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storytellerofuntoldlegends · 3 years

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an icarus and his sun: chapter 6

A/N: seeing y'all freak out over the last chapter when i have the outline and i know that things get worse... it feels me with evil glee. also vyeoh drew some amazing art of the last chapter, show them some love!! <3

Warnings: crying, hugging, arguing, threats of violence, heartbreak

AO3 Link - Tumblr Masterpost

Jimmy still felt like he was in a daze when they made it back to his empire. Lizzie hadn’t let go of his hand once, and he was grateful for the grounding touch. She was still murmuring words of comfort and asking what happened, but Jimmy could only nod numbly. Every single thought and feeling he had of Scott felt tainted now. Was anything he had felt even real? Or did Jimmy just fall right for Scott’s plan (whatever it was) hook, line, and sinker. Just thinking about it made Jimmy feel nauseous.

Katherine and Joel landed beside Jimmy and Lizzie, and Katherine looking equally as distraught as Jimmy felt shook him out of his stupor slightly. Wordlessly he let go of Lizzie’s hand to pull Katherine into a hug. He held her tight as she hugged him back, crying into his shoulder.

“It’s gone. It’s all gone. There’s barely anything left of my castle,” she hiccuped. Jimmy didn’t know what to say as he held her, but gently rubbing her back seemed to help.

“Fwhip was plotting against the House Blossom Alliance the whole time, Sausage too. I think Gem, Pearl, and Scott were involved as well,” Joel explained. Jimmy just about shuddered at the mention of Scott, trying not to cry.

“Why would they do that?!” Lizzie gasped.

“Fwhip said something about how the alliance was too argumentative, and should be destroyed before anything worse could happen and bring down our empires,” Joel explained. Katherine let out another hiccupping sob at Joel’s words, and Jimmy murmured words of comfort to her. Then he looked up to the skies, and his heart froze. Three figures were flying towards them- one with elytra, one with bright yellow feathered wings, and one with white feathered wings tipped in gold. Joel noticed Gem, Pearl, and Scott in the air as well, and grit his teeth as he put a hand on the hilt of his sword. Lizzie rushed over and put a hand over Joel’s, shaking her head.

“Stay on guard, but let’s hear them out. We only know that Fwhip and Sausage were the masterminds behind this. But if they are here for trouble, we’ll make sure they regret it,” Lizzie said, tone going dark at the end of her statement. Joel hesitated for a moment or two, but dropped his hand from his sword with a frustrated sigh. He and Lizzie did, however, stand protectively in front of Jimmy and Katherine as Gem, Pearl, and Scott came to a landing in front of them. Jimmy let go of Katherine, but she didn’t go far, taking his hand and gripping it tightly.

“I know we’re not high on your list of people to see, but hear us out. We didn’t know that Fwhip was going to take such… drastic measures,” Pearl explained, hands up placatingly as her wings fluttered anxiously.

“But you did know Fwhip was up to something,” Joel countered.

“We knew he wasn’t super happy about the House Blossom Alliance, but we thought that he would just pull a harmless prank or pick a fight with Jimmy or something. Not destroy Katherine’s castle,” Gem continued, Pearl nodding along with her. Scott stayed suspiciously quiet, and Jimmy’s mouth settled into a firm line as he let go of Katherine’s hand.

“But Scott knew. Didn’t you,” he accused, glaring at Scott. His expression immediately turned guilty, and that was all the confirmation Jimmy needed.

“I wanted to tell you, really! But-”

“But you kissed me instead of telling me or ANYONE about Fwhip’s plan!” Jimmy shouted, stepping forward and gesturing angrily, that cold numb feeling from before now replaced with molten fury. Lizzie gasped, drawing her sword and fully intending to lunge at Scott, but Joel quickly scrambled over to hold her back.

“Joel, let go of me, I need to give Scott a piece of my mind for taking advantage of our sweet swamp boy’s heart!” Lizzie fumed, straining against Joel’s hold. Joel glared at Scott, but his grip on Lizzie didn’t let up.

“Scott, you better have an explanation for this, or I will let my wife loose on you,” Joel warned. Scott actually looked a little terrified, and part of Jimmy hated the fact that he was relieved at that.

“I should have warned people about the TNT, I know. I just- it was stupid of me to hope that Fwhip was going to change his mind. And I was going to tell Jimmy, but then I saw Fwhip in the distance, and he had his crossbow aimed at him. I- I figured that Fwhip wouldn’t take the shot if it meant hitting me too. So that’s why I kissed Jimmy, and by that point it was too late to warn anyone,” Scott explained, his expression pleading and apologetic. Joel and Lizzie seemed to accept his explanation, as Joel let go of Lizzie and she sheathed her sword- but they both still glared at him. And Jimmy wanted to believe him, wanted to say he forgave Scott and rush back into his arms again- but there was something else that bothered him.

“What did Fwhip mean, when he said something about ‘playing the part?’” Jimmy asked, absolutely terrified of the answer but needing to know the truth anyway. Scott swallowed nervously, expression overcome with guilt once more.

“Fwhip told me to keep an eye on you, make sure you wouldn’t be a problem. It wasn’t just Katherine goading me into being nice that kept me coming to your empire, at first. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t-”

“Leave,” Jimmy growled, having enough of Scott’s excuses. Scott flinched at Jimmy’s tone. Good, it was about time people stopped seeing him as the sweet swamp boy or the friendly Codfather. He was done being pushed around, done being used and tossed aside.

“Jimmy, please- believe me, I really do care-”

“I don’t wanna hear it! I’m sick of your lies and manipulation! I never want you to set foot in the Cod Empire again, if I ever even SEE you again I will make sure you regret it,” Jimmy shouted, the words fracturing his heart into a million pieces. But he couldn’t afford to trust Scott ever again.

“Jimmy…” Scott trailed off, any fight finally leaving him as his wings drooped. His gaze shifted between Jimmy’s angry glare, the tears on Katherine’s face, the glares from Lizzie and Joel, and the sympathetic and apologetic expressions on Gem and Pearl’s faces. He looked back at Jimmy one last time, eyes glassy- before taking off into the night sky. Jimmy couldn’t even watch him leave.

“We truly are sorry for everything that happened. We know it doesn’t make up for it… but we wish you the best, Codfather and allies,” Gem said softly, before taking off into the sky as well. Pearl gave them a weak smile before following Gem. Jimmy waited until he could no longer see either of them in the sky, and finally let himself cry, falling to his knees as ugly sobs wrenched their way out of his throat. Lizzie scrambled to his side, pulling him into a hug and letting Jimmy cry into her shoulder.

“It’s okay, let it out. I’ve got you,” she soothed.

“He tricked me. And like a fool I fell for it, I fell for him,” Jimmy said between sobs, desperately clutching at Lizzie. Joel came over to kneel at their side, pulling both of them into his arms and rubbing Jimmy’s back. Katherine joined the hug pile too, on the opposite side of Joel. Jimmy wasn’t sure how long the three of them all stayed there with him, but they all held him until he finally had no tears left to cry.

After Jimmy had finished crying, Lizzie gently prodded him into changing, insisting that he would feel better in his normal clothes. She was right, and a lot of the tension drained from his shoulders once his trusty cod head was back on his head. From there, Lizzie and Joel brought him and Katherine to Lizzie’s empire, saying that Katherine could stay in the embassy she built, and that neither of them wanted either one to be alone at the moment. Katherine and Jimmy didn’t argue, neither of them wanted to be alone either. So they ended up huddled together in Katherine’s embassy, a borrowed blanket from Lizzie over both of their shoulders. Lizzie stayed with them and made sure they were comfortable, while Joel flew to Pixandria to update Pixl on everything that had happened.

“This is all my fault,” Katherine said numbly, after a long silence. Jimmy and Lizzie looked at her in confusion.

“It’s really not, you didn’t blow up your own castle, after all,” Lizzie pointed out. Katherine smiled weakly, shaking her head.

“But none of this would have happened if I didn’t insist on making friends with everyone. Everyone would have been fine if I just stayed out of it and stopped trying to bring people together,” Katherine said, voice watery.

“Katherine, if you hadn’t tried to bring us all together, I’m sure much worse would have happened. Who knows how many empires would have been destroyed if it wasn’t for you,” Jimmy countered softly. Katherine let out a small sob, hand clasping over her mouth as she tried to collect herself.

“But if I hadn’t started those meetings, pushed you and Scott to be nice to each other- then you wouldn’t have to be feeling this way,” Katherine said, voice as fragile as glass when she dropped her hand from her mouth. Jimmy shifted to face her, gently gripping her shoulders and looking Katherine in the eyes.

“Katherine, listen to me. My- my heartbreak is not your fault. None of what is happening is your fault. If anyone’s to blame, it’s Fwhip. You hear me?” Jimmy asked, voice gentle but no less serious. Katherine’s eyes went wide.

“You’re heartbroken?” she asked in a shallow gasp. Jimmy gave her a sad smile, throat growing tight as he felt his eyes watering again- funny, he thought he had run out of tears.

“I learned what love was, only for it to get crushed barely a day or two after. So… yeah. I think I am. But that still doesn’t make it your fault,” Jimmy said, tone forlorn before it turned gentle and serious once more. Katherine let out a shaky sigh, nodding her head.

“Okay. Okay. I’m still sorry you’re feeling this way, though,” Katherine said softly. Jimmy just smiled, pulling Katherine into a hug.

“So what’s our next step? Plotting our revenge on Fwhip?” Lizzie asked, and Jimmy couldn’t help but chuckle at her casual ruthlessness.

“I think before we do anything revenge-related, we should help Katherine rebuild her castle,” Jimmy replied, frankly not wanting to think about getting revenge on Fwhip, because that would likely lead to getting revenge on Scott as well. And Jimmy definitely didn’t want to think about Scott at the moment.

“I don’t know if you’re the best person to help me build,” Katherine teased lightly. Jimmy gave her a weak smile in response.

“I think I’ll be able to manage if you’re guiding me,” he replied softly.

“I would definitely appreciate the help,” she said with a smile, and it was the first time Jimmy had seen her smile, truly smile since the ball.

“Then I’ll help, mediocre building skills or not,” Jimmy insisted, glad to have something to look forward to so he could think about anything other than Scott. He was done with him, no matter what his traitorous heart thought about his sunshine smile, his laugh of gold, or those icy blue eyes that contradicted them both. So much about Scott felt like a contradiction, now. He snarled and teased and jabbed, but there was a hidden fondness too, or at least it seemed like there was. Jimmy wasn’t sure if it was ever real to begin with. Then there was how he sided with Fwhip, even though Katherine was his true ally, a business partner too. Nothing made sense, and Jimmy wondered if he should have let Scott explain- no. Jimmy was never going to give Scott a chance to use that silver tongue on him again, paired with a smile that was only gold-plated. He wouldn’t be hurt again.

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#empires smp #jimmy solidarity #scott smajor #ldshadowlady #smallishbeans #katherine elizabeth #pearlescentmoon #geminitay #flower husbands #seablings #mcyt #aiahs #sage writes #i am making the executive decision to keep maintagging this #if scott and jimmy see this that's their problem #interact at your own risk flower husbands /lh

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iamnottuxedomask-blog · 5 years

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Interlude, Part 3 || Closed

Continued from Here

Roughly 2 months ago...

In the depths of the The Devil’s Breath stood a young man of twenty. Slender and thin, a messy tuft of orange hair upon his head. Across his face sat countless freckles, all earned from his days out in the sun.

His only name? Q.

His breaths were shaken and erratic, fingers fiddling with the key in his hand. Just before him was the Captain’s chambers, and he prayed he wouldn’t get caught in the act.

It was time. He already made his escape from the brig. Already made his trip around countless others still freely roaming The Devil’s Breath. All traitors, the lot of them. And he knew that the month he spent down there was at its end. Either he would get caught and killed on the spot...or he would escape with his prize, cast off into the sea.

He heard a noise from the corner and froze, eyes freezing on an errant mouse quickly puttering across the wood.

Q took in a few silent breaths before igniting an open flame from the tip of a burn-scarred finger, burning around the lock.

Allowing him to slip inside, undetected.

The inside of the chambers was...an absolute mess. Q had only been invited into Captain Rylan’s chambers a handful of times - namely for private meetings or magic lessons - and the very sight made flames threaten to sprout from his palms. Dressers ransacked. Valuables stripped bare. A bed torn up, as if the traitors wanted to see if there were any secrets hidden inside. Part of him thought that whatever the Captain wanted him to find, it was already looted. Probably some other box that they picked clean with the right tools.

Still, he crept further inside, stepping over discarded clothes and eye-patches scattered across the floor. His feet drew him to the bookshelf - a once intricate piece now snapped into several pieces, barely standing against the wall - and his eyes glanced around, as if looking for something he believed wouldn’t be there.

Q reached up, pulling some torn books from the shelves. All historical records and magical tomes of every kind - even of magics he knew the Captain had no ability in learning. Each book had pages torn out, spines broken, ink spilled on multiple pages...all beyond repair. And every book was tossed haphazardly behind him, all of them worthless.

And then...he finally saw it.

A small black box lined with intricate gold along its rim, all centered on a golden keyhole in the center. The keyhole itself was scratched multiple ways all around it - no doubt the result of too many lock-picks attempting to crack it open. It was no bigger than his palm...and as he held it in his hand...he felt confused.

This was really the object Captain Rylan entrusted to him? A small box such as this?

Q blinked for several moments, and then rose up the key towards the keyhole. And just as the key neared the box, there was a flash. And immediately...the box opened up.

A magical seal?

More confusion dawned on his face as he adjusted his eyes from the light...for blue eyes to lock onto what was simply...a ring.

It was small...a golden band with an emerald situated on top, several diamonds surrounding it in a starburst pattern. Part of it seemed...anticlimactic, if Q were being honest. But the more he looked...the more...off things began to feel. He was never in tune with the magics he himself possessed...but he could feel a certain shift in the air. A stillness.

And he swore he could see...something inside the emerald. Pulsing in tune to a heartbeat. Like something was alive inside of there.

The next several moments were numb to him. His hand moving up towards the ring, as if moving on its own. The sweet smell of honey filling the air, lulling his thoughts into those of complacency. And the color emerald swirling ever faster within the gem...and growing. Reaching out through the diamonds, turning them an envious green. And growing beyond that. Spreading like a veil against his eyes, spider-webbing out until his entire being was the emerald green, and his center the gem itself, moving tantalizingly in circles, beckoning him closer and closer.

The coldness of the gold brushed against his index finger.

And then...he wasn’t in the Captain’s chambers anymore.

He wasn’t holding the box anymore. He wasn’t standing anymore. He wasn’t even sure if he was anywhere anymore.

Q sat upright in a stiff, oak chair. In front of him sat what looked to be...a white throne. An empty white throne decorated in white and shades of grey. And behind that throne was what looked to be...an entirely white library. A complete labyrinth of white bookshelves loaded with neatly organized white books. And on the spine of every single book was a single name written in elegant grey lettering.

Matai Lux.

Q blinked, finally coming to his senses. He looked behind himself, seeing only an empty void of white, a stark contrast to the labyrinth behind the other chair. The only object on his side of the space was a small white circular end table with a single white book sitting on top. And the lettering on the spine of that book, written in harsh black lettering, was his own name.

Quade “Q” Scott.

He stared for a moment, confused. What the hell was going on?

Just as he began to reach for the book, he heard footsteps. Q stiffened up, fire creeping out of his palm. He glared towards a shadow creeping out of one of the many entrances of the book labyrinth. One more step...two more steps...

And to his surprise...the only thing awaiting him was a man.

He was a man no more than twenty-six years old. A slender man at that, with pale purple hair sitting neatly brushed at the top of his head and emerald eyes peeking through the bangs. He wore strange attire Q had never seen before, strange red robes that looked dated and lost to time, though they looked strangely religious.

And the main thing that Q noticed was that...this man was very sick. Skin several shades too pale. Dark circles beneath his eyes. Several pounds too thin. Chapped lips, flecks of blood lining the corners of his mouth. But even so...this man stood tall. Proud. As if there was no illness whatsoever. And the second the man locked eyes with Q...a wide grin appeared on his face.

And the second he began walking further out of the labyrinth of bookshelves...Q knew he recognized that walk. That body language. The way this man carried himself was the exact same as what he followed for years. The same stride as the man he admired. The same expression as the captain who taught him how to control his fire magic. The same mischievous look in his eye.

“You know, I’m surprised you’re not in your forties based on how long you’ve had me waiting, dearest Q.”

A light voice. Airy. Unfamiliar, but with a familiar tone to it.

The man stopped in front of Q’s chair, looking at the small flames in Q’s palms with absolute amusement.

“Even after all this time, your flames burn brightest when you’re afraid. It’s always been your biggest tell. Careful, someone could use that to their advantage.”

Q looked up at the man with wide eyes, the fires not once diminishing from his palms.

“Y...Y-You’re...” Q swallowed, “C-Captain Rylan...!”

The man chuckled, “You’re certainly a clever one, dear Q. Now, I suggest you relax a little in that chair of yours.” He turned around, walking over to the white throne on the other end, the chair in front of the labyrinth. And without a care, he sat down upon the throne, lounging comfortably.

“After all...” the man chuckled again, “We certainly have quite a few things to discuss. And...”

“I would prefer it if you would call me Matai.”

#STILL NOWHERE NEAR DONE WITH THE INTERLUDE LOL #HOPEFULLY THE NEXT ONE WILL BE THE LAST #interlude #interlude pt. 3 #pi:closed #tw:blood #tw:illness

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