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dp-marvel94 · 4 months

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(Not) Alone - Chapter 9

Summary: Consumed with worry and scared after watching Dani almost die, Danny begs her to come home with him and meet Jazz. He wants to see her safe and happy and taken care of more than anything. An important reveal also weighs heavy on him – Dani isn’t the only living clone… and the other is him. He needs to tell her the truth; maybe that will convince her to agree to the idea of telling his parents. And she'll stay in Amity Park with him, where he'll never have to worry if she's safe ever again.

Meanwhile, Dani has mixed feelings. Still reeling from the loss of her clone siblings, Danny’s unexpected worry and care make her uncomfortable. And her own guilt… she hurt him and helped get him kidnapped twice. How can he care about a mistake like her? But having clean clothes and a bed is wonderful. And things aren’t as simple as she thinks.

Will Dani accept the help she needs and let herself be loved? Or will she push Danny and Jazz away and run again?

Word Count: 5,019

First-> Previous

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Note: Finally, I'm back to posting this story! I got way behind for a bit there. I was very busy writing my Ecto-Implosion story - a Lost Time Mer AU featuring a very ethereal Clockwork and a very conflicted Danny; it is posted now so go check it out if you haven't! Then there was Thanksgiving and preparing for Christmas. And my sister and I are buying a house! We close on January 5th. So yeah, a lot of excited things going on. Enjoy the second to last chapter of this story!

The time before dinner consisted of a tour of the Far Frozen, given by Frostbite. They visited the library, the hall of murals, the artifact vault (including sneaking a peek at the Infini-map!). The stadium, the ice practice rooms, the guard’s training field. There was a hanger for the hovercrafts. An engineering workshop where an adolescent yeti apprentice was helping an adult with a hovercraft repair.

They passed classrooms, the excited voices of an in-class literature debate perking Dani’s ears. The girl peered through the glass window in the door, curious eyes fixing on the small group of students. One of the young yeti’s gaze met hers, the other ghost grinning toothily and waving. Blinking in surprise, the girl waved back.

“Come, you must see the ice garden!” Frostbite hurried the group through the hall.

“Wow.” The clone girl breathed. “It’s so pretty!”

Trees, flowers, even individual blades of grass sparkled in the light, despite the cloudy sky. Dani darted behind one of the towering trees, thick trunked with heart-shaped leaves.

“It’s almost clear!” She giggled, looking at her brother through the trunk. “You look ridiculous!” Flickers of his ghost form – white, black, and green – warped through the ice.

“Oh yeah?!” He flew forward, making funny faces at her through the other side of the trunk. “You’re the one who looks ridiculous.”

“But you look more ridiculous-er!” She laughed more, sticking her tongue out at him. “Like one of those fun house mirrors!”

The two played for a while, poking fun at each other. Then…. The ice drakes!

“They’re so cute!” Dani cooed, eyes round.

Jazz looked at the creatures. Part wingless dragon, part slinky lizard, they were twenty feet long, with sharp claws, sharp teeth, and blue-silver scales. She side-eyed her sister skeptically. “Cute?”

One of the drakes, a juvenile all of five feet long, stuck out its tongue and licked its eye.

“Just look at him.” Dani gave her best puppy dog eyes. “And look!” She pointed to a disturbed area in the snow, sky blue splotches and small silver bodies standing out against the white powder. “Babies!”

“Ah, the hatchlings have arrived.” Frostbite said warmly. He walked towards the nest, gently brushing snow away. With one hand, he waved to the two girls. “Would you like to hold one, Dani with an i?”

Dani beamed. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Excitedly, she held out her hands.

“Hold her like this.” Frostbite demonstrated. “Close to your body.”

The younger girl nodded eagerly. Gently, she took the hatchling, which let out a squeak. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Soon enough, the baby lizard relaxed, head resting on Dani’s upper arm, paws curled up against her chest, and tail wrapped around her other arm.

The clone girl cooed. “Yes, you are so cute. Yes, you are.”

Jazz watched over Dani’s shoulder, brow still furrowed skeptically.

Half ghost and hatchling stayed like that for a while, just looking at each other. But after a few minutes, the young drake grew restless. She squirmed in the hold, eyes darting to and then fixing on the human’s red hair. She chirped curiously, head lifting. The hatching half-wrestled out off, was half-released from Dani’s arms. She scrambled up Dani’s jumpsuit, onto her shoulder, and leapt onto Jazz’s.

“Hey!” The older teen protested, to laughs from her younger siblings.

The nosy drake investigated, sniffing, batting at, and chewing on the hair.

“That isn’t food!” Jazz complained.

At the same time, the hatchling spit out the mouthful rather spectacularly, having realized it in fact wasn’t edible. Still, she investigated Jazz’s hair and clothing, eventually wrapping herself around the red-head’s shoulders like a second scaly scarf. Innocent blue eyes blinked up at the human.

Jazz sighed. “Alright. I guess you are a little cute.”

“Yes!” Dani cheered. “Told you!”

The older sister rolled her eyes.

After that, Danny took a turn holding one of the hatchlings. A few more minutes of cooing at the smaller drakes and coaxing the adults into pettings and….

“Can we go back inside? It’s getting colder.” The red-head shivered, frowning up at the sky. “Actually, we should probably leave soon.”

“Yes. Of course.” The chief nodded sagely. “Some food first, very quickly before your journey home. There is still plenty of time yet, before the weather turns.”

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

Actually, there was not plenty of time before the weather turned.

Danny frowned out the window, clutching another mug of hot chocolate. Outside the wind blew fiercely, the atmosphere completely white with the driving snow.

“My apologies, Danny.” Frostbite said surprisingly softly, a hand on the half ghost’s shoulder. “The storm blew in much quicker than anticipated. I should have hastened your departure.”

“It’s okay.” The half ghost looked up at his mentor. “How long do you think it’ll last?”

“A blizzard which arrived this quickly…” The yeti hummed thoughtfully. “Those storms like this are intense but they are short lived. Less than a day, surely. Perhaps eighteen hours.”

“So we’ll have to spend the night.” The boy bit his lip.

“It seems so.” Frostbite patted his back. “Come. We will prepare a feast for all. And a dance! Music and games will surely lift you and your siblings’ spirits!”

The corner of Danny’s lip turned up. “Alright. Let’s go.” With the chief’s enthusiasm, there was no way he could stay so somber.

The feast was amazing. Five courses. Ice kelp salad, with Caesar dressing straight from the Acropolis. Cave mushroom soup, topped with mammoth cheese and spices. An appetizer of garlic bread- a staple anywhere in the Infinite Realms. Giant Bison steaks with neon-colored fingerling potatoes. And for dessert…

Dani poked the shiny yet opaque, gelatinous slab with her knife. “What is this?”

It wiggled unappealingly and yet, Danny’s mouth watered. “Aojngofls.” He answered, grinning.

“What?”

“Aojngofls.” The boy repeated, to his little sister’s continued confusion. “That’s the yeti word for it. Have no idea what it’d be in English.”

“Okay? But…” Dani still eyed the desert skeptically. “What is it?”

“It’s some kind of pudding, I think. The consistency is kinda like flan but there’s nuts and fruit and stuff inside.” The boy greedily grabbed a spoonful, stuffing it in his mouth with abandon. “ ‘s so goof.” He gushed.

The young girl sniffed her portion, giving at another poke. “Why’s it shiny though?”

Danny swallowed his bite. “Ground up Ice Drake scales.”

At that, Dani pushed the plate away violently, a look of betrayal on her face. “No! How could they?”

“The drakes naturally shed their scales and the yeti’s collect them.” The boy soothed. “No drakes were harmed in the making of this dessert.”

“If that’s true….” His younger sister still wrinkled her nose, off-put. But hesitantly, she took a bite.

Danny leaned forward, eyes wide and eager for her reaction. “Well?”

Several emotions flashed across her face in quick succession, disgust turning to surprise and then relief. She swallowed. “It’s… actually good?”

“Yes!” The older half ghost fist pumped, laughing as the younger quickly started on her own piece with abandon.

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

“We have most exquisite merriment for your enjoyment, Great One and Kin!” Frostbite practically dragged Danny and his sisters to the dance hall, so great was his enthusiasm.

The chief flung the doors open, the sound suddenly swelling. Drums banged, pounded. String instruments strummed and shredded, some high and quivering, others low and droning. The winds trilled and rumbled, like songbirds fluttering in the trees and the distant peals of thunder. It was a cacophony, the sounds weaving together in purposeful chaos.

Around the room, yetis stomped, clapped, danced. And Danny found himself pulled into the spiral of bodies. Jazz, her red-hair vibrant amongst the white fur, spun away from him. She danced beside Snowflake, movements at first awkward and unsure but quickly becoming exuberant and ridiculous. And Dani…

The shout barely carried over the crowd but it tickled Danny’s ear all the same. “Come dance with us!”

One of the younger yeti’s took hold of his sister’s hand, pulling her to join the other kids. Dani followed, smiling and then laughing, soon twirling as absurd and excited as their other sister was.

And Danny danced too. Legs jumping, arms flailing, feet pounding, head bobbing. His heart pounded, in time with the music. And the very air around him…. The excitement of the other ghosts, delighted to just be alive, together. His sisters, here and safe and happy. Jazz, her eyes bright and shoulders held high, without the worry she always wore like a heavy weight. And Danielle…. Twirling and laughing with the other kids, grinning like she’d never smiled in her life.

The older half ghost’s core buzzed, light with its happiness, with the warmth of its love overflowing. He laughed, taken by the sheer joy.

Danny danced for some unknowable amount of time after, catching the occasional glimpses of Jazz’s teal jacket or Dani’s midnight black suit. The words, unknown to his ears, and the music, foreign in arrangement but familiar in emotion, flowed around, in, and through him. His hair raised with chills, moved by the shaking drone of the strings, by the long, soulfully sung notes. And his body moved along, joining the song. No, not just his body. It was deeper. The feeling vibrated down, passed his blood and ectoplasm. Down, into his core, the center of himself. He danced, not just with his body but with his very soul.

Eventually though, the music slowed, a profound tranquility over taking the room. The dancer also slowed, many of them pairing up.

Danny stilled with a soft smile on his face as he pulled himself out of the crowd. He meandered to the edge of the room, eyes set on a table of refreshments. The boy picked up a cup of slightly glowing punch. Turning back, his gaze flickered over the gathering, searching for…

Ah, there. His heart squeezed, pleasantly warm. There was Danielle.

He raised the glass to his lips, taking a sip as he watched. His little sister still lingered in the middle of a crowd of younger yetis, though the group had drifted away from the dance floor. They huddled in a corner, a few adolescents giggling to each other about something. And… Dani sat in the air cross-legged, one of the cubs curiously running claws through her hair. A slightly older kid gently swatted away the paw, leaned forward to mutter something in Dani’s ear. The half ghost nodded, eyes lighting up in delighted surprise. The young yeti started braiding the shining white locks.

“Danielle looks really happy.” Jazz’s voice broke his attention from the scene.

Danny blinked, for a moment surprised, but then dismissing her sudden appearance… “Yeah, she does.” He smiled, contented eyes back on his little sister.

His older sister smiled too, just as happy. “I don’t think she’s been this happy the entire week. Bringing her here was a great idea.”

The boy nodded. It was true enough. Despite the slight bumps of the check up and the unexpected snowstorm, Dani looked about the happiest he’d ever seen her.

Across the room, the braiding finished up, the paws removed from Dani’s hair. The girl experimentally shook her head, the ends hitting her cheeks. Her mouth opened, laughter audible in the lines of her face despite the loud music.

“Aw. Look at that. She’s already making friends.” Jazz cooed.

In other circumstances, Danny might have scoffed at the mushy comment. But now, his heart was too full of relief and joy to hold any cynicism. “Yeah, she is.”

Neither sibling spoke for a long moment, just watching Dani talk and play with the other kids. Soon, the song ended, another fast one starting up.

Danny stepped towards the crowd. “Ready to get back at it?”

Jazz took a sip of her own punch. “I still need to catch my breath. I can barely keep up.” She chuckled. “These guys are more rambunctious than Aunt Alicia’s neighbors at a barn dance.”

The boy laughed at the unexpected comparison. “Oh my g-d, that’s what this was reminding me off.”

Just then, Frostbite’s booming laugh cut above the music, his energetic kick nearly knocking down his dance partner. The yetis were just as exuberant as any country folk.

“Do you remember that time Alicia’s neighbor's kid let all the chickens out during the dance?” Jazz asked with a snort.

“Of course.” Danny snorted himself. “They were all line dancing,” Hands on his hips, he kicked each leg and then clapped and turned with a jump. “to Cotton-Eyed Joe. And those stupid chickens...” He landed, leaning forward slightly, and moving his head back and forth in a very poultry-like manner. “Those stupid chickens were trying their best to become footballs!”

“Old Man Roberts kicked one and it sounded…” A laugh broke through the words. “it sounded like a freaking rubber chicken! Like…” The sad chicken noise Jazz then made….

The boy nearly doubled over laughing. “That’s the most pa..pathetic chicken noise…I’ve… I’ve ever… heard.” He gasped, diaphragm flipping with the sound.

“But that’s what it sounded like!” His sister argued.

“Like.. Like?” Danny tried to make his own rubber chicken noise but broke down in giggles.

A second of the red-head’s nose wrinkling, trying to hold but the sound and… hands on her knees, she cackled too. The two laughed for a long while, just the two of them and that memory.

Eventually, Danny caught his breath. Wiping his eyes… “Man, those barn dances at Alicia’s were the best.”

“Yeah, they’re always a good laugh.” Jazz chuckled, again. “The only thing funnier than those chickens is Dad trying to dance to Party in the USA.”

Danny laughed again, just picturing it. Jack Fenton, in all his uncoordinated orange-flanneled glory, stomping and jumping completely out of time.

He shook his head, grinning. “I wonder if Mom and Dad managed to catch a dance on their trip.” But as soon as the words passed from his lips...“Their trip.” His face fell, a chill anxiety suddenly dousing the previous joviality. “They’ll be back tomorrow night.”

His older sister stood up straighter, also sobering. “That’s right.”

Danny’s hand frantically ran through his hair. “I still need to talk to Dani about that.”

The red-head raised a brow. “You didn’t talk to her last night?”

Danny shook his head. “With everything else we talked about…” He bit his lip. “I couldn’t bring it up, not when she was already so upset.”

Jazz stepped towards him, nodding understandingly. “That’s okay. We can bring it up later, after the dance.”

His eyes darted back to Dani and the younger yetis. They were playing some kind of game, one yeti blindfolded in the middle with the others surrounding in a circle. His younger sister’s eyes sparkled, a hand over her mouth trying to hold back laughter.

His heart squeezed. “But she’s so happy. She’s happy and making friends. And she finally called me Danny again.” Such relief that statement brought… she was comfortable with him, all of him. “And we just had to talk about our brothers last night and that was hard enough.” It was painful, just remembering her crying, clinging to him like he’d disappear too if she let go. “But this… how can I do that to her again?”

Jazz glared, suddenly serious, as she pulled him farther away from the crowd and in front of some chairs huddled against the wall. “We still have to have this conversation with her, Danny.” Voice low but harsh, the red-head crossed her arms. “We can’t just let her run off to Ancients knows where.”

“Of course not.” The boy almost hissed, eyes narrowed in offense. “I barely want to let her out of my sight. I’d rather died than let her F-off into the sunset again. I want her at home with us. But…” He slumped into the chair, anger suddenly doused. “She doesn’t even want to meet Mom and Dad. I know she doesn’t.” His head dropped into his hands. “She shuts down any time they’re even kinda mentioned. I barely convinced her to meet you in the first place. You know how hard it was to convince her to let us buy her clothes, let alone anything else.” Her furious words, that first morning…. She didn’t think she needed or deserved help. She was trying to fight that thinking, he knew, from their conversation last night. But did that still linger below the surface? And…

“Jazz.” His voice lowered, shoulders curling in on themselves. “I… I’m scared. I want Danielle safe and happy so damn bad. So bad. But…I’m… I’m terrified that I’ll push her and she’ll run. She’ll leave without a word again. And I can’t… I can’t. I can’t go back to not knowing if she’s safe or okay or even if… even if…” His breath caught, voice choked.

“Oh, Danny.” The chair beside him creaked slightly, Jazz sitting. “It’s okay to be scared.” Her arm wrapped around his shoulders. “I… I’m scared too.” At that, he looked up, brow wrinkling as his older sister continued. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if Dani is going to surprise us and say yes. Or if she will freak out and run. Or any number of things could happen. I can’t make her say yes like I, like both of us want.”

Each word was a stab to his core, driving that desperate fear and sorrow deeper and deeper. If even Jazz had these fears, then how… how….

“But.” The strong conjunction drew Danny out of his growing despair. “Whether or not she stays with us is Danielle’s choice. We won’t know until we asks. There’s no reason to catastrophize yet. And…” Her face softened, kind eyes fixed on him. “I don’t know her as well as you do. But I know Dani loves you. She trusts you. She wouldn’t leave you without a word and hurt you like that. And besides…�� Her eyes flickered toward the crowd of yetis. “Maybe staying in Amity Park with us or running off on her own aren’t Dani’s only two options.”

Danny’s gaze followed, fixing on Dani… playing with her new friends. He blinked once, the idea rolling over him. Something in his core loosened, a hint of hope brightening his face.

The boy sat up. “I need to talk to Frostbite.”

Jazz smiled, squeezing his shoulder. “Go on then.”

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

“My turn! My turn!” Dani cheered, moving to the center of the circle.

Her core buzzed with excitement. This was the best day ever! The tour, the feast, the dance. New friends! GlacierPaw asked her to dance. WinterHill braided her hair. And now Icicle was tying the blind-fold around her eyes.

“Now we’ll count to ten while you spin in a circle. You want to find and tag whoever had the ice-shaker.” The yeti girl stepped back, and the sound of counting started.

Dani spun, head quickly growing dizzy. Then she wobbled forward, chasing the sound of crinkling ice. It shifted… there!

“I’ve got you!” The half ghost flailed for the target.

“It’s not me!” The other child laughed.

The sound of shaking again. Dani chased, still woozy on her feet. Another miss, this one near. And…

“Ha! There!” She grabbed the shaker, pulling off the blind-fold.

GlacierPaw grinned at her sheepishly. “My turn?”

With a nod, Dani tied the cloth on his head.

The games continued, with more dizzy stumbling, more running and jumping, and, of course, much more laughter. Eventually though, the fun stopped, the group breaking up as adults came over to gather their children.

“Bye!” “It was fun playing with you!” “See you later!” GlacierPaw, WinterHill, and Icicle shouted the various farewells, each pulled along by their respective parents.

Dani smiled, giving her own wave. “Bye!” Then she turned her attention back to the crowd. Where were Danny and Jazz? After a moment, her eyes fixed on familiar red hair.

“Jazz!” The girl ran forward, nearly crashing into the older teen in her excitement.

“Dani!” Jazz startled with a laugh.

“Did you see?!” She waved back toward the corner. “The yeti kids invited me to play with them! It was so much fun! We played freeze tag with actual ice! And Pin the tail on the Ice Drake. And…” She blinked, suddenly realizing. “Where’s Danny?”

“Talking to Frostbite.” The other girl smiled, ruffling her hair. “What else did you do?”

“The littler cubs loved this game called Rabbit, Rabbit, Hare. We all sat in a circle, one person walking around the outside. The person who was It went rabbit, rabbit, rabbit,” She patted the air with her hand. “On each person’s shoulder. But if you got hare, then you had to get up and chase them around the circle and try to get back to your spot first!”

“Ah. Like Duck, Duck, Goose.” The red-head mused with a nod.

“What’s Duck, Duck, Goose?” Dani stopped her ramble, brow furrowing.

“It’s the same game you just described.” Jazz chuckled kindly. “I played it when I was little. You’d go Duck, Duck, Duck….” She also patted the air. “Then…. Goose!” She furiously ruffled Dani’s hair and the younger girl giggled.

Just then, Danny returned. “Hey guys.” He waved.

A new song started up, fast and energetic. Dani grabbed each of the older teen’s hands. “Come on! I wanna dance!”

The clone girl danced with her two siblings for a few more songs. They drank some punch, snacked on some of the food. Dani talked more about the yeti kids she had met, the older two listening with rapt attention. Each wore an almost relieved smile though Danny’s harbored just a hint of sadness. Actually…. Both of her siblings were being oddly subdued, a heaviness in their responses that hadn’t been there before.

Dani noted the oddity with a wrinkled brow but before she could really dwell on it….

“It looks like everyone is leaving.” Jazz mused, eyes flickering to the musicians. Sure enough, they were packing up their instruments.

Barely a minute later, Frostbite arrived, gathering the three. “Come. I will show you your room.”

A few minutes’ walk through the halls and the group came to a surprisingly mundane wooden door. The chief opened it and inside….

Wooden paneled walls, a fireplace built into one side. Wooden furniture. A bed, a couch, a desk, dressers. The room was cozy and warm, enough so that Jazz started taking off her outer layers of clothing. “This is perfect, Frostbite. Thank you.”

Dani nodded. It did look really nice! But… her brow furrowed. “There’s only two places to sleep.”

The older girl gave her a chastising look, causing the halfa girl to blush sheepishly.

But the chief smiled kindly. “Never fear, we have prepared for this.” He left the room, quickly returning with a foldable cot. “See! All have their place.”

After good nights to Frostbite and a short… discussion (cough*argument*cough) about who would sleep where, the three collected borrowed pajamas from the dresser.

“You can go first.” Danny motioned toward the small, attached bathroom, Jazz agreeing with a nod.

As Dani got dressed and brushed her teeth, she tried to ignore the hushed voices coming through the door. The words were inaudible… but a seed of nervousness still sprouted in her gut.

She exited the bathroom to find Jazz and Danny huddled together on the couch.

“But Frostbite did say it would be okay if she-” Having noticed her, the boy cut himself off. He met her eyes and shuffled over on the couch. Then patting the seat between him and Jazz…

Dani’s brow raised in question. She didn’t ask, instead shifting nervously as she sat.

Her brother took a breath, hands balled in his lap. “Jazz and me need to talk to you about something important.”

Well, Dani did not like the sound of that. She swallowed nervously. “Okay?”

“First the good news.” Her brother started. “I talked to Frostbite about Vlad. Long story short. The Far Frozen has beef with him. So do Fright Knight and the Observants. The Dragon kingdom and the Acropolis don’t like him very much either. Mainly because Dora and Pandora are my allies and they’re not cool with anyone who messes with me.” He shook his head. “Point is, with all the ghosts on our side, we can probably get Vlad locked up somewhere he won’t be able to bother us anymore.” Danny met her eyes then, wide and earnest. “He is going to have to answer for what he did to you and me and all the other clones. He’s going to pay for it. And we’ll make sure he never even thinks about hurting you again.”

The words hit her like a ton of bricks. Not because they hurt but because…. The sheer relief. The feeling washed over her. She’d barely even thought about Vlad the past week, too absorbed in so many new experiences and revelations. But there in the back of her mind… (Would he come back for her? Try to hurt her again? Would he try to hurt Dami again, bring him to his side?)

But Danny’s words, the fervent conviction in his eyes swept those doubts and fears away.

“That’s great.” Dani hugged him. “Thanks for talking to Frostbite about that.”

“Of course.” He hugged her back. “I couldn’t… I couldn’t let this keep going. I had to do something…”

“And you did.” Jazz’s hand on her shoulder. “I’m relieved we have a plan now.”

The clone girl gave an agreeing hum, relaxing for a moment in that relief. Then…

She pulled away, a hint of renewed worry jabbing at her core. “You said ‘first the good news’ so…” She swallowed. “What’s the bad news?”

“It isn’t bad news.” Jazz smiled soothingly. “Remember when Danny asked you about meeting our parents?”

Dani nodded, anxiety sinking like a stone.

“Mom and Dad will be back tomorrow night.” Danny continued. “We’ll be back in the morning, plenty of time before they come home. But we need to make a decision…” The words came out, calm, sincere. But still… the boy bit his lip, betraying his own nerves. “About whether or not to tell them about me being half ghost and Phantom and… About you. And how we’re going to introduce you…”

“I don’t know…” Dani brought one hand up to her mouth, anxiously chewing on her thumb nail. (This. This was what she had been freaking out about last night…)

“You don’t have to meet them if you don’t want to.” Jazz soothed, gently pulling the younger girl’s hand from her lips. “It’s your decision.”

“Yeah.” Danny nodded. “It’s up to you. And…” He looked out, towards the door. “Staying with Jazz and me isn’t the only option. Frostbite already said he’d be happy to give you a place to stay. And I have other allies we could go see if you don’t want to stay here. I’m sure Dora or Pandora would love to have you. But.” With the word, his expression hardened, deathly serious. “No matter what, running off on your own again is not an option. I’m not going to let you just fend for yourself. Not alone, on the street or wandering off who knows where. You deserve to be somewhere that you’re safe. ”

Dani blinked for a moment, startled. There was another option….

Then she scowled, offended. Did she really think she was going to run off on her own? Yeah, maybe a week ago she could have, but-

The anger wooshed out. A week wasn’t that long though, was it?

She shook her head. “I know running off isn’t an option.” She wouldn’t, not now. Not after finally having her brother back and… maybe kinda sorta gaining a sister? The point was, she finally wasn’t alone anymore. And she didn’t think… no, she knew, she couldn’t bear to go back. “I won’t run off. But…” She chewed on her lip.

The choice… that same dread and unease she felt every time she thought about the offer of staying at FentonWorks, those same feelings rose, wrapping around her core. For just a moment, she tried to imagine it. A dad to tuck her into bed. A mom to pack her lunch. Riding the school bus to school. Sitting in class. Making normal, human friends.

Dani frowned. She couldn’t picture it, the very thought turning her stomach. No, she wasn’t ready. She didn’t want that, at least not yet. If she ever would.

But…. staying here, with Frostbite… Danny had mentioned that too. And she had so much fun here today. There was so much to do and see. The food was so good and the yeti kids loved her. A large part of her wanted to stay here.

Another part of her seemed to curl in though, shy and ashamed of her desire. She had seen it in Danny’s eyes, and less obviously so in Jazz’s… they wanted her to meet their parents and live with them. They wanted her to say yes….

“Let me think about it.” Dani finally answered.

“Dani, we’re leaving in the morning.” Jazz countered, just as serious as Danny. “We need a decision before then.”

“I know.” The younger girl put her head in her hands. “Let me sleep on it. I’ll tell you guys in the morning, I swear.”

There was silence for a long moment. Then… “Alright.” Danny sighed, an arm wrapping around her. “Just tell us what you want to do then.”

“Okay.” The girl said quietly, leaning into her embrace.

Dani’s stomach twisted, torn in two. She wanted to keep hanging out with Danny and Jazz like she had this week. All fun and adventure, like an endless, adult-free summer vacation. She wanted to stay with them, to not let them down. But… she wanted the Far Frozen too. To learn to take care of the ice drakes, play hide and seek with the other kids, and get hugged by Frostbite every night.

“No matter what you decide, it’s going to be okay.” Jazz hugged her from the other side.

Dani hoped Jazz was going to be right.

#Danny Phantom #my fic #(not) alone #invisobang 2023 #Invisobang

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kiltons-monster-manual · 9 months

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Dragon Talk

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Fanfiction Gen, mild romance. Zelink, Past Link x Mipha. Link, The Light Dragon Oneshot / Short HEAVY SPOILERS Summary: Link is known far and wide as a silent warrior. No words slip past his lips idly. Beneath his stoic exterior insecurities and fears run rampant as well as opinions on everything from food to politics. He finds himself “conversing” with a particular dragon that he likes to alight on and ride to try to unburden his heart. Available also on Ao3: Dragon Talk

Dragon Talk It was the first time he was up here since he had retrieved the sword. It had not been very long since he’d been to the Sky, but it had been a long time since he had been to this specific place… well, it wouldn’t be fair to call it a “place,” would it? Her body was certainly large enough to be a locale and Link wondered idly if one could make a home somewhere on a dragon, like one might consider a sailing-ship one’s home on a long voyage. He concluded that any shelter would be unstable, given the undulations as the great body worked with and against the wind like a snake in the sand. The young knight wondered if using her as a mode of transportation was disrespectful. He had known all this time that dragons were thought of by believers as holy creatures and perhaps as one of the rare people who could actually see them, he ought to be more reverent. How many loose scales and bits of horn had he plinked off of the creatures with well-shot arrows by now? Dinraal, Naydra and Farosh were a bit more dangerous, given their respective elements. Link required no special armors to ride the Light Dragon, a beast who, up until very recently, had kept out of sight in the upper atmosphere, beyond a cloud-barrier that no longer existed. A dragon’s sacred nature was the least of his worries now. He had learned her secret and felt like he owed her something. He certainly couldn’t give her anything he truly owed her anymore. To receive any of it required being a person. Link climbed the dragon’s mane and sat down gently on the patch of shimmering white fur on her head. He rubbed gently the place where the Master Sword had once been stuck. Given what it had taken to retrieve it, he worried that he had hurt her. With anything immortal it was difficult to tell whether they reacted with pain and the usual instincts or if they felt nothing and were merely giving him a test of worth. (Link remembered bitterly how the Master Sword, itself, had nearly killed him the first time he’d encountered it. He was supposedly bound to it by destiny, yet it still didn’t fool around regarding an assessment of strength). He sighed heavily, settling himself as he watched the sun hover on the horizon over the Gerudo Desert. The little hovercraft he’d built to get up here was long gone. He hadn’t been looking simply to get from Point A to Point B, anyway. “Some way to get back to the future,” he said, stretching out and giving the fur beside him another gentle rub. “I don’t know if some part of you is still there – I hope so. I have no idea if you can understand me. Anyway, Zelda, the sword reached me. You did it and now it’s all up to me.” The young man took a deep breath. It hitched. “What did you do to yourself?” He clenched his fist – no, the fist of a long dead king – and grit his teeth. The world beneath them was waiting on him. Every one of the people who knew even an inkling of his story – the Sages, the Sheikah researchers, even the Monster Control Crews who only knew him vaguely as the princess’ knight and accepted him as a decent fighter depended on him to be strong, to bear any burden without complaint. He limited his facial expressions around almost everyone. He threw back his shoulders and stood tall (at least as tall as he could given his short stature – he was rather small even for a Hylian) and presented himself as stoic. He could not let people worry – or panic. He was smart enough to know that he couldn’t bear it all alone, that he had friends, but he had to remain calm, for everyone’s sake. High above the world, however, where no one could see and where no one could hear him but his charge’s bestial remains – he let tears be lost in the wind, leaving their frigid traces on the sides of his face. Here and only here, could he allow himself to cry. ______________________________________________ “So, you know, Sidon’s hitched now. It’s been a while, but I guess I just left that out of our last little talk…” It had been roughly a week, a little more, since Link’s last dropping onto the Light Dragon. “I really ought to update you on everything, right? So much has been happening. A part of me thinks that you see it all, what with being a dragon flying around with nothing to do but look down and around… and you’ve certainly had enough time to know everything that goes on in Hyrule. You would know if the other legends were true or not – you know, the other heroes, princesses, incarnations of demons, that kind of thing…maybe? Maybe you wouldn’t because of the thickness of the clouds? Or because everything looks like ants from up here?” Link chuckled half-heartedly. “What Purah and Robbie would give for the data you’ve been collecting! Well, if you can remember it, or even think about it. Dear Goddess, Zelda, do you look derpy! I came in for a landing right here and… your eyes – it’s probably an illusion from the perspective of someone as small as I am in comparison, but you look like… you aren’t there. I wonder what it is like to be a dragon. Do you have stories that you just cannot tell, your language and very thoughts incredibly complex and inaccessible to mortals or are you as dumb as a sheep?” Link closed his eyes slowly and just as slowly opened them again, mimicking the slow-blink of the dragon. He tried not to think about Zelda’s mind being absent. He hoped with everything in him that she was still there, inside, that at least some essence remained and this is why he could still talk to her, and did. “Oh, where was I? Ah, yes… Sidon… I didn’t peg him as the marrying kind, I guess. I kind of thought that maybe…he was… the way he’d look at me sometimes, but I guess that’s just Zora-manners.” Link sighed again, “Or maybe a simple desperation for a connection to his sister. Anyway, it turns out that the last time we visited the Domain and he was off at another Domain on official business, he was courting the girlfriend. Her name is Kona. She’s very kind. I think you’d like her.” Link stretched out, letting himself lay down with his hands behind his head. Dawn was amazing when viewed from this height and angle. “She’s a healer, like Mipha. I… I miss Mipha. My memories of one hundred years ago are still full of gaps, but I remember more about our friends every day. And, of course, her spirit aided me for a long time… Ever since the Champions’ spirits departed, I’ve felt a lot of loneliness for them – and Mipha especially. I don’t know if you’d want to hear this, but…here goes… you’re…you’re a dragon now, so I doubt you care anymore – you’re beyond such mortal trivialities: With the memories that have been coming to me, I know that I would have accepted the Zora’s Amor. I was going to marry her, Zelda.” He thought he felt the dragon lurch beneath him. He kept steady. “Hey! Hey, easy there!” he said, sitting up and gently scratching the fur where her skin joined with one of her glowing, branching horns. “I’m not an idiot. Well, I’m not as dumb as I look, anyway. We… we had something, too, you and I – especially…recently. I spoke not a word of it… it was improper with my position, wasn’t it? I was your knight – in your employ. I understood the way you looked at me. I felt it in the air between us, and of course… the little gifts you’d make for me.” He patted the chest of his new tunic. “It’s good armor. The lacquered leather works well – has saved my shield-arm more than once already. I kind of think of it as your answer to the Zora Armor, just a little. Something made to protect a reckless man you care about – it’s the same sentiment.” He sighed, thinking about what could have been. “It wasn’t even a royalty and commoner thing… there were not such rules for the Zora, just some concern about the interspecies stuff and lack of heirs, but, with us… it was different, it would have been different. Conflict of interest – not a good look in politics for the people. I mean, after the Calamity, it didn’t matter, did it? After I gave you my place in Hateno and we were just traveling on the rebuild-projects, it seemed like the whole ‘princess’ thing was merely a holdover from the past – not something that was the same as it once was… “Did you know that I decided the outcome of an election? Yeah – in Hateno. The challenger backed down – that was Cece, you know her, that odd fashion-designer that moved in right before our… trip back to the castle. Rede remained in power after they made up. The whole thing was very silly, but the election idea? That’s how the towns have been staying alive. I’ve given thought to how it might apply to the rebuilt kingdom as a whole, in time. It’s not to say that you wouldn’t stay in power, I think you’d be elected in a landslide, it’s just… isn’t it an interesting idea for going forward? Maybe the time for monarchy has passed? My travels have given me a lot to think about. I never shared any of this stuff before because I didn’t think it was proper. In fact, I don’t breathe a word of this to anyone… a dragon makes for an easy conversation partner, I guess.” ____________________________________________________ Link visited the Light Dragon again and again. Her forehead was the best place for watching the sunrise. Every time he talked, it was a different subject. Silent and stoic on the surface-world, he was rediscovering the “chatterbox” days that he’d had when he’d been a child in the gentle, silent presence of this holy creature. He felt strangely at ease between her glowing horns despite who she’d once been, or perhaps because of it. He was finally able to tell Zelda everything he’d wanted to tell her, it seemed. Sometimes, it was something important, his strange theories about the future politics of the kingdom of Hyrule – or at least he thought they were strange – ideas regarding scaling up what had been working for the small settlements into larger plans. He did not know if the princess would have listened to him as a princess, but he had an audience in a dragon. One afternoon, he spent hours rattling on regarding his observations on monsters and some studies he’d taken part in with the help of Kilton: “Their power will diminish once I defeat the Demon King, just as with the Calamity, but they’re never absent from the land, are they? Ever since the days of myths, at least a few of them have been around. Kilton thinks that a few of them might be classed as animals – they bear a distinction from the class, but it’s… a borderline form of life. I know most people think they are born from evil thoughts and intentions, something that exists in nature, but becomes separate. Josha, that young Sheikah researcher that Robbie and Purah have been working with I told you about? The one who studies the Depths? She came across some old writing that classed Lynels as mountain deities. What I’ve witnessed spying on Bokoblin-camps has me thinking that, once freed from influences such as Ganondorf and that Ganon-projection of his, perhaps they could become reasonably peaceful if left alone. They’ll always be dangerous, but some aspects of them strike me as almost… a kind of people. A lot of monsters are smarter than people think – the Bokos can tame horses and hunt in strategy. The Lizalfos…” he winced, accidentally moving a fresh wound, “They’re… too good at ambushes. “I’m…actually afraid that they’re becoming smarter, Zelda, and stronger, and that we will not be able to keep up…” “I’ve got a lot of blood on my hands if they can ever become anything more than servants of evil. I try not to think about it. I come down on thinking that there’s really no chance for them to be anything but a plague. Gotta save innocent folk from being eaten alive. It’s not a fate that I want, although I can’t say I don’t expect it.” He laughed bitterly. “One day, the lost princess’ chosen knight screwed up and ended up in the belly of a Hinox. What a headline for the Lucky Clover Gazzette! ‘The Sacred Sword’s Chosen Hero Becomes a Burp!’ I wonder if I could still fight from within. Sidon has that giant Octorok story of his. Still… it’s so strange hiding in the bushes, planning a raid or looking for a way to sneak past… just watching a campsite with Moblins and Bokoblins eating around it – just like any Hylian and Gerudo travelers one might see out in the woods. It’s only when I snap a twig or they get a whiff of me that chaos breaks loose. “I think someday, it might be nice to see peace come even to them.” ________________________________________ “You don’t eat anymore, do you?” Link asked, casually taking a small, wrapped warm package out of the data-storage on his Purah Pad. “I suppose if you did, it would be something like clouds and sunlight. I’ve never seen any of the other dragons go after anything on the surface.” He sat down cross-legged and pulled apart something stringy and gooey. He savored small bites and licked sauce off his lip. “This is something new,” he said after swallowing. “The people in Hateno invented it. It’s called pizza. It’s a little hard to get the hang of making it at first, but once you do, it’s very simple. It’s basically bread with a stewed tomato sauce covering it and…cheese. It’s… solid fermented milk. I know that it doesn’t sound too appetizing, but it’s amazing. I wish… I wish I could share it with you…” To make good on this, he clambered over to the side of the Light Dragon’s face and leaned over, proffering a slice, dripping with cheese in the wind. The dragon gave no response and simply did a slow blink. Link took his slice of pizza back and solemnly ate it. “I… I suppose you would have to be a person to appreciate it,” he concluded. “I miss those nights in Hateno, sitting by the cookpot outside the house. “You had some of those royal recipes that you’d show me how to cook and you were impressed when I took up dinner with my…inventiveness, yeah…that’s what you called it. I had to survive out in the ruins and the wastes for a full year when I was building up strength to take on the Calamity. I couldn’t be picky and had to come up with some interesting dishes. You loved that venison and rice bowl I used to make. It wasn’t as dainty as a fruit cake, but it was what you frequently requested. Do you remember that, in this form? It must be ages past to you, so long ago to you that you would forget… nights on the road, stopped at the stables, cooking and eating under the stars. I remember how your eyes looked in the firelight when the fireflies would come out in Faron. “Is there a way to bring you back? Is there a way to have that with you again?... “You’d love pizza, I know you’d love pizza…” ____________________________________________ He landed with a stagger and almost fell over as he alighted on the dragon’s nose. Clutching his side and watching his latest hovercraft peel off to dematerialize in the distance, Link landed heavily atop his “therapist.” The Light Dragon, for her part, issued a low groan. It was impossible to tell if she was responding to him, or if it was a random roar. The clouds carried rain today – an easy disturbance to her scales. “Purah said I shouldn’t be out of bed yet… but I had to see you.” The dragon was silent once again, slowly blinking and riding upon her never ending path. Link sat upright and wrapped his hooded cloak around himself. “Gloom swords…cut me up pretty bad. Followed that unconvincing puppet of you into the castle. I was overconfident, I guess, thought I was going to face the bastard down then and there. The Sages saved my butt. We won, but… ugh… “I’m supposed to be recovering, but I don’t think we have any time… I’ll apologize to Yunobo when I get back to Lookout Landing. He was on watch over me when he fell asleep and I managed to sneak out. We… need to find a fifth Sage to add to our power… and… ugh… it’s the only way… I wish I could do this on my own, just finish it…” Link breathed deep, then let out a sharp cry as his movements pulled against some stitches under his clothing. He winced back tears. “I… I don’t know if I can do it, Zelda. The sword reached me…through time, but… it might not be enough… I might not be enough. All of us… we may not win this time. What if… what if all our friends die again? What if the Sages fall like the Champions did? I failed once. And… and… the Calamity was merely a projection of…whatever that was we awakened beneath the castle. He might win this time; despite everything we’ve been through.” Link took a long look at the sky before him, on this dragon-path, it was sunset. “A hero chosen by the Goddess and by the Master Sword isn’t supposed to doubt himself, right? I am full of doubt. I cannot tell anyone how scared I am. If I cannot best him, there isn’t another who can take up this sword.” Link looked at his right hand, trembling. “It will be all for naught. If I am killed, the world dies with me, screaming. I was just cut to ribbons and nearly killed by a mere shadow of that man! I just… I suppose I came up here to tell you that I’m sorry. If it doesn’t work out and you are left watching up here as the world becomes bathed in blood and shadow, I want you to know that I will have done everything to spite it – that I fought to my last breath and that… I am sorry that it wasn’t enough and that I wasn’t enough.” Link looked toward the east. The moon was rising and it was wreathed in red. He breathed deeply. “We have to be enough.” He shivered in the cooling night. Movement hurt. Fatigue made his bones heavy. Purah was right, he really shouldn’t have been out of bed yet. As the Blood Moon reached its apex, his eyelids fluttered. Link felt darkness clawing for him and tried to resist it. He fell in a heap, resting atop the dragon. She adjusted her movements to keep him from rolling off. Bright light greeted him as he awakened the next morning. It was well past sunrise. He felt…alive. Dragon hair and dragon scales shimmered beneath him in the mid-morning glare, but a certain light danced off of them of their own accord. A glow pulsed along the brilliant horns. Link stood to his feet. No stiches pulled and nothing raw aggravated his skin. He breathed deep and carefully walked to stand on the tip of the Light Dragon’s nose so he could at least try to look her in the eyes. “Thank you,” he said simply. _________________________________________ “I don’t really remember,” she’d said. Everyone who knew what had happened agreed that it was a good thing. Mineru, before she’d departed, confessed that her spirit had only kept its sanity while it was stored as data through centuries by going into a type of deep sleep. It wasn’t as though Zelda had much to remember of her years holding back the Calamity, either. She remembered some of it, her power concentrated to hold Ganon back and a bond to Link that had awakened with him in the shrine. She told him that she politely looked way during certain moments that he’d want to keep private, but he had no way of being sure about that. She was, however, in a type of sleep most of the time. Centuries trapped in a bestial form went beyond this, however. It was the kind of thing that could break the strongest mind if one remembered everything. And so, after the whole mess, life tried to resume for everyone who’d survived. After their return to the surface and parting ways with the Sages, each returning to their lands, Link and Zelda wondered what was next. Rest, of course, at the Landing. Hyrule Castle was still in ruins. Zelda, in the end, had simply wanted to go home - and, so it was, she and Link prepared to set out for Hateno Villiage. “So, what’s the first thing you want to do when you get back?” Purah asked her. Link was silent and making the last preparations for their travel by her side, getting bags ready to load onto their horses at the Landing’s small stable. “Oh,” Zelda said, answering quite casually, “I think I should like to try pizza.” Link’s eyes went wide. He stared. She stared back at him. “Pizza? What is that? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it,” Purah said. Link and Zelda stood shocked and still, unable to take their gaze off each other. “Is something wrong? Hey, you two, answer me!” “I…can make you some,” Link said softly. “Hey, Linky? You just SPOKE! And you look like you’ve seen a ghost!” “You wouldn’t believe the story if I told you,” he whispered to Purah as he took Zelda by the hand.

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agardenandlibrary · 2 months

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Fires of Heaven: Chapters 19-26

Y’all, I am speeding through this book like never before. And yet. I am merely. 45% through. (It helps that I am switching between my paper copy and my ebook version. The ebook is a little easier to read during work hours, shh)

So you know how the Forsaken have been using their extremely creepy brainwashing power on lots of people, including Elayne’s mother, Morgase, the Queen of Andor? Yeah. So Morgase snaps out of it when someone brings her news that there’s an uprising in the Two Rivers. SOMEONE has raised the old banner of Manetheren there.

She escapes with her old maid/nurse and the few people still in Caemlyn who are loyal to her. (it’s implied that she has tried to escape a few times before) They’re heading for Gareth Bryne who IS NOT AT HOME!! BECAUSE HE’S CHASING SIUAN INTO THE SUNSET!!! Also, Morgase is still convinced Gareth is a traitor. I think this is lingering mind-control BS.

In the White Tower, Padan Fain gets the evil dagger back, kills one of the Accepted, we find out the Keeper is Black Ajah, and he trots off into the sunrise, looking for Rand al’Thor.

Rand al’Thor, meanwhile, is taking the Aiel to Cairhien. He’s a week behind Couladin, Mr. False Dragon but Aiel Flavored. Couladin is slaughtering his way into the countryside. This is not great, obviously. He’s also, according to reports, taking people as slaves. Claiming them under ji’e’toh as gai’shan, but in order for someone to be gai’shan they must themselves be a follower of ji’eh’toh, so basically he’s out here taking slaves. Thumbs down, Couladin.

Look, I know that ruined city up the mountainside is probably the remnants of a port town. But I also know that skyships/hovercraft/can’t remember what they were called in the Age of Legends but you get my point existed. Let me have the zeppelin docks, okay?

They make it through the mountain pass. Aviendha gives Rand Laman’s sword!!! He accepts the blade, which is a heron-marked blade made with the One Power, and returns the incredibly gaudy hilt and scabbard. Delightful.

Egwene is sneaking around doing stuff in the Dreaming even when she’s not supposed to. She spots Elayne talking to Birgitte Silverbow, but is unable to get Elayne to fess up. After meeting with Elayne, she wanders off into the Dreaming and is nearly trapped there by a dream about Gawyn and the Two Rivers, set by Moghedien. Unfortunately, Moghedien now knows about Birgitte, and has connected Egwene to Elayne and Nynaeve. So that’s bad!

AND FINALLY – Siuan et al make it to the meeting of the Aes Sedai who fled the Tower when Elaida took power. They’re building themselves a little town in the middle of nowhere. Logain is falling deeper into depression. They're still taking care of him, but the guy who got into fights and stole money and tried to be in charge of their little group is lost for now.

I might be imprinting on Logain for reasons beyond my control.

#cara reads wot #cara reads foh #wheel of time #fires of heaven

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kosmos2999 · 6 months

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Star Trek: The Animted Series 50th Anniversary Episode Review

Episode: Once Upon A Planet

Season: 1

Episode: 9

Stardate: 2269

Original airdate: November 3, 1973

Written by: Chuck Menville and Len Janson

Directed by: Hal Sutherland

Music by: Yvette Blais and Jeff Michaels

Executive producers: Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott

Studio: Filmation Associates

Network: NBC

Series created by: Gene Roddenberry

Cast:

Captain James T. Kirk (voice by William Shatner)

Mr. Spock (voice by Leonard Nimoy)

Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (voice by DeForest Kelly)

Lt. Uhura, Alice (voices by Nichelle Nichols)

Lt. Hikaru Sulu (voice by George Takei)

Eng. Montgomery Scott, White Rabbit, Master Computer, Arex, Gabler (voices by James Doohan)

Nurse Christine Chapel, M'Ress, Queen of Hearts (voices by Majel Barrett)

Synopsis:

Loooking for a time of rest and recreation, the USS Enterprise is set in orbit on the amusement park planet they visited on the “Shore Leave” episode of The Original Series. A world with a technology that materializes the thoughts and desires of its visitors' minds.

Lieutenant Uhura, Doctor McCoy and Lieutenant Sulu are in the planet's surface enjoying on its landscape. Just when McCoy recalls his first visit, the White Rabbit and Alice from Alice In Wonderland make their appearence again. Then, the trio splits looking for their own enjoyment.

While the doctor is relaxing with the view of a mansion of a southern plantation --like the one of the classic movie, Gone With The Wind-- he was interrupted by The Queen of Hearts from Alice Trough A Looking Glass. She was ordering her guards to behead McCoy. He has to run while he communicates with the Enterprise. The captain declared an emergency and orders all the crew to be beamed back to the ship. McCoy and Sulu are beamed up, but Uhura is captured by a hovering drone.

Kirk tries to make contact with the planet's caretaker, but he got no response. Then, he decides to be beamed down with Spock, McCoy and Sulu. While they are beamed down in search for Uhura, she is imprisioned by the master computer in a cave compound. It assumes that the ship is her master. Any effort to find her with the ship's sensors is useless. It has the lieutenant captive to take control of the Enterprise and it threatens her crewmates with “turn them off”.

As the landing party gets deeper into the forest, they found the tombstone of the caretaker. His death explains the misconduct of the robot machines. The master computer guides Kirk and the rest of the landing team to an area by fooling them making believe there was the master system.

In that area, they face an attack by pterodactyl. They all ran to a nearby cave. Inside the cave, they face a giant cat from the outside that tries to attack them with one of his paws. Once there, McCoy remembers he was mortally wounded on his last visit by a black knight and the machines took him to the main compound to be healed.

Kirk devise a plan to get them to the main compound. He asks the doctor for help to fake a wound on him. McCoy uses a substance called melenex that makes a person lose his consciousness and also causes skin decoloration. It is only temporal and look worse than it is. Kirk offers himself first but Spock interrupted him because he is the most appropiate for the mission for his knowledge on computers.

Meanwhile, the master computer is building a computer inside the Enterprise.

Once Spock is taken by hovercraft, Kirk, McCoy and Sulu ran on the hovercraft's way while they are attacked by a double headed dragon.

As Spock is ready to be “repaired” at the main compound, the captain enters the cave to stop the master computer. He and the captive lieutenant try to reasoning with the main system. It told them the caretaker died of old age and it develop self awareness and wants to go away from the planet. Its main plan is to take the Enterprise to go to the farthest regions of the galaxy to gather with its fellow computers.

Kirk and Uhura convinced the master computer that computers are made by humans to serve them and they work in harmony. That it is not a shame to serve if it is freely and in a volunteer fashion. That it would bring the whole galaxy there by showing the planet's wonderfulness. Then, the master computer change its way.

Fascinating Facts:

This is a sequel to the first season of The Original Series' episode, “Shore Leave” written by Theodore Sturgeon. There were plans for a sequel episode for TOS, but it was undeveloped.

In the TOS episode, Alice was played by actress Marcia Brown. In this episode the voice of Alice was performed by Nichelle Nichols.

Actor William “Billy” Blackburn was the White Rabbit in the TOS episode. James Doohan was the voice of that character in this episode.

#space opera #space western #filmation #star trek #70s sci fi #star trek: tas 50th anniversary #star trek: the animated series 50th anniversary #star trek the original series

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asknarashikari · 9 months

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Riders in a scenario where they're once again chasing Tsukasa on their rider machines for wreaking havoc... only for Tsukasa to make the rookie mistake of ignoring a sign that says "VEHICLES MUST NOT PASS BEYOND THIS POINT" and the ground (which isn't firm enough) abrupting collapses below Tsukasa upon passing the board and he falls into a giant sinkhole screaming...with idiots like Shinji, Gentaro, and Kouta following suit in the chase & Ryoutaro also falls in because bad luck with the brakes

Shoutaro: Oh for fuck's sake! *transforming the HardBoilder into hovercraft mode* I can't believe we have to haul them out of a hole again!

Momotaros (currently possessing Ryoutaro): Oi, someone get us out already! Dragon Dude and Fruit Jesus are about to punch that pink brat-

Wataru: Can't we just leave Kadoya to rot in there?

Tsukasa: Oi, I heard that, you Edward Cullen wannabe!

Gentaro: *already filing down using Rocket Module* Don't worry senpai I'm coming!

Sento: ...So is no one going else to bring up the fact that Tsukasa can use those portal thingys he uses to get 'em outta there

#kamen rider #ask #ultrariderfiretornado

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askvectorprime · 10 months

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Dear Vector Prime, do GI Joe and Cobra exist somewhere in the Viron cluster?

Dear Real Anime Hero,

Indeed they do! Under the purview of the United States military, the G.I. Joe Rescue Corps worked tirelessly to combat the evil terrorist organization Cobra, who caused disaster from the shadows. By inoculating key individuals with their behavior-altering "Venom" serum, Cobra could engineer crises such as dam breaks, reactor meltdowns, bank robberies, and forest fires. When the call came in—"YO JOE!"—it would be up to Sergeant Duke and his emergency response team to fight back and save the day!

To challenge the dragon cult's mystic brainwashing and command over the elements, G.I. Joe was equipped with state-of-the-art high-tech vehicles—like Duke's "Attack Cruiser", a weaponised police car and peacekeeping machine. Joining him were the serious-minded pilot Scarlett, who flew the "Sky Hawk" helicopter; empathetic paramedic Lifeline, who drove the "Road Defender" ambulance; hot-headed firefighter Hot Zone, who drove the "Inferno Engine" firetruck; and boisterous construction worker Heavy Duty, who operated the "Drill Bit" mining machine. Depending on the mission, they would sometimes be joined by laid-back coast guard Beach-Head, who used the "Wave Crusher" hovercraft, and stubborn engineer Steamhammer, who drove the "Silver Streak" train. With General Tomahawk's tech-savvy son, Vinnie, backing them up at Rescue Corps headquarters, they used teamwork and ingenuity to defend the free will of every citizen.

Most curiously, the confrontations fought between these iterations of G.I. Joe and Cobra are repeated in an entirely separate timeline, deep in the megaverse! There, it was not Sergeant Duke who fought Cobra, but rather Officer Morishita of the Shinsei Foundation who investigated and counteracted the machinations of the Black Dragon Empire. Events played out almost identically between these two timelines, but where Duke had utter conviction, Shun Morishita was gripped with doubt over whether the Black Dragon Empire's rituals truly held sway over the minds of men—or if it was simple human apathy and incompetence which precipitated these daily emergencies.

This version of events may already be known to you! They are recounted in Kinkyuutai Shinsaver, a Toei anime and accompanying toy series from the year 2000. In certain markets, pleased with the cost-effectiveness of importing Car Robots for western audiences as Robots in Disguise, Hasbro would then do the same for this series—adding their own iconography and references that might be more recognisable, along with two new toys designed from scratch to fit the more militarized concept: the "Night Raven" stealth jet piloted by Snake Eyes, and General Tomahawk's "Super Slugger" battle tank. The line was unpopular with existing fans in the US, as the gimmick-heavy vehicles and 2" figures with limited articulation did not scale nicely with their older toys, but it sold well with its target audience, and the vehicles' action features went on to inspire similar gimmicks in Transformers: Armada toys developed later that year.

Anyway, I can see why you might not at first draw the connection to the continent-spanning battles between Optimus Prime's Autobots and Megatron's Predacons, as these groups never directly interacted at the time. It was only many years later that hidden "Ask Vector Prime" text in Transformers: Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II would declare that both Transformers: Robots in Disguise and G.I. Joe: Rescue Corps, together with A.T.O.M. - Alpha Teens on Machines, all took place in the same universal stream, Viron 901.8 Alpha.

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hermithomebase · 10 months

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can we nominate manhunt

if i could nominate the v5 hunters (dragon revival) or rematch (dream making sams hovercraft) i would those shits are literal masterpieces of cinema

#prompt.input

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spockvarietyhour · 30 days

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Fleet launch, Avatar 2009

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cherokeegal1975 · 11 months

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Unexpected Cargo, Ch. 1, Part 1 By Meriah Smith (Author's note below chapter pages)

Running

Johnathan fled through a desolate landscape east towards the safety of the weathered stones ahead. With any luck, he had lost his persuers for good this time. The new day was already promising a blistering heat as his dust colored robes and pants billowed back in the rising wind. He worried that a sandstorm might be approaching. It would be a blessing if he found shelter in time.

He didn't know why King Richard's guards were still perusing him so determinedly across the Red Sands desert. He was just a political nobody that transported cargo and occasionally passengers.

His last commission seemed a mere kindness at the time, he reflected as he tried to run even faster despite his exhaustion, cursing his bad luck and poor judgement.

Last night they had captured his sand ship. He'd been leaving the trading post when they'd spotted him and he had led them on a harrowing chase along a dirt road at breakneck speeds.

To the casual observer, his long, rust colored vessel looked like a boxy and neglected hovercraft, but it could zip over terrain that most wheeled vehicles would have found impossible to traverse. It could turn on a stone, stop dead in a heartbeat and accelerate from zero to one hundred and eighty in sixty seconds flat. Best part was, no matter how fast his ship sped above the ground, its body and his cargo never suffered from the additional g-forces. A series of spells kept gravity ad a steady normal, as if it were standing still.

Damn, how he missed his sand ship, he thought as he panted though parched lips, it had been his home as well as his main source of his livelihood and he was uncertain if he would ever get it back.

However, he was not so blinded by the loss of his possessions that he couldn't remember to be grateful that he escaped before King Richard decided on the best way to kill him. And he thanked the Goddess of all Creation with every fiber of his being that they didn't catch Goldie and Little Girl.

They would have killed Goldie outright and sold Little Girl back into slavery as a gladiator in the worst blood sport events of the oasis towns had to offer. The very thought of Goldie dead and Little Girl winding up mad and broken of spirit from the abuse of her captors, squeezed his heart with worry. He would die to protect them both.

His thick leather boots kicking up sand with every running step as he pared a glance up to the sky, to where the form of a young dragon followed him on towards the safety of the rocks and water just ahead. She carried what little supplies she managed to recover in her claws and his rat Goldie who was clinging to her feather mane at the base of her neck.

This was his dragon that he rescued from slavery and then adopted as his own daughter. He called her "Little Girl" because he couldn't think of what else to call her and she refused to respond to any other name.

She would have let him ride her across the skies along with the rest of what she was carrying if she could have, but the mastiff sized dragon was still too small to carry his weight.

Johnny staggered up a long steep grade that led up to the huge rock formation he was headed for. A little farther...just a little farther...then they could rest.

When the cave entrance came into view, it didn't look wider than a larger crack, but he knew there was good shelter inside and a pool of spring water.

He stumbled and fell gasping; another one of those damned cramps had him in its grips again. He didn't know the source of what ailed him, though he had his suspicions. Could it have been a spell cast by that princess eight days ago?

Princess Elena had been recently widowed when her husband's brother had killed for the throne. She had fled for her life, found Johnny and asked for his help.

Warning bells went off in his head, but one look at those big dark eyes tearing up after his initial refusal and he had to relent. Johnny was resourceful and tough as nails, yet by no means was he heartless. It was both his strength and sometimes weakness. His good nature got him into trouble more than once in his thirty years of life.

A competent white witch, the princess had drugged him somehow or cast a sleep spell on him shortly after he agreed to help her. When he had awakened, she gave him the royal seal, then asked him to keep it safe for her until she requested its return.

He accept ed the task along with twenty-five pieces of gold as a retainer. Yet he had sensed some other motive and keeping the seal safe was a cover for the real reason she needed his help.

Before he could discover the truth, they had been attacked by King Richard's guards. He made his escape at her barked command to go while her own guards fought to protect her.

He liked the princess, but he wanted nothing to do with politics. Getting to much attention from royalty meant they might discover illegal cargo he sometimes carried. He would honor the contract that the made with her to the best of his ability; he did have a reputation to maintain. Besides, she could take care of herself. In addition to her personal guards, she was powerful in her magics.

Johnny had no knack for spells himself, so he could not divine what she had done to him while he lay in his enchanted stupor. Since agreeing to help her, every time he stopped for more than a day, the king's guards would find him again. Why did Richard want that stupid seal so bad? Why not get another one?

The cramps started just twelve hours after he had escaped capture, which started as annoying twinges he forgot about as soon as they passed, but they steadily became worse. They would go from a dull pain nothing would fix, to so agonizing that it left him sick until they passed. The constant dull pain eased in a couple of days, but the sharp, periodic attacks would come and go without warning, leaving him breathless.

After four days of this, he reluctantly admitted he couldn't continue running his cargo business under these conditions. So, he stocked up on extra supplies and headed out into the deep desert intending to stay there until the king lost interest in him.

For three days the ruse seemed to work; relatively few people dared to live in the largely unmapped and untamed wilderness where water sources were unknown to the city dwellers and royal houses of the Red Sands. But Johnny had grown up there and lived with a nomadic tribe of honorable thieves since he was twelve.

Somehow the guards located him again on the way out from a tiny trading post and they chased him with their heavy wheeled vehicles, Johnny driving his sand ship as fast it would go.

He might have gotten away if they didn't have a powerful armor piercing-rifle that took out his main engine before he could make it to terrain too rough for them to cross at any great speed.

Little Girl had been sitting in the passenger seat in her child form holding Goldie in her lap when the sand ship suddenly dropped out of the air and skidded to a halt in a cloud of dust, nearly tipping over sideways more than once as it came to rest.

"Get out!" Johnny had ordered desperately as he leaned over them and shoved open the passenger door. "Take Goldie and fly away!"

"Daddy, no!" she cried in protest as she hugged the frightened rat to her bare chest, terrified tears running down her cheeks.

Already he could hear the guards approaching though the rapidly dissipating dust cloud.

"GO!!!" he shouted at her with a gentle shove toward the open door.

With a sob, the brave and beautiful child tumbled out of the passenger door and shifted into her true form with Goldie still in her arms, flying into the sun as guards fired their guns at her, causing them to miss their target. In moments she was out of sight altogether.

They hauled him out of this broken ship and attempted to subdue him with great difficulty. He couldn't fight them all, but he was determined to kill as many as he could before they killed him. He could at least buy Little Girl and Goldie some time to get away.

He managed to break free of the first guard that grabbed him, killing that one first with his pistol and then several more. They rushed him before he could reload, so he withdrew his curved short sword and killed three more. He might have escaped despite the odds against him if those damned cramps hadn't caught him by surprise and double him over in agony.

Johnny cursed the princess under his breath, face pressed in the dirt, as they pinned him to the ground and took his sword. They tied his hands behind his back with rough hemp ropes and hobbled his sand ship's cargo holds, tore up his and Little Girl's few personal belongings and maliciously blew small holes into his ship's hill with their firearms after they finished their reckless search of his ship.

They found the seal. He didn't have time to hide the troublesome thing while he busy running and hiding in the oasis town s that were his usual haunts. They "officially" declared him a thief, a murderer, and a traitor to the crown and he was to await judgement by his Highness King Richard...blah, blah, blah...

He didn't care, all he wanted was to escape and find his family. He wasn't loyal to any established government. How could he be a traitor to a kingdom that he was not a citizen of?

The sun was setting when he had finally been captured. He soon learned that King Richard himself was coming in person to see him. The guards' orders were to remain until he arrived early the next morning.

(This is the first three pages of my first chapter of this book. If it goes over well enough, I'll put in more pages. I just want to see if anyone would care enough to actually read it and leave an honest comment. I'd put in the whole chapter all at once, but Tumbler won't let me do that. So, I'm having to break it up and it's slow work because I can't just copy paste, much to my annoyance. Tumblr won't let me do that either. So, I have to type everything in. A lot of work for maybe getting no response. This book is available on Amazon. The little bit of editing I managed to get and forever be grateful for in the first five chapters does not appear in the book or the audiobook. Sorry about that. I'll do something about that when I can afford to hire someone, which isn't cheap at all. So, if you want to read more, let me know. I'll post three more pages. I know the narrative wanders a bit for the first chapter, but that's my way of opening with a bang for this book. I did keep things mostly linear the rest of the story. This is a lot of work for nothing if I don't get any feedback. Please, give it a chance.

Post Script: response or no response, I might just type some more anyway. It's something to do. And yes, I can illustrate some. Creativity is my thing. And, yeah there's child nudity in this story, but it's all innocent. I promise. Besides, the girl isn't human. You can see her caring Goldie in the first drawing in her true form.)

#cherokeegal1975 #youtube #mpreg #fantasy #dragon #original story #mpreg birth #male pregnant #male pregnancy

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