a cross between wanting to laugh or be properly annoyed. "A box…?" The laughing was winning.

She huffed and folded her arms. "Being clean is something I love. I adore it. You know what I don't like? Being covered in sick! I was just thrown up like...like…" she groaned when no comparison came to mind. "It's just so terrible that I can't come up with the right word!"

"Ren?" Gabby called, alerting the pair she and Amy had woken up.

Renata turned around to help the girls stand up. "Don't worry. There's nothing broken, there's no sign of concussion and yes, unfortunately we're all covered in sick."

"And where are we?" Amy asked once she realized they were in a narrow room with, unsurprisingly, two Smilers.

"Overspill pipe, at a guess." Renata glanced back to see if the Doctor was anywhere closer to opening that door. He wasn't.

Amy crinkled her nose at the stench that seemed to be stuck on her. "Oh, God, it stinks!"

"Yeah, that's not the pipe," the Doctor paused scanning to shoot her an apologetic smile.

"Ugh! Doctor!" Gabby kept her arms away from her body. "This is by far the most disgusting thing that's happened to us!"

"Can we get out?" Amy wanted nothing more than to see a shower.

"One door, one door switch, one condition," Renata sourly said as she made her way up to the Smilers. She tilted her head at the smiling clown face. "It wants us to forget everything we saw. The audacity."

"Forget that we were inside the mouth of a creature? Honestly tempting," Gabby admitted after smelling a strand of her hair.

"Don't say that Gabbs," the Doctor gave up on the door for the moment. "There's a creature living in the heart of this ship and I'd like to know what it's doing there."

The Smilers knew the question was directed at it and, as a response, they turned around to show their angry faces.

"No, that's not going to work on us, so come on," the Doctor made a motion with his fingers for it to give the answer. "Big old beast below decks, and everyone who protests gets shoved down its throat. That how it works?"

Once again, the Smilers turned their faces, revealing an even angrier faces than the last.

Renata was exasperated with the Smilers by this point. "Would you just answer!?" She slammed her hands against the walls of their booths, at the same time expelling golden butterflies. With widened eyes, she backed away. "Oops…" she stared at her palms much like Gabby had earlier. "How does that work exactly?"

"At a first glance, seems like its connected to your current distressed state," the Doctor said, reaching for her closest hand. He examined it as much as he could with the naked eye, but there seemed to be no excess and it didn't seem to harm Renata like it had in her last incarnation.

"I got mad at the door that wouldn't open!" Gabby exclaimed, absolutely believing the Doctor's theory. "It must be when we're mad!"

"But not always, right?" asked Amy who had remembered the butterfly trick Renata showed her when the Doctor was examining the crack in her bedroom wall.

Renata seemed to read her thoughts and nodded with a smile. "Yes! But-" she dropped her smile as her eyes landed on the Smilers again, "-right now I'm beyond angry! I'm covered in sick because of a creature that's no doubt being tortured in the middle of this ship and some stupid clowns are holding back on us! So you better-" she threatened the booth with a pointed, glowing finger, "-start answering before you become Vortex dust!"

The booths opened up to let the two Smilers come out.

The Doctor quickly pulled Renata back, prompting Gabby and Amy to do the same. "May I just say, good response but terrible outcome?" he told Renata who agreed with a quick nod of her.

"Okay, what do we do now!?" Amy urgently asked them as the Smilers approached them. They were looking as terrified as she was and she took that as a bad sign.

Suddenly, the red cloaked woman had the door opened behind them and shot at the Smilers. They were momentarily stunned.

The Doctor whirled around, happy as ever. "Look who it is!? You look a lot better without your mask!"

The woman was showing her smiling face at them. Her eyes flickered past Renata to the humans. "You must be Gabby and Amy. Liz. Liz 10."

Neither girl could understand when this woman became their friend but would gladly take it!

"Bit late, aren't you?" Renata smirked at the woman.

"A thank you is in order!" the woman laughed. "Right. You know Mandy, yeah?" she moved slightly to let the others see the girl behind in the hallway. "She's very brave."

"How did you find us?" the Doctor asked her after realizing there was no the woman had been casually around the area.

"Stuck my gizmo on you!" the woman chucked a small device at him. "Been listening in."

"Let me see!" Renata took the device from the Doctor to study. "Oh this is great! It could come in handy to keep an eye on him!"

"HEY!" the Doctor was utterly offended. It didn't help that the others, including little Mandy, started laughing. "Seriously!?"

"Sorry, sorry," Renata apologized but she was still struggling to stop laughing. She held the device back to him, not even noticing when he swiped it from her hand with irritation.

"Anyways, you want to tell us what's a creature doing in the middle of the ship?" the Doctor looked directly at the cloaked-woman. "Oh, my bad, you also voted to forget."

The woman took the sarcastic jab calmly. She shrugged her shoulders and refuted the statement. "Never forgot, never voted. Not technically a British subject."

"Then who and what are you, and how do you know us?"

The woman tilted her head at him, giving him a smile asking him if he really needed to ask her that. "You're a bit hard to miss, love. Mysterious stranger, MO consistent with higher alien intelligence, hair of an idiot…"

"Oh, another insult? Seriously!" the Doctor was reaching his limit with all these sarcastic jabs. Why was it always him!?

Renata felt guilty for taking her own jabs. She always did them and poor Doctor always had to take it. It was their dynamic, sure, but sometimes she needed to reel it back. She reached up to move some of his wet strands of hair off his forehead. She felt his body stiffen but soon relaxed under her touch.

"Sorry my dear. You do have the hair of an idiot but I love it," she said with a soft smile.

Well, that made everything better for the Doctor. He wouldn't mind if he stroked his hair all day. Actually, he might ask her if she could do that later. With any luck, she would say yes and they could have one calm day together.

When Renata was sure their little disagreement was resolved, she drew her hand away - an action the Doctor almost pouted at - and turned her attention back to the woman. "So, you were explaining how you know him?"

"Both of you, actually," the woman said. "Did I not make that clear?"

"Right, except that doesn't make sense. We haven't met you."

"No, I've been brought up on the stories. My whole family was." The woman noticed the Smilers beginning to twitch behind them. "They're repairing." The group looked back to see the Smilers and quickly took a few steps away. "Doesn't take them long. Let's move." She took the lead down the hallway and continued explaining herself to the pair. "The Doctor. Old drinking buddy of Henry XII. Tea and scones with Liz II. Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, wasn't she?"

"What did you do, Doctor?" Gabby threw the man a curious glance.

The Doctor preferred not to explain considering it really was his fault. "Torchwood," he left it at that and hoped she and Renata would get the jist.

"Knighted and exiled you on the same day!" the woman laughed. The Doctor scowled at her back. So much for keeping it a secret!

"That sounds like you alright," Renata mumbled to him as she rubbed his arm comfortingly.

"And how could I forget Marchioness Renata? Good friends with Anne of Cleves, bit rocky with dear old Henry VII - I'd be too, don't worry - but nobody more rocky than Liz I, huh? Goes for you too Doctor!"

"I haven't even met her! Doctor, what did you do!?" Renata glared at the man in question.

"How do you know I did something!?"

"Because it had to be! Notice how she didn't say drinking buddies of Henry VII, right?"

"Well, but…but you were the reason we couldn't go back to any Henry VII era!"

"Hey that was both of us!" Renata snapped loudly and jabbed her finger into his chest.

Gabby couldn't help snicker at the reminder of that precise trip. Amy heard the laugh and raised an eyebrow at Gabby, asking her what she knew.

"Long story short..." Gabby pulled Amy a bit closer to speak quietly without being heard. Of course with Renata and the Doctor arguing, she didn't have to try so hard. "We met Anne of Cleves and her then-husband, Henry VII, who wanted Renata as his wife. The Doctor got jealous, made a whole thing about it and we had to run for it in the end."

Amy hid her laugh behind her mouth and turned her head at the Time Lords. They were still going at it strongly.

"I didn't do anything!" the Doctor was shouting.

"Don't lie to me! Martha also told me this Queen was particularly upset with you! And now she hates me too!?"

"I didn't!" the Doctor insisted but Renata wouldn't listen. Gabby and Amy both shared equally confused but curious glances with each other.

"Good story to come, I hope," Gabby snickered with the ginger.

It wasn't until the woman introduced herself as Liz 10 - Elizabeth X - that the Time Lords stopped arguing.

"And down!" Liz shot at the pair of Smilers behind them. "I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule." She led them into another corridor that would bring them to the base of a vator shaft. "There's a high-speed Vator through there."

The Doctor noticed two tentacles sticking out of a caged area, much like the one Gabby and Amy saw earlier. "There's these things. Any ideas?"

"Oh, we saw one of those up top," Gabby said as soon as she saw the caged area. "Right, Amy?"

"Yeah!" the ginger nodded. "There was a hole in the road, like it had burst through, like a root."

"It's all one creature," Renata said and shuddered. "The same one we were inside minutes ago, but now it's reaching out. It must be growing through the mechanisms of the entire ship."

Liz eyed the cage with newfound horror. "What? Like an infestation?"

"Someone's helping it. Feeding it…" the Doctor tried getting nearer to it but Renata yanked him back.

"Feeding my subjects to it," Liz muttered and stormed off. "Come on. We've got to keep moving." Mandy followed in a hurry and just as Amy and Gabby were going to do the same, they noticed the Time Lords staring at the tentacles with odd expressions.

"Guys?" Gabby called to them while Amy gestured that they needed to be following Liz.

"We should have never come here," the Doctor resolved with a sigh. The creature banged against the bars keeping it inside. He should have just ran those exams on Renata and maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't have caught sight of this ship.

Amy remembered the video she left for herself, warning her to get off the ship. Could it be related to the creature? And if so, why was it so urgent!?

~ 0 ~

Liz's bedroom was covered with a maze of glasses of water. It was a certain challenge getting around it but Liz was a master as she swiftly crossed the room to reach her bed. Sometime later would see the travelers cleaned up from showers, though Renata swore she would take a proper, long bath when they went home.

"What are these glasses for?" Gabby asked in a slight frustration after nearly knocking one over.

"To remind me every single day that my government is up to something, and it's my duty to find out what," Liz said in what sounded like a recital.

"Lovely mask," Renata eyed the porcelain mask sitting at the foot of the woman's bed. She knew the Doctor had already taken a quick study of it while she was in the shower, but she wanted to see it with her own eyes. "Guess you would need it if you're a queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom."

Liz was dead serious as she watched Renata turn her mask over. "Secrets are being kept from me. I don't have a choice. Ten years I've been at this - my entire reign - and you've achieved more in one afternoon."

"That's him alright," Renata said without even gazing up from the mask. The Doctor stopped pacing behind her, his amused expression asking her how she knew that line had been directed at him. She glanced at him with a wink.

"So Liz, how old were you when you came to the throne?" he asked afterwards.

"40. Why?"

Amy's mouth nearly dropped when she heard that. She turned away from the mirror after putting her hair up. "What, you're 50 now? No way!"

"Don't let physical appearances fool you," Gabby said before throwing a thumb at Renata and the Doctor. "Ask them how old they are."

"Ask and it's the last thing you'll do," Renata calmly said while she studied the mask, though under her calm words there was a clear warning.

Amy chuckled and went to sit on the chaise with Mandy.

"Yeah, they slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps," Liz added for humor.

"Do you always wear this in public?" Renata waved the mask at Liz. The woman nodded her head.

"Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting."

Renata had on a strained smile before she glanced at the Doctor. He already knew.

"Air-balanced porcelain. Stays on by itself, cos it's perfectly sculpted to your face," he said quietly. Liz missed the knowing looks the pair were sharing.

"Yeah. So what?"

Renata met the woman's gaze a few seconds later with her strained smile stronger than ever. "Oh, Liz. So everything."

If they had been about to share what they knew worth Liz, they never got the chance. Four hooded men burst into the room, startling Liz out of her bed.

"What are you doing? How dare you come in here?" she rushed up to them in outrage.

"Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK. You will come with us now," one of the men dutifully announced.

"Why would I do that?"

The man's head then spun to show the face of an angry Smiler.

"Mm, that's why!" Gabby exclaimed in horror.

Liz was appalled as she stumbled away from the men. "How can they be Smilers?"

"Half Smiler, half human," the Doctor said, rather disgusted.

Liz didn't seem to share the same sentiment. She was beyond furious and anyone who was responsible would feel it. "Whatever you creatures are, I am still your queen. On whose authority is this done?"

"The highest authority, Ma'am," the Smiler, to his credit, did obediently answer.

"I am the highest authority!"

And that should be your first clue, Renata almost rolled her eyes. The human was too angry to even notice it.

The Smiler agreed with Liz, yet another clue that the woman missed, and announced that he would led her and the rest to the Tower of London. They were brought to a large stone room full of machinery. Only a few feet inside, Amy and Gabby noticed more of the creature's body was sticking out of grates.

"Where the hell are we?" Gabby wearily looked at the Time Lords.

"The lowest point of Starship UK," the Doctor said, giving the room a little spin. "The dungeon."

"Hawthorne!" Liz barked a gray-haired man who'd approached the group. "So this is where you hid yourself away. I think you've got some explaining to do."

"Excuse me," Renata called with a similar authoritative tone. "Why are there children down here?" Her question made Amy and Gabby realize there was a line of children doing hard labor around the room. "It seems hardly safe for them. Where are their parents?"

"Protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast," Hawthorne replied with the most casual tone, easily enraging Renata in a second. "For some reason, it won't eat the children. You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky."

"You tried feeding children to the creature!? How dare you!?" She looked ready to lunge on him and it didn't seem like the Doctor would try to stop her.

The only reason he wouldn't join her was because his eyes had gone to the type of equipment around the room. One Time Lord for each problem.

"And you agreed to this!" Renata turned on Liz, startling the woman with the sudden change of direction her rage took.

"I did not!"

Renata's loud scoff made everyone around her flinch. "Yes, you did!"

Gabby pulled Renata back a few steps. "How could she? She's investigating her own kingdom, remember?"

"I remember, but she doesn't! This isn't even a dungeon room, it's a bloody torture chamber!"

"Ren, what are you talking about?" Gabby happened to look in Amy's way and saw the finger's mild fear. If she was in Amy's place, Gabby would agree the sight of angry Time Lady was fear-worthy. "Doctor?" she called to the man for some help.

"She's right," the Doctor agreed, speaking in a low tone.

Gabby recognized that immediately even if was in a new incarnation's voice. Oh great, they're both angry.

"Torture chamber of the Tower of London, except it's not a torture chamber, for this lot," the Doctor sourly went on as he strolled by the equipment. "I suppose it just depends on your angle." He came for Liz and, despite the woman's reluctance, he led her to an open well which was reply just a view into the engine.

Liz peered over the railing to see something huge and it was moving. "What's that?"

"It's your engine," Renata muttered, ignoring Gabby's please beside her to explain why she was so upset.

"Well, like I say, depends on the angle. It's either the exposed pain center of big fella's brain, being tortured relentlessly…" the Doctor trailed off.

"Or?"

"Or it's the gas pedal, the accelerator - Starship UK's go-faster button."

"I don't understand…"

The Doctor was getting frustrated with the lack of brains around him. The answer was right in front of Liz and she wasn't getting it! "The spaceship that could never fly, no vibration on deck. This creature - this poor, trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading - it's what you have instead of an engine. And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving."

As if to help prove his point, an intermittent electrical beam shot down into the well, directly hitting the creature's exposed brain. Liz was stunned and she dared not look over the tails again.

"Tell you what," the Doctor hastily made his way up to another well to lift its grate. "Normally, it's above the range of human hearing. This is the sound none of you wanted to hear." He used the sonic on an extension that had come undone in the grate. A loud, piercing sound filled the air until the Doctor stopped it.

Gabby felt tears come to her face when she realized that the sound was like a cry, a cry of the creature. "It's being tortured nonstop?" Renata nodded at her and finally Gabby realized why the two were so angry.

Amy hadn't yet reached that level and she was suddenly wondering if she wanted to.

"Who did this?" Liz demanded to know from the workers. She was furious, just like Renata and the Doctor.

"We act on instructions from the highest authority," Hawthorne said, but Liz still didn't understand.

"I am the highest authority!" she snapped. "The creature will be released, now." But even with all her anger, nobody moved from their spot. "I said now! Is anyone listening to me?"

The Doctor slowly returned to her side and took out her mask from his pockets. "Liz. Your mask. Look at it. It's old. At least 200 years old, I'd say."

Liz could not understand what was so damn important about that mask. She recalled how long Renata had kept it under her eye. "Yeah, it's an antique, so?"

"Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over 200 years ago and perfectly sculpted to your face. They slowed your body clock, all right, but you're not 50. Nearer 300. And it's been a long old reign."

Liz almost laughed at the absurdity. "Nah, it's ten years. I've been on this throne ten years."

"It's been the same ten years," Renata clarified as she started heading for a small table set not too far from where they entered.

The Doctor led Liz by the hand and since the woman was utterly confused, she let it happen. "The same ten years over and over again, always leading you... here."

Liz swallowed rough when she saw a screen with a two buttons in front of it, reading "forget" and "abdicate". She turned a hard glance on Hawthorne. "What have you done?"

"Well it wasn't him," Renata corrected. "He's only following your orders."

Hawthorne nodded in agreement. "We work for you, Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us." He reached over to the turn on the screen and as soon as it came to life, a recording of Liz herself appeared. It was what brought Liz to sit down and truly listen.

"If you are watching this...If I am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower Of London. The creature you are looking at is called a Star Whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space and, according to legend, guided the early space travelers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind. 'And what we have done to it 'breaks my heart. The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us, and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the star whales. We trapped it, we built our ship around it, and we rode on its back to safety. If you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the "forget" button. Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button. Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision."

Amy felt sick to her stomach. "I voted for this?" She asked the Doctor and Renata despite already knowing the answer. Their grim faces just confirmed what she already knew. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you knew if we stayed here, we'd be faced with an impossible choice," the Doctor muttered with a growing sense of anger at the woman. "Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save us from that. And that was wrong." He turned completely to her and once Amy saw his face she backed a step. "You don't ever decide what we need to know."

Gabby sent Renata a look asking her to step in, but Renata did not move. She was just as upset but her method of expressing anger had always been to seal it away. Gabby really dreaded the idea of that trait following Renata into her new incarnation. Seeing that Renata wasn't going to help, Gabby moved to stand between the Doctor and Amy.

"Hey! She doesn't even remember doing it!"

Having Gabby in front of him didn't make his anger any less. "But she did it. That's what counts!"

"I'm... I'm sorry," Amy said, at a loss for other words.

"Oh, I don't care," he turned away, storming towards the equipment. "When I'm done here, you're going home."

Amy gasped. "Why!?"

"Doctor, that's being unfair!" Gabby called but he didn't stop for either of them.

"I made one mistake!" Amy argued as she moved to stand beside Gabby. She appreciated the girl's help but she didn't need anyone to fight her own battles. "One mistake that I don't even remember doing it!"

There was no telling if the Doctor was truly examining the equipment he would need for his new plan or if he was just distracting himself from looking at either girl. "Yeah. I know. You're only human."

Gabby's eyes widened. That one might have just hurt her heart. "Is that supposed to be an insult?" the Doctor said nothing more so Gabby turned expectantly at Renata.

The Time Lady had watched the entire argument unfold with no clear expression of which side she was leaning to. "We get it, we do, but Amy you shouldn't have chosen to forget on our behalf. You don't get to make that choice for us."

"I'm sorry," Amy insisted, hoping that at least Renata would be able to know she was being honest. All Renata did was nod though.

"What are you doing?" Liz asked the Doctor, taking a few steps towards the man but stopping when she got a better look at his darkened expression.

"The worst thing I'll ever do. I'm going to pass a massive electrical charge through the Star Whale's brain. Should knock out all its higher functions, leave it a vegetable. The ship will still fly, but the whale won't feel it."

"But that'll be like killing it!" Amy exclaimed. She didn't remember pressing any buttons but she knew, she knew for sure, that she had pushed the 'forget' button to spare them pain. She only failed to think about the creature.

The Doctor's hands slammed down on the machinery and glared up at the group. "Look, three options. One: I let the Star Whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two: I kill everyone on this ship. Three: I murder a beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then I find a new name, cos I won't be the Doctor any more!"

"But there must be something we can do, some other way," Liz said but that was the Doctor's patience had finally snapped from the thread it'd been hanging on.

"Nobody talk to me!" he roared, startling everyone into silence. "Nobody human has anything to say to me today!" After that, nobody tried to stop him anymore.

All except for one person.

'I think you may have hurt Gabriella's feelings back there…'

Nobody would notice the one second the Doctor momentarily stopped working. This was the first time Renata had spoken telepathically to him since he regenerated.

'You're that upset my dear that you've unintentionally lowered your mental shields,' Renata came up to stand on the other side of the equipment he worked on. 'Never really talked about connecting telepathically but since your door is open, I'm going to step in for a moment.'

'Are you not upset?' the Doctor raised his gaze to meet Renata's eyes.

'Oh no I am very upset. Amy did something terrible but...she did it with good intentions. I can relate to that. I'm sure you can too.'

The Doctor wouldn't give in so easily despite the kind face he had in front of him. 'They have been torturing this kind creature for centuries, Renata. How am I supposed to react!? Not everyone has your ability to bottle things in!' As soon as he thought - or said - those words, the Doctor closed his eyes with regret. His hands stopped working over the controls and drew back. 'I'm sorry. I didn't...I shouldn't have-'

Renata smiled lightly at his guilty self. 'No, no, that's completely fair. I did that a lot. But just to be clear, I'm not saying that you shouldn't be upset. I'm only saying, from personal experience, that you shouldn't push people away. When they do things like these, with good intentions, it's best to go back and see things from their perspective. I know it's hard, especially because of the circumstances but it does help.'

The Doctor smiled to himself, almost shaking his head. He always wondered how she could be so wise, even when they were younger. She always had the right words to ease something that could seem so impossible. 'I love you, you know. I'm glad I have you around...in this way.'

Renata reached over the equipment to grab his hand. 'Me too. And know that whatever you do, whatever you decide...I'm here.'

The Doctor swallowed hard as his eyes roamed over the equipment. The choice had already been made. He just needed to get through it.

~ 0 ~

Gabby and Amy sat on the ground together against the wall. They could do nothing to stop what was going to happen to the creature. All they could do was simply wait for it. Amy, however, felt like she was waiting for more than Gabby...because she was.

"I messed it up," she said quietly, bringing her hands up to her temples. "I messed it all up…"

Gabby could feel Amy's genuine guilt and put a comforting hand on the ginger's arm. "It was an honest mistake. Don't worry, you're not going home."

Amy scoffed quietly. "Oh please, you heard the man."

"You don't know him like I do. I mean...I don't know him like Renata does but I know him enough to know that he says a lot of things when he's angry. He's heartbroken."

Amy wasn't convinced. She had felt the Doctor's rage with one simple glare and she was not interested in being on the receiving end again. "If I make mistakes like that, maybe I shouldn't be around."

"We make mistakes, trust me. I did too," Gabby shrugged. Her eyes flickered to Renata who had drifted away from the Doctor to stop more children coming in from working.

Amy dropped her hands to her lap and questionably looked at Gabby. "You did?"

"Yeah, on my very first trip just like you. I pissed off Renata when I overstepped about something I heard about her. It was about her past and Renata is a very reclusive woman. I made the wrong choice by asking her, pestering her, until she snapped and threatened to drop me back on Earth."

Amy's eyes widened as she quickly glanced at Renata. The Time Lady was clearing off some soot of a child's face, trying her best to make the boy smile. She even bopped his nose with a glowing golden finger to enchant the boy. Amy couldn't see Renata acting the same as the Doctor when she was angry. Hell, she couldn't even picture Renata getting angry.

"She can get angry," Gabby said as if she read Amy's mind. Amy looked away from Renata with a light smile. "The Doctor's right, Amy, we're only human but that's not an insult. It does hurt a bit when he says it angrily," she sighed. "He's actually very fascinated with our kind. We're that good." She bumped shoulders with Amy, eliciting a smile from the ginger. "But you have to understand that even though they look young...the Doctor and Renata are actually very old. They've seen so many things that sometimes they snap. And our job as companions is to help them come back from it. We can't make them come back but we can try our best."

"So what can we do right now?" Amy helplessly asked as she cast another look at the Doctor. He was fervently working and had been for time now which meant the creature would be dying soon.

"I don't know. We better start thinking."

Amy blew a raspberry at their hopeless situation. "Great."

"Just look at the butterflies," Renata's voice carried over to the girls' spot.

Amy craned her head in time to see a few of the children 'awwwing' at a few golden butterflies fluttering in the air. A light smile spread across Amy's face as she recalled the same trick being used on her all those years ago. It had truly made her feel much less afraid of the crack. Renata gave the allusion of what a mother was.

Mandy had joined the group without neither Amy nor Gabby noticing when, but Amy did spot one of the creature's tentacles creeping out of a grate towards Mandy. Amy panicked and scrambled to get up but just as she straightened up, the tentacle only tapped Mandy's shoulder and then allowed the girl to pet it.

"Amy?" Gabby gently called to her but Amy was thinking suddenly.

"It won't eat the children…"

"The children screamed, then it came. It's the last of its kind."

Amy watched Mandy and a few other children pet the tentacle and it almost looked like the creature was trying to play with them.

"No, it's okay," Renata was soothing one of the younger children crying at the tentacle. "It won't hurt you. I'm here."

"There were, but there aren't...just us now."

Amy's eyes flickered to the Doctor after watching Renata conjure up a few more butterflies for the scared child. There was no doubt in her mind he would be trying to pull off some crazy stunt to make the scared child laugh too.

"Doctor says he never interferes in the affairs of other peoples or planets but then he does when there's children crying?"

"Oh, if there's a child crying he'd stop everything."

Amy then looked down at Gabby who was still trying to decide if Amy was alright. She'd stopped calling Amy's name but she was keeping a close eye on the ginger. Something was going on inside her head.

And indeed there was.

Amy felt like slapping herself for being so clueless! The Doctor was right, she had to have kept her eyes open! She should've noticed everything! "Doctor, stop!" she yelled and rushed towards Liz. Everyone, including the Doctor and Renata, stopped to see her taking Liz's hand and racing for the voting buttons.

The Doctor was quick to panic once he realized what Amy wanted to do. "Amy, no!" he went after them but he didn't make it in time. Amy had brought Liz's hand down on the 'abdicate' button. "AMY!"

The creature bellowed underneath them, rocking the entire ship.

The Doctor nearly fell back if he hadn't caught onto pillar. Renata's arms flailed trying to keep the children around her from falling back.

"AMY!" she yelled as upset as the Doctor.

Gabby had managed not to smack face-first to the ground, but she wasn't the same as the Time Lords. "No, let her! She's figured it out!" She had no doubt that Amy realized something none of them had. She would never put them all in danger like this. She didn't seem the type.

Amy laughed as if agreeing with Gabby. The ship slowly stopped shaking and actually returned to normal...with a few differences.

"We've increased speed," Hawthorne was stunned as he looked over their readings.

"Yeah, well, you've stopped torturing the pilot! Gotta help!" Amy dramatically flapped her hands around the room.

"It's still here? I don't understand," Liz moved over to Hawthorne's side to see the readings herself.

"The Star Whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago. It volunteered!" Amy began to explain, growing more excited by the second. "You didn't have to trap it or torture it - that was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race was dead, no future. What couldn't you do then?" Amy started making her way towards the Doctor, her smile softening as she took in his guilty face for not realizing it before. "If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind...you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry." And just to really make her point, she purposely nodded at Renata who was surrounded by the children.

"Oh, she's good," Gabby smiled proudly at Amy.

~ 0 ~

Once everything was settled on the ship, Renata and the Doctor found it easy to slip away from the crowd. They'd wandered to the observation deck where they found such a beautiful sight of a starry space.

"It's funny how times change," Renata's soft voice broke their mutual silent wacth. "Last time I saw stars...we were fighting the Master. And we were hiding in a Vinvocci ship. Oh, and the world was ending." She let silence pass between them again when it truly donned on her where they were a short while ago, and what they were doing. "That was two days ago."

The Doctor said nothing at first as he reached for Renata's hand. "Two days ago seems like a very long time ago."

Renata side-glanced him with a small smile across her lips. "Doesn't it? Now we're here," she squeezed her hand around his and faced the stars again. "Looking at some stars, on a ship with a creature driving it…"

"Flying it, technically," the Doctor couldn't help make the correction but instead of getting annoyed, Renata chuckled.

"Flying it," she amended.

The Doctor gripped her hand again, licking his lips nervously as he turned to her and gently using their interlocked hands to turn her as well. "Renée, I don't know why I forgot about it but...would you consider connecting telepathically?" Renata's eyebrows slowly raised, her expression giving him the impression she would refuse. "I-I know we did it temporarily twice but this time, if you'd like, we-we could...officially do it. I would understand if you think it's too early, but...if I may give my opinion?"

Renata chuckled. "When don't you?"

He agreed with a sideways tilt. "Right. We've only just started a relationship but the truth is we've known each other far longer. What happened between us...it's been a long story. I've known you for my entire life even if I've only seen you in three of my incarnations. Most of my thoughts you know anyways, but I'd like it if you could see every part of me. Who knows, maybe if you see what really goes through my head you might realize I'm no good. But at least you'll have known who I really am."

"I know you," Renata said matter-of-factly. She slipped her hand out of his to bring it up to his cheek. "I've always known who you are. Of course I know I don't know all of your thoughts, or every you, but I know you. I know who you are." She stepped closer to him, leaving barely any space between them. "I would love to finally connect our minds. Who knows, you might see the real me…"

"I know you," the Doctor clarified just like she had. "My Gala."

Renata let out a small gasp at his brief Gallifreyan use. The last time she heard him say her true name in their language was centuries ago, too many centuries ago. "My Theta." The Gallifreyan just tumbled out but before the Doctor could fully process it, she'd pulled him to her for a kiss.

Their minds slowly opened to one another, inciting a slow, passionate kiss that they hadn't really shared yet. Memories from each other flooded their minds, ones that they knew - that they were both a part of - and others that were new. No secrets would be left uncovered because that was a thing of the past, something they promised each other going forwards.

~0~

By the time Gabby and Amy realized they were missing their drivers, Renata and the Doctor were already waiting for them by the TARDIS.

Amy nervously carried Liz's porcelain mask in her hands and held it out for the pair to take. "From Her Majesty. She says there will be no more secrets on Starship UK."

"My type of monarchy," Renata gingerly took the mask into her hands. "And leadership in general."

Amy smiled but anyone could tell she was bursting with questions about her stay.

"Amy, you could have killed everyone on this ship," the Doctor was the one to break the terse silence.

"You could have killed a Star Whale," she countered.

"And you saved it. I know, I know."

Renata curled her arm around the Doctor's arm and smiled at Any that kind, warm smile she'd gotten as a child. It was the one that told Amy things would be okay. "We're sorry. We may have rudely snapped. That happens sometimes."

At this familiar words, Amy glanced at Gabby and shared a knowing smile together.

"Why do I feel like we're missing something?" the Doctor asked Renata as he watched the two humans.

"Because you always do."

"Oi!"

"Don't worry, Doctor," Gabby put an arm around Amy's shoulders. "I've just been giving Amy some insight into the life in the TARDIS."

"You would," Renata gave her companion a proud smile.

"I wanted to be like Donna when I first came aboard," Gabby admitted and for a moment she, Renata and the Doctor dedicated a moment of silence to their missing friend, Donna Noble. She would forever leave a scar in their hearts.

"Thanks Gabby," Amy genuinely thanked her new friend because otherwise she may not have made it this first trip.

"Gabbs, I am sorry if I hurt your feelings," the Doctor said once he remembered the terrible look in Gabby's eyes after making his human remark.

Gabby shook her head with a chuckle as she came to give him a hug. "I like to think that I know you enough for these types of situations!"

"Still," he dropped a kiss to her head. "You're family. We don't fight."

Renata barely controlled the urge to scoff when she thought about her family. "We should go. I think we could all use nice baths."

"Mhm!" Gabby pulled away from the Doctor. "I've got some nice bath bombs, Amy! Bet you've never seen a bath bomb that shoots images into the air!"

"What?" Amy's eyes widened, making the others laugh.

"I bet you'll like the one with stars! My favorite is the butterfly one!" Gabby motioned to be followed in as she hurried into the TARDIS.

"Don't forget we need to run tests on you!" Renata called after the girl but it didn't seem like Gabby had heard.

Amy chuckled. "Do you always act like a Mum?"

Renata blinked at her and for a moment it looked like she would be saying something but instead she looked at the Doctor. "Why do they all say that?"

Now the Doctor laughed. "You really haven't figured it out?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh forget it." She turned around and disappeared into the TARDIS.

"Come along, Pond! Big day tomorrow!" the Doctor nodded at the TARDIS and missed Amy's wide eyed expression.

"Sorry, what?"

"It's always a big day tomorrow. We've got a time machine. I skip the little ones."

Amy found her breath once she realized he wasn't talking about her wedding. Her wedding. She shook her head and followed the Doctor inside. Renata and Gabby had no doubt disappeared into the corridors which gave Amy a motivation to ask, "You know what I said about getting back for tomorrow morning...have you ever run away from something because you were scared, or not ready, or just...just because you could?"

"Once...a long time ago," the Doctor came straight to the console. He started the TARDIS up and brought them into the Vortex.

"What happened?"

He turned with a smile. "Hello!"

Amy laughed. "Is that how Renata left too? Because I really can't picture that, you know."

The Doctor's smile faltered but it returned just as quick when he remembered how it was that she came aboard the TARDIS. That might make a good story for Amy. "Actually, I kidnapped Renata, stole her right off 1969."

Amy's eyes bugged out but there was a clear doubt on her face, only further confirmed by her scoff. "No way!"

"Yeah, I did! Nicked her off the ground and threw her over my shoulder!"

"Please, don't sound so regretful," Renata appeared by the corridor threshold, arms crossed and with a mock glare on the culprit. "I should've had the Shadow Proclamation on you when I had the chance!"

The Doctor just smirked proudly as he gave a little spin.

It was then that Amy realized he had not been kidding. "Wait, this actually happened!?"

"Oh yeah!" the Doctor said, once again spinning as he made a round on the console.

"Seriously, at least try to look a little sorry!" Renata walked up the glass steps to the console.

"Why would I be?" the Doctor stopped to smirk at her.

Renata mock-glared again and shook her head. "Amy, go on. Gabriella found the bath bombs." Amy nodded and hurried towards the corridor. "Not even going to apologize then?" she continued with the Doctor, but judging by his proud smile the answer was a no.

"I used to want to but now I changed my mind!"

"You're evil!"

"Smart!"

Amy laughed. "Okay, that's seriously funny!" And kind of romantic. She wouldn't mind if the same thing happened to her.

[platinumsun490]

Sonic and Friends: Last of Us AU-Knuckles

Thanks to the inspiration of solar-socks, who thought of the idea of putting Knuckles the Echidna in place of Abby from the Last of Us, I have written my own version of his backstory as to why he hates Tom, in place of Joel, and Sonic, in place of Ellie. Like Abby, Knuckles loses his dad, but I added a bit more to that. Gotta warn you though, this does not have a happy ending. Each piece of the story is something that led Knuckles to the final conclusion of killing Tom and getting revenge.

nothing but ANGST

Knuckles watched from the little secluded area he and his father, Locke, had hiked out to as echidnas of all kinds walked in and out of the hospital, either to help or to visit. While he knew it was important for him to be there, seeing how he was going to be the next leader, it was nice to get away every once in a while. Just then, Vector, a crocodile, and Espio, a chameleon, came running up to them from a distance.

“Sir, that hedgehog showed up,” Vector said breathlessly.

Locke rolled his eyes, unknowing. “What hedgehog?”

“The one your wife keeps talking about.”

Knuckles stopped rummaging through his bag to stare at Vector and Espio, who couldn’t be saying what he thought they were saying. Espio stepped forward, saying, “They found him in the tunnels. He has an old bite mark on his arm. No signs of infection.”

The echidna warrior watched as his father, Locke the echidna, blinked a few times in shock, shaking his head and saying, “That can’t be.”

“They’re already runnin’ tests on him, but…you gotta get down there,” Vector said. Both of them seemed to be in disbelief. Knuckles couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

After so many years of saying the echidna people, his people, would have a cure for the Zombot Metal Virus soon, it finally happened. He remembered watching his parents preach about it sometimes, like religious leaders saying the word of an otherworldly being. At first, he thought his parents were going crazy, and chose to stick by his friend’s sides, but now, this news practically proved his parents right. He watched Locke shift his weight nervously from one foot to the other. “Dad?” he asked timidly.

He merely pointed down the path they had originally came from, silently telling them to head back to base. Vector and Espio left first, most likely to spread the news further, and Knuckles watched as his father took him by the arm and pulled him to the main building, a hospital.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Knuckles watched as his mother and father discussed the operation in his dad’s main office. Locke was trying to explain how there was no way to remove the specimen without destroying the host. Lara-Le, Knuckles’s mother, was clearly not happy about his father’s wording. “The host? He is a child, not some petri dish.”

“You think I don’t-” Locke’s voice began to raise, but he quickly contained himself and said, “I’m aware of the situation.”

“And you’re okay with killing him?” Lara-Le asked with a grim expression. It scared Knuckles a bit to see his mother so upset. He was used to a negative attitude from his dad, but not his mother. She was always so positive about things, keeping everyone’s heads up when it felt like there was nothing else.

“No, Lara. I’m okay with developing a vaccine that’ll help save millions of lives. How many echidnas have died for less?”

Lara grew angry. She jabbed a finger at Locke’s chest, pushing him back a bit. “That was their choice. Are you asking me, or are you telling me this is how it’s gonna be?”

Locke moved closer to her, but she stood her ground. Knuckles watched his father place his hands comfortingly on Lara’s shoulders. “I am begging you to buy in.”

Lara didn’t hesitate with a response. “And what if this was Knuckles?” Knuckles watched as Locke’s expression changed slightly, just slightly, before going back to serious.

“Look, everything that we’ve been fighting for, all the sacrifices, all the horrific…all of that is justified with this one act.”

“If this was our son, what would you do?” Lara asked again calmly. She was starting to scare Knuckles. Locke stood there, not saying anything, which made Lara turn and leave. Before she walked out, she said, “I’m telling the human, Tom. He has a right to know.”

She faltered when she noticed Knuckles sitting on the floor next to the doorway, but she just rubbed his head and walked away. Knuckles then stood up and walked into the room, where his dad was leaning against the desk with a dark look, his body showing signs of tiredness. Walking up next to his father, Knuckles said, “If it was me, I’d want you to do the surgery.”

Locke took his son’s hand and gripped it tightly, like a patient on a lifeline. Knuckles watched his father wipe a few tears away, then walk away to do what he had to do.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Knuckles watched as Vector and Espio leaned over a bleeding body.

His father’s body.

Dropping his weapon, Knuckles stumbled into the room, gaining his friend’s attention. Espio took a step back while Vector stood up and held his hands out, saying, “Knuckles…”

“Is that…?” Knuckles whispered. He felt all the blood drain from his face, his hands shake as he saw a scalpel from the operation jammed into his father’s neck. Blood was staining the floor a dark red, darker than his fur tone, darkening to a sickly brown color.

Knuckles watched as Vector moved towards him, not to comfort, but to stop. It was then that Knuckles realized he was screaming. He was screaming for his father. He didn’t know he could make such a horrid sound. It scared him. “No! DAD! DAD, NO!!” Falling to his knees, Knuckles curled up in Vector’s arms and started to sob violently, his breathing erratic and ragged. He buried his face in Vector’s shoulder, continuing to cry over his loss.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Knuckles watched as a thief who had broken in interrogated Lara-Le about the cure for the virus. The human, Tom Wachowski, had taken the hedgehog, Sonic, away from their home, leaving the echidna race to fend for itself after years of saying they had a cure and ended up not having one. Now, people, humans and Mobians alike, had gotten angry.

“Tell me where you people hide the cure or I’m going to make sure you have one less mouth to feed,” the man said as he held Knuckles down at gunpoint.

Lara stiffened at the sight, then took a deep breath, put on a serious expression, and bargained, “If I show you where it is, will you let my son go?”

Knuckles watched the man nod, then yelped when he literally kicked out of the room. Knuckles reached for his mother, but she just smiled tearfully at him as she led the man away.

Minutes later, as Knuckles and a few survivors were escaping, he heard a gunshot.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Knuckles watched as Tom tried to climb the fire escape as fast as he had done. Tom had ran into Knuckles on a supply run and saved him from being bitten or killed from one of the monster. Now, a horde of Infected was closing in on them, and they didn’t have much time.

Thankfully, one of the buildings still had its fire escapes attached to it, despite the ruins around them. Tom finally reached the top, but one of the steps gave out and left him dangling off the edge.

He scrambled to climb over, but he didn’t have a good grip. With a sneer of disgust, Knuckles grabbed Tom by the front of his shirt and lifted him up with ease, ignoring the man’s panicked yelling. He wanted to do this. He wanted Tom to remember who he was.

“Did you hear about what happened to the echidnas after you ran off with the only hope the world had? Do you know how many died at the hands of murderers and Infected?” Knuckles seethed through clenched teeth. Tom looked confused for a second, then frantic. He thrashed in Knuckles’ hold, hitting and kicking, but to no avail. The red echidna lifted him higher, scowling with absolute hatred. The faces of his parents and friends flashed in front of him, making him hesitate. They wouldn’t want him to do this…

Knuckles let Tom go.

Knuckles watched as Tom’s body slammed into the fire escape a few times, then hit the ground with a sickening thud. Infected after Infected jumped onto Tom, and Knuckles turned away, just as Tom’s screams were cut short.

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!”

The echidna looked up in surprise to see Sonic standing on a building near them, having seen the whole thing. His expression was one of shock, fear, defeat, and anger. He glared at Knuckles and sobbed as he fell to the ground, curling in on himself. Knuckles watched Sonic choke on his own breathing, but actually stepped back a bit when Sonic grew rageful.

“I’ll fucking kill you!” Sonic shrieked, filling the empty space around them with an echo of his threat. “You hear me, you bastard?! I’ll kill you for this!”

Knuckles watched Sonic sob uncontrollably for a few seconds before grabbing his bag and jumping over to the next building. He was done here. That was all that mattered to him.

For once in his life, Knuckles didn’t stand by and watch. For once, he did something.

[bewaretheidesofmarchyall]

Good Omens AU Part Four

It’s back. Original is here

Wilbur didn't expect to care about Tommy, but he accepted it pretty quickly.

---------

There wasn't much to bring with him the day he moved to town. After all, it wasn't like he'd actually need to renovate the house. 

He stood on the curb in front of the remnants of the house that burned down a decade ago, suitcase in hand. A bit of a fixer-upper, but I can work with this. 

After checking to make sure there weren't any nosy neighbors watching, he reached out to the debris. 

The charred wood and scattered bricks twitched for a few seconds, before assuming the appearance of a lovely home. 

A doorbell, a porch, windows in a shade of cobalt blue, and above all else the distinct feeling that Wilbur's house (and by extension, Wilbur) had been around on the block for ages.

Even if the neighbors didn't know who he was or what he did, they would have to struggle to think of him as a stranger. 

And they had their own petty human lives, which didn't contain the time or energy to waste worrying about a charming new addition to the neighborhood.

Wilbur strolled into his perfectly average house, plans whirring in his head.

Showtime.

--------------

There were quite a few houses on the block, but Wilbur was only focusing on a group of three.

House #1: Tommy's home, three houses away. A simple house that contained the most important person in the world and his intimidating dad.

House #2: That Weird Guy's house, two houses away. Wilbur had no idea who That Weird Guy was, but he was apparently close friends with Tommy's dad, and even more intimidating. Wilbur wasn't sure why the kid was surrounded by people that made him worry for his life despite being immortal.

House #3: Schlatt's house, sadly next door. He didn't need additional proof that god hated him, but apparently they'd wanted to make it even clearer.

A week or so after he'd gotten settled into his new home, Wilbur decided to go outside to get a better look at the streetlamps and the night sky while trying to find his plan. 

He was feeling surprisingly positive about the whole thing. Soon, he'd be changing the fate of the world.

If this didn't get him remembered after it all, nothing else would.

A hacking cough came from the porch next door, reminding him that he wasn't the only supernatural being on the block. Wilbur took a breath, trying to be civil. 

Don't get distracted from the most important mission of your life because you want to murder a goat. Just walk on by. Just keep walking, and don't acknowledge his existence. You don't know him. 

However, his unwanted neighbor had no qualms about acknowledging Wilbur's existence, and he'd only taken a couple of steps onto the street before Schlatt called out to him. 

"Well, would you look at that: You’re finally out of the house! This is more of a miracle than anything I’ve done.". 

Wilbur turned around, counting down the seconds until he could not be where he was, having this conversation.

"Schlatt, we're supposed to be undercover."

"Oh, my bad. Guess these random humans will never get to know our big secrets.". Schlatt raised his voice slightly, yelling to the deserted cul-de-sac.

"Would be a shame if someone found out that guy over there is a demon! Yeah, the jerk with the beanie's from Hell, and I'm an angel, and we're only pretending to be human because (get this) one of the little tykes on your block is actually the antichrist!". 

Wilbur pinched the bridge of his nose. Was it possible to get headaches when his mind was only semi-corporeal?

"Could you kindly shut the fuck up?"

"Nope.". I mean, that's kind of on me for phrasing it as a question.

Schlatt took a break from the Annoying Wilbur Show (airs all times that he has the poor idea to go outside) to dig into more of his tomato sauce and meat wraps. 

He raised the snack like it was a holy relic. Wilbur supposed that if Schlatt really wanted to, he could make it into one.

"These are Hot Pockets. I was actually planning on taking a few over to you-know-who's family as a housewarming gift, build up good favor, you know?". Suddenly, the plan clicked in Wilbur's head. He tried to keep his face neutral and concerned, with no hint of a smirk.

"Hot Pockets? I mean, are you sure?"

"What's wrong with Hot Pockets? And choose your next words carefully.". Wilbur leaned against a streetlamp, sighing in assumed pity.

"There's nothing wrong with Hot Pockets per se. They're fine, I guess.". Schlatt sputtered, offended beyond belief.

"Fine? Fine? You see before you the one thing that has made me reconsider starting the apocalypse, and you're like "eh. fine". Fuck you and your family and whatever you call taste buds. Fine? I'd tell you to go to hell, but that doesn't work, so go to New Jersey you son of a-". 

This continued on for a while.

Wilbur nodded along to the tirade, maintaining a poker face. All the while, he telekinetically inched the tray of wrapped (?) Hot Pockets towards him. 

The tray crept ever closer, past Schlatt's lawn chair, past Schlatt's nightmarish garden gnomes, past the freshly dug earth that definitely had a body buried under it, until it was finally within reach.

Without listening to another word, Wilbur grabbed the Hot Pockets and ran for the hills, easily outrunning the outraged angel. 

Sorry, Schlatt, but you're going to have to try harder to win this game.

He sprinted to House #1 and rang the doorbell, trying to look non-suspicious. After about a minute, he got an answer from the selected father (Phil, his name was Phil). 

Wilbur smiled brightly and walked into the house.

------------

The initial meeting went great, putting the whole "getting threatened with a knife" thing aside. 

Phil seemed to appreciate the Hot Pockets and company, and Wilbur could confidently guess that he'd managed to secure a place in helping him out in the future. 

Besides being good for the plan in general, he'd liked spending time around Phil and Tommy. Wilbur didn't get to talk to people a lot, and when he did it was normally trying to scam them out of their soul. 

So, this was a welcome break. 

And his heart definitely hadn't been warmed when Tommy had fallen asleep to the sound of his guitar. Nope. Absolutely none of that.

Phil evidently didn't see child raising as his first priority, and Wilbur found more chances to volunteer to watch his kid than he expected. 

At times, he felt like he was just as much of a parent to Tommy as Phil, if not more. 

Which wasn't to say that he felt any bitterness about that. Quite the contrary. Watching after Tommy was one of the best parts of his day. 

Despite being a baby, the kid already had so much personality, and his little face would light up whenever Wilbur went home to House #1.

When Wilbur held the baby in his arms, he really did feel like a guardian. 

The phrase "guardian angel" had stung, but he did want to shield Tommy from harm or becoming anything like him when he grew up.

Still, it's not like his heart was at all warmed when he held Tommy in his arms-Oh, screw it. His heart was warmed. He happened to care about the adorable baby that he spent a lot of time with. Go figure. 

Caring wasn't interfering with his job as a protector, informant for Hell, and general influencer of evil. So, there was no purpose in denying it.

Besides the unexpected emotional attachment, nothing really changed about the general routine.

His days consisted of maintaining the glamours around his house, reading his books, writing (it turns out that an approaching Armageddon worked wonders for deadline motivation), staring at the ceiling and wondering why God had forsaken him, looking after Tommy, talking with Phil (and on occasion, That Weird Guy), giving the Lords of Hell their required project updates, and, occasionally, almost getting murdered.

One key example of the "almost getting murdered" thing happened when Tommy was around two years old.

----------------

He'd just gotten back from another meeting with the Lords (yes, Tommy is still alive. no, he isn't evil yet, seeing as he's two years old. no, that wasn't sarcasm. no, I'd actually prefer for you to not kill me for my insolence. Same old stuff.). 

It was a cold yet sunny winter afternoon when Wilbur stepped out of the office building and back into the mortal world. As he made his way towards the bus station, his phone rang.

The call was from Phil, and he moved away from the middle of the sidewalk to take it, leaning against the brick wall of a building next to an alleyway.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Will, a job came up tonight without much notice. Would you be able to watch Tommy around 7-ish?"

"Sure, I can do that."

"Great, you're a lifesaver. One last thing: If Techno decides to question you about your motives and backstory, don't take it personally, he's just in one of those suspicious phases lately. Okay?". 

Wilbur would have loved to agree, nonchalantly laugh it off, and quickly go over his backstory in his head again. 

Unfortunately for him, there was a weapon aimed at him from the alleyway.

It would be a funny sight to the passerby to see a normal-seeming person cower in the face of a spray bottle. 

Of course, the average passerby wasn't a demon. 

9 times out of 10, when a spray bottle was pointed at a demon, the spray bottle was full of holy water and the demon was in for a bad time.

Wilbur stood there, frozen. The alleyway was shady, and he couldn't quite make out who was aiming the bottle at him. 

Phil's voice echoed out of his phone.

"Will? Are you still there?". Wilbur tried to keep his voice steady, and he quickly responded.

"I'm here. I got it. I'll be ho-I'll be back soon. There is no need to call me back. Goodbye."

"What's that supposed to mean?". He tapped the screen, ending the call. Please, don't have me die right now. It would be annoying, not to mention narratively unsatisfying.

He looked into the alleyway, addressing whoever had seen fit to threaten him today.

"Hi there. I'm guessing that spray bottle isn't full of Sprite.". 

A man in a blue onesie (Sonic the Hedgehog cosplay?) emerged from the shadows.

"Yep. I mean, it technically was Sprite until it went through the blessing process, but it's a lot holier now.". Wilbur blinked a few times in confusion.

"Connor?"

"Hey."

"What's with the outfit? Why are you threatening me in an alley? What's with the outfit?"

"Don't mock the outfit, I have it on good faith that this is the height of human fashion."

"Let me guess. Schlatt told you that.". 

The onesie-clad angel stood there, realizing that taking the advice of that particular coworker probably wasn't the smartest decision he'd ever made. Eventually, he shrugged it off.

"Well, I feel resplendent, so this is a win in my book.". Wilbur tapped the bricks on the wall, almost playing a rhythm.

"Listen, Connor, if you were just going to kill me with that thing you would have already pulled the trigger. Why are you here?". Connor looked a little sheepish about the whole thing.

"The higher-ups thought that I should make you an offer you can't refuse. Basically, some intern had the bright idea that we should have Hell's guardian either agree to spy for us or die."

"You're suggesting that I become a double agent?"

"Yeah. Or die, whichever is your preference."

"I think your higher-ups underestimate my importance here. Killing me won't slow our side down by much. They'll just send another guy, and you'll have to spend more time in unpleasant alleyways."

"And someday they'll send a guy who takes our offer. Trust me, we've been planning this ever since we realized Schlatt was going to be useless down there.". Wilbur thought about it. 

Killing god obviously matters more than prolonging my life. And I'm a good actor, but I don't have enough time in my life to be a triple agent.

"Come on, Connor. I thought you were one of the decent ones.". Connor half-heartedly kicked at a puddle. 

His face was reluctant, but he still aimed the spray bottle with precision.

"Please tell me you're going to accept the offer?"

"You've known me for years. What do you think?"

"From what Schlatt has told me, you're too stubborn for your own good.". Wilbur laughed at that.

"Yeah. So the real question is: Can you murder me, Connor?". Connor shuffled, and the spray bottle wavered. Wilbur continued talking.

"I'm actually interested to see what you do next. You've got my full attention.". The two of them stood there, completely still. Finally, Connor pointed the spray bottle away from Wilbur and aimed for the sky.

"You've kind of made this whole thing weird, man. So, I'll give you a 15-second head start.".

Wilbur didn't waste time thanking him, and he sprinted away. 

He fled through shadows and smoke, barely remembering to keep some trace of a physical body. He scrambled his way towards the bus station, reaching the glass doors. 

However, that was where his luck ran out.

"Sorry, Wilbur. That's the power of the Sonic onesie: I'm really fast.". 

I'm going to need to invest in a Sonic onesie. Except I can't, because I'm about to be shot. Fuck, those are terrible last thoughts. 

Out of desperation, he grabbed the lid of the spray bottle and twisted it off, before punching Connor in the gut. The angel doubled over, and the holy water spilled out of the bottle. 

Wilbur scrambled away from the spill, trying to keep from making contact.

He ran through the doors and into the bus station. 

Some of the holy water had gotten on his coat, and he awkwardly shrugged it off in a corner, which was a shame. He'd really liked the aesthetic of having a trench coat. Sure, he could glamour another one in a few seconds, but it wouldn't feel the same. 

Connor walked towards him, and Wilbur glared.

"You made me lose my trench coat!"

"Again, sorry about all of this, it was just business.". Connor held out his arm in an almost peaceful gesture. 

And Wilbur, tired and overconfident, made the first stupid decision for the day. He took the peace offering and took Connor's hand.

The white-hot pain nearly knocked him to the ground. 

There had been less than a drop of holy water on his hand, but it was more than enough to stop Wilbur from breathing for a few minutes. 

In and of itself, that was fine. He didn't need to breathe to stay alive. All that he had to do was stay away from holy things, what had he done. 

In the background, Connor was frantically apologizing and claiming that he "didn't mean to do that". Wilbur wondered distantly why he'd still be lying to him.

And here I was thinking that there were one or two decent angels. How laughable. 

No one's decent 14 years from Armageddon. Not humans, not angels, and not me.

Wilbur shoved Connor away and walked up to the ticket counter. 

His hands were shaking and his words all over the place, but somehow he managed to convey that he wanted to take a bus back to town and pay for it. 

If I can get back to my house, I should be okay. Or, at the very least, not dead.

The bus ride was tricky. For one, part of the route was along Fundy's cursed highway (one of the demon’s more useless inventions), so things were significantly slowed down. 

Also, everything felt far away and cold, and it was a bit difficult to keep focus on which stop was his.

It took far too much time to reach town, and even more to make his way back to his street.

On auto-pilot, he ended up at House #1 first, panicking slightly when neither Tommy nor Phil was inside.

Trying to keep calm, he checked House #2, and thankfully That Weird Guy (he knew his name was Technoblade, but that was a ridiculous name, and he'd been thinking of him as That Weird Guy for so long that it was hard to stop) was keeping watch over Tommy. Relief washed over him.

I don't know what I'd do if he got hurt. 

That Weird Guy seemed fine with taking care of Tommy for a little longer, which Wilbur was secretly grateful for. 

He also seemed convinced that Wilbur was going to pass out, which was hilarious, seeing as Wilbur didn't need to sleep or breathe unless he wanted to. 

After a brief moment of rest in a bush, he made his way to his house.

He tried to unlock the door, but his hands were trembling too much to use the key, and he was seeing two locks instead of one, and he slowly slid to the ground.

Is this actually how it's happening? 

I know I'm not long for this world, but I always expected a better exit. Something with fanfare and sacrifice and meaning. 

Our so-called "immortality" is a conditional one. The instant we dare to touch something holy, it all goes, and there's no soul or afterlife for us castaways.

I wish I was human.

Wilbur struggled to look up at the sky. 

It was still daytime, and the stars weren't out yet. That was a shame, he'd worked hard on those. He shivered.

I know we're doomed to fail come Doomsday. I know that there's no way out of Your ineffable plan. But I'm trying to make directorial choices with your script, trying to make a good story. This is a terrible ending.

It was quiet. That was probably for the best.

Do I deserve it?

Of course I do.

But I didn't always, and you're not blameless either.

I hope that Tommy's too young to remember me.

The world was cold, but peacefully quiet, and the pain was mostly beyond his reach. This wasn't bad, all things considered. Wilbur's eyes closed.

A few minutes later, he was rudely awakened by Phil shaking him.

"Are you okay? I mean, obviously you’re not, but can you stand?". He opened one eye.

"I'm fine.". Phil laughed at that. Part of Wilbur considered laughing along, while what was left of his common sense informed him that Phil sounded like he was laughing out of shock.

"Fine? Will, there were a few seconds where I thought you were dead!"

"Well, as you can see, I'm not. If you could just unlock the door, that would be great.". The door unlocked behind him. 

He struggled to rise to his feet, and Phil caught his arm, supporting him.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Minor business conflict."

"There is a hole in your hand.”

"That happens at my job sometimes. I'm in the mafia."

"Have you considered other career options?"

"The insurance benefits are too good.". Phil set Wilbur down on a couch and left the room. As was to be expected.

Wilbur reached under the couch cushions to grab a hidden cigarette lighter. 

He had no intention of smoking while bleeding out, obviously. 

The cigarette lighter had been modified slightly, another one of Fundy's inventions. 

The fire of the lighter was no regular thing, but rather hellfire. Hopefully, that would be enough of a cure.

The warmth of the hellfire slowly and painfully chipped away at the ice and purity, and he took a few seconds to internally mock god. 

Maybe a bit of a hubris-related thing to do, but Wilbur was glad to live another day, and that meant spite.

For whatever reason, Phil stuck around to make sure he was okay. 

Wilbur hadn't quite expected that. 

He wasn't in the best state, but Phil seemed to believe that it was better for him to be talking than unconscious. 

So, in a half-delirious state, he rambled about mercy, and free will, and falling.

And when he whispered that he missed flying, he could have sworn that Phil agreed.

----------------------

Anyway, aside from dramatic moments like those, life was okay.

Wilbur was there for every milestone in Tommy's life, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

He was there for his first few words when Tommy was a baby (the first word was "kaboom", but the second was "Wilby").

He was there for his first steps, and once Tommy learned to walk there was no stopping him from running everywhere.

He was there for preschool graduations and first days of kindergarten and beyond.

-----------------------

Of course, Wilbur's job was to teach the kid to want to kill god, and he tried to do that too. 

From the moment Tommy learned how to read, Wilbur kept trying to get him to read Paradise Lost. Sadly, he was six and Milton wasn't to his taste at the moment. 

Wilbur wasn't sure how well he did on that front, but he tried. 

Either way, he wasn't sure if he raised a suitably evil kid, but he raised a good one. 

Not good as in morally, obviously. Tommy was still a rascal at times, but he was the rascal that Wilbur cared about.

-----------------------------

Wilbur was the one to teach him how to ride a bike. 

Tommy was so determined to learn how to do it, and he kept getting up even when his knees were scratched up from crashing. 

When putting on band-aids, sometimes Wilbur would slightly heal him. Not so much that he wouldn't know to be careful, but just enough to ease the pain a bit.

Wilbur also taught him other valuable life skills like lock picking, lying, good taste in music, and how to pick pockets. The stuff every kid needed to know!

His reports to the Lords of Hell became less clinical, and more chatting about Tommy finally figured out how to ride a bike, and he's getting good grades in language arts, and he likes musicals too, and he's such a wonderful kid.

They'd mostly stare in confusion, and awkwardly ask him how that was helping Satan.

--------------------------

And he knew that every birthday meant that the two of them were one year closer to Doomsday. 

And he knew that he wasn't going to survive Doomsday.

Wilbur had a feeling since the moment he first fell that he'd have to redeem himself or go out in a blaze of glory. And, frankly, he felt too bitter towards his creator to aim for a redemption arc.

So, when Tommy turned eight, he knew that he had eight years left to live. 

And when he was ten, he knew he had six, and so on. 

That didn't stop Wilbur from baking a cake for him and singing.

He cared about Tommy quickly, and he later grew to care for Phil, and maybe even he would be vaguely upset if That Weird Guy died. 

Wilbur couldn't call this place a home, and he couldn't say they were his family, but it was the closest he'd ever gotten to that sort of thing. 

And sometimes, he could fool himself into thinking it could stay like this.

-------------------------

Once, he'd made the mistake of trying to taunt Schlatt about it.

They'd been talking, and Schlatt made one too many jabs about how he spent his days babysitting. 

He'd mocked the patch that Tommy had clumsily sewed into his new trenchcoat, and Wilbur got a bit annoyed.

"At least I've been doing my job and spending time with the antichrist! You've been completely useless down here, just sitting around in that lawn chair and drinking. I mean, it makes everything easier for me, but the fact still remains that I've been getting stuff done while you've been treating this like a paid vacation.".

Schlatt looked him dead in the eyes, setting down his glass.

"You think that you were smart, getting close to their family? Turning up the charm, making friends, stealing my goddamn Hot Pockets (which I'm still mad about)?". He laughed in his face.

"Wilbur, you're a fucking moron. You say that I haven't spent enough time around the family? You've spent way too much, and it's given you a bleeding heart."

"I don't have a-"

"Tommy's going to die in six years, you know. Kid's cute, but he's not going to survive the end of the world. He's a child, and God is God, and he's going to get smote like burnt chicken. It's just the facts.". Wilbur recoiled from him, hissing his next words through his teeth.

"Shut up."

"Did you even think about anything besides your own stupid martyrdom? Or were you too busy playing house and getting attachments? Face it, Wilbur: It's lunchboxes today, graves tomorrow.". 

For once, Wilbur had nothing to say. No clever response, nothing. Just pure panic. 

He touched the patch on his trench coat covering his heart, looking to the sky.

Please. I know you're a bastard. I know you hate me, and I hate you, and that can't change. But if you gave me some sign, some promise that you wouldn't hurt Tommy, I'd do anything. 

As always, there was no response.

-----------------------------

Wilbur cared about Tommy, and he knew, and even if it was a weakness he couldn't stop. 

All of Tommy's family cared about him, wanting him protected and alive.

But Schlatt?

Schlatt didn't give a damn about Tommy, and he never would.

There was no care weighing him down. And that meant that he had infinitely more options than everyone else.

[thelittlesttimelord]

The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh Chapter 28

TITLE: The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh Chapter 28 PAIRING: No Pairing RATING: T CHAPTER: 28/? SUMMARY: Elise Smith is now a teenaged Timelord. In addition to losing the Ponds, the fields of Trenzalore are calling. But first they have to figure out exactly who Clara Oswald is.

“Oh, it's a young man's game, all this dashing about,” the Professor said. He leaned up against the porthole and noticed the look on Clara’s face. “Clara, what is it?”

“I was doing okay, but…Seeing those bodies back there. It's all got very real. Are we going to make it?”

“Yes, of course.”

The metal around them creaked.

“What was that?”

“The Doctor told you, it's just the boat settling. Tell me about yourself. What do you like doing? Clara? Clara?”

Clara was looking around in all directions. She wished Elise would snap out of her comatose state, but it was like the Timelord’s mind had snapped and she was frozen like a statue.

“Stuff. You know, stuff.”

“Stuff. Very enlightening. And the Doctor, what he said. Is it true you're from another time? From our future? Clara?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me what happens.”

“I can't.”

“Well, I need to know.”

“I'm not allowed.”

“No, please.”

“I can't!”

“Ultravox, do they split up?”

To the Professor and Clara’s shock, Elise started laughing. They were going to be murdered by an alien from Mars and he was more preoccupied with whether one of his favorite bands was going to split up.

“Funny. You're funny,” Clara told him. Two hands grabbed Clara’s head.

“Clara!” Elise yelled, standing up.

“Let her go!” the Professor yelled, firing shots at Skaldak.

Skaldak let Clara go.

“See? I don't just like Western music.” He twirled his pistol as Skaldak grabbed him.

“No, please don't hurt him. Please!” Clara begged.

The Doctor ran up.

“You attacked me. Martian law decrees that the people of this planet are forfeit. I now have all the information I require. It will take only one missile to begin the process. To end this Cold War,” Skaldak said.

“Grand Marshal, there is no need for this. Listen to me,” the Doctor told him.

“My distress call has not been answered. It will never be answered. My people are dead. They are dust. There is nothing left for me except my revenge.”

“There is something left for you, Skaldak. Mercy.”

“Mercy?”

The captain came barging in with a shotgun and the rest of the crew. “You must wear that armor for a reason, my friend. Let's see, shall we?”

The Doctor put his hand on the gun and lowered it. “No, Captain, wait!”

“I will do whatever it takes to defend my world, Doctor.”

“Yes, great, fine, good, but we are getting somewhere here. We are negotiating. Jaw-jaw not war-war.”

“Churchill?” the Professor asked.

Elise wanted to pipe up and say they’d met Churchill, but decided that this probably wasn’t the best time. The Doctor promised to visit again when she was older. Maybe she should do that soon.

“Churchill,” the Doctor confirmed.

“Very well, we'll negotiate, but from a position of strength,” the captain said.

“Excellent tactical thinking. My congratulations, Captain,” Skaldak complimented him.

“Thank you.”

“Unfortunately, your position is not, perhaps, as strong as you might hope.”

“What do you mean?” the Doctor asked.

Skaldak’s empty armor entered the corridor and Skaldak dropped back into it after releasing the Professor.

“He summoned the armor,” the Doctor said.

“How did it do that?” Clara asked.

“Sonic tech, Clara. The song of the Ice Warrior.”

One of the soldiers fired his gun at the armor.

“No!” the Doctor yelled.

“My world is dead but now there will be a second red planet. Red with the blood of humanity!”

“Skaldak! Skaldak, wait!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Skaldak headed to the control room and plugged himself into the computer.

“No! Skaldak, wait! Wait, wait,” the Doctor yelled.

“He's arming the warheads,” the captain said, still pointing his gun at Skaldak.

“Where is the honor in condemning billions of innocents to death? Five thousand years ago Mars was the center of a vast empire. The jewel of this solar system. The people of Earth had only just begun to leave their caves. Five thousand years isn't such a long time. They're still just frightened children, still primitive. Who are you to judge them?”

Skaldak unplugged himself. “I am Skaldak! This planet is forfeit under Martian law.”

“Then teach them. Teach them, Grand Marshal. Show them another way. Show them there is honor in mercy. Is this how you want history to remember you? Grand Marshal Skaldak, Destroyer of Earth. Because that's what you'll be if you send those missiles. Not a soldier, a murderer. Five billion lives extinguished. No chance for goodbyes. A world snuffed out like a candle flame! All right. All right, Skaldak, you leave me no choice. I'm a Time Lord, Skaldak. I know a thing or two about sonic technology myself.” The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

“A threat? You threaten me, Doctor?”

“No. No, not you, all of us. I will blow this sub up before you can even reach that button, Grand Marshal. Blow us all to oblivion.”

“You would sacrifice yourself?”

“In a heartbeat.” The Doctor felt a hand wrap around his and he glanced at Elise standing next to him. She give a curt nod, her way of saying ‘If there’s no other way, do it’.

“Mutually assured destruction.”

“Look into my eyes, Skaldak. Look into my eyes and tell me you're capable of doing this. Huh? Can you do that? Dare you do that? Look into my eyes, Skaldak. Come on. Face to face.”

“Well, Doctor.” Skaldak’s helmet retracted back and he stared at the Doctor. “Which of us shall blink first?”

“Why did you hesitate? Back there, in the dark. You were going to kill this man, remember? I begged you not to, and you listened. Why show compassion then, Skaldak, and not now?” Clara asked, gesturing to the Professor.

Elise stepped out of her father’s shadow and approached Skaldak. “If you do this, billions will die. Mothers, sons, fathers, daughters. Remember that last battle, Skaldak? Your daughter. You sang the songs…”

“Of the Red Snows.”

The submarine lurched.

“What's happening?” Clara asked.

“My people live. They have come for me!” Skaldak rejoiced.

“We're rising,” the captain realized.

“Six hundred meters. Five fifty,” the Professor read off.

The submarine broke through the ice.

“We've surfaced. Your people have saved us,” the Doctor told Skaldak.

“Saved me, not you.”

“Just go, Skaldak, please. Please, go in peace.”

Skaldak was teleported away.

“We did it. We did it!” Clara said.

“No. No, no, no, no, no,” the Doctor said, walking over to the weapon’s system, “It's still armed. A single pulse from that ship… I'll destroy us if I have to. I will destroy us if I have to.”

Elise placed a hand on her father’s back, to let him know he wasn’t alone this time.

“Show mercy, Skaldak. Come on. Show mercy.”

“Why are there so many songs about rainbows…” Elise sung under her breath.

The weapon’s system disarmed itself and the Doctor ran a hand down his face. “Now we're safe.”

Clara launched herself into his arms. “Saved the world, then?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“That's what we do.”

“Yeah.”

The two smiled and giggled, causing Elise to roll her eyes until the Doctor threw an arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead.

They stepped outside and admired the Martian spaceship.

“The TARDIS! Where's the TARDIS? You never explained,” Clara said.

“Oh well, don't worry about that,” the Doctor told her.

“Stop saying that. Where is it?”

“Yeah. Well, I wasn't to know, was I?”

“Know what?”

“I've been tinkering, breaking her in. I'm allowed.”

“What did you do?”

Their bickering made Elise smile. It reminded her of simpler times with the Ponds and River.

The Doctor muttered under his breath. “I reset the HADS.”

“Huh?”

“I reset the HADS.”

“The what?”

“The HADS. The Hostile Action Displacement System. If the TARDIS comes under attack, gunfire, time winds, the sea, it…relocates.”

“Oh, Doctor.”

“Haven't used it in donkey's years. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Well, never mind, it's bound to turn up somewhere.” His sonic screwdriver started going off. “Ooo. Ha, see? Right on cue. Brilliant.”

Clara smiled. “Brilliant.”

“The TARDIS is at the pole.”

“Not far, then.”

“…the South Pole.”

“Ah.”

The Doctor turned to the Captain. “Could we have a lift?”

The Captain and Professor laughed as they went back into the submarine.

The Doctor mocked them until Elise playfully hit him on the arm. The Doctor saluted the Martian spaceship as it flew away. “Earlier, in the control room, you weren’t scared.”

Elise shook her head. “No.”

“Why?”

Elise looked at him. “Because I knew that even if you weren’t able to talk him down, it’d be okay.”

“You have too much faith in me.”

Elise gave him a small smile. “I don’t think you have enough faith in yourself.” Elise placed a hand on his cheek and kissed the other one before going back down into the sub.

[tired-college-student-writing]

Here we go Loopty Loo pt4

Summary: Graduation was supposed to signal the final time they all spent time together at UA, to show they have all grown into the Heros they dreamed of being.

It was supposed to be, but when has anything ever been easy for class 1-A?

pt 1

pt 3

pt 4 (HERE)

pt 5

___________________________________________

Loop #49

___________________________________________

To ask for normalcy in this class was too much, Aizawa knew this.

It was like asking it to rain gumdrops to expect these 20 idiots to behave like normal human beings for five minutes in the original timeline, and it had only gotten worse as they all fought off apathy at their time stuck just kept going.

But how Aizawa wished they would stop getting caught so he didn’t have to deal with the other teacher questioning it.

Cockatoo: Uh Shouta?

Cockatoo: Should I ask why Bakugo and Kaminari are yelling ‘Fuck your chicken strips!’ at a shellshocked Todoroki?

YallMight: I think it has to do with them finding out that Endevar and Hawks are dating.

Chloroform: THEY WHAT????

Sleepis4theweak: I wish Yagi was joking

YallMight: At least they aren’t singing ‘She thinks my tractor’s sexy’ this time.  

He glared at the tall blond he was eating lunch with, “Fuck you, I know you put them up to that.”

“No proof,”

“Shut it,”

“If I make you smile will you, forgive me?”

“Maybe,”

Yagi just grinned, “I just helped Jiro finish a parody song of Aint No Rest for the Wicked, called Aint No Rest for Endeavor, where they diss Endeavor for three minutes straight, including some… uh, classified information and are going to play it during the Cultural Festival with Shoto taking lead vocals.”

Aizawa wasn’t fast enough to stop the snort from escaping, “These fucking kids,”

“It’s better than Bakugo’s idea of writing a parody of “Fuck You” to call out Overhaul or All for One… or both.”

“As long Dabi gets a recording,” Aizawa chuckled, “I’m going to allow it.”

“You were going to allow it either way,” Yagi teased, not even batting an eye at the fact that Aizawa basically adopted the villain, “But I suppose he would like to see his younger brother roasting their father.”

Aizawa shrugged, “I’ll talk to the kids when we get back, making sure they time the parody when they have the largest crowd. I’m guessing I’m going to be on ‘Stop Endeavor from burning down the school’ detail again?”

“I can take Eri during it if you would like,”

“Nah, I’ll let Mirio handle her, she misses him anyways. They can’t make more of a scene then the Host club they held last year. ”

He glanced back down at his phone, to see the flurry of texts had continued.

BloodyMess: Why is your class full of the troublesome ones? And why haven’t you expelled any of them??

Cockatoo: Cause Sho is soft for his ‘problem children’

Chloroform: Yeah, plus they take care of his daughter like they’re her big siblings and I’ve never seen Sho look softer.

YeeHaw: Soft? Are we talking about the same man?

Cockatoo : *SmilyBoi* Read em and weep

BloodyMess: Oh shit, the dude can actually smile and not look like he’s trying to murder you

SpaceCadet: Aw, he’s wearing a bow!

Cockatoo: Eri put it in his hair, he wasn’t gonna remove it after she called him dad

Cockatoo: Oh shit

Chloroform:???

Cockatoo: Monoma said something to a table of Class 2-A kids and Shinsou appeared out of nowhere and brainwashed him. He’s now dancing to Toxic by Brittany Spears in the middle of the courtyard.

Chloroform: Omg, please say you’re recording!

Cockatoo: I am, but now Kaminari and Sero are being backup dancers

Cockatoo: Mina just had to stop Kirishima from taking off his shirt when he joined

Cockatoo: We have a full-on flash mob going on right now.

Cockatoo: Sho, come get your kids. I don’t know when they had time to choreograph this stuff but it’s not really school appropriate

BloodyMess: Aizawa, control your class

Chloroform: He’s probably trying to stop a migraine from forming

YallMight: No, he finds the whole event funny.

Cockatoo: How do you know????

Yagi smirked snapping a picture of the usually stoic teacher wheezing at the mental image of his stupid kids before the picture was texted over the group.

Chloroform: Oh? Having a picnic together, are you?

Sleepis4theweak: And? Aren’t we talking about my dumbass class?

Cockatoo: Pretty defensive there Sho, anything you want to share?

Sleepis4theweak: I have no idea what you’re talking about

Cockatoo: Come on Sho

Chloroform: Let’s change tactics

Chloroform: @YallMight are you fucking Aizawa?

YeeHaw: You trying to kill the man, Midnight?

BloodyMess: The man spits up enough blood without you being like this nem

Aizawa shot his companion a look, “Don’t you dare,”

Toshinori raised a brow, a shit-eating grin crawling onto his face, “Too late,”  

YallMight: Rawr (*ΦωΦ*)

Aizawa could hear the screaming from here, though that was probably just Mic losing control at the unexpected response from the world’s Golden Boy for all that was good and pure.

Oh, if they only know how corrupting spending 145 years with mostly horny meme teenagers is.

Aizawa couldn’t breathe at this point, putting his head down on the table they shared, gasping for breath around his gales of laughter the stitch on his side pulling. Toshi looked way too pleased with himself, as his full belly laughter echoed around them. After a minute the taller man shifts and looks away, laughter drying up almost as quickly as it had started.

Aizawa squinted up at him, “What?”

“Should we let them think we’re dating?”

Shouta felt a slight flush crawl over his cheeks as he leaned across the table, “Aren’t we?”

Yagi relaxed at the words, “I… wasn’t entirely sure where we stood on that. You know how tricky emotions are in these loops.”

Aizawa shrugged because he knew the man was right. Sexualities and attractions seemed as fluid as everything else in the loops. He’s gone through marriage, dating, divorce, breakups, flings, and hookups at this point, whether he weathered them himself or just recalled them from the memories he received from each loop. He had been romantically involved with Hizashi, Nemuri, Tensi, Oboro, Emi, and even Yagi at one point or another.

In this timeline, however, he had been devoid of any romantic attachments, his timeline memories not recalling a single long term partner, and only a handful of one night stands. His emotional attachment for the kind, gentle, flawed man went beyond anything that resembled normal, but what in their lives was normal anymore, and he wasn’t going to deny that even in the timelines where he was straight the number one hero was attractive in both forms.

He would admit that this was a loop where his physical attraction was... fairly overwhelming.

Aizawa just grasped Toshinori's hand in his own instead of answering, earning a blinding smile that made his heart flutter. If the attraction is mutual then, why not allow themselves some happiness in this mess?

His phone pinged again, his Class chat text tone… That rarely bore good things if he was tagged in it.

Sonic : *MaybeWeWentTooFar?* @dadzawa @DadMight um help?

“I’m gonna kill them,” He sighed as he opened the picture of Monoma standing on what seemed to be an ice version of Pride rock, holding Nezu aloft while most of 2-A and 2-B were kneeling at the base.

“And having them all prank you before you remember them next timeline?” Toshinori teased, puffing up as he rose from his seat, “I don’t think so.”

The homeroom teacher sighed but silently agreed. Dying before graduation seemed to dump affected loopers earlier in the loop then everyone else. They could arrive anywhere from a few hours before everyone else, to years earlier and there didn’t seem to be a set reason for how long they were sent back.  After the first three times, the class seemed to come to a silent agreement to mess with each other as much as they could during the time they spent before everyone else remembered. Aizawa was still proud to say he had the best prelooping revenge on his problem children, even if it started accidentally.

“If I told Hizashi that we were engaged, what would you do?”

The sunflower man choked slightly at the out of the blue question, coughing up a mouthful of blood as he deflated once again.

Aizawa continued walking hiding his smile into his capture weapon as he neared the courtyard.

Yagi jogged slightly after him, already puffed back up, before offering a counter with a shit-eating twinkle in his eyes, “If you dodge the question until tomorrow I can have rings by morning.”

He slipped his hand into the other’s hands in his way of answering. They were practically married anyway, pretending to have a secret engagement wasn’t gonna be hard in the slightest. Toshi even came over enough that Eri probably not question it either, and it just gave them longer to be the happiest they could be during the loops.

His hair rose as he glared at Shinsou, capture wiping out to grab Nezu away from Monama as his grip slackened as the mind control faded from his system.

The whole courtyard whirled to look at them, and Aizawa notices too late how Midoriya’s eyes flash between him and Yagi, down to their hands and over to where Mic was still filming, a straight-up evil smirk flashing for barely a second before it was perfectly covered in a scandalized mask.

“OMG AIZAWA-SENSEI ARE YOU FUCKING MY DAD?!?!?”

Welp murder was outweighing the possible embarrassment of preloop pranks. Maybe he could bribe Dabi with those embarrassing pictures Toru had taken of Endeavor...

“Young Midorya!” All Might gasped, chopping his hand through the air similarly to how Tenya would do, “That is highly inappropriate! What my fiance and I get up to in our free time is our business and our business alone!”

Make that two murders.

Definitely two murders.

___________________________________________

Taglist: @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @plaguedoctorsnake (I’m so sorry for forgetting to tag yall in pt 2)

[mobius-prime]

270. Sonic Universe #3

The Shadow Saga (Part 3 of 4): Old Soldiers

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Jason Jensen

So it appears that despite this being the morning of the final battle against his arch-nemesis, Eggman has suddenly become very preoccupied with the fact that Gamma rebelled against him over a year ago. We've not heard anything from Gamma in all this time, but apparently ever since it left the Egg Carrier during the Sonic Adventure arc it's been traveling the world, fulfilling its mission from the game to "rescue" (read: murder) all of its brothers, and expanding out from there into attacking various bases belonging to Eggman. Commander Tower back at the GUN base explains all this to Shadow and Rouge, requesting that Shadow track it down and find a way to ally with it, as it's so far refused to actually ally itself with any of the global Freedom Fighter chapters despite sharing a similar goal. At the same time, we finally see who Eggman is explaining his side of the story to: Omega, of course! It seems that Omega was built not long after Gamma was, but has been stuck in storage ever since, and is not very happy about it.

Oh, come on Shadow! That iteration of Metal Sonic existed for a grand total of like, three hours! Even a robot isn't about to change its mind about the purpose of life in such a short amount of time. As Shadow boards the helicopter that will take him to his destination, Eggman watches Omega depart while Snively informs him that the Dark Egg Legion is ready to begin the final battle against the Freedom Fighters. A few hours later, they're over the drop zone, and Shadow straight up leaps out of the helicopter without a parachute like an absolute madlad, because apparently if you're the ultimate lifeform you don't need silly things such as life-saving safety equipment. He notices tracks in the snow, and soon finds himself face to face with Gamma, who is uncertain about his presence here.

This is honestly fascinating and great, because in no other canon do these two ever actually meet. It's interesting to see how they interact with each other, given their histories and past affiliations. However, no sooner have they agreed to work together than Gamma detects another robotic presence, this one broadcasting Eggman's signal. Sure enough, Omega bursts out of the treeline behind them, guns blazing and ready to murder them both. It's excited about the chance to face off against Shadow, which it considers an even greater test of its abilities than Sonic, and is perfectly happy to annihilate Gamma as well while it's at it. Shadow tries to cover Gamma's retreat to the extraction point, but Omega isn't having any of that.

I don't know why, but the mental image of Shadow wedging himself into Omega's gun arm with a loud "THOOMP" sound effect is incredibly amusing to me, more than any other sound effect in this entire comic so far. Gamma hides from Omega while Omega does its best attempt at a villain monologue, going on about how outdated and poorly-maintained Gamma is and how its firepower can't match up to Omega's own. Gamma retorts from cover that Omega is unwieldy with its size and weight, that it's very loud and can't cover ground as easily as Gamma can, and this is because ultimately, Omega is a walking arsenal while Gamma is an assassin, proving its point by sniping Omega with several potshots. Omega concedes the point, but Gamma, as it turns out, actually isn't looking to win this fight at all.

Fun fact, by the way - in this issue Omega is portrayed as being massive, far taller and larger than Gamma, and yet it's exactly the opposite in the games. The difference between their official heights in the games is actually hilariously dramatic - Gamma is a whopping 7'1" or 215cm, while Omega is a paltry 4'11" or 150cm. This seems absolutely absurd, but if you look at their character models when compared to other characters in their respective games, it's totally accurate - Gamma stands taller than Eggman, who is already 6'1" or 185cm, while Omega is shown to be not actually that much taller than Shadow or Rouge when standing next to them. That said, Omega actually weighs far more, so Gamma's assessment of its abilities is pretty accurate in this issue.

Anyway, Omega unleashes a deadly barrage of ammo on Gamma, just as Gamma announces that it's completed an "upload." All that's left of Gamma after the blast is a smoking crater, with the Flicky bird that's served as its soul all this time flying away happily, finally free of its metal prison. Shadow arrives just in time to see it all happen, and is horrified at his failure to protect Gamma, but then Omega starts freaking the hell out, yelling about a virus in its systems. The voice of Gamma speaks through Omega's body, revealing that it uploaded the portions of its code pertaining to free will into Omega. Their two personalities merge into a new being, a fully sentient one that's capable of feeling emotions, though it's still largely based on Omega's original personality. Omega is confused, not knowing how to handle suddenly going from an "it" to a "he" with a personality and feelings, so Shadow offers him the same deal he offered to Gamma before.

Omega, much like Blaze, has a pretty different personality from his counterpart in the games. Not completely unrelated, of course, but compared to game Omega's fairly composed personality, focusing more on consistent barrages of firepower and occasionally bragging about its abilities but also having the capacity for deeper, more emotional thought (such as its chat with Rouge at the end of the Team Dark story in Heroes), comic Omega is a bloodthirsty, murder-happy killing machine who practically worships fire and death. It's also worth noting that Ian has actually been wanting to introduce Omega into the world of the comics for years before this point, with Sega shooting him down for whatever reason several times. While I do love Omega from the games, Omega in the comics is known for how absolutely hilariously over the top he is, and truth be told it's probably my preferred characterization for him. Case in point, after Omega helps Shadow construct a small grave marker out of stones for Gamma, he threatens Shadow with maiming and death if he ever tells anyone else about his moment of emotional weakness. Once they get back to GUN's headquarters, Hope enthuses about her discoveries about Omega's construction while Rouge listens attentively and Shadow mopes. He blames himself for not being able to save another living weapon, even though he… kind of did? I mean, after all, while Gamma as a fully actualized personality no longer exists, the parts of it that made it sentient still do, and it willingly accepted its fate, so it's not like Shadow is some giant failure here. Hope then informs Shadow and Rouge of their next assignment, which cheers him up somewhat - she's finished recalibrating her teleporter, meaning they're about to take a trip into the Special Zone in search of another Chaos Emerald!

[mca-attack21]

New Earth

This imagine is based off of Season two episode two with the 10th Doctor.  This is my Masterlist!

You and the Doctor had stopped on Earth so you could gather the last of your belongings and move 100% into the TARDIS. It was a big step, but you were ready. Watching him regenerate, and knowing in that moment  that there was nothing that you wouldn’t do for him, that you loved him in a way that you had never loved anyone before, it made the choice an easy one. New face or not, he was still your Doctor. 

After you put the last of your belongings into your room, you went to meet him at the Console. “Where are we off to this time?” 

“Somewhere farther that we have ever been before,” he beamed as he started hitting buttons.

When you stepped out of the the TARDIS you were greeted by a view that looked like something from the Jetson’s. “This is the year five billion and twenty three,” the Doctor declared, “We are in the galaxy M87 and this is New Earth.”

“It’s just- I mean it’s-” you were at a loss for words, laughing at how utterly fascinating it all was.

“Incredible? Fascinating? Mind-bobbling?” he teased.

“All of the above and more somehow.” The world around you seemed more vivid than anything you had every seen. You felt connected to it, invigorated by it, “I am never going to get used to this am I?”  

“Not if I can help it,” the Doctor beamed.

You turned and took the Doctor’s arms in yours,“Seriously though, I can’t even wrap my head around the fact that this is my life now. I love it, all of it, these places, the adventures, you, it’s perfect.”

“You too, now come on,” he said before pulling you away from the TARDIS. He stopped and spread his coat out on the ground and the two of you laid there and took in the view as the doctor started explaining the history to you. “So the year five billion, the sun expands, and the Earth gets roasted,” he recalls.

“Wasn’t that our first date?” you interrupt smiling at him.

He nodded, “Anyways, the plant is gone all rocks and dust. But the human race lives on, all spread out across the stars. As soon as the Earth burns up they become nostalgic and create New Earth. And here we are in New New York,” he continued, “But strictly speaking, it’s the fifteenth New York since the original. Which makes it New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New-New York”  he rambled on earning a laugh from you. “What?” he asked.

“Your just so happy, it’s great,” you answered.

“New-New Doctor,” he replied returning your laughter.

“So shall we go visit this New-New York? The city so astonishing they named it twice?” you asked getting up from his coat.

“Well I thought we might go there first. It’s a hospital and someone has summoned me there,” the Doctor explained showing the message he received.

“Well, if duty calls,” you said pulling the Doctor behind you this time.

The two of you made it to the hospital and the Doctor revealed to you that he didn’t much care for hospitals. You thought it funny that a man such as he who faced all of the dangers that he had faced would have anything against hospitals. But then again everyone had their share of fears both rational and irrational. At least he hadn’t told you he was afraid of spiders. You looked around the hospital as he went on about all the things that had been curable by then.  You stopped when you noticed that the nurses were all cats. The Doctor called to you from the elevator but the door closed before you could get in.

“They have a second lift, What floor?” you called after him.

“Floor 26, and watch out for the disinfectant,” he answered.

“The what?” you questioned.

“The disinfectant,” he tried again.

“The what?” you shouted back.

“The dis- oh you’ll figure it out,” he said quietly to himself.

When you got off the Elevator you didn’t see the doctor. In fact, it looked like you were in the basement. Not where you were supposed to be. “Y/n, please follow me,” this creature said as it walked away.

“Is this ward 26?” you asked following him cautiously. He led you into a small room that had a projector playing a film of a woman. The moment she spoke you recognized the voice.

“Peek-a-boo,” Cassandra said revealing herself. She was the ‘last human’ if you could even call her that. She was nothing more than a flattened out face at this point.

“What is this Cassandra? How are you even still alive?” you demanded already beginning to back away searching for a way out.

“You mean after you murdered me? My brain survived. And the skin that was torn apart was taken from the front of my body. This piece is from the back” she explained.

“So you’re talking out your…” you couldn’t even finish before bursting out into laughter. “What’s the point of this Cassandra?” you demanded.

“Oh you will see,” she whispered.

Suddenly you were held in place by a force coming from the wall, “I can’t move, Cassandra let me go!” you yelled as you tried to break free.

“Chip activate the Psycho-graft” she ordered her slave. He obeyed her, “bye-bye trampoline and hello beautiful body,” she snarled

And with that she took over your body controlling your mind, She took a moment to try to get used to the new physical form. She then accessed what memories she could. This is when she realized what a mistake she had made. The man you had been with earlier was the Doctor. Just as she was trying to figure out how to approach the situation your phone started to ring.

“What is this?” she asked.

“It is a primitive communication device,” Chip explained

She answered and it was the Doctor, “Y/n, where are you?” he asked.

Casandra tried to fake your accent, “I got turned around in the elevator, but I’ll be up in a jiffy sir.”

“You’ll never guess! I’m with the face of Boe. Remember him?” he asked.

She laughed nervously, “Of course I do that big old...boat race...thing.”

“I’ve got to go, see you in a moment,” he said distractedly as he noticed the Duke of Manhattan had been magically cured of a disease that wasn’t due to be cured for another thousand years.  When he saw you he grabbed you and explained that something was going on. He went through the hall on a case by case basis explaining that medicine was way advance, too advance. He wanted to go behind the scenes and figure out what was behind this. “Cause if they’ve got the best medicine in the world, why keep it such a secret?” he finished.

“I can’t Adam and Eve it,” Cassandra answered trying to play the part as Y/n.

“What...what’s with the voice?” he questioned looking at you.

“You know, New Earth- New Y/n,” she said

“Well I can talk, New-New Doctor,” he joked.

But his face fell when you didn’t seem to pick up on it. Cassandra noticed this and threw yourself at him. “Terminal’s this way,” she said hoping that would satisfy his incessant need for answers.

The Doctor walked over to one of the computers and looked through it. Everything seemed pretty straight forward. “There has to be something I’m not seeing,” he muttered.

“When I was down stairs, the Cat-Nurse-Nun things were talking about an intensive care unit, but it isn’t there,” Cassandra added.

“Good work,” he said

“Why hide a whole department? It’s got to be there somewhere. Search the subframe,” she ordered.

“And what if the subframe is locked?” he asked pulling out his sonic screwdriver.

“Then try the installation protocol,” She answered.

“Yeah, of course. Why didn’t I think of that?” he mumbled under his breath with a slight roll of his eyes. He then unlocked a secret room where there were thousands of pods. He used his sonic screwdriver to open one, only then did he realize what was going on.

“I’m so sorry,” he spoke to the thing inside.

“What is that? It’s so disgusting,” Cassandra asked.

The Doctor closed the door before opening another to confirm his suspicions.

“What disease is that?” Cassandra asked

“All of them. They have been infected with every known disease,” he answered.

“What about us? Are we safe?” Cassandra asked.

“The air’s sterile, just don’t touch them,” he answered before closing the door.

“How many patients are there?” she asked looking at all of the pods.

“They aren’t patients” the Doctor stated.

“But they are sick,” she tried.

“They were born to be sick. They are meant to be sick. The exist to be sick. No wonder the sisterhood has a cure to everything. They’ve built the ultimate research laboratory with human lab rats,”  he fumed.

“Why don’t they just die?” Cassandra asked insensitively.

A Cat-Nun-Nurse spoke up, “It’s for the greater good. The sisterhood has sworn to help.”

“What? By killing?”  the Doctor spat.

“But they are not real people. They are specially grown. They have no proper existence,” she explained.

“What’s the turnover? A thousand a day? Thousand the next? Thousand the next? How many thousands? For how many years? HOW MANY?” the Doctor screamed.

“Mankind needed us. They came to this planet with so many illnesses, we couldn’t cope. We did try. WE started with clone meat and then biocattle. But the results were too slow. The race would have been completely wiped out. So the sisterhood grew it’s own flesh. That’s all they are. Flesh. Think about all the humans out there, healthy and happy, because of us.”

“But if it is because of this then their life is worthless,” the Doctor argued.

“Who are you to decide that?” she questioned.

“I am the Doctor. And if you don’t like it-if you want to take it to a higher authority, there isn’t one. It stops with me,” he bellowed.

Cassandra spoke up, “Just to confirm, none of the humans in the city actually know about this, do they?”

“We thought it best not to….” she started, but the Doctor had had enough.

“Hold on. In some sick way, I can understand the bodies, and I can understand your vows, but the one thing I can’t understand is- what have you done to Y/n?” he questioned.

“I don’t know what you mean?” she returned.

“I am being very, very calm here. And you want to be aware of that. Very. Very Calm. And The only reason I’m being so very, very calm is because I know that the brain is a very delicate thing. Whatever you have done to Y/n’s head I want it reversed,” he explained forcefully.

“We haven’t done anything,” she said.

“Really Doctor I’m perfectly fine,” Cassandra tried.

“These people are dying and Y/n would care,” he continued.

“All right Clever Clogs. Smarty-pants. Lady-killer,” Cassandra said using your hands to mess up the Doctor’s hair.

“What happened to you?” he asked more to himself than anything.

Cassandra spoke up again, “I knew something was going on in this hospital. But I needed this body and your mind to figure it out.”

“Who are you then?” he asked

She leaned up to his ear before seductively whispering, “The Last Human.”

“Cassandra?” he asked

“Yes. Now wake up and smell the perfume,” she said before knocking him out.

When he woke up he was in one of the infected pods. “Cassandra, Let me out!” he demanded.

“Aren’t you lucky there was one pod open. Standing room only,” she chimed.

“You stole Y/n’s body” he said.

“You know Doctor I wouldn’t be so worried about her. Because I have thought of this moment for a very long time. I’ve come up with a thousand ways to kill you. And now that  is exactly what I’ve got. One thousand diseases. They pump the patients full every ten minutes which means you’ve got about three left. Enjoy,” she taunted.

“Just let her go Cassandra,” he pleaded.

“I will. Just as soon as I find someone younger and less common. Then I’ll junk her with the waste. Now hush-a-bye Doctor. It’s showtime,” she stated getting ready to watch him meet his maker.

Just then two of the Cat-Nun-Nurses appeared and threatened Cassandra. She called out plan B and chip went on to pull down a lever that released the patients on the floor. The Doctor was released and went after Cassandra. “What ever you do don’t let them touch you” he warned, grabbing your hand and pulling you away from the action. Cassandra soon took the lead and led to a room. Now she/you and the Doctor were trapped.

“What are we going to do now?” she asked.

“Well for starters, you are going to leave Y/n. Because that psycho graft has been banned on every civilized planet. You are literally compressing her to death,” the Doctor shouted.

“But I’ve got nowhere to go. My original skin is dead,” she whined.

“Not my problem. You can float around in the sky for all that I care. Now get out. Give her back to me,” he demanded.

So that is what she did. She left your body and went straight into his. You stumbled forward- your head was pounding. You watched as Cassandra flaunted the Doctor. Just then the door burst open. The infected zombie-like people started towards you.

“What do we do?” Cassandra cried.

“Go up the ladder,” you answered. She pushed you out of the way racing for the ladder. You followed closely behind. The two of you were nearing the top and were being closely followed. “You have to get out of him so he can figure something out,” you called up to her.

“You have to get out of him,” she mocked, “god it was tedious inside your head. Hormone city.”

“Cassandra listen to me. We are going to die if you don’t let him have control,” you reasoned.

When you got to the elevator shaft Cassandra had no idea how to open it. You told her to use the sonic screwdriver and when she couldn’t figure it out she forced herself back into you so the Doctor could swoop in and save the day. But he refused to open it until she left you again. This left Cassandra no choice but to inhabit one of the zombie bodies. The Doctor quickly opened the elevator shaft, “Nice to have you back,” he said offering you his hand. At the last possible second Cassandra entered your body again knocking you to the ground.

“Last warning Cassandra,” he growled.

“The women was so lonely. Inside her head. She just wanted to be held. All their lives they have never been touched,” she muttered.

The Doctor helped her off the ground and led her into the next room. It was the ward where the Face of Boe was earlier. He had figured it out he knew how to cure everyone. He started to grab every bag of  antibiotics he could find. “ What are you doing?” Cassandra asked.

“I’m being the Doctor” he said before hooking something up in the empty elevator shaft and testing it. “Come on Cassandra you’re so eager to stay alive, why don’t you live a little?” he asked.

She had no intention of doing so, but the infected had started to enter the room it was her only choice so she jumped on his back and the two shot down the elevator shaft. The Doctor then mixed all of the medicine together. He used ran in through the sanitation system and lured them in after him. Soon everyone had been cured.

The Doctor took Cassandra back upstairs. Now that everything had been figured out he wanted you back. But before he could do that he had remembered the Face of Boe. He went to him and had a telepathic conversation. The face revealed that the Doctor inspired him and that he was no longer ready to die. The Doctor asked about the secret, the whole reason he was here in the first place. But the Face of Boe revealed that they would meet again. A third and final time. With that he beamed away.

“And now, for you. I want you to leave that body. You need to go Cassandra, you’ve lived long enough,” he said.

“I don’t want to die.” 

“No one ever does.”

“Mistress- I kept myself safe. For you,” Chip came in.

“A body and a volunteer!” Cassandra exclaimed.

“Don’t you dare. He deserves a life of his own,” the Doctor warned.

“It would be an honor,” Chip replied. And with that she left you and went into him.

“Oh! Are you alright?”  The Doctor lunged to catch you as you stumbled forward about to faceplant onto the floor.  He slowly helped you back to your feet and let you go only for you to nearly fall again. “Y/n, are you okay?” he asked as he guided you carefully over to one of the beds.

“Yeah, I think so,” you answered slowly keeping your eyes shut to keep out the harsh light. When you did open them you were met with his, which were filled with concern. You smiled up at him, “Hello.”

“Hello, welcome back!” he greeted as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and checked you over. “You might feel weak for a bit, but that is perfectly normal. No long term damage, you’ll be fine after a good night’s rest,” he explained.

“Oh look at me I’m nothing more that a walking Doodle,”  Cassandra complained.

“Come on Cassandra you can’t stay in there I won’t let you. I can take you to the city they can build you a skin tack,” the Doctor urged

“As lovely as that would be I am afraid we don’t have time Chip is only a half life and even now he is failing,” she stated before falling forward.

“His heart is racing so, I’m dying. But that’s okay,” she conceeded.

“Come on, there is one last thing that I can do,” he said before helping her up. He took her into the TARDIS and took her back to the night of the video, She went to herself and was able to tell her that she was beautiful before dying. The Doctor watched it play out and then returned to you.

“So how are you doing now?” he asked as he re-entered the TARDIS.

“My head hurts a little, but I’ll live,” you answered.

He placed his hands on your temples and asked, “May I?” You nodded and then felt a tingling sensation and the headache was gone.

“What was that?” you asked.

“I removed the leftover pressure from the psycho-graph,” he explained, “Seriously though, are you alright? I know what is like to have someone in your head. To feel trapped inside your own body having to watch someone else control you. And it’s not easy,” he said sitting beside you.

“I’m fine Doctor, I promise. But if at any point I am anything less than fine, you will be the first to know,” you answered.

“Good that, now off to bed with you,” he said kissing the top of your head.  

[slashersrus]

Doctor Who x Male OC (based on Joker) - Scars

AN - I'm a massive Joker fan so this is based on Heath Ledgers joker. He will look the same but have some different aspects. In this, River is obsessed with the Doctor but not in love with him. I'll do a second part if people are interested.

"It was such a basic mistake, wasn't it Madame Kovarian? Take a child, raise her into a perfect psychopath, introduce her to the Doctor. Who else was I going to be obsessed with?" River grinned at The Doctor as she spoke, the Doctor glaring at her, her unable to comprehend the situation they were in.

"It's not funny River. Reality is fatally compromised, tell me understand that."

Madame Kovarian, sat leaning back in the chair she was tied to, begin to laugh abruptly startling the two mid argument.

"Oh Melody, did you really think we had no back up plan? You seem to forgetting someone." At her words, River spun to share at her in disbelief, the rest of the room looking on in confusion.

"River what is she talking about?" Amy spoke up, an edge of unease in her voice.

"Oh little Melody Pond, you didn't tell you parents about him did you? Kept him secret, hidden away from them. How disappointed they will be when they find out." She had a smug look on her face, causing River to clench her fists. The Doctor being surprised when he saw her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"River, what is she talking about?" Amy spoke up again, her tone colder as she glared at the back of River's head.

"No more lies, River." The Doctor looked between the two, momentarily forgetting the time situation.

"I'm sorry mother, father, but it would only cause you pain." River glanced back, smiling sadly as a lone tear tracked down her cheek, turning back to Kovarian as she spoke next, her voice cold and hard, " he's dead."

"You really think we would let little Jacky die so easily?"

"Don't!" River tensed angrily, "say his name."

"Poor Jack, all alone. Oh how much he hurt when you abandoned him." Kovarian had a smug smirk on her face, watching the pain in River's eyes.

"Jack? River, who's Jack?" Amy frowned confused as the Doctor's eye widened slightly, starting to understand.

"River..." the Doctor began to take a step towards her, being held back by the guards, aware what would happen if they touched.

Something seemed to snap in River as she rushed forward, pointing a gun at Kovarian's head, Amy gasping at the dark look in her daughters eyes.

"Where is he?" River's hand was shaking, her jaw clenched so tightly it hurt, her voice breaking slightly.

"Why don't you ask him yourself? He's due any moment now." She paused with a nasty grin on her face, her face crinkling as she sneered at River in amusement, "never was good at following orders, was he?"

"River, tell me right now! Who is Jack?!" River couldn't tell who spoke that, Amy or the Doctor, her form frozen as she took in Kovarian's words.

A burst of light illuminated the room, blinding in everyone before it dissipated, a throaty voice coming from one of the dark corners of the room, "Jack...never did like that."

"No." River spluttered, stumbling backwards as if she had been struck, dropping the gun as she turned to face the voice.

"Guards!" Amy startled at the new voice, the guard immediately raising their guns in the direction of the intruder.

"Now J...much prefer that..."the voice hummed, completely unaffected by the guns aimed at him, "what do you think sis?"

The Doctor froze, his suspicion confirmed. He felt guilty, how had he not realised this before?

"I'm sorry." Rive barely managed to squeak the words out, Amy gasping in pure shock.

"No."

"Hello mother." The man stepped into the light, he was adorned in a long purple trench coat, his badly dyed green hair, once a pure blonde, hung over his face as he hunched his form over slightly.

"Oh my god."

"When you were pregnant...it was twins." The Doctor gulped nervously, shaking the hands holding him off, stepping towards the man.

"Hello there. You must be the ah Doctor, pleasure to meet ya." The man, J, titled his head, seemingly studying the Doctor.

"You're alive. I saw you die...they..." River' voice broke off into a slight sob, racing over to her brother before he could even notice she had moved.

"Hi.." J cringed as river embraced him in a hug, his face scrunching up at the contact. He immediately saw the horror in her eye when she stepped back to get a good look at him.

Amy frowned in worry and shock, the Doctor slowly moving towards the pair as they saw River jerk back in shock and disgust, not yet able to see what had caused her reaction.

"Jack! Release me." His head snapped to look at a still tied up Kovarian, a low growl leaving him at the use of his name.

Huffing out another growl, he went to move towards her, the cocking of guns stopping him in his tracks.

"Don't move or we will shoot!"

"Really mother? Tell your ah pets to stand down." Turning around to stare at Amy, his face now in the light and on full view, she gasped in fright.

His face was adorned with ghastly white makeup, his eyes like a panda and a pinup smile stretched across his face. Upon closer inspection, they could see the smile was actually a long scar cut into his cheeks.

"What did you do?!" The Doctor raced forwards in horror, staring at his best friends son as he yelled accusingly at Kovarian.

"He's like a dog chasing cars, he needs to be reminded who is in charge and punished when he disobeys."

"Jack please." River begged, moving a hand to touch his scars, jumping as he grabbed her wrist roughly to prevent her from doing that.

"That's NOT my name." He growled, his teeth clenched together as he snarled at her like an animal.

"I thought they killed you, Jack!"

"How do you think I got these scars?" He titled his head, his eyes set in a burning glare as he lazily gestured to his face.

"Jack, dear, be a good boy and stop this nonsense, release me." Kovarian rolled her eyes at the interaction, putting on an overly sweet voice.

Everything happened in under a second, J's eye twitched, his hands clenched and unclenched before he darted towards her, plunging a small pocket knife into her neck as she gasped. The Doctor yelling for him to stop, Amy and River racing to grab him. The guards yelling.

"That. Is. Not. My. Name. And I am not your dog." His voice was tight and angry, the room silent after this for just a second.

The silence was on broken by a loud BANG.

J jerked forwards before laughing, River ran to his side and immediately grabbed him worried. Amy turned in a fit of motherly rage and punched the soldier who had fired his gun. The Doctor, for once, had no idea what to do.

"Jack!" River grabbed his bleeding shoulder, frowning when he didn't even wince. He just laughed.

"Doctor do something!" Amy pulled the frozen Doctor to her...son.

Snapping out of his trance, he removed his sonic and began scanning J who abruptly stopped his laughing to study his face.

"My the stories do you no justice." J licked his scar, humming pleased as he studied the man who was currently waving his sonic screwdriver in his face.

"He'll be fine." The Doctor watched J uneasy, having seen him just murder someone in cold blood, so brutally.

"Of course I will be. It's just-ah a flesh wound." He paused, looking round his surrounding before he seemed to realise something, hitting his forehead as he mumbled annoyed.

"Oh! You have some very important business to take care of. Almost forgot why I was called here."

"Wha-oh." River paused as they all realised the situation they had completely forgotten about since his arrival.

Time was dying, and they needed to fix it.

AN - Part 2? This is Jack without the makeup.

[another-sonic-blog]

That Makes Us Two:  Chapter 5: Name

None one dares to say a word. The whole ride was quiet, just the waves of the ocean hitting the coast could be heard; getting stronger as the full moon showed upon them.

In silence, both hedgehogs made their tents.

"I'll be looking for the fragment by myself...I think I know where it is.", Shadow said softly.

"I'll go with you," Amy said, still a bit embarrassed from before.

"No, believe me, its dangerous. No one lives in this Island...the forest makes you see things you don't want to see."

Alright, how in the world did Shadow know so much about these places? Amy knew that he was a hedgehog full of mysteries but that fact that he was been here before intrigued her way too much.

"How do you know so much?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have been to all the Island we've been through! And people know you! Like how?"

"I kept looking for the Chaos Emeralds since I was 10, I finally found all of them some years back but..." Shadow hesitated, " that's not important."

Shadow walked away, looking into the vast forest in front of him.

Amy had never seen Shadow like this.

Anxious, determined, aghast, shaken...terrified.

And she couldn't do anything...just watch him go into the dark forest.

.

.

.

The last place on earth Shadow wanted to be...was here.

He had promised to never come back to this place. He despised it with all of his beings and although he knew that nothing was real...

deep down he really wishes it was.

"Are you ready to talk now Shadow? Last time you just ran away from me."

A blond, blue-eyed female hedgehog had been following him for a while now.

He tried to ignore her.

"Alright then, run like the murder you are."

"I am not a murder!" Shadow yelled back at her, he sighed knowing that after this mistake there was no way back.

"The leader of the Echidnas told you about it, Elena told you about it, I told you about it...and you still decided to look for the Chaos Emeralds." The girl twirled around him, brightly playing with her blue dress.

"It was a mistake...I am sorry.", Shadow looked at her, seriousness on his eyes.

The girl had stopped twirling and stopped right in front of Shadow. "And because of that...you killed me!"

"No, I-"

"YOU KILLED ME!

"Stop...Please!"

"YOU KILLED ME!"

"No!", Shadow fell into his knees as he covered his ears and closed his eyes.

"YOU KILLED ME!"

"I KNOW! I KNOW I DID! AND I AM SORRY!"

"Shadow!"

Shadow opened his eyes as he recognized the voice. Amy was standing in front of him, extreme concern in her expression.

"Are you ok? Who was that girl? Why was she saying that?"

Amy knew that she was asking too many questions and at the moment it may not be the best.

But the only way to help Shadow was to understand what he was going through. As well that Amy couldn't see the girl's face but her blue attire was familiar to her. As if she had seen those clothes before. She found this more intriguing

"I told you..." Shadow breathed slowly. "I told you to NOT follow me!

"Shadow..."

"ARE YOU THAT STUPID? DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?

"But Shadow, I-"

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Amy didn't say anything else, she just walked away.

.

.

.

Amy tried to be angry at him. She was just trying to help him.

She wanted to hate him, really HATE him.

But she couldn't.

Even when she says she does, she doesn't.

Yes, from the few encounters she had with him before, he was evil.

But he wasn't all that bad.

He was kind without him noticing it.

He helped people without expecting anything in return.

He protected her, even if he didn't need to.

He cared for her because he wanted to.

Shadow the hedgehog was just misunderstood.

And she wanted to understand him, but whenever she tried, he pushed her away.

"Just like I do."

Amy looked up to find Sonic in front of her, smiling.

"Sonic..."

"You are just so annoying! When we were little you used to chase after me EVERY SINGLE DAY! I hated you honestly!" Sonic began to walk around Amy, she knew that this must just be her mind playing games.

"You were so annoying that I had nothing but say yes to your stupid request...do you really think I love you? HA! I am only dating you because I feel pity for you!" Sonic said.

"No, you told me you love me!"

"I just feel bad that you wasted so many years on me! But don't worry, I'll dump you the moment you get back from your trip."

"No, you are lying!",Amy said as she walked away.

"You are walking away because you don't want to hear the truth...you know its true." Sonic smiled at Amy one more time before disappearing.

With tears in her eyes, Amy exited the forest.

.

.

.

Shadow didn't want to see Amy, at least not after screaming at her. It wasn't her fault and strangely enough, Shadow felt guilty about it. However, he didn't know how to make it right. He had made it back safely to the camp after successfully retrieving the broken piece of the Purple Gem. They just needed one more and their torture would be over. One more destination so Shadow could say bye to the pink one, forever.

It was probably better this way.

He saw her sitting down on the sand, watching the bonfire slowly burn away. In deep thought, she didn't notice that Shadow had sat next to her. A few minutes passed and none of them dared to say a word.

It was hard to describe it, but deep down they just knew that something was going on between them. They just didn't want to admit, they were too scared, too afraid and confused to even mention it. Nonetheless, it seemed like tonight could be the night, it was now or never.

"I am glad you made it back safely," Amy said almost like a whisper. Shadow stood quiet, still not wanting to say a word.

But he had hurt her, and even if he won't admit it at loud...

He had a soft spot for the pink little brat.

"When I was a baby I was 'blessed' with the power to control Chaos Energy, I am assuming my parents were afraid of me, so they gave me to the Echidnas so I could learn to control my power. I was a prodigy and wanted more. Legend has it, that if you have all Chaos Emeralds, you will possess magnificent powers! Super strength, the ability to fly through the skies...So, by the age of 10, I left the Echidnas to go find the Chaos Emeralds. Three years passed without any signs of them. One day, while in my travels, I found her... a young hedgehog named Maria..." Shadow paused and looked over to Amy, she was waiting patiently for him to continue his tale. Shadow looked over to the burning flames as he continued.

"Maria was an archeologist, the best one out there. She had pint pointed all the locations of the Chaos Emerald. I didn't want to take her with me, but she refused to tell me the locations unless I took her...And so I did. Two years passed, we visited many places around the world. Everyone warned me about the dangers of the Chaos Emeralds, but I never listened. I wanted more, I wanted to be The Ultimate Life Form...When we finally collected all Chaos Emeralds, I tried to infuse myself with them just like in the legend...but I couldn't control their power...it was just too much and I was still so ignorant! On my negligence...I ended up killing Maria."

Shadow saw how his hands trembled. shaking as he remembered the scene perfectly. Him, going Super, the immense radioactivity and power coming out of him, him trying to stop the Chaos Energy to come out of his body. Maria running towards him to save him, her falling into his arms...lifeless.

"I became the Ultimate Life Form, at the cost of my only friend's life."

After that, the burning of the bonfire was the only thing that could be heard. Amy was speechless, more at the fact that Shadow had opened up like this to her.

He had a terrible past and because of it, he couldn't move towards the future. Not to blame him, the death of a loved one-

"You..loved her...didn't you?", Amy said more to herself at the realization, but her thoughts had escaped her lips.

"No...I think I still love her...and the fact that I was never able to tell her...its the thing the I regret the most."

Amy had no other words that could describe her feelings right now. Why does her heart feel this way? Like it had been broken? Like her expectations were not met...Like she wanted Shadow to have a different answer.

Amy took a sigh, "Thank you, you didn't have to tell me all of that."

"I know I didn't have to...but I wanted to."

What was going on? Why was Shadow so...so him? In this past week that they were together, Amy felt something she had never felt before. She just couldn't describe that feeling. It was even weirder because every time she would talk to him, she would be looking at her self. Her facial expressions, her body language, and she liked it. And it wasn't as she was liking her self...she was liking him. She was liking Shadow.

She likes him.

His stubborn personality, his terrible attitude, his kind personality, the moments he would show vulnerability...

She had to admit it...that she was wrong about him.

Shadow was just more than the facade he would put in front of people.

And maybe, just maybe...she was falling for that.

The air had become heavy as they stared at each other's eyes. Amy didn't know what to say next, should she something personal about her? Or just change the topic drastically? She opted for the first option.

"I sometimes think...that may be ...I am with the wrong person..."

"What do you mean?"

"Before...I used to pressure Sonic into dating me ...so now I think that maybe...he is not in love with me." Amy began to play with her thumbs, clearly showing her nervousness. "I never said anything but...I think Sonic is too nice to realize or say anything for that matter...that he is not in love with me"

"I honestly don't know what to say...." Shadow said as he looks over to Amy. He clearly didn't know anything about love, and he preferred to stay quiet than to give bad advice. "...Amy, I don't think I am fit to give love advice."

"It's ok...I am bad at this too"

"That makes us two."

Amy left out a small giggle. Shadow wasn't only bad at love, but at making puns too.

Which only made him more entertaining to watch.

"Actually, are you ever going to tell me how you know my name? I don't remember telling you." Amy remembers asking him about it before when they were on the cave, but he had evaded the question.

"I don't remember," Shadow responded quickly. Of course, Shadow was lying, the story about how he learned about her name was embarrassing, to say the least.

.

.

.

Maria was extremely sick, and the closest civilization was Hedgehog Village. Shadow placed the small ship on the coast. He covered all his body and face with a long coat, the coat's hoodie covering his face as well.

Shadow had gained a reputation, a bad one. Everyone was looking for him, so he had to go undercover if he wanted to find help for Maria.

He arrived in the village and didn't where to go. He walked fast enough until he noticed a hospital.

He walked in and went straight to the nurse station.

"I need help, there's someone extremely sick." The 15-year-old Shadow felt uncomfortable, he had never been at a Hospital before.

"You must bring that person here." The nurse said.

"But she's very delicate! She can't move, I need a doctor to see her-"

"Sorry sir, she needs to be here, if you want a doctor to see her, you need to make an appointment at least 3 hours before the-"

"She's dying! She needs a doctor now!" Shadow had grabbed the nurse by her collar and she was about to call the guards.

"I'll go help if you keep your hands away from the nurse."

Said a voice from behind, interrupting Shadow on his act. He released the lady.

"Miss Rose, you can't leave the hospital, you are still at training.", The nurse said angrily,

"This person clearly needs our help, isn't that's why we are here for?" Amy spoke as she tried to get a peek of the covered man.

"If you leave now, then don't bother to come back. You will be expelled from this nursing training."

Amy grabbed the guy's hand and smiled at the nurse.

"Thank you for having me."

Shadow walked Amy to his ship where Maria resided on a bed, she was very sick as she tries to keep breathing.

Amy examined her checking all of her symptoms and wrote them down.

"Has she eaten something like chicken or fish recently?" Amy asked the coat man. She had to admit that he looked kind scary but if he had gone to look for help for his friend, he couldn't be that bad of a guy.

"She ate sashimi yesterday.", Shadow responded.

"Then that says it all, she has mild food poisoning, I'll give her some medicine and make sure she drinks a lot of water. "You have to be careful, if she has a weak immune system, she could have died."

Amy couldn't see the face of the man, but he stayed quiet. "...But don't worry, she will be fine!"

Shadow sighed of relieve as he heard those words. " I am in your debt..."

"Don't worry about it." Amy got closed to Maria. She pulled out a small glass container that had medicine. She put small drops on her mouth and saw her slowly react to it.

"You gave up your training to help a stranger...why did you do that?" Shadow asked her.

"A long time ago, someone helps me when I needed it the most...and I asked him the same thing...he said: I did it because it was the right thing to do." Amy thought of Sonic fondly and about that memory that made her fall in love with him.

With that, they began talking a little bit more, Amy stayed for a few hours just to make sure Maria's process was going good. As well that she tried to get to know more about the coat-man/hoodie guy. The fact that Amy couldn't see his face was intriguing enough.

"I am a bad guy and I deserve everything that happens to me but..." Shadow said as he looked over to Maria. "Not her..."

Amy didn't know why, but she felt bad for this person. She wanted to help him in any way, but as to now the only way she could help was to help his friend. Comforting words were the only thing she could give him right now.

Amy stood up from his seat, watching Maria sleep peacefully now. She was ready to leave the couple to continue with their journey;

"Just remember this, when you feel lost and have nowhere to go, Amy Rose will be here, waiting for you."

.

.

.

"Yeah, I don't remember how I learned your name...the fake probably told me when we fighting or something," Shadow said to Amy, unconsciously placing his body closer to hers.

"I don't remember telling you."

They heard an external voice, this scared them as they were both aware of the fact that they were the only ones on the Island.

Amy and Shadow both turned around towards the beach, as their eyes adjusted to see better the silhouette of the person standing in front of the.

There he was.

Sonic The Hedgehog.

.

.

.

Next: https://another-sonic-blog.tumblr.com/post/186781427445/that-makes-us-two-chapter-6-peace

Previous: https://another-sonic-blog.tumblr.com/post/186736006810/that-makes-us-two-chapter-4-sleep

[dolphinitley]

Jacob Seed/F!Dep Fic

“Love Like Revenge” Chapter 8

AO3

Word count: 1,648

Warnings: PTSD symptoms

I felt like calling Em "Rook" in this chapter. Got some fluffy stuff plus anxiety when the nukes drop. 

Tagging @johnseedsplane @colorguardian18 for last line meme. Also general tag: @theeonlyroman @flyawayturtle @angrylittlebean @liilaac @they-are-not-just-stories @zacklover24

Thanks for reading and plz comment :D

Rook and her big orange cat Tommy sat on the couch and watched a movie she thought might make her feel better, but her mind was still on Jacob. His 1911 was in a dresser drawer in her bedroom.

This morning, he left to deal with things at St. Francis, which reminded Rook that he was still protecting his brother’s cult. He purposely left the 1911 at her house, along with some clothes that accumulated there over the past few weeks.

As he kissed her goodbye, he could tell that she was mildly upset.  They both were becoming addicted, which they thought made them vulnerable purely because of the longing they felt when they were apart. But maybe, she thought, if they were always together, they could make each other stronger, and protect one another.

Rook felt sour. Her PTSD symptoms were flaring up at the thought of St. Francis. She needed to make peace with this if she was going to be with him.

She took some sleeping meds and passed out hard on the couch.

A few hours later Rook woke up to Tommy’s loud crying meows and paws pushing on her chest.

She was groggy and confused at the dim brightness outside. It wasn’t the sunset. It was fire half a mile away. The sound of a sonic boom assaulted her ears.

Was it a dream? No. This is it, she thought. It was surreal. The nukes had finally dropped.

Rook stared at Tommy for several moments, thinking about what she needed to do now.

There was nothing she could do for Honey, except open her gate and hope she’d run until finding a safe spot.

Within 10 minutes she had most of her favorite possessions in her bunker.

She couldn’t stop thinking about Jacob, even though she knew he’d be safe in his own bunker. She thought of her family. She cried at the change that was coming. She felt she could not handle it.

While making her last run to the bunker, with her cat in her arms, Jacob’s truck sped up her driveway and skidded to a halt, tires throwing gravel and dust.

A wave of relief washed over her. Here was her rock. He was what she needed. She ran to him and squished Tommy between them in a hug. Jacob kissed the top of her head and noted the tears on her cheeks.

Jacob took a step back and held her shoulders, looking in her eyes intently.

“We need to hurry,” he said with a nod.

Rook responded with a weak nod and followed him throwing duffel bags down into her bunker. She wondered why he was here and why he was putting his things in her bunker.

Now she was in a full blown panic attack and needed to get to safety. Her breathing was too fast and erratic.The fire was growing too close for comfort.

“Rook!” Jacob yelled. His voice was a little dulled by the sound of falling trees and other thunderous booms.

Rook felt frozen. She was looking at her body from outside herself. All of her feelings swirled and crashed in her mind. Why did I kill all those people? Why aren’t I with my family? Why am I so close with Jacob? How can I-

Her panicked doubts were interrupted by Jacob’s protective arms and chest. He rushed her down to the bunker and locked the steel doors. It was so quiet in this bunker. The sounds outside were barely audible.

Jacob was dripping with sweat and soot in his effort to get to her. Stupid. He thought to himself. Why’d I fucking leave her. If he had been with her when the first bomb hit, he could have taken her to his stronger bunker. He doubted she’d like living with Peggies very much anyway. Doesn’t matter. This is where we’re at now.

Rook let Tommy jump to the ground and explore the bunker. Her eyes were distant.

“Honey,” Jacob was trying to get through to her. “I know. I know you need rest but we have to get these clothes off and get clean before anything else.” He was as calm as ever.

Jacob went to the bunker’s bathroom and started the shower. He led her to it and undressed the both of them.

The last thing Rook’s anxiety needed right now was someone touching her naked body. But with him it wasn’t what she expected. With him she felt safe and cared for. Jacob stayed focused and efficient, quickly finding soap and towels. He was gentle and did his best not to trigger her.

Rook stared at the tile shower floor, soot mixing with water and going down the drain. She breathed with intention, focusing on the feeling of hot water on her skin.

Jacob’s strong fingers kneaded and scrubbed her hair and scalp. It felt good. He rubbed with soapy hands down her neck and shoulders, arms, torso, and he knelt to wash her legs. He rested his forehead against the side of her thigh. A squeeze of her heel lifted her foot to allow him to clean it.

After Rook was clean, she watched Jacob clean his own body. She leaned against the shower wall and her eyes wandered over the muscles, freckles, hair, and scars. She reached a hand out to brush against his chest.

Jacob put down the soap and took her in his arms. They stood there for half a minute, until Jacob planted a kiss on her forehead and turned off the shower.

Water dripped from their bodies when they stepped out. Jacob dried her off first with a soft towel, and wrapped it around her shoulders.

He shook a towel over his red hair, and tucked it around his waist. Jacob took momentary glances at her while he dug through his clothing duffel and dressed in gray sweatpants and a soft blue t shirt.

Rook put on multiple layers of the most comfortable clothing she had in the bunker.

They got into bed and she got close to him, gladly accepting the heat his body offered. The bombs were still dropping and he held her loosely. She took another pill. She figured now was a worthy time to take one of her limited supply. They fell asleep, to escape the sounds of end for just a few hours.

As she fell asleep, she couldn’t help but think about why she was in Montana in the first place, and why she wasn’t with her family.

When she left Dutch’s bunker after he rescued her from the river, she could have laid low. She could have taken out just one roadblock and gone home. Would it really have worked? She has a feeling she would have been caught by the Seeds anyway. Better to be a fighter than a prisoner, right?

Rook figured she gave up her right to respect and fair treatment after her first unnecessary kill. The first kill that was not out of self defense, or to stop someone else from coming to immediate harm, or saving a hostage. Her first sniper kill. She was 150 meters away. It was a headshot. An Eden’s Gate soldier at Boomer’s house. She knew that the soldier had some part in murdering and torturing for the cult. It didn’t stop her momentary emotional lapse in the orchard. She started crying, and tried the hardest she’d ever tried in her life to stop crying. She could see the sudden blood on the Peggie’s forehead where there formerly was none.

Her last preemptive kill was one of Jacob’s men. She sniped them near a radio tower. Where’s the adrenaline? She thought. She worried why she wasn’t feeling adrenaline after killing a person. At that point she’d become an efficient killing machine. She pushed her bad feelings down, down, down, to deal with later.

She was dreaming about the gore. She knew she was dreaming about it and in her head she tried to jerk herself awake.

It must have worked enough to prompt Jacob to gently shake her awake.

“Honey,” he said with a sleepy and raspy voice. He gently stroked her shoulder.

Thank god he’s here.

Rook turned on her side to face him. He was propped up on one elbow, searching her face for anything.

She stared back at him and grounded herself. She slowly pulled her mind away from the dream and into the warm bed, with Jacob next to her.

So handsome.

Jacob chuckled. She must’ve said that out loud.

Rook placed the responsibility of distancing Jacob from the cult on her shoulders, even though he did physically distance himself from them in a major way, and by his own choice. He was still close to them by association in her mind.

“You’ve gotta tell me what you’re thinkin, Babe,” he said.

Babe.

It took her half a minute to build up courage to speak about it.

“I had a dream about killing a...Peggie.”

“Yeah?” He tried to sound encouraging. He needed her to be open with him.

“And the memory of that eventually connects to you.”

“That’s right.”

“It makes me confused. Because I like you so much. And I hate the cult so much.”

Jacob huffed a soft laugh. “I don’t like em all that much either. And I know you’re mad about the things I’ve done.”

Rook exhaled. She was in relief that he wasn’t actually upset or irrational.  Not even in a backhanded way. Bad behavior is what she came to expect from most people. He was always the image of composure.

Rook placed her small hand on his cheek and said quietly, “I missed you while you were gone.” Rook would have said, “today” at the end, but she felt like she’d missed him all her life.

“I missed you too.” It was a warm whisper from him.