#yes he would go into gear 5 for that blond argue with my hand

[badface]

You telling me Luffy wouldn't move fucking mountains for Sanji if he looked at him like that??

[wonderful-writer]

18 - The Loss of a Loved One

Summary: The group prepares to protect Finn against the grounders at all costs, while the grounders wait at the gates for him to be turned over. Y/n re-lives some painful memories, and The 100 lose another. 

Word Count: 4.81k

Based off: 02x08, “Spacewalker”

Feedback is always highly appreciated!

You spent most of the day guarding the gate and watching to see if Clarke was coming back into camp, but by the time she did, Bellamy had been with you for a few hours and she was accompanied by two grounders on horses. 

“Hold your fire!” You shouted. “She’s back!” 

Everyone went into their positions and opened the gate for the blonde to enter. You lowered your gun and Finn ran to her in the split of the crowd of guards, asking if she was okay. 

“Shut the gate,” She said to the closest guard. She then turned to Finn. “You can’t be out here,” 

You followed after her as she pulled Finn further into camp by his sleeve, reaching her mother and pulling her in for a hug.

“What did she say?” Abby asked her daughter. “Is there a chance for a truce?”

You watched Clarke as she looked at her mother. Something seemed very different about her, like she had lost all hope. Like she was empty. And you could only assume that meant that her answer was no. 

 “Yes.” Clarke nodded, and you sighed of relief. 

“What’s wrong?” Finn asked.

“They want you,” And there it was. The sacrifice that no one wants to make; the exception that turns everything around and makes living just a little worse. “If we want a truce, we have to give them Finn.” 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Raven asked. 

“That’s their offer.” Clarke shook her head. 

“That’s not an offer,” Raven countered.

“It’s punishment.” Finn realized. “For what happened at the village. Blood for blood.” 

“That’s insane,” Bellamy interjected. 

“And if we refuse?” You asked, stepping up beside the blonde. 

“If we refuse…” She breathed. “They attack.” 

The crowd began to close in, shouting at the group to give him to the grounders in response to what would happen if he wasn’t handed over to them. One of the men stepped into the circle and Raven pushed him back, causing Bellamy to hold the man back while you and Clarke restrained Raven. 

“Raven! Raven. Listen to me.” Clarke looked the woman in the eye. “Nothing is going to happen to him. I promise. Okay?” 

“I’m not dying for him.” Another man walked up to the three of you. “Spacewalker burned 3 months of oxygen on the Ark. He should have floated a long time ago.” 

Raven pushed the guy as he made his way over to Finn, causing Major Byrne to step in. Out of rage, Raven punched the guard and two more interfered and restrained her, dragging her away. The crowd dispersed not long after that and you helped Clarke, Bellamy, and Abby decide how to better protect the camp.

After that, you all left Abby in the council room to notify Finn about the changes.

“Hey,” Bellamy greeted. “We’re reinforcing all defenses. Doubles on the perimeter. No one’s getting past that wire.” 

Finn stood. “I’ll see where they’re thin.” 

“No,” You interjected. “You should head inside. B corridor will be easier to defend; if it comes to that.” 

“I’m not gonna hide.” Finn defied.

“Right now, we have to think about keeping you safe.” Clarke said. “I’m gonna talk to Lincoln.” 

Finn followed Bellamy and Clarke walked away, leaving you alone with Murphy, who stood up with a rifle. 

“Hey! Any orders for me, Queenie?” 

“Yeah. Stay away from me.”

“Just trying to be helpful,” He sighed. 

“I’ve got a pretty huge bone to pick with you, Murphy.” You huffed. “I mean, you killed my friend, tried to hang me, and you were there with Finn, at the village.” 

“Look, I didn’t kill Charlotte, she threw herself off of a cliff. Hanging you, that was just for personal revenge, and I tried to stop Finn, okay?”

“Not hard enough.” You turned and walked away, but stopped again when Murphy spoke up.

“You wanna start blaming people, Y/n? Start with your friend, Clarke. He was out there looking for her.” 

You continued with your walk to the medbay, ignoring Murphy’s words. You greeted Jackson, who was helping out a woman who seemed to have cut her leg, making your way to the back, where Lincoln was, already talking to Clarke.

They briefly noticed you and you squeezed in beside Clarke and Octavia.

“Did she leave riders?”

“Two, just outside the gate,” Abby responded.

“They’re waiting for Finn,” Lincoln told you. “You don’t have much time to decide.”

“She can’t expect us to just hand over one of our own people,” Octavia said, coming to stand beside Lincoln. “Would she do that?” 

“She wouldn’t let the rest of her people die to protect a murderer.” Lincoln countered. “If you don’t do this, she will kill everyone in this camp.” 

“There has to be something else we can offer,” You pleaded. 

“Finn took 18 lives,” Lincoln emphasized. “The Commander’s offering to take just one in return. Take the deal.” 

“How can you say that?” Clarke gasped. “Finn was the first person to come to you to offer peace. He’s your friend.” 

“He massacred my village,” Lincoln argued. “Some of the dead were my friends, too.”

“But that wasn’t Finn,” Clarke said in a pleading voice. “You know that’s not who he is.” 

“It is now.” Lincoln countered. “We’ve all got a monster inside of us, Clarke. And we’re all responsible for what it does when we let it out.”

“What will they do to him?” Abby asked the grounder.

“Fire.” He answered. “Because he killed the innocent, it starts with fire.”

“Starts?” Clarke asked. 

“They’ll take his hands,” Lincoln continued. “His tongue, his eyes. And anyone who grieves will have a turn with the knife. At sunrise, the Commander will end it with her sword, but, I’ve never known anyone to survive until the sword.” 

“He killed 18, he will suffer the pain of 18 deaths,” Lincoln stated. “Then we can have peace.” 

Abby left the room and you looked at Clarke, unsure of exactly what to do. She was going to lose Finn even if the grounders attacked the camp, but if she did what was necessary, even if it wasn’t what she wanted to do, it would save a lot of lives. 

That morning, you went with Clarke to find Bellamy, although for different reasons. She was looking for Finn, and you were supposed to help guard with him. Once Clarke left for what had used to be the medbay, you grabbed the other rifle that Bellamy was holding and slung it over your shoulder, gripping it but keeping your finger off of the trigger. 

About five minutes later, the army started chanting something in their native language, Trigedasleng. Clarke and Abby came to inspect what was happening and where the noise was coming from (although you knew that they could tell it was grounders).

“They’re trying to scare us,” Bellamy affirmed.

“Yeah, well, I think they’re doing a pretty good job.” You muttered. 

Abby moved from the entrance of Alpha station and Clarke trailed behind, prompting you and Bellamy to follow. Abby shouted to have the gate opened and faced the two men on horseback. 

“We’re not giving him up,” Abby stated in response to the grounders’ question. “We’re ready to fight. If that’s what it comes to.”

As soon as she finished her sentence, a loud horn blew and the grounders in front of the camp retreated quickly, alarming you and Bellamy, who started shouting commands.

“Watch the woods! Watch for movement!” 

You aimed your rifle, looking through the scope at the woods for any movement, finger now lightly placed on the trigger. Clarke whispered yours and Bellamy’s names, pointing to some rustling in the woods. You followed with your scoped and saw trees rustling and moving. You thought it was a grounder but your father burst through the treeline, shouting not to shoot.

You lowered your gun immediately, letting it hang from your strap as you moved forward hesitantly, letting him and Abby have their conversation. He looked around and spotted you, just a few steps ahead of Bellamy and Clarke, who were already walking forward.

“You can’t be out in the open,” Bellamy said. “We need to get you somewhere safe.”

“It’s safe… for the moment.” Kane assured him. “Come on, we need to talk. I’ve managed to buy us a bit of time.”

You followed them inside but they stopped you and the others at the doors and forced you to wait for a painstakingly long time for them to finish their conversation and come to a conclusion. As soon as the doors opened, Raven and Bellamy were beside Abby, questioning her about what went on inside, to which she only responded with, “There was a lot to talk about.” 

“Hey,” Bellamy put a hand on the Chancellor’s shoulder, ceasing her movements. “We are not turning him over to the grounders.”

“Step aside, now.” The woman commanded, and Bellamy did so.

“We’re all trying to find a way out of this,” She assured the three of you, although she was looking at Raven, and walking away.

“They’re gonna give him up,” You realized. 

You and Bellamy raced over to Finn and Clarke to tell him.

“You need to get out of here,” Bellamy urged.

“Where would he go?” Clarke asked the dark-haired man. 

“The dropship.” You finalized, leading the pair out of the hallway with Bellamy.

“No!” Clarke protested. “You know that this is the safest place for him right now.”

“It isn’t if they’re turning on him,” Bellamy responded. “We can protect him at the dropship until we figure this thing out.”

People who had lined the corridors moved out of your way as you hastily walked down the halls, rushing to get out of camp. 

“Grab your gear and meet at Raven’s gate in 5.” You instructed the pair. “She’s already working on cutting the power to the fence.” 

“Okay, but nobody’s coming with me.” Finn decided, stopping in his tracks

Bellamy turned and looked at Finn as he deadpanned. “That isn’t up for discussion.”

“We are surrounded by grounders,” Clarke reminded the group.

“If we split up, we take the low ground, we’ll make it through.” Bellamy promised. “We’ll meet at the dropship.”

Just as Bellamy finished his sentence, the man the Raven punched for attacking Finn yesterday started towards you.

“There he is,” He stomped towards you, pointing a pipe at Finn. “You’re gonna get us all killed.”

You rolled your eyes and before he could take any more steps, you slipped your gun off your shoulder and swiftly rammed the butt of it into the man's abdomen, hearing his pipe clatter to the floor as he groaned in pain, falling along with his pipe. 

“Anyone else?” You asked, anger evident in your tone and stature. 

“They’re right. We have to go.” Clarke told Finn, walking away with him. Bellamy grabbed you by the elbow and pulled you along with him, following after the pair.

Once there was no one around and you calmed down, you pulled your elbow out of Bellamy’s grip. “Why did you drag me away like that? I think I can find my way out of here by myself.”

“Well I don’t think it would have been good if you decided to attack anyone else today, princess. We’ve got a lot to deal with already, and you being in lockup wouldn’t have made it any better.” 

You rolled your eyes and continued your walk in silence, meeting up with Raven after grabbing your gear from your room and separately leaving camp, taking different directions to get to the dropship. Because the first one out, you were the first one there, Bellamy and Raven coming in not long after that.

You expected Clarke and Finn to show up, too, but they didn’t. Raven walked back into the room with a disappointed expression just as you set your pack down. “I checked again. Still no sign of them.”

“Where are they?” Bellamy asked the room. 

“We shouldn’t have split up,” Raven told him. 

You heard heavy footsteps outside and grabbed your rifle. “Someone’s coming,”

“Woah, hey, hey.” Murphy put his hands up in surrender, while you and Bellamy lowered your weapons out of surprise. 

“Murphy.” Bellamy greeted. “What are you doing here?” 

“I believe I was invited.” He chuckled

“I thought we could use an extra gun,” Raven explained, looking at the two of you.

“Might be a good idea,” Bellamy agreed. 

“Finn should’ve been right behind you.” Raven told him.

He scoffed and crossed the room. “Don’t worry. Spacewalker’s gonna be fine.”

You waited impatiently for Finn and Clarke to arrive, pacing the room and playing with your locket. You sat down next to Raven as you kept spinning the locket and she turned towards you, pointing at it.

“What’s that?”

“Oh,” You looked down at the piece of jewelry. “It was a gift, from my grandmother when I was 10. It has pictures of my mother and father in it.”

“Can I- Can I see them?” You nodded at her question and took off the locket and handed it to Raven, letting her open it herself. She admired the pictures, smiling to herself. You looked over her shoulder and smiled, too. You always felt happier when you looked at the photos. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kane smile, so thank you for that,” She chuckled, and you laughed along with her.

“And your mom,” She looked up at you. “I used to see her everywhere when I was younger. She was one of the primary engineers, right?”

You nodded. “Yeah, she was. Well, she was until one of the trainees screwed up and she got hurt on the job. They sacked her after Abby said she couldn’t work anymore.” 

Raven saddened at the story. “I heard about that, too. You know, you look a lot like her.”

“I’ve been told.” You smiled and raven gave you the locket back. You clipped it back around your neck and went to your pack to eat some of the food that you packed, the journey and wait making you hungry. 

You put the wrappings back in your bag and stood back up just as Finn entered the dropship, carrying an unconscious Clarke. You rushed over to the blonde and frantically asked what happened. 

“A grounder  hit her on the head.” Finn responded, putting her on the ground where Murphy had instructed.

“Someone get me a bandage and a wet rag. They’re in my pack. Hurry!” You stayed at her head as Murphy handed you a bandage while Bellamy went to get the rag. You told Murphy to hold her head and took the cloth that Bellamy came back with, cleaning off the blood.

“Clarke, can you hear me?” You asked as you wiped the rest of the blood off. You began to put the bandage on and you noticed her regaining some consciousness as she moaned. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. You just need some rest.” 

Finn stormed out of the dropship and Raven followed, leaving you, Murphy, and Bellamy to look at one another, having heard the conversation. 

Once Raven came back inside to keep an eye on Clarke, you three went out to monitor the area and keep guard. You crouched behind a large burnt piece of tree, Bellamy situated on the other side. It didn’t take very long for you to spot something. 

“We’ve got company! Get out here!” Bellamy shouted to Clarke and Finn, as Raven joined you not even a minute ago.

You looked behind you as the pair walked out of the dropship. “Get down. Grounders.”

They got their cover beside Raven and you looked through your scope, seeing armoured grounders passing through the holes in the wall. Clarke panted and came to a startling revelation. “We’re surrounded.”

You all moved back inside the dropship and waited, hoping the grounders would go away, although that was unlikely, as you all knew from past experiences. Bellamy and Murphy stayed near the parachute flap to look out every few minutes.

“They’re not moving any closer,” Murphy noted. 

“Staying out of range.” Bellamy stated, covering the hole he peeked out of angrily. “Probably waiting until it’s dark.”

“If we hit them now, at least we’ll take them by surprise.” Murphy suggested. 

“We don’t even know how many of them are out there,” You countered. “Could be 10, could be 100.”

“Well I’m not hearing any better ideas, Queenie.” Murphy smirked sarcastically. 

“Jesus, will you give it up with the nickname already?” You groaned.

“We’ll give them something,” Raven cut in, stopping her thoughtful pacing. 

“All they want is Finn,” Bellamy reminded them.

“But Finn wasn’t the only one at the village,” Raven said, keeping her gaze on the floor. 

“What are you talking about?” Clarke asked the woman. You could already tell what Raven was going to say, and although you weren’t completely against it, it was wrong.

“Raven, hold on.” Bellamy asked the brunette. 

“Woah, woah, woah,” Murphy stepped in. “Raven, I came here to protect him. You were the one who wanted me to come. You--”

He stopped himself as he realized why Raven actually asked him to come along. Her face was hard and her expression cold as she looked at the delinquent.

“That’s why you asked me to come along.”

“Enough grounders saw him at the village. They’d believe he was the shooter.” She defended herself.

“Raven, you don’t mean this,” Clarke pleaded. 

“You know what they do to people.” Bellamy reminded her. 

“They want a murderer? We’ll give them one.” She defended, cocking her rifle and aiming it at Murphy. “Drop your gun!”

You watched with wide eyes as Murphy walked up to the barrel of Raven's gun and told her to go to hell with a straight face. 

“Raven, put it down.” You negotiated. “Like it or not, he’s one of us.”

“I said drop it.” She pushed her gun to Murphy's chest until Finn yelled for her to stop and pushed the gun down, stepping in front of Murphy.

“We’re not doing this.” He decided. “They’ve got us surrounded. The only thing we can do is stay, and defend this place.

“I’m with you,” Bellamy affirmed, and Finn watched as you nodded at him.

“Murphy, go upstairs and watch the rear.” He instructed. “Y/n and I will take the lower level. You three, take the front gate.” 

“That’s the plan. Alright?” He asked the group and everyone nodded and moved into their positions, Bellamy squeezing your shoulder reassuringly before he left and Raven assuring Finn that they had a handle on things before following Bellamy. 

You followed him down the hatch after Clarke left, staying silent for the most part, until Finn spoke up. “I didn’t mean to do it, you know.”

When he saw your confused face, he clarified. “I didn’t mean to shoot them. I was just so upset, and I blacked out. My anger got the better of me and I just… shot at them. I knew he was just a kid and that he wanted to get away but all I saw was white and then there were bodies everywhere.”

You saddened at his confession, but nodded anyway. “I know, Finn. How do you think I got here?”

“When I was little, around 10, my mom lost her job because one of the new guys screwed up and she hurt her leg. After that, they said she wasn’t fit to work anymore. Which meant she had no way of getting me food. So, she did what any mother would do, and stole food just so she could keep me alive.”

You cleared your throat while you looked at the ground and continued. “Someone caught her one day and she got floated within the week. My dad watched her and so did I, but I thought he would take me with him when he left. Instead I was lumped with a drunken guard and after two years, I just snapped.”

“Him and his friends were laughing at me as they threw bottles at my feet, and then all I saw was white. When I came to, his friends were unconscious and bleeding on the ground, and he was crawling towards the front door.” 

Finn nodded understandingly, and you could see something flash in his eyes. You couldn’t recognize what emotion it was, since he was partially facing away from you. Then he turned towards you, looking apologetic.

“Tell Clarke I said ‘goodbye.’” He said, then muttering an apology towards you.

You opened your mouth to question him, but he was quick, smashing the butt of his rifle into the side of your head. The pain throbbed throughout your face and brain, a small cut forming on your hairline, near your ear. You fell to the ground as you heard his echoed footsteps receding, darkness consuming you. 

When you woke up, you were moving. Swaying, actually. You tried to get out and stand on your feet, but whoever held you kept their grip. 

“Well, it looks like princess finally decided to wake up.” Bellamy commented as the movement stopped. He let you out of his arms and you faced two angry women and Murphy.

“What the hell happened?” Raven demanded an answer.

“I-I don’t know. One minute I’m telling him how I got here and the next he’s hitting me on the head with his rifle! He ran out right before I passed out.” You explained. “I didn’t let him do it, that’s for sure.”

“Well thank God you’re awake, Bellamy wouldn’t stop worrying about you.” Murphy rolled his eyes and continued walking with Raven. You eyed Bellamy, who looked away from you. You noticed the pink tainting his olive cheeks and decided not to speak about it, instead following him and walking with Clarke.

You spent the day walking back to camp, and the sun was just falling over the hills when you arrived. You helped out with guard duty, put everyone put their guns away as soon as the grounders had torches set up and they beat on their drums.

Standing between Marcus and Bellamy, you watched the fire-lit field intently, as did the rest of Camp Jaha. They were setting up a pole in the middle of the field, easily visible to everyone on the other side of the fence and to you. 

“We’re gonna get him,” Bellamy affirmed hopelessly. “We’ll get in close and we’ll hit them hard.” You watched his tearful eyes look at your father. 

“Son…” He said. “There’s thousands of them. Even if we could kill hundreds, they’d still wipe out this camp and your friend would still die.”

You sucked in a breath at your father's words and looked from him to Bellamy as he pushed to try. Raven begged Abby to do something and her voice alone almost broke you. Your hands worked faster than your brain could comprehend and your hand was clutching Bellamy’s before you could process it. 

You squeezed your eyes shut as you tried to block the memories of your mother from replaying for the thousandth time since it happened, but closing your eyes was the worst thing you could have done. 

“PLEASE! PLEASE LET ME SEE HER!” You struggled against one of the guards grip on you as you fought to get to her. You kicked and punched until he let go, while she was released willingly by the guard that held her. 

She bent down as your body crashed into her, your arms wrapping around her neck. Tears already flowed like rivers down your cheeks, and you could tell she was crying, too, because of the drops you felt on your shoulder.

“My little ladybug,” She said with a teary smile, pushing the hair from your face as she released you from her grip. “I love you… so so much. Don’t you ever forget that, okay? I love you with everything I have. Your dad’s gonna take good care of you, I promise.”

“Mom, please don’t leave. I don’t want you to leave!” You wailed. You paid no attention to your father, who just walked into the room. 

“In peace, may you leave this shore.” Your mother began, holding both your hands.

“In love, may you find the next.” Her voice wavered as she continued. “Safe passage on your travels, until our final journey to the ground.”

You sniffled and looked into your mother’s eyes for the last time, finishing the prayer with her. “May we meet again.”

She smiled and placed a kiss to your temple, letting go of your hands as the guards hauled her back to her feet. They dragged her to the airlock and you attempted to follow, but your father took your place at the glass. He put his hand on it and your mother did the same. You heard him whisper something and she said something, then the airlock opened and your mother disappeared. 

“MOM!” You screamed, running for the airlock. Your father caught you before you could reach the glass. You punched against his arm and he motioned for a guard to bring you away. 

“Dad?! Dad! Come back!” You reached out for your father as he left the area. You saw something glisten on his cheek, but he was gone before you could get an explanation. Once he was gone, you stopped.

Your body was completely numb. No one was there for you; not anyone you knew, at least. You allowed the guards to take you back to your home and pack up everything, one of them taking the box of your mother's things away forever and you bringing yours to your new home, which you would find out quickly that it would be anything but.

When you opened your eyes again, a tear trailed down your face and you were back on Earth. Bellamy looked at Clarke and she looked back, and before you knew it you were at the back of the crowd with Clarke and Raven, talking in hushed voices. 

“Take this,” She shoved her gun into Bellamy’s hand.

“What are you doing?” Bellamy questioned the woman. 

“I’m gonna talk to the commander.” She stated.

“What else do you have to say?” He asked.

“I don’t know!” Was her frustrated reply.

“Give me your hand.” Raven said, causing Clarke to turn and face her.

The brunette took Clarke's wrist and slipped a small blade into her sleeve. “If she won’t let him go, kill her.”

“Things’ll go crazy, and we’ll grab you and Finn.” She explained her plan. “Clarke, you have to help him. I owe him my life.”

You empathized with Raven, feeling her loss. It wasn’t hard, you’ve lost a lot in your life, too. Bellamy let go of your hand and opened the door for Clarke to go through and then stood on Raven’s other side at the fence, watching in anticipation of if she would pull it off. 

“What is she doing?” Raven asked.

“I don’t know,” You replied honestly. You saw her talking to the commander, then the grounders began to shout.

They dragged Finn out and into your sight, tying him to the pole. Not long after that, she ran to Finn and kissed him, standing in front of him. You watched as she hugged him, confused on what she was doing. It wasn’t until she pulled away and Finn didn’t raise his head that you knew. 

She turned to face you and your heart dropped. The blade Raven gave her was in her blood-covered hand, and Finn’s abdomen, along with her shirt, were soaked in blood. She killed Finn so he wouldn’t have to endure the pain of a grounder punishment.

Raven cried out beside you, falling to the floor. You wrapped your arms around her, as did Bellamy, and you kissed her shoulder in comfort, although you were sure it didn’t do anything to help. You cradled Raven in your arms, the way that anyone should after the loss of a loved one. She cried into your shirt and Bellamy let go of her, kneeling on the floor.

You rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head, praying that she wouldn’t have to deal with half of the pain that you went through. The loss of a loved one is the worst pain imaginable, so you made a promise to yourself in that moment that Raven wouldn’t deal with it alone. She would not have to wake up with no one to greet her, no one to ask how her day was.

You would help her if she needed it, and back off if she asked. But as you looked out to where Clarke stood, covered in the blood of the man she loved, you wondered how things were going to be with the grounders, and if you were truly at war with them now.

Taglist:  @soullessbabee | @hyperion-moonbabe-art3mis | @dummythiccwitch | @sireddobrev | @gxvrielle | @hurricane-abigail | @holyhumorliteraturelight

[druidx]

Broken Promises (pt3)

Context: Modryn Oryen (or 'Figher's Guild dad', as I think of him) needs more love. Set way after the game has been “completed”, and the HoK runs nearly every corner of Cyrodiil. Inspired by a bunch of Whump prompts that I didn’t save and now can’t find :( For more context, see my whine about this fic.

Warnings: Torture, slavery mentions, grief, self-hate, moderate swearing (cannon curses; no f-bombs), disassociation, general fantasy violence

Part 1 : Part 2 : Part 3 : Part 4 : Part 5

The sun was setting over the Colovian Highlands, as I approached Broken Promises Cave on foot. Burz had sent some of our best scouts to find the place, discovering it not far from Chorrol. They'd reported that there was a camp just outside the cave, so I'd left all my gear at Battlehorn Castle, and told Shadowmere to go back to Fort Farragut. The last honey-gold rays were sinking behind the Highlands as I walked carefully forward, stomping on anything that looked like it might make noise. I was clad in the Spellturn robes and Bladeturn Hood, a set of rich-looking red and gold robes designed to disarm my would-be captors, while still protecting me. Nestled in the small of my back, hidden in the folds of the robe, was the Blade of Woe. I was trying my hardest to look like some rich fop who didn't deserve their reputation. Small and weak. The more they underestimated me, the better for the plan to work. I walked forward, trying my hardest to make noise, and not sneak. After years of training, a habit like that is hard to break. I thought back to my last meeting, after Burz's scouts had found this place. He hadn't been on board with the plan. Even Maelona had thought I was crazy. It was hard to dismiss their criticisms – this was a bad plan. Burz had wanted to charge in with a group, take Modryn by force and leave the way we'd come. I'd argued my way was better because we had no idea what was waiting on the inside. I didn't want them to hear us coming and kill the grumpy Dunmer before we'd gotten to him. I thought if I could convince them I was alone and unarmed, they'd let Modryn go. Burz was waiting with a team to collect him. Then I'd wreak havoc and leave their heads on spikes on my way out. If I made it, then great. If not, Maelona had my Will, and Modryn was Guildhead. Modryn would be angry at me, sure, but I'd be too dead to hear him.

"Who's there?" I heard a rough Nord voice call out. I took a few breaths before I replied, quelling the urge to slink back into the shadows and put the Blade in his back. "I'm the Fighter's Guildmaster," I called, walking up to the camp, my hands raised. "I heard you were looking for me. Seems you found a friend of mine, and I'm here to collect him." "Yeah, well. We'll see about that, won't we?" The blond approached me, his blade out. Behind him, a Bosmer sniggered. "Doesn't look like much," the Bosmer commented. "You sure you're the one who defeated Mehrunes Dagon?" "Yes." Gods, but I still hated it when people brought that up. Even after the catharsis of the Dark Brotherhood's missions. I took a breath. "I've come for Modryn Oreyn. You can see I'm alone and unarmed. I'd very much appreciate it if you could bring him out for me." "Yeah, that ain't happening just yet," the Nord said. "You'll come in with us first. Otherwise, how do we know your fighter buddies ain't just hanging around the corner there?" "Alright," I agreed, "That's fair." "Elandril," the Nord said, "you stay out here. I'll take the Guildmaster to see the Boss." He turned to me, the tattoos on his face looking like dark wells in the lowering light. "And you, get to walking." He gestured with his sword that I was to go first. I gave him a curt nod, walking into the cave.

I saw the pressure switch a mile off, even given the low light and guttering torches creating moving shadows. The Nord made me walk ahead, which was just as well for me. I stepped to one side, deliberately catching the edge of the plate as he fumbled to light a torch. A chain rattled past me as I pushed back into the cold rock wall. The Nord gave a surprised grunt. In the fallen torchlight I saw the Nord on his back, rivulets of fluid flowing down the tunnel as the spiked log swung back past me. Normally I would feel a twinge of remorse, looking at his broken body. But these people had stolen someone dear to me. They brought this catastrophe down on themselves. I turned away, resuming my walk down the tunnel.

The tunnel opened out into a sunken cavern, where three more goons awaited me. Two of them sat on rough stools around a campfire, while another lay on a bedroll against the wall. I stopped in the doorway. They didn't look like an elite fighting squad – morals or no – just a regular group of bandits. Their equipment was nothing to write home about, and I saw none of the Blackwood Company's custom cuirasses. They also hadn't noticed me, at all. Once again, I fought down the urge to saunter over and introduce the sharp edge of the Blade of Woe to their soft jugulars. It would have been easy, sure, but I wanted to make sure they had a compelling reason to let Oryen out of here in one piece once they had me. Murdering my way inside wasn't going to help that. The Nord had been an accident. I walked to the edge of the dip and kicked a stone over the edge. It rattled down, causing the two at the fire to jump up. Weapons were drawn, the Dunmer woman training an arrow on me as her Redguard mate slowly approached. "Excuse me? Yes, hi," I said, "I'm looking for Modryn Oryen. I got a note telling me he was down here." "How did you get in here?" the Dunmer archer asked. "Your Nord friend was kind enough to bring me in." "Yeah, and where is he?" "Seems he forgot about that little mace trap," I told her. She swore at me in the Dunmer tongue but quieted when her companion waved at her to hush. "You're the Champion of Cyrodill?" the Redguard asked. "Yep, that's me." He seemed to do a double-take. "Right, sure," he said, and glanced over his shoulder, addressing the Dunmer woman. "Tabelle, wake up Fa'nir. Send him to tell the Boss our prize has arrived." He turned back to me. "Alright then, Champion," he sneered at the title, "why don't you come down here nice and slow, and we'll take you to see the boss." I gave him a tight smile, walking slowly down the incline. The Dunmer woman, Tabelle kicked the sleeping Khajiit, never taking her eyes – or her arrow – off me. "Hey, pussy-cat. Wake up. Go tell the Boss we got company," she said. The Khajiit hissed. "Tell him yourself-" he began. "Fa'nir," the Redguard snapped over his shoulder, "go do it now." "Pah," Fa'nir spat, "this one is a warrior, not messenger boy. This one is a mighty hunter, above you petty prey." He continued to grumble, his tail lashing side-to-side even as he climbed out of the dip and vanished into another tunnel. "I should just put an arrow in this n'wah," Tabelle said, venom in her eyes. "Save us all some time." "No," the Redguard said. "this n'wah has crimes to answer for." He walked around behind me, placing his blade tip between my shoulder blades. "Get moving, cur," he said, jabbing me. I nodded and began to follow after the Khajiit.

We walked through yet another tunnel, coming into another cave. I took the view in with a sweeping glance. A crevasse stretched through the middle of the cave. On the near side, standing at the head of a bridge over the crevasse, was a Breton woman, decked out in a Blackwood Company cuirass. On the far side was a mining crane, the jib swung out over the crevasse. From it hung a slate-grey form. Fear welled in the back of my throat, bitter and bilious. The Redguard prodded me forward and I complied, as the orange Khajiit stepped up next to the boom, his claws teasing at the rope holding Modryn aloft. "Hi," I said, as the Redguard pulled me to a stop a half-dozen feet away from the Breton. "So," said the woman, "you're the hero of Kvatch?" Her lips turned up in a sneer as she looked me up and down. "Yep, that would be me," I said. I glanced over to Oryen. He hadn't stirred at all. "You mind if I check my man's still alive?" I asked. "Wouldn't want to give myself up for a corpse, you know?" "By all means," the Blackwood woman said, giving me an allowing gesture. "Hey," I yelled. "Bearclaw. You still with me, you rotten fetcher?" "Master?" Was his surprised response. I saw his head lift, too far to make out any other detail. I waved to him, and I can only assume he glared. "You stupid, ancestor-less s'wit!" he yelled out, his voice strained and breaking. "By the Nine, I will thrash you for having come here! You imbecilic gutter trash-" Fa'nir shook the jib and Modryn cut himself off. I turned back to the Blackwood woman. "Yeah, okay," I said. "He's fine." I held my hands up. "You can see I've come here alone and unarmed. I've told no one of my whereabouts. So how about we keep this civil? Me for him, like the note said. You've got me, you don't need him anymore. Let my man walk out of here under his own steam and I will happily stay here in his place." The slow, poisonous grin should have clued me in, but I was somehow still surprised by her words. "Was that the deal?" she asked. "I don't recall saying anything about letting either of you go. Although, if you're so sure you don't need him..." She waved a hand, and the Khajiit plucked at the rope holding Modryn aloft with his claws. Panic spiked through me. "Wait!" I yelled, lurching forward. The Redguard grabbed the back of my robes, yanking me back. Tabelle aimed an arrow at me. "Just say the word, muthsera," she hissed. "And I will drop this n'wah in a heartbeat." The Breton held a hand up. "No, this murderous cretin is to remain alive for the time being." "Let him go," I growled. "You have me. I demand you allow him to leave-!" "You demand?" The Breton laughed at me. "You are in no position to demand anything." I could feel the situation slipping quickly away from me. I reached back, as the Breton continued her tirade, my fingers closing around the hilt of the black dagger. "No," she said, her eyes alive with hatred, "I think I will keep both of you. Bleed you in front of each other, so you can share my pain-" I took my moment then, yanking out the Blade of Woe and twisting to plunge it deep into the redguard's neck. He backed away with a cry, and I crouched, following up with a fireball to his face as an arrow went whistling overhead. The Dunmer archer would keep taking potshots, but I trusted the robe's enchantments to protect against them. Instead, I spun and ran at the Breton woman. She ducked to the side, slashing at my back as I passed. I felt the sting as the robe and my skin parted under the blade, heard her cry out as some of the damage was returned to her, kept running over the rickety bridge towards the far side. The Khajiit was waiting for me, a sword in his hand, as I reached the other end of the bridge. I sent a frost bolt his way, forcing him to duck aside and let me pass by. I turned, dancing backwards as he thrust his sword at me, then dove in to press a wounding spell to his chest. He howled as cuts opened up around my palm-print, and I grinned, feeling the life transference close up the wound on my back. Two arrows hit me as I danced backwards again. I yanked them out and the Khajiit's life-force closed the wounds. "Fetcher!" I heard the Dunmer archer curse at me. "Why won't you die!" I turned, sprinting over to the mining crane. Modryn was cursing at me in the Dunmer tongue, as I heaved at the lever, the gears grinding and sticking. He was almost around, I could almost pull him over, when his eyes went wide. "Behind you," he yelled, a fraction too late. I felt something hit me in the shoulder. I faintly remember screaming, as whatever it was cut through sinew and bone, to bury itself deep in the wooden boom, pinning me there. The pain made my vision white out, just for a moment, then the adrenaline surged and I heard Mordryn yelling my name. I turned my head to find an elven bade curving from my shoulder. I reached back, fingers grasping uselessly as I failed to find purchase on the blasted thing. Modryn was calling my name again. I looked up at him, distantly noting how battered he was. "Heal me," he said. I whimpered, and reached out, channelling a healing spell through the faint touch. It wasn't as much as I'd like, but he was prettier at least. Footsteps and a mocking laugh sounded behind me. I craned my head the other way to see the Breton woman approaching us slowly. I grappled again desperately with her sword. Blood-slicked fingers slipped from the blade again and again, as I started to panic. "Now, now, my pet," she crooned. She was close enough that I could feel her heat on my back. She reached around and stroked my cheek. "I think that's quite enough playtime, don't you." I took a breath, lowered my hand, moving it backwards. "Good, good," she murmured. "Isn't that better, pet?" "No," I growled, and released my Wizard's Fury into her. The roar and snap of the spell took up my whole world for an instant, black spots dancing in my vision, as her scream sounded behind me. The scream turned from pained to anger in an instant. I knew it wouldn't do much – maybe if I got out of this, I'd practice my destruction spells a bit more – but it was enough to piss her off. I shared an apologetic grin with Modryn. The Dunmer rolled his eyes as footsteps rang behind me. Something hard hit the back of my head, and the lights went out.

[shining-red-diamond]

Ch. 4: The Professor

Cast of Characters//Ch. 1//Ch. 2//Ch. 3//Ch. 4//Ch. 5//Ch. 6//Ch. 7//Ch. 8//Ch. 9//Ch. 10//Ch. 11//Ch. 12//Ch. 13//Ch. 14//Ch. 15//Ch. 16//Ch. 17//Ch. 18//Ch. 19//Ch. 20//Ch. 21//Ch. 22//Ch. 23//Ch. 24//Ch. 25//Ch. 26 (coming soon)

Words: 1338

Pairing: OT8 x OCs (Mingi x Taeran, Yeosang x Phoebe)

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: none

A/N: Italics mean they’re speaking in Korean.

Mingi steadied the ship as it touched and glided onto the North Sea’s waves, riding into the River Thames. Switching from air to water was always a little bumpy, but the pilot had trained himself to steady his position when steering the HALA during that transition. A course was set for a seaport near Big Ben, and from there the crew would head to Dr. Steinbeck’s lab on foot.

“How much longer?” Taeran asked from behind him.

“About another half hour,” he replied, not taking his eyes off of the water. “How come?”

Taeran shrugged. “Something about this whole thing seems fishy to me.”

“Baby,” Mingi sighed, as he met her eyes for a brief second,“I love you, but you need to stop assuming that everyone we meet has ill intentions.”

“You know I can’t help it,” she argued. “But I really do feel that something is off about this whole thing this time. I don’t care if Hongjoong’s father knew the man or not. Why wouldn’t he say what he has and why he wants us to see whatever he has?”

“Maybe he has good reason.”

“Name one.” She crossed her arms.

Mingi didn’t answer. He never knew what to say whenever his girlfriend made remarks like that. It was her way of saying, “I’m right, so don’t even argue.”

Gently back hugging him, her cheek meeting into the middle of his back, she sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap like that. I just don’t want any of us to get hurt.”

Mingi took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Have instincts isn’t something to be sorry for.”

Taeran let go of him and stood on her tiptoes to peck his cheek before giving him a soft smile.

Thunder boomed loudly in the distance.

“Okay,” Dinah’s voice sounded over their earpieces, “I know I’m not the only one who heard that madness, so I’m not gonna ask if y’all did. Dress warmly, bring umbrellas if you have them, and wear your rain gear. We don’t need anyone catching a cold.”

-

After braiding her blonde locks, Phoebe sat on her bed and gazed upon the picture of her and her grandparents. She missed them dearly, but she knew traveling was going to help her grandfather heal. Her cousin had texted her that morning saying that he was slowly getting better, but it wasn’t much progress. It gave her some hope, but she still worried.

Phoebe felt tears sting the edges of her eyes, but inhaled sharply to hold them back. Yeosang didn’t like seeing her cry, and she wasn’t about to now.

“Are you alright?” he asked from behind her.

Yeosang stood at the doorway of her room, two black raincoats in his arms.

“Yeah,” Phoebe nodded. “Just worried about Pops.”

“Any progress?”

Phoebe stood up, placed the picture back on her nightstand, and walked towards Yeosang. “He’s a little bit better, but not much progress. He’s still ill.”

“Better than none at all,” he smiled as he held Phoebe’s coat open for her to slide her arms into the sleeves. She zipped up her coat as her boyfriend threw his on.

Yeosang had only met Phoebe’s grandparents once when they were still at college. It was a family day, and both families had been introduced to each other. He had learned that the only family his girlfriend had was her grandparents and twin cousins, both being five years older than her and one of them having cerebral palsy. Phoebe was very caring towards her family and loved them to pieces, but Yeosang wasn’t expecting her to join him when he decided to leave school to start his own path despite his family’s protests.

“I want to help my family, and I want to be with you,” she had said.

He had tried to talk her out of it, promising up and down that he’d come back to her; but she had put her foot down and joined him. Quite frankly, he wouldn’t want it any other way.

“What do you think London is like?” she asked.

“I’ve only been once,” he replied as he put his hat on. “But it was just as rainy.”

“So not much has probably changed.”

“I don’t think so.”

Lightning flashed and thunder clapped loudly shortly after. Rain was pattering rapidly against the window. It seemed to match Phoebe’s mood. She wanted to be excited for an extra day in a city, but couldn’t help but feel down. She wanted to smile, but her facial muscles were refusing the action.

Yeosang’s lips kissed her cheek as his arms wrapped around her. Their foreheads touched.

“We’re going to have a good day,” he promised.

“If you say so,” Phoebe sighed.

“I know so.”

--

The HALA pulled into an open dock. Yunho hopped over the ship’s railing, which was about an eight-foot drop from the dock, and tied one end of the secure rope to one of the cleats tightly. A low-whirring noise came from the ship and a door on the side of the opened. Each of the crewmembers, all covered in dark raincoats and ponchos, emerged from the ship. All of the men wore black hats and masks as the women wore dark coats and held umbrellas to protect themselves from the pouring rain.

Hongjoong was the first to step out. He turned back towards the door and held out his hand to help Celestia out of the boat, San following closely behind her. The rest of the crew had no trouble stepping onto the docks. Jongho was the last one to exit after punching in the code to close the door.

Pulling his mask down from his face, Hongjoong turned towards his crew.

“The professor’s lab is a short walk,” he talked over the pounding of raindrops on the wooden dock,“so we’ll be there in no time. Just stay together at all times as we go.”

Dahae rushed to his side, an umbrella in her right hand and her left arm linking with his. Their eyes met as he pushed his mask back in face, but he still smiled at his fiancée; she returned it.

The city almost seemed gloomy, given the grey atmosphere. Citizens were bustling about, covering themselves with coats and umbrellas to try to stay dry. Shops were filled with people coming in and out, and the crew could smell the aroma of pastries from the various café’s lining the streets they walked on. Different vehicles drove by, some regular cars and some trucks carrying farm equipment.

A few pedestrians did give the group odd looks as if they were up to something, but Hongjoong had told them to not pay them any mind. The last thing they needed was trouble.

After a few minutes of walking, the group finally reached an open area between two other large buildings. The front lawn was neatly cut, a water fountain with a lion statue was centered in the middle, and a cobblestone path circled from the sidewalk to the bronze double doors. The building itself looked like a Victorian-era mansion with a large balcony just above the front entrance. Four white pillars stood as if they were holding up the roof, and two potted plants sat on each side of the doors.

“Is this a lab or someone’s castle?” Grace-Anne asked once they all approached the door.

“His house,” the captain replied. “He told us to come here. His personal lab is where he told us to come to.”

“So, we walk through it?”

“Yes.”

Hongjoong used the knocker to alert their presence. One of the doors almost immediately opened, and a tall, young woman with caramel skin and shoulder-length hair was standing on the other side. She was wearing a plain grey shirt, dark jeans, and white tennis shoes; and her smile was warm when she greeted them.

“You must be Hongjoong and the crew of the HALA,” she said, stepping out of their path. “Come on in. The professor’s been expecting you.”

[antman-56]

The Long Night Pt. 14

When STRQ entered the peanut gallery, the moment they were visible a large number of students surrounded them.

“THAT WAS AWESOME!!”

“THAT’S A COOL SWORD!”

““HOW ARE YOU STILL HOT?!”

“ARE YOU DATING?”

It all came to a halt as soon as Scarlet walked up to them.

Scarlet : Mr. Xiao Long

Tai froze in place. 

Scarlet : Your team 2 weeks detention starting tomorrow. Report to my classroom 7-B building 2A at 15:00.

Tai : Why?

 Scarlet : 3 weeks and for the reason, the destruction of school property, I am not adding the fact that you continued to beat Theodore due to his semblance.

Jaden : THAT’S BULLSHIT!! HE SHOULD BE SENT BACK TO BEACON.

The room suddenly felt heavy. A sudden pressure was now on everyone shoulders as if all their guilty was making it hard to breathe and stand up right, a few people fell to the floor. 

Scarlet : Are you telling me what to do? Because if I remember correctly (walks up to Jaden who can’t do anything) I am the teacher, not you. 2 weeks detention for your whole team along with team STRQ. 

Jaden : But that’s 

Scarlet : 3.

Jaden stayed quiet.

Scarlet : Now since the Combat Room’s ceiling is destroyed and the glass needs to be replaced, class will resume tomorrow.

 A mix of cheers and groans were made.

Scarlet : That doesn’t mean you will get off easy. I want a 5,000 word essay about the use of Aura with a cited page, otherwise you don’t participate tomorrow  and get a 0. And it will be increased into a 10,000 word essay. NOW DISMISSED!

***Dorms***

STRQ hurried their way to their dorms after Scarlet dismissed them.

It was now group study time.

Raven and Summer were on the computers they checked out from the library, Tai was on his text book to see if they could use some articles, and Qrow was doing a mix of looking through Summer’s notes and throwing spitballs at Tai. 

Tai : Hey babe, any articles about Aura.

Raven : Never call me that and ask Summer, it’s her job. Mine is checking the syllabus. 

Qrow (making a new spit ball) : To find a loophole or something..

Raven : Maybe, I want to pull a Summer.

Qrow fired another spit ball.

Tai then threw the textbook at Qrow. 

Raven : That reminds me, we need to see Willow.

The boys fighting in the background.

Summer : Why?

Raven : To upgrade our gear. I want new dust blades.

Tai (on top of Qrow, about to punch him) : Yeah I want my claws resharpened.

Qrow : Yeah, and Harbinger to.

Summer (groans) : Fine, but after we finish homework and get through tomorrow. Now you two stop fighting, I have the articles and the battle plan.

*** The Next Day***

 Scarlet : Well class, I am glad that the majority of you turned in your papers. However one team is disqualified from the tournament. (she turns to team TRBO). Now team BLAD and team SLVR. go your assigned corner and prepare for combat.

Ben : We’ve chosen our two representatives.

Scarlet : (whispers) Oh, shit (normal) I forgot to mention we are now doing 4 on 4 matches now. The reason being is that the Headmaster wants to see the “Next Generation”.

Both teams didn’t argue and walked to their corners. 

Tai : Well that blows. I wanted to kick ass just by being on my own again.

Raven ( flicking his head ) : Stop being stupid.

Tai : You love it when I am.

Qrow : Gross.

As the team starts chatting, Qrow gets a message on his scroll from an unknown number.

??? : *“We need to talk”

Qrow (texting) : *“Wrong number”

??? : *“It’s Willow”

Qrow : *“Proof, put a spoon on your head”

??? : (Selfie of her with a spoon on her head and glaring at the camera, she has a slight blush on her face for doing something stupid ) * “There”

Qrow : *“Saving this and send the time and place”

Qrow was snickering, saving the scroll number and using the picture as a thumbnail for the number.

Tai : What are you laughing at?

Qrow (looking around to see if Summer was near by) : A way to explain the USB to Summer.

Tai : Willow?

Qrow : Willow.

Both men got up and went to see the next battle.

***10 minutes later***

Team BLAD won, but they cut it real close.

They tried to do the same thing as yesterday, but team SLVR anticipated it.

It was Ben vs Sam. Leader vs leader.

Ben’s Aura was 28% and Sam’s Aura was 25%. Sword on sword action.

Everything seemed to be going good for Sam until the last 10 seconds. For some reason Sam fell to her knees and covered her ears. Ben struck her down, winning the match for team BLAD.

Now it was STRQ’s match against JACB.

Some members of team JACB apeared more anxious than others.

***Red Corner***

Summer : Alright team ready!

Raven : Hell Yeah.

Tai : Do you need to ask Sum.

Qrow : Let’s do it.

Summer : Alright, Phoenix.

*** Blue Corner***

Chip : I want the emo fuck!

Chip was wearing a light blue leather armor, similar to what a soldier would wear in the Atlas infantry.

Blif : No, I get him. You can get the silver eyed bitch. 

Blif wore the same thing as his brother the only thing different instead of the armor being blue it was yellow.   

Jaden : You both can take him. I’ll take the Blond and his girlfriend.

Jaden had dawned a mix of a monk’s attire and Viking. He had a opened robe with the designs of some dead language, the shoulder pads had small spikes surrounding it , he tore off the sleeves and had boxing tape around his fore arm and hands, he wore heavy black boots, his forearms had armor, and he had a headband.

Adam : So, I go for the girl who started it all.

Adam wore a trench coat over reinforced leather armor. His family crest on the back of both the trench coat and armor.

Jaden : Yes and No. Lead her away from her team. Only fight her to repel, well leave her for the end. Now on 3. 1. . . 2. . . 3  URAH!!!

JACB : URAH !!!

The doors opened, the battle has now started.

Tai and Raven were up front, with Qrow and Summer behind them..

Blif and Chip were going to meet them first and Adan and Jaden following.

Tai clashed with chip and Raven with Blif.

Qrow grabbed onto Tai’s shoulders to use as a platform, jumped up into the air, and kicked Jaden.

When Jaden got up he and Qrow began to fight. Adam was about to help Jaden, but was stopped by Summer.

He had his back towards her and she used her crossbow to get his attention. She showed him she was the one that shot him with her weapon, Moonlight.

She ran and Adam followed her all the while yelling, “I got this!!”. 

Raven : Aren’t you the guys that my baby brother beat up?

Blif activated the dust canisters in his shield to push  Raven back, Chip copied his brother.

They looked at each other and smiled.

Chip : Well then,

Blif : That changes things.

They ran at the couple with a new determination.

***Qrow’s Fight ***

Jaden and Qrow were now in an area that resembled a beach.

Jaden was using his batons against Qrow’s sword.

That’s when his foot slipped when he went for a strike.

Qrow took advantage and kicked him to the sidewalk.

Jaden got up just in time to block Qrow’s blade.

Jaden (grunting) : So, your better with a weapon then with your hands.

Qrow (grunting) : I could say the same.

They pushed off each other to gain some distance.

Jaded : Y’know, all of this couldn’t have to be personal, if you kept to yourself, but no you just had to save your girlfriend.

Qrow : She’s not my . . .

Jaden ran up to Qrow , jumped over him and in mid air touched his head.

Jaden (internally) : Nothing’s happening. Maybe if I force it.

Little did they both know, the waves were growing.

***Summer’s Fight***

Summer lead Adam to a forest area. 

She was on a tree top and had a clear view of Adam. She was invisible and had a weapon that made little to no noise.

She fired a bolt and it hit. Adam’s Aura was now 84%.

He took cover behind the closest “Tree” and waited.

Adam : You know hiding isn’t going to . . .

A bolt was next to his head.

Adam : HA. You mis . . . 

The bolt exploded.

*** Raven’s and Tai’s Fight***

The twins were keeping the couple busy.

They made sure not to separate the couple. If Tai activated his semblance they were done, but since he was near Raven she would take a hit of friendly fire.

Chip decided it was time. 

He activated his dust weapons. His sword became longer with an outer layer of ice. The hilt transformed to have a hilt of a snowflake and was now emitting a light blue gas, while his shield started to glow blue.

When Tai blocked the new weapon his eyes went wide, jumped back, and gasped. His Aura dropped to 95%. 

Chip : Freezing isn’t it. That’s a new dust to simulate dried ice. It’s so cold it burns.

He went for the offensive and all Tai could to do was dodge.

His brother followed his example. He activated his dust weapons, his weapon started to glow yellow as well as his shield. Little bits of electricity sparked off of his as a intimidation tactic

Blif threw his shield at Raven, who ducked only to be struck by Blif’s blade. Her Aura dropped to 78%.

She dropped to her knees and was panting heavily. Her muscles were tense, all she could was look up and glare at Blif.

Blif : What’s wrong sweet heart, are you a mute now.

Raven slowly got up, using her blade as a crutch. She then put her blade in her sheath and pulled out a yellow blade. She got into her battle stance and gave the the trademark Branwen smirk.

She was going to enjoy this.

***Qrow’s Fight***

Both fighter were now on the pier of the beach.

Jaden combined his two batons to make a bo staff against Qrow.

Jaden’s Aura was from 87% to 62% and Qrow’s Aura was from 100% to 54%.

Qrow noticed that his bad luck was doubling down. It was like he broke six mirrors, let a family of black cats cross him, and stepped on a crack all at once times 5.

Jaden felt the same. He was making rookie mistakes and hating himself for it. 

The pier they were both on was now was creaking. Any one of their steps could mean their lasts.

Jaden : You just couldn’t have picked another person. I wanted the blonde.

Qrow ignored him and continued to fight.

Jaden’s time for using Qrow’s semblance was almost over, but what was it.

He didn’t get faster, stronger, anything. Hell one semblance let him spit acid, this one didn’t do anything. Nothing!!!

That was when the plank Qrow was standing on broke. 

Jaden went to jab him with his bo staff. He pushed Qrow back to the beginning of the pier.

Jaden : What the hell! What is your semblance?! 

Qrow smirked.

Jaden : My semblance lets me copy the semblances of anyone I touch for a short time. But yours nothing. NOTHING!!!

Qrow chuckled.

Qrow : That explains it. 

Jaden : Explain what?

Qrow just pointed behind them.

Jaden turned around to only see a Tsunami coming. He saw Qrow running away to the buildings and he soon followed.

As he ran, he heard the pier being decimated behind him. Unfortunately, for him the plank he just stepped on just broke. He caught himself only to feel the force of the tsunami.  

“JADEN INGENUUS ELIMINATED”

***Raven’s and Tai’s Fight***

Raven and Tai were now separated. Chip lead Tai into a a frozen tundra area and Raven and Blif stayed in a the middle area.

Blif and Raven were exchanging blades, blow for blow. It was like the both of them knew what the other was going to do.  It was then that Blif parried her oncoming attack that he punched her.

Raven backed away from him to gain distance and got into a new stance. She then noticed he copied her. 

She had a plan.

She ran away, while flipping the bird at Blif. He in turn ran towards her.

Tai was not having the same luck. He has been evading and dodging most of Chip’s attacks. He couldn’t find any openings with the dust shield blocking anything he threw at it. He had his Aura drop to 65% from just doing what he could do. He couldn’t even use his semblance since they were on top of a ice berg. Intense heat and ice don’t exactly go together.

He was now on a thin ice bridge, on top of a raging ice river. If someone drops Aura goes away instantly.

Chip : Hey Blondie, how come your doing nothing? 

Tai exhaled, he really didn’t like being called “Blondie”.

Chip : Doesn't matter. When I’m done here i’ll help my brother. Tag team the emo’s sister. 

He gave Tai a disgusting smile and that broke his thin ice.

Tai had a nerve that he didn’t know he developed. Whenever, anyone talked about his girlfriend like she’s a piece of meat  he would lose his patience faster.

Chip’s smile grew wider. He had the advantage over Tai. He blocked the closest exit off the bridge if it melts, and if he somehow didn’t fall onto the water and make it to the other side then he would have enough time to help Blif with Raven and then Tai.

Tai activated his semblance and ran towards Chip. When he was closer to Chip he let his semblance cut loose. All the ice under the both of them started to melt, along with the dust on Chip’s sword and shield. 

Chip went to defend with his shield to cover his face from the fist that Tai had made. Big mistake. He left himself open and Tai went for a stomach punch. 

Tai ran towards the other side, the bridge finally gave out and was falling. He was at the end of the bridge till he felt a hand grab his leg. Tai fell onto the floor to see Chip.

Chip jumped to grab his leg after he recovered and smiled at the sight of Tai’s shocked face.

“TAIYANG XIAO LONG ELIMINATED”

“CHIP NAVIS ELIMINATED”

***Raven’s Fight***

When the announcement finished, she was pissed off. 

She stopped running and was now in the middle of a dark swamp.

Blif : Give up.

Raven activated her sheath to launch out a blade.

Blif naturally dodged the attack. When he turned to look at Raven she was gone.

“ADAM  DROOM ELIMINATED”

Blif : WHAT?!?! (internally) How was Adam out.

He looked up to see the Aura display. Adam’s Aura was at 15%

The silver eyed bitch was 67% and the emo fuck was at 32%.

When he was done looking at the board, he dodged a Sythe aimed for his head. In that moment he was hit with a series of smoke dust bolts.

His Aura was now at 57% in an instant.

He was panicking. He was alone against three pissed off enemies.

A bolt hit his hand, dropping his sword. He dropped to his knees and rushed to pick it up, when his hand touched the hilt, a foot crushed it.

He looked up and saw Raven with a scowl on her face.

He smiled weakly and got a kick to the face as a reward.

Raven : Get up.

Blif : Hey come on. Make this fair.

Raven responded by striking him across the chest with Omen, dropping his Aura to 39%.

Blif got up from the attack and ran away from her.

When he got to the edge of the swamp forest and into the lava zone. he saw her waiting for him.

Raven : Why are you running? You were talking big just a few minutes ago.

He ran back into the swamp, just to stop when she was a few feet in front of him.

He did this 4 more time till he was tired and he was in the middle of the swamp. 

Raven (walking up to him ) : Give up.

Blif ( close to an anxiety attack ) : How do you even-

He never got his answer, Raven went for him.

She started by striking him 8 times and ended it with a swift kick to the abdomen.

When he hit the closest tree his back was turned to his Aura broke.

“TEAM STRQ VICTORIOUS”

[simplyshelbs16xoxo]

‘Spellbound All Hallow’s Eve’ Chapter 5: There’s No Escape When Fire Meets Fate

               Janine lunged forward towards Molly, but her attack was dodged. Sherlock was able to grab hold of her wrist to disarm her quickly. The dagger clattered on the floor. He swept it beneath the bed with a swipe of his foot. Molly’s hands shot out, her magic suspending Janine in the air. Much to their surprise, Janine had broken from the spell, and sent Molly flying up against the wall.

               “You’re a witch,” Molly realized. “What coven are you from?”

               “Covens,” Janine scoffed. “I don’t belong to any coven. Why should I conform to their rules?”

               “Because it’s the law!” Molly shouted. “Not that you have any consideration for any law.”

               “Right you are, Molly. I won’t have any problem finishing you,” Janine spoke with malice.

               “Over my dead body,” Sherlock snarled. He had texted Greg whilst Janine was bantering with Molly.

               A growl ripped form Sherlock’s throat as his bones twisted into form. The pain was always agonizing, but he’d be damned if this witch was gonna hurt his wife.

               “Figures you’d be a dog,” Janine remarked.

               Sherlock snarled at her remark, ready to lunge if she didn’t let Molly go.

               “Say goodbye to your wife, Mister Holmes.”

               “Sherlock, no!” Greg shouted, bursting into the room. His presence distracted Janine enough to let go of her hold on Molly. “I’ve got this one, mate. Cool off.”

               Molly sighed in relief, slinking down to the floor in exhaustion. Sherlock padded his way to her, and nuzzled his head against her cheek.

            ��  “I’m alright, you sappy ball of fur,” she laughed lightly. “Come on, let’s go home.” Molly put a glamour on Sherlock so others wouldn’t be able to see a large wolf walking down the street.

               “Hey, where’d he go?” Greg asked whilst he cuffed Janine.

               “Invisibility spell; wouldn’t wanna cause a city-wide panic,” Molly replied.

               “He can’t shift back?”

               “He can, but not unless you’d like to see him in a state of undress,” she smiled with amusement.

               “Best get ‘im home, then,” Greg agreed.

               Two Days Later

               Molly finished the final touches of her Victorian costume, complete with corset, petticoats, and a pale blonde wig styled to her liking. Her earrings were anatomical hearts made out of gears from watches. She liked to have a bit of steampunk incorporated into her ensemble. Sherlock had looked devastatingly handsome with his inky black hair slicked back. She had helped him adjust his cravat perfectly before changing.

               Only a few minutes before they’d be leaving, and another vision hit Molly. She felt dizzy from the quickness of it, but it offered her the explanation of her last vision with Sherlock and the evil man who sounded an awful lot like—

               “Molly, just a couple more minutes,” Sherlock called out to her.

               “Be right there, darling,” she replied.

               Quickly she gathered ingredients from the chest her grimoire was stored away. It only took a few seconds to mix the concoction in the potion vial. She watched as the color transitioned from electric blue to a deep purple indicating that it was finished. This would definitely save Sherlock from the fate in her vision.

               “What’s that?” Sherlock asked from the doorway. He gazed at his wife in awe. She looked beautiful in her Victorian costume. A part of him admitted how well the style fitted both of them, and he began to wonder what life would be like for them in such a time.

               “Oh, just a safety precaution,” Molly assured him. “Mrs. Hudson has Victoria for the night, and I am determined to have a wonderful time with my husband.”

               The party was already in full swing when Sherlock and Molly arrived. Mary greeted them both with kisses on their cheek, leading them through the mass amount of guests. Sherlock’s mind was whirling as he tried to scan the room to find anyone out of place. He was deeply worried for Molly’s safety even though he was the one nearly bleeding to death in her vision.

               They were stopped by John who was in the midst of a conversation with Stamford.

               “Molly! Sherlock! How are the two of you on this Hallow’s Eve?” Mike asked them, joyful as ever.

               “We’re doing just fine, Mike. And yourself?” Molly inquired.

               “Oh, wonderful, really,” he replied. “Bloody fantastic!”

               Sherlock knitted his brows, pulling Mary aside.

               “You’ve done something with the punch haven’t you?” he deduced.

               “Maybe a little something…just to keep everyone happy,” Mary answered him. “I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”

               “It may actually be a good thing in this case—Molly and I have reason to believe Moran’s partner in crime will crash the party,” Sherlock explained. “He may already be here. If we find someone avoiding the punch, or someone less than happy, we’ll have our culprit.”

               “Well, I do hate party crashers, so do what you must,” Mary told him. “And please, if there’s anything I can do to help you bring him down, let me know.”

               Sherlock nodded in agreement.

               Molly, having overheard the conversation, pulled Mary aside as well.

               “Did you mean it? You’re willing to help us?” Molly whispered.

               “Yes, of course! Do you need me to do something?” Mary asked.

               “I may need your help with something, yes, but you mustn’t tell anyone until I say so—not even Sherlock,” Molly informed her.

               “Why do I get the feeling you’re about to do something reckless?

               “That, my dear Watson, is because you know me too well.”

               He watched from a far corner, away from the crowd. No sign of Holmes yet, but the great consulting annoyance was bound to show up eventually. Of course, he didn’t expect Sherlock Holmes to have dressed in Victorian garb for the occasion. For once, it made him blend in, becoming invisible to the Irishman.

               But wait—there he was in all his prideful glory. Sherlock Holmes had just descended the stairs in his trademark Belstaff and scarf. The Irishman followed him through the crowd and out the back door.

               “I knew it was you. I didn’t want to believe it, but here you are, flesh and blood…James Moriarty.”

               “If you are thinking I am my twin brother, you are incorrect, Mister Holmes.” He paused a moment. “I do share the same name with my deceased twin, but that is precisely why I’m after you and your wife. You banished him from this Earth. Your wife hexed him long before the two of you met, and then he died on that rooftop where you should have perished as well.”

               James Moriarty circled his enemy as he spoke, waiting for the right moment.

               “Quite the motive, but I—“ Sherlock tried to fight as soon as the cloth his mouth. The chloroform was too strong. It wasn’t long before he was out cold.

               “Mary, have you seen Molly?” Sherlock asked. “I’m terribly worried something is wrong. I can feel it.”

               “She had just gone out back, but Sherlock, you should know—“

               But he was no longer listening. He raced outside to find no sign of her anywhere. However, he did find one of the buttons off his coat.

               “How did this get here?”

               “That’s what I need to tell you,” Mary spoke up.

               “Tell me everything.”

               “What exactly are we doing again?” Mary asked, making space in the spare bedroom.

               “Shifting spell,” Molly replied as she drew the pentagram on the wood floor with chalk. “Take the clothes out of my bag, will you?”

               Mary did as was told, gasping when she took the first piece out.

               “Sherlock’s coat…Molly are you crazy!?”

               “It’s the only way to make sure he doesn’t get hurt,” she justified her reasoning.

               Mary watched as Molly sat in the middle of the pentagram, swirling around a deep purple potion. After uncorking it, she drank it down quickly whilst making a face that told Mary it tasted awful. She began to chant in Latin, completing the process. Nothing happened at first, and then the pain began. Growing nine inches taller could definitely take a toll on anyone. The bone structure in her face changed as well, making the transition complete.

               “What do you think?” a baritone voice asked.

               “Blimey, it changed your voice too,” Mary was shocked at how efficient the spell was. Without a doubt, she was looking at an exact replica of Sherlock Holmes. “I just don’t understand.”

               “My last vision ended with Sherlock’s last words being ‘gotcha,’” Molly explained. “The only plausible explanation is that I trick him into thinking I’m Sherlock.”

               “Then you’ll be the one bleeding out; I can’t let you do this, Molly,” Mary argued.

               “It’s already been done. I have to protect my family, no matter the cost,” Molly pointed out.

               Mary couldn’t argue with that. She would take a bullet for her family…and the Holmes’s.

               “Do what you must, but I will tell Sherlock if you wind up missing,” Mary told her.

               “That’s precisely what I’m counting on, Mary.”

Author’s Note: Now what'd y'all think of that? So many revelations in this chapter? Which one was your favorite? Since it is midnight here, it's officially my 23rd birthday! So, my gift to y'all is another chapter! All I ask are your lovely reviews in return! 

FFN | AO3 | Buy Me a Coffee?

[theusualspotcafe-blog]

Ballet Sores

Game: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy XIII

Characters: Sora, Aqua, Lea, Ventus, Vanille, Riku

Pairing: Leaku (akuriku) at the end

Rating: Teen

Author: The Usual Spot Cafe

Word Count: 1434

Notes: I wanted to write something about the struggles dancers go through, while I myself am not a ballerina, I love ballet and actually do know a few dancers. Dancing is so harsh on your body and while it is a beautiful art, permanently damaged feet can be the reality of it. I didn’t plan on ending this on a shippy note, but I do like how it turned out. I hope everyone enjoys!

“5, 6, 7, 8!” The blue haired woman clapped her hands together in a quick tempo as her blonde assistant beat on a drum on the floor, helping her keep time.

“Pick up that foot Sora!”

Sora groaned and lifted his leg higher, not that it could get much higher as he waited for his cue. It was already above his head.

“Lea your turns are looking mighty sloppy right there!” Lea narrowed his eyes but tried to spin tightly. “Much better! Sora now!”

Sora began dancing around the large group, heaving a sigh of relief once he could bring his leg down. They had been trying to perfect this choreography for hours. Even Vanille looked exhausted. But that’s what you had to expect when you’re being taught by one of the best prima ballerinas in the world. Sora glanced up at Aqua’s reflection in the mirrors, noting her jaw set in determination and groaning internally. They would be at this all night if Ven didn’t stop her.

“Vanille! Tighter!”

Vanille gasped as she was lifted by Lea, “tighter what!?”

Lea smirked and set her down, “I think everything.”

“Okay stop!”

The team froze in the middle of the choreography, standing still in their poses. Ven stopped pounding on the drum and yawned, showing off the roof of his mouth to everyone.

“I want everyone to get into a line! Time for grand jeté practice!”

The company groaned and got out of the choreography, Sora stepping forward with a frown, “oh come on Aqua! We’ve been doing this for five hours! I’m pretty sure Vanille’s box is cracked and her shoes are going to be red by the time you’re done. You gotta give us a break! You’re only correcting basic stuff now!”

Aqua raised her eyebrows and looked over at the en pointe dancer, “is your box really cracked Vanille?”

The pink haired girl looked up sheepishly, “no… but my toes did start bleeding a little bit ago…”

Lea grunted, “my shoes are pooled with blood.”

The troop nodded in agreement and stared at Aqua, chests heaving as they gasped for air. Aqua looked at the hopeful faces before turning to Ventus. “What do you think?”

Ven shrugged, “I think they look pretty clean Aqua. Just a few changes here and there and you should be good for the competition.”

She sighed, “fine. You guys are doing good, I’m sorry if I seem a little crazy.”

“It’s not a seem, you are a little crazy.”

“Watch it dorkupine.” Aqua flashed him a glare, coupled with a small smile that made it less threatening. “Okay everyone, grab a shoe repair kit on your way out the door; Vanille follow me. I’ll show you how I wrap my foot and cushion my box. It might help you.”

The small girl nodded, “right! Thanks, Aqua!”

She nodded, “now get out of my sight everyone! I want you all back here at the same time tomorrow!”

The troop cried out in unison as they hurriedly began gathering their things. “Yes, master Aqua!”

Aqua’s eye twitched, “cut out that master bullshit!”

“Yes, master Aqua!”

“Ugh!” Aqua threw her hands up in the air in frustration before gathering her things and going into the locker room, Vanille right behind her.

Sora set down three cups and eased into the cushy chair with a groan. “I didn’t think Aqua was ever going to let us go.”

“Me either.”

Ven nodded in agreement, scrolling on his phone as the ballet dancers took their ballet flats out of their bags and began cleaning them. Sora and Lea both had their shoes off and were propping them up on the coffee table in the darkened corner of the café. The section they were in was specifically designed for people who wanted privacy for napping, or for people in sports who needed a well-deserved rest.

“I think I have blisters on top of my blisters…”

Lea snorted at Sora’s hushed voice. “Yeah I’m pretty sure my foot is a huge bruise.”

Ven took a sip of his drink, “that’s possible.”

Sora groaned and got out alcohol wipes from his bag, wiping down the various cuts, blisters, sores, and patches of hardened skin. “I have a bunion…”

Lea gasped as Sora put an alcohol soaked wipe on his feet. “You have to do more toe stretches then. How are your nails?”

“Purple, but otherwise okay. You?”

Lea winced as he cleaned off his feet, “my big toe nail is cracked, but it was beforehand. Ugh man I’m letting these air out for a bit.”

Sora nodded in agreement before leaning back in the couch and getting on his phone. “If you don’t mind me I’m gonna go in a social media coma for an hour.”

Lea nodded and flipped his hand towards Sora as his eyes fluttered shut of their own accord, the training day catching up to him as he drifted off to sleep.

Lea awoke to the sound of hushed arguing.

“What the hell Riku!? Why would you do that!?”

“Tch, it’s not like I meant to Sora! I didn’t go into the gym thinking I would get into the ring without any of my gear!”

“This is ridiculous! I haven’t seen you hurt this bad after a match since-“

“Since Ansem, I know. Just help me clean up? I know you have a first aid kit.”

“Ugh fine, but no more!”

“Deal.”

Lea opened his eyes a crack, hoping he could see what got Sora so worked up, unfortunately he was met with Riku’s back. He watched Sora grab the kit and set to work cleaning up Riku. The silver haired man gasped every once in a while, but otherwise kept silent.

“There all done. Your hands are your livelihood man, don’t wreck them.”

“I could say the same about your feet… what’s gonna pay more Sora? Blitzball or ballet?”

Sora narrowed his eyes at his best friend as Lea sat up on the couch. “Riku don’t… morning Lea.”

Lea nodded and yawned, “what time is it?”

“Little after seven, you’ve been asleep for an hour. You gotta bandage your feet.”

Lea nodded and grabbed the first aid kit, stopping when a pale hand reached out and grabbed him. “Let me help. Sora and I always help each other bandage the other up after ballet or boxing.”

Lea blushed and looked up into Riku’s teal eyes, “are you sure? It’s kinda gross.”

Riku smiled, making Lea lose any reach of angry he had at the split eyebrow, lip, or obvious broken nose. “Trust me. Sora always rants and raves about my foot massages. I’ll have you back on your feet as chipper as Sora in a minute!”

Lea snorted, “I doubt that but okay.”

Riku gave him a huge grin before grabbing Lea’s foot and getting to work on it, hitting just the right pressure points that made all the soreness go away. Then he rubbed lotion on the severe dry cracked patches before putting ointment on the rest of the foot, making sure to get in every cranny. Riku then took some padded gauze and wrapped it up tightly, before repeating the process on Lea’s other foot. When he was done he tapped Lea on the leg, “there you go!”

Lea sighed contently, “oh man that does feel better. Thank you so much! How are your hands?”

Riku smiled and held them up, showing off they were already covered in gauze. “Sorry, Sora already patched them all up. I got into a bare-knuckle brawl. Which was not a good idea.” He chuckled lightly before Lea grabbed his hands.

“Well next time they get sore and cut up, come find me and I’ll help you out. I’ve been known to give killer hand massages.” Lea added in a wink at the end making Riku laugh harder.

“Okay I will. Boyfriends gotta take care of each other after all.”

Lea froze and raised an eyebrow as Riku’s face gave away just how horrified he actually was at what he uttered. “Oh? Is that what we are now?”

Riku blushed deep red, “uh if you want to be that is! Oh, crap I messed up!”

Lea laughed, “Riku it’s okay! I would love to be your boyfriend.”

“R-really?”

Lea nodded before leaning in and cupping Riku’s face, pressing his lips against his. “I have ballet again tomorrow, meet me in the same spot?” Riku just nodded dumbly before sitting next to him, staring ahead horrified at the way he asked Lea to be his boyfriend as Lea cuddled up next to him.

[spoopy-imagines-writer]

Evermore

Song: Evermore by Dan Stevens from Beauty and the Beast

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 2.9k

Warning: fluff, angst, other warnings are spoilers and will be in the tags. PLEASE be sure to read the tags if you have possible triggers. I was kind of not in the best headspace and I needed to get this out. Again not tagging anyone just in case -Jo

A/N: The song that I used for their song is “I Don’t Want to Set the World On Fire” by The Ink Spots

Feeling your very self shift with the light around you, you crept up behind your unsuspecting lover. You were about to pounce on his back when he suddenly turned and grabbed you around the waist to prevent escape. You squealed as he tickled your sides.

You took down the illusion wrapped around yourself. “Loki!”

The very essence of mischief grinned down at you. “No amount of invisibility can hide you from me, darling.”

You snorted. “You probably cheated.”

He kissed your forehead before finally releasing you from the confines of his arms. “Now, would I do a thing like that?”

You were about to make a smart remark, but suddenly your song came on the radio. You strode over to the radio and turned the volume up louder before returning to him in the kitchen. “Tell me, sweetheart. You ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light?” you quoted your favorite movie.

He took your hand and your waist as you both began to dance slowly. “You’re hardly a devil, my love. Its also midday, I see no moonlight,” he said with a grin.

You ignored his smartass comment. “I will never get over the irony of this being our song. ‘I don’t want to set the world on fire’, when that was EXACTLY your intention.” You raised an eyebrow at him and smirked.

“Yes,” he agreed. “However, if I hadn’t attempted to rule the Midgardians as a benevolent god, then I wouldn’t have been caught and abruptly stripped of my magic. Then I wouldn’t have consequently been banished to the very planet I attempted to claim, and I would not have met you. And that would have been a tragedy all on its own.”

You smiled up at him. “You won’t find me trying to argue, my king.”

He fully smiled then; it was something he didn’t do often around other people. You let any other moment for a comment pass as you danced silently to the rest of the song. Both of you were too caught up in each other to notice the sudden thunderstorm brewing outside.

You only noticed something was amiss when Thor himself burst through the door. “Hello brother,” he nodded to Loki. “Lady Y/n, there is a situation and we need you.”

Loki stepped protectively in front of you. “Does Stark not have enough people to do his bidding? The last mission my wife went on was supposed to be just that, brother. Her last.” His voice had almost instantly gone cold.

You put your hand on his shoulder. “Loki….”

He looked back at you. “You promised me, Y/n. Please.”

You had mixed feelings. You faced your brother-in-law. “Thor, what exactly am I needed for?”

“There was a hidden HYDRA facility we finally located. We were going to go in with full force but… There are simply too many of them. Even all of us combined would not be enough.” He looked away. “We thought since you’ve successfully infiltrated the enemy forces undetected before-”

“That perhaps she can do it again?” Loki was understandably upset. “You just said yourself that there are too many there to handle by the entirety of your little team, and you want to send her in there by herself?!”

“Brother…” Thor’s voice was regretful. “We fear they are performing experiments on… people. Children. It may be our only chance. Their only chance. I will be there to protect her, brother. As soon as she gets out, I will bring her back to you.”

Loki’s gaze turned cold. “Stop talking as if she’s already agreed to this insane-“

You put your hand on his shoulder. “Loki,” you said gently. Facing Thor again, you spoke softly. “Maybe give us a little time to talk, alright?”

“Of course,” he said quickly. “Should I wait in the other room?”

“No, Thor,” you shook your head and smiled slightly. “When we come to a decision, one of us will call.” Loki yanked away from you as if your touch burned him. He walked swiftly to your shared room and closed the door with more force than was necessary. You sighed, turning a gentle smile to the blonde-haired giant. “I’ll give you a call.”

He could see easily that your smile was false, only there to help put him at ease. He hugged you tightly before taking off again. You rubbed your face, not sure how to prepare yourself for this fight with your husband; and it would be a fight. While you were looking at the bigger picture, he was looking at you going in almost completely defenseless.

Squaring your shoulders, you steeled yourself for what he would say. You knew there would be arguing, possibly shouting. There would definitely be shouting…

You weren’t in any way expecting what you did see when you entered the bedroom. Loki was sitting on your bed, his face in his hands. His shoulders were shaking ever so slightly.

You crawled across the bed to sit behind him. You wrapped your arms around his waist. He leaned into you and the both of you sat in silence, giving him all the comfort he needed.

He took a deep, shaky breath after a long time. One of his hands grasped yours. “I can’t protect you, not from this.” There it was; Loki’s deepest fear ever since his powers were taken from him was losing you to something he could have prevented before. You were his saving grace. You helped him adapt to this world. You became his closest friend. Eventually his feelings towards you grew stronger, and he was forced to go to Thor to demand what Midguardian disease ailed him when his palms grew sweaty and his heart sped up, usually when you were around he’d noticed. Thor merely laughed at him, and told his brother that he was in love. Loki couldn’t believe that, but he did notice a slight shift in the air in the middle of the talk. He didn’t know it was you until you revealed yourself, removing whatever invisible veil in which you surrounded yourself. It still took convincing on his part that you felt the same, but after you were injured badly after an attack on the Avengers tower… He didn’t want to risk losing you without ever having you. He cared for you, as you had for him, and it didn’t take long for the two of you to develop a strong relationship. You married less than a year later and while it wasn’t always easy, you never loved him any less.

There was always a constant fear about what might happen on a mission, and he could do nothing but stay home and hope you’d return safely. He’d tried before to get you to quit, which resulted in your first big fight. After you’d come home from your last mission seven months ago, he’d never felt more relieved.

Until less than an hour ago when his oaf of a brother barged in and tried to turn his world upside down yet again.

“Don’t go, Y/n,” he whispered in a broken voice. He already knew your decision the second Thor mentioned that there might be innocent people involved.

Your arms tightened around him. “This will be the last one. After this, we can move far away. Even Heimdall won’t be able to find us,” you joked in an attempt to cheer him up. It was a game you liked to play.

He turned and pulled you so you laid down next to each other. He kissed the crown of your head. “Where will we go?” He indulged you.

You grinned up at him. “Florida.”

“Florida?” He repeated incredulously. “I think not. I have heard horror stories about Florida.”

“Then where would you have us go?”

He sighed. “Anywhere, as long as we’re together.”

You poked his side. “That’s not an answer.”

He shrugged. “I’ve heard good things about Iceland.”

“You know there’s no ice.”

He finally managed a small grin. “Oh I know.” He pulled you closer, his mood shifting back to something more somber. “When will you let them know?”

“I’ll call Tony tomorrow morning… I just want tonight for us.” You sat up suddenly, and he looked at you curiously. His eyes were still sad, and you aimed to change that. At least temporarily. “And I for one am not going to waste it.” You slipped your shirt off and stood to stretch. Loki’s eyes followed you hungrily. “I’m going to go take advantage of our jacuzzi bath tub. You can join me, or you can try to figure out how to order pizza.” You glanced over at him and winked. “Meatlovers, if they have it.”

Before you could even shut the bathroom door, he was at your back and kissing your neck hungrily.

You left for the mission 5 days later. Loki didn’t fight you any more about it, knowing this absolutely would be the last time you ever collaborated with the Avengers. Perhaps they didn’t know, but that didn’t matter. They would soon and by the time they did, you and Loki would be long gone. Not to Iceland, but you would travel the world.

It didn’t make saying goodbye any less difficult though. “It’s not goodbye,” you’d told him before kissing him deeply. “I’ll see you when we get back.”

He nodded, finding it nearly impossible to let you go. “I love you, Y/n.”

You smiled up at him. “I love you back.” Grabbing your gear bag, you met up with Thor in the small jet. The blond nodded to his brother, making a silent promise to bring you back safely.

Loki couldn’t escape the horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

You landed the jet a good 7 or 8 miles away from the HYDRA bunker, not wanting to alert them. Thor wanted to go closer just in case but you were adamant that if you landed a plane any closer to them, they’d know something was up and then your purpose for being there would be for nothing. Thor reluctantly agreed. You ordered him to stay at the jet in case they needed to make a quick getaway.

He nodded at you and you disappeared before his eyes. You made your way through the dark woods, silently wishing they’d at least have invested in some concrete. Crunchy leaves could get you killed but at least it wasn’t snow. You looked around the back for the entrance you knew was there from the brief meeting with Steve and Natasha. They’d gone over when the guards changed shifts and narrowed down where the captives might be held.

You successfully avoided any guards, and you followed one down a hallway. You noticed where he pulled out a key card that seemed to open every door. Pickpocketing was a skill you mastered a long time ago, and it didn’t fail you this time either. The guard was turning a corner when you slipped it from his back pocket. Now all you had to do was find the hallway the captives were in and pray the keycard would work.

It wasn’t hard to find…. It had the unmistakable stench of death and your heart dropped. You pressed on, quietly checking each cell with no luck. There has to be at least one… Just as that desperate thought crossed your mind, you heard a small cry at the very last cell at the end of the corridor. You swiped the card and saw a child huddled in the corner. He was the only one, and you didn’t have time to question why before alarms started going off. The doors were shutting so you picked the boy up. He had to be at least 7 or 8 but he must have weighed at most 45 pounds. He wasn’t as alarmed as he should have been to be carried by an invisible person, but that didn’t matter. It was a maze to find the exit. You dodged guards and kicked down anything you could to block them or slow them down. They fired shots at you and the boy, and you felt the bullets as they grazed you but you kept going while shielding him with your body.

You called into the commlink in your ear, shouting at Thor to get the engine running. You didn’t even notice that your invisible shield was down. You slipped on the leaves with the more blood you lost, and you didn’t collapse until you were safe inside the jet, never having been happier to see your brother-in-law. You set the boy down and tried to ask him questions but it was like you couldn’t speak. You had a massive headache and your tongue felt too heavy in your mouth.

Thor had to wait until the jet was in the air before he could put it on autopilot and check on you. You laid on the ground with barely a pulse. He knew he had to act quickly to stop you from losing any more blood, and he didn’t know what he would do if you didn’t make it.

Loki shot up in his bed, the sheets soaked in sweat. He was breathing heavily. You sat up and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Loki, what happened? Was it the dream again?”

He shrugged you off, standing to go to the kitchen. You sighed and rubbed your forehead. You knew what his nightmare was. It was always the same since Thor had brought you and the boy, whose name was Felix, back from the mission.

It was always about losing you. Thor had to tell him what happened while you and Felix had been rushed to the infirmary, he wouldn’t say anything. Loki demanded to know exactly what happened, and exactly what went wrong. He needed to know everything.

You padded to the kitchen quietly, not wanting to startle him. He was standing at the counter beside the sink with his hands laid flat as if they were the only things keeping him standing. There was an empty glass beside him.

“You know you can’t sneak up on me, love.”

You stood next to him. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”

He shook his head. “I can’t do this anymore.” It sounded like he was talking more to himself. He turned away from you. “Every time I close my eyes…”

You shushed him, going around him to touch his face. “I’m here,” you whispered. “Shh… I’m here, I’ve got you, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay.”

Loki shook his head again, this time more harshly. He suddenly picked up his glass and threw it against the wall behind you. “I can’t do this anymore!” He shouted. “I can’t…” He slid down and leaned his head against the counter behind him. He ran his hands through his hair. “I know you’re there. I know… but I can’t see you. They tell me you’re not really there, Y/n…. And I know. You’re not here, not really. But every time I close my eyes, you’re still there. I can feel you here with me.” To prove his point, he looked in your direction. He couldn’t look right at you, of course but… how you wished he could. “This is more than I can bear,” he said brokenly.

You had never seen him this low before. You sat down beside him and leaned your head on his shoulder. You wished so badly that he could hear you, but he could only feel whatever emotion you were emitting. “I love you so much, Loki. I’m so sorry that I’m not there. I tried…”

He clenched his jaw. “I love you so much.”

The kitchen light turned on. Felix stood there in his Batman pajamas, looking curiously at Loki.

Felix looked over at you thoughtfully, and you shook your head at him. So far this was the only power he’d shown, not that anyone really noticed. He could hear you and see you, and you told him to keep it secret. There was no harm this way. In all honesty you were scared that Loki would resent the boy, place pointless blame on him. The old Loki might have, but this was your Loki. You knew he had a good heart.

However, Loki was in a very vulnerable state himself, and he was unwilling to share how he was feeling with the child he’d started to consider his own in the several months since you died. He cleared his throat. “I’m fine,” he said.

Felix tilted his head. “You don’t look fine.” He only ever spoke a few words at a time.

Loki snorted. “Then stop looking.” He picked himself up and began to look for the broom and dust pan. “What are you doing up?”

Felix looked pointedly at the broken glass on the floor.

“Yes, right…” Loki rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m… sorry for waking you.”

He didn’t say anything. He was still a wary child, but he went up to your husband and squeezed his hand in an attempt to comfort him.

It worked a little. Loki’s eyes softened. “Go back to bed, I’m going to take care of this and go back to sleep too.”

“Liar,” you said quietly. Felix’s eyes shot to you momentarily before he nodded at Loki. He left and your heard his door close a second later.

Loki cleaned up the mess and went back to your- his bedroom. He closed the door and pinched the bridge of his nose, deep in thought. “That’s a dangerous place to be right now.”

“I can practically hear you now,” he whispered. “I keep thinking that you’ll just walk through that door.”

“I’m here, sweetheart. I’ve got you.” You put your hand on his heart. “I’ll always be with you.”

[secondaryshade]

Straw Hat R&D Team (chapter 1)

So here is a chapter of a fanfic based on A Gem In The Rough and it’s sequel.

Essentially it’s a fanfic where Peridot creates Straw Hats R&D team.

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-The Firstest Meeting-

 In Beach City at evening, in a building that was freshly build, a group of individuals has gathered to meet.

Four figures sat around a round table in a well-lit room. One of the individuals carried set of googles on his head and had a long nose that makes him look a lot like a liar.

The long-nosed individual gave an annoyed response with a wave of hand. “Oi!”

Right of this figure sits a feminine figure that has a rather large white gem on her forehead, while sporting a slender figure and fair skin.

This individual is giving dirty looks to the figure right of her. “Couldn’t you have at least worn a proper clothing for the meeting!”

The said individual was muscular man with some oddly shaped body parts was not ashamed of his lack of clothing. Having only underpants, open Hawaii shirt and sunglasses.

He grinned and pushed his glasses up with his finger as he responded proudly. “It would take away from my super persona, birdie”.

The last and smallest person in the room was green skinned, had blond triangular hair and a green gem on her forehead.

And yes, she was also the loudest person in the room. “Can you clods shut your mouthpieces off, so I can finally start this meeting proper!?”

Usopp, Pearl and Franky stared at her silently with straight faces.

“Thank you.” Said Peridot as she rose from his chair to stand on the table. She then levitated her tablet to herself and started looking at its screen and then gleefully declared. “I, Peridot declare the firstest meeting of the Straw Hats R&D Team… open!”

Usopp leaned towards Pearl and put his hand on his mouth to whisper. “Is she aware that, ‘firstest’ isn’t a word?” Only for Pearl to respond by shaking her head.

Peridot started walking on the table as she was looking at her tablet. “First things first, we are going to do a name call.”

Pearl gave out a long sigh. “Surely we are all aware by now who are part of this team”.

The tiny gem dropped her shoulders as she frowned from Pearl’s statement. “Fine, we’ll skip it.” She then proceeded take a deep breath and continue her pacing back and forth. “Next subject on the list is the suggestion list made by our crew mates.”

Franky looked exited behind his sunglasses as she made that statement. “Well, we better start looking into them.”

“The first one in the list is…” The little one dragged her words until she started looking at her tablet sideways. “Whatever this is.”

Usopp motioned for her to give it to him, but the moment he saw what was tablet, his face froze. “I know what this is.”

Pearl and Franky made curious faces at Usopp while Peridot adopted frown. “Then tell us already.”

Usopp still holding a frozen deadpan face. “It’s Luffy, inside a robot.”

The moment Peridot heard it, she stumbled with her feet and fell of the table on her back. “THAT’S A ROBOT?!?!?”

Pearl frowned. “Somehow I am not surprised about the quality of the drawing nor the suggestion.”

Franky on the other hand leaned into his chair, put his hand onto his chin while looking up to the ceiling thoughtfully. “A robot huh? That sound good for a first project for this team.”

Pearl turned towards Franky swiftly. “No, we are not doing a robot for the captain. Why would he even need a robot, he is practically a biological machine of destruction himself!”

“Also, I don’t believe Luffy could control a robot.” Usopp added finally not having his deadpan face, but a worried one.

“Maybe we could create a robot suit for somebody else then.” Franky wondered.

“Good suggestion.” Came from under the table. She then proceeded to climb back onto the table. “We’ll keep it mind.” She straightened her up after climbing top of the table. “Next on the suggestion list!” The gem then looked at Usopp and the tablet in his hands.

Usopp wondered for a moment before he realized he had her table still in his hands. “Oh, here you go.” He said as he gave it back.

She then continued to walk on the table as she read of the next suggestion off the tablet. “From Sanji there is a request to have better traps around the food supply so the Captain doesn’t cause us to starve…”

Franky raised his eye brow. “Is that really an issue we have to deal with?”

From the other side of the table a groan could be heard. “Sadly, yes. If Sanji wasn’t so active about stopping Luffy from eating food, we would have starved by now… Several times over.”

From the right side of the liar Pearl made a smug looking face. “Well perhaps you should try giant mouse traps.”

“Did it already.” Usopp deadpanned.

The fair lady got flustered upon hearing the statement. “You are actually treating the captain like he is some vermin that eats your food stock?!”

“Yes.”

Peridot interrupted the discussion by stomping the table. “All right, understood!” She then frowned. “This might actually be a serious issue we need to deal with, but how do we stop the captain?”

Cyborg stood up, then put his right foot on the table and posed. “We create SUPER guard robots to defend the food supply!”

The little gem on the table looked up to the Franky with stars in her eyes. “Yes, that’s a great idea cyborg!”

Usopp and Pearl looked at each other moment and then looked at the other pair. “No.”

“Why not!?”

Pearl then proceed to bring out holographic imagery of Luffy and bunch of robots duking it out in the ship. However, the longer it went, the more apparent it became what happens to the ship surrounding the fight.

Peridot proceeded to sit on the table in silence and Franky did the same with the chair.

Usopp gave a long sigh. “You know guys, we have to be realistic, we can’t do absurd ideas like that, we need to make the idea so that it doesn’t damage the ship or waste resources.

Pearl started rubbing her forehead “Sometimes I wish we had seastone, it would be quite simple to make the fridge and the food storage handles just be made of seastone”

“A bit frivolous usage of the material, isn’t it?” Usopp questioned.

“Quite.”

Franky looked at Usopp and took his sunglasses off “What exactly made the giant mouse trap effective?”

“Oh, well it caught Luffy often.” He remarked.

“Wouldn’t it have caused a lot of noise?” Peridot asked.

Usopp started rubbing his eyes. “Yeah, woke me up several times.”

Pearl started wondering. “Wouldn’t Luffy get out of the trap with his strength anyways?”

Peridot looked at Pearl. “Yeah, he got stuck between two buildings and still got out of it. There is no way a simple trap could hold him!”

Franky sees Usopp getting into thought, then after staring him for a good 5 seconds, suddenly Usopp jerks up from his chair and yells. “That’s it!”

Others looked shocked by his sudden movement. “What is?!”

That moment Usopp got a smug grin, closed his eyes and deepened his voice. “Wouldn’t you want to know?” The others watched him silence, while Usopp had his eyes still got eyes closed. “Usopp-sama can you tell the solution to the problem!”

Moment later Usopp found it be a bad idea to have closed his eyes or act so smug about knowing something. Because he opened his eyes to Peridot yelling loudly and the first thing he saw was her jumping towards him.

Next thing he knew was pain in his chest as Peridot tackled him, then he felt like lost his footing and now was in the air, proceeding to hit his back into the chair only to for the chair to follow the momentum of falling all the way to the ground.

The end result being that Peridot and Usopp are groaning on the ground while the latter muttering a word like it was his last breath. “S-Sanji.”

While Pearl rushed to help them get back up, Franky started thinking about what Usopp just said. Gears in his heads were turning as he was thinking about how Sanji relates to their issue.

Meanwhile Peridot is already climbing back on to the table to get to the tablet she dropped. Pearl on the other hand was helping Usopp up. At that moment, it came to Franky like a lightning from the sky and he was instantly moving onto his signature pose. “SUUUUUUPER!”

In surprise Peridot fell off while climbing back up to table and Pearl dropped Usopp along with his chair. Franky then took his sunglasses from the table and put them on. “You guys want to hear my super answer?”

Pearl was staring at Franky. “Answer to what?”

He pointed his finger to them in exaggerated fashion. “The answer why the mousetrap was effective even though Luffy could get out, because frankly my dear birdie, the answer is elementary.”

Now Peridot had risen up onto the table in faster fashion so she could listen to the Franky’s revelation, while a painful whisper could be heard from the ground. “S-Stealing m-my idea…”

Franky started wagging his finger in front of them. “It isn’t the trap itself that stopped Luffy, but what happened after the trap had activated.” Franky now sported a shit eating grin. “What the activation of the trap truly did, was a loud noise that could be heard all the way to the sleeping quarters. Meaning that not only could Usopp hear it, but Sanji as well.”

Pearl opened her mouth, but no sound would come out. Peridot however seemed to get the same lightning strike as Franky. “That means that we don’t need to create trap good enough for to trap our captain, but to alert the Sanji!”

“O-oi!” Usopp rose back from the floor like a reborn phoenix. “That was my idea.”

Peridot pointed from the top of the table at Usopp. “Well it was your own fault for delaying the answer, you clod!”

Usopp pointed back at her. “I don’t want hear any of that from someone that thinks ‘Firstest’ is actually a word!”

At this point Pearl intervened between them. Looking at Usopp who was still pointing at Peridot. “Hold on you two, there is no need to keep arguing anymore…” She stopped speaking as she saw Usopp’s face adopt look of confusion.

Then she turned to Peridot’s direction and saw her palms and knees on the table while Peridot herself was looking shocked and depressed at the same time. “I-I can’t b-believe I the Straw Hats Inventor a-and the leader of the Crystal Gems c-could make such a mistake i-in a official meeting of R&D t-team…”

However, Pearl paused on the statement “leader of the Crystal Gems”. Only one thing proceeded to leave out of her mouth at that moment. “Whaaa?”

At this point Franky decided to grab Peridot into his armpit. “I think it’s safe to save at this point that everybody could use a super break now.” Franky then gave thumbs up. “So, I will see you all back here in about 15 minutes or so.” Then he left the building while carrying Peridot out with him.

Leaving stunned Usopp and Pearl behind.