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ms-existentialcrisis · 3 months

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Summary: There's no hiding from his gaze, the flame in them hotter than the sun but good god Steve would let it burn him, he'd let it devour him and he would happily perish in Bucky's heat, Steve's ashes a fuel to the inferno blazing in him.

Rating/tags: EXPLICIT/MDNI {oral sex/blow job, anal sex, angst, denial, internalised homophobia, religious thoughts(?)}

Masterlist

The time reads 1:20 AM, Steve's only guiding light the moon rays that slipped through the thin curtains hung by the small window.

He sat hunched on the table, a mess of charcoal and papers spread in front of him. Steve should be asleep already, the cold seeping through his thin clothing but he stubbornly fought against the drowsiness that crept at him.

Bucky wasn't home yet.

He'd left earlier for a party, around 8 PM. Bucky had invited him, like always, but he'd declined, knowing he'd sit by the side once again to watch his pal dance and idle along the throng of other party goers, especially the girls that'd automatically gravitate towards him.

Bucky had that charm to him; a flash of grin and a flutter of his eyes, the way he'd casually find himself to your side, a flirty comment out of his lips that you can't help but return.

The ease he has in spinning around girls, the grace to his movements once he pulls you to the dance floor. Bucky would have you under the spot light, hands on your waist and a boyish smirk on his face.

Girls are just simply naturally drawn to him, with his easy confidence. Steve's just as helpless as the rest of them.

'Like a moth to a flame,' Steve thinks, a little bitter, sitting in near dark and waiting for his friend to come home.

He continues to draw, losing himself to the sound of pencil against paper, fingers light as he brought his ideas to life with lines and shapes. Steve almost misses the door to their tiny apartment opening.

Almost.

"What are you doing still up?" Bucky asks, a slight slur to his tone as he shuts door behind him. His suits slightly crumpled, a few buttons loose and his tie hung around his neck.

"'was worried you ended up in some alley or some shit," Steve shrugged casually, as if his ass and back wasn't sore with how long he's been sitting hunched and waiting for him to come home. "It's late and I know you're going to drink."

At the face of his scrutiny, Bucky snorts. He staggers from where he'd been leaning on the door frame, towards Steve with a sloppy grin on his face.

"Steeeve," Bucky croons. "Who am I? You? I don't end up in alleyways Steve, that's your schtick."

Steve lets himself be pulled into a hug, face twisting as the scent of smoke and alcohol hits him. He feels even more tiny in Bucky's arms, unable to resist the urge to sink into his warmth.

"Jerk," Steve grunts, no heat behind it and willingly going along with Bucky as he starts to spin them around in a mockery of a dance.

"Punk," Bucky says back, sounding just as fond. His grip tightens around Steve's shoulder, crushing him into his body. From the layers of his clothing, Steve could hear the beat of his heart as he rested his head on Bucky's chest and wrapped his arms around him.

They stay like that, interwined and slightly spinning, feet quiet and body swaying. Steve thinks that he wouldn't mind doing this for the rest of his short life, tangled with Bucky and dancing with him at 1 AM in the fucking morning on a music only they could hear.

Once Steve's nose has finally gotten used to the stink of alcohol, Bucky pulls back. Steve's breath gets caught in his throat, Bucky a painting come to life mere inches away from him with his hair all mussed up, a smirk curving his plush lips and the moonlight shining down on his icy blue eyes.

Steve's fingers dig into the back of Bucky's coat.

"What got you looking like that, doll?" Bucky drawls, breath hot on Steve's face.

Steve flinches back like he's been struck, both at the nickname and the fact that he got caught looking at his best friend like he's one of his girls, just waiting to be asked for a dance.

"Don't you 'doll' me," Steve snaps at him, trying and failing to push down the sudden torrent of emotions in his chest. "Thought you've had enough girls for tonight, Buck."

"No girls tonight," Bucky tells him. Confusion rises inside Steve. Bucky continues, "Danced with 'em but didn't take them out. No girls tonight."

Steve snorts. That'd explain the lack of lipstick on Bucky or the expensive feminine perfume that seemed to cling to him. Steve wonders if his own scent dripped from Bucky as well, with how they tended to share the same breath and space. He wonders if people could smell Steve on him, their scent together from the bed and blanket they both slept in.

"That's kind of hard to believe, Buck, with your reputation to effortlessly find yourself under some girls skirt," Steve says, trying to ignore the sudden tightness to his chest.

"You don't believe me? But Steeve, there really was no girl tonight," Bucky whines at him like the little shit he was. Then, he leans forward, lips ghosting Steve's ear and causing his heart to rise, he whispers, "Just you, Stevie, just you."

'abort, abort, abort,' Steve's mind screams. He tries, and fails, to untangle himself from Bucky's grasp.

"Your drunk, Buck," Steve grits out and his resistance meets Bucky's stubbornly clingy hold. He feels himself be crushed into Bucky and god, Steve wonders if Bucky could feel how hard his heart beats against his rib cage, if Bucky could feel what he does to Steve and his insides.

"'am not drunk," Bucky drunkly says and he sways them both, more aggressive and half dragging Steve with him. They dance and Steve can't resist Bucky's pull even though this whole situation was venturing into dangerous water.

"Yes you are. You're drunk, Bucky, because you party hard, you stink like alcohol and you'll probably vomit soon if you don't stop spinnin' us so much."

At that, Bucky stops. Maybe it's the bite in Steve's words, the not-so hidden bitterness to it or maybe it's whatever expression he's wearing when Bucky finally takes a look at him but it makes Bucky pause, forehead crinkling and eyes curling.

Then he shifts his grip, an arm snaking around Steve's waist while the other comes to hold his left hand.

Bucky drags Steve snug into him, chest to chest, face inches away from each other. Their fingers interwine, legs slotted with each other and Steve inhales every exhale from Bucky, strong with alcohol and warm with life.

The way he's eyeing Steve, in his arms and poised to take the dance floor, as if he's one of his girls in a nice dress, painted lips in a demure smile, just waiting to be swept off her feet.

But it's different.

Because Bucky doesn't look at his girls like he wants to devour them alive. He takes them to dances, to heaven if they're lucky enough, but the way Steve is under his gaze; like he wants to savour him bite by bite, blood like the finest wine, pieces of Steve tucked into the spaces between his ribcage for him to keep warm, to keep safe.

It's wrong. Steve shouldn't look like that to Bucky. Steve's not one of his girls. He doesn't wear dresses, nor does he have his hair up in curls and buns. Steve doesn't have a fucking pussy or plump tits. He can't give Bucky the life he wants, the family and children that is expected from a man like Bucky.

Someone like Steve, a sickly man who only knows how to get into trouble, he's not worthy of Bucky.

"Bucky, stop," Steve says but it's weak, a pathetic attempt of resistance knowing he wants this too.

All this time, Bucky's the only one who has seen him for him. Of all the people in the world he could have, he chose Steve, took him in and cradled him like he's the most precious thing in the world.

Bucky leans forward and when their lips meet, there are no fireworks or blazing flames like the dirty books between lovers claimed. Instead, there's is bitter defeat and the sweet taste of Bucky under the alcohol and smoke, tongue velvelt soft as it pried Steve's lips open.

His whimper is truth revealed and the way he returns Bucky's kiss is a surrender itself.

'Forbidden fruits taste the sweetest,' Steve thinks as Bucky fucking dips him, tongue determined to get to know his mouth, grip tight on Steve like he's afraid this was a dream and Steve was going to disappear if he loosens his hold.

Bucky drags him, legs tangling and moving till Steve's back hits the edge of the table, art supplies rattling at the force. He grunts at the impact but there's no time to dwell on the bruise that would surely appear because Bucky doesn't stop, just kisses Steve like his life depended on it, hands starting to wander.

Steve gasps once they part, lips bitten and a string of saliva connecting them. Its lewd and the heat pooling in Steve's stomach feels like the physical branding of a sin, deplorable but so so fucking good.

"Steve," Bucky groans, nosing at his cheeks before dipping lower to mouth at the column of his neck. 'wrong!' Steve's mind screams but his body says otherwise, yielding blood and shivers when Bucky sinks his teeth into his flesh, sucking bruises and kissing his way down to Steve's chest.

"Bucky wait-" Steve tries, god did he fucking try because Bucky's drunk and he doesn't, can't, want Steve that way. It's simply not allowed; it's wrong, in the eyes of society and god, this growing want between them shouldn't nourish and Steve's trying.

Bucky just got him confused with one of his girls, with his skinny frame and boney fingers, bird-like in it's fragility. He's drunk and he's confused and Steve tried, he really did but when Bucky slot's a thigh between his legs, his protests dies in a blaze of lust and want.

Steve is just a man after all.

'this is wrong,' Steve thinks before his thoughts are swallowed by Bucky feverish hot desperation.

'who gives a shit,' a part of him says. That part that's been aching, growing each day and threatening to eat him whole if Steve didn't eat Bucky first.

There are no eyes of man or god here, just you and your beloved.

Steve throws his head back in a choked moan, Bucky a ravenous beast looming over him, kissing and biting a trail of blood and marks down Steve's body. He feels on fire, molten in his veins instead of blood, erection straining against its confinements.

Bucky rips into his shirt like it's nothing, Steve gaping at the fabric hanging loose on his frame before he slaps a hand on his mouth when Bucky gets down on his knees, tugging at his pants with a desperation befitting of a man who hasn't drank water for days.

"God, I've wanted this for so long," Bucky groans, nuzzling at his crotch and looking so sinful, so fucking reverent as he stared at Steve from the under of his lashes.

Steve whimpers in his hand, the other tangling into Bucky's hair, making him groan like he's the one getting his dick mouthed at. His settles his hands on Steve's hips, peppering kisses to whatever skin he could reach; Steve's thighs, his navel, his wrist and pulse point.

It almost kills him when Bucky pulls his boxers down by his teeth, eyes on Steve and almost black with lust, a pool of want that threatened to unravel them both.

Steve jerks at the first touch of Bucky's lips and there's no urgency when he takes him into his mouth, gentle and smooth, savouring the way Steve feels and tastes in his mouth.

Bucky sucks, licking at the underside of Steve's length and swallowing at the head of it. He's groaning, voice like electricity on Steve dick, like he's also getting off on sucking his best friend at 1 AM in the morning.

Steve's helpless but to thrust into his mouth, warm and wet and he barely suppresses a loud moan, still coherent enough to remember that they have neighbours, people who could hear and discover and condemn them both-

The idea of getting caught, of them doing this in the midst of crowds that would have them locked away and beaten, sends a bolt of pleasure down his spine. The risk, the thrill, knowing that this is wrong but loving it anyways.

Steve tries to be a better man. Always the righteous one.

He pulls Bucky off of him, frame wracked by shivers, and says with a voice raspy with arousal, "We need to stop."

Bucky only stares at him, lips sore and eyes dazed. He fights against Steve's grip, gaze purposely meeting his head on as he sucks Steve's cock head into his mouth, kissing the weeping tip before nuzzling his balls with his cheek.

Steve feels like someone scooped his insides and replaced it with lava, heart a kicking rabbit behind the bars of his ribs.

It's an answer itself but Bucky must see something on his face, that he pulls back and replaces his mouth with his hand instead. "Tell me to stop and I'll stop."

He sounds destroyed, voice rough and dark. Bucky looks at him with a worshippers eyes, lips caught between sharp teeth and looking like the epitome of want.

Lord, Steve tries to be good. Always the righteous one but in the end, he is as vulnerable as any man to the temptation of heaven.

Bucky takes his silence as an answer, a smile playing on his lips and this time, when he sinks his heat down into Steve's cock, he goes at it like Steve is his last meal.

Steve bows over him, teeth cutting into his lip and choking down noises of pleasure. He's mindless and he is nothing but his dick in Bucky's mouth, white hot pleasure turning his bones to jelly.

He comes with a barely stifled shout, eyes shut tight and hair sticking to his forehead with sweat. Bucky is all grace when he gets up, pushing and pinning Steve with his weight so he could lick into his mouth, share the taste of Steve still linger on his taste buds.

He eats the noises, laps at the stinging cut on Steve's lip and locks their body together.

"Want you Steve, want you so bad," Bucky pants in between kisses, desperate and hard against Steve.

"Been wanting you so long but just never had the courage to have you," A confession, shared in the dark. "But I don't care anymore. You're always lookin at me like you want to be the one whose hand I'll take when were in a party and i can't fucking take it anymore."

Steve pulls back, mouth hanging loose. Bucky's bathe in silvers and blue, shadows at the corners of his face and the only light behind Steve, from the moon who remains to be the brightest in the night sky.

There's no hiding from his gaze, the flame in them hotter than the sun but good god Steve would let it burn him, he'd let it devour him and he would happily perish in Bucky's heat, Steve's ashes a fuel to the inferno blazing in him.

Steve is gently laid down on his back, art supplies moved to the side to make space for him. Bucky's a looming presence between his legs and it's shameful, how good he looks with Steve's thighs around his waist. His top had been chucked off, pants half way off and his own hard cock leaving a wet patch on his boxers.

Steve sucks on the finger shoved into his mouth, mewling around it as Bucky leaves more marks on his skin, eyes flutter close at the taste of him.

There's no urgency when Bucky takes him apart, fingers opening him slow as if they have all the time in the world, bigger than Steve's and making him fuller than his own fingers. It shouldn't feel good but Steve's denials died in Bucky's fire, lust clouding his mind and all he can do is writhe and whimper, holding on for his dear life as Bucky unravels him with his kisses and love.

"Fuckin' love you," Bucky moans when he finally enters him, Steve feeling like he could feel him at the back of his throat. "Love you so so much Stevie, you hav' no idea how long 'been wanting this."

"Why now?" Steve cries softly, weeping from more than just a stretch, at the ache of his chest like his heart would break his ribcage so it could present itself to Bucky.

"Dunno, just thought 'why not now?' Saw you lookin' all sad and lonely and thought, my best guy shouldn't look like that. My Steve shouldn't look like I'm not going to come home to him," Bucky murmurs, rocking their bodies together and drowning themselves with love and lust.

"'Love you too," Steve says back and something loosens in his chest, tears in his eyes as Bucky starts thrusting for real, pulling out only to slam back into him deep, taking a piece of Steve with each snap of his hips.

It felt like a dream and Steve was just sort of expecting to wake up any moment now, to find Bucky asleep next to him and so close yet so fucking far. He thinks that maybe he's the one who's drunk, desperate to drown himself away from the emotions that makes his body cold and hot, that burning jealousy he refused to acknowledge whenever he sees Bucky with a girl hanging off his arm, lipstick smeared on his skin and a dopey grin on his face.

That clogging thought of 'i can do better if you give me a chance' that he oh so tries to bury, tries to kill but always fails to do so. It haunted Steve, the same way this whole ordeal haunted him with fear that he's just imagining this but another thrust from Bucky that nails him straight to his prostate makes all his doubts away, Bucky a solid warm weight on top of him.

Bucky's groaning, eyes shut tight and holding onto Steve. He turns his head, catching Steve's lips in a sloppy kiss, drool down their chins and eyes dazed with want.

When they tumble at the edge together, its with their names out of each others mouth, holding each other so tight as if they're terrified that the world would rip them apart, that they'd be taken out of this space of love they made for themselves.

Fin~

#bucky barnes #marvel #steve rogers #stucky #steve rogers x bucky barnes #pre serum stucky #pre serum steve #bucky x steve #steve x bucky #gay

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gctchell · 2 months

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The Drowning (and Descension) of Lilith. Drown the witch.

I've been debating what bits and bobs of Lilith's lore to include here, but I think I'm going to include this tidbit and tweak it to fit;

The official lore (roughly summarized):

Sometime after Lilith fled from Eden, Adam cried to God that he is lonely and wants her back. God, hearing Adam, sends three angels (Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof) to retrieve Lilith and return her to the Garden. They approach Lilith and are disgusted to find she is surrounded by hordes of demonic spawn of her creation, but regardless, they demand that she return to Adam. Lilith refuses, and they threaten to drown her if she refuses the command, but Lilith still refuses.

My rework & headcanon, including the moment of when it was she ascended ( or rather, "descended" ) from her mortal coil, with addition of where she obtained her more demonic form:

Adam, despite having been attacked by Lilith, complained to the Angels that he wanted her back - he was lonely and desired her, still. His "pleading" was heard, considered, and agreed to.

The night has freshly fallen, a time of day that Lilith has long since favored, naturally slipping into its circadian rhythm since the departure from Eden. The Higher Angels send Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof to retrieve Lilith when Lucifer is not around and demand that she return to Adam, return to Eden. Of course, Lilith refuses. They attempt to convince her, relentless in their efforts, and again she refuses.

Asmodeus and Beelzebub are very little at this stage, gently clinging to their mother's legs and watching these strange Angels pursue Lilith, confused and intimidated by their holy presence. The three Angels take notice of them and feel immediate revulsion at their existence. It was passed down the holy grapevine that Lilith had begun to spin unnatural life into existence, but only few of of the higher ranks had actually spotted them. A "fox" that was discolored and failed in solidification, and a chimeric rooster with faces in his fiery hair. What cursed creatures. How could Lilith be so cruel to breathe life into these unfortunate souls? Did they even have souls?

Noting their revolt, Lilith slipped into a protective energy. She firmly told the Angels to take their leave, she was not going back to Eden.

"Refuse us again and we will drown you and your spawn, Lilith. Please," they pleaded with her, their threat setting into Lilith's chest like a boulder as they spoke with tones that were remorseful and gentle. "return to Eden. Despite what you have done, we will forgive you - Adam will forgive you. Return to whence you came. We will cleanse you."

Their voices were so gentle, and yet their words turned Lilith's blood to ice. Fear flamed in her belly. 'Drown' was a new word, but like all words, the definition unfolded in her mind like all language had done. 'Drown'? The Angels would drown her? Her actions were worth her being treated violently? And it would not only be her that suffered, but her children. They would 'drown' her children? Make all three of them perish? Angels would do this to them, to the newborns?

No. No. How could she ever feel safe with them, knowing they would do this? They would, wouldn't they? If they allowed Adam to force his will upon her, 'drowning' is not out of their reach, is it?

No.

Lilith was terrified, but resolved. She guarded her children, hair wrapping around them. "I will not."

There was something that looked like remorse in their faces, or maybe it was an imitation, it's barely given any thought which it might be. Lilith had no time for a reaction, the ground left her and her children were left screeching as she was torn from their arms. Gasping was the wrong thing to do in the moment, her lungs were filled with water as the cold surface of the Red Sea was broken in with her plunge. There was a great grip on her neck pushing her beneath the waves, and golden chains fabricating from the depths to lock her ankles, and drag her deep. Asmodeus and Beelzebub, trapped in Senoy and Sansenoy's hold, reached desperately for their mother as she faded quickly from sight. Their cries were faint through the rush of bubbles in Lilith's ears. She saw blue fire consume Senoy, and flecks of gold as Beelzebub bit into Sansenoy's arm, and the three Angels depart with the young demons before her vision blurred.

Desperately, Lilith would summon her wings and pull against the chains that dragged her into the deep, digging deep into her ankles and sizzling the flesh. This is not where she would die, this was not going to be where she ended - and her children would not suffer such a frightening fate. Lilith refused, and the unholy power that had been blooming inside of her since she drew first blood in Eden agreed.

Lilith's lungs filled with water and depleted all lasting oxygen, settling deep into her body. The warmth that had been declining since her departure faded, and her heartbeat slowed itself until it nearly stopped. The purple of her eyes bled into the sclera, and serpentine pupils were embraced by beaming silver. The surrounding water pulsed in time with her unnatural heartbeat - it responded to Lilith.

She pulled at her chains that began to splinter and spike, and eventually shatter as she yanked her bleeding, gored ankles free. With great speed, she escaped to the surface to find her children.

The three Angels had been intercepted by a bewildered Lucifer, who in vain tried to retrieve the poor distressed children held captive in a merciless hold, and tried to find out the whereabouts of Lilith. The Angels advised that he return to his duties, there was no need to concern himself with these matters - they were acting on Heaven's behalf, as Beelzebub and Asmodeus screamed in their grip.

It was a nasty surprise to find long horns suddenly surging between the three of them, scattering them to the sides as the mother swept in and reclaimed her children, bleeding from her crown from newly grown horns. She took to Lucifer's side, cursing the three from the Red Sea. She made it firmly known that she was not returning to Eden, and she would not be drowned by a sea that she called home, and neither would her children.

The Angels could see that there had been a shift in Lilith; she had been changing slowly since Eden, slowly at first once she deviated from her set path and her repeated defiance of Adam's will, and it worsened after she drank of his blood in such a vicious attack. To them, something dark and unknown had taken hold of her spirit and soul, and now bloomed to fruition. Beastly horns upon her head and unseemly eyes. She was a woman claimed by the wilds of the roughened world, and that was alarming. To slay her on the spot is what they should have done, but Sera called them back to Heaven, and they let the small, shaken family be.

Lilith was now too soiled to return to the Garden, irredeemable, and became disregarded as the Mother of Humanity. She would be replaced by Eve, who would not be made from the same dust as Adam, but taken from his rib.

This night is what would solidify Lilith's decision to encourage Eve to eat the fruit of knowledge. A woman trapped in that Garden with such a man and untrustworthy keepers was dangerous, they had to at least give her a shot. They had to try.

#[ lilith; headcanons. ]#(( mother of demons reaching evolution by sheer willpower and maternal rage ))

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obsessive-clown · 2 years

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Hellooo, about your oneshot "Hi, Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?",

I need to know more. I need to know so much more about this man. He has me on a tight grip because of you bestie. What's with the hallucinations, and the scars, what does he want from us, at what time does he get out from work, where does he live, would he like to hang out with us someday and get a drink?/j

Please feed us father. We (I) am starving , i will perish if I don't find the answers to my questions, hell I'll even hop on your finger, do a spin, play dead , do so many tricks like a silly little rat just to get your attention please pelase please pleas i am begging plea

Kisses to you bestie mwahmwah mwah keep up with the hard work and amazing writing, you are doing so well and Im so proud of you 💞

— you know who I am :ghost:

Of course! I'm quite happy someone wanted to ask about (Skulker) Albert! And I of course know who you are, my little 👻.

Hallucinations: The hallucinations, mentioned in the supposed to be oneshot writing actually have a bigger meaning! At first, the reader, or you in this case, would assume that these hallucinations would be from your time spent in Albert's basement. While yes, you would be correct, there is another factor that plays in. The reader pushes down thoughts and trauma, as anybody would, this specific trauma being that Albert has in fact broken into their/your house. He'd spent hours waiting and hiding in the house, only to be caught in the kitchen, at an early time, about 2/3 a.m. The reader never gets to see his face at this time, but they are able to identify that it's Albert by his voice and the way he firmly grabbed them to prevent them from screaming. Think of him as a wild Joe Goldberg. Scars: While you, the reader have your fair share of scars I'm sure, or have been lucky to avoid any, Albert has quite a few. These, are his scars and their locations and a small detail about them <3! * Cleft Palette scar (Albert was born with this and his parents quickly had it corrected, the closest reference would be Joaquin Pheonix's scar in the movie Walk The Line!). * Broken nose scar (While difficult to explain, Albert has had his share of scuffles and accidents. His broken nose is from his time in enlistment and 'talks' with his father in both his childhood and teenage years). * Small burn on the left side of his jawline (Not nearly as bad as you can imagine, this small scar is minor and was caused by an accident while cooking as a child, it's most likely that he hit himself on a hot pan!). * Fingertip scars (As these scars aren't too difficult to spot, they take up half of his finger. From his Distal to his Medial Phalanx, scars from a wood carving hobby he has along with accidents at work are on his fingers. He tends to have a thimble on his thumb, index finger, middle and ring finger to keep bandages in place!). * Dog bite scar on his lower lip (This was a painful and awful accident that happened to him as a child, this was caused by an aggressive neighbor's dog, once again his parents had it quickly stitched up. The scar is even on the inside of his lower lip. This explains why he's rather quiet when anyone but you talk to him, the scar tissue on the inside of his mouth rubs against his teeth and it's pretty uncomfortable). * Chin scar (He faceplanted as a child, it was a simple biking accident, poor boy faceplanted, even more stitches for him). * Knuckle scars (These scars are on both hands, located on each Metacarpophalangeal joint. These scars come from hitting concrete when frustrated or seeing you talk with other people and not him he also has fallen and scraped his hands numerous times). * Shoulder scar (Unfortunately, Albert was stabbed during his time in the Military, his battle-buddy had left him behind, allowing the enemy to stab him in the shoulder. Luckily, he didn't lose all function in his right arm). * Bullet wound scar (At least it avoided his hip! This scar, also caused by his enlistment, is on his lower left thigh. It causes him to have the very slightest of a limp).

What he wants: All he wants is you. You sparked his interest ages ago anyways, why would he let you go, why would he let something he loves get away? Work Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You've remembered these by heart now, you had to anyways.

Hang out? Goodness yes! He would love to take you out to a nice little cafe. Anything for his little tiger. Then he'll take you out more, you will love him, you'll never leave each other, he'll kill anyone who talks to you in a way he doesn't like, you'll marry each other and live happily ever after.

#the black phone #the grabber #albert shaw #the grabber x reader #the grabber x you #oj answers #skulker grabber #skulker albert

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zilodak · 2 years

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Man, i am falling in love with your Vanessa desing the more i see it😭🤚

But honestly, just saw the post talking about your au and Gregory in general, plus the tags to it. When i first read the part of Vanessa being Jeremy's niece a while back i honestly loved that

On one of my own aus, i make so that Vanessa has that type of uncle and niece relationship cuz tbh, i totally see it and i love it (wont say which one bc i know some folks who follow me sees your posts and i aint giving spoilers to any of them)

And seeing someone actually do it makes me...sorta happy tbh. And the reason for her to even be involved in all of this, makes me even more interested :>

And i really like the cyborg idea for Gregory, it feels like an in-between option for the war of "he's a robot! No he's a human!" I like it XD

Plus, i feel like at this point in time it would be a thing, especially with how the animatronics feel so advanced ya know? Not too far ahead from the current future, but not to close either, it's fun and makes sense

I do wonder how it'll go from here tho, especially in whether you will choose between one of the endings from the game with your own spin, or make a completely new one. All in all, I'd love to see more of it!

I'm a sucker for found family coming together from trying to find the mystery of their past/lost family. It has a nice bittersweet tone to it, and it seems to lead that way here (ofc if it isn't, i'll still enjoy the au bc the idea itself is really cool)

Oh and i saw the part of Elisabeth, love it, its nice ro have more of her bc your Elizabeth has become my all time favourite😭💞💞.

And I love all the afton siblings tbh, and Michael and Evan have been my favourite sibling duo, but you somehow made me love Lizzy and Mike so much more-

Anyways, i kinda rambled here- i just really liked the au and wanted to share my thoughts 😅

AHHH THANK YOUUU!!

As for my Help Wanted and Security Breach au, its actually a continuation of my fnaf au in general.

After Michael's suicide with Henry and the burning of the Pizzeria, Jeremy leaves as a broken man now in the possession of Glamrock Freddy and the Glamrock blueprints Michael left behind. The trauma and the survivor's guilt has made him barely the person he used to be, and he sells the Glamrocks to a man. He doesn't want anything to do with them. Cut to Vanessa though, and he loves her very much, she brings light to his life once again and all seems to be well.

He's approached by Fazbears entertainment years later. They tell him, that as a survivor of those events, they want him to test their "educational" game (Help Wanted). Ignoring the fact that the game is a complete mockery of what he's been through, he focuses more on the anomaly he spots.

He disappears not long after and this is when Vanessa comes in. The officers put his investigation on hold and Vanessa take matter in her own hands. She finds out about the game, collects the tapes, gets possessed by Malhare etc...

This is where the au falls apart a bit because anything after that moment is just little snippets of lore and scenes.

Malhare's role is very important though. To the whole thing.

Malhare isn't William. He's this projection of Will, born out of spite and that's meant to store his memories. His only purpose is to help resurrect Burntrap (aka the actual William) which he will then perish if successful. He's not supposed to be sentient, or make his own choices. He can only calculate outcomes and steer the person or thing he's possessing into doing things that will be beneficial for his goal. Malhare, just like any virus, spreads. There's no one version of him. However Vanessa's version of Malhare somehow manages to become sentient. Sentient enough that he realizes that he will die if he succeeds in his mission. Sentient enough that he has emotions. And sentient enough that he can make his own decisions. So when the time comes and Gregory enters the bottom of the Pizzaplex, he has a change of heart because in typically William or William adjacent fashion, he's scared of death. So he saves Gregory from the other versions of Malhare and corrupted systems that roam the Pizzaplex.

Now I should also preface that Vanessa and Malhare share their body, but anytime Malhare takes front, her eyes glow purple and she develops incredible agility and more physical strength (this is Vanny). Malhare can't front for long though.

Anyways, Vanny saves Gregory and they flee the Pizzaplex with Glamrock Freddy. They go to Luis' apartment for shelter for the day and Vanessa finally opens up about her situation. Now Vanessa is a wanted woman with a bounty on her hear, Malhare is cast away from his own kind, Luis can't return bc he helped Vanessa, everybody is after Gregory and Freddy is tagging along to protect Gregory.

Next step is to find Jeremy.

#asks #some more lore #suicide mention

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miss-andromeda · 1 year

Text

All's Fair in Love and Science

Chapter 4: 'Cause When You're Fifteen

Mikey's desire for acceptance in the human world comes to light when he meets a new friend in the martial arts superstar Chris Bradford, but Bradford's friendship is not what it seems.

First off, thank you as always to @tinkabelle19 for her help and endless encouragement with this chapter 💜 And the next announcement; I just saw how much of a response this has been getting, and all I can say is thank you so much! I love writing this story and I'm so happy you seem to enjoy it. So thank you so much again! 💜💜

It was a dark and clear night, and a lone figure was kneeling obediently. It was clear that it was a man (even if he had a helmet that covered his face), and in deep thought, he clasped his hands together. A soldier was waiting behind him, holding a sword - ready to strike.

It was just a training exercise - to test the man's intuition as to when the soldier would attack.

The man now stood from his spot on the floor, hands still clasped together. The soldier took this as the perfect time to strike, stepping quietly so as not to cause a distraction - plus, the man couldn't easily discern where it was going to be. It raised the sword, about to attack, when-

The man was ready. He grabbed the sword and stepping forward once, he managed to both shake off the soldier and kick him into the wall. He regarded his success for a second before a second soldier caught his attention when it jumped, raising another sword in its wake. But the man dodged with ease. A third jumped onto his back and held what looked like a kunai to his neck, but the man didn't look phased at all. He casually threw the soldier over his shoulder and pinned it, then promptly destroyed it within seconds.

The second soldier had his sword implanted in the ground - which was a perfect opportunity for him to meet his doom. The man delivered a spinning kick to his head, making him fall to the ground with ease.

Whoever this guy was, he was both highly skilled and very dangerous.

He surveyed the damage that he caused when he was interrupted by the sound of a sliding door. Another man walked out and. unlike his associate, he wasn't wearing a helmet. He was an Afro-Latino man with an afro hairstyle, wearing a simple white shirt, a black vest, jeans, and black fingerless gloves. And it was clear that with the scowl on his face, he didn't like his associate.

Behind both of them stood Shredder, facing the window and the city.

"Master Shredder." The helmeted man kneeled immediately at the sight of his mentor. It didn't take a genius to know that he was dedicated to Shredder - possibly even his right-hand man. It made sense considering his fighting style.

Shredder didn't acknowledge him directly, instead choosing a more cold method of speaking as he faced the window still - like he was imagining his old rival burning before him. That was true revenge for both Yoshi stealing Shen from him and for her death. "I trust that my greatest pupil has been using that time wisely."

Still kneeling, the helmeted man dipped his head down as a sign of true respect. "I have assembled an army of ninjas. The Foot Clan awaits your orders."

It also didn't take a genius to know exactly what Shredder needed an army of ninjas for. But because the man didn't know, Shredder explained it to him in detail. "Excellent. Because I've discovered an old enemy in New York. Hamato Yoshi."

The Afro-Latino man tossed a picture in front of the kneeling one - one of Yoshi and Saki. Yoshi looked relaxed and pleasant, while Saki looked much more serious; his arms were crossed and he looked like he was giving the cameraperson a death glare.

The helmeted man knew about the history between the two men - well, Shredder's twisted version of it. "Hamato Yoshi? Alive?" He always perceived that Yoshi had perished long ago, so to hear that Shredder was able to get revenge was both surprising and a goal that he was willing to die for. Anything Shredder demanded of him, he did.

Shredder indirectly answered his protégé's question, filling in the rest of the blanks for him. "And he is training ninjas of his own." What Shredder didn't know what that Splinter's "army" were four mutant turtles he was raising as his sons. "Finally, I will finish what I started all those years ago. I want them all wiped out." He stared at the window with even more disdain. If Splinter had an army, he was getting one too.

Anything to destroy his enemy.

"I will not fail you, master." The helmeted man swore, which Shredder (for the most part) disregarded.

"I know, but to be certain, you will work alongside Xever."

Xever walked in front of the kneeling man as he effortlessly spun a butterfly knife, grinning evilly. It was obvious to anyone that he preferred being in control and proving just how much better he was than his associate.

But the helmeted man was not about to take it lying down - even if it was from his mentor. "I don't need any help." He asserted as he stood up, then pointed a finger at Xever. "Especially from this street rat." Low blow, but judging by Xever's response, this sort of insulting was commonplace between them.

"Are you sure, rich boy?"

The helmeted man then got in Xever's face - if he didn't block his face, it would likely be much more intimidating. "Anytime you want to test me-"

Thankfully, Shredder knew when to break up the argument. "I am not interested in your petty rivalry!" He demanded, only turning his head a few degrees to the left. But that was all he needed to look intimidating. When he turned around fully to address them, his right eye was purely red. "Xever is familiar with the dark underbelly of this city." He then turned back around, glaring distastefully at the city again. "You will work together." It was clear that he was not going to tolerate any type of argument - and if his underlings did just that, they would lose more than just the chance to appease Shredder and find Splinter's army.

The helmeted man finally backed down, willing to put Shredder's word above anything. "Don't worry, Master Shredder. We will find Splinter and his disciples-" He then crushed his fist to prove his last point. "-and destroy them."

With a little snicker from Xever, the man turned around and stormed away, already willing to set off on their mission. When a Foot soldier was starting to rise back up, he stomped on it - making it immediately fall back to the ground.

And judging by the look in his eye (if it could be interpreted), he meant the promise that he told Shredder.

In stark contrast to Shredder's lair, the boys' night was clear and crisp - and all the better for it.

They were currently running across the rooftops (and crossing buildings as they did) with ease. It was nice to let loose for a night - with the insanity of the Kraang (and their latest foe in Spider Bytez), the boys needed a break. Maybe after their parkour session, they could go to April's apartment (if her aunt wasn't home), or maybe Andi's (if her parents weren't home either) and spend some time with them.

And speaking of Donnie, he smiled to himself as he got an idea. Running faster, he leaped off the roof, yelling "Check it out!" along with a full-blown cheer as he effortlessly flipped onto the adjacent building, before giving a confident smile to the other boys - silently daring them to see if they could do better.

Mikey, wanting to join in the fun (and taking Donnie's challenge to heart), kicked off the water tower on the building and did a single flip off the building, then somersaulted onto his feet and gave a proud smile to his older brother - who applauded in earnest. He knew a moment that deserved appreciation when he saw one. Seeing Leo and Raph skid to a halt at the edge of the building, Mikey decided to taunt them. "Top that, turtle chumps!" Donnie then held his hands out to the two as a further challenge, like 'Are you gonna be a chicken or a real ninja?'

Leo's grin told them exactly what they needed to know. "All right, guys." He backed up from the edge and when he got far enough, he smirked at Raph. "Check this out." He then had a quick running start, doing effortless handsprings across the roof of the first building - before clearing the gap between the two with a more impressive flip and finishing off the show with an aerial cartwheel - easily the most impressive out of the group thus far.

When Raph broke the awestruck air Leo had created with "cute, kiddies" from the other side of the building, the boys' attention diverted to him - Mikey the most eager about what his brother was about to do.

Raph cracked both sides of his neck and then took a running start off the roof - but instead of doing anything aerial like the other boys had done, Raph charged at them like a bull and long-jumped across the gap - essentially slamming into his brothers with the full force of a speeding train.

Typical Raph to not only go against the status quo but also cause some minute damage on top of it.

The red-masked turtle chuckled to himself as his brothers groaned and began to shake off the bluntness as Donnie pointed out the obvious flaw in Raph's execution - or at least, what made his execution stand out from his brothers even more. "Hey, what was that? You didn't do any flips!"

"Oops." Raph only gave the genius a knowing grin, before his smirk turned into a look of confusion when they heard a weird sound - a crashing sound of some kind.

At that, Leo sprung into action, immediately hiding behind another water tower in preparation - unsheathing his katanas for emergencies. This made the others withdraw their weapons as well. Maybe there was a new villain for them to face - a villainous monster that the four heroes were going to face for the first time? Splinter taught them to always be prepared for a battle, and who knew? Maybe they were about to face the most dangerous foe yet!

They then leaped into action, ready to face their foe, and-

They were met with a little 'meow.'

It was a black and white kitten, with a red collar and an ID tag on her neck.

Well then.

Everyone seemed to have a different reaction; Leo was shocked (and frankly, a bit embarrassed) as he lowered his katanas, Donnie shot an annoyed look at Leo, Raph decided to rub salt in the wound with "Don't give up, Leo. You might actually win this fight," and Mikey, once he put his nunchucks away, started beaming at the little furball. He was a bit of an animal enthusiast, but it was rare that he saw an animal in the light. Sure, he had seen people walking their dogs on the sidewalk or kids bringing home plastic bags with their new pet fish inside, but a cat was a little rarer.

So naturally, he pushed his brothers out of the way to get a better look. "Aww! It's a little kitty!" He scooped up the cat in his hands (seriously, how big were their hands? Unless the cat was that small), then started to tickle its tummy, before going to read her tag to see her name and owner's information. "And it's name is-"

"Mittens!"

Not being the sharpest knife in the drawer, Mikey assumed that was the cat that spoke. "Good guess." He casually commented, then remembered that cats weren't able to actually...speak. Looking to his left, he saw a man looking out his window and yelling the cat's name again. "Mittens?" Oh, he was just looking for his pet. Made sense.

"I think that's the owner," Donnie commented nonchalantly, before him, Raph and Leo started freaking out as Mikey started frantically running towards the man in the window.

"What are you doing?" Donnie.

"Whoa, hey!" Leo.

"Mikey, wait!" Raph.

Mikey gave the three of them a slightly disgruntled look. "What? I'm returning Mittens to her owner." What was their problem? He wasn't doing anything inherently stupid, he was just going to give the guy his cat back! Nothing wrong with that; if anything, that was something cool to do!

"Are you an idiot?" Raph then realized, ironically, how idiotic that question was. "Wait, let me rephrase that. You're an idiot!"

Donnie piggybacked off that immediately. "You can't show yourself to a human!"

Mikey didn't necessarily understand the logic behind that. "Why not?"

So Donnie had to spell it out for him. "Because they'll freak the heck out, that's why!"

"No, they won't. I'm not so scary!" Underneath the surface, Mikey was entirely right; he was incredibly easygoing and relaxed. A little bit of a goofball, sure, but really in touch with emotion and able to sense if someone was having an off day almost immediately. And when it came to something like returning a pet to their owner, Mikey saw nothing wrong in helping a bro (or lady) out - regardless of the whole turtle appearance thing.

But Raph popped his bubble immediately with a slightly pointed look. "You're an ugly green mutant armed with ninja weapons." Okay, the ugly thing wasn't true, but other than that, Raph did have a good point. When the man saw a turtle with nunchucks delivering his cat to him, he was going to think something was up.

Which, to be fair, who wouldn't think something was up?

But Mikey still wasn't convinced. "Look, this guy's gonna see that I'm just a regular, cat-loving dude like him. Next thing you know, we'll be best buds! This is gonna be awesome!" Was he overcompensating? A little bit. Was he assuming that something was going to happen without looking at the facts first? Yes.

But that didn't mean he wasn't going to try.

Without waiting for any response from his brothers, Mikey jumped onto the man's fire escape, Mittens carefully in his hands. He interrupted the man's yelling for his cat by jumping in front of him and greeting him politely. "Hi! Here's your-"

Instead of being thankful that Mikey had his cat safe and sound, the man started to panic. "Agh! Ugly green mutant freak!" Just like Raph had predicted was going to happen.

Now scared himself, Mikey clung to Mittens and pulled him to his shoulder. "But I got your cat!" Surely, the man would see that Mikey was just trying to be nice in returning his cat with a quick explanation-

"Help! He's got my cat!"

Or not.

Mikey tried to explain himself with a frantic explanation. "Dude, chill! I'm just-" But that attempt was thwarted again when Mittens, responding to her owner's cries for help, jumped onto Mikey's head and started clawing at him. While the man closed the window (likely to call the police,) Mikey tried to get Mittens off of him - but because his vision was blurred (the cat claws definitely weren't doing him any favors,) he ended up falling off the fire escape.

All while Leo, Raph, and Donnie watched from the rooftop - and Raph offered a facepalm to hammer in the utter humiliation of the situation.

They jumped from the roof to meet up with Mikey, who was now slumped against a graffiti-covered wall, holding his head. When the latter stood up, he offered a pitying look to his older brothers. "Someone wanna help me with this?" He hunched over (much like the Hunchback of Notre Dame), showing Mittens furiously clawing at his shell - still angry with him for scaring her owner as badly as Mikey did.

Leo, Raph, and Donnie all gave the same response: "No." In a way, Mikey made his bed by trying to return the cat (and making the man freak out by blowing his cover) - now he needed to lie in it.

With a dejected look, Mikey picked up Mittens and tossed her away (which was a potential risk for animal cruelty), making a crash sound occur. Hopefully, she was okay. He then let out a sigh as he hunched over again. Sure, he was expecting the guy to freak out, but he hated the fact that he couldn't at least give the cat back to him - and he hated that the first thing the guy said was that he was an "ugly green mutant freak." Really? A freak?

Raph only doubled down on that sentiment as he crossed his arms and leaned against an adjacent wall. "Face it. Humans will never understand you." He then decided to add another instance of Raph being rude, but at the same time, saying what was on his mind. "Heck, we don't even understand you."

Mikey only sighed again as he looked down. "Yeah..." Maybe Raph was right. He supposed Andi and April were just exceptions when it came to having human friends - or maybe it was just because they saved April's life and Donnie helped in treating Andi's concussion. It didn't make them any less cool in his eyes, but still...it bothered him to think like that.

But then he noticed something - and his dejected face melted away immediately. "But I bet that guy would!" He was looking at a red billboard and in yellow letters, the words 'St. Mark's Civic Auditorium - July 7-July 14 - Chris Bradford - Martial Arts Expo - One Week Only.' It was accompanied by a man with a near-mullet and sideburns, which connected to a thick, but neatly kept beard. He was punching at the letters as if to add a bit of flair to the announcement. It wasn't just any man though, it was-

"Chris Bradford. The martial arts superstar. With a chain of dojos across the country. He's your soulmate?" Leo pointed out. He said soulmate more sarcastically - if Mikey could barely talk to a normal person like the man with the cat without being called a freak and a mutant, what made him think that he could become friends with a celebrity like Chris Bradford?

But there was logic here. Both Mikey and Chris Bradford were trained in ninjutsu, and if Bradford was as cool as he seemed in all of the commercials and events he was a part of, then he and Mikey would likely get along well.

And that was never more obvious when Mikey swung his nunchucks and posed like Bradford was in the picture; his left hand holding his nunchuck (while it was tucked under his arm), and his right hand held out in a fist. "We've got so much in common!"

But Donnie broke his bubble almost immediately. "What if you stop standing like that?"

Mikey lost the pose at that question. "We'll have a little less in common-" But then his happiness came back. "-but still a lot! And look!" He turned around quickly, pointing at the information on the billboard. If the billboard was right, he was still in the city! "He's in town for a martial arts expo! Maybe he'll show me his secret kata, the Death Dragon! And I'll show him my secret kata, the Secret Kata!"

"Catchy," Donnie remarked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. It was true, the name was not the most original as opposed to Bradford's menacing-sounding one.

"Check it out!" Mikey then performed a series of moves - ranging from quick punches to a high kick to a...window-washing move? He then waved his hand up and down (to mimic the movement of a sound wave,) and then made a goofy face as he twisted his arm 180 degrees after smacking his fist with his open hand.

It was...incredibly unorthodox and had nothing to do with anything. But it was also very Mikey.

Once done, he put his hand to the side of his mouth, like he was whispering to his brothers. "But don't tell anyone you saw that."

Leo spoke the trio's thoughts with a sarcastic "No problem."

Having had enough of what seemed like a ridiculous assumption from Mikey, Raph shook his head and stepped forward. "Face it, Mikey. Chris Bradford is the last person on Earth that would be friends with you. Well, tied for last, with every single person on Earth."

During this little rant, however, the boys didn't notice the group of ninjas circling them on the building above them - the same ninjas that attacked the man during his training.

And then they ambushed them, climbing down from ropes, jumping from the building - the boys were surrounded.

"Ninjas? In New York?" Donnie rhetorically asked, surveying the scene. "Other than us?'

These ninjas were absolutely nothing like the Kraang, that was for sure. They wore black robes that hid their faces with red headbands, and all of them were holding different weapons. What was similar when compared to the Kraang, though...was that these ninjas looked identical. The only trait that separated them was the types of weapons they were holding. Unlike the Kraang who just used plasma guns, these ninjas used weapons like knives, chains, and spears...they definitely looked more intimidating than the Kraang, that was for sure.

Like always, the boys unsheathed their weapons and got prepared to fight.

It was only broken when a soldier threw a ninja star at Donnie's bo and made it implant, making the turtle growl and the four of them jump into battle.

Raph approached them the same way that he approached the Kraang soldiers - kicking them away (and even kicking one into a group of soldiers.) But he started to lose his ground; one kicked him in the back of the leg, then hit him directly in the plastron, then kicked him into a pile of garbage bags. It was obvious that these guys fought much differently than the Kraang - more dangerously.

And much like when they fought the Kraang the first time, they were going to need to adapt.

Thankfully, he avoided getting attacked further when Mikey delivered a hard kick to the soldier's side, then took out another with a strike from the nunchucks. Now that Raph was taken care of, he ran to the left, going to attack more soldiers. Leo and Donnie were doing the same (though eventually started incorporating blocking in as well - the two of them had caught on to these new soldiers' fighting style.)

Eventually, Leo and Raph were shell-to-shell, with the former having a huge smile on his face - which Raph noticed and called him out for with a "Why are you so happy?" Leo simply replied, "It's just nice to finally be fighting people! Instead of robots, or aliens, or weed monsters."

To each their own. But it did make Leo feel more like a ninja instead of a teenager that knew how to fight - and who happened to use his skills to fight the most bizarre enemies known to man.

But speaking of fighting people, the same man from Shredder's dojo descended from seemingly the roof, wearing his helmet and staring down the boys with white irises. Judging by the look in his eye, he was not about to play around.

He started with Leo, punching him square in the face and making him slam against the adjacent building's wall. Raph was about to attack (after shaking off the surprising amount of force this guy struck Leo), but he was met with a spinning roundhouse kick that sent him tumbling to the ground and landing on his side. He seemed to have avoided Donnie at first but grabbed his bo staff from under him and used it to swing him into the wall.

Now that left Mikey.

Using his kusarigama, Mikey swung it around his body and was about to strike this mystery attacker. But the latter grabbed the hilt and pulled it to him, so Mikey was dragged towards him so he could hit him up close and personal. But before he could strike, the mystery attacker noticed who he was fighting against. It wasn't human, that was for sure. "What are you?" He growled through the mask.

But Mikey didn't answer, he kicked himself off the attacked and backflipped, before yanking the chain away from the attacker - mostly to distract him, allowing Leo to break the chain and let Donnie and Raph get back up and join them.

The soldiers then joined the helmeted man, about to send another volley of attacks against the boys when-

The flashing lights and sirens of police cars appeared.

The helmeted man glared at the boys like 'We'll finish this later,' then gestured for the still-standing soldiers to follow him as he retreated.

And almost immediately, the boys did the same and ran into the night before any officers could catch a glimpse of them. They definitely didn't want a repeat of what happened with Vic, and at the same time, Leo needed to report what happened to Splinter - that was what happened when you were the eldest son.

And Mikey wanted to find a way to talk to Chris Bradford and ask for his hand...in friendship.

Now that they were back in the lair, Leo brought Splinter into the kitchen and began explaining the night's events - starting with Mikey trying (and failing) to return Mittens to her owner, getting attacked, and getting the "brilliant" idea to seek out a celebrity as a friend. And then he went into explaining the army of soldiers that ambushed them, especially the helmeted man that was their leader.

"Their leader was crazy good! By which I mean he was good and...seemed a little crazy." Leo rested his hands on the table, still a bit in disbelief over the night's events. "Besides, he had all these guys with him, it-it wasn't a fair fight."

Splinter was stroking his beard in acknowledgment as Leo recalled the night, but stopped at the ending - it didn't exactly make sense to him. "What do you mean, 'fair fight?'"

A bit taken aback by the question, Leo tried to explain himself as best as he could. "A...fair fight. You know, where either side could win?"

"So a fair fight is a fight you could lose."

Oh. Splinter had a point there.

But, then again, when did he not have a point?

"Well, yes, but...well, what I...what I mean is..."

"You don't want to assure your victory."

Leo was in his trap now. And that wasn't more obvious when Leo continued to stammer, frantically looking for an answer. "No, I do, but-"

Before Leo could have an answer, though, Splinter swung his son off his feet with the staff, then pinned Leo on the floor with his staff over his shoulders. "Was that fair?"

Still a bit in shock, Leo let out a "No!" with a hint of anger (and confusion) over Splinter's sudden movements.

"Did I win?"

Oh. More proving a point. And Leo knew that as he let out a defeated "I see your point..."

Satisfied with his answer, Splinter gave him one final pearl of wisdom. "Seek victory, not fairness." He then removed the staff from Leo's shoulders and let him acknowledge what he said with a resigned, "Hai, sensei." Satisfied again, Splinter offered a paw to his eldest son to help him up off the floor - before leaving him to mull over that exchange.

Meanwhile, everyone else was in the living room; Donnie was creating a blueprint on his computer, Andi and April were reading (Andi her copy of War and Peace, April one of Raph's comics), Raph was doing push-ups (and using his sais as support, which in itself was a marvel), and Mikey was reading a magazine with Bradford's face plastered all over it - only fueling his idolizing of this guy. "Whoa, rad! Aw, man, I wish me and Chris Bradford were friends!" He then literally "ate up" everything on the magazine (he nibbled at the tops of the pages,) and laughed in pure glee as he kicked his feet in the air.

Amused by the scene, April and Andi shared a look as the latter bookmarked her page and the former put the comic down. "Mikey, you already have human friends." April reminded him with a little chuckle, making Andi nod in agreement. "Yeah, us!"

Mikey shook his head and went back to the magazines. "Guys, you don't count. We saved your life, April, and Donnie helped you when you got that...head thingy, Andi. By default, you guys kinda have to like us." He clearly didn't think that the girls were friends with them because they found their company charming, but because it was a pity thing - which was the farthest thing from the truth, admittedly, but Mikey wasn't about to be easily convinced.

Which was only modeled when Raph remarked, in the middle of a push-up, "Too bad there's no place for freaks to meet people where no one can see how hideous they are." This made Mikey huff and go back to his magazine, reading angrily.

"Actually, Raph, there is," Andi remarked with a hint of sass in her voice, then glanced at Donnie with a little smile, who was still in the middle of using his laptop. "Hey, Don? Can I borrow your laptop?" She asked hopefully, closing her book and setting it next to her.

As he tried not to freak out at her using a nickname with him, Donnie grinned and closed the blueprint he was working on - showing his desktop of a Marie Curie quote: 'Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.' "S-Sure! Just a sec..." Donnie beamed to himself as he walked the laptop over to her, setting it in her lap delicately. She was about to open a tab and type in the URL of the website, but noticed the quote as his background, making her eyes light up and a smile grace her face. "Marie Curie?" She asked, meeting his eyes with genuine delight.

Donnie tried not to lose his composure (seriously, how could she look that cute?) as he smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, yeah...she's my favorite scientist."

Andi couldn't help but to beam at him. Not only did she like Donnie even more at that moment, she always loved talking about her favorite scientist - well, next to Einstein. "Really? Why's that? Aside from her work regarding radioactivity, her contributions to both-"

"Uh, shortcake? The plan?" Raph cut her off before she could go off on a tangent and completely forget why she needed the laptop in the first place.

"Right." Andi shook off her excitement and typed in the URL - while also shooting a pointed look at Raph at the nickname. "Check it out, Mikey. It's a place called MySpot; it's a site where you can make friends with anybody online." She quickly made a profile for Mikey; his name, age, where he lived (though she kept it vague and just said Manhattan, New York), and general hobbies. She was so engrossed in the process that she didn't notice two things; Donnie admiring her concentrated face, and Raph, April, and Mikey giving each other knowing smiles at how blatant he was being in terms of his crush on her.

Mikey finally glanced back at the computer and grinned at the website. "Sweet!" He practically pushed Andi aside (making her fall into April's side) and typed in Bradford's name - hoping to see if the guy had a profile on here. He probably did, to be fair; being a celebrity meant having an official profile on social media for things like announcements, promotions, and just a general presence altogether.

Of course, Mikey didn't know that or care about that, though. He just wanted to contact Bradford and ask to be friends.

And when he found Bradford's profile, he gasped and let out a soft drawn-out 'oh.' "Chris Bradford's on here! He'll be my first friend!" He found the 'send a friend request' button on the site and eagerly pressed it, then stared longingly at the screen, waiting for a response.

Andi and Donnie gave Mikey, then each other a look like 'You know the guy isn't gonna respond, right?' while April was gentle with him in explaining that same sentiment. "Mikey, people don't always respond immed-"

Beep.

Either it was some type of automated response or Bradford just had a ton of free time on his hands.

"-but sometimes they do." April finished her sentence, mostly in surprise over how quickly Bradford responded to Mikey's request.

Almost like...he was expecting it. Weird.

Mikey tittered excitedly as his baby blue eyes went wide with glee. "No way!" He cheered, gripping the top of the laptop. "Chris Bradford has accepted my friendship! I have a friend!" He grabbed Andi and hugged her tight, making April giggle from her best friend's look of 'Please let me go.' "Thanks, Andi!" He then tossed the laptop over his shoulders and jumped from the couch, making Donnie let out a strangled gasp and ask, "Where are you going?" before following up with "Hey!" as he dove for the computer, making sure it didn't get broken thanks to Mikey's carelessness.

"To hang out with my friend, Chris Bradford." Mikey bragged, putting a strong emphasis on the word 'friend,' mostly to rub in the fact that he had a new and awesome friend like Bradford while the other guys...didn't. He then started to walk off but stopped again when April started talking.

"This guy is famous. He probably has thousands of 'friends.'" She explained to him, putting air quotations around 'friends.'

Andi nodded again. "Yeah. Chances are, he's not gonna recognize you based on your MySpot profile. He probably just assumes you're another fan of his." She admitted, trying not to burst his bubble - but at the same time, she didn't want him doing something stupid and humiliating himself in the process.

"But, once I tell him we're friends, though, he'll know!" Mikey cheered, now getting even more excited. He didn't want his glee over having a new friend destroyed because of the prospect that Andi was right and Bradford wasn't going to recognize him. How was he supposed to know if he didn't try? "And besides, guess who's friend number 5,286?"

Andi sighed and shook her head; she knew that trying to get it through Mikey's head was going to be pointless in the end. So she decided to indulge him in the question. "You?"

"Daniel Ramirez! And I'm right next to him!" Mikey cheered; so he was friend number 5,287. Oh, that made it so much better. Surely, Bradford would recognize the latest friend he accepted, right?

Before Andi could comment, Mikey turned around and jumped over the turnstiles. "Later!"

"Well, this ought to be interesting," April commented once Mikey was out of earshot.

Andi nodded a bit as she picked up her book again. "That's probably the best word I would use to describe this whole thing." She agreed, thumbing the pages to get back to where she left off.

"Should we go after him?" Donnie asked, glancing at the girls with a hint of worry in his tone. As much of a pain as Mikey was, he never wanted him to have him get himself in something dangerous - something he couldn't get himself out of. And, like Andi, he didn't want Mikey doing something and ending up feeling like a simpleton in the process.

Raph felt the same way - but he wasn't about to show it so clearly. "Eh, he's got to learn somehow." He suggested, then went back to his push-ups without much hesitation. He could see exactly what was going to happen - Bradford was going to see that Mikey was a mutant turtle, freak out, and ruin Mikey's entire day (or maybe even year, considering how excited the boy was). And while he absolutely did not want that happening, the more realistic side of him could see that entire scene being played out.

Considering Mikey was already long gone by now (and to be fair, Raph did have a point), the trio silently agreed and went back to what they were doing before.

Instead of going to read, however, Andi smiled a bit at Donnie (who went back to working on the blueprint.) "So how come Marie Curie is your favorite scientist? You strike me as a Szilard-type of guy." She remarked, making Donnie chuckle to himself and rub his neck again, a warm blush creeping back onto his cheeks.

"You think that? Well, I do like Szilard, don't get me wrong; I love his work on the Manhattan Project. But Curie..." He smiled more softly this time. "Well, I wholeheartedly respect her work regarding radioactivity, and anyone that discovers a new element, much less two, is well worth respecting as I said before. Plus, two Nobel Prizes for chemistry and physics - that's just remarkable to me."

Andi beamed at him, her eyes lighting up again. "And there's so much significance to that! The first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the only person in history to win two Nobels for two different fields of science - she's such an inspiration to me. And remember, all during a time when women were seen as inferior to men and when it was so much harder for women to be in positions of power like that..." She started to talk even faster, on the verge of rambling, but Donnie didn't seem to care.

He was too busy admiring her again.

Their conversation went on - discussing scientific trivia and the history surrounding the facts - and they both became so invested in this incredibly nerdy conversation that neither of them noticed Raph and April looking at each other with another set of knowing smiles.

Raph's look said, 'I've never seen Donnie get like this. He must really be into her, huh?'

And April was saying, 'Oh, totally. And I think Andi likes him too...even if she doesn't notice it. She has a habit of that.'

They both made a mental note to themselves; these two needed to get together and soon because it was clear they were practically perfect for each other.

It was 9:00 pm, which meant Chris locking up the dojo for the night. Another day of promoting the dojo to potential pupils in the hopes that they would enroll and learn the art of ninjutsu - while also signing autographs, taking pictures, and giving "inspirational" advice to said students about believing in yourself and saying such garbage like "with enough hard work, you can accomplish anything!"

Please, spare him.

He started to walk back home, remembering a shortcut through a back alley. Sure, a little shady, but he was a master ninja, trained under a great sensei. He'd be fine.

Walking through the alley, he caught a glimpse of a pair of...green? feet, with three toes. Definitely not human.

Behind him, Mikey let out an excited (but muffled) giggle as he put his fists to his chin. He was hyped to see Chris for the first time, the guy was like his idol! And now he was within 3 feet of him! How much more awesome could things get?

Hearing that, Chris turned around - his face a mix of confusion and a hint of disgust. What was this...creature, and why was he following him? Maybe it was just a weird fan in a...mutant costume. Or maybe not? He had seen weirder things in New York, that was for sure.

But now that Mikey had gotten his attention, he decided to introduce himself - without losing his mind in front of such an awesome dude like Chris Bradford. "What up? Hey! I'm, uh-" Before Mikey could introduce himself though, Chris attacked - throwing ninja stars at him left and right. He yelped in panic, turning around for a second to see what was thrown. "I'm being attacked by Chris Bradford!" He exclaimed, but the panic quickly turned to an odd sense of being starstruck as another ninja star came flying directly at his face. "This is so cool!"

But the starstruck feeling wore off quickly as Chris threw more ninja stars at him. He dodged quickly, trying to explain himself - and quickly, before he got his head taken off. "No, wait! We're-whoa! We're friends!"

At that last word, Chris lowered the ninja star and stared at him, now more confused than ever. "What?" What did this kid mean? They had never met in real life, and he had never even heard of this kid before. Was he that delusional of a fan? Was this a case where he needed to call the police because of a creepy stalker?

"We're online friends! You accepted me, remember?"

Oh, that explained it then.

But at the same time, Chris befriended fans all the time on the Internet. He was not about to recognize some fan just because he accepted their request on MySpot.

Wait...this kid...wasn't he the kid that had Hamato as his last name on his profile?

He was, wasn't he?

Suddenly, a plan came to him - along with a little smirk. "Oh, of course!" He then held a hand out, willing to tolerate a handshake - just once. "Nice to meet you." Mikey, being the starstruck teenager he was, eagerly grabbed Chris' hand and shook it - fairly violently, too. Chris, slightly frightened (seriously, this kid felt like a major stalker,) pulled his hand away and inspected it to make sure it wasn't broken. When it wasn't, he turned his shoulder towards his dojo - appearing as friendly as he possibly could. "Won't you come in?"

The next night, the four were on a rooftop - Leo and Donnie were watching over the edge like hawks, the former clearly more disgruntled than the latter. Leo was still bothered by the ambush days before, and they were watching from the spot where the miniature army must have been waiting. As Leo put it, "They must have been watching us from here. The perfect place to stage an ambush."

And it was true - but Donnie couldn't shake one detail out of his mind. "It wasn't very fair, was it?"

Fair. Splinter's speech still echoed in Leo's mind. "It's not about fairness." He chastised Donnie, an oddly biting tone in his voice. "It's about victory." He was still a bit disgruntled about what Splinter said - but Leo being Leo, repeated what Splinter said nearly verbatim. Even if he didn't understand (or frankly, agree,) Splinter was still their sensei at the end of the day - and Leo put him on a pedestal more than anyone else.

Except maybe Captain Ryan.

Donnie, not understanding where the harshness came from, held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, I'm sorry."

Meanwhile, Mikey was practically talking Raph's ear off about how amazing Chris was - and how cool he was to let Mikey into the dojo. "And then, and then Chris Bradford put on his hakama! Man, that guy can rock a hakama!"

Raph rested his hand on his head in an unorthodox facepalm, entirely fed up with the fact that Mikey just would not shut up about Chris. "Yeah? Maybe he'll wear it again when he takes you to the prom." Was he happy that Mikey found someone that actually seemed to accept his company? Yeah, of course, he was. But did it warrant Mikey not shutting up for five minutes about this guy? No, not at all.

When Mikey began talking about another "amazing" thing that Chris did, Raph was done - at this point, he was willing to throw Mikey off the rooftop if he didn't shut up. "Agh, enough! You've been going on about this for three hours!"

Mikey decided to brag just a little bit more to Raph about the awesomeness that was Chris Bradford; leaning in close, he gave his older brother a boastful smirk. "Ooh, someone sounds jealous!" He teased, then stood himself back up. "You just can't admit that you were the r-word!" When Raph gave him a confused look, Mikey decided to clarify for him. "'Rong?'"

In this case, his mouth worked before his brain. And that was only proven when Leo and Donnie facepalmed at Mikey's incorrect spelling.

Deciding not to correct Mikey with the spelling (he would figure it out in time,) Raph scoffed to himself - more insulted with Mikey assuming that he was wrong about Chris wanting to be his friend. "I'm not wrong."

Now Mikey was more offended than anything. Raph always thought he knew everything, didn't he? Just because he was the older brother...out of three...well, his point still stood! "Oh, yeah? If you don't want to talk about my friend-" He then effortlessly leaped into the air, landing right between Donnie and Leo. "I've got two other brothers who do!"

But neither of them looked necessarily interested in talking about Chris either.

"Actually, I'd rather talk about anything else." Leo admitted, a subtle emphasis on 'anything else.' He was just like Raph in terms of wanting Mikey to just stop talking about this guy - he was just less overt about his feelings, unlike Raph.

Still not over Mikey's blatant misspelling from before, Donnie pointed out, "Like the concept of the silent 'w', perhaps?" Only he would suggest a language concept as a shift in topic.

Now Mikey was even more upset than before. So none of his brothers wanted to talk about his new friend and indulge him in his excitement? That was fine by him. "Fine, I'll go talk to a guy who likes to talk about Chris Bradford more than anyone else-" He then leaned in slightly, putting a hand near his mouth to amplify his voice. "-Chris Bradford."

He was completely oblivious to the implications that his final sentence gave as he practically dove off the roof, making Donnie and Leo exchange a look of both confusion and a bit of concern.

Mikey really cared about this guy, didn't he?

It was just a shame that they felt the same way as Raph did - Mikey's optimism was going to end up kicking him in the shell.

Meanwhile, Chris was training in the dojo - his strikes against the poor punching bag were vicious, almost like he had some level of pent-up anger. It was likely due to having to put up with Mikey the night before - the kid was annoying, that was for sure. But it would only be for a little bit longer. Until he had him right where he wanted him.

And then, when the time was right-

"There's my best buddy in the whole world!"

Oh no.

Groaning to himself, Chris plastered a smile on his face. It would all be worth it - in the end. "Michelangelo! Mikey! The big M! How you doin', buddy?" All he had to do was humor him, and make him feel like he was welcome.

The problem was, Mikey didn't really make it easy.

"I am stupendous, Chris!" Mikey beamed at him, eager to see the guy again. He always loved spending time with new people, especially if they were as awesome as the man, the myth, the legend: Chris Bradford. And because he was that awesome, Mikey wanted to give him an awesome nickname like Chris had given him! "Chrissy B!" Actually...that one was not good compared to Chris' name for him. "I gotta work on your nickname."

And then it came to him. "Ooh, Rad-Brad!" Was it cheesy? Very. But did Mikey really care? Not really, no. He just wanted to give Chris an awesome name - after all, that was what friends did for each other, right? April called Andi - well, Andi, all the time, and it seemed to have been such a normal thing for her that he and his brothers called her that too.

But Chris didn't seem to be that phased by it. "You know, I was just thinking how we're such close friends, and yet...I know so little about you." Part 1 of the plan. Granted, his profile kind of gave him away by listing Hamato, but Chris just wanted to ensure that Mikey was really part of the same clan that Yoshi was part of.

Mikey, still as optimistic as ever, focused more on the idea that Chris considered them friends. "You think we're close friends?" He asked, his eyes lighting up. It was kind of cute, in a way. But it only emphasized the point that Leo, Donnie, and Raph were trying to hammer into his thick head - that his innocence was going to be his downfall, especially with someone that was still kind of a stranger.

"Of course!" Chris basically confirmed Mikey's biggest hopes right there - he just hoped Mikey didn't notice the fact that he was looking away when he said that. But considering that dopey smile was still on his face, he assumed he was still in the clear. "Now tell me everything about you."

"Well, where should I start?" Mikey asked himself, going into deep thought. What did he talk about? His family? No, too early for that. How much he loved pizza? Hmm, that wasn't a bad idea. Wait - he got the perfect idea.

"Ooh! I named all six of my toes!" Perfect idea. He even held up his foot to Chris to demonstrate - three toes on full display. He didn't even notice the fact that his feet smelled exactly like the sewer did.

"How interesting-" Chris was about to say, but recoiled in disgust and nearly gagged at the smell when Mikey shoved his foot directly into his face. If he didn't need this kid for the information he was harvesting about Yoshi, he would've been kicked directly into the wall.

And that feeling only intensified when Mikey started listing off the names of his grotesque toes. "There's Stubby, and Joey Nails-"

Eventually, the ridiculousness of it all was too much - now Chris just wanted to get to the point as he pushed Mikey's foot aside. "Oh, that's, that's, that's fascinating. But I was thinking more about your impressive ninjutsu skills. You must have an incredible sensei." That was the one thing that Chris could say positively about this kid. Yes, he was annoying as ever and yes, he likely had the attention span of a breadcrumb. But he had to admit; the kid could fight.

Not as well as him, of course, but still well.

"Oh, he is the best!" Mikey gushed, but then proved Chris' point entirely by doing another handstand - and shoving his other foot directly into the poor guy's face. "Now meet the stinky triplets!"

Okay, now Chris wanted to throw this kid out of a window.

"Okay!" He played off his visceral disgust and frustration with a lighthearted chuckle as he pushed Mikey's other foot away. "Who's hungry?" Maybe food would shut the kid up - and maybe it would loosen him up, so to speak - it'd make it easier for him to spill about Yoshi or the other turtles that Mikey was fighting alongside that night in the alley. His brothers, Chris assumed.

At that suggestion, Mikey's eyes lit up. "Me! I want pizza!" He then thought of a question that would really determine whether Chris was a real friend or not, the million-dollar question that would decide everything:

"Do you like pizza?"

Chris let out a half-hearted "yeah, sure," complete with a little eye roll, but Mikey didn't notice it. The confirmation that Chris liked, in his opinion, the best food that ever existed, was proof enough for him. "Whoa..." He said in awe as he bolted towards Chris, engulfing him in a hug. "We have so much in common!"

When Mikey wasn't looking, Chris stared at the far wall in the dojo - a hint of fear on his face.

What did he just get himself into by saying that?

"Isn't this great?"

Now they were on the catwalk of a billboard - facing what looked like an apocalyptic nightmare. The smoke and carbon dioxide from the small apartment chimneys in the distance were so overpowering that they ended up entirely covering the sky, giving it an ugly yellow-brown tint. Cars below them were blaring their alarms or honking horns. And to top it off, the smell of gas and smoke mixing was indescribable.

Like before, if Chris didn't need this kid for the information that he had, he would've considered pushing him off the billboard.

And probably would have.

Mikey however, was having the time of his life. Pizza and an awesome dude like Chris Bradford to hang out with? What more could he have asked for? "Blue skies, pizza, couple of dudes just hangin'." He even finished it off with a little nudge to Chris' shoulder - pizza slice still in his hand.

When he saw a rat scamper off the billboard, Chris recoiled in disgust. "Yeah, great..." This was the exact opposite of the kind of upbringing he had - wealthy, well-off, and the farthest thing from common sewer rats. But he supposed this was what the kid was used to, if this is what he ended up picking.

But since he was in what seemed like a comfort zone, why not take another chance at getting information? "Since we've gotten so close, maybe you could tell me a little more about your brothers?"

His latest mistake though? Asking Mikey when his mouth was stuffed with pepperoni pizza.

"Oh, yeah. Oh, they're good dudes. But sometimes, I don't think they respect me." He admitted. Which was entirely valid, but it was hard to take him seriously when:

A: He was talking with his mouth full.

And B: He took the biggest bite of pizza that he could muster right after saying that.

While he was in the middle of devouring the pizza, Chris muttered sarcastically, "Oh, I can't imagine why..."

He was so glad Mikey didn't hear it when he said it.

It was now a few hours later, and they were back in Chris' dojo. "Whoa, cool!" Mikey was admiring an ancient katana that was resting in its saya on the mantel. It was intricate and beautiful, and in a way, it reminded him a little bit of Splinter. Maybe when he was human, he had a similar katana to Chris? He made a note to himself to ask later.

"That looks old..." He commented, reaching up to carefully touch it and admire the details on the hilt. If Leo were here, Mikey knew that he would be as enamored with the katana as he was with Space Heroes and being a goody-two-shoes with Splinter. Maybe even more? Who was to say?

Chris, leaning against a table in the corner, was getting increasingly frustrated with Mikey not having the common sense to not touch something so sacred. "Yes, yes, it's over 400 years old." Seriously, did this kid not understand the meaning of not touching things that didn't belong to him, especially priceless artifacts that were passed down for generations?

But he had to calm himself; he just needed to put up with this kid for a little bit longer. "But..." He brushed off his frustration with a little chuckle - just like he did before. "...getting back to your sensei..."

Mikey pursed his lips as he took the katana off the stand and started to unsheathe it. "Look, Rad-Brad, I'd love to tell you, but there's just some things that I need to keep secret." Splinter was not someone that he talked about with just anyone. He was important; as a sensei and as a father. You had to be pretty darn special to get Mikey to talk to you about him.

And while Chris was pretty special, Mikey just didn't feel like the two of them were close enough to the point where he felt like he could talk about his sensei like that.

Though it was worth noting that while he was withholding talking about Splinter, he fully unsheathed the katana and started to swing it around, much like Leo often did. And for a split second, Mikey felt like his older brother - though he quickly realized that there was a reason Splinter didn't give him the katana when they were being given their weapons. It didn't feel as fun as swinging the nunchucks around. And besides, Leo was way better at being careful than he was.

But his fun was quickly stopped when Chris grabbed his wrist, wanting to make sure the katana didn't get dropped or slice anything up. Because knowing this idiot, that was bound to happen. "But we're friends." He persuaded him. He was really going the extra mile to try and extract any information he could about Yoshi.

Even if it meant manipulating Mikey and guilt-tripping him.

"And friends share their secrets, don't they?" He asked as he grabbed the katana from Mikey with relative ease.

Not catching on as to what Chris was doing to him, Mikey got curious - and excited. "Are you telling me you're going to show me your secret kata, the Death Dragon?"

As he went to put the katana back on the stand, Chris weighed his options for a moment. If he did teach him, then the worst-case scenario was that he showed it to someone else. The best-case scenario? He didn't show anyone and gave him the information about Yoshi.

If he didn't, he would very likely not shut up about wanting to know it, and Chris would never get that information.

Well, there were worse things he could sacrifice.

"Tell you what. As a show of trust and friendship, I will teach you the Death Dragon."

Mikey's cheer of "All right!" could be heard from space with how loud it was.

"But-" Chris added as he turned back around to face him. "-you have to swear not to show it to anyone."

Perfect. Right where he wanted him.

Mikey looked in awe for a moment, but put his left hand on his chest and held up his right hand - turtle's honor, he and the others called it.

"I promise I won't show a soul."

Well, that didn't last long at all.

"And then he kicks, twists, and sweeps the leg! Ha!"

Mikey was demonstrating the Death Dragon to an amazed Leo and Donnie, while Raph was leaning against the tree in the background of the dojo. He wasn't jealous or anything, but he was a bit miffed at the fact that Mikey seemed to have...proven him wrong. Maybe Bradford was a good guy after all? Granted, Raph wasn't completely sold on him yet, but if he was willing to teach Mikey such a sought-after ability like his secret kata, the ace up his sleeve...maybe there was some good to him after all.

That, or Bradford expected something from Mikey in return.

They'd probably end up finding out in time.

"That was amazing!" Leo exclaimed, a wide grin on his face. When it came to ninjutsu, he didn't consider himself a turtle that was easily impressed. Splinter was a brilliant sensei and taught them everything he knew - and he considered himself and his brothers to be powerful (albeit aspiring) ninjas. So to have Mikey learn a technique that rivaled Splinter's in terms of power and excellence was remarkable, to say the least.

Donnie was the same way. "Yeah, it's devastatingly effective and complex." He agreed. Of course, he was the one to analyze the difficulty of each move performed to perfect the kata, but that was just the way his mind worked. He wasn't impressed at the fact that Mikey knew each move - he was more impressed that Mikey was able to retain such a difficult kata in the amount of time that he spent with Chris.

And clearly, Raph felt the same way. "And yet even Mikey could learn it." He commented, still leaning against the tree.

"Thank you!" Mikey put a hand to his chest in a subtle bow - but then realized what Raph meant by that. "Hey!" He gave his brother a deadpan stare immediately after. Seriously, did his brothers not have any faith in him when it came to something as awesome as the Death Dragon - taught by someone as awesome as Chris? If anything, he was just proving his point to Chris about Leo, Raph, and Donnie having hardly any respect for him.

But then Donnie's computer beeped, indicating a new message - and all of his frustration washed away immediately.

"It's Rad-Brad!" He exclaimed, rushing to the computer - just to brag a little further, he casually added over his shoulder, "That's my little name for him." He then skimmed the contents of Chris' message:

Hey, Mikey! It's Chris! Think you can come to the dojo right now? I was thinking we could play some b-ball! Sound good? Cool, come now! Thanks, buddy!

Now he started to get more hyped than he was before. "He wants to get together for a little b-ball. Can't wait to find out what the 'b' stands for!" He told himself excitedly, quickly typing out a response - though he was dangerously close to breaking the keyboard with how aggressively he was hitting the keys.

Yoooo, Chris! 'Course, I'll come right now! By the way, uh...what does the b stand for in b-ball?

Before Chris could respond, he started to bolt out of the dojo, not wanting to keep him waiting for long. When Leo asked why he was leaving now, Mikey's simple response was: "Sorry, dudes. Human friend stuff. You know how it is." But then, to try and rub salt in the wound even further, Mikey poked his head back into the dojo. "Oh, wait, no, you don't." He added a little chuckle at the end as he dismissively waved his hand.

He blatantly forgot the fact that the girls were their friends - but none of his brothers had an awesome friend like Chris. And none of them just got invited to spend even more time with arguably the coolest guy on the face of the planet.

He had no idea that he was walking into a snare.

Meanwhile, Xever and Chris were in the latter's dojo, the former admiring and swinging the same katana that Mikey had been playing with before. He had to admit, Bradford did have a good eye when it came to weapons - it was just a shame that he was just such a gigantic as-

"The freak is on the way, and the trap is set," Chris confirmed out loud, giving his computer screen a devious smile. Finally, they were closer than ever to getting those hideous freaks. Surely Master Shredder would reward them handsomely for what they had done?

If they succeeded, of course.

Xever wasn't listening, though. He was still holding the katana in his hands, being careful not to cut his right hand on the blade. "Pretty weapon for a tough guy." He remarked - but decided to compare himself and Chris just like before. "In prison, we made our own weapons." He and Chris were not cut from the same cloth - Xever had a childhood marred by theft and poverty, and Chris grew up in a gated community with a silver spoon in his mouth - and who turned to evil merely out of boredom.

There was only one thing that they shared in common - their loyalty to Shredder.

Chris was not about to be compared to a street rat like Xever. "I'll keep that in mind if I'm ever stupid enough to end up in prison." He merely replied, making Xever scowl at him, impale the katana into the ground, and stalk off.

Once this job was over, and they won, he sincerely hoped Shredder allowed him to punch this arrogant little weasel - and give him the credit he deserved for beating those reptiles into the ground.

While Mikey was gone, Leo and Raph decided to practice the Death Dragon themselves - to varying results. They seemed to have understood the beginning of the kata, but when it got to the 'sweep the leg' part, that was when they faltered. Maybe because that was Mikey's specialty; it was definitely more impulsive and flashy, just like him.

"Not quite." Raph commented on Leo's leg sweep, to which the older brother replied, "Wait, I think I got it." He remembered the demonstration that Mikey had given them - and realized his mistake. He didn't outstretch his arms - which would've increased his flow, according to Donnie. That was it!

They vaguely noticed Splinter walking into the dojo, who admittedly, was surprised at them training without him as a teacher. Maybe they were going over the lesson they learned during training like time? Or maybe they were just doing a casual sparring session to hone their skills?

But then he saw what kind of kata they were doing.

It wasn't that it was a kata that he had never taught them before - it was the memory of the man who used that kata against him.

Saki.

And Leo was performing the sweep the same way Saki had - arms outstretched, pose forward so he looked more imposing, causing Raph (and him, Yoshi) to fall to the ground. The only difference was that Leo looked proud at doing the kata successfully, while Saki looked deviant and proud at the fact that he made his rival fail at besting him.

"Where did you learn that?!" Splinter demanded from his sons. There was no way that the boys had learned that kata from finding it out at random - it was Shredder's specialty, his ace up his sleeve. He never revealed it to anyone - unless they proved their undying loyalty and obedience to him.

As Leo helped Raph off the floor, his tone was casual and relaxed as he explained, "Mikey learned it from his new friend." Splinter was never really against the idea that they found new techniques or katas without him teaching them - in fact, he actively encouraged it. So why was this time any different?

Though to be fair, with Splinter, there was always a reason.

"The man who taught him that kata is no friend. It comes from the Shredder."

And there it was.

Oh no.

"Shredder?" Donnie echoed, now in shock himself - along with Leo. "So, Bradford is one of his students?" The blue-masked turtle asked.

When Splinter asserted, "He must be," the pieces started to come together - why Mikey's friend request was accepted immediately, why he and Chris were spending an abnormal amount of time together, and why Chris showed him his secret kata.

He wanted information out of Mikey - specifically about Splinter. And having his trust meant that he could easily manipulate Mikey into falling into a trap.

Double oh no.

"So Bradford's just pretending to be Mikey's friend to get to you." Leo figured it out, feeling slightly sick at the idea. He hated Mikey being used like this - and after he was so happy about having a friend, and someone cool like Chris Bradford on top of it...

Leo would be lying if he didn't feel at least a shred of rage at the man for using their baby brother like this.

Raph, however...seemed to feel the exact opposite for a moment. "Oh, what a relief!" He exclaimed, holding his head. "Everything makes sense again." It was almost like this entire ordeal was just a weird dream - Mikey having a human friend that actually liked him? Come on, now. But at the realization that it was just a ruse, he felt like he had just woken up.

But then it hit him. This wasn't a joke. Mikey was in real danger, and he was completely alone.

Triple oh no.

"Mikey's in trouble!"

"Rad-Brad? Hello? Helloooo? Raddie-Braddie?"

Mikey had taken up Chris' offer and was perusing the dojo, eagerly looking for him. The lights were off, the only possible light pouring in from the windows. The shadows were impossible to ignore, and it was, fittingly, cold and ominous. To anyone else, they would've run out of the dojo and not even bothered to look around.

But Mikey's innocence, as his brothers assumed, was going to be his downfall. "Did you plan me a surprise party?"

Suddenly, the helmeted figure from Shredder's dojo appeared behind him - and was waiting calmly for his chance to strike. Finally, the training that Shredder gave him, and all the time he spent preparing for this...it was all coming together.

Sensing a presence behind him, Mikey jumped around and yelped, meeting with the masked figure. The guy didn't look like Chris, and he never said anything to make Mikey recognize his voice. And besides, Chris would never do this to him!

Backing up from the helmeted man made Mikey collide with another person behind him - Xever. And judging by the evil scowl on his face, Mikey could read that he was in something bad. Oh, where was Chris when he needed him?

But then it hit him...he was in a trap, so it was super possible that Chris was also kidnapped by these dudes! "Tell me what you've done with Chris, or you guys are in serious-" Before he could finish his threat, though, the helmeted figure swung at him and Xever joined in, essentially tag-teaming in taking Mikey down. But he was quicker than they realized, dodging every one of their attacks with relative ease - even climbing into the rafters to avoid a strike.

They had to admit, he was good. An idiot, but good.

But they were better.

After dodging another attack, Mikey was struck in the head by Xever, then collided with a punching bag after another kick. But he was still able to keep on fighting. Hiding behind a belt display, the helmeted man gave him an evil chuckle as he struck again - which Mikey narrowly avoided. "Haven't you figured out who I am?"

"Should I have?" Mikey asked as he dodged another punch, still hiding behind the display. Was this guy important or something? Did it tie into why he and his friend being so aggressive with him? Was this another guy that Raph ticked off or something? And how did he know that he was going to be at Chris' dojo? Did he have a stalker or something?

Before he could figure out the answer, he came up with a plan; he grabbed the helmeted man's arms and pinned him, then swung around and delivered a high kick right to the head - so his helmet clattered against his skull. But he recovered quickly, kicking Mikey into a punching bag, then finishing him off with a high kick that sent him flying into the ceiling. And as the kid lay on the floor, the helmeted man decided to deliver the coup de grâce - the one fact that he didn't pick up on.

"We've already met face-to-face."

"No...it can't be! You're-" The surprise on Mikey's face was palpable - he knew he didn't meet this guy under the most pleasant of circumstances, but this was going a little far. Did the guy really need to go so far as to bring one of his friends to jump him?

"The guy with the cat?"

The helmeted figure rolled his eyes in exasperation. This kid really was going to be the death of him. He swore, he really needed to Shredder paid him handsomely for his work in dealing with this kid.

"You fool."

He took off the helmet, and Mikey's jaw - and heart - dropped.

"Rad-Brad? What?"

Chris and Xever took no time in hogtying Mikey up - but amazingly enough, didn't gag him with anything. They must have noticed his lack of a nose and wanted to give him some sort of a break; they weren't going to kill him, he was just going to be used as bait. Because that was so much better.

"I thought we were friends. I introduced you to all my toes." Mikey pleaded, his tone as somber as ever. He always hated feeling like an idiot, and he really thought this guy was going to be the awesome friend that he always dreamed of...turned out the guys were completely right, and now Mikey was going to pay for it in the worst way possible.

Chris, however, didn't seem to care about the prospect of friendship - or Mikey at all. "You actually thought someone like me would be friends with a freak like you?" He scoffed to himself. "Pathetic."

He didn't seem to notice (or more realistically, also care) about how crushed Mikey looked - his lips quivering and his normally bright blue eyes shining.

"I say we get rid of him." Xever suggested - it only took his gaze towards the katana that made Mikey understand exactly what he meant by that. And while that didn't make his sadness any worse, it definitely spiked his anxiety.

Chris certainly didn't help matters with "Nothing would make me happier," which ended up worsening both Mikey's fear and feeling of being crushed - but then he was left to rot in that state as they started to walk off, with Chris' reason being, "But we need him. All part of the trap."

As the lights were turned off again and Mikey was left in the dark room, he tried one more time to get through to Chris - maybe there was a shred of decency in him that he just wasn't showing.

"Rad-Brad?"

When he got no response, that settled it for him.

The others, however, were quick to save him.

They met on the rooftop of Bradford's dojo - first Raph, then Leo, then finally Donnie. And once the purple-masked turtle made it, he had a plan to get inside through the skylight window. Taking a gumball, he chewed it for a few seconds and blew it so it was pliable enough to work with, then attached it to the pencil of a small compass that he brought (what could he say? He always needed to be prepared), and then used the needle end of the compass to cut a large enough hole in the skylight.

It was so simple, and yet it actually worked.

Using the hole, Donnie searched for the latch to open the window - which was surprisingly complicated, but that was what happened when you had no light to work with. Once he found it though, Leo pushed open the skylight window - and the three caught a glimpse of Mikey, hog-tied and surrounded by Foot soldiers, which admittedly, made their anger for Bradford come back in full force.

When they got their hands on him, they would-

But they needed to focus on the mission for now. They'd get their revenge later.

Lowering three ropes, the boys descended on the building with barely a sound - and they only attracted the Foot soldiers' attention when Leo unsheathed his katanas. And being as quick and lethal as ninjas could be, they took out every last one of them.

At seeing both the last soldier fall and his brothers coming to save him, Mikey grinned at them. "Dudes! That was sporadic!" Once again, another instance of his mouth working faster than his brain. To be completely honest, he had heard Donnie say that to Andi days before and thought it sounded cool, and considering his brothers just did something awesome, he thought it sounded fitting.

But judging by Donnie's facepalm, it wasn't the right word to use. And judging by Leo and Raph's aggressive shushing, it wasn't the right time to be as loud as he was.

Ah, well. At least when Leo got him out of his bonds, he gave him a little head pat, like a 'you tried, and that's what matters.'

They booked it out of the dojo immediately, running across the rooftop and jumping off once they found a nearby manhole cover. All seemed great; Mikey was safe, and no enemies were in sight...it seemed to be going all according to plan.

However, Bradford was watching them go down the tunnel with binoculars, Xever, and a group of Foot soldiers right next to him.

"Perfect."

"We've got them."

The boys picked up on it quickly - and hid behind the entrance of the tunnels while Bradford, Xever, and the soldiers jumped down into the tunnel. As the two men started walking through the tunnel, in hunt of the boys, Raph first took out one of the soldiers trailing behind them - still not making a sound. Donnie and Leo followed suit, and Mikey finally got his chance he used a rope to lasso the soldier off the ground.

Bradford, Xever, and the lone soldier behind him finally made it to an aqueduct - which served as a type of hub for the sewers. The walkways were curved around a waterway that, from the looks of it, looked murky, dark, and all-around disgusting.

But that wasn't what mattered - and Bradford knew that. Taking a step forward, he analyzed the scene before him; the water was running freely, but that was the only noise in this place.

Every instinct in his body was telling him that something was wrong. And out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of green. And once the last Foot soldier was lassoed into the posse, that confirmed it.

Xever lit a flare for more light, and there they were. All of the soldiers dangling helplessly on the ceiling. And there were only four people that could've done it. "Show your faces!" He yelled into the darkness, backing up from the scene in front of him.

So Leo and Raph obliged him, swimming out of the murky water, while Donnie and Mikey emerged from the shadows. All four of them had their weapons at the ready, and judging by the white irises, they were furious. Especially Mikey for Bradford's traitorous behavior.

"They've trapped us!" Xever exclaimed, but the two of them were not about to be taken down so easily. If they were going down, they were at least going down swinging. Because if they didn't die with honor, what kind of loyal henchmen would they be to Shredder? Which was why Bradford responded with a "Take 'em down!"

They split up - Bradford charged for Raph and Leo, and Xever went for Mikey and Donnie.

Immediately, Bradford swung a punch at Raph, who dodged immediately - but Leo quickly jumped in, going for a strike from behind. But Bradford was crafty, catching them both before they struck and sending the both of them flying. Thankfully, they quickly recovered.

Donnie and Xever faced off however; the latter was much like Mikey in his preference for using his feet in battle; he countered every strike from Donnie with his legs, did a handspring, and used the terrapin as an easy recovery, getting back on his feet and nearly sending him to the ground. In the process, he struck Mikey in the face with Donnie's foot, then swung the purple-banded turtle into his brother.

And the cocky smirk he gave the two told them that he was not going to be taken down that easily.

But the two glanced over at what was going on with Leo and Raph. Bradford had gotten Raph onto the ground and was charging him, but Leo jumped behind him, trying to get a surprise attack in. But once again, Bradford was quick, grabbing Leo's katanas and delivering a hard kick to his plastron, sending him flying. Raph, thankfully, ran to his brother and caught him to cushion his fall into the ground.

These guys were not going to be taken down easily, huh?

But when they glanced at Donnie, he snapped his fingers - he had an idea.

Raph gave him a thumbs up as he and Leo went back to fighting Bradford, before running away, making the man chase after them. Mikey and Donnie, however, sent Xever on a chase much less briefly before switching places with Leo and Raph - now the two eldest were fighting Xever, and the two youngest were fighting Bradford.

The man went in for a punch, but missed when Mikey jumped onto the pipe he punched - when Bradford went in for another punch, Mikey caught his nunchucks on the spikes on his wrist and pulled him forward, allowing Donnie to hit his legs with his bo, and then allowed Mikey to get a cathartic punch in on Bradford and make him fall to the ground.

Meanwhile, Leo and Xever were engaged in fierce combat. But the trick was, Leo was chasing him towards the center of the aqueduct. And before Xever could use the same move against Leo and Raph that he used against Mikey and Donnie, Raph caught him off guard with a swift kick to the legs, making him fly into the air - and Leo followed it up with a kick to the abdomen that made Xever land in the middle of the aqueduct.

They had them right where they wanted them - and that was only exacerbated when the boys backed Bradford and Xever into the aqueduct. One wrong move and Shredder's henchmen were toast.

"They knew we were following them!" Bradford exclaimed. He had to give them credit where credit was due - they were smarter than he realized. It didn't excuse the fact that they were his mortal enemy and he was going to take any opportunity to beat them for Shredder, but he had to admit - he and Xever were dealing with a formidable foe.

"That's right!" Mikey told him with a furious expression. He felt utterly betrayed by Bradford, but now he knew. This guy was not to be trusted, especially considering how callously he had hurt him and his brothers. And while he was heartbroken on the inside, he knew what needed to be done to finish this guy off.

He countered Bradford's punch with his wrist, then did the same with his other wrist, then pulled him forward and countered one final punch. He then struck Bradford directly in the head, then kneed him in the stomach - and then delivered a palm slap directly to Bradford's face, dazing him. Using that confusion, Mikey punched him again in the stomach. Grabbing his head, the orange-banded turtle kneed him in the head, then delivered a few final punches and another knee to the stomach, before following it with the coup de grâce - the infamous 'sweep the leg.' He then went flying into Xever, finishing the both of them off.

Bradford had just been taken down by his own kata.

Smiling at the irony of it all, Mikey glanced at Leo and Donnie, who were now at a water valve, waiting for the command. When the youngest yelled "Hit it!", the two turned the valve, releasing a stream of sewer water to flow through the tunnel - and flushing both Bradford and Xever out of the sewer.

The most degrading way to be taken down. And in a twisted way, it felt entirely fitting.

"Well, that wasn't very fair, was it?" Raph rhetorically asked with a proud smile as he and Mikey watched them go - to which Leo replied as he and Donnie walked back to them, "No, it wasn't."

They shared a laugh before Mikey held up his hand. "High three!" They shared a group high three (like a high five, except there were only twelve fingers instead of twenty), before making their way back to the lair.

They had saved their baby brother and beat down Shredder's top henchmen without so much as a scratch.

Things could not have been better.

As they had pizza to celebrate their victory, Donnie noticed Splinter looking ahead, stroking his beard in careful thought. Wouldn't he be happy at the four of them for beating Shredder's goons? And more realistically, "Sensei, aren't you hungry?"

Splinter's eyes looked distant - and had a hint of fear in them, almost like he could see what was going to happen. "I fear we are celebrating too soon." He admitted.

"Too soon?" Raph asked, holding a half-eaten pizza slice in his hand. "The bad guys got swept away in a river of raw sewage. By my watch, that makes it the perfect time." He stated proudly. And it was true; beating their foes was always cathartic, but there was something especially sweet about taking down Xever and Bradford. Their prestige was one thing, but he also suspected it was because they messed with Mikey specifically. In Raph's mind, any baddie could mess with him. He would still take them down, but he wouldn't be too bothered by it.

If they targeted any of his brothers, especially Mikey, though...well, let's just say they had a one-way ticket to eternal suffering.

But Splinter wasn't focusing on this battle specifically. "Shredder knows I'm alive." He professed. And then his gaze turned much more stormy. "And worse...he knows about all of you. It's my worst nightmare come true." He could handle Shredder; the two had grown up together and had fought together. The boys...they didn't know what they were getting into with someone as ruthless as Saki.

And his worst nightmare was that, once they confronted him, they would never make it home alive. And the thought of losing his boys almost made Splinter wish he was another casualty in the fire that killed Shen and Miwa.

"So it's not over?" Leo's voice broke Splinter out of his thoughts - and made the latter reply with a solemn "Oh, no. It's just beginning."

All three boys put their heads down, now starting to get worried. Who knew what could happen to them now? What if Shredder found April and Andi? What would happen to them? What if Shredder somehow found out April was wanted by the Kraang? Would he turn her over to them? And what about Andi? Would Shredder kill her off? Brainwash her into becoming his resident brainiac? Use her as bait?

It was all too much to think about right now.

Thankfully, Donnie's computer made a little beep sound - snapping Raph out of his thoughts and making him focus on a heartbroken Mikey, who was staring forlornly at the screen - specifically at Bradford's profile picture. He had to admit, he felt bad for the guy. Was he right about Bradford? Yes, but that didn't mean that it invalidated Mikey's feelings. All he wanted was someone that accepted him for who he was and wanted to be his friend - and the guy used it against him.

Maybe that was why he went over to him and asked him how he was doing.

"This was all my fault. I should've never thought I could be friends with a human." Mikey admitted with a sad look. He felt awful for what he did; it was his own stupidity that got him in trouble and got him and his brothers into a battle that maybe they weren't prepared for. All because he decided to get himself into the world of human-mutant friendships and trust his own naivety instead of what his brothers said as warnings.

"Eh, don't be so hard on yourself," Raph assured him. He hated seeing his baby brother like this - sad, regretful, and just...the opposite of what he was like normally. Call it the older, protective brotherly instinct he had, but it made him just want to find Bradford and beat him into the ground for doing this to Mikey.

"So it's not my fault?" Mikey asked, a spark of hope flashing across his eyes. But it was deflated as soon as Raph said, "Of course it's your fault." There it was, the more blunt and spiteful Raph coming back again. And it made Mikey sigh in defeat and sadness again - if he had a time machine, he would go back and do it all over again. Stop himself from sending a request to Bradford, from going to see him...everything.

Seeing the sadness in his eyes brought back the more protective side in Raph again. "If you tell the others, I'll beat the green off you, but...you're an awesome guy." He admitted, patting Mikey's shoulder comfortingly. And he meant it; anyone would've been lucky to have a guy like Mikey as a friend. He was sensitive, funny, creative, awesome at ninjutsu, a kind soul, and loyal to the core.

However, Mikey wasn't about to take that compliment so easily. "Bradford didn't think so." He deflected, eyes shining again - like he was close to crying again, just like when he was tied up in Bradford's dojo.

Raph shut that sentiment down immediately. "Well, he's a psychotic killing machine. You deserve way better friends than him." He professed. It was true; Bradford had no clue what he missed out on - and if he wanted to destroy Mikey's trust in him by being a loyal henchman to Shredder, then that only proved that he was the farthest thing from worthy of Mikey's friendship and loyalty.

And he wasn't worth Mikey being depressed over - and the orange-banded turtle knew that.

"You know what? You're right! Thanks, Raph!" His demeanor became a bit more like his usual self - it wasn't perfect (anyone could tell from a mile away that Mikey was still crushed at the betrayal), but Raph's pep talk seemed to have done something.

"Anytime." Raph smiled genuinely at him as he patted his brother's head, before leaving Mikey to ponder over what they talked about.

And in his mind, Mikey knew that Raph was completely right. If he wanted to have a human friend, they needed to be someone that wasn't evil, of course, but someone who didn't care about the fact that he was a mutant or a kick-butt ninja. Someone that saw him for the awesome dude that he was. He knew that there were people like that out there, he just needed to find them.

But at the same time...a part of him wanted to get revenge on Bradford, just a little bit.

And he knew just where to start.

"Unfriend!" He proclaimed as he removed Bradford from his friends list. He wanted it to be crystal clear that Bradford was no longer a friend of his, but a sworn enemy. And what better to start than by unfriending him?

He then chuckled to himself. Even if Bradford likely didn't care, it was the catharsis of payback that satisfied Mikey. It wasn't beating his face in or humiliating him, but it was a nice slice of payback nonetheless.

"Revenge..." He mused as he stared at the screen with a confident smile.

Raph was right; he would find his human friend in the future.

But right now?

Mikey was going to enjoy this little piece of revenge while it lasted.

#tmnt 2012 #donatello #oc #all's fair in love and science

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drhu0806 · 6 months

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24 - “"Is it over? Is it really over?"

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3 (fanfiction) Characters: Astarion, Tav/custom player character Rating: G Warnings: none

Bodies twirl and weave across the beautiful marble floors of the ballroom. Long skirts of silk and lace sweep around ankles, a spectacular whirling storm of colors and glitter against the uplifting melodies of the orchestra.

A figure hovers in the shadows, away from the activity. If one paid enough attention, they could make out a shock of white hair and a pair of scrutinizing crimson eyes. They stare intently into the dancing crowd, trained on one in particular.

Astarion watches as Kainé gambols about between bodies, throwing her head back in laughter as she spins. He has to admit she’s not a particularly graceful dancer, not in this instance, but what did it matter when she was having fun? Far be it from him to get in the way of her merrymaking.

He can’t help but narrow his eyes at the sight of another dancer with their hand in hers, smiling at her in what he thinks in an overly salacious way. Was it his imagination, or was their hand placed in a rather inappropriate place on her back? Was their head tilted a little too closely to hers?

They come apart to return to the whirling mingling of the group dance, and Astarion bristles when he watches the stranger return to her time and time again. They’re not even a particularly good dance partner!

Unable to hold himself back, he brusquely places his chalice of wine down, neatly adjusting his collar as he steps back onto the dance floor. He pays no attention to any potential partners within his immediate vicinity, marching like he’s on a warpath towards the target pair. Without even waiting for the end of the song, he pushes an arm between the two of them, flashing a dangerous smile at the stranger before turning to Kainé with a much gentler expression.

“Hello there, my dear. I’m back from scouting out the wine, more refreshed than ever!” And barely missing a beat, he takes her hands into his, expertly sweeping her away from under the stranger’s indignant gaze.

“Are you expecting a thank you for stealing me away?” she laughs.

“Well, believe it or not I have learned a thing or two from you on this journey, my love, and I know that sometimes good deeds are rewards in it of themselves.” He throws a dirty look toward her former dance partner. “But I would never turn down any thank yous from your sweet lips. And I feel I have done quite well, getting you away from that. The nerve.”

“Oh my. I never took you to be that much of a jealous type.”

“Jealous? Perish the thought. I just pitied you for having to put up with their absolutely abysmal performance on the dance floor. Trust me, darling, any longer and you would have ended the night with the most horribly bruised feet.”

Kainé laughs again. She lets him take the lead, and they sashay together. Neither of them so much as glance at any other partner for the rest of the night; they move beautifully in tandem through rapid beats and leisurely refrains, matching each other step for step. Astarion holds her arm aloft as he twirls her around, keeps her steady through their twists and turns, lets her lean in and holds her close when it seems like she’s getting tired. He cares little for much else in this time, letting the world around them fade away as they enjoy their night.

The hour grows late, and for the most part the music has relaxed into pleasant background noise, the crowd of dancers dissipating. Kainé sighs.

“Ah, is it over? Is it really over?”

In the peace that’s settled in the ballroom, he spots an open door that leads to a balcony. Astarion smirks; he couldn’t come up with a more fairy tale setting.

“Only if you want it to be, darling. You know as well as I do that we’re quite good at making our own fun.”

He leads her out into the cool night air, a welcome change from the balmy interior. Her smile hasn’t left at all that night, and it only grows wider as he gently takes her hand again, wrapping an arm around her middle as they sway together at a much mellower pace. Kainé comes in close and rests her chin on his shoulder, pressing their cheeks close, side by side.

“I knew you were a lovely partner, but you never told me what a fantastic dance partner you are. I hope I didn’t embarrass myself too much.”

“Well, I only could count the number of times you stepped on my toes on a single hand, so you weren’t awful. Could use some improvement though.”

She giggles for the umpteenth time that night, a sound he will gladly listen to over and over again without end. “You know, I’ve always wanted a dance teacher… I look forward to learning from you, if you’ll have me.”

He plants a soft kiss into her hair. “There’s nothing I’d like more.”

#baldur's gate 3 #astarion x tav #astarionmance #fictober23 #my writing #owlscratch

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leafquillwriting · 1 year

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Writing Sample #1 - Levant

Levant's skin was perspiring in the scorching early sun, head spinning as he silently worried his brains had melted during his travels– prepared to be split open and scrambled in preparation to make an excellent breakfast of gray matter. His lightly tanned complexion sparkled in the sun's rays as he studied the map clutched in his sweaty hands. A light hum could be heard within his short vicinity as he compared his surroundings with the nearby landmarks.

"Marker forty-three of forty-six to Pyreridge." Mumbling to himself, Levant took note mentally as he scanned the corresponding totem. While the Solaris region wasn't quite as far from Pyreridge as most of the large cities were, the solari male found it difficult to imagine trekking back and forth for any sort of constant business.

Hailing from a region where heat and sand consistently slipped into the cracks of their homes– most townsfolk didn't bother with windows due to wanting to live closer with the sun and nature. This caused Levant to struggle with the descending temperatures, slowly coming to the realization that when he came to his ability to fight off a simple sickness, an example being he would catch a common cold if a stiff breeze hit him the wrong direction.

His arrival at Pyreridge was mainly filled with awe and curiosity as he deliberated the structure of the large, multi-storied buildings hosting several families and nobodies trying to find their way in the world. Within a few steps, barren chills began to clamor to his spine as he retrieved a heavy winter coat he had bought on a small village he had passed through who warned him of the sudden drop from his typical tropical paradise heat.

It felt abnormally calming to have a change of scenery as more spells of numbing winds pass over him. The air swirled with an almost winter-like crispness as Levant pulled his overtly large cloak tight around his body, shivering slightly as wind licked at his bare skin. His investigation in his surroundings came to an abrupt end as he saw a man standing on the outskirts of the town, denim brow tightened in concentration. Closing the distance, the dark haired male found himself peering around the other's form speaking up suddenly as he practically disregarded the stranger's personal space as he breathed over the blue haired adult's shoulder.

"Hello there, tampering with something? You don't seem to be repairing anything from what I can see." Ever the aggravating, Levant questioned the other man's expertise in the obvious magical field. It was easy for Levant to spot sorcery considering his ability to create it by his own will. It was difficult for him to explain to someone without any experience in casting. Instead, the scholar typically called them fractals of light that seemed to surround a person or area.

Said individual was surrounded by several throngs of such sparkles along with the invisible barrier he was clearly attuning. Before the other man even spoke Levant had another question for him as clearly displayed his displease in his environment. "Say– I have no idea how you all go about your every day in this weather, one might perish under these sub-zero circumstances." Complaining Levant pulled his coat closer to him, his nose and cheeks turned pink as blood rushed to keep him at an average temperature.

Perhaps he would find solstice through this mage. Levant was obviously a Solari considering his tanned complexion and dark eyes. He had little issue being accepted in most cities, instead only suffering from the assertiveness people often carried upon first meeting. Most of his kind were cruel and harsh to those who were considered outsiders- while Levant treated everyone equally with disrespect yet framed it with a charming grin to accompany and save him from all manners of retaliation.

DISCLAIMER: Gif is not my own, writing and Levant are the only things created by me.

#oc rp #writing sample #1x1 rp #m x m rp #oc x oc #oc x oc rp

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marvelslegacies · 1 year

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Noah | How To Kill A Monster | Past Paragraph

Author’s Note: The following is a simulation and did not happen in Noah’s real life.

According to science, or rather… science fiction, if a man were shot into outer space without the proper equipment to ensure his survival, the first thing that would happen is his eyes would be expelled from his eye sockets. The vacuum that results from the utter lack of oxygen in space would cause him to experience suffocation, asphyxiation, and pressure over his entire body that can only be compared to being instantly crushed by a baling press, the machine that crushes totaled vehicles into cubes.

However, as Noah floated through the emptiness of outer space, none of the aforementioned happened. The sea of stars made him dizzy as he was pulled by an invisible, intangible force like an ocean current. Every hair on his body stuck straight out, standing at attention… waiting hopelessly for the emptiness to be replaced by something. But there is absolutely nothing in space, the planets, the stars, the asteroids, none of those really exist. They are just more nothingness adding to the impossible paradox of nothingness filling the entire universe. And Noah was trapped, crushed into his tiny mortal body like a cube in a baling press.

The world around him rippled and began to spin, he was trapped in a twister of black vacancy and it pushed him around as if he were sitting in the center of Satan’s merry-go-round. “Mon fils,” his father’s voice boomed and rang in Noah’s ears. “Mon fils, se réveiller.” Eyes open, Noah found himself standing in a great hall with white, almost reflective floor and ceiling. Philipe Dupont stood before him, a few feet shorter than him seeing that Noah stood on a raised stage. Noah wiped his head around, taking in his surroundings… behind him was a large and elegant wooden throne, with plush velvet cushions, his favorite shade of blue. The woodwork was a deep ebony gilded in detail with liquid gold.

“C'est magnifique.” Philipe commented, noting the way Noah admired it in awed silence. “Dad, what’s going on?” He asked cautiously, immobile, staring down at the incredibly lavish seat. “It is your future. You have won.” Won what? Noah wondered, his thoughts were interrupted by his father’s thick Cajun accent, “The world iz at your feet. You are more famous t’en Hitler himzelf.” Noah’s eyes grew wide, his mouth fell agape, as he spun on the spot to gawk at his father. “Hitler– you mean Adolf Hitler? The fucking monster who chose genocide?” The words came out stumbling over each other and mixing syllables so he nearly sounded illiterate.

“Qui, mon fils. Today iz t’e day.” Noah didn’t understand what that meant, his father’s words were so shocking and confusing and… how could he be… A cold presence overtook Noah’s being, goosebumps erupted on his stomach, his arms, the back of his neck, the small of his back. His whole body went rigid, his muscles clenched so tight they ached and threatened to spasm wildly at any moment… but he remained impossibly immobile. “Have I… killed people?”

Philipe chuckled at this and turned his back casually on Noah, strolling away as if Noah actually had the capacity to follow him. “Qui, qui, mon fils. So many have perished under your glorious reign, the only ones left who oppose you… ironically, iz t’e X-Men.”

The word X-Men reanimated Noah’s body and he found himself placing one robotic foot in front of the other. “But,” Noah’s voice sounded dry and starved, a choke more than a word… he cleared his throat roughly, “But I was going to join the X-Men!” The sensation of warm wetness on the bottom lids of his eyes shocked Noah, startling him back a step. He wiped frantically at his face and quickened his step to follow his father out of the room. The medal heels of his custom made boots clinked against the dazzling floor, a quiet sea frozen over in luxury and polish. “I wanted to join the X-Men and fight evil like you, dad!”

Philipe turned on his heel and glared into Noah, his red eyes piercing the foundation of his son’s maturity. “You. Will never be. Like moi.” The words were acid sprayed in Noah’s face, stinging his skin into burnt nothingness, “But dad-” “Today is a big day, mon fils. The X-Men have come to kill you and you are waiting to kill them.” Philipe was walking away once more, turning down the hallway and vanishing around the corner, leaving Noah in the hollow emptiness of his empire.

Splitting his ears, the crash of the magnificent stained glass above Noah’s throne was shattering over the elegant, gilded wood. Noah spun around, flames erupting from his palms towering into the air, black smoke covering thickly across the high ceilings. They were here: The X-Men. Noah was braced for battle, winds like monsoons turned the room into a natural hurricane simulation as he charged forward at the group of unidentifiable X-Men.

“You’re going to pay for her death!” A gruff voice exclaimed powerfully, pointing an accusing finger at him. “My death will never be seen by you!” Noah bellowed, the ground split in an elegant crack between his feet and branched through the tile like those of a magnificent oak through to the farthest corners of the room. “You killed her!” A shrill voice shrieked as she came barreling at him out of nowhere, knocking him to the ground, they tumbled and Noah kicked her off of him. The woman’s body slammed into the wall painfully, but she pushed off the wall and flew at him again, her face wild with revenge.

Noah lifted into the air, his arms out and his legs straight down like Jesus Christ on the cross. Turning to face the remaining X-Men, he rained down fire on them, causing the group to scatter avoiding the balls of flames falling on them like dodge balls. “ENOUGH!” Noah roared and everything ceased, his power disappearing instantly. He floated in the air above them as they regrouped and stood ready to fight, ready to slay him. “I’ve had enough of the X-Men.”

They froze, immobile, crying out in pain, one loud shriek of utter torment. He flattened their bodies to the floor and glided over to them. They lay frozen and trapped beneath his ability to control the blood in their very bodies, “Did you forget my favorite party trick?” He asked in a sinister voice, laughing maliciously, “Or did your leader seriously miscalculate?” He laughed and laughed, enjoying the pain he knew was unimaginable to him.

“You’re a monster.” Noah stopped cold, he peaked over his shoulder slowly, and found his father standing in the broken doorway amidst the rubble of his empire. “Caddie, mon fils, the man of pure evil, the man who destroyed the X-Men.” Noah’s feet touched the ground now, he turned and walked to his father, determination in his face. He was about to speak when Philipe clenched the young mutant’s throat in his hand. Kinetic energy surged through Noah, disrupting his very being, tearing at the molecules that made up his biological existence. “Vous allez payer pour vos péchés. Un atome à la fois.”

Noah’s heart sank and he broke out in a sweat, his head spinning as a starry night came into his blurring, fading vision. This was more than fear, more than death… this was punishment. He’d known it all along: he was an evil being, no good came from Noah’s powers, or his intentions, or his future. Only destruction and senseless pain lay in the wake of the man who controlled the elements. And he who controlled elements showed no concern for the torment and desolation he brought. His one true fear was his defeat, the retribution his enemies would receive from his death. He was lost in the infinite cosmic universe of having to answer for his sins. The war he raged was ending all around him, and he had lost.

#012

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arcadejohn127-9 · 3 years

Note

ok so,,, *slides u mc idea* (YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO!!! I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THIS!!!)

MC that doesn't have any energy during the day, just moping around all tired. But from like, 12 AM to 6 AM, really energized and would go out and do the most Chaotic Shit TM. You know when you just come up with some crack idea at 2 AM? MC every goddamn night. Probably tried making a bathtub fly.

(if you do want to do this, please do the brothers and the undateables ^^)

XD WHY IS THIS ME???!!!!! I'm always so tired and never leave my bed but it could be 1 am and suddenly I rise from the dead and just do random things around the house

Though these aren't chaotic, mostly just the boys trying to stop you as they're tired and want to sleep but you're messing around too much. I tried to base it off my own activities and things that would seem funny - sorry if you wanted something more chaotic but I couldn't think of anything

Lucifer:

When he learned about your strange late morning/early morning shenanigans

He saw it was a way for you to finally get your school work done

Every room - and I mean EVERY - had a textbook from your different class with notes, he goes to bed late so he put them their before he tucked in for the night

He could hear your distress at the continuous reminder of work you needed to do

You knew this was his work so you went to his room

Climbing on his bed and just walked over his body

"Stop it, I'm trying to learn how to replicate the set ups from home alone."

"You can do that after doing your coursework, I'm being merciful with you, don't push it."

You just threw yourself down beside him

Pretending to suddenly fall asleep and began to loudly fake snore

You remained like that whilst Lucifer tried to ignore you

He took this as a sign of war

He was going to monitor you all day if he has to, he refuses to let your bad grades affect their image

But you got bored of snoring and left

He felt relief; his desire to sleep over weighing his desire to force you to study

When you came back with a toy gun you altered to shoot golf balls he knew thing's weren't going well

"The-more-you-pressure-me-the-more-I-won't-study."

You shot at his lower body between each words

This was definitely war

Mammon:

He was sleeping just fine until he heard his car rev up

He bolted awake and saw that his car was on, a string of curses coming from inside

He knew of your weird habit of becoming energised at ridiculous times but he wasn't expecting you to do this

He could tell it was you by your voice

He stormed up the stairs towards his car

"Oi! What are you doing in my car? Go to bed!"

You finally were able to turn off the car, just leaning on the wheel casually as if you didn't just accidentally turn it on

"I'm just cruising~ nothing to see here!"

He wasn't amused

He got you out of his car and strung you over his shoulder, scolding you for being so irresponsible and slightly bragging about how much trouble you'd be in if it weren't for him

You tried to explain you were just pretending to drive but you saw the keys still inside and got curious

He just threw you on his bed and held you, hiding his blush in his pillow

You let him fall asleep but when you tried to escape it ended up with your shoulders in a head lock and your ass stuck in the air

It seems your productive night has came to an end

Levithan:

It was a fifty - fifty chance that levithan was awake or not

But Lucifer gave him an earful about staying up late as it's effecting grades

So you betted he was asleep and your desire to game and wonder aroulnd his room set itself in motion

What made it awkward, was when you came in you heard a suspicious girly moan come from his headphones

You both just stared at each other, unmoving

"Uh- this isn't- this is just a dream, this is definitely not happening."

You checked out the game he was playing; recognizing it to be a dating sim he's been following the development of

You just nodded, shuffling over to his set up

"Scoot over dream levi, I wanna see the hot babes."

He got even more embarassed; face completely red as you sat on your player 2 chair

You put your hand on his, forcing his finger to click the mouse and watched what was happening on screen, listening to the loud music from his headphones

Luckily, the voice acting was just suspicious - like most animes - and it was a fairly cute game

You did end up swirling around in your chair aroulnd his room

Both of you coming up with strategies to get the best girl to like you

Though, too much moving and spinning made you and the chair fall over

You bonked Into his bathtub, your ribs squishing against the rim after the trip

Levi let you make all the gaming decisions to make up for it

Satan:

He planned to have some late night reading, hoping it'll make him tired enough to actually sleep

He found you sitting on the floor in the library

Torn books and littered paper was surrounding you

Then he noticed the paper stars and cranes pouring out from your lap as you froze mid fold

"That's....a thousand stars and cranes - where did you get all this paper from?"

"......the books belonged to me before you assume anything!"

He slowly nodded

He wasn't a fan of the destruction of books but they were yours so he couldn't say anything

He felt odd just leaving you in the barely lit library

Just folding paper who knows how long

He asked if you were hungry, guessing you've been awake for a long time

You just shoved paper into your mouth and began chewing

He was horrified

You immediately spat it out, cringing

"that was a bad idea.... that was gross."

He's going to get you food

When he came back he felt more energised; walking around will do that for you

So he decided to just stay with you whilst you folded the many pages of your destroyed books

It was around 6 am when you finally yawned; Satan fell asleep already

You looked at the fire place, your tired brain screaming for arson

He woke up as he heard your fits of poorly muffled giggles

You were throwing your stars in the fire as you sat a fair distance from it

When you threw the cranes, accepting some didn't fly far enough and didn't burn, he asked what you were doing

"It's survival of the fittest, only the strongest cranes survive in this paper world."

Asmodeus:

You were already in his room, you've been sleeping in it almost all day

So when you finally got out you looked around, spotting the makeup kit he got in a sponsorship

He lets his brother's or you use it as it's a spare

But if you touch his stuff; you will perish

So you decided to use that one, practising all sorts of looks and tried not to laugh when you made yourself a clown

You decided to stay in the clown makeup and go into his practice room

What was his practice room?

Well, he hates exercising Infront of people as he'll be sweaty and his hair will get ruined

So that's where he goes but the real magic was the pole in the middle of it

You felt a spark of inspiration

Looking up tutorials on your phone on how to pole dance

It did not go great

You were sliding too fast

Falling over and when you tried to spin, you would just get stuck

"I love you but if you keep disturbing my beauty sleep I will throw you out the window."

He was grouchy; his hair was barely smoothed out and arms crossed

You hugged the pole you were slowly sliding down; a long loud screech coming down

You definitely felt like a clown

"Sorry- you look handsome already so is there really any need for beauty sleep?"

He blushed, agreeing he was beautiful before giving you a "I will end you" smile

You got the hint, flattery wasn't going to work

Perhaps your pole dancing adventures can wait

Beezlebub:

He was aware of your strange energy burst at night, you were talking about it with him the other day

He's been wondering if he would ever spot you and tonight he did

He found you in the kitchen

Just chipping away at the frost on the top of the freezer trays with a small knife

He crouched down behind you, picking you up

Beel let you sit on his thigh and began to eat anything he could get his hands on

Meanwhile you were aggressively stabbing the formed ice

"Why are you doing that?"

He grabbed a handful of the ice chunks that fell from your stabbing

"Not sure what I want to do tonight and the build up was bothering me."

He didn't need to know anymore, just nodding and letting you do your own thing whilst he ate

He cleared out the entire fridge in no time

Letting you eat anything you wanted whilst you were hard at work

He noticed one part of the ice wasn't giving it to your stabbings

He just gripped it and easily broke it off

You thanked him and ignored how he was able to eat the big block with breaking it

Whenever something was too stubborn he would just break it off for you

It went on like that until you were satisfied

You closed the empty freezer and turned to your assistant

"Good work, but I'll need your help again, I can't reach the top cupboard and I know it's big enough to let me sit in it."

He got to eat more so he had no issue, helping you get into the cupboard once he was done clearing it out

Belphegor:

You were so energised yet you couldn't think of what to do

You put a spell on you to stop you from feeling pain and began to let yourself roly-poly down the hallways

You penciled rolled abit too fast at one pointand ended up thumping down the stairs

You were thankful the spell worked

It got to the point you just kept rolling around until you couldn't anymore

You padded the broom closet

Immediately doing a double take when you noticed a body In the darkness

You went over and turned on the closets light

"is there a reason you're sleeping in the broom closet?"

Belphie was grumbling, trying to hide his face from the light

He glared up at you for disturbing his sleep

"Is there a reason you're rolling around the house?"

"Touchè."

You ended up dragging belphie around the house

You felt like you committed a crime and it was fun

He was fast asleep and you were bored

You dragged him by the ankle and tried to keep his body from banging into anything along the way

You ended up bumping into Beel, he was looking for his twin, and he noticed you were dragging him

Belphie slightly woke up, waving at his brother before going back to sleep

Beel carried the two of you back to the his bedroom; hugging you both

If it weren't for these warm beefy arms you would be free! Free to terrorise all the shadows in the room

You gave up your night activities when even Belphie wrapped an arm around you

UNDATEABLES↓

Diavolo:

Dia was sneaking around the house, hoping not to run into his butler

He didn't want be to be sent back to bed

He was planning to have a light night snack and see how you were going

He knew you were always doing something during the nights, it surprised him when he found out because you were always in bed whenever he saw you

He checked your bedroom and didn't see you in your bed

Suddenly, he noticed a pile of black by his feet

He saw you, scrunched up on your back with the little D's covering your body, all hugging you

"oh! I almost didn't spot you under there, are you alright?"

"I'm great~ you should join me."

The little D's You were able to scratch were purring in their sleep

He found the sight adorable as he crouched down

"I'm teaching them to love me so they can willingly become armour for when I take over the Devildom - we'll be like the rat king!"

He just quietly laughed; the prince helping you pet and scratch the little D's

He agreed you'd make a good ruler

Though he had to force himself to be silent as you started chanting whispers of 'You will be my armor' and 'rat king'

Decided to leave you and your brain washing, going to the kitchen like he intended

Though when he walked past your room again you and the little Ds weren't there

He found you in his room, pouting and dangling off the chandelier

He helped you down, asking what was wrong

You told him the little D's banished you from the cuddle pile because you kept trying to make them move as one being

He patted your head and told you you'll become the overlord some day

Barbatos:

"Why are you making pudding at 3 am?"

He already knew why, just like he knew you were here hence why he visited you

But that didn't stop him from asking

He knew you liked it when he showed his intrigue in things even if he already knew about them

"my hands demand to CREATE- oops sorry - hopefully that didn't wake anyone."

He was always surprised to see you up and about during the nights

He was always the one looking after you in the morningsa; making sure you ate and had a drink

Whilst you just laid in bed, always barely awake and unmotivated

He stayed with you, watching over you as you made your pudding

Making soft spoken discussion as he guided you through any steps you seemed to become hesitant in

You ended up making 10 batches of pudding

Barbatos eating a few whilst he watched you

When you grew bored of pudding making you ate the cups he didn't eat

Saving a few for lord Diavolo in the fridge

He complimented your pudding, telling you that they were very delicious

You felt proud; having a spark to make more food

He told you what would be best during this time of night and helped you

Though it did end up with the both of you covered in flour and barb slipping on a dropped egg

You both thought it was best to clean up and stop for the night

He was very embarassed he made a fool of himself

Solomon:

He didn't expect to find you in his working space

He knew you would be awake but didn't even think of you doing what you're doing right now

"is there a reason you're drinking my potions like their shots? I must say this is rather interesting - how many did you have?"

You wiped your mouth, your hiccup coming out as exploding bubbles

You looked at the small glass viles, and saw ALOT of them empty

More than you realized

"uh- 3?"

he just chuckled, reading the notes you made

The notes was recording what each potion did to you

He was thankful you remembered this was his safe batch

Unknown to him you in fact did NOT remember and was having a Russian roulette game with them

He sat with you, making a cure for your explosive hiccups

You happily drunk it and felt better

He laughed more when he saw your scribbles; drawing what happened to you

Solomon will be making you his potion tester from now one so beware

Simeon:

He was an early riser; awake by 3 am and usually did some writing or watched TV until he got tired again

He had a mug of tea, shuffling through the dorm

He's hung out with you plenty of times whilst you cure your late night boredom

But he was surprised when he saw you in the living room, mini flashlight in your mouth and scrubbing the floors with a sponge mop

"Oh, you don't need to clean - that's very sweet of you but don't you think it's abit early to do this?"

You looked at him, semi blinding him with the flashlight

Immediately took it out of your mouth and apologized

You agreed it was but you wanted to do it as you've been meaning to for the past week

He just nodded, letting you do your own thing whilst he enjoyed his drink

But you suddenly felt awkward; no longer wanting to clean now that someone was in the room

You made your way over to him, climbing on the coffee table and jumping onto the sofa

He was curious on why you weren't doing your thing anymore

"dunno know, just feels awkward when people watch me do stuff."

He suggested leaving you be, saying he'll stay in his room

But now you felt bad because he wanted to rest in the living room

In the end, he helped you clean and you both fell asleep in the bathtub, cuddling up with towels working as padding and a blanket

Luke:

You liked creeping Luke out

It was fun, so far you've convinced them that you're a type of demon that watches bad children whilst they sleep

But really you just wanted to feel like a cryptic, sitting in the corner of his room on a cupboard

It wasn't long for him to wake up from your staring

"I'm going to tell Simeon if you keep staring at me."

You wanted to laugh; he really was a child

Luke wasn't aware that you were a night owl, he just assumed you were always tired and sleeping

He liked to help you around the house and look after you when he could

It almost made you feel had

Almost

He's been extra stubborn about liking the Devildom to the point he's Been insulting his friends and trying to push them away

"Luke, you've been very bad, pushing your friends away just because they're a demon isn't good - embrace your friendships."

You weren't amazing at changing your voice but it seemed to work on him

He complained that it wasn't right for angels and demons to be friends

But you quickly reminded him what this whole exchange program was about

"you have been chosen to help fix the divide between the three realms, just hang out with the people you care about or I'll eat your toes!"

He immediately got scared, scrunching into himself and only peered slightly out of his blanket

He made you promise to leave him alone if he made up with the demons

You agreed, feeling bad for disturbing his sleep but thankful your plan worked

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eveningstar1516 · 3 years

Text

Rise of the Demon King ~ Chapter 7

Rise of the Demon King

Fic: Multi Chapter Paring: MC x Everyone (Mostly Lucifer) Type: Angst with a Happy Ending Total Word Count: 26,758 TW: Major Character Death, Reader gets stabbed with a sword through their chest so..., Abusive Parents, Past Child Abuse, Demon Hunters, Loss of Control Summary: You’ve done it. You’ve finally done it. You’ve managed to anger the demon king. Now you hold your head high as he hands down your sentence. AO3 Portal: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27065362

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Previously:

As he walked through the halls towards his next class, he made a vow to himself to try and feel that unfamiliar emotion until he could name it, then keep feeling it, because, for Satan, it felt like Y/N was right next to them, with their signature smile on their face, proud of him for focusing on a feeling opposite of his wrath. Should he start to feel his wrath taking over, he would picture Y/N, holding his hand, encouraging him to feel that unfamiliar emotion. One he soon learned was called ‘Philia Love’.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHAPTER 7 - Virtue of Loyalty (4265 words)

Our trip to the palace was a quiet one. Michael didn’t seem to want anything to do with me since he flew quite fast and left me behind multiple times as I'd never flown before and flying was extremely difficult. No one offered any assistance so I tucked my wings away, which I managed to figure out how to do after I accidentally did so mid flight, and ran under him. Looking straight ahead after confirming that I was keeping pace with Michael, I spotted the Celestial Palace. My jaw dropped in awe as I ran. The thing was massive! At least 2.5 times the size of Diavolo’s castle and even more decorative. The white walls were adorned with varying shades of golden accents making the palace seem larger than it really was. As I got closer, I learned that it was sitting in the middle of a massive garden that was overflowing with different kinds of celestial plants and trees. Although both the palace and garden seemed to be overflowing with decorations, everything still fit perfectly and was quite pleasing to the eyes.

Approaching the marble steps of the palace as Michael landed in front of me, greeting some gardeners as they stopped and bowed their heads to him. Signalling for them to resume their work, he continued up the steps motioning for me to follow. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I followed him looking as unfazed as possible. Upon entering I found that the outside of the palace does no justice to the massive interior. Abandoning plan to remain as neutral and unfazed as possible, I gazed in absolute awe at the decor, my mouth opening slightly. There were no lighting fixtures as massive windows lined the wall letting in more than enough sunlight through. A massive chandelier was located in the center of the room with golden and silver chains decorating it. The marbled floor also had silver and gold accents as a beautiful floral pattern was outlined. Hearing a chuckle behind me, I turned to see Michael looking at me with a smug smile on his face.

“Well how can you not expect me to be amazed by all this?!” I countered while spinning and gesturing around the room.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Your smug smile said it all Mike” I flashed him a wicked smirk of my own as I called him by the nickname. His face darkened significantly as his tone dropped to what would have been a dangerous level had I not have spent my life with demons. It just didn’t have the same undertones as Devilish.

“Watch yourself child”

Giving him an exaggerated mock bow I responded.

“My humble apologies Sir Michael. I will be sure not to repeat the same error in the future.”

“Very funny.” He scoffed and walked off. I got up and followed him through the palace until we stopped between two massive golden doors to what I assumed to be the throne room. Michael addressed himself and stated that he brought me with him. 2 angels donning Celestial armour opened the doors. Michael walked in with his head slightly bowed and his gaze lowered. I walked looking straight ahead as I subtly took the room in. It wasn’t as big as I expected it to be. A golden carpet leading from the door to the throne was the most extravagant thing in the room. In contrast to the rest of the palace, the throne room was quite modest. Even the throne wasn’t extravagant, built for comfort instead of elegance. God himself looked to be a 6’8 man in his late fifties with chestnut coloured hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He wore a simple white robe with gold accents. His eyes, a light blue colour, were emitting a slight white glow as we approached. Michael stopped a short distance from the throne and kneeled.

“Father, I have brought Y/N on your orders.”

“Thank you my son.” He turned to look at me.

“Y/N, you have caused quite the commotion in the 3 realms.”

I kept my tone playful as a polite smile made itself home on my face as I spoke with God.

“What can I say Father, trouble likes to follow me, wherever I may be.”

“That may be my child, although I am quite confused as to how you ended up here especially as a seraph. In case you didn’t know, that position must be earned here in heaven, so please explain to me, why I shouldn’t forsake you and have you fall to the Devildom?” He raised his right eyebrow and relaxed into his throne as he asked his question.

“Oh make no mistake, I didn’t want to come here in the first place, had I actually had a choice, I would have gone to the Devildom where I belong. Unfortunately, circumstances never seem to be on my side.”

“That still doesn’t explain how you came to be here, in that attire nonetheless.”

“Does it upset you that I come donning Lucifer's clothing and wings? I assure you, I didn’t have a say in my appearance. I am only staying here as long as necessary after all. I still wish to fall and return to my family.”

“Tell me child, how is it that a human finds comfort in the likes of demons rather than angels?”

“Whoever said I didn’t find comfort in angels? I find Simeon and Luke to be quite comforting whenever I get stressed with this whole 3 realms stuff. I just find the darkness of the Devildom more appealing as you and I both know what lurks underneath this “bright” soul of mine.”

“And yet you came here to me, why?”

“I presume you know the details regarding my untimely end?”

“Yes I am, although you weren’t due to perish yet, I do not dictate the souls within the Devildom realm. What of it?”

“I sacrificed myself for the brothers whom I have grown to call family so that they may continue to live despite being ruled by a tyrant whom you rivel for the title of “Devil””

“Watch what you say child! You are still addressing Father and not some random person off the street!” Ignoring Michael, I continued.

“I do not wish to return to the Devildom while it is ruled by King Abandon.”

“Child, I am aware of your relationship to the brothers as well as your loyalty to those you call family. I am also aware of the feelings you have for my eldest son. I ask you, has anyone told you about his duties while he was serving me?”

“Yes, Simeon and his brothers would speak about his time here as the leader of the council. Lucifer himself preferred not to talk about it but he answered my questions whenever I asked. I have also learned his work habits and often aided him whenever an overflow of work had come in due on a short notice.” God seemed to contemplate something. With a thoughtful look on his face, he addressed me.

“I have a proposition for you. You wish to fall and reunite with your family in the Devildom. I do not wish to have you up here, although you do not want to serve King Abandon.”

“That is correct.”

“I will grant your wish on one condition. I will allow you to return to the Devildom after Abandon’s reign is over, on the condition that you take Samael’s position on the council. You are to take over his responsibilities without attempting to sabotage the realm or abuse your power. Should you not be able to meet my expectations, or should you abuse your position, I will cast you out regardless of who is currently ruling the Devildom.”

Michael, who had stayed silent while his Father was speaking, was shocked by God's proposition.

“Father, are you sure this is the right way to go? Y/N doesn’t even belong here. Are you sure trusting them with Samael’s old position is a good idea?”

“Do you disagree with my judgment Michael? Do you believe me incapable of determining Y/N’s fate in my realm?”

Michaels face visibly paled as he realized the implications of his words. Bowing his head in mortification he answered his Father.

“‘O-of course not Father! I just don’t think that Y/N is qualified or ready to lead the council. They are unaware of how the Celestial realm operates and doesn’t have the experience that Samael possessed.”

Scratching his chin, God thought about Michael's words.

“You’re right Michael, you and the rest of the council as well as Simeon and Luke shall serve as their guide during their time here. You are to teach them how we operate and train them as to how to properly fulfill Samael’s role. You are to step down as the leader of the council once they have learned how to fill in the role themselves.”

Not being able to object to his Father's words, Michael agreed, although he tried to hide it, you could see how he clenched his teeth, obviously disapproving the entire idea and his new role as your babysitter.

“How about it Y/N, will you accept my proposal?”

“I have a few conditions of my own I’d like to add. I will accept on the condition that I return as soon as Diavolo is crowned king, no later and that other than the obvious changes that come with falling, no other changes will be made to me. I will follow your rules while I am up here and will serve you as long as it doesn’t result in any harm coming to the Devildom or Earth and their inhabitants. I will fulfill my role as Lucifer’s replacement during my time here, no more, no less.”

“Of course, that goes without saying. I will also add that you are to have no contact with any being outside my realm during your time here. We wouldn’t want anyone coming up here to retrieve you before our deal has ended now would we?”

“No, we wouldn’t. I accept your proposal to be Lucifer’s replacement until the time comes for Diavolo's crowning. Until then, I shall serve you and the council to the best of my abilities.” I stepped closer and kneeled before him as he sealed the deal.

“Alright then, as you are no doubt aware, each angel on my council represents a virtue. You shall as well. While Humility does not suit you quite right, I shall grant you a new virtue. One that could be considered a sin should it be applied incorrectly. I think you’d like that. Rise Y/N, Virtue of Loyalty.”

I rose to my feet as an invisible force caused my wings and halo to appear. They glowed a light blue as whatever magic God was using to tie me to the Celestial realm ran its course. Once the glowing dimmed down, I tucked my wings back in and bowed my head once more towards the being I now served for the time being and exited the throne room, making my way back to the House of Honors with Michael close behind. As we reached the front door, Michael turned me around. A hard and unforgiving expression on his face. A look of outright hatred in his eyes.

“Listen Y/N, just because Father has accepted you into the Celestial realm, doesn’t mean the rest of us have. You are still an outsider and I frankly do not trust anyone who has spent so much time around demons. I will follow Father’s orders in training you, but know this, Y/N, if I so much as suspect you of doing anything to upset the balance in the Celestial realm, if you hurt any of the angels here, I will take matters into my own hands. I will not allow a being as tainted as you to wreak havoc among the angels. Am I understood?”

Meeting his gaze, a smile made its way to my face as I responded.

“I will hold you to that.”

He took one last hard look at me and walked through the door. Left alone on the steps, I thought to myself, ‘Soon my demons, I’ll be back, soon’. I walked to the gardens and spent the next few hours tending to it until dinner.

In the Devildom. After they lost Y/N

As soon as they got home, Mammon went straight to Y/N’s room. How could he let this happen? He was their first damn it! He should have protected them, he should have stopped Lucifer, he should have done something! He entered Y/N’s room and immediately sat on their bed, made messily in their excitement to meet the king. He held their pillow, hugging to his chest as he started crying. Too lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t hear Asmo following him. Upon entering the room and seeing the state his older brother was in, Asmo put aside his own grievances and sat next to Mammon and embraced him, letting him cry on his shoulder. This reminded Asmo of a time in the Celestial realm. They were playing with Levi in the gardens when Levi tried to show off his tree climbing skills. As he was nearing the top, Mammon noticed the branch Levi was climbing looked ready to snap. He tried to warn Levi but was too late as the branch snapped and Levi fell. Mammon wasn’t fast enough to catch him. Levi ended up dislocating a wing and spraining his right shoulder. Asmo remembered walking by Mammon's room that night and heard quiet sobs, he knocked and opened the door revealing Mammon sitting on his bed, hugging his pillow crying. He sat next to his older brother and hugged him, assuring him that it wasn’t his fault and that Levi would be just fine. Coming out of the memory, Asmo did the same now, hugging Mammon and reassuring him that it wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t have stopped Y/N from giving that order and that everything will be ok.

“Will it be though? It just won’t be the same without them.”

“I know. It will be hard, Y/N was our family, but we’ll be there for each other.”

They slept together, holding each other in Y/N’s bed comforting each other until they fell asleep.

Present

It was an ordinary day for Mammon. He had just gotten back from a modelling gig at Majolish and was thinking up ways to spend the money he just earned. He was thinking of treating himself to a night out as he’d also gotten a math test back that day and passed with a 90%! Just as he was thinking about where to go, he felt the pull of a summoning. Mammon opened his eyes to find himself in an old cold basement. He scanned the room noting that the only lighting provided was a small bulb with a pull down string in the middle of the room and 3 small candles near the summoning circle. He found that the room was practically empty save for a thin mattress in a corner and some stairs leading to a door. He then spotted the one who summoned him, a little girl. She looked to be no older than 5. She was wearing stained and ripped overalls, one of the straps was missing. A light pink t-shirt underneath. Her brown hair was relatively short, only reaching her shoulders and was a tangled mess. Upon looking closer, Mammon noticed that she was covered head to toe in bruises and there were deep scratch marks on her arms and legs. He looked at the hastily drawn circle under him and found out that she drew it with some chalked rocks. She held an old summoning book close to her chest. Her big brown eyes looked so scared, yet if he looked closer, he could see what looked to be hope sparkling in the background. He could tell by looking at her that she held vast magical potential. Whoever put her here obviously knew the same.

“A-are you Mammon?” By Diavolo, she sounded so broken, like if he spoke too loud, she would shatter. Kneeling down to her level, Mammon put a soft smile on his face.

“Yes I am. What’s your name?”

“Cynthia”

“Ok Cynthia, what can I help you with.” Mammon doesn’t know what it was about the little girl, but he found himself genuinely wanting to help her. Maybe it was the way they looked at him with hope. Maybe it was because they were just a kid, or maybe, it was because her eyes reminded him of Y/N’s.

“I want to leave. My parents locked me in here. They don’t care about me. They only use me for their spells. Please Mammon, help me. I’ll give you my soul if you want, just please!” Tears came to her eyes as she pleaded with him to help her. Mammon upon hearing what these sorcerers were doing with their daughter, became enraged. He held his hand out to Cynthia with a smile on his face. He took the book from her hands and put it on the ground next to him.

“No, no, no. I won’t take your soul. It’s alright Cynthia, I’ll help ya. Why did you think I’d need your soul to help you?” “That’s what my parents said. They’ve been using me to try and summon you. I heard them arguing about who’s soul they would give to form a pact. Then they decided that they would give you mine.” Mammon didn’t think he could get madder, but by now, he was seeing red. Not only did her parents lock her up, they used her to try and summon him thinking he’d just accept a child’s soul to form a pact with them! Mammon was beyond angry.

“Don’t worry Cynthia, the Great Mammon will take care of your parents! You’ll be out of here in no time.” Sensing his rage Cynthia grabbed onto his legs before he made it to the stairs.

“No, don’t hurt them!” Mammon looked down at the girl in shock.

“Please don’t hurt them. They may have done all these awful things to me but they’re still my mom and dad! I don’t want you to hurt them, just get me out of here!” Mammon looked at the girl like she’d gone crazy. Her parents, who have locked her up in a basement, used her for spells, hell even tried summoning him in exchange for her own soul, she wanted them alive?! He saw how genuine she was being and he couldn’t find the heart to say no to her. Instead, Mammon knelt down to her level and took her hand. Cynthia looked at him with tears threatening to overflow. Mammon brought his other hand to cup her face, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb.

“Ok Cynthia, I won’t hurt them. I am mad at your parents for doing this to you, but if you don’t want me to hurt them, I won’t.” Mammon then brought Cynthia’s right hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it gently. A yellow seal formed on the back of her right hand and a matching pink one on the palm of Mammon's right.

“Now we have a pact Cynthia. I didn’t take your soul, I took your sadness. Did you know that demons could also take emotions to form a pact?”

“N-no. Does this mean you’ll take me far away from here?”

“Yes, and it also means that you won’t ever feel sad again. I know a nice witch who can take care of you. She will teach you how to use and call me with the pact. This way, whenever you’re in trouble, you will be able to summon me without drawing the circle again and I can come protect ya.”

“O-ok.” Mammon then picked Cynthia up and walked up the stairs, kicking the basement door down he walked through the house towards the front door. Before he reached it though, he heard a scream behind him. He noticed that Cynthia tensed considerably in his arms as he set her down, hiding her behind his legs. He turned around coming face to face with a middle aged couple who he preserved to be Cynthia’s parents. Her mom then yelled at Cynthia.

“Cynthia Maxwell Daemon! You come here right this instant!”

“Shut your mouth lady. She doesn't belong to you anymore.”

“Nonsense! She’s my daughter. She is mine to do with what I want!” Mammon's patience was running out. A scowl appeared on his face as he growled out.

“Listen here lady, I’ve got some choice words for you two that I wouldn’t care to say in front of the girl, but the fact that you thought you could summon me and exchange her soul for a pact with you? You're crazy to think I’d ever accept that kind of pact. Now Cynthia and I are leaving and you ain’t ever using her again!”

Cynthia’s parents then realized who they were talking to and their attitudes immediately changed.

“Please forgive us, Lord Mammon. We hadn’t planned for the girl to summon you. We apologize for the inconvenience the child caused you. If you would stay, we could reimburse you for your troubles.” Cynthia’s father bowed his head as he addressed Mammon. Mammon on the other hand outright laughed at that statement. Turning into his demon form he barked out

“You think her summoning me was an inconvenience?! You two are crazier than I thought! Now listen here and listen closely, neither of you are to come near or look for her. None of you are going to use her again. We are leaving and don’t ever bother trying to summon me again. Ya know, you should thank Cynthia. If she didn’t plead with me not to hurt either of you, you’d both be dead. Make no mistake, if either of you try to summon me or if I find you anywhere near her again, I will rip your hearts out and feed you to Cerberus. Kapeesh?” The dark undertones of Mammon’s voice got through to Cynthia’s parents as their faces paled in fear and they quickly agreed. They begged for his forgiveness and promised not to harm Cynthia again if he could just stay awhile. Not bothering with them anymore, Mammon picked Cynthia up and walked out, flying towards the one witch he’d ever trusted. When he landed, he realized that Cynthia was crying.

“Sorry Cyn, I didn’t scare ya, did I?”

“A-a little, but these aren’t scared tears. I’m happy. Thank you for getting me away from them and for letting them live.”

“Of course. The Great Mammon keeps his promises.” Mammon walked up to the door of the small cottage. He knocked and a young witch with long blond hair, green eyes, and freckles answered the door.

“Mammon what a surprise! What brings you here?” She opened the door gesturing for him to come in.

“Sorry, not today Kelly. I’m actually here for her.” Mammon stepped aside, revealing a scared Cynthia behind him.

“Oh my Diavolo! What happened to you, you poor girl?!” Kelly rushed forward cupping Cynthia’s chin as she inspected her body, taking in all the bruises and cuts.

“Kelly, this is Cynthia. She summoned me to save her from her parents. I was wondering if ya could take care of her. I know ya've always wanted a kid, so…”

“Of course! I could never turn someone in need away, especially a girl as cute as her.” She said while pinching Cynthia’s cheeks. Cynthia giggled in response.

“Ok then, Cynthia, Kelly here’s gonna take care of you. I promise that she won’t act like your mom and she will help you learn how to use both your magic and your pact.” Reaching into his pocket, Mammon pulled out the Grimm he’d earned that day. He then put them into Cynthia’s palm.

“Here ya go kid. Now if you ever visit me, you’ll have some money to spend.” Mammon turned to leave when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see Cynthia pulling him down to the ground. He crouched down. Cynthia then kissed his cheek, giving him one of the Grimm he’d given her.

“Thank you Mammon.” She then ran behind Kelly’s legs and waved goodbye with a massive smile on her face.

It’s been a couple years since Mammon saved Cynthia. She’d grown to be a strong and skilful sorcerer. He’d visit her often over the years with something in tow for her. Mammon never spent the Grimm that Cynthia gave back to him on that day. Whenever Mammon had a tough time with the numerous witches he’d find himself in debt with, he’d always find his way to her, and she comforted him, never asking for more than his company, something he was more than happy to give. His brothers would always know whenever he went to see her as he’d always come back with a content smile on his face. Deep down, he wished that Y/N could’ve met Cynthia. They would have made great friends as they were the only 2 people who could make him smile like this. Mammon may not have been able to save Y/N, but he swore that he would protect Cynthia, no matter the cost.

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