#trackers northwest

[skittles-the-whumpee]

Old Dealings

Chapter One - Sudden Discovery

<<<So, this is a canon side story to bring Skittles into Be Careful What You Wish For since her original story is inactive. I'm trying a new-for-me writing style so please, bear with me.>>>

TW: demon whumper, faerie whumper, human whumpee, degradation, pet whump, yelling, insults, human trafficking, mentions of death, mentions of torture, mentioned kidnapping

It's not often that Lord Daelan Darya of Greed is able to visit the human realm on leisure trips but that is where he finds himself today, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, taking in the familiar scent of salty ocean air on the rooftop of his current love interest's home. The past year has been aggravating at best…he needs this vacation.

The past year had been spent searching for one particular person, one of his wards, a human he made a deal with over two decades ago…she's gone missing and not even his top trackers can find her. It's as if she's dropped off the face of the Earth, just completely vanished without a trace. So, to take his mind off things, he's come to spend some time away from Hell and his domain.

He feels hands sliding around his waist from behind as his lover wraps their arms around him, pressing their body against his back.

"Tense as always…well…I suppose less tense than you usually are."

"It's the ocean air, love. It's calmed me ever since I was a human child. Except back then, it was what is now known as the Persian Gulf." He says as he places his hands on theirs, cherishing their touch. "It was warmer, but this feels better, more calming."

"Have you ever gone back?"

"Hm? Yes…I-…I visit every now and then. It's so incredibly different than how it used to be. Still a dangerous place just…in different ways." He turns around and places his hands on their hips, pulling them in close. "Now, I seem to remember you telling me something about this new pet you've acquired but I have yet to see it. Is it shy?"

They giggle a little before standing on their tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Yeah, she's just a bit nervous around new people. She's likely been avoiding you on purpose, she doesn't mean anything by it."

"Scared of the big bad demon lord, is she?" He asks with a playful chuckle.

"Want me to go find her?" Their head tilts cutely to the side as an equally playful smile crosses their lips.

"Yes, please. You know I like to check out your new pets. Especially after that pretty angel boy." He definitely has very fond memories of playing with the magpie angel, delicious blood and the prettiest singing voice.

They then turn on their heel with a smile, prompting Daelan to cop a feel, making them squeak and giggle as they wander off to go find their newest pet.

They look everywhere for her; the kitchen, the living room, her cell in the basement, they even look for her in their room seeing as she's hidden there before. There's no sign of her. The only other place they can think of is…oh shit…the greenhouse…on the roof.

Meanwhile, back up on the roof, Daelan has started pacing with a lit cigarette, smoking while he strolls around casually. It's very well-kept, likely because of the pets. Though, a bit of movement catches his eye through the partially warped glass on the side of the greenhouse and, like the proverbial cat, his curiosity is piqued and he slowly approaches.

There's someone in there, slowly watering the plants. They seem relaxed, at peace while they go about their task. He leans in to look inside, squinting to get a better view as he takes a hit from his cigarette, his eyes then opening wide as the person inside turns around.

"There is no way, in all the rings of Hell, that I'm this lucky…" He exclaims loud enough for the one inside to hear. Her back straightens and the watering can rattles as she begins to tremble…she knows that voice.

She looks over at the man in the window and feels her knees instantly go weak. She blinks, hoping that she's seeing things. Nope…that's him. He's here. But…how did he find her? She had changed hands so many times that she was so certain that he'd never find her.

His brows furrow in anger as he drops his cigarette, squashing it with his foot while staring at his missing ward. After all this time, there she is, watering plants…owned by someone else.

"Outside, NOW!" He demands with a growl, making her trembling worse. Cowering from his anger, she obeys, setting the watering can down before exiting the greenhouse with her hands folded neatly down in front of her and her head bowed in submission and fear. She's rightfully terrified, she had volunteered to be someone else's pet and flown halfway across the world to serve him when she truly belonged to Lord Daelan. Needless to say, she's in deep shit.

He's fuming, tapping his foot as she makes her way to him, kneeling before him just as he had trained her long ago.

"Do you have ANY idea how long I've been looking for you?! Where the FUCK have you been?" Each inflection makes her cower into herself more and more, trembling like a leaf.

"I-I-…I'm so-sorry…I-"

"DID I FUCKING ASK IF YOU WERE SORRY, YOU MISERABLE LITTLE SHIT?!" He bellows, his horns manifesting from pure rage. It's at that point that she starts sobbing in fear, she's seen him turn people to ash for lesser offenses. She cannot stop herself from pressing her forehead into the cold concrete of the roof, her tears dripping on it.

His lover reaches the roof and hears his yelling, wondering why their sweet pet is on her knees, sobbing with her head against the concrete. They figure she had offended him somehow…but…how? She's so sweet, she's never broken a rule and guests love her.

Daelan hears the door to the roof close and he turns, still rather angry, not quite able to switch it off at a moment's notice.

"What is going on up here? Skittles, what happened?" They ask, so very puzzled.

Before she can even open her mouth, Daelan raises a finger to them. "This is between me and her, love. Please stay out of it."

Wrong answer.

Their blood begins to boil at being told to stay out of something pertaining to one of their pets.

"Ex-fucking-cuse me?! She is mine and you will respect my authority in my own home." They command as they march right up to him, not even caring that he's the demon lord of Greed, this is their home and they're not about to let him tell them what to do…not here.

Daelan is actually so taken aback by them storming up to him that he's speechless, staring down at them with wide eyes. By the time he's able to collect his thoughts for a reply, they are standing strong, puffing their chest out and actually looking rather intimidating.

"But she's-…" He's barely even able to start a sentence before being cut off.

"NEED I actually adhere to the court order against you?" That makes him shut his mouth tight and shake his head. He then steps aside and over towards the edge facing the harbor, forcing himself to calm down before he does something that will risk his lordship title.

They watch him step away before kneeling down with their pet, completely shifting their attitude from a moment ago as they console the crying human. They rub her back, cooing softly that she's not in trouble and that she can go downstairs and get something to eat. She sniffles as she nods and slowly stands on shaky legs before making her way downstairs.

Once she disappears down the stairs and the door closes, they stand and slowly approach their lover, wrapping their arms around his waist from behind again, prompting him to gently place his on theirs.

"Care to explain what that was all about?" They ask in a calm tone.

He sighs and deflates a bit. "She's my missing ward…the one I've been looking for all this time and she was right under my nose. How long has she been here?"

"A few weeks, I bought her from my college friend, a fetch. He didn't say where he got her, though." It takes them a moment to fully register exactly what he said about her. "Wait…hold on…she is your missing ward?"

He nods, brushing his thumb over the back of their hand, their skin is delightfully soft, good for staying calm, given the circumstances. "Yeah. She is."

They raise their eyebrows in surprise. "Holy shit…talk about a small world. Like…what are the chances of that?"

"Impossibly slim."

"Well…since she was your property to begin with, you can have her back…as much as I'll miss her. She's a very sweet and obedient pet, try to take it easy on her." They offer as they press their cheek against his back in a hug.

Shocked by their offer, he turns back around to look them in the eye. "Are you sure, love? You seemed pretty steadfast when coming to her defense."

They look up at him and smile softly. "Yes, I'm sure. I can't withhold your property from you, so I'm returning her back to her rightful owner." They take a moment to think. "However, I'll only do so if you swear to me that you won't kill her."

He looks off to the side, thinking if it's even worth taking her back at this point before finally settling on a decision. He'll take her, she needs discipline but he'll keep her alive.

"I swear to keep her alive, you have my word. Thank you for returning her to me…I can finally put this wild goose chase to rest." He leans down and gives them a tender kiss, grateful to have them in his life. They keep him honest, completely unafraid of him and his aggressive habits, totally comfortable standing up to him without backing down. He's finally met his match.

Now to just get his pet home. She may be safe from death, but her previous owners are saints by comparison…and she's had some brutal owners.

BCWYWF Taglist (since this is a parallel story):

@whumpshaped @whumper-soot @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @dragonfireridge @whumpofdory @astrowhump @batfacedliar @the-scrapegoat @livoftheparty @thebejeweledwatercat

[roseworth]

hi tumblr user roseworth im desperately trying to figure out how old rose and eddie were by the end of their tenures in tt03 / how long they knew each other and it is... difficult especially because sooo much happened dc-event-wise during tt03. do you have any canon sources or noncanon thoughts on their ages beyond eddie being 17 in part of tt03 and rose being 14(?) when lilli dies ^_^

hiiiiii <3 unfortunately i dont have a great answer for this bc. comic timelines. but ill do my very best

so for rose the only time we get anything about her age in tt03 is in issue #0.5 (when she gets taken by slade) when it says that lili and slade met 18 years ago

so i assume that makes rose ~17 when she join slade (since lili would've been pregnant for 9 months after this)

we also get this panel saying that lili died 18 months before rose joins slade, putting her at around 15 or 16 when lili dies. iirc she was 14 when wintergreen sees her for the first time, so we can assume a year went by between wintergreen meeting lili and lili's death (if tt03 is to be believed! but deathstroke 1991 (annual #4) mentions that shes 14 when her mom dies)

anyways this also means that roy hired her as a live-in nanny when she was 16 years old which is really funny to me. but none of that matters; point is she was 17ish at the start of tt03

this is just my personal headcanon but i assume that the time between titans/yj graduation day -> infinite crisis is around a year, and if rose joins up with slade a little after graduation day then shes with him for just under a year

HOWEVER if we go by what slade says in nightwing #112, rose has only been with him for a few months

so based on that, rose is 17 (probably closer to 18) when she leaves slade

then infinite crisis happens and we skip to a year later! so shes 18/19 now. we dont get any specifics on her age but just for funsies we can assume that shes at least 18 since shes smoking and cyborg doesnt have a problem with it (he confiscates her alcohol but not her cigarettes), and the tobacco age in california in 2006 was 18

THEN it gets complicated. i dont have a source for this but i think theres supposed to be a year between oyl -> final crisis, making rose 19/20 by fresh hell (the secret reason she got kicked off the teen titans was because she wasnt a teen #adulthood)

also in fresh hell, she orders alcohol at a bar in canada (in the northwest territories where the drinking age is 19) so theoretically that makes her at least 19. though she never actually gets the drinks because she gets in a fight 2 seconds after this so she doesnt get carded so who knows!

from there. i dont have much. i assume that a full year doesnt go by from fresh hell to the end of the universe (if anyone knows how long bart & kon were dead for that might change things, but i assume we're not given any exact info on how long it was), so i would put rose at ~20 right before the new 52 happens!!

as for eddie, ill use the same tt03 timeline that i used for rose

like you mentioned, hes 17 in tt03 #42 (for reference rose is 18/19 at this time)

he didnt join the teen titans that long before this, we see him asking to join in 52 #51, which is like a week or two before tt03 #34 (the first tt issue after oyl) so its safe to assume that eddie is 17 when he joins the team

anyways after #42, i dont think we get any mention of his age? which is honestly kinda weird since his age is Very Important given that hes selling his soul to neron at 20. we should have an eddie's age tracker at all times

if we assume that hes 17 when he joins the teen titans and oyl -> final crisis is 1 year, then hes right around 18 or 19 when he dies

when he loses his powers then tries to make another contract to get them back in tt03 #68, kid eternity mentions that he'd have "a few years of superheroing," so him being 18 around this time makes sense

then he dies in #74 </3 no mention of his age anywhere but id say hes right around 18 when he dies

take all of this with a grain of salt bc a lot of this is just me making up timelines. but i personally think rose is 15 when her mom dies, 17 when slade takes her, 18 when she leaves slade, and 19 as of tt03 #34 (oyl). and eddie is 17 when he joins the team and 18 when he dies!

[cricket-reader]

Everything Is Going to be Okay

Masterlist | A03 | Wattpad | Recommendations | Inbox

Summary: the team gets held up at a base where one of the members of the team decides to give herself up in exchange for the safety and freedom of her teammates.

Warnings: language, creepy pet names, past abuse/torture, abuse/torture, sexual harassment, sexual assault (not detailed), non-consensual touching/stripping

Word Count: 2,089

Prompt: Team Dynamics, hostage situation, take me instead, recorded message, rescue

A/N: day 6 of March Trope-A-Thon by @amonthofwhump (not proof read, sorry for any errors)

They weren’t sure where everything went wrong. One moment, they were in an abandoned base for some type of extremist group that they had never heard of before, or so they had thought, and the next, three members were being held hostage in the northwest wing of the base.

One member, who was assigned to the northeast section, had previous experience with this group. She didn’t say anything because she didn’t want the repercussions that would follow. Surely, they would have to go through a long process of questioning her to see if she was an undercover agent or not. It would be pointless. So she decided to save them all the trouble.

As soon as she heard things go awry, she separated herself from the group she was assigned. There is no doubt in her mind that they’re looking for her. Quickly, she recorded a message for her team. She had to explain to them why she was giving herself up. It was the only way to make sure that the rest of the team got out safely. She told Friday to deliver it to the team.

She ran to the southwest section as fast as she could. She didn’t want them to do anything to the guys before she could reach them. She wouldn’t allow that to happen.

A man met her outside of the room they were being kept in. He immediately smiled when he saw her familiar face. “Hello, nice of you to return.”

“Let them go, Charlie,” she grumbled, not up to conversing with any of these assholes. He wasn’t at all surprised that she was so rude. He didn’t even appear affected by her grumpy attitude.

“What are you offering in return?” Charlie smirked, knowing full well that she’d offer herself up. They were never able to break that part of her that was always so selfless. At that moment, it seemed to have paid off.

“You know damn well what I’m ‘offering’, asshole.”

He grinned, wanting to hang this over her head like a piece of meat to a dog. When she had left, she told them that they’d never see her again, that she’d die before she’d end up stuck with them again. Yet there she was. “I wanna hear you say it, sweetheart.”

“Take me instead, alright?” She snapped.

“And how can we be sure you won’t just turn around and kill us?”

“I’m not stupid. You of all people should know that. I’ll go with you guys willingly. Beyond that, I can’t promise I’ll comply.”

“Good enough for me, sweet cheeks.”

Anger flared in her every time he used one of those god damn pet names. That was definitely something she didn’t miss.

She was taken away to an exit before she could check to see if the others were released. Luckily, they didn’t remove her earpiece, so she was able to hear the group’s confusion as they were released without any harm coming to any of them. That was all she honestly cared about, so when the man held out his hand, she willingly gave over the earpiece.

The man was surprised that she complied so easily, but he definitely wasn’t complaining.

Of course, they had a sedative to inject her with when they arrived at the white van they’d be taking her in. She didn’t fight, as promised, when they injected her.

The men made sure to strip her body before they left. They didn’t want to take anything that might have a tracker on it.

When she woke up, she was lying on a standard cot in a cell. She sighed but didn’t make any movement. There was no point in getting up.

It seemed like hours before the door was opened. She didn’t even bother to look at who entered. She didn’t care.

“Glad to have you back, pretty thing.”

Her gut twisted hearing the voice she never wanted to hear again. An onslaught of memories that she had tried her hardest to erase from her mind came flooding back.

No matter what, she wouldn’t let him see that something as simple as his voice had affected her. She had to stay strong for the sake of her dignity. He would only be satisfied if he knew what effect he had on her anyway. And she absolutely refused to give him any more satisfaction than having her back already did.

“I missed you,” he sincerely said, “I missed the feeling of your body against mine.”

She didn’t respond. She just lied still on her back, looking at the ceiling.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be like that, baby.” He moved to sit next to her on the bed. “I know at least a part of you missed me too.”

She internally scoffed. In his dreams, she thought. She always knew that man was deranged. That only proves her point. Who on earth would ever miss the man that repeatedly raped them? She didn’t have Stockholm syndrome.

She didn’t even flinch when his hand found her calf. She just closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for whatever he was going to do to her.

It was as horrible as she remembered it being. During the time she was held down to the bed as he assaulted her, she stared off, focusing on a spot on the ceiling. She didn’t cry unlike the first few times. She had no tears left to cry. Not after everything she had been through.

When he left the room she felt like a shell of herself. She was on the road to recovery. She had just begun to receive touch from her teammates, who never so once showed any bad intentions, without dissociating. All of the progress she made on her own without the help of anyone was flushed down the toilet. It had taken her so damn long to recover and she was back to square one. It wasn’t fair. Not in the slightest.

The next time the door opened, Charlie had some food for her. She didn’t sit up. She just lied there, staring at the same spot on the ceiling. Even when he threatened to take away her food, she didn’t move. She knew that Charlie’s threats were empty anyway.

He would never allow anyone but himself to keep food from her. He was the only one allowed to touch her, the only one to allow her to have clothes or blankets. He was in charge of her. Everything she got was from him.

She supposed that she should be grateful. She was being fed well and taken care of. He could have beat her and starved her until she was on the brink of death.

But he didn’t.

He loved her. In his own sick, twisted way, he loved her.

Unfortunately for him, she didn’t give a shit about his feelings. He could treat her like a princess and apologise until he turned blue and she still wouldn’t forgive him. He didn’t deserve forgiveness.

She turned her head to look at what food he had offered her today. Charlie had left, she couldn’t tell you when he had, but she was alone again. Being alone there was a relief. It was the only time she truly allowed herself to have any emotions or reactions.

Sitting up, she winced at the uncomfortable feeling in her gut. She hadn’t felt that for such a long time. She had almost forgotten what it was like.

There was a bowl of soup on the tray. Wild rice soup. There was a dinner roll and a salad for her as well. He had even gone all out and got her a dessert. Sure it was just a simple fun sized candy bar, but she never usually got anything sweet unless she did something really good. It was probably a welcome back gift, she mused.

Picking up the tray, she placed it on her lap before digging in. She was able to stomach the food despite what had just transpired mostly because she had grown accustomed to it all those years she had been trapped with him. Even though she hadn’t been with him for years, everything was still ingrained into her brain. It was as if she took a very nice extended vacation from this treacherous place. She only wished it could have been longer.

The next day was marked by Charlie bringing her breakfast. She was glad that he didn’t decide to join her as he used to do. She didn’t think she’d be able to stomach eating around him that time around.

The whole day passed by pretty uneventfully. There’s not much to do when you’re trapped in a room with nothing to occupy your time with, after all.

She didn’t want to keep track of the time she spent there because it was too depressing, but she knew that a lot of time had passed. He had come into her room plenty of times for his own entertainment. Whether it be by using her body or just simply attempting to have a conversation with her unwilling self, he managed to find time every day to visit her at least once.

She wondered how the team was doing in her moments alone. Briefly she had wondered if they might be searching for her, but she brushed off the idea. She didn’t know why they’d bother. After all, she did give herself up—even if it was for the greater good.

After a session of abuse that had been particularly rough, she was exhausted. Sleep pulled her into unconsciousness almost as soon as she was alone.

It didn’t feel long until she was woken up by the door opening. That time, however, was different. Instead of the calm way that both him and Charlie used, this was rushed; frantic.

The door slammed against the wall, probably making a dent if she had to guess. She tried not to move, but she couldn’t help but to flinch. Memories of past experience told her that whatever was in store wasn’t good.

If he ever slammed the door open, he had usually been pissed off. And that meant he’d take his anger out on her. She’d remember the bruises that he would leave on her body after days like that. It made a shiver run up her spine.

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard a metallic voice say “I found her.”

Sitting up, she had seen Tony wearing his latest suit. He retracted the mask and rushed to her side.

He was so relieved to find that she had no fatal injuries. The team had feared the worst when she had disappeared, only her suit and comms left behind. But she was alive. Alive and well, so it seemed.

“Nat, bring the go bag to my location,” Tony ordered, checking their surroundings. There were no visible torture devices in the room which was a bit of a relief.

“You’re not hurt anywhere are you?” Tony asked, looking over her body once more, that time a bit more closely. His heart stopped and his face paled seeing a white substance between her legs. There were fresh bruises on her hips that made his gut twist in the most unpleasant way. They should have found her sooner.

“I’m fine, Tony,” she murmured, placing her hand on his forearm. It was both a relief and a great stressor that he knew the truth at last. She had never told anyone because she didn’t want to be viewed as weak, or lesser than everyone else on the team. But not having to keep such a prevalent part of her life a secret lifted a weight off of her shoulders.

Natasha came into the room soon after with a duffle in hand. She unzipped it and grabbed out some clothes for her to wear before they left in the Quinjet. Tony left, not wanting to invade her privacy any more than he already had. Plus, he figured Natasha would be best equipped to handle the situation.

“He can’t hurt you anymore,” Natasha assured her after she got dressed, holding out her arms out in case she wanted some physical comfort. She didn’t expect it, but it would be better to offer than not.

She crashed into Natasha’s arms, finally letting years of unshed tears fall from her eyes.

Natasha soothingly rubbed her back as she sobbed into her chest. Tears came to her own eyes as she whispered words of affirmation to her.

“Everything is going to be okay.”

[whisker-biscuit]

The Lines We Cross: Chapter 27

A Daring Rescue

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You're the future I pretended I no longer wanted.

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Krakarov was perhaps the world’s only forgotten volcano.

Officially declared too dangerous for public access for well over two hundred years, it sat amid an uninhabited stretch of land in the northwest corner of Russia, so far from civilization that it had quietly slipped out of collective memory. Scientists did not study it when there were much more accessible ones. Local and international governments found no need to warn people about it because it was only taught in the most thorough geological studies. Any thrill-seekers looking to climb it were few and far between, and those few who tried never came back. It was a mystery among mysteries, so obscure that the only agreed-upon thing was that it was to be left alone for reasons lost to time.

There were only a handful of people who knew what those reasons actually were, and not a single one of them had ever actually entered the volcano itself.

Until now.

Sly was exhausted. He had left Kunlun by Interpol escort, posing as one of the town survivors and given a ride down the mountain until they reached a proper city. He’d slipped easily away with all of Inspector Fox’s gear, hid in the first abandoned building he could find, and had promptly had a breakdown. Then, he’d locked everything down in the same mental vault that held his parents’ deaths and the source of the scars on his chest, looked over the stuff he had stolen, considered his options, and began planning.

Leaving Carmelita to die at the hands of his greatest nightmare had not been an option. Even if Clockwerk had killed her the instant he’d realized he hadn’t grabbed his real target, the raccoon couldn’t handle the uncertainty of not knowing. If it turned out she was still alive and he had turned tail and ran without even trying to save her, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself.

And so here he was nearly fourteen hours later, standing at the base of a forgotten volcano, armed with his cane and an assortment of Interpol equipment, running on what little sleep he’d managed to get on the airplane he’d snuck onto to get this far north, and feeling as though he’d just taken a beating from every Fiendish Five member at once.

It was a small price to pay for the quelling of his conscience.

The outer perimeter of Krakarov had a large metal fence wrapped around it, almost two kilometers from the volcano proper. Faded warning signs detailing hazards like falling rocks as well as threats of criminal fines and detainment for trespassing littered the fence in both directions as far as the eye could see, but there were no security measures to reinforce it. No barbed wire, no electric currents, no cameras or guards or anything of the sort.

Just a single, taller than average fence, and for some reason that alone scared him more than anything. Either Clockwerk was that adept at defending his home, or he had anticipated Sly’s arrival and was holding the metaphorical door open in invitation.

Well, if it was an invitation, then there were going to be a lot more visitors than the owl expected. Sly reached into his backpack, slightly smushed underneath the jetpack strapped to his back, and pulled out the GPS tracker he’d stolen from the Interpol truck. He turned it on, stared at it a moment to make sure it was working, then tucked it away again. With any luck, Interpol would come running the moment they realized it belonged to their missing inspector.

Maybe, if he was really lucky, they’d arrive in time to save her before Clockwerk finished him off. She deserved to survive this mess he had gotten her into, even if he didn’t. Especially if he didn’t.

Sly looked the fence up and down with both his hands curled around the jetpack’s harness. There were no signs of life here; not a single person, unevolved animal, or even plant to be found. Everything around him was dust and dark rock in the shadow of the volcano ahead.

With one last glance to the left and the right just to be certain that he was alone, the raccoon began climbing. It was difficult with all the equipment weight, and he winced with every rattle of metal as he had to sacrifice stealth just to be able to scale the thing at all, but after a few minutes he had finally cleared the top and jumped down to the other side. Here, he paused for a moment to catch his breath and wipe away the sweat that had been creeping up his neck for far longer than it took to climb that fence.

Then he began to walk towards the volcano.

It was eerily quiet as he picked his way through the rocky terrain. The air was still and thick with distant heat; there was no wind to blow relief against his fur or his clothes. He kept his stress clamped tight under a lid and stayed alert to the slightest changes around him. The sky was a gloomy grey but devoid of clouds – and concerning silhouettes – and he periodically looked up to scan it in his vigilance. No one ever looked up until it was too late, and he’d made that mistake twice in his life.

Never again. Nothing was going to catch him off guard anymore. He refused to let it until he knew for sure what had happened to –

There.

A change in the landscape.

Among the cracked, uneven ground, he saw a shred of orange. Sly approached it, confused and then immediately alarmed as he realized it was a small tattered piece of Inspector Fox’s heavy coat she had worn in Kunlun. Eyes wide, he dropped to his knees to pick it up, terrified that he would find blood – or worse. It was clean, thank god, but it did little to ease his fear for her safety. All it meant was that she had been here at some point, alive or dead.

Clenching the cloth tightly in his left hand, the raccoon began to stand, but a strange glint between the rocks nearby caught his attention. He tilted his head, catching the light of the shrouded sun just so to find its source. Then his heart stopped for a completely different reason than when he’d found the scrap of coat.

It was a camera. There was a camera embedded in the ground.

Panic seized Sly’s chest. Before a single conscious thought could cross his mind, he had already jumped to his feet and started sprinting away, back towards the fence – back towards that flimsy physical barrier outlining the ancient owl’s territory. Clockwerk knew he was here. He knew he was here and he was going to come after him again if he stayed here, those claws would come after him again, he’d be dead and Carmelita would be doomed –

Carmelita would be doomed if he ran away, too.

He skidded to a halt. Looked down at the ripped fabric in his hand. Looked at the fence, then to the empty sky. Closed his eyes and forced all his panic away, stuffed in that familiar box with the rest of his emotions until he did what he had come here to do.

Turned around and began walking again.

It didn’t matter if Clockwerk had confirmation that he was here. Clearly, he had expected Sly to show, because leaving such obvious evidence out in the open was sloppy at best, and to insinuate that about the owl was an insult of the highest degree. Everything he did was calculated. Everything he did was for a reason. It was a taunt, plain and simple, and it had worked.

It didn’t stop the raccoon from glancing up more often, though.

When he finally reached the base of the volcano, his eyes jumped across the harsh rock to look for a way inside. He found it about five meters to his right; the rock curled inward in a way that was definitely not natural. It was a cave, and it led straight to the heart of Krakarov if the sudden spike of heat was any indication.

The cave opening was deceptively large – it was wide, not tall, so that someone like Muggshot or bigger would have to duck their heads as they entered it but could easily stretch their arms horizontally. For Sly, who was small in both ways, there was no issue at all. He pressed himself against one wall, held his breath to turn invisible just in case of more hidden cameras he couldn’t see, and headed in.

It was slow going. The ground was hard to walk on and often dipped both uphill and downhill for long stretches of time. Every few minutes he paused and crouched to catch his breath, holding perfectly still and perfectly silent in fear of detection until he was ready to move on invisibly again. The temperature was rising steadily the farther inside he got, and all the extra stuff he was carrying – the jetpack, the GPS, Carmelita’s shock pistol and radio, and the two “special” homemade gadgets in his hoodie pocket – added to his fatigue and the sweat trapped under his fur.

It felt a little like he was going into hell. Not too far from the truth if he thought about it too hard, and he was doing everything he could to avoid that.

Nearly half an hour into his trek, the slope evened out into something manageable for once. It was his only warning before he came upon a giant double door blocking him from continuing. The raccoon stopped, craning his head upwards to study the sudden obstruction. It was embedded in both walls and the ceiling, similar to how the camera had been, with no cracks to shimmy through to get around it. In the center of the door were two large handles – built for someone with talons to grab ahold of – and locking them in place was a single, bulky padlock.

The most straightforward barrier ever, and yet Sly was wary to take it at face value. He approached it cautiously, still invisible, and scrutinized it for any sign of unseen security measures or even some of Mz. Ruby’s magic, but no matter where he looked or how much he strained his eyes, there was nothing to be found. For all intents and purposes, it really was just a simple gate.

Still not trusting the circumstances of this first true roadblock set up by the Five’s leader, he pressed into the corner where the wall and the gate met, making himself as small as possible as he became visible again, and stared up at the padlock. It looked standard and easy to pick, but it was too high to reach while his feet were on the ground, and he refused to use the jetpack for fear of draining its fuel prematurely.

That left only one option. The raccoon did one more cursory search for traps, cameras, or anything else, then shoved himself off the wall with as much speed as he was capable of. He took a running leap towards the gate and hooked onto one of the handles by his cane; the momentum of his jump was enough to swing him high enough to grab the padlock with his free hand. With his shoes braced against the metal of the door, he began working the lock suspended a solid three meters in the air.

When it clicked open, he carefully pulled it free of both handles before twisting around to throw it as hard as he could down the tunnel he’d come from. It landed out of sight with a quiet clang, which made him wince, but he wasn’t going to touch anything of Clockwerk’s for more than strictly necessary. There was no telling what might or might not be boobytrapped.

Padlock discarded, Sly turned back to the door he was still clinging to like a barnacle. It hadn’t budged much under his weight until he’d removed the lock, but he could feel how it seemed to want to move inward instead of outward. Crouching with all his weight coiled into his legs, he launched himself off the door with a powerful two-footed kick. It did the trick; the gate shifted open just enough for him to shimmy through after he picked himself back up, and he continued further into the dark cave.

For the first time since Kunlun – since Wales, really – the shaky confidence that had built itself up during his time with Inspector Fox began to trickle back. He had successfully gotten through the first of the ancient owl’s obstacles, simple as it seemed, and that made his heart beat a little faster for different reasons than fear. It was only the first step, but he’d done it.

So caught up in his momentary victory, he very nearly walked onto death.

Sly froze with his foot hovering a centimeter above the ground, having barely caught the glint of metal with his sharp nocturnal vision. He looked down at the slightest displacement in the earth – uneven dirt that had been dug up recently, covering a lump that seemed just as natural as every other lump along the bumpy cave floor if not for that tiny, damning bit of metal that had made itself visible. Feeling suddenly sick as he realized how close he’d been to stepping on it, he backed up and very gingerly pushed aside the dirt with the tip of his cane, careful not to touch the metal. It revealed a round device big enough that he’d have to hold it with both hands, with a red blinking light in its center.

He’d almost just stepped on a land mine.

Nausea growing ever deeper, he looked up towards the path ahead, where he could now pick out more of those unassuming mounds scattered across the ground, just waiting to be triggered by one careless intruder. The raccoon swallowed, hard, and began to reach for his backpack – for the shock pistol tucked safely away within. Then he aborted the action before even touching the zipper. There was no telling how powerful these things were; if he shot one, it could cause a cave-in or set off the rest in a fatal chain reaction. And even if neither of those were to happen, the noise alone would surely be enough to bring the owl swooping in. Using Carmelita’s equipment would have to wait. Again.

He crouched in front of the bomb he had unearthed, taking a mental measurement of its size and comparing that to the litany of still-hidden ones in his way. They had all been placed with just enough space between them that he could theoretically maneuver through so long as he was sure-footed and precise, and he had a sneaking suspicion that it had been set up that way on purpose. Clockwerk had goaded him inside his lair with evidence of the inspector’s survival, and now he was deliberately testing him. Seeing how far he had come on his own; pushing him to prove that he hadn’t just stolen back the Thievius Raccoonus, but was actively taking its lessons to heart.

It was time to trust his ancestors. Sly stood up, backed up a few paces, then sprinted forward and took his first jump.

It became a dance. On the world’s deadliest stage, not a single audience member to witness his act, the raccoon flitted across the landmine field with the grace of a ballerina. His feet barely touched the ground when he found a safe place to land, only there for seconds until his gaze had found the next one, and then he was already leaping again.

By the time he finally reached the end of the buried bombs, there was a thin sheen of sweat down his back and he was panting from exertion, but it was accompanied by the bittersweet sting of success. Bittersweet, because he’d proven himself as capable as any other prior Cooper – had been proving that for weeks – but it was at the cost of his former partner. He had wanted the confidence, but not at this price. Never, ever at this price.

After a few minutes of catching his breath, he shook his head to clear his lamenting and continued on. Every second he wasted was less of a chance to fix his mistakes.

One sharp turn left, another right, and then very suddenly, the tunnel opened up and Sly found himself standing over an enormous pit of lava. He nearly staggered at the sudden spike of heat, strong enough to steal his breath, and could only gawk at the very heart of Krakarov.

Rock paths – either naturally formed or intentionally carved – twisted out from where he stood for as far as the eye could see in a dozen directions. Some veered off in towards other caves in the inner cliffside of the volcano, while others went on and on beyond the limits of his vision. There was no ceiling or cover above him, yet the open sky seemed confined from inside the crater. The glow of lava overpowered everything to the point that it was almost painful to look at directly.

And on the opposite end, easily two or more kilometers away, was a cluster of metal structures that could, technically, be classified as buildings. They looked more like the owl had dragged an entire scrapyard into the space, then smashed it all together to save space.

The raccoon scanned the sky for a solid minute, nervous about how much he was now out in the open even with all of his precautions. Then, he took another minute to study all the branching paths ahead of him. There were a lot of places here that could be hiding a kidnapped inspector, and there was no clue as to which direction to search first. If it took all night to find her, he’d do it without a second thought, but the longer he was here then the more likely it was that Clockwerk showed his face in one way or another.

Wasn’t anything to be done about it except to push on. Taking as deep a breath as he could manage, Sly began walking along the biggest path in the vague direction of the distant metal architecture. Every time he came across a particularly large boulder or an especially deep crack in the ground, he hunkered down behind or in them to get his breath back, and never took his eyes off the sky while he did so. It was excruciatingly slow going, even worse than traversing the landmines had been, and he could practically feel the minutes ticking away from whatever remained of Carmelita’s limited safety.

Halfway across the crater, a familiar sense of foreboding made him stop. Up ahead, the path continued towards the metal buildings, and he could finally see another cave that presumably led straight to them. Nothing had changed since he’d started his trek, nothing was out of place and now shadow loomed from above, but instincts honed from half a lifetime of tiptoeing around volatile people kept him from moving another centimeter further. On a whim, knowing all too well how much Clockwerk loved his patterns, the raccoon began suspiciously sweeping along the ground with his cane like he had done in that first tunnel.

It was with expectation, not surprise, when he uncovered metal and tiny blinking lights for a second time.

Sly inhaled quick and sharp through his teeth, painfully aware of the fact that he had become visible from the reaction, and peered farther down the path. Unlike before, there were no identifiers for where the bombs had been buried here. No bumps in the ground, no glints of metal, not a single speck of dirt out of place. Without a metal detector or some other tech he didn’t have, nothing could tell him what was safe to walk on and what would blow him sky high.

He glanced behind him, where the rocky ground had branched off to the left a few meters back in a diverging pathway. It had led to another tunnel in the cliffside; he had ignored it – along with every other separate path – in favor of heading towards the most obvious man-made structure, but now it was looking far more tempting in lieu of walking through another literal minefield.

Sly doubled back to the other path after only a moment of consideration. He’d chosen his original route because it had seemed logical to head that way, but Carmelita could be stuck in any of the dozen other caves. There was no way to know for certain without checking each until he found her – or at least another clue pointing him in the right direction – and he wasn’t in the mood to test his luck with hidden mines a second time just yet. He was careful to sweep the ground for them on this new road, but nothing came up no matter how much he checked, and that innate sense of danger rapidly disappeared the farther he walked.

When he reached the opening of the new cave, he ducked just inside the shadow of it to get some air, a mild reprieve from the heat, and to scan the open crater. Still no sign of Clockwerk, which was either really good or really bad, but so long as he stayed alert, the raccoon was sure that the Five’s leader couldn’t catch him off gua–

Two bright red lights flickered to life within the pitch black of the tunnel. Then a second pair. A third. A fourth.

Six. Nine. Fourteen.

Sly stared in mounting horror as things began to move and shift in the dark. Metal clanged against rock, against other metal, and the raccoon backed out into open space again with his hackles raised and his cane at the ready. So startled that he’d remained visible, his reaction caused every set of lights – eyes, they were eyes – to zero in on him immediately. A synchronous chorus of screeching was his only warning to turn and flee before an entire flock of robotic birds exploded out of the cave after him.

He ran for all he was worth as they chased him. Panic sent his thoughts into overdrive, his mind desperately trying to come up with an escape before they could catch up. He swerved right towards the cave he had arrived into the crater by, hoping that they had a limit to how far they could follow, or at least make it harder for them to fly in the confined space.

Movement flitted in and out of the corner of his eye barely ten steps in; Sly pivoted on his heel on instinct and whipped around with his cane arcing outward in a defensive swing. His reaction saved him from being disemboweled. A silver falcon, much smaller than Clockwerk but still deadly by the glint of its talons, screeched as its body was struck and swerved backwards in the air to right itself before it could fall into the lava below. Three more took its place immediately, cutting him off from moving any closer to his goal and forcing him to backpedal. He ducked raised claws by the skin of his teeth and turned left instead towards the metal structures.

Towards the landmines he couldn’t see.

There was no time to do anything else. There was nowhere else to go. Over a dozen frenzied robots bore down on him with intent to kill, and only one path was clear. He had to risk death to avoid a certain one. Sly barreled into the minefield –

And something strange happened.

Blue erupted across his vision; a spattering of sparkles that were sprinkled seemingly at random throughout the path ahead. Something about them tugged at his soul, urging him closer, to connect with them wherever possible. The raccoon didn’t think twice about it – he let that pull lead him forward and he leapt.

He landed perfectly on a cluster of sparkles. Nothing exploded under his feet. A screech to his left gave him enough forewarning to keep running, to jump to the next array while he still had momentum, and he narrowly avoided two falcons trying to slam into his shoulder. The way ahead was free of robotic birds as they came at him from behind and both sides, trying to snatch him up or knock him off balance and onto a waiting landmine.

The odd twinkles protected him from the ground, his dexterity protected him from fatal claw strikes, and his cane made up for those that veered too close in attempts to body-check him. Somehow, miraculously, Sly kept going through the bombardment from above and below without ever getting a scratch, and when the blue sparkling finally faded away, he stopped leaping and went right back to sprinting. He had no idea if he was clear of the bombs, but something in him said that he was, and that same something had just kept him from being blown into a hundred little raccoon pieces. He couldn’t slow down to question it when there was still an entire bloodthirsty flock gunning for him.

Up ahead, he could see the tunnel entrance that surely led to the buildings he’d been so focused on before, but it looked large enough to welcome the robots on his tail. Already, Sly could feel his adrenaline waning under heat and his low reserves of energy, and he knew that he’d be either caught or mauled within minutes if they continued their chase unless something changed. Another screech and whoosh of hot wind made him whirl around to block claws with cane. He continued his three-sixty turn to redirect the screaming falcon sideways into one of its brethren, then stuck his free hand into his hoodie’s front pocket as he righted himself to face forward again.

His fingers found one of the two devices hidden there – as well as the button on it. He pressed down on it at the same time that he pulled the device out, coming closer and closer to the yawning cave mouth. Right before he rushed through, Sly threw the thing as hard as he could at the rocky overhang looming over his dark escape.

It hit its mark. The device – the bomb exploded above him as he threw himself forward, narrowly missing the tumbling rocks that instead came down on the robotic birds right behind him. He hit the ground but staggered back to his feet, not daring to stand still in the blast radius of the cave-in he had just caused. Dust kicked up the air around him so thick that he could barely see even with his nocturnal vision, and the entire tunnel shook as boulders fell in an overwhelming cacophony of noise.

As suddenly as it had started, it was over just as fast. The last of the rocks hit the ground, the rumbling ceased around him, and silence took its place save for the strained breaths of one frazzled raccoon. He leaned heavily against a wall and risked a glance back, grimacing when he realized that the entire opening had been completely blocked off by the cave-in. There was not a single shred of light from the outside crater he could see, and he wasn’t about to tempt his tenuous luck further by trying to move the rocks aside.

The robo-falcons weren’t anywhere to be seen or heard, which he hoped meant they had either all been crushed or had given up pursuit now that their target was impossible to reach. Even so, he kept his cane at the ready and remained alert to the point of jumpiness as he began walking down this new tunnel that he’d trapped himself in.

It occurred to him, belatedly, that they might have been leading him down that single path and not letting him stray for more reasons than killing him with landmines. It was very possible that they had intentionally funneled him this way because it was where he needed to go to find Carmelita. The realization made him nervous at the same time that it gave him hope; if she was dead, they’d have no reason to do this. Clockwerk could have let him wander aimlessly through the volcano until he collapsed from exhaustion or the heat, and then finished him off without any effort. Surely, the fact that he was going to all this trouble to string Sly along meant that she was still alive, and he was still on the right track.

But it also meant the owl was lying in wait for him somewhere or somehow, and he had just wasted one of his precious few means of fighting back. He didn’t know if bombs even worked on whatever Clockwerk was made of, but having some semblance of perceived power in his hands had given him courage. Now, he only had a single chance left to leave a dent in the monster’s armor.

There was nothing to do but keep going and hope that it didn’t come to that. If he could find Carmelita and free her before Clockwerk bared down on them, there was still the jetpack. They could still make a clean getaway into the night, and then she could come back with the full force of Interpol to take down the final member of the Fiendish Five for good. As for what happened to him, well…he doubted the inspector would let him go free after putting her life in danger. If she wanted to arrest him for the part he played in this entire mess, he’d already given her his word that he wouldn’t run anymore. Before, it had been out of despair from the realization that his life was forfeited no matter what he did. Now, even if he made it out of here alive, he didn’t have anything left to return to. A criminal, raised by other criminals, who only knew how to steal and lie and cause problems; there was no “normal” he could even pretend to mimic, and he was done hurting innocent people for his own survival.

Sly was either leaving this volcano in cuffs, or he wasn’t leaving at all. His only goal was living long enough to save the person whose life had been irreparably damaged just by knowing him, just by trusting him.

His train of thought halted as his surroundings caught his attention.

Something was different about the walls. He frowned, unable to place what it was with the limited details his gaze could provide in the dark, and moved to the nearest one to press his hand against it. The fabric of his glove threatened to snag on the craggy surface as he trailed his fingers along it while he walked; until suddenly, it became smooth under his touch. Semi-cool rock had cut off into warm metal instead, and continued that way ahead as far as he could tell. Cautiously excited in the change, the raccoon picked up the pace, grateful to feel the temperature slowly dropping the farther he went.

Then, in the distance, there was light at the end of the tunnel – literally. He trapped the air in his lungs and disappeared from sight before it came anywhere near him, and then stepped out into the blinding glare.

As his eyes adjusted to the harsh light of the new room, the first thing he noticed was machinery everywhere. Computers and processors lined the walls, cords of all shapes and sizes hung from the ceiling, and the ground was alight with security lasers and overhead spotlights. Perches large enough for a particular owl to land on were littered everywhere, and a quick glance up showed a giant metal door that no doubt would have led out into the sky if it had been open.

And then he saw Carmelita.

She was in another, smaller room, separated from this one by a layer of glass, and he could see even from here that she had been trapped there in a tall, see-through cylinder. Her back was to him as she pounded on the glass, clearly trying to break out of her prison, and his heart swelled to see that she was still alive, still fighting.

Sly didn’t shout or whistle to attempt to get her attention. Even if she could hear him through the distance and multiple barriers between them, Clockwerk had eyes on her. He could see cameras in the room that was holding her – although, bizarrely, not in this one – and if she reacted to his presence too early, it would alert the owl. Nothing to do but hope she could hold on a little longer while he made his way through the maze in front of him. The most straight-forward path was a death trap. Even without the lasers and the spotlights, he could see metal tiles across the floor that he recognized from his time working on Raleigh’s ship; they were pressure plates, highly sensitive to touch and guaranteed to set off alarms at best and automated weapons at worst. Invisibility was no help against that.

His eyes trailed left, where one of the large iron perches sat several meters above him and the traps ahead. The faintest hint of blue began to creep across it the longer he stared. It wouldn’t get him all the way across the room to where Carmelita was being held, but it was certainly a start. The raccoon rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, readjusted the weight of the jetpack, and started running.

He jumped for the perch and caught its end by his outstretched hands, dangling for only a moment before pulling himself up onto it. It was round and precariously slippery, threatening to send him falling with the slightest misstep, but he kept his mind on everything he’d learned from the Thievius Raccoonus instead of letting the nerves overtake him. Centimeter by centimeter, he edged along the perch until he reached the other end without so much as a teeter.

Here, he could see the rest of the room and all its hazards very clearly. But with the addition of those sparkles popping up everywhere, he could also now see all the possibilities, too. Sly’s gaze jumped back and forth, calculating the best way to work around the security and reach the glass separating him from the inspector.

A spire jump here, a rail slide there – he’d done this a million times. Now he just had to do it a million and one.

Onto a hanging cable he latched, scaling up it like a monkey on a vine. From there, a leap to land delicately on top of a roving spotlight. Springing off of crouched legs to throw himself halfway across the room, to a second perch several meters from Carmelita’s “room.” Flattening himself against a computer to avoid a rotating laser that could probably saw him in half, then taking advantage of the gap in its cycle to find and move towards the next waypoint.

On and up and down and around he went, until finally his feet touched lightly down in front of the glass wall through which he could see the fox. She had turned around sometime in his maneuvers so that she should have caught sight of him, but her eyes remained fixed on the container she was still trying to get out of, and never once glanced his way.

The raccoon had a few guesses as to why she seemed unaware of his presence, but they didn’t matter when he was about to make himself known. After one quick glance behind and above to make sure nothing robotic had snuck up on him through his complicated balancing act, he pressed his hand to the glass and tested it with his bodily weight. It shifted under the sudden force. Emboldened, he took a few steps back, braced himself, then swung his cane into it with all his might.

It shattered instantly. Carmelita’s head whipped around to stare at him with wide eyes as he picked his way through the glass-littered ground and into the room with her. Before he could do anything – say anything, even – she slammed her hands against the last barrier separating them with more panic than he had ever seen on her face.

“Sly, you can’t be here!” She cried. “It’s a trap!”

There was a strange hissing in the air as something green and noxious began spilling into the room from the vents all around them. The raccoon whirled on his heel at the sound of a reinforced metal door slamming shut behind him, sealing the hole in the glass he had made. He pulled his mask out from beneath his shirt collar and pressed it against his nose and mouth, heart hammering in his chest, just as every screen in the room lit up to reveal Clockwerk’s hateful, patient gaze.

“You sentimental fool!” He chuckled, sounding more like he had just won a bet than any stronger emotion. “Empathy has always been the downfall of the Cooper clan.”

The thin layer of protection Sly had tried to give himself wasn’t enough. Already, dizziness was overwhelming him and he felt the treacherous urge to cough as the fatal gas filled both the room and his lungs. Carmelita, momentarily spared from the trap because of the container she was trapped in, began throwing her shoulder against the glass, screaming at him to find a way out before it was too late. His eyes darted all over the room, trying to do exactly that, but there was only one exit, surrounded by machinery and the mocking camera feed of his worst nightmare.

He turned around to swing his cane at the door that had sealed him in. The reverberating shockwave that traveled up his arms and through his body staggered him instead, sending him to one knee as he gasped on instinct. The gas greedily took advantage of his mistake, and suddenly the entire room was spinning. The raccoon tried and failed to stand back up; he could barely hear Inspector Fox’s desperate voice through the ringing in his ears. He lifted his head just enough to lock eyes with her.

There were tears in her eyes. She was crying. She was crying over him.

It was like a stream of ice down his neck, jolting him to just enough awareness to remember the second bomb still in his pocket. With fumbling fingers and spotty vision, Sly pulled it out and somehow managed to turn it on, already feeling his brief energy bump disappearing just as quickly as it had appeared. He looked back at the metal door, reinforced and impossible to penetrate, then forward, beyond Carmelita’s glass prison to the handful of computer screens where Clockwerk watched everything with cold, detached delight.

Blue sparkles.

Sly didn’t think twice. With the last of his strength, choking on his own breath, he threw his last trump card.

The resulting explosion flattened him even further than he already was. His head hit the metal floor and it would have made him see stars if his vision wasn’t already going dark. He didn’t know if it had worked. He didn’t know if it had broken open the wall, or Carmelita’s prison, or if she had even survived. All he knew was that he couldn’t breathe, he was choking, he was dying –

Warm hands wrapped around his middle, hoisting him up against a warm body. His cheek lolled into the crook of a shoulder – her shoulder – and he decided that this was a very nice place to be.

“C’mon, Ringtail, don’t give up on me yet. We’re almost out. Stay awake. Please.”

Stay awake. That sounded so hard, but her voice was so very nice. Sly moaned in protest but forced himself to open his eyes, watching wisps of green gas disappear around him as Inspector Fox carried him through the hole in the wall and into the unknown.

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A/N: The Ao3 Author's Curse is real and it finally got me. In the month since the last update, I have 1) been stranded at work for a few days because of bad weather, 2) been in two separate car wrecks (no one involved hurt, thank goodness) and 3) had a close family member rushed to the ER after a bad accident. Chronologically. It's been a time.

Enough about that though - Sly is finally seeing our favorite hint to Jump and Press the Circle Button! Betcha thought I wasn't going to include that little mechanic, huh? It's a little different in this version; instead of literal thieving opportunities, it's more of a realm of possibilities for self-preservation. Was incredibly fun to figure out where best to apply them throughout this chapter. As for why they didn't manifest until now...eh, we'll call it the power of love or something. I'm tired lol.

Also! I got an amazing gift fic over on Ao3 from the lovely @brainsforbreakfastt that's set in this AU! Please please please give it a read if you haven't already, it made my entire week and they worked very hard on it.

[beardedmrbean]

A major police operation was sparked in an Italian coastal town as an escaped circus lion strutted through the streets, enjoying its new-found freedom.

The mayor of Ladispoli, some 20 kilometers (about 12.5 miles) northwest of Rome, told residents to stay indoors until the feline was captured and later took a swipe at the circus owners. 

What do we know about what happened?

Ladispoli Mayor Alessandro Grando had urged the town's population to be "extremely careful."

In several videos posted online, the big cat could be seen roaming the streets and prowling along the pavements in a supremely calm manner.

"Blessed Mary! Mamma mia!" one woman could be heard exclaiming in a clip.

Most residents stayed indoors as a precaution, while some were trapped temporarily in their cars.

Several hours passed before a team that tracked the animal could tranquilize and recapture it among a bank of reeds just outside the town.

The trackers gave the lion an anesthetic injection, and it fell asleep after a few minutes before being taken back to the circus.

Mayor raises animal welfare question 

The mayor thanked emergency services and volunteers who helped during "these hours of great concern."

"I hope that this episode can stir some consciences, and that we can finally put an end to the exploitation of animals in circuses," Grando said.

Anticipating residents' complaints when the alert was initially raised, the mayor said he had not authorized the presence of a circus with lions in the town, but added that he had no powers to ban it.

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: Vapors 71

“I began using my art for my missions and training at a young age.”

“Oh?” Aiko raised an eyebrow. ‘I don’t really see why you’re bringing this up now, though it is nice to see you confiding in me of your own volition.’

Unaware of her thoughts, Sai mildly continued, “It is best that your superiors know of your unique strengths, so that they can most wisely allocate resources. Do you not agree?”

She bit her tongue instead of replying.

That would have been an odd thing to say under normal circumstances, wavering on the line between a banality and a sign that he needed more practice initiating conversation. When he was escorting her to meet with Danzo, it took on an entirely more sinister tone. ‘Is he… warning me that I can’t hide things from Danzo?’

That was all Sai said on the matter, and she didn’t push. He’d made his point. He probably shouldn’t have done even that, if she was reading him right.

‘Though, what could he be talking about? He mentioned unique strengths, so he could be hinting that Danzo knows about my chakra chains or Hiraishin.’ Aiko kept her face blank, dully staring forward as their footsteps echoed in the tunnel. ‘It shouldn’t shock me that Danzo could know about Hiraishin, which he’s much more likely to be interested in than the chakra chains. If Mei figured out that there was truth to the rumors and eliminated Yamato as a possibility, then Danzo certainly could.’

“Danzo-sama,” they muttered in unison, Aiko hastily taking the bent-kneed position that Sai modeled.

“You two leave on a mission tomorrow evening.” Danzo’s knees creaked when he moved to sit down, air escaping from his chair with a rush of sound. “Information has turned up a possible location for one of Orochimaru’s many abandoned bases in northwest Grass. I would expect that a tracker of your supposed ability should be able to find the truth of this matter. You will lead your senior agent in securing the premises, if there is anything to be found, and retrieving any sensitive information for my perusal, especially anything regarding experimentation. The time for this mission is short, in order to ensure that your absences are not noted, so you may waste no time. You have a day at most to search the area. The other pertinent details will be released to you tomorrow. I trust that there are no questions?”

They remained silent, though Aiko’s mind was racing.

‘That’s a two day trip. He has to have known that Tsunade put me on leave. The timeline he’s given us makes it incredibly risky. If anything at all goes wrong, then I would be late getting back in the village and someone would report me missing.’

Root could only operate in one of two ways. Either the agent took on extra orders in missions legitimately assigned outside of the village where no one was observing, or the agent’s actions were hidden from the Hokage’s scrutiny. By far, the easiest way to do that was for Danzo to train his own agents and keep them off Tsunade’s radar entirely, like Sai had been in the past. If she didn’t know the soldiers existed, she wouldn’t wonder where they were if she called them in for a mission and they weren’t around.

The other option was to work around the sometimes flexible assigned breaks that shinobi were allotted. Obviously that was risky.

‘Definitely Hiraishin,’ Aiko noted grimly. ‘He’s testing me without making it obvious. Danzo wants to see if I’m loyal enough to tell him about a resource that could make this mission easier of my own volition. That’s why Sai warned me.’

“Danzo-sama,” she started quietly. When he gestured her to continue, she swallowed. “A thought occurs. I believe I am capable of transporting the two of us back into the village safely to allow extra time to complete the mission.”

“And how would you do that, child?”

‘Keep it simple. Don’t talk more than you have to. There’s no way of knowing what else he knows. Don’t offer any more information.’

“Hiraishin.”

She couldn’t see his expression through her lashes, with her head bent as it was, but Danzo seemed to have a pleased air. “Excellent initiative, agent. In that case, spend as much time in the area as possible before returning to a secure location.”

He would have reacted differently had he actually been surprised. Thank the kami for Sai giving out hints. Danzo had been testing her loyalty. But that didn’t explain everything.

‘Why would he give me a mission with just Sai? Much less one where I’m at least nominally leading.’ That night, Aiko took a walk around the village, trying to clear her head. ‘It seems serendipitous for me, especially since Sai is emotionally compromised. Really, emotionally conditioning agents the way that Danzo did was stu-’

“Ow,” she hissed, holding a hand to her throbbing head.

Strange. That headache had turned up again suddenly. Her eyes burnt a bit, but a few moments of massaging her temples mitigated the pain. “I’ve been having a lot of headaches lately,” she muttered, lacing her fingers and giving a stretch upwards to unwind some of the tension in her shoulders that was probably contributing to her recent spout of migraines. There was something odd about it, but she couldn’t quite put her fingers on it. ‘It’s probably nothing. Stress, maybe.’

Disturbed, but not quite cognizant of why, Aiko ducked into the first bookstore she wandered by and picked through the shelves for something to work on in her spare time. She hadn’t been feeling creative enough to do any writing for a few weeks, but she felt the need to do something.

‘I used to read all the time,’ she mused, running her finger over a section label and poking inside book covers. ‘Back when I was in the Academy. I think I burnt through just about everything of interest in the public library.’

To be fair, ‘of interest’ meant something very different than the types of things she wrote nowadays. Despite writing things that she found frivolous but enjoyable, her reading tastes leant toward more serious subject matter. It was hard to want to write up academic theory in a world where it was not only coming from an incomprehensibly different state of mind, but also an unwanted opposition to ideological tradition. Entertainment was much easier.

“Oh, the new one is out,” Aiko realized, blinking at the bright cardboard display. “Jiraiya is a busy man… What does that make, like twenty books?” She picked up a copy and flipped through it to be sure she wanted to read this one, ignoring the salespeople and customers who gave her dirty looks.

With that book tucked under her arm, she eventually picked out one more text and made her way to the front counter. It didn’t exactly look thrilling, but the treatise with short histories on the interactions between shinobi villages other than Konoha would probably be good background information to have if she was going to have to work with others. It wouldn’t take her long to read, in any case.

That was one thing that had always baffled her about Kakashi, actually. He was a brilliant man, but he took a ridiculously long time to make it through his Icha Icha books. She might have thought that he just happened to be a slow reader, but he could pick through a mission brief in less than a minute if he was inspired to.

‘To be fair, he might be savoring the experience of books he actually enjoys,’ she hypothesized, tossing her academic book on her bedside table and beginning to read her frivolous book while she prepared dinner one-handed.

Aiko was definitely not that type of reader. She read everything at top speed, and retained a large proportion of it. It would be a lie to say that she had perfect recall, but it was good enough for government work.

That speed was the reason that she had torn through her new Icha Icha book and placed a bookmark in page seventeen of her more serious selection before she finally turned in for the night. Restlessly, she did her best not to think about her mission or what she’d just read in an attempt to get a decent amount of sleep for once. After what must have been half an hour, Aiko eventually resorted to staring up at the ceiling and trying to think sleepy thoughts.

It must have worked, because she managed to clock a full six hours of rest before her mind was too awake to let her rest any longer, even if her body felt like 125 pounds of dead weight. The sunlight streaming in tricked her into opening her bedroom window. She immediately winced and slammed it back shut, flicking the lock.

“Nope. It’s way too fucking cold for that.”

Thus forewarned, she dug out a warmer pair of form-fitting pants and an oversized blue standard issue sweater like Kakashi’s or Yamato’s to layer over a tank top and gloves for the day.

“And now I only have… four hours to waste until practice. Great.”

It was tempting to skip practice altogether. Team seven wasn’t her team, after all. It was strange and uncomfortable to act as though it was. But she had agreed to come when it fit in her schedule. Aiko rolled her eyes at herself in the mirror while she washed her face for being such a damn chump, but obligingly planned her day around a workout with team seven.

When left to her own devices, she preferred to do her conditioning the very first thing in the morning, with fruit and water as fuel. If she needed to do more intensive training for a certain skill set or something, she would usually do so in the afternoon so that her body had recuperated enough for her to push her limits again. Team seven under Kakashi’s direction didn’t follow her (entirely sensible, she thought) patterns at all.

They did pretty much whatever occurred whenever it occurred, depending on who showed up, in what order they showed up, and how much Kakashi felt like actually teaching.

“He’s kind of a hot mess as a teacher, actually,” she realized with the air of a long-overdue comprehension.

He was a nearly-unmatched captain, a stellar commanding officer, and an incredible shinobi, but a seriously iffy teacher at times. As she locked her door, Aiko cast a guilty glance at Yamato’s door, as if to make sure that her less than entirely approving thoughts wouldn’t be overheard by her largest contender for Kakashi’s fanclub. As far as she could tell, his apartment was empty.

‘Maybe he’s out of town, or not coming to team seven’s training today. If he were, he probably wouldn’t have left the apartment yet.’

It was unnecessary and a bit silly, but she found herself going to the grocery store and stocking up on ingredients for far more bento than she could eat. The kitchen at the house was larger, so she walked there and let herself in without blinking twice. It was still her house too, in a way. She’d paid for the damn place. Miso with tofu was bubbling on the stove before she pushed open Naruto’s door and woke him by tossing a couch pillow at his head.

“Wha-”

She was already turning out of the room. “Breakfast is ready.”

That mild pronouncement was enough to get Naruto scrambling out of bed. His thudding woke Karin and Hinata… who came out of the same bedroom. Aiko gave them a speculative look, but didn’t comment. It could mean nothing, and it wasn’t her job to tease in either case.

“Are you going to sit and eat?”

Aiko shook her head at Hinata. “No, I’m not hungry at all.” The rice was done soaking, so she drained it and refilled the water before transferring it to heat and checking on what would be her filling for riceballs. A look in the cupboard was enough to have her frown, however. “What happened to all the bento containers?”

Three guilty faces stared back at her from the kitchen table, soup dripping off of Karin’s spoon as she sat frozen.

‘Why am I surprised? I probably don’t want to know.’

Her pained expression and obvious bafflement eventually spurred one of them into action. “I’ll replace them,” Naruto offered, reaching for another serving. “I can run to the store in just a minute before you’re done with that.”

“Works for me. Do you know who all is going to be at practice today? I thought it might be nicer to sit and eat outside than go out for lunch.”

“Just you, me, Bastard, n’Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto counted off through a mouthful of bread, ignoring her curious expression.

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

Her younger brother shrugged. “Bastard begged Kakashi-sensei to show him some genjutsu, and now we’re all stuck having to learn some. ‘parently Yamato and the asshole don’t have to learn genjutsu.”

Aiko blinked. ‘Oh. That actually sounds like a really good thing to me.’ Naruto didn’t sound chuffed, however, so she let it be. He knew more genjutsu than she did. Jiraiya must have actually worked with him a fair bit on the subject. ‘I’m sure that my theory is up to scratch, but not casting. I only know the one genjutsu.’

That thought was a bit depressing, so she ignored it in favor of carefully sculpting a piece of honeydew melon into a kitty face for Sasuke’s bento (she wasn’t going to make a fucking slug). Naruto got a toad, and Kakashi got a dog. She had just started Hinata’s lunch when Naruto deposited a ridiculous excess of bento boxes on the kitchen counter and pranced off to go watch cartoons. Finishing Karin’s decoration left her with a long moment where she had to think on her own. She shouldn’t make another dog. It would be lame to make two identical lunches, but what other animal was like her…

She shrugged and turned hers into a crude butterfly.

‘This is the best part of making lunch.’ With a sneaky glance to be sure no one was watching, she scooped all the little shavings of melon that were left into her mouth. Yum.

Dessert thus handled, she piled a few cherry tomatoes in along with slices of sweet potato (stealing a few of those as well) before turning to make rice balls.

Naruto was her good natured pack-mule and tossed all the boxes into his knapsack before sprinting out the door. She cringed and tried her best not to think on the way the boxes were clattering together and the tentative connection her mind was trying to make to the fate of the other bento. Sometimes it was just best not to dwell on how unintentionally destructive Naruto could be.

The wait for Kakashi was as boring as ever, from her perspective. Naruto and Sasuke really only did have eyes for each other, even if they expressed that through name calling and wrestling. It was a bond she could live without in her life and wished them all the best luck with it. She’d braided, undone, and put her hair in twintails just for something to do with her hands before Kakashi finally showed up.

‘It’s hard to go back to waiting on him when I’ve had much more timely team experiences,’ she mused, giving him a mournful stare in an attempt to make him feel guilty for his rudeness. It might have worked—he broke eye contact—but there was really no way to know with that man.

“Who wants to try learning the Hell Viewing Genjutsu first, and who would prefer its opposite?”

Sasuke gave Kakashi an indignant scoff. “The opposite? If that’s a perverted joke, I’m going to hit you through that tree.” His knuckles cracked.

In unison, Kakashi and Aiko cringed slightly away from him. Brave, foolhardy Naruto, whose skull was apparently much more resistant to Tsunade-esque beatings, just leered at him. “Maybe you wouldn’t be such a tight-ass if you got laid, eh bastard?”

“As if you would know, Naruto,” Sasuke shot back, cheeks pink.

Kakashi rolled his eye. “Hell Viewing it is. Sasuke, try to take your eyes off your beloved and pay attention, would you? You’ll have plenty of time to stare longingly at Naruto while you cast this on him.” He paused, as if considering what he’d just said. “On second thought, you’ll be working with me. I don’t trust Naruto not to thoroughly traumatize you with something learned from Jiraiya, and I don’t feel like visiting him in the hospital.”

Naruto made a face at him for that one.

The handsigns for that first genjutsu were minimal, and Aiko had no trouble with them at all. The only difficulty came in visualizing what she wanted her victim to experience. Her best chance was to use her considerable knowledge of her target to poke at a secret fear he legitimately possessed, but she was having an oddly hard time coming up with ideas. It was possible to perform this jutsu and let the victim’s mind fill in the blanks, but that left a lot up to chance at her low level of experience imposing her will on others. Without a good idea, she eventually she had to settle for the brute-force solution.

But Naruto’s turn was first. She hit her knees in the dirt, feeling wretchedly sick the instant that his chakra crawled into contact with hers, but easily identified that what she was seeing was false.

That didn’t make her feel much better about breathing in the rotten stench of Naruto’s corpse, body mangled and torn open like a peeled grape for someone to get at the biju inside. Half a ghastly grin peered out at her through the place where his cheek had used to be.

“Kai!”

Her brother eyed her curiously, mercifully whole and sweet looking. “Does that mean I did it right?”

She had to stare at him for a moment, before she realized that he didn’t know what she’d seen. He wouldn’t have created that vision for her. That had come from her subconscious mind. Her real fears. “Yeah.” Aiko cleared her throat, trying to force down the nausea in her gut and focus. “My turn, then.” A deep breath, a moment with her eyes closed to concentrate, and she flicked through just two hand signs before pushing out an undulating wave of chakra, much more subtle and insidious than Naruto’s shockwave.

It still seemed to work. He looked vaguely ill, but grit his teeth in determination and brought his hands up into a cross. “Kai!” he bellowed, snapping out fifteen times the chakra he’d need to break her illusion.

Aiko had a moment to shake her head in faint amusement at his wasteful excess before the chakra pulse hit her and washed slowly through her body with an odd clinging sensat- She heaved, putting a hand to her head in a failed attempt to block out the ringing in her ears. Her vision had gone entirely white and she couldn’t feel her limbs, so it was a bit of a surprise to find that she was on her hands and knees, staring down at the grass while her brother knelt by her side.

“Aiko? Are you okay?”

His concern brought her back to the real world enough to swallow down bile and nod. “Y-yeah.”

No. She most certainly was not okay. She was not okay at all. No matter how over-powered, that genjutsu release shouldn’t have done a damn thing to her unless she was under a genjutsu. Her release earlier hadn’t caught whatever the hell that was, so she’d been under something seriously heavy utility. It had been meant as a long-term measure… and a successful one at that. Nausea and light-headedness were textbook symptoms of genjutsu backlash from overexposure to foreign chakra in the brain. Typically, the longer the casting, the worse the symptoms.

‘Danzo. That fucking asshole Danzo. He probably put me under the first time that I met with him,’ Aiko realized with dawning horror and rapidly escalating panic, her heartbeat thudding like a rabbit’s. ‘Oh my god, he’s been in my head. How much damage did he do to me?’

With sudden and unpleasant clarity, she catalogued clues that had not been allowed to register before now. Even after she’d coded her tongue seal in to her security, the seal meant to keep out foreign chakra constructs had pained her since she set them up. She had been approving of Danzo’s agenda—more so than she had been before. Now that her head was clear, it was hard to think about the man without remembering that she had decided she hated him for cavalierly abusing those in his care and profiting off their pain. And that she thought he was a bit of a moron, constantly shooting himself in his own foot because he couldn’t commit to a logical course of action without over-steering into crazy town.

‘I… I think that it was really me thinking that Konoha needed deniable black operations, though,’ she assured herself, licking her lips nervously. ‘I’m pretty sure.’

She looked up just in time to see that her fit had apparently brought over Kakashi as well. His eye met hers.

His serious expression sent her heart dropping to her stomach. ‘He’s thinking the same thing I am, minus the focus on what a gigantic douchebag Danzo is. He would recognize those symptoms just as well as I would. Better, even. He’s bound to have seen them in person before.’

It wasn’t a situation she could explain. She didn’t want him to worry.

So Aiko pulled a sheepish smile onto her face and accepted Naruto’s hand up. “Wow, that was thorough, otouto. Try to use a little less force next time, ne? I’m a little sensitive to chakra.”

It was true, in a way, and Kakashi had expressed that he didn’t have the knack for sensing arrays that she did. With any luck, he might think that she’d just had an unusual reaction to a dispelling.

Naruto pinked a little and pulled away his hand to rub at the back of his neck. “Yeah. Sorry.”

The tall man watching them cleared his throat. “Naruto, why don’t you work with Sasuke for a while? I don’t think that a large release will bother him as much.” Kakashi was still eying her uncertainly, unconvinced but wavering.

“Sounds good.”

As the teen trotted off with a glance over his shoulder at them, the two Jounin eyed each other. Aiko intentionally didn’t fidget, meeting his gaze seriously and letting him make of that what he would. There were two acceptable outcomes of this stare-off. Either he would be convinced he had been mistaken and drop the subject, or he would realize that his guess had been dead-on but that she could not or would not tell him for some reason, having to trust that she knew what she was doing.

“Aiko.” Kakashi averted his gaze to above her shoulder, stuffing his hands in his pockets in poorly hidden discomfort. “You know you can talk to me if anything is wrong, right?”

Since he’d looked away, he missed when she pressed her lips together to keep from frowning. Somehow, she’d hoped he would know that she had her problems under control. (Okay, so missing that she’d been under a genjutsu in the first place didn’t look good, she’d admit it. But now that she knew, she could do something about it.

“Of course,” her voice answered brightly, sounding so far from her thoughts that it didn’t really register as her own.

“Right.��� He sighed, apparently having convinced himself that he’d imagined the whole thing and that she was merely sensitive to chakra, but having tentatively covered his bases just in case. “Well then. Are you ready to move on to the second technique? I already showed Sasuke.”

He must have directed his Heaven viewing technique, because her mind probably wouldn’t have come up with a rapturous vision of herself reclining on a beach surrounded by fluffy puppies and cabana boys who looked suspiciously like someone she knew. “Kai,” she intoned dryly, giving him a scathing look. “Any reason you think Sasuke should focus in my fantasies?”

Kakashi shrugged, scratching at his chin. “I hear he’s dreamy,” he confided seriously. The sarcasm was palpable.

She fought not to choke. ‘Okay, he’s definitely trying to cheer me up. In his own awkward-as-all-hell way.’

It was a battle she lost, eventually cracking out into a smile. “You’re terrible, Kakashi. My turn now.” Just to be a jerk, she quickly pulled up a rather raunchy fantasy that should both make his day and ruin it entirely.

If she was right, he wouldn’t have finished the new book yet, but he should be able to recognize the two protagonists if he’d even bought it. Aiko copied a few moments of actual dialogue from the beginning of the last chapter, since he would recognize it from the back of the book—and then went in a completely different direction with it. He was familiar enough with Icha Icha that he wouldn’t find her abrupt scene change odd, even if it did have a distinct ‘exit, pursued by a bear’ feeling for her. After the bandits would come the nudity, of course. ‘I wonder how far he’ll let it play out?’ It could be hard to tell. Genjutsu could play out at speeds that didn’t correlate to real time.

Perhaps it was inappropriate, but she didn’t think it would bother him too much. If he was the type to get miffed about things like that, he probably wouldn’t be able to read porn in front of small children. It wasn’t like this was any dirtier than the actual books.

Foolishly, he seemed to let the vision run its course when he recognized it, clearly letting curiosity override his good sense. Aiko knew it had gotten to the good part when he stiffened, and then almost immediately let out a sad, keening sound. He broke the genjutsu without a word or motion, and gave her a mournful look. “Did you really just ruin the end of the book for me? Aiko, how could you?”

Aiko wavered. It was hard to say no to that pitifully sad eye and the plaintive sniff that accompanied it, so she sighed. “I was going to let you think so, but no. That’s not what happens.”

Kakashi nodded slowly. She forcibly stilled her expression to avoid amusement, but he was probably wondering if she was telling the truth or if she was just teasing again and she really had ruined the book. He didn’t seem to know if he wanted to be happy or sad. After a moment, Kakashi shifted uncomfortably. “Right. I’ve, ah. Got to go.” Before she could blink, the debris caught in his shunshin was fluttering to the ground. Her Hiraishin tag informed her that he was speeding back to his apartment. She snickered. ‘Well, that’s one way for me to escape scrutiny. I’ll remember that solution.’ Very deliberately, she avoided wondering if he was going to go finish the book or work on another problem. That way lead madness.

‘Of course, that exchange also illustrated another possible aspect of whatever genjutsu Danzo had me under,’ she thought seriously, turning to walk home. ‘It didn’t just subtly alter my perceptions of him to be more positive. Naruto’s amateur attempt caught me much more easily than Kakashi’s much more refined genjutsu, and I had no problem coming up with a more creative solution even though I couldn’t think of one to save my life earlier. He was actually making my own genjutsu skills worse, even if it was just as a side-effect. I was more susceptible, and less creative.’

The theory seemed solid, but there wasn’t a way to verify it without asking someone who might know more about Sharingan-influenced genjutsu, who also wouldn’t find it the slightest bit odd that she was asking about such a thing.

The two obvious candidates, Kakashi and Sasuke, were out of the question. If she asked either one of them, Kakashi would have no trouble making a connection between her earlier symptoms and the odd question. He was reluctant to believe that she would lie to him, not an idiot. So she swallowed her curiosity.

“Aiko? Are you taking your lunch?” Naruto was frowning when she turned around, dirt smeared on his nose for some reason. “And Kakashi left already? I guess I’ll just have to eat his too.”

“Bento?” Sasuke made an unsubtle head movement in the direction of Naruto’s bag, the only obvious hiding place. She snorted, enjoying the silly tension. It was ridiculous to see two nearly grown men ready to get in a fist fight over some simple rice balls, but also a little calming. At least she could count on those two to be constant when everything else was changing.

“You can have mine, Sasuke.” She waved over her shoulder. “I’m not that hungry.”

‘At least I know now. That genjutsu took so much chakra to dispel that it must have taxed him terribly to cast. Danzo won’t check to see if I’m still under it as long as I don’t alter my behavior. Another genjutsu won’t hold now that I know what to look for, but he might do something worse next time. I can’t let on that anything is different. That’s not much of a solution. It does make it seem like I should hurry as much as I can.’

That could be a problem. Deep-cover infiltration was meant to last a long time by definition. Tsunade would probably be shocked to know that she had even made it into Root so early, much less that she had any useful information to report. She could probably get Danzo arrested right away by tattling on his implants, but there was no way to do that without having first plausibly encountered them. It was a last resort at best. In addition to that, she didn’t have nearly enough information on Root to have made this exercise worth Tsunade’s while. (And much more importantly, worth her time. It was too late to back out, so she was going to profit from this idiocy.)

As of right now, she could lead Tsunade to two different meeting rooms and the grand interconnecting tunnel system below Konoha through three different entrances, and report on two members’ identities. It was hardly information worth reporting five months early on her six month deadline, by anyone’s standards.

‘I’ll just have to find something worth writing home about, then.’

As a member of Konoha’s security forces, she really should report the passageway that Sai led her through that dodged the gates completely and let them out past city limits. She scowled at the pitch-black forest, but didn’t say a word. There were security forces around nearby, probably within a mile. It would be idiotic to linger when illegally outside bounds. Sai obediently fell behind her when she began to run. Aiko was the one with the map, after all.

‘And that’s another thing. I find it hard to believe that Danzo is so confident in his genjutsu that he would actually put me in charge of this mission, even if I am the tracker.’

Her lips twitched into a smile as she touched down on another tree and bounced forward, Sai a breath behind. ‘To be fair, it’s probably a combination of trust in his genjutsu, his seal, and Sai. He’s entirely wrong. But it does seem much more legitimate to trust three sources of assurance. If he had done a better job with human psychology, he would have Sai in his corner for certain.’

The only thing that could really assure loyalty was that it was freely and wholly given. A seal was a nice protective touch for an agent who really did want to keep their information safe, but an unwilling pawn could always find a way. People are far too intelligent to count on a whole group of them being unable to find a method of recourse.

Sai didn’t know it, of course, but his minor rebellions like trying to keep her from angering Danzo earlier that day could be the straw that broke the camel’s back. He might even want them to be. He transparently longed for human interaction and affection, emulating and learning from anyone who would give him the time of day. The boy was very intelligent, and had been traumatized by Danzo’s ham-handed methods of building children into soldiers. Now that he was essentially a full-grown man, he was questioning those teachings.

‘The first instant it seems viable, I’ll feel him out to see what he’s actually thinking. Sai would be a hell of an ally. Really, we’re not at such a different place in life.’

He was a good comrade. Sai might actually be miffed on her behalf to find out that Danzo had put her under a harmful genjutsu, now that she thought about it. If he didn’t mind the idea of Danzo punishing her, he would have let her walk into that meeting blind. She was clever, but she wouldn’t have thought to volunteer her Hiraishin without that hint.

They traveled throughout the night, doing their best to put distance between them and Konoha. Mission adrenaline kept her from feeling the effects of her long day for quite a while, but eventually she had a call a halt, blinking the sun out of her eyes and moving to cover a yawn before the cool touch of porcelain reminded her that she was still in her ANBU uniform.

Well. Mostly in her ANBU uniform. Sai had brought a completely unpainted mask for her, along with a rather striking chin-length black wig. She’d taken the hint. ANBU butterfly wasn’t on this mission, a Root operative was.

Still, the gear was close enough to her own to feel familiar.

“Two hour rest, and then we proceed.”

The sword on her back dug into her shoulder blade when she leaned against a tree, so she crossed her legs and folded forward to rest her forehead on her knees. Frankly, it was a terrible position, and she was bound to be painfully stiff if she stayed that way. But they couldn’t fall into a deep sleep on a short break when the point was to get the minimum amount of rest in order to allow them to go on until nightfall. Sai seemed to hesitate, his sandaled feet just barely in her vision for a moment before he gracefully sat next to her, just close enough to share body heat. She unfolded enough to twist and blink up at him before remembering –‘Oh yeah, the mask. I wish I could take it off.’

In lieu of offering him a reassuring smile as she might otherwise, Aiko sat up and leaned her shoulder against his arm, tucking her head into the crook of his neck. She napped lightly in that position, ready to switch back into alertness if he so much as tensed. Sai didn’t move a muscle. Her eyes opened again of their own volition, and she had to tilt her face to check the position of the sun with the stupid mask blocking her peripheral vision.

“It’s been an hour and twenty minutes?”

Her voice was a bit raspy with sleep, but her comrade didn’t seem bothered. “Hai.”

Aiko let her head connect with the flora behind her. That meant there were forty minutes left. “You should take a nap, too. Need a pillow?”

A pale mask turned to view her, looking slightly down. “I’m afraid your shoulder is a bit low, Washboard.”

Her playful scowl was wasted on him. “Mean. Then lay down. I’ll wake you at the first sign of movement.” Perhaps it was because she was supposedly his commanding officer at the moment, but Sai took her at her word and twisted to drop his head between her knees when she straightened her legs.

She shivered involuntarily at the way his silky hair tickled her skin but held herself stiff and refused to look at him. She needed to focus on keeping watch.

‘Ow,’ Aiko grimaced, feeling tingles and prods of pain in the nerves of her legs. Said legs were completely numb by the time she gently curled her fingers around his shoulder to wake him up. It took a few pained seconds of stretching to wake her sleeping limbs enough to get to her feet, but after that she led them on another long push, this time crossing the border out of Fire Country into Grass. There was something creepy about being in a dead country.

Oh, there were people living there, to be sure. The Daimyo of Grass ruled over plenty of farmers, merchants, and samurai. But she couldn’t look around without remembering that it was now a dead zone for shinobi and shivering a little.

She must have been a civilian once, but that life had been so long ago that the idea of an entire country being wiped clean of shinobi structure was unnerving. A lot of the things that shinobi did were idiotic, but they were familiar idiocies.

They traveled in silence, and bedded under genjutsu cover when they finally made it to blissful nightfall, having crossed most of the country over the course of the day. It wasn’t a particularly comfortable camp with no fire, no fresh food to intersperse the bland protein rations, and only two people to share watch shifts. But Aiko savored every moment of the four hours that she clocked and thanked every kami that there was for having given her an opportunity to work with seals. It was hard to believe that other people really had to make the choice between carrying their heavy bedroll all day instead of other equipment and sleeping on the ground at night. Not for her, thanks.

‘Is it safe to get Mitsuo’s help looking for the entrance?’ Aiko pursed her lips in thought, inadvertently kissing her mask. ‘He would have no reason to know that this is covert work and therefore unusual, and I’m sure he doesn’t talk to Kakashi. He might talk to Pakkun, though, who definitely does talk to Kakashi. It’s unlikely, but if he heard about this Kakashi would know I wasn’t on a regular mission. He’d probably assume I was doing something sneaky for Tsunade, but it’s just best not to leave loose ends like that.

Regretfully, she dropped the fingers that had been curling into the first seal to summon her furry friend. She would just have to complete this mission the old-fashioned way.

‘But screw the old-fashioned way for everything else. I’m hiding a seal somewhere before I go. It’ll add to my map and mean I won’t have to make that awful run again on Danzo’s stupid sneaky schedule. It could be useful at some point to jump out of Konoha’s borders.’

The location that Danzo had specified was too large to search by foot, even in three days, so she unrolled the map and tried to think like a madman scientist. There were two settlements relatively close to the area she was meant to search. One was agricultural, and the other was much more likely to have medical supplies.

She ignored the areas close to the much larger town. That would be too obvious for a paranoid man like Orochimaru. Anyone looking for him would have searched out places that could supply the expensive materials for his habits. Even if he did find appeal in having a short trip to town for syringes, even a zealot would find much more frequent need for food than medical supplies. Food was much harder to import and much heavier. The rural area would also make it less likely that anyone would stumble on his business (and more likely that he could make them disappear without anyone knowing if they were so unlucky).

There was only one source of fresh water running through the area, though there were multiple lakes. A man like Orochimaru would be well-aware that running water was safer and more hygienic, so she paid most attention to those banks. He probably used the river for electricity—he would need a lot of power to maintain tanks and experiments like those she’d seen when Suigetsu lead them to a base.

The first day of searching was wasted entirely. The second day panned out, though they didn’t realize it at first. The base was disguised as a town. Well. Town was a bit of a stretch, really. A genjutsu still active after god knows how long depicted four dull-faced men and women working in a small field, nearby a smattering of small houses. It seemed utterly boring and nondescript, were it not for two things. Firstly, the hamlet was not on the map (not that it would have to be, recent and small as the development seemed). Much more important to her decision to investigate was the overwhelming tang of human chakra that hung in the air, and the fact that the place didn’t smell of humans at all even though they could be seen walking about and talking. No living being had been there in a long time.

“Creepy,” she deadpanned, waving a hand in front of a genjutsu woman who clearly didn’t register her presence.

[immigration-canada7]

Canadian permanent residency

At Esse India, we understand that experiencing your first fall in Canada is an exciting moment. As temperatures cool, leaves change color, and beloved holidays arrive, it’s the perfect season to explore what this beautiful country has to offer.

Here’s everything you need to know to make the most of fall in Canada.

When Does Fall Start in Canada?

Fall in Canada typically runs from September to December, but the official start, as defined by the National Research Council Canada, is the autumnal equinox. In 2024, fall begins on September 22, when the sun is directly over the equator.

What to Expect During Fall in Canada

Shorter Days and the End of Daylight Saving Time

As the season progresses, expect shorter days and longer nights. Fall also marks the end of Daylight Saving Time, an eight-month period when clocks are set one hour ahead to maximize daylight. This year, Daylight Saving Time ends on November 3, 2024, giving you an extra hour of sleep that night! However, expect earlier sunsets in the days that follow.

Changing Weather

Fall is a season of transition, so be prepared for unpredictable weather. Depending on where you are in Canada, temperatures can vary greatly:

British Columbia tends to be milder and wetter.

In the Northwest Territories, temperatures can drop significantly as winter approaches.

In many regions, expect cool mornings and evenings, with warmer afternoons. Layering is key, and fall jackets are recommended. It's not unusual to see early snowfall as soon as October, especially in northern areas. Keep an eye on weather apps, as some regions may experience hurricanes during this season.

Things to Do During Fall in Canada

Enjoy the Fall Foliage

One of the best parts of fall in Canada is the stunning display of fall foliage. Popular spots to see vibrant leaves include:

Algonquin Park in Ontario

Parc national du Mont-Tremblant in Montreal

Stanley Park in Vancouver

Many provinces even offer fall foliage trackers to help you plan your outdoor adventures.

Fun Outdoor Activities

Fall is perfect for outdoor activities like hikes and treks. Farms across Canada host fun events like:

Corn mazes

Hayrides

Apple and pumpkin picking

Spending a weekend at a cottage with loved ones in rural Canada is another popular fall activity, offering a cozy retreat surrounded by nature.

Savour Fall Flavours

Autumn brings with it a host of comforting flavors. Pumpkin and apple pies are fall favorites, and you’ll find seasonal offerings like pumpkin spice lattes in cafes across the country. Be sure to enjoy these limited-time fall treats!

Festivals During Fall in Canada

Halloween

Halloween is a major celebration in Canada, falling on October 31 each year. In the weeks leading up to Halloween, you’ll find spooky activities like scary movie marathons and pumpkin carving. On the big day, children go trick-or-treating, collecting candy from their neighbors in costumes, while adults enjoy costume parties and visit haunted houses.

Thanksgiving

Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October, making it about six weeks earlier than its U.S. counterpart. It’s a time to gather with friends and family over a hearty meal, with turkey, stuffing, and vegetables as traditional fare. In 2024, Thanksgiving falls on October 14.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday

After Thanksgiving, Canadians enjoy the shopping frenzy of Black Friday, which takes place on the first Friday after U.S. Thanksgiving. Retailers offer significant discounts, marking the start of the holiday shopping season. Cyber Monday, held the following Monday, focuses on online sales, allowing shoppers to snag deals from the comfort of their homes.

Make the most of your first fall in Canada by embracing all that the season has to offer! From colorful leaves to cozy holiday celebrations, this time of year is truly magical. At Esse India, we’re here to help you navigate your new life in Canada, ensuring you make the most of every moment. @immigrationvisa4uk-blog @immigrationvisa @immigrationvisaaustralia @immigrationvisa4-blog @immigrationnewsdigest @canadavisawithease-blog @canadavisaconsultantsinhyde-blog @canadavisaguide @canadavisapoint-blog

[recentlyheardcom]

Beryl Tracker: What Houston and Southeast Texas can expect, when

The KHOU 11 climate crew is watching what impacts the storm might have on the Texas Gulf Coast. HOUSTON — With the ten a.m. Sunday replace, Beryl remained a tropical storm with winds at 65 mph because it headed towards the Texas coast.  It is heading to the northwest at 10 miles per hour.  The KHOU 11 Climate Workforce is issuing a Climate Influence Alert Day for Sunday as Beryl approaches.…

[southjerseyweb]

N.J. solar eclipse ZIP code tracker: What you'll see where you live.

The best viewing spot in New Jersey — if clouds cooperate — will be the northwester corner of the state where 93% coverage of the sun is expected in …

[snap-blogz]

What Does a Bear Print Look Like?

In the vast wilderness, every footprint tells a story. Exploring the great outdoors means deciphering the language of nature, and one intriguing question often arises - What does a bear print look like? Images of bear prints from different bears are in the last topic.

The Art of Tracking

Tracking wildlife is an ancient skill, connecting us to the untamed world. Bear prints, distinctive and unique, are nature's signature. As renowned tracker Tom Brown Jr. shares, "Reading tracks is like a detective solving a mystery."

Understanding Bear Prints

To unravel the mystery, it's crucial to observe the details. John Young, an expert tracker, emphasizes the importance of size: "Bear prints are sizable, with distinct claw marks, setting them apart from other wildlife prints."

Size Matters

Bear prints are sizeable, typically measuring 4 to 7 inches in length. As Wilderness College notes,  "Large prints indicate a larger bear, often a mature adult. Smaller prints may belong to a younger bear."

Claw Marks Signature

One defining feature is the prominent claw marks. David Moskowitz, a wildlife biologist, states, "Bear prints exhibit long claws, often around 4 inches in length. These are essential for digging, climbing, and catching prey."

Differentiating Species

While bear prints share common traits, each species has unique characteristics. The renowned naturalist Hank Wesselman explains,  "Black bear prints are rounder, while grizzly prints are more squared. Polar bears, adapted for the ice, have broader paws."

Terrain Matters

Bear prints vary based on the terrain. As Chris Lechner from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game remarks,  "Soft soil captures details better. In mud or snow, you'll notice more distinct features, aiding identification."

Grizzly Bear Tracks

Grizzly bears can be found in specific regions of the United States and Canada, such as Montana, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, and Alaska. When you come across grizzly bear tracks, you'll notice a foot pad that's kind of semi-squared. There's a noticeable gap between the toes and the foot pad. These bears also boast claws that are fairly long, ranging from 2 to 4 inches. While the claws might make a slight impression on the ground, it's not too pronounced. The curve of the claws is gentle and smooth. The front tracks usually measure about 5 inches in width and 7 inches in length, while the hind tracks are a bit larger, with a width of around 6 inches and a length of 11 inches. SizeShapeFront tracks: 5" wide, 7" longSemi-squared foot padHind tracks: 6" wide, 11" longSpace between toes and foot padLong claws with gentle ground contact

American Black Bear Tracks

North American black bears are known for their extensive roaming habits, covering large territories. They are commonly found in the northwest United States but can be spotted throughout the continental United States, Canada, and northern Mexico. These bears are widespread and the most prevalent in North America. When observing black bear tracks, you'll notice five toes and a circular foot pad. Each toe is equipped with a short claw positioned closely. Typically, these claws are approximately 1.5 inches in length, and they make distinct punctures in the ground with their sharp curves. SizeShapeFront tracks: 3-4" wide, 4" longRound foot padHind tracks: 3.5-4" wide, 7" longShort claws with sharp ground puncture

Polar Bear Tracks

Polar bears stand out as the giants of North American bears, dominating the Arctic landscapes of Canada and northern Alaska. Their presence is most noticeable in the snowy terrains they call home. When it comes to polar bear footprints, size tells the tale. The front paws measure an impressive 9 inches in width and 5.5 inches in length, while the hind paws surpass even that, reaching up to 9 inches wide and 13 inches long. These tracks are distinct, making it relatively easy to identify them among other bear prints, even if they decide to tread through mud. The giveaway is the sheer size. Furthermore, a unique feature is the presence of brush marks. This peculiar trait arises from the fact that the polar bear's paw is entirely shrouded in fur. SizeShapeFront tracks: 9" wide, 5.5" longBrush marks from hair covering the pawsHind tracks: 9" wide, 13" longShort, stubby claws typically not puncturing the ground

Conclusion

Nature invites us to become detectives, deciphering the language of the wild through bear prints. Understanding what a bear print looks like is a skill that deepens our connection with the untamed world. As we step into the wilderness, let's remember the words of John Young: "Tracking is about respect for the animals, their habits, and the ecosystems they call home." Read the full article

[kabirshahni]

Health care marketing startup Appature sold to IMS in blockbuster deal

GeekWire’s in-depth startup coverage tells the stories of the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial scene.

Appature’s new offices along Westlake Avenue boast stunning views of Lake Union and a playful atmosphere, including Nerf guns everywhere, bean bag chairs and a well-stocked Kegerator.

None of those things will be going away. But something else will: the name on the lease.

Appature — a six-year-old Seattle startup whose cloud-based software is used by healthcare companies to track and enhance marketing campaigns — has agreed to be sold to health data giant IMS Health.

We’re hearing that the deal’s value topped $100 million, a significant valuation for the 60-person startup. Co-founder Kabir Shahani declined to comment on the terms of the deal, though he said it was a “great outcome for investors and employees.”

“We go from being a small startup in Seattle trying to make an impression in the market, which we have been to our credit — and all of a sudden we become this global company in 100 countries, with vast resources to bring our vision to life even faster,” said Shahani. “Our five-year vision for things will happen over the next two or three.”

The acquisition comes eight months after Appature reeled in $6.1 million in venture funding from Madrona Venture Group and Ignition Partners, marking a nice return for both Seattle-based venture capital firms. Total funding in Appature, which was bootstrapped and profitable for its first three years, stood at $9.6 million.

Ignition’s Richard Fade, a board member at Appature, called it a positive deal for investors.

“On the whole we would have liked to have been able to develop the company for another couple years prior to M&A but the IMS offer was compelling,” said Fade, adding that the company is an example of the type of cloud computing talent developing in Seattle.

Madrona’s Tim Porter also celebrated the outcome, and pointed to the strong entrepreneurial drive of founders Chris Hahn and Shahani.

“They were growing quickly and had a bright future as a stand­alone company, but when IMS approached the company it was clearly a singular opportunity to scale even more efficiently and we are happy that IMS is also excited about the future of this Seattle technology company,” Porter said.

Shahani called IMS Health the “gold standard in health care,” noting it was the original big data company since it was founded in the 1950s.

“These guys process more data than the IRS,” said Shahani, who turned 30 last October. If all goes as planned, Shahani said that IMS has the opportunity to create a powerful new Web-based service that combines data and software. “To be really interesting, and really valuable, you have to be a data company and a software company,” he said.

IMS will bring the data, while Appature plans to bring its software expertise.

IMS Health will immediately inject more horsepower into Appature, helping the company grow its client base and international presence. As part of that, Shahani said that they will immediately open new jobs for about 20 staffers, with plans to grow the team to as many as 100 people this year. Appature will continue to operate as a standalone business under the umbrella of IMS.

“Through this acquisition, we’ll drive the development of next-generation, data-driven marketing effectiveness solutions, transforming the way clients plan and execute their programs. Appature also brings a strong culture of innovation to IMS, reinforcing our commitment to agility and the development of breakthrough solutions,” said IMS U.S. president Seyed Mortazavi in a statement.

IMS was purchased by the private equity firm TPG, CPP and others in 2009 for $5.2 billion.

Follow us on Twitter @GeekWire.

Track all of GeekWire’s in-depth startup coverage: Sign up for the weekly startup email newsletter; check out the GeekWire funding tracker and venture capital directory; and follow our startup news headlines.

[cyborgsloppy]

Name: Jack Henderson

Contact Information:

Email: jack.henderson@email.com

Phone: 555-123-4567

Objective: Seeking a challenging and exciting role as a Sasquatch Hunter, where my experience and skills can be utilized to track and capture the elusive creature.

Education:

Bachelor of Science in Zoology from University of Colorado, Boulder

Associate of Science in Forestry from Colorado State University

Skills:

Extensive knowledge of wildlife behavior, including tracking and trapping techniques

Expert in using equipment and technology, such as trail cameras and GPS trackers

Skilled in firearms handling and wilderness survival

Proficient in data analysis and reporting

Excellent physical condition and stamina for long hours of tracking and hiking

Experience:

Sasquatch Tracker, Pacific Northwest Sasquatch Research Group, 2016-Present

Conducted extensive field research in the Pacific Northwest region

Utilized advanced tracking techniques to locate potential Sasquatch habitats

Successfully captured photographic evidence of Sasquatch activity

Co-authored research papers on Sasquatch behavior and habitat

Field Biologist, National Park Service, 2014-2016

Conducted research and data collection on various wildlife species

Managed and maintained research equipment and databases

Assisted with wildlife management and conservation efforts

Freelance Cryptozoologist, Various Clients, 2012-2014

Conducted investigations on various cryptids, including the Loch Ness Monster and Chupacabra

Successfully located evidence of unknown creatures

Proved the existence of Clifford the Big Red Dog through DNA analysis and skeletal remains

Certifications:

Certified Wildlife Tracker, Cybertracker Conservation

Wilderness First Responder, National Outdoor Leadership School

References: Available upon request.

[ainews]

A British actor is taking the fight to the beasts of the wild.

Ben Miller, star of British sitcoms such as The Armstrong and Miller Show and Primeval, is currently on a mission to take on one of North America's greatest mysteries - the Sasquatch.

The actor is taking part in a scientific study to try and discover the truth behind the mysterious creature, which is said to roam the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Miller is one of several people taking part in the study, which has been funded by an anonymous benefactor.

The study, which is being conducted by a team of experts, hopes to provide new evidence about the existence of the Sasquatch. Miller is playing the role of a wildlife tracker, searching for signs of the creature.

The actor has spent several weeks in the area, negotiating difficult terrain and camping out in the wilderness. He has also been conducting interviews with local residents, in an effort to uncover any potential sightings.

Miller is hoping that his efforts will result in some concrete evidence of the existence of the Sasquatch. He is also using the experience to raise awareness of the need to protect the environment.

This is not the first time Miller has used his celebrity status to highlight environmental issues. In 2011, he took part in a series of events to raise awareness of the need to protect the rainforests of South America.

It remains to be seen whether Miller will be successful in his mission to uncover the truth behind the Sasquatch. But regardless of the outcome of his study, one thing is certain - he's certainly making an impact.

[plantbasedbiker]

Check out this post… "The Staircase area in Olympic National Park offers many family adventures".

[faiirytalcs]

Table of Contents

- - - - - - - penned by di.

Evelyn Deavor: about | threads | pinterest

Fraser Williams: about | threads | pinterest

Harry Glad: about | threads | pinterest

Luis Salgado: about | threads | pinterest

Pacifica Northwest: about | threads | pinterest

Tiya Mahajan: about | threads | pinterest

Vidia Şahin: about | threads | pinterest

Whitney Ramakrishnan: about | threads | pinterest

THREAD TRACKER

[polarpal]

Gigabyte app center utility windows 10

Close the wizard and perform a system reboot to allow changes to take effect. Read EULA (End User License Agreement) and agree to proceed with the installation process. Allow Windows to run the file (if necessary). Locate and double-click on the available setup file. Unzip the file and enter the newly-created directory. Save the downloadable package on an accessible location (such as your desktop). To install this package please do the following: Even though other OSes might be compatible as well, we do not recommend applying this release on platforms other than the ones specified. If it has been installed, updating may fix problems, add new functions, or expand existing ones. This package contains the files needed for installing the APP Center utility. Q-Flash Plus Update BIOS without Installing the CPU, Memory and Graphics Card Smart Fan 6 Features Multiple Temperature Sensors, Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP RGB FUSION 2.0 Supports Addressable LED & RGB LED Strips High Quality Audio Capacitors and Audio Noise Guard with LED Trace Path Lighting USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C for Fast and Versatile Connection Intel GbE LAN with cFosSpeed Internet Accelerator Software

Dual Ultra-Fast NVMe PCIe 4.0 /3.0 x4 M.2 Direct 6+2 Phases Digital VRM Solution with Low RDS(on) MOSFETs Dual Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 4 DIMMs Pegagfn.sys cmmon32.exe pavshookwow.dll ApCent.exe kausrtsk.exe viewmgr.exe safeboxservice.exe nordpass.exe suprasavingsservice64.exe c0b1016f-b7e5-46f0-b415-6bf9e55ab00d.dll crashplanservice.- Supports 11th and 10th Gen Intel Core Series Processors BMalwarebytes Anti-Malware detects and removes sleeping spyware, adware, Trojans, keyloggers, malware and trackers from your hard drive. A unique security risk rating indicates the likelihood of the process being potential spyware, malware or a Trojan. To help you analyze the ApCent.exe process on your computer, the following programs have proven to be helpful: ASecurity Task Manager displays all running Windows tasks, including embedded hidden processes, such as keyboard and browser monitoring or Autostart entries. This allows you to repair the operating system without losing data. Even for serious problems, rather than reinstalling Windows, you are better off repairing of your installation or, for Windows 8 and later versions, executing the 7DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth command. Use the 6resmon command to identify the processes that are causing your problem. Should you experience an actual problem, try to recall the last thing you did, or the last thing you installed before the problem appeared for the first time. Always remember to perform periodic backups, or at least to set restore points. This means running a scan for malware, cleaning your hard drive using 1cleanmgr and 2sfc /scannow, 3uninstalling programs that you no longer need, checking for Autostart programs (using 4msconfig) and enabling Windows' 5Automatic Update. Therefore, please read below to decide for yourself whether the ApCent.exe on your computer is a Trojan that you should remove, or whether it is a file belonging to the Windows operating system or to a trusted application.Ĭlick to Run a Free Scan for ApCent.exe related errorsīest practices for resolving ApCent issuesĪ clean and tidy computer is the key requirement for avoiding problems with ApCent. Executable files may, in some cases, harm your computer. exe extension on a filename indicates an executable file. Gigabyte is currently headquartered in New Taipei City, Taiwan. The company was founded by Pei-Chen Yeh in 1986 and is currently listed at #17 in the Top Twenty Taiwanese Global Brands. Components manufactured by Gigabyte are used in desktops and laptops sold by Alienware, CybertronPC, Falcon Northwest, Origin, etc. Gigabyte is a Taiwanese corporation that manufactures and distributes computers and computer-related hardware products. APP Center currently supports the Microsoft Windows platform. APP Center also provides an easy way to access program updates, drivers, and other applications published by Gigabyte. The Gigabyte APP Center provides a portal to access all applications that are bundled and installed with Gigabyte hardware such as USB Blocker, Cloud Station, EasyTune, Live Update, etc. This application may be safely removed if not required through the Add/Remove Programs feature. The genuine ApCent.exe file is a software component of App Center by Gigabyte.ĪPP Center is a control panel for accessing Gigabyte applications.