#and then just...started making magical items herself until he finally allowed her to just insert a spell from her hand...which goes poorly

[abysskeeper]

Other things I've realized today:

"Local elf twins have the same, distinctly awful taste in love interests, as each one manages to fall head over heels for a mortal bomb."

"You mean bombshell?"

"I said what I said."

#don't mind me #nox is an unhinged academic gremlin #of course she went for her fellow smart wizard with big brown eyes and a convoluted magical entity in his chest #gale said he needed to consume the weave out of magic items and nox went sounds sus but sure! #she started handing him magical items every chance she got just to see what the hell would happen #only after she realized the orb was hurting him did she grow more sympathetic #and then just...started making magical items herself until he finally allowed her to just insert a spell from her hand...which goes poorly #my point being...it tracks #lux though #lux finally starts getting over the traumatic incident that killed her newly wed wife and left her a widow #and immediately goes ah yes the barbarian with a confirmed death date of the near future? #that one seems like a great idea #this time I can save her! #unhinged lesbian with a complex that she is #they're both doing phenomenally well in bg3 as you can tell

[novelist-becca]

Could these walls come crumbling down

Fandom: The Owl House

Rating: Teen

Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda 

Summary: A look at “A Lying Witch and a Warden” from Eda’s POV. Title is from the song “Into the Open Air” by Julie Fowlis. Italics are Eda’s thoughts.

AO3 link here

FFN link here

Eda had sent Owlbert back through the portal after their brief trip through the human realm. She was unable to find any good stuff, plus she was getting tired. So she went back to wait at her booth while he found more garbage. That was an hour ago. The bored witch watched as random citizens walked by. A part of her worried he was caught and captured by a curious human. He was supposed to be back by now! 

Then, as she was tapping her foot in impatience, she heard the door finally open, and the owl flew through the curtain dragging a half-full sack of human garbage. 

“Finally, you're back!” Eda said with a sigh. Nevertheless, she gave Owlbert a quick scratch on his chin as a thank you. Eda thought she heard a voice from inside the tent, but she ignored it and turned to the sack. “Now let's see what we've got here.” She said as she screwed Owlbert back onto the staff. 

Eda rubbed her hands together in anticipation and looked through the assortment. A small dark box thingy? Nah, she could never figure out how to work those strange box things. “Garbage…” A diamond ring? No, everybody here's already seen those. “Garbage…” and a golden glowing goblet! Nope, she needed something rare! Something different!

Then as if the sack could read her mind, Eda gasped pulled out a large pair of strange glasses with bloodshot eyeballs. “Now this…” she said as she tried them on. “This will make me rich!” To her amusement, the eyeballs popped out and sprung for a few seconds.

It's horrifying. Perfect! 

“And this…” The next item Eda pulled out was a book. It was…eh. She's seen a few witchlings carry it around. Whatever. Her candle was starting to go out anyway. “Well, this'll make good kindling.” 

But as soon as she held the book over the flame, some kid burst out of the tent and snatched it out of her hand. “Excuse me sorry that's mine thank you!” She said quickly. 

Now where the hell did she come from? Eda thought. Then a quick look at her ears confirmed that she was a human. 

Now she could be…useful.

Before the little intruder could escape back through the portal door, Eda closed it with the key. She wasn't going to get away that easily.

“You're not going anywhere.” She said sternly. It seemed to scare the kid enough that she escaped from under the tent’s cover. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, the witch followed her. Soon enough, Eda found the girl standing at the edge of a cliff, visibly freaked out and confused, and also smacked down a stray pixie. The witch internally laughed at the child. 

Classic humans. 

“Where am I? Did I DIE?! Am I in the Bad Place?” The girl frantically asked nobody in particular. Eda grabbed her shoulder, startling her for a moment. 

“You wish.” 

The older witch dragged the girl back to the booth by her arm, sitting her down on a stool. Yup, she's human. Eda told herself. No doubt about it with those round ears. She looked to be in her teens, with dark skin and short brown hair. Said human had her knees pulled up to her chest, looking up apologetically at the woman before her. 

“I-I'm so sorry, I just wanted my book! If you're gonna eat me, just make it quick- just do it now!” The human stuttered out, holding out her arm. 

The witch internally laughed at this kid’s complete overreaction. Alright Eda, time to drop the tough guy act. Don't scare her too much.

“Eat you? Why would I eat…a potential customer?” Eda said to the girl, presenting her stash of junk. Her words seemed to confuse her, but the kid seemed to calm down, and looked up with interest. Nailed it! She's hooked! “Can I offer you a human foot filled with holes? A bar of green human candy? Oh, oh, how about this black shadow box that reflects only sadness?” Eda spoke as she went through whatever assortment of objects she found interesting. 

And, interestingly enough, instead of rejecting the offer and walking to the next stand, the human laughed a little bit at the presentation. 

“That's not all it can do.” The human says, getting out of her seat. “Here, let me see it.” Eda allows her to take the offered “shadow box” and observed as she takes something from the “human candy” bowl and inserted it into the object. Then she pushed a button and…it lit up with loud music, showing a person dancing. To Eda’s surprise, some demons and witches heard the noise and were immediately attracted. Oh, so that's how it really works.

“Huh? What's that?”

“That sound, it's so alluring…!” 

One demon held up some money. “I'll pay 40 snails for the screaming box!” 

Another demon held up his too. “I'll give you 100!”

“Can I eat the tiny person inside?” 

Eda watched in awe as more people offered up their goods for the device. All thanks to this kid. She turns to her with great interest. “What did you say your name was?” She asked with an impressed smirk. 

If she's a human, then maybe she can help King. Eda thought, remembering the other reason for pulling her aside. 

“I'm Luz! Luz Noceda!” The kid said, smiling at her. It's incredible how she hasn't run away screaming from the demons and monsters of the Isles, as most normal humans would. 

“Well, Luz, that was pretty clever…for a human.” Eda adds, taking the offered money from her customers. 

“That's kind of a weird thing for another human to say.” Luz says, raising an eyebrow. 

Oh, right, the bandana!

“Oh, dear child…” Eda started before swiftly taking off the bandana disguise to reveal her own pointy ears. “I'm not like you.” 

The witch stepped on top of her table to speak. Might as well entertain the kid. 

“I'm Eda the Owl Lady! The most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!” Eda declared proudly. 

“A witch?” She heard Luz say in wonder and delight. 

Oh, I like this kid. 

“I am respected! Feared!”

“-Busted!” To her dismay, the loud device was smashed by none other than…an Emperor’s Guard. Customers ran away in fear, but Luz stayed by the table for whatever reason. Dammit.

“Eda the Owl Lady, you are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors!” The guard spoke in a gruff voice. 

“Woah, witch criminal.” Luz said from her spot by the table, watching with great interest. For some reason she…stayed. 

“You are hereby ordered to come with me to the Conformitorium!” He demanded, grabbing Eda’s arm. 

She yanked it back in annoyance. The guards were stalking her…a lot today. “Would you guys quit following me around? I haven't done squat.” Why do they call it “misuse” anyway? 

Unfortunately, the guard noticed Luz and lifted her up by her shirt. “And you're coming too. For fraternizing with a criminal!” 

“What? That's not cool!” Luz exclaimed, eyes widening. 

Quickly, Eda formulated a plan. “Oh alright alright, you win. Just let me get my stuff…” she answered, getting her staff. Swiftly, she swung it at the guard, knocking him flat on the ground. These chumps are too easy!

Quickly, Eda cast a spell to wrap up everything in a sack, hanging it on her staff. But not before pressing the button on her key. “Whoops, can't forget this!” She ran towards Luz, remembering her mission. “Follow me, human!” And she did. 

As Eda ran, Luz rambled frantically beside her. “This is crazy! If I die here my mom’s gonna kill me!” 

The witch laughed. “Ha! I won't let him hurt you. A human like you is much more valuable to me alive than dead.” Eda promised. If she is to earn Luz’s trust, she can't get hurt. No matter what.

“Wait, what's that supposed to-”

Eda didn't let her finish as she suddenly hooked her arm with Luz’s, whooping as she swept her off the ground and into the air with her on the staff. 

As expected, Luz was frozen in her place on the staff, tears leaking from her closed eyes. 

“You can open your eyes now, human.” Eda told her.

Luz opened one eye, then another before letting out a whimper and nearly falling off. “Flying staffs, crazy monsters, you're a witch! What is this place?” She asked as Eda pulled her back up. 

“This is the Boiling Isles.” Eda explained to the girl. “Every myth you humans have is a bit of our world leaking into yours.” Just then, a large griffin flew by, sparking Luz’s interest. 

“A griffin!” And when it started breathing spiders, “I knew it!” She exclaimed happily. Eda marveled at Luz’s great fascination with this world. She loved the enthusiasm. 

“Yup! Griffins, vampires, giraffes…” Eda recounted. 

“Giraffes?” Luz asked, confused. 

“Oh yeah. We banished those guys. Buncha freaks.” Eda said with disgust. Those super long necks had always unnerved her. She stepped off her staff once she arrived at their destination. Luz stayed on, unsure. Until she noticed Eda's detached hand and jolted off. 

Jumpy isn't she? 

“Whoops, that happens sometimes.” Eda said nonchalantly, screwing her hand back on. 

Luz got to her feet. “Well, I've had enough adventure for today. This is clearly not the PG fantasy world I always dreamed about. So, can you help me get back home?” She said. Eda held her staff in front of her before she could walk away, making her freeze in place. She needs her for this. And she's not getting away so easily.

“Only if you help me first!” Eda insists. “Ha! Now come along, human.” 

As she and Luz approached the door, Luz piped up again. 

“Aren't you worried about those guards finding us?” She asked, looking behind them nervously. 

Eda looked to her and gestured at her house. “Nope! My house has a state-of-the-art defense system.” As long as Hooty’s around, she and anybody that chooses to stay is safe. But…not from his voice. 

“Hoot hoot, password please.” Hooty said. Eda rolled her eyes and poked his eyes. “Ow!” 

“We got no time for this, Hooty. Let us in.” She answered with two fingers still held up as a warning. 

“Alright alright, jeez! You never wanna have any fun! Ow! Hoot!” Hooty scoffs before letting Eda and her new aquaintance in. She let the girl take a brief look around before snapping her fingers. 

“Welcome to…the Owl House.” And with a snap of her fingers, everything came to life. Candles lit up, the broom sweeping, the fireplace blazing, and the ceiling lit up with that beautiful picture of a bird. Luz looked around in amazement and walked around. 

“Where I hide away from the pressures of modern life.” Eda explained. “Also the cops. Also ex-boyfriends, ha!” She added with a snort. 

Luz placed her book down on the coffee table. “This place is beautiful. So do you live here all alone?” 

As if on cue, the house seemed to shake with King’s angry stomping. That damn demon. 

“Actually, I have a roommate.” Eda frowned.

“WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON I, THE King of Demons!” King demanded as he entered the living room in his towel and…holding a rubber duckie. 

Instead of getting scared, Luz gasped in delight at the sight of him. “Ay que lindo!” She exclaimed, and then she quickly scooped a confused King into a tight hug. “Eda he's so cute! Who's a widdle guy? Who's a widdle guy? Is it you, is it you? Mmm!!!” She cooed excitedly to the now frightened demon. Not that Eda could really blame her, he is really adorable. 

“NO! I don't know who your little guy is! Eda! Who is this monster?!” King cried as he tried and failed to push the girl off him. 

“Oh, this is Luz, the human.” Eda tells him, restraining Luz with her arms around her torso and prying her away, then putting her back down. “She's here to help us with our…situation.” She explains with a hand on Luz's shoulder. 

King lit up. “Oh! Hurray!”

But Luz backed away, apprehensive. “Wait wait wait. I don't like the sound of this 'situation.’” 

Eda stepped in front of her before she can back out. “Just…let me explain.” She says before drawing a spell circle to help illustrate their objective. “King was once a mighty king of demons, until his crown of power was stolen, and he became…this.” She noticed Luz had picked up King again. 

“You mean this little bundle of joy?” She interjects. 

Eda continued. “The crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath, and locked away behind a magical force field that only a human can break through. A human like you.” She lifted the spell and looked at Luz. “If you help us retrieve his crown, we’ll send you back to your realm.” And while Eda may be Public Enemy #1, she intended to keep her end of this deal. “So what do you say?” To convince her, she picked up King by his head. “Plus, who could say no to this cute face?” 

“No! Please don't encourage her!” King cried, squirming in her hold. 

Eda dropped him. “I mean, we're kinda your only way home.” She reasons. There's not any other portal to the human realm. That she knows of, at least. 

Luz averted her eyes to the side. “So I don't really have a choice, do I?” She guesses.

“Nope! Now we've got no time to lose!” Eda urges, picking up Luz and holding her over her shoulder. The girl didn't struggle. Behind her, Eda hears King talking to his duck. 

“Where are we going?” Luz asks over her shoulder. 

“Somewhere super fun!” 

~ 

“The Conformitorium, a place for those considered 'unsuitable for society’.” Eda explains with distaste when they reached their destination. She remembers how guards would throw people in that damn place simply for being weird. Most of them haven't committed any real crimes! 

Beside her, Luz had found one of her famous Wanted posters. “Whoa. These guys really have the hots for you.” She observed. 

She's not wrong.

“Yep. But we were never caught because we were too slippery.” Eda proudly says with a smirk. That poster would always be one of her proudest moments. She looked good in it! A part of her feels overjoyed that this child didn't judge her for her criminal status.

“Try to catch me when I'm covered in grease, I'm a squirmy little fella.” King remarked in his place on Luz's head. Luz, who probably just found it weird, tilted her head so the demon could slip off. “You and I will sneak up to the top of the tower where they're holding my crown.” He explained to her. 

“And I'm gonna make sure the warden’s distracted.” Eda added.

Luz gasped in excitement. “Will I need a disguise?”

“Uh…” Eda didn't really answer. Nobody's seen her before, so does she really need one? 

“I've been waiting to use this.” Luz said, and put on her hoodie, flicking the cat ears up. “Meow meow!” 

Oh why not let her have some fun. Besides, it’s kinda cute!

“It's hideous.” King commented. 

“Oh you'll fit right in.” Eda agreed, smiling. Then she planted her staff to the ground, creating a glowing yellow disk. “Hang on tight!” Then it  lifted Luz and King to the air, elevating them to a tower window. After they were dropped off, she flew away on her staff to begin her search. “Meet you guys at the top of the tower!” She said. 

Eda flew around the halls of the Conformitorium, passing cells, making sure no guards were around while also searching for the Warden. Eventually, she heard someone at the end of the hallway. She peeked around the corner and sure enough, there was Warden Wrath, holding a tiny creature with a big nose hostage. 

Good. Just where we want him. Eda flew back the other way to go update the human girl. 

After a few minutes of searching, Eda found Luz walking around the halls with her hood down, looking…dejected. “Hey, I just checked, the Warden is distracted, tormenting some tiny creature. He won't coming around here anytime soon.” 

Luz didn't respond, and her expression didn't change as she walked past Eda. She looked deep in thought. 

Where's that enthusiasm from earlier? 

In front of them was a large door labeled “Contraband”. This was the room where King’s crown was! 

“My crown, it's close! I can sense its power!” King said excitedly. He scrambled quickly to the door, desperately trying to get it open. Of course, with his tiny body it would take a while. 

“Aw, he's so cute when he's thirsty for power.” Eda cooed. 

Then Luz finally spoke. “It's not fair that they're all in here. They just want to be themselves!” She said sadly. Eda assumed she probably talked to a few of the prisoners. “Why does everyone think being a weirdo is so bad?” She asked, looking up at the witch with sad eyes. 

She understands. She knows what it's like to be stifled. Eda thought fondly. I really like this kid.

Before Eda could come up with a response, a noise snapped both of them out of their thoughts, King finally got the door open, and was now laughing to himself as he excitedly sprinted into the room. 

“Come on, before he hurts himself.” Eda sighed. And as if on cue, she heard an “ow!” followed by a zap. 

In the room, King was repeatedly headbutting the barrier, failing over and over again to get through. 

Ha, cute.

“We have a human, remember?” Eda reminded him, looking up at Luz, silently telling her what she had to do. 

“Oh yeah!” Said King.

Luz took a deep breath as if to prepare herself, and slowly stepped through the barrier. Eda and King stood outside, waiting for the human to find what they needed. And sure enough, Luz stepped back out, holding the crown, looking confused. 

King took it from her, putting it on. “Yes, yes! I can feel my powers returning! You there, nightmare critter! I shall call you Francois and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness!” He pointed excitedly to a random stuffed rabbit. “Ha, ha!” He laughed triumphantly. 

“That crown doesn't give him any powers, does it?” Luz asked, disappointed and confused. 

“Uh, no.” Eda replied. Luz gave her a skeptical look. “Oh, look at us, Luz. King and I don't have much in this world, we only have each other. So if that dumb crown is important to him, it important to me.” She says, trying to convince the girl that this wasn't a total waste of time. “Besides, us weirdos have to stick together, you know?” She concluded with a wink. Luz looked at her and smiled, pink tinting her cheeks. 

I knew you'd understand. 

“Well, we owe you one. Now let's get outta here before the warden finds us and loses his head.” She stated. 

“Too late.” A sinister voice said behind her.

The owner of that voice swiftly and effortlessly cut of Eda’s head, which Luz caught in her hands. The girl screamed. 

“AAHH!!!” 

“OW! Oh I hate it when that happens.” 

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

Luz held Eda’s head close, looking at her with terrified eyes. “Eda! Are you okay?!” 

“Yeah, this just happens when you get older.” Eda said nonchalantly. 

“Does it?” Luz asked, horrified. 

Well it started happening when I got older, I don't know about other witches…where's my body?

Warden Wrath approached them. “Finally, I have you cornered, Eda the Owl Lady.” Then he took King’s crown again, crushing it easily in his hands. 

“Weh?!”

“My guards could never get you, but I knew if I took your pet’s toy, you'd come running.” He crushed the crown easily in his hands. 

“NO!” King sobbed. “My power!” 

Luz and Eda glared at him. “What do you want with me?! I've never actually broken any of your stupid laws…in front of you!” Eda glowered. They came all this way just for King! Nobody makes him cry like that!

“I want you…” he kneeled down on one knee. “To go out with me.”

What the hell? 

“Wha?” 

“What?” 

Warden continued. “You've always eluded our capture. You've always been the one who got away. I found that alluring.” He said. 

What the fuck?

“I hate everything you're saying right now.” Luz said, disgusted. Eda was even more disgusted. These guys never ever got the message to back off. All that, just because he wanted a date? What a load of bull.

Warden snapped out of his lovestruck state. “You stay out of this!” He threw a goopy arm at Luz, knocking Eda’s head out of her hands. As she struggled, he picked Eda’s head up by her hair and stared her in the face. 

“So how about it, Owl Lady? The most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles and the feared Warden Wrath. We'd be the strongest power couple ever.” Warden said. Eda cringed. “I mean, it's not like you can say no right now.” 

Just when I thought this day couldn't get any worse. 

Eda looked to Luz, then to King, who was now struggling to get out of a guard’s arms, and formulated a plan in her head. 

“Alright, Warden, you win. I'd just like to say something first.” She sighed. “Come closer.” He brought her head closer. “No, just come a little bit closer. Just… yeah that's good-” and Eda blew a raspberry right in his face, breaking his concentration and making him drop Luz. While he was groaning in disgust, Eda was cackling from where she hung.

He's so gullible! I knew he'd fall for that! 

“Impudent wench! Don't you know how many germs are in your mouth? Yuck!” He sneered. 

“Get over it! You had your guards stalk me and then you cut off my head! I am NOT going out with you!” She said angrily. 

“If you don't accept, then I have no choice but to-” 

WHACK! 

Her staff came up from behind, knocking him on the head, making him drop Eda’s head. It was none other than Luz! 

Eda chuckled. “Nice!” What a smart girl! Quick thinking!

Then she got her body to come over and pull the guards’ hoods over their faces, distracting them. Luz ran over and picked up Eda’s head and grabbing King back from a guard, getting on the staff, trying to figure out how to make it fly. 

“Expecto…flying? Magicusescapicus!” Luz said, but nothing happened. 

It doesn't really require enchantments, kid… 

“Gun it magic stick!” Eda barked, and immediately, the trio was flying through the air. They haphazardly flew through the halls, passing jail cells. Luz looked to Eda and held out an arm. 

“Eda, lend me a hand!” Luz said to the head. Eda, knowing what she wanted to do, linked her arm with Luz’s, giving them enough strength to move the levers to open the cell doors, freeing whoever the prisoners were. Then they all burst through a door, and the warden finally caught up to them. He launched a goopy arm at them, and they crash-landed to the ground. 

The warden morphed his hand into an axe, and Eda put her head back on, feeling the satisfaction of being able to move again. She jumped to action, and pulled out her key. “Luz,” she said to the girl. “Go back to the human world.” 

She's already helped us, I owe it to her to let her go home safe. 

“What about you guys?” 

King ran over to try to help Eda. “If you think this guy is bad, you shoulda seen her last boyfriend!” 

“Not my boyfriend.” Eda said, grabbing King and jumping out of the way of the warden’s attack. Not in a million years.

Eda, seeing how Luz was still standing there, lifted Luz, forcing her to sit on the staff, ignoring her protests. She may have only just met the human an hour ago, but she feels the instinct to keep her safe. 

“But-but I-” 

“Go, go!” Eda urges, forcing her on and slapping the staff, cuing it to fly. Luz went away on the staff, yelling, out of sight, and hopefully to safety. 

Eda prepared herself when the warden took off his mask to reveal a hideous mouth and spat fire. She drew two spell circles. One to absorb the fire, and one to redirect it back at him, slamming him to the wall. 

Ha! Too much fun! 

However, a few minutes of fighting led to her being knocked to the ground by the warden, King following suit, who she caught in her arms, holding him close. 

“No more running away, Owl Lady. Today I capture you once and for all!” The warden growled, raising his hands. King whimpered, huddling close to Eda, who held on tighter and glared at their attacker. 

“-GO GO GO GO!!!” Luz’s voice yelled. 

Wait, what? I thought she went home! 

Luz flew past her, three former prisoners following suit, tackling the warden to the ground. 

“Luz?” Eda said in disbelief. Did she seriously come back for us? 

Eda stood by and watched as the trio of prisoners got on top of the warden, standing up to him and restraining him. 

“I ate my own eye!”

“I think the world is a triangle!”

“And I practice the ancient art of fanfiction!” 

Incredible! 

The eye demon had tangled the warden’s tentacle-arms together and turned him over, so he was facing Luz. 

“You! Who do you think you are?” He snarled. 

“Do not underestimate me, Warden Wrath, for I am Luz, the human, warrior of peace!” Luz spoke triumphantly. Then she grabbed what looked like a bunch of fireworks tied together. “Now eat this, sucka!” She shouted, using the staff to hit it into the warden’s mouth, effectively blowing it up. 

She had that with her the whole time? Amazing thinking, Luz! 

Eda stood next to Luz, smiling proudly and placing a hand on her shoulder. What a brave kid. I'm impressed. She wanted to say, but didn't out of pride.

“That was actually one of her better breakups.” King joked.

“Not a breakup,” Eda reminded King. “Anyway, let's bounce before any more monsters fall in love with me.” 

Seriously, kid. You were amazing. I really owe you. 

~

“Well, a deal’s a deal, let's get you home.” Eda said, calling forth the key and pushing the button. The door appeared, waiting for Luz to open it and step through. But she stood there, deep in thought. Eda smiled at her, silently thanking her for her help. 

Luz looked at King and stepped forward, kneeling down. “Before I go…” she took out what looked like a tiny plastic head that had a tiny golden crown on it. “I know it's not the same, but…a king shouldn't be without a crown.” She said, giving the demon the crown. 

He took it, placing it on his head. “This shall suffice.” And he pointed to one of the houseplants. “You there, plant! You are now under my command!” 

Eda then gave Luz back her book that she almost burned earlier that day. “Oh, and don't forget this.” Luz seemed to really value that book. 

Luz walked back to the portal door, and Eda and King waited behind her. Eda saw her hold up her book, thinking. Then, she did something Eda did not expect. Luz turned around.

“Okay. I know you got your head cut off, and we started some kind of prison riot, but this was the most fun I've ever had.” She said to the witch and demon. Eda looked at her, shocked. 

What is she saying? Is she going to…

“I don't fit in at home. You don't fit in here. If I stay, we can 'not fit in’ together.” Luz looked at the pamphlet that was on top of the book and stared at it. “I am not going back to summer camp.”

Eda chuckled, confused. “Wha-what's ‘summer camp’? What are we talking about here?” 

She's staying?! Why?

“I wanna stay and become a witch like you! And Azura!” Luz declared happily, holding up her book. 

“What? Alright, that's crazy. Humans can't become witches.” Eda stated, dismissing her. I love the enthusiasm, but why?

But Luz didn't give up. “Maybe that's because they haven't tried!” She insisted. “If you teach me to become a witch, I'll do anything you want.” 

Okay, she's got a point there. And an apprentice? I kinda like the sound of that. 

“Let her stay!” King urged, pulling at the hem of Eda’s dress. “She can make us snacks.” 

Eda smiled and picked up the demon. “Well, I could use a hand keeping this goofball out of the cupboards.” She said. “All right, I'll teach you how to be a witch. But you have to work for me before you learn any spells.” She held out her hand for Luz to shake. “Deal?”

But instead of taking her hand, Luz just went straight in for a tight hug. 

Whoa whoa whoa! “Ugh! What's going on?!” Eda froze in Luz’s hold. 

“Too tight, too tight!” King protested.

~

After Luz relinquished from the hug, Eda told her she could sleep in the attic upstairs. She didn't protest and gladly brought her stuff up. Eda was left there, thinking about what just happened. 

That kid was so brave today. Better than any kid, much less a human kid, I've ever seen. 

She thought about what having a teenager living in her home might be like. She knows it will be messy, and she’ll probably try to stare danger in the face like today. But she's willing to give it a shot. Who could say no to that confidence? 

What Eda didn't know is that since that day, she would witness this human girl's endless wonder and courage. She didn't know the pride she would feel whenever Luz learned a new spell or made new friends. She didn't know that Luz would start to give her a reason to look forward to tomorrow. She didn't know how much she would grow to care for Luz as if she was her own child. 

She didn't know how much she would love this light that lit up her life. 

#my writing #this was meant for TOH's anniversary #the owl house #the owl house fanfiction #fanfiction #toh #owl house #toh fanfiction #eda clawthorne #edalyn clawthorne #luz noceda #eda the owl lady #eda the owl mom #mom eda #mama eda #mother eda #king toh #the owl house king #owlversary #a lying witch and a warden

[lover-of-skellies]

A Way Out

((An OC insert where my girl Adrienne loses everyone she's ever cared for and has to face off with Chara. She would've lost too, if it wasn't for the guardian of negativity himself, deciding to intervene and save her ass. She's healed up and taken back to the castle, and when she wakes up, he has what seems like the best offer she's ever been given. Does she shake his hand and accept the offer, or does she refuse and die?))

***CONTAINS FIGHTING, BLOOD, VIOLENCE, KNIVES, CHARA, AND TEMPORARY EYE LOSS***

Adrienne had felt her heart sink at the unfortunate discovery she'd made; the dust scattered over the snow, pieces of armor, and an all too familiar tattered red scarf. Tears pricked at her eyes and a lump formed in her throat as she reached out, her shaky hands delicately plucking the scarf from the snow. She gently brushed the snow and loose dust off of it, then wrapped the item around her slender neck in the same fashion she'd always seen Papyrus wearing it, briefly glancing down at the ground. At the sight of tracks clearly left by sneakers, her eyes widened, tears now freely rolling down her face.

She knew exactly whose sneakers left the trail, and her heart sank even further. Not wanting to waste another moment, she began to race toward judgement hall; from having visited a few times before, it was fairly easy to find. As she reached the hall, she sucked in a deep breath, placing a hand on the large wooden door and pushing it open.

And she immediately wished she hadn't. 

Aside from leftover bone attacks made by Sans and the fallen human's blood, she let out a choked sob; at the far end of the hall, there was an unmistakable pile of dust, and what was clearly her best friend's favorite jacket. Grey eyes widening again, she ran to where the jacket laid, falling to her knees and gently running her fingertips over the fur lined hood. Her heart broke as the realization finally sunk in; she'd lost two of the only people she had ever truly cared for.

It began with Queen Toriel, and was followed later by King Asgore, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Grillby, and even Flowey. Not even the innocent monster children had been spared, and the fallen human had left everything in ruin. Not a single monster remained.

Scooping up the jacket and hugging it close to her chest, she let out a loud, broken sob, her voice echoing fainting in the vastness of the corridor. Wailing in agony as she mourned her lost friends, she failed to notice the figure approaching behind her.

Hearing the absolutely deep sigh, she found herself scooting away from its source, clinging to Sans' jacket as if it were a lifeline. The figure peered at her through glowing crimson eyes that were partially shrouded by a brown fringe. Once a normal child, it's lips were now curled upward into an amused grin, "And then there was one. Hold still, girlie, and I'll make this quick." 

This wasn't a child anymore... whatever it was, it was the physical embodiment of evil itself.

Adrienne loosened her grip on the jacket, her body trembling as she slowly slid the item on and zipped it up, careful not to snag Papyrus' scarf. Rearranging her look of complete brokenness into a weak attempt at defiance, she growled softly, teeth bared, "You.... What have you done?" 

Casually shrugging and holding up a knife, the figure smiled again, tilting its head, "I killed them, you dummy. With all the blood and dust, what else could I have done?" 

She could hardly believe how casual and relaxed this being was; they admitted to murdering everyone she'd ever loved, and they spoke of it as if it was nothing more than a mundane task. Her stomach churned, and she hissed, "You're the worst... How could you do something like this? What did they ever do to you?.... All... all my friends are gone now, because of you." 

Humming softly in confirmation, the figure only grinned proudly, completely devoid of remorse and regret, "I know. I did it because I wanted to... didn't think I really needed a reason." 

The teen rose to her feet, balling her hands into fists, "If you keep talking like that, I'm gonna kill you. Unless you have something constructive to say, shut the fuck up." Still totally at ease, the figure raised an eyebrow, "Wow, that wasn't very nice, y'know." It took a step closer to her, and in response, she took a step back, her attention focused entirely on the entity before her. Sighing, the figure made a face, seeming to be contemplating something before speaking, "Something constructive, let's see... well, our buddy Papyrus, for starters. You wouldn't believe how much of a fight he put up. If I was even a little bit careless, he would've had me. And then Sans... well. We know how Sans can be. He saw what was left of his baby brother, and he came at me with all he had. It didn't take long for him to run out of magic. If it helps you feel better though, he was thinking about you when he was turning to dust. He called out to Papyrus, and then he called out to you... you must be pretty special to him, huh?" 

Adrienne felt her bottom lip tremble as she stared at the figure, her disbelief fading and giving way to grief. She allowed herself another moment of silence, more tears rolling down her cheeks, before her left eye suddenly flared up, igniting with her magic as her look of sadness shifted into a scowl, her voice calm and unexpectedly even, "...You have until the count of three to get out of my sight. If I reach three, you're dead." 

The figure, visibly intrigued by her now glowing eye hummed, lips curling into a devious grin, "Well well, that's a pretty eye you've got there. When I kill you, maybe I'll take it for myself." Adrienne scoffed, choosing not to respond as she began her countdown.

"One."

The figure remained where they stood, still wearing the same stupid, smug, evil grin. Totally unphased by the situation. 

"Two."

As a multitude of bone attacks and icicles began to form, the figures grin started to falter and they unconsciously took a step back away from her, suddenly appearing much less confident than before, "Hey... What the hell is all this about?"

Their question went unanswered, and her eye began glowing much brighter, "Three." 

All of the attacks shot at the figure at once, several of them managing to impale their small, deceptively fragile form.

Adrienne flipped the hood of the jacket up over her face, her voice shaking as she approached the figure, stuffing her hands into her pockets, "I warned you, brat... don't you ever come back here again." Her moment of silence didn't last, interrupted by the faint sound of buzzing, resembling the whir of a machine somewhere. Summoning more bone shaped ice attacks, she slowly turned to look around, surveying her surroundings. 

What she wasn't prepared for though was the figure she'd just killed, standing several meters away and grinning at her, in perfectly good condition again. It must've seen the confusion and disbelief written on her face, laughing softly, "Resetting is such a wonderful little skill I have... sure, you can kill me if you want, but no matter how many times you cut me down, I'll always come back. That's something Sans had to learn the hard way too." She launched her ice attack, but this time, the figure dodged and darted at her with an unforeseeable amount of speed, her eyes widening in fear as she sidestepped the first attack, grabbing the figure by its wrist and trying to turn the blade against it instead of herself. Then to her horror, multiple other knives, all glowing a vibrant shade of red, began to materialize in the air around her. She tried to release her grip on the figures wrist, but to no avail. No matter what she did, she couldn't make her hand let go of the figure. 

As the blades all slowly turned to aim at her, the figure grinned, their facial features contorting into what she could only describe as a demonic expression. Her heart began to race, and the figure tilted its head, amused as the first knife came sailing downward and plunging into one of her arms, earning a shrill scream from her. The blade had pierced her arm, and she screamed again as it ripped through the opposite side of her arm as well, blood immediately beginning to seep out of the injury. A second knife flew at her as well, sheathing itself in her back, dangerously close to her spine. Another scream tore out of her again and she sobbed brokenly, in too much shock to move her body.

The figure grinned maliciously, moving closer and resting a hand on her face, gently shushing her. When she became louder instead, she felt a sharp pain in her left eye; the figure scowled at her, their thumb now almost fully lodged in her socket, "I asked you nicely to shut up. No one wants to hear your pathetic whining." Screaming again as they scraped a nail against the back of her socket, a familiar warm, red substance ran down her face, she felt her body twitch, all of her partially materialized ice attacks dropping to the floor.

The figure watched her quietly for a moment before almost purring, refusing to remove their thumb from her socket, "And here I thought you might actually be a challenge. Tch. Shame... I'm disappointed in you. I'm sure your beloved skeletons would be pretty let down too." Squeezing her good eye shut, she whimpered, her tears seeming to multiply as she weakly whispered, her voice trembling, "If you're gonna kill me, then do it already, damnit." 

A third knife came sailing down, sinking its blade into one of her thighs and earning another pained scream. The figure scoffed at her, raising an eyebrow, "Since when were you the one in control here?" 

Before she was able to form a reply, a black mass appeared, phasing out of the shadows and watching the two of them with a single cyan eye, clearly interested in what was happening. A tendril coated by what looked to be tar shot out from the mass, wrapping tightly around the figures neck and roughly yanking them backward, causing Adrienne to collapse on the ground, yelping in pain and pressing a hand over her empty socket. Hearing the sounds of another battle, she turned her attention away from the figure and the odd black mass, looking toward the pile of dust that used to be her best friend.

She blinked, silently weeping as his form appeared. Though ghostly in appearance, he offered her a warm, sharp-toothed grin, his single gold tooth glinting under the light of the hall. Letting out a soft sigh, the apparition offered her a hand, his gruff voice low, "C'mon kiddo... Let's get your ass back to bed. It's late, y'know."

Her voice shook, only coming out as a whisper as she raised a hand and reached out to the apparition of Sans, "I know, Sans... 'm sorry I left..." As her vision became blurry, the apparition solidified, but she could've sworn she watched it turn black.

Feeling each of the knives be removed from her body, she could only whimper, too weak to fight as the black mass moved closer, the warmth of healing magic surrounding her wounds and sealing them up. Her eye had even been restored, much to her pleasant surprise. She was lifted up by an inky tendril, drifting in and out of consciousness as she was carried out of the hall.

Beginning to awaken later on, she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, squinting as she took in her surroundings; she was in a luxurious black and deep purple bed with satin and silk covers, and there was so little lighting that it was nearly impossible to see. Goosebumps prickled at her skin and her heart stopped as she looked down at herself, seeing that her scarf and jacket had vanished. Eyes wide as she began to panic, she pulled the covers back and slid out of bed, taking a single step and yelping as the muscles in her legs convulsed, giving out beneath her. Before she had a chance to hit the thinly carpeted floor, some unknown object looped around her waist, easily catching her.

Though she was relieved, she was also unnerved; who could've caught her? The room was so dark, so how could this mystery person have been able to see where she was?

A deep chuckle could be heard from in front of her and a chill ran down her spine. As a single cyan eye opened and cast it's eerie glow down on her, she froze, immediately remembering the battle in judgement hall. At a loss for words, she could only stare, watching as the goop covered skeleton cocked his head to the side, "If you wanted these so badly, you could've just asked, little one." A tendril snaked out from behind him, her jacket and scarf held loosely in its grasp. Despite the feeling of another tendril still around her waist, she acted on impulse, reaching out to the items of clothing, desperation crossing her expression. The black mass simply tsked and moved her closer to himself with the first tendril, lifting her again so they could be eye level with each other, "Ah ah, not yet. I'll return them to you, but you have to answer some questions first. Do you think you could do that?" Adrienne swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded slowly. Pleased with her compliance, he hummed, "Good... That'll only make things easier. You're in no shape to fight anytime soon, and I really wouldn't want to have to hurt you." Her eyes widened and her pulse quickened, earning another chuckle from him, "You're adorable this way... maybe I'll keep you around. Who knows. Either way, do you have a name?" 

The teen nodded again, her voice barely audible, "...Adrienne. My name is Adrienne." "'Dark one', huh?... That's interesting. Now tell me, what were you doing when I found you in that hall?" Memories flickered in her mind and she cleared her throat, hesitating a brief moment, "I was trying to avenge my friends. That human... the one I was fighting. They killed everyone, everyone I had ever cared for. I was alone and upset, and I wanted to make the fallen human pay." The mass made a soft sound of understanding, listening intently before posing another question, "The people you lost... what were they to you? Just friends and acquaintances? No mate, by any chance?" Cheeks flushing a faint shade of pink, she shook her head, "No, I didn't have a mate... they were all my friends, and some of them were even like family to me, though. They cared for me when no one else would."

Tugging her closer to himself, he lowered his voice slightly, "I see. If you could get them back, how much would you be willing to sacrifice?" The teen furrowed her brow, "I'd give anything. If it meant I could get them back and that I wouldn't lose any of them again, I'd even give up parts of myself." A clearly interested, satisfied purr rumbled in his chest as he pressed further, "Would you be willing to sacrifice your humanity?... All your morals and concerns, all your logic and your fear? Your soul, perhaps?" Frown deepening, she nodded slowly, her voice a whisper, "Yes. If I could have back the monsters I love, then I'd give all of it away. I'm nothing without them." 

The black mass grinned widely, offering her a bony hand, "My name is Nightmare, and I can make that happen. All you have to do is shake my hand, Adrienne." She stared at his hand for a moment, clearly hesitant to do as he'd asked. Grin faltering, he sighed, "I can feel how sad and lonely you are without them, and I know you're scared. In order to get them back though, you must trust me. As of right now, I mean you no harm. I'm your ally here, and I protect my own. You'll be safe, and you'll be with me, along with others that can understand the pain you're feeling. You won't be alone anymore." Hope blossomed in her chest and she looked back at him, meeting his gaze, "If I agree, you promise you'll get back my friends?" The goop covered skeleton hummed in confirmation, "Of course, little one. It's a promise." Sucking in a deep breath, she reached out and shook his hand.

Tightening his grip on her hand, he pulled her closer, delicately pushing her hair back out of her face to examine her eye, "I'm so glad you agreed... You won't regret this, Adrienne. I'll need to change the mark on your eye though. It'll be my mark instead of the old one, and even though it'll be different, your magic will remain totally unaffected." She hummed softly in understanding, trying her best to hold still as he continued observing her eye. Then to her surprise, his pointer finger and thumb shifted, holding her eye wide open as a third tendril appeared, drifting closer to her face. Feeling her anxiety spike, Nightmare smiled slightly, "Don't move, alright? It may sting and cause your eye to water up, but that's normal and the stinging will eventually go away." 

She took a deep breath, doing her best to relax again as she listened quietly, hearing Nightmare begin to chant something unintelligible under his breath. As the tendril moved closer, the very tip of the appendage pressed into her eye just over her iris and pupil, and she hissed, balling her hands into fists. The appendage receded, vanishing behind Nightmare's back, and that's when the stinging began. At first it was tolerable, but as it grew more intense, her eye watered up and she squirmed, whining softly in discomfort. She raised a hand to rub her eye, but a dark, skeletal hand firmly grabbed her wrist, stopping her, "Not a good idea, little one. If you do that, you may just go blind." She whined again and he chuckled, placing his free hand on her head, "It'll be over soon... until then, I think some more rest would benefit you." A wave of sleepiness washed over Adrienne and her body went limp, her eyes slowly drifting shut. Once he was sure that she was fully asleep, Nightmare delicately placed her back down on her bed, laying the scarf and jacket beside her.

Leaning over her, he carefully opened her left eye again, his grin becoming darker and much more malicious as he took note of her eye's condition; the white of her eye was now black, her iris had vanished, and all that remained of her pupil was a small, white crescent moon shape. 

It'd be interesting when she woke up again, and he almost couldn't wait to see what would happen.

As she began to stir a while later, she took notice of the scarf and jacket beside her, slowly sitting up in bed and slipping them on. She tried her hardest to remember the events that took place in judgement hall, but all she could think of was finding the ashes of the skeletons brothers scattered everywhere. She remembered fighting, blood, and getting her eye gouged out, and she remembered the apparition of Sans.

Her lips curled into a wide, manic smile, and despite the tears running down her face, she began to laugh. 

She laughed and laughed, until her sides ached and her face was stained red from tears, and as she got out of bed, her heart leapt in her chest as the sight of the apparition of Sans passed by her open doorway. Eagerly bounding after him, she called out his name, eyes wide and full of excitement and curiosity. Reaching the end of the corridor and seeing that he was nowhere in sight, she made a face, pausing to glance at herself in a mirror.

Seeing her eye, she burst into another fit of laughter, and her entire world went black.

#dreamtale #underfell #dreamtale sans #underfell sans #nightmare sans #fell sans #red sans #underfell papyrus #fell papyrus #edge papyrus #underfell chara #fell chara #writing #tw: blood #tw: stabbing #tw: eye loss #tw: violence #tw blood #tw stabbing #tw eye loss #tw violence #tw: fighting #tw fighting #chara #adrienne.exe #hey look #it's the weekly cringe fest #oc insert #tw: chara #tw chara

[the-shadow-of-atlantis]

Truth in Blood (Part 4)

Summary: Not wanting to focus on what happened Annabella decides to keep herself busy.

Tagging: @lizartgurl @thespacebuns @melyaliz @coffee-randomness @speedypan @gobydana

A/N Special thanks to @thespacebuns and @coffee-randomness for helping me with this chapter

Read Earlier Parts Here

Sunlight poured into the room making Annabella groan as it hit her in the face. Rubbing her eyes she shifted in the bed turning her back from the direction the light was coming in from and wrapped herself tightly in the blanket. Her eyes slowly opened feeling heavy from crying, the numbness hadn’t gone away making her want to just lay in bed. It had been a long time since she felt like this, her face fell as she remembered the days the followed Jason’s funeral. Shaking her head she forced herself to get up.

Get your stuff organized first, she thought. Nodding to herself she got off the bed and grabbed her bag. There was one dresser in the room and Annabella organized her clothes, she had enough for three nights and wondered if she would be allowed to stay that long.

“Oh great.” Annabella muttered to herself as she dug through her bag.

Out of everything she could have forgotten how did she forget to pack her brush?? She looked up and caught her reflection in the mirror and saw her hair looking like a lion's mane. She glared at her self a bit before sighing well looks like she was just going to have to buy herself a new one. Along with a charger because apparently she forgot that too.

Great. She paused as she noticed something in her bag that she definitely did not pack, reaching in she grabbed the small wooden box that made her leave her home in the first place and glared at it. What the hell was this doing in here? Then she wondered if it was somehow like those type of magic items that you could never lose once it was bonded to you. Great that was going to be annoying.

Annabella felt her stomach growl and slightly jumped. How long had she been asleep? Better question, how long had it been since she ate? She tossed the box back in her bag and organized the last of her stuff then turned to walk out the door but noticed a small slip of paper on the ground.

Annabella,

There was a league emergency, I did not want to wake you. You are free to do what you wish, if you have to leave there is a spare key in a small drawer in the kitchen.

Kaldur

Annabella stared at the note for a bit feeling slightly jealous at his penmanship, she put it on top of the dresser and walked out. She looked around the small house on her way to the kitchen, she had only been here once which was during Kaldur housewarming party. It really hadn’t changed much, the pale blue walls were pretty bare, the living room had one couch and a recliner, a small coffee table, a small flat screen tv hung from the wall with a small media stand underneath it filled with little knick knacks that upon closer inspection Annabella realized they were the little stuff she would bring back from her trips.

She looked at the mantel over the fireplace and saw it had some picture frames, she smiled as she remembered some of them. A group picture of the team from their first year. A picture of Kaldur with his surface grandparents during Christmas wearing matching sweaters. Another group picture of Kaldur with his friends from Atlantis that had come to the beach of Happy Harbor one day, that water volleyball game had been very intense. One picture Annabella never realized he had was one of her helping the little sea turtles go back into the ocean Kaldur was standing next to her in the picture smiling in the direction of the ocean. She sighed as she thought how simple life had been just a few years ago, turning away she finally went into the kitchen.

The fridge was also a bit bare, a small carton of eggs, a couple jugs of water, some butter and bread. The sight was a bit sad. However when she checked the pantry Annabella almost cringed and the amount of canned food and fruits quickly checking the freezer she found it was also stacked with microwavable meals. Suddenly Annabella began to wonder just how long Kaldur tended to stay in his own house or better yet how often he visited it.

After checking to make sure the eggs and bread were good she made herself a small breakfast and inspected the furniture. There was just a small layer of dust. Taking a deep breath she looked around munching on her toast. The little Alfred in her head seemed to be screaming at her to help and Annabella had to admit she was tempted.

“Well… he did say I could do anything.” She mumbled to herself.

Nodding she scarfed down the rest of her food quickly washed the plate and went up to her assigned room to change. She did her best to comb her hair with her fingers and knotted it together to keep it out of her face. She found the spare house key and attached it to her car keys. She got into her car and drove off.

It had taken her moment to realize where she was people more than likely didn’t recognize her. So shopping was pretty fun, until the cart started getting full and she began wondering how much she was going to have to pay for it all. She only kept so much in cash because even though she could defend herself she also made it a point to not carry too much to draw attention. Biting her lip she decided to take a gamble on using one of her cards after all Kaldur wasn’t the only one from the team who lived in Happy Harbor she could possibly be staying with, she also hoped her father had the decency not to track her but that was a stretch. Making a mental note to take a page from Question and open up several accounts that couldn’t be linked to her she paid for the groceries and headed back to the house.

When she came back she was a bit glad that Kaldur had apparently still hadn’t come home yet. She was wondering how she was going to explain the giant haul of groceries and cleaning products. She had to make several trips from her car to the kitchen. Once everything was organized she got to work on cooking. She had all four stove tops occupied and had the TV blaring music as she bobbed her head mixing the food together. Soon the entire fridge was now stacked with containers of home cooked meals that Kaldur could easily heat. Good, now onto the cleaning.

Luckily the house was small, also like she noticed earlier the only thing the house really needed was dusting. She figured she was the first one to use the guest bathroom since the shower did look fairly clean still she figured it couldn’t hurt to disinfect it. The guest room she stayed in was easy since there was basically only two pieces of furniture it made her wonder how Kaldurs room looked like but she resisted the urge to go in. Besides she figured it would more than likely look like his old one from the cave, bedsheets so tight you could bounce quarters and drawers with his clothes color coordinated. When she moved into the living room she smiled as she cleaned the media center remembering the times she had gifted some of the small knick knacks.

Then a thought slowly dawned on her as she polished a small stone pyramid, she remembered some of these from his room in the cave, but if that was the case were these salvaged from the wreckage? No they couldn’t be they still looked like new, except for the dust, but then did that mean he take them with him when he went undercover? Or did he put them somewhere for safe keeping? She tried to remember if she ever went into his room after it was discovered he left to ‘join’ his father but no memory came to mind. Then another thought came to her, is that why she came all the way here to see him? Because he’s been through something similar? Being lied to about a dangerous parent. She shook her head trying not to focus on it too much on it.

“Just keep going.” She muttered to herself. “You’re almost done.”

“Well that was fun.” She mumbled when she finally finished and plopped herself on the sofa as she adjusted herself and frowned when she felt something poking her side.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her keys.

“What the?” She mumbled as she looked at the keychain.

A piece of it had come off and was exposing what seemed to be an end of a flash drive. Annabella sat up looking at it, she knew Question always kept this keychain on. She never realized it would have doubled as a flash drive then again he was full of surprises. Was this flash drive for her? If not what was on it? But then again her dad did say Vic wanted to leave the car to her. And she knew there was a laptop in there.

Getting up she went outside and rummaged through her car finally finding the hidden laptop. She went into her room and turned the laptop on. She looked over the laptop which was basically wiped clean of any files though it had some cool features, it reminded her of a smaller batcomputer possibly even better. She fidgeted with the flash drive finally caving and inserted it. She clicked on the little file when it popped up and saw that it was filled.

“Geez what the hell?” Annabella muttered as she scrolled through the list.

Well just click on the first one and see what happens, she thought as she clicked on it and a video popped up. She blinked when she saw Vics face staring at her, his real face, his brown eyes tired, his red hair thinning. Slowly she pressed play.

“Well like every cliche way videos like this start I’m going to go with if you’re watching this them I’m guessing the cancer has finally kicked my ass and its your birthday. You’re dad must’ve given you the car that’s good hope you’re still enjoying it, you always did like that car.” Vic smiled and Annabella stared at the video in shock.

“It must be your 17th birthday, which means you must’ve found out the truth about who you are. Trust me I’ve tried telling you many times but something seemed to keep hold me back, remember our deal no secrets between us. I figured your dad must’ve done something from making others tell you, so I gathered what I could on your mother, figured they would tell you about her but not everything. For now in this video I’ll tell you the basics, after that you can look through the files yourself.” Vic paused and coughed.

“Sorry about that, this shits getting worse. Anyway, your mother, I know you know she use to be an actress, that she stopped working after time and went dark till she showed up when you were 7 and tried to kidnap you. I’m guessing you know about your magic now and how it works. Well after you were born your mother tried her best to get her magic back. She joined cults made deals with some unpleasant people anything she could to get a small taste of her magic back. She managed to achieve her goal but it never seemed to last long. Eventually she began betraying those who helped her.” Victor paused and sighed as he rubbed his eyes.

“Your mother is dangerous Annabella, she’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants, and with her options being so limited I think you might be her next target when you discover your magic. You’ll need to prepare and as upset as you are you need to speak with your grandmother she can guide you, help you. I’m sorry I’m not there to help you myself I wish I could have told you all of this in person. No more secrets Annabella it's time for you to learn the truth, to learn everything, no matter how bad those things are.” Vic smiled sadly at the camera suddenly there was a knock and Annabella looked up confused till she realized it was coming from the laptop.

“Q you in here? Are you feeling okay for training.” Annabella’s voice came from the screen.

“Come in Shadow.” Vic called out and the screen went black.

Annabella blinked as she stared at the blank screen trying to process what her dead mentor left behind for her. Seriously what was up with all these hidden gifts being left behind by the dead??? She shook her head and closed the video the little arrow hovered over the next file and Annabella bit her lip nervously, then she clicked it.

She wasn’t sure how long she spent looking through all the files. So much stuff that her mother did, the horror, the betrayal, so much death and destruction. And for what? Just so she could use her magic again? There was a knock at the door and Annabella jumped.

“Annabella? Are you in here?” Kaldurs voice came through.

“Um yeah.” Annabella rubbed her eyes and closed the laptop. She got up and opened the door. “I was just checking my emails.”

“I am sorry I was gone for so long the emergency took much longer to handle than it should have. I was not sure if you have had dinner yet and was wondering if you’d like to join me.” Kaldur paused as he studied her and she slowly felt worry begin creeping off of him and wrapping around her. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Annabella rubbed her eyes. “Sorry, I’ve been staring at the computer for a long time. I’ll um I’ll be down in a bit.”

Kaldur seemed uncertain but slowly nodded his head and walked away. Annabella closed the door and sighed her head swarmed with the information dump it just received. She rubbed her temples as she tried to calm herself. When she looked up she noticed her bag and frowned. She was pretty sure the box inside was mocking her, but then again, Vic did say she was going to need to talk to her grandmother again. Feeling her stomach growl she sighed. Later, she decided, first she was going to have food… and then explain to Kaldur why his fridge was suddenly full of Tupperware.

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#oc x kaldur #oc x kaldur’ahm #truth in blood

[ask-chaos-kin]

Chaotic Adventures in Babysitting Chapter 4

Warning! Long chapter! Along with a lot of exposition to characters and mention of Scoutit. Co Written with @royalbabble​

“Alright, Rose is finally asleep, there’s no Freaks wanderin’ around, and the base is locked down for the night,” Pancakes announced, trudging into the living room with his warhammer slung over his shoulder, exhausted.

“I’m honestly surprised the others have been gone this long,” Roseflame stated from the kitchen while putting away the last of the dishes they used for dinner.

“I mean, it’s only been a day,” Pancakes shrugged, his warhammer disappearing. He slid onto the couch and sighed, “I mean, it’s Nightmare Medic of all Freaks, there's gonna be a few hold ups,” Pancakes yawned, “Jester might have gotten distracted by a cat, Spypers van could have broken down, they could be trapped in his lair, who knows,” Pancakes shrugged, “Only thing I can say is that it’s a good thing Scoutit ain’t around them. She’d hold everyone up and probably try to fight Chaos. Weird considering Chaos is Ace and all,” Pancakes yawned again.

“Knowing her, she’d ask Jester for the flag and hold it up to Scoutit. Then again, I’m only a few months into being even slightly considered a freak myself. You and Chaos have been the only people I’ve gotten even remotely close with,” 

“Yeah. Speaking of which, aren’t you Ace too?” Pancakes asked, sitting up. 

“Greysexual,” She responded going to the loveseat, “You?” Pancakes shrugged.

“I have no fucking clue,” Pancakes said, “Maybe bi. I don’t know yet,”

“Probably bi,” She turned on the TV to the local news and weather station.

“Our forecast predicts severe thunderstorms tomorrow throughout the day and into the next morning. In other news, Nightmare Medic has been seen roaming around the streets of Big City. No one knows of his current motives but things have been on the sketchy side. Back to you Claire,” 

Roseflame sighed but didn’t know if she should be relieved or worried worse.

“Hopefully this means he’s distracted with something else and not after our friends,” Roseflame commented.

“Hopefully. I mean, chances are that Jester will have him distracted from everyone else,” Pancakes said. 

“I mean, part of me knows I shouldn't worry seeing as well, most of them are trained killers already, but then you have ones like Chaos and Jester,” She looked to Pancakes to see if he understood.

“Yeah. I mean, Jester isn’t in any real danger. They’re body is...um...Shit how do I explain this…” Pancakes said, searching for his words, “They’re body is like, a projection. It can’t actually be harmed in any meaningful way. It’s...Ok I mean yeah they can still feel pain and all that, but they’re body isn’t where they’re vulnerable at. It’s their artifact. Destroy the artifact, you kill Jester. And luckily,” Pancakes said, reaching over to pick up his bag, “Jester left their artifact here, so they’re safe,” Pancakes grinned, pulling out the golden item. 

“Well, at least they’re safe. What about Chaos though? We both know she can take damage and her resilience can only last so long,” She wondered, always the worry wart like Pure. Pancakes scowled for a moment and bit his lip.

“Her i’m not too sure about. Jester can easily give her and anyone else cover or could absorb any damage for her, but I don’t know how long or how effectively they could do that for,”

“Exactly why i’m worried,” Roseflame slumped further into the loveseat. Pancakes was silent for a moment, wracking his brain for something to say. 

A lightbulb went off in his head and he began digging into his bag.

“Actually, I think we can see what’s going on,” Pancakes started, formulating the beginning of a plan. He picked up the artifact again and held up the cube that Jester had given them, “Jester can use this artifact to spy on other Freaks-don’t ask how-and the artifact reacts to Jesters power in order to do that. So what if we use the magic in this box and use it on the artifact to try and look in on what the others are doing?” Pancakes suggested, grinning like he’d just solved the mystery of the universe. 

“I dunno, what if we accidentally get ourselves trapped in Jesters artifact?” Roseflame asked him.

“I mean, as far as I know, the only way to get stuck in this thing is if Jester themselves allowed us in in the first place,” Pancakes said, turning the artifact over in his hands to look at the rose colored gem inserted into the item. 

“True,” She moved over next to him on the couch, eyeing the gem as well, “It’s such a pretty gem,” She commented. She had been known to spend hours of her time looking at gems in stores with spiritual items. 

“Wonder how they even got locked in this thing,” Pancakes commented, “Oh well. Let’s get started,” Pancakes twisted open the cube and watched as the strands of magic danced their way out, spinning and swirling until they knitted themselves together into another small Jester, this one red and green. Pancakes held up the artifact to the tiny projection, hoping that the magic would know what to do. As he held up the golden item, the Jester frowned at it and crossed its arms as if befuddled by what was being presented to it.

“Oh come on, we want to see what’s going on with our friends! Can’t you show us or something?” Pancakes pleaded. The mini Jester looked up at him and then back to the artifact, shrugging. Pancakes scowled.

“Can it not-?” Pancakes began before being abruptly cut off by a bright flash of light that burst from the gem of the artifact. The tiny Jester spun into the air, exploding into a dizzying display of twinkling starlight. The artifact began to violently shake in Pancakes hands, emitting what sounded like music at an almost deafening volume.

“What did you do?!” Roseflame shouted, covering her ears.

“HOW WOULD I KNOW!?” Pancakes screamed, throwing the artifact to the floor which only seemed to make things worse. A blinding array of colorful lights flashed from the gem, covering the room in a rave of colors from across the spectrum. Then, with a loud hissing sound, two beams of energy shot towards Roseflame and Pancakes, turning their bodies into colored clouds of smoke that were sucked into the gem in an astonishing spiral of psychedelic music and light, both screaming as they did not know what was going on.

As they slipped further and further down into the dazzling world of colors and light, the aggressiveness that was seen upon first being sucked in faded, and the colors softened to gentle swirls that were no longer painful on the eyes. As the colors faded and their vision became unclouded, the two Freaks found themselves standing on some kind of platform high up off the ground, as evidenced by the clouds swirling around them. Roseflame looked around and went stiff, clinging to Pancakes arm. An understandable reaction, especially from someone who had a fear of heights. He now was the only Freak to know this. Pancakes looked around for a moment, trying to get his bearings. He inched forward onto the platform and gasped, completely bewildered by what he was seeing. 

It was a giant, sprawling, lively carnival with colors, lights, and music all around. The rides and attractions that stretched for as far as the eye could see also reached as high into the sky as far as the eye could see. It was crazy to now know exactly what Jesters home looked like 

“How high up are we?” Roseflame asked shakily, the elevation they were at being the only thing she cared to know at the time. Pancakes looked down and swallowed hard.

“It...it looks like we’re up a good 300 feet,” Pancakes said carefully, mindful of where he was stepping. 

“Oh sweet lords… And I thought that the monsters in the Slender realm where bad,” She was gripping tighter, he never would have guessed she could have such a death iron grip.

“Uhm…” Pancakes turned to his left and his right, searching for a way down. He took a step back away from the edge and hit the wall behind him. The surface seemed to cave inward against the pressure causing Pancakes to stumble backwards through an opening in the wall. Roseflame jumped back from Pancakes and staggered to stay on the platform, waving her arms as she struggled to stay balanced. Righting herself, she saw Pancakes on his ass, having fallen through a secret passage behind them. Wasting no time, she threw herself into the building and kicked the door shut behind her, just happy to we away from the platform edge. 

“I hope to god this isn’t payback for abusing their magic,” She groaned as she looked around the new area.

“I doubt it. One, Jester doesn’t hold grudges. Usually. Two, they specifically gave me some of their magic to use whenever needed,” Pancakes groaned, getting up. 

“... Is it just me or does this look like a trap door like in one of those carnival fun houses?” She looked down after helping Pancakes to his feet.

“Yeah...it does, doesn’t it?” Pancakes said slowly, rubbing his head. They both slowly looked at each other, there was nothing else around them in this room but what looked like a trap door.

“Fuck,” Roseflame swore. Pancakes began walking around the room and feeling around the walls for some kind of switch to let them out. Walking along the wall, his hand hit a slight indent in the brick. Brushing his palm over it, he could feel a slight draft coming from behind the wall. That must be the way out. He pressed down onto the small indent and the brick wall caved to the touch. Pancakes took a step back as several mechanical clicks sounded off from the wall and crept it’s way up into the ceiling, the two Freaks following the noise until it stopped directly above their heads.

“What the-”

The floor beneath them flew wide open, sending the two hurtling downwards into a brightly lit abyss. Screaming and flailing about, the two Freaks could only tumble through the air past the several hundred floors of the building, watching as the lights flashed past their vision.

“WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUCK!!” Pancakes screamed, flailing and clawing at the air as he tumbled downwards. The only thing else to be heard was the ear piercing screams of Roseflame as she floundered about.

Rushing to ground level, Pancakes covered his eyes and braced for impact, Roseflame beside desperately trying to right herself in the air in the hopes that landing on her feet wouldn’t result in her becoming a red smear on the floor. 

Whump.

Pancakes smacked hard against a bouncy surface before being sent skyward again. Utterly confused by his predicament, he tried to look down to see what he had hit.

A bouncy castle!

Pancakes hurtled back down at it, this time trying to land in such a way that would prevent him from being sent upward again. Roseflame smacked down beside him as he landed, visibly jarred by the several hundred foot freefall drop. 

“WE’RE ALIVE!!!!!” Roseflame announced in relief, throwing her arms up in victory. Pancakes flopped down on his stomach, the wind having been knocked out of him. He crawled his way out of the inflatable and tumbled out onto the floor, dizzy. He looked up upon climbing out and saw several floors above them, hundreds of people congregating on those floors for whatever reason. Beyond those floors, he could see where he and Roseflame had fallen out of. A small hole in the ceiling over 300 feet up slowly closed itself, as if it hadn’t sent the two Freaks to their supposed death. Roseflame crawled out after him.

“Not revenge my ass...” She looked him in the eyes.

“Oh come on, this is a carnival, we’re bound to run into things like that,” Pancakes said shakily. 

“Name one time you went to a local fair and fell over 300 feet,” She looked like she was about ready to smack him.

“Does this look like your local fair!?” Pancakes exclaimed, making a massive broad gesture to the giant building they were in, “Besides, Jester can’t exactly die, it makes sense they’d be a little reckless with this place,” Pancakes wheezed, still in shock from the fall. He carefully got up, his legs shaking. 

“You and me both know we got jello legs right now. And some of it looks like it. But not really,”

“Let’s just find a way out of here,” Pancakes sighed, looking around. He blinked in confusion as he turned away from the bouncy castle, “Woah, why are there a bunch of mercenaries here?” Pancakes asked. Roseflame followed his gaze and found him staring at an entire swarm of RED and BLU mercenaries, all dressed up in different outfits as they went about their business in this crazy place. 

“I think they inhabit this place. Kinda like imaginary friends but denizens of this place,” She looked to see just how many there were.

“Huh. Didn’t know there were people in their artifact to be honest,” Pancakes remarked.

“They might just be something Jester made so they weren’t so lonely in here. Makes me feel bad for them,”

“Maybe,” Pancakes said. He waved over to a BLU Spy that was passing by, “Hey!” The Spy stopped from the crowd he was walking with and looked over to Pancakes. He was wearing a dark blue fedora with cards lodged in the hatband. He wore a decently formal suit with a large red bowtie. He smiled happily and sauntered over to the two Freaks.

“Hello there!” The Spy greeted cheerily, “What did you call me over for?”

“Yeah um, we got stuck in Jesters artifact by mistake because we were trying to use it to check in on our friends. Do you know how we get out of here?” Pancakes asked calmly. The Spy shook his head, grinning.

“Tsk tsk tsk. I’m afraid to inform you that that’s not how things work around here,” The Spy informed, “You see, Count Jester owns this place. They control everything here, and everything is directly tied to them. Whatever they want, this place can provide. As such, people cannot leave or get in without their permission,”

“But we didn’t get in with Jester. We used a box containing some of their magic-”

“And here’s where the problems present themselves,” The Spy interjected, raising a hand, “You using their magic does not automatically mean you have access to their artifact. Did the artifact react aggressively to you using Jesters magic on it?”

“Well...yeah but-”

“Then the artifact didn’t know what to do. It was being presented with Jesters magic, but not Jesters permission or presence. As such, it became confused and in a word-crashed. I saw it. Some of the carnival was pushed into the real world and the artifact tried to pull it all back in. In doing so, it brought you two with it. Now that you’re both in here with no access to Jesters magic at all, you’re stuck here until Jester themselves gets back to let you out,”

“Oh my god. We just left Rose by herself in the base. She’s gonna wake up crying,” Roseflame was pacing as the realization struck her. They left a five year old by themselves in a base without anyone to watch over her. Anyone could take her without anyone to rescue her. Her mind was going into hyperdrive in worry and she began to hyperventilate.

“Well..eheh...You see,” The Spy began, turning to Roseflame, “It appears that the blast from the artifact was just a bit larger in size than you thought,” The Spy said.

“What?! Is she gone?! HURT!?!!” Pancakes had to put a hand on her chest to calm her down slightly. She was extremely shaken.

“Well, no. It’s rather difficult to get hurt here-”

“SHE’S HERE!?” Pancakes screamed, it now being his turn to worry endlessly.

“...Yes,” The Spy confirmed matter-of-factly. Without another word, Roseflame fainted, and Pancakes wasn't too far from doing the same.

“Where is she?” Pancakes demanded. The Spy wrung his hands together with a nervous laugh.

“Well...I have no clue,” He admitted, “But! She is somewhere nearby,”

“And how close is ‘nearby’?”

“About halfway across the carnival,”

Now was Pancakes turn to faint.

***

Rose blinked out the swirling colors in her eyes, disoriented from the strange transition she’d just gone through. Rubbing her eyes and getting in grip on her senses, she sat up. Opening her eyes, she gasped in wonder at her surroundings. She was at ground level, in some kind of brightly lit building filled to the brim with stuffed animals. She looked around, a crazy grin spreading across her face. It was like a giant Build-A-Bear workshop! She stumbled to get up and check out her surroundings, wanting to see what this strange new place had to offer. She waddled to one of the giant stacks of stuffed animals and reached out to take one, but they were situated above where she could reach. Even standing on the balls of her feet she couldn’t quite grab any of the toys. 

“Hey kiddo, what you doing over here?” A voice similar to Anthony’s called out to her. Turning around, she found a BLU Scout standing nearby, wearing goggles, a down vest, and what looked like a pilots hat. He grinned at her and ambled over to the stack of animals and pointed at the one she was reaching for, as if to ask if this was what she was after. Rose nodded quickly and extended her arms out to it. He got it down for her carefully so nothing else fell on her.

“‘Ey! What are you doing over there? We have more stuffed animals to make!” Another voice called. Rose watched as a BLU Engineer wearing a cowboy hat and what looked like winter clothing rounded the corner, holding a half finished stuffed crocodile. 

“There’s a kid over here!” He called, waving the Engineer over, “I think she got pulled in when the carnival nearly got out,”

“Aw shucks, another one?” The Engineer sighed, “That makes three in just a day,”

“Think we should try to take her to the others?” The Scout asked as Rose walked over to him, tugging on his vest to be picked up. He obliged and carried her, “Who knows how long until Jester gets back,”

“Here’s hoping nothing happens to them,” The Engineer said, “Well, I mean, if something DID happen to them that was enough to destabilize their form, they’d come back here immediately to reform, but Jester’s not the kind of person to deliberately tolerate pain,” The Engineer shrugged. 

“Yeah, from the chit chat I heard around, they other two got the High Drop. They’re currently at one of the rest areas since they fainted not long after,” The Scout stated while Rose looked around the area, admiring the many stuffed animals around them. 

“Well then we better head over there,” The Engineer said, “The Centerpiece is halfway across the carnival though,”

“I could make it no sweat. It’ll take me less time to get there. Unless you wanna use the cart dat is,” The Scout suggested, looking at a golf cart that was parked near what looked like a garbage that led out of the workshop. It looked like it was used for getting stuffed animals from place to place while Jester was gone.

“Yeah let’s use that,” The Engineer said. The two climbed into the cart and set Rose in between them while the Engineer cranked up the vehicle, “Wonder if Jester will be ticked off when they get back,” He thought aloud. 

“Who knows. Knowing them, they'll ask the two what they were trying to do in the first place,” The Scout said while buckling Rose in.

“Probably,” The Engineer sighed. The cart roared to life and the Engineer backed up the vehicle for a moment to give enough room to drive out of the workshop, “Hey! Look after the workshop while we’re gone!” She called. Rose peeked over the dashboard and saw a RED Heavy lean from behind another pile of stuffed animals. He smiled and gave a thumbs up and disappeared back behind the tower. The Scout then looked around for oncoming people.

“You’re clear to go,” the Scout announced, still keeping an eye out. The Engineer turned the cart towards the garage and drove through, mindful of the people within taking stock of several other items that were stacked high to the ceiling. 

“Don’t you worry sweetie, we’re gonna get your to your friends soon enough,” The Engineer assured calmly, glancing down a Rose. She smiled at him, not seeming to mind her current predicament.

***

Pancakes jolted awake, dazed and confused. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he shifted in the bed and rolled over onto his back with a groan. Roseflame was still knocked out in the bed beside his. He’d probably have to wake her up himself. With a grunt, Pancakes forced himself to sit up, being confronted once again by the bright colors of Jesters world. He scooted to the edge of the mattress and slid off the bed, stumbling as his feet hit the floor.

“You sure you should be walking around right now?” A nearby RED Medic said, this one wearing a vest with clear bottles and syringes stuffed into the pockets, surgical equipment that was wrapped around his left arm, and a surgical mask. Strange. Pancakes didn’t expect Jester to put actual doctors in their world. The Medic approached briskly, wasting no time in crossing the distance between himself and the Freak. 

“I can walk-” Pancakes said as he was abruptly interrupted by himself plopping back onto the bed. 

“Now just sit down for a moment. You weren’t hurt or anything, but because you fainted your blood needs some time to get back up to your brain,” The Medic said, “Just take it easy for a moment and you’ll be on your way soon,” 

Roseflame let out a small groan, she looked like she was about to wake up. That was until she turned her body to her side that he realized she had just entered REM.

“Well, she’s not waking up anytime soon,” Pancakes sighed. He rubbed his face and attempted to stand again, “Where’s Rose? You guys said Rose was here too,” Pancakes asked.

“Like we said, Rose is halfway across the carnival,”

“Ok but where exactly?”

“We don’t know. We can only tell the general location of outsiders to this world, we can’t actually pinpoint their location,” The Medic explained, shrugging. Pancakes sighed as soon as he heard Roseflame snoring slightly. He glanced down at his bed. He had an extra pillow he could throw at her to wake her up. He snatched up the pillow and took a moment to fluff it up before hurling it at Roseflame, hitting her right in the head. She snarked and flailed a bit before shooting her glare at him.

“Asshole,” She looked at him before noticing the Medic, “Oh, hi there,” 

“Hello,” The Medic greeted kindly. 

“How long were we out for?” She asked, concern in her voice upon realizing they were in a different location.

“About 30 minutes. Maybe. Time works a bit differently here than in the real world,” The Medic said with a vague gesture towards nothing in particular, “When you fainted you were brought here to one of the rest areas,”

“So this isn’t a hospital?” Pancakes quizzed, looking around.

“Ehe, no. The hospital areas are halfway across the carnival,” The Medic explained as he ambled over to a set of curtains and pulled them aside to reveal a balcony that led out to a perfect view of the carnival. The Medic pointed to a large structure straight ahead from the rooms view, “That is the Infirmary. Jester made this world in such a way that it’s impossible to be hurt, but they decided to put in a hospital area anyways just in case,” The Medic said. 

“I mean, in our case we fainted from shock. So we weren’t really hurt or anything,” Roseflame commented, forcing herself to sit on the bed.

“I work at the Infirmary but the Partygoers here called me in to check on you two,”

“Partygoers?” Pancakes asked.

“That’s what we’re called,” Said the Medic.

“Makes sense, given this is Jesters world after all,” Roseflame commented, “It still begs the question, what are we supposed to do until Jester gets back? We don’t belong here, especially without Jester around,” She wondered. There was no doubt in her mind that they would be miffed at the two teenagers.

“You could stay here in the rest area until Jester gets back. Or you could go outside and enjoy the carnival for the time being. Or you could go and search for the little one,” The Medics suggested, looking out to the carnival. 

“Probably look for her, and enjoy the carnival. Haven’t been to one before, well-”

“Other than local fairs?” Pancakes snarked, giving her an annoyed look whilst finishing her sentence.

“Yes, other than local fairs,” She groaned out. The Medic sauntered over to some kind of system nearby with several tubes running up from it into the ceiling. He plugged in a few numbers into a keypad. He then opened up a compartment on the terminal and removed a container and placed it inside one of the tubes. With a whoosh, the container was shot through the tube and carried away. 

“Must be a delivery system or somethin’,” Pancakes pondered aloud. After a few moments, the container came back through the tube with something inside it. It came to a halt back at the entrance point of the tube and emitted a soft ding. The Medic removed the cylinder and popped it open, removing two bottles of flavored water from inside.  

“We’re running short on flavors, so all we have at the moment is orange flavored water,” The Medic said sheepishly. He placed the container back into the terminal and came back over to the bed to give the two Freaks their respective beverages.

“How in the fuck?” Pancakes breathed, looking at the bottle.

“That system,” The Medic said, jabbing a thumb back at the terminal, “It's how we Partygoers ask for drinks and food from all over the carnival. All these tubes are connected to food courts, and if we want something to eat or drink, we just plug in the respective calling number for it, put the canister inside a tube, and then off it goes for pickup. Then it comes back with whatever we ordered and we put the canister back into the terminal,”

“Talk about fast food. So where are we right now? I know we were at some Big Top/Casino earlier before we fell over 300 feet onto a bouncy castle,” Roseflame asked, starting to drink her water.

“Oh, you’re still in the same building,” Informed the Medic, “This place,” The Medic said with a broad sweeping motion around him, “Is The Centerpiece. Count Jesters home. This is where Jester watches over the carnival, where some of the most extravagant parties are held, and where most of the madness goes down. It also happens to be where we all go to tuck in whenever Jester goes to sleep. This place is like a giant castle crossed with a Casino. Minus the gambling of course,”

“Holy fuck, how big is this place?” Pancakes asked, surprised.

“Hard to say,” The Medic said slowly, “I mean, it’s big enough to comfortably hold over 10 million Partygoers-”

“10 MILLION!?” Pancakes cried, thunderstruck by the sheer size of the population that could somehow fit inside a single building.

“...Yes that’s about how many Partygoers live here…” The Medic affirmed. 

“Wow, guess Jesters never really been alone huh?” Roseflame stated. At least they’ve been in good company for a while since they’ve gotten their powers.

“Never,” The Medic confirmed. 

“How long until we’re given the go ahead to leave?” Roseflame asked as she was finishing her water.

“You have to wait until Jester gets back,” The Medic replied. 

“I mean medically, go from the rest area,”

“Ah. Well, you can go ahead and leave right now,” The Medic said, “The door’s unlocked, you’re free to roam around if you like,” And with that, the Medic headed out of the room. 

***

Chaos and her team were leading the Freaks carefully towards Nightmare Medic’s lair, everyone on edge and minding exactly where their footsteps fell.

“He could be nearby so everyone stay on guard,” Chaos explained as they reached the edge of the forest towards the lair. Brutal was bored out of his mind following orders. He listened to Pure enough as it was that everyone else doing something similar disinterested him to no end. 

“Any signs Major?” Chaos asked their escort.

“No sign of Nightmare anywhere,” Major Scout Guy remarked, looking around the area of the base, “Anything Soldine?”

“Negative,” Soldine responded, his robotic voice coming through in a mess of static through the handheld radio Major had brought with him. 

“If Jester had brought their artifact with them they could just pinpoint where Nightmare is and we’d be on our way,” Brutal groaned.

“And they could have also been put in worse danger than we already are in. But these BLU’s still deserve a rescue, even if we have to put cones on your hands once we get them out of the dungeon,” Chaos commented.

“I don’t enjoy working with him, but we do appreciate the help Chaos,” Major Scout Guy gave a smile to her.

“My team’s closely associated with you guys, even if you threaten to kill my extended family,” She commented. Her new Soldier and Demo were part of HECU before joining her team. They kept ties in order to better help the association. 

As they continued walking, Jester kept an eye on them from the sky, their form having shrunken down tiny enough that they could easily be mistaken for a bird and nothing more. 

“Seeing anything Jester?” Chaos asked through her own small radio.

“Nothing up here,” Jester radioed back, “I’m really wishing I had brought my artifact with me, I could find Nightmare in no time,” Jester sighed. 

“Least it’s in good hands, well Roseflames if not Pancakes,” Chaos assured, quickly radioing to her Sniper to move to a nearby cliff, “Speaking of which, was that on purpose or accident?”

“On purpose. I’d rather not risk being destroyed,” Jester said, “Now I'm just wishing I'd brought it with me to speed things along,”

“On the bright side, we have Soldine and Major with us,” Chaos motioned to Major.

“So you’re that Count Jester we’ve been hearing about, the one who helped take down Grave,” Major Scout Guy entered the radio chat.

“Yep, that’s me,” Jester said. 

“Good to know we have people like you on our side,” He gave them a thumbs up.

“Just don’t give them any sugar or you’ll have them bouncing off the walls like a goddamn pachinko machine,” Brutal added. 

“No readings of anomalies, Nightmare is out of the building. We should be able to quickly get in and get the team out,” Soldine informed everyone over the radios.

“Good to hear. As much as I understand you guys bringing me along i’d rather not be thrown around by the spawn of sata-OW!” Jesters words were abruptly cut off by a pained yelp that peaked the speakers of the radios. 

“What’s wrong Jester?!” Chaos called over the radio, she and Major watching as Jester was returning to normal size and floating down. The two quickly rushed to their aid. The energetic Freak dropped back down to earth and staggered for a moment, holding the side of their head. 

“I just got a sharp pain in my head,” Jester winced. 

“Need some help standing up?” Major Scout guy moved into a position to help them keep stable.

“Thanks,” Jester huffed, rubbing their temples. 

“I didn’t know you could even get headaches,” Brutal remarked beside.

“Neither did I,” Jester said. They took their hand away from their head and briskly turned around to face the direction where Chaos’ base was. They blinked for a second and then scowled, “Someone is gonna get smacked,” Jester bit, folding their arms. Chaos earned a shocked and confused face.

“Who?” Both freaks stepped back as Jester started to get an angry glint in their eyes, “They’re at the base?” Chaos asked in concern

“Yes,” Jester snapped, sparks began to fly off their body. Everyone took a small step back from the Jester, both to keep themselves clear of the sparks and to avoid any potential outburst, “Someone,” Jester started, turning back to the rest of the group, “Has invaded my personal space. Without my permission,” Major Scout Guy gulped, worried he might have upset the normally jovial freak.

“Welp, that’s not good,” Brutal remarked. 

“L-look, I didn’t mean-”

“What do you mean Jester? Was it Major?” Chaos asked in worry.

“No, it’s wasn’t him. It was someone else. Three someone else’s to be exact,” Jester said. Soldine landed near them and gestured to the lair. Chaos’ eyes went wide and she looked back in the direction of her base. That wasn’t good...

“We can solve this problem at a later time, I suggest getting the BLU team out before more trouble is caused,” Soldine suggested. Everyone jumped-except Soldine-as a portal opened behind him without warning, and a white spy walked through to join them. 

“Sorry to pop in unannounced, but hopefully you don’t mind me joining this time,” Pure announced, looking upon the startled group.

#Count Jester #Chaos Kin #Ass Pancakes #Chaotic Adventures in Babysitting #Christian Brutal Sniper #christian pure spy #Spyper #Major Scout Guy #Soldine #Freak Fortress 2 #Roseflame

[therainroguefanfiction]

⚜️ Change the Face of History (Skyrim); #1 Prologue

📑 Table of Contents & Information

☁ Genre: Slice of Life, Magic, AU

☁ Pairing: First Person OC x ??

☁ World: Game, Skyrim

I stifled a yawn with my hand as I made my way home, regretting the decision to leave the house in the first place, but the fridge was pretty empty and I kind of need food to survive. Plus, soda. Need I say more? I made it about halfway when the sky, which had been steadily darkening, opened up, allowing rain to pour down on the city. I cursed, ducking into the closest shop to me. It’s not that I hate the rain or don’t like getting wet – in fact, rain is one of my favorite things in life. My mood always increases when it rains, but putting away soggy groceries is not fun, a lesson I learned a couple months back.

Thankfully, though, I had reacted quick enough and made it into the shop with my clothes only slightly damp.

I set the plastic bags on the floor near the door, making sure that they weren’t in the way, before turning to inspect the store I had entered. Wooden shelves lined the floor in aisles, standing about four feet, five inches in height. The items on display looked quite old, but not in the sense that they were grungy or used. Each item was in incredible shape, but they didn’t look as if they belonged in this time period.

‘This must be some kind of antique store,’ I concluded, carefully navigating through the displays. I did not want to accidentally break anything – I’m sure this stuff is hella expensive.

As I made my way to the back of the room, a table stood out to the right. It was lined with red velvet and featured a locked glass lid. Inside were various types of jewelry and even a feathered pen with an inkwell. I scanned the items with wonder before my eyes stopped on a ring in the center of the table. I’m not sure why, but… I just couldn’t pull my attention away from it, no matter how hard I tried. It was as if the thing was calling out to me, trying to get my attention. I carefully rested my hand on the glass, just above the item.

“You have good taste, miss.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin, whipping around with a hand over my racing heart. Standing a couple feet away was an elder man, barely at the same height as the shelves, with thinning snow-white hair and a face full of wrinkles. His hands were clasped behind his back as he smiled kindly at me.

“Sorry, dear, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The amusement was clear in his dark brown eyes.

“It’s okay,” I breathed out, willing my heart to calm down as I turned back to the case. “How much is it for that ring there?” I pointed it out, despite believing that he already knew which piece I was referring to.

He hummed, thoughtfully as he dug into his pocket, pulling out a ring of five different keys. His hands shook slightly as he inserted the key and twisted to unlock the case, carefully lifting the lid. His slim fingers picked up the ring, holding it out in the palm of his hand. “It costs fifty dollars,”

I nearly winced at the information. This ring is absolutely beautiful and I honestly feel like I need to have it in my life, but… I just can’t justify spending so much money on a piece of jewelry. I feel like this is one of those lose-lose situations – if I buy it, I’ll spend the next week cursing myself for wasting fifty bucks, but if I don’t buy it, I’ll spend the same amount of time cursing myself for not buying it.

“There is a legend attached to this ring,” he stated, his eyes twinkling. “It is said to harbor unparalleled magic power within, which had lain dormant for many centuries now. The legend states that only those of pure intent may harness its power. The ring chooses its owner.”

I scoffed at his words because there ain’t nothin’ pure about my ass. He raised a brow and I realized my mistake and cursed. “Ah, no, I didn’t mean to -“

“It’s quite alright,” he chuckled, “There are very few who believe in such things. Here,” Before I could protest, he took my wrist and gently transferred the ring to the palm of my hand.

The metal was… weird. One moment it felt unbelievably cold like a block of ice, but the next it was hot like a roaring flame. Goosebumps rose across my body as I brought it closer to my face to further inspect the detail. The metal itself was an onyx black with a thin, silver trim. A deep gray dragon was engraved in a repeating pattern across the circumference of the ring. As I turned it over, admiring the way the soft light glinted off it, I realized that I had never felt such a want, a need, quite like I do in this moment.

The man’s smile grew, the corners of his eyes crinkling with crows feet. “For you, though, I will let this ring go for twenty-five dollars.”

My eyes widened in surprise, jumping to meet his own. “Are you sure? That’s one hell of a discount…”

He nodded, holding his hand out. I gently set the ring on his palm and he said, “I’m positive, dear, now come. Let us get you rung up before the rain starts up again.”

I glanced to the front of the room, which consisted of a line of windows. Sure enough, the rain had stopped, the sun shining brightly on the land. I knew it wouldn’t last long, though, because Florida weather is far too bi-polar to stick to just one weather pattern. Rather than debate his kindness and give him a chance to renege on his offer, I followed him to the counter, digging into my pocket for two tens and a five.

After carefully placing the money into the cash register, he pulled out an ornately carved wooden box. Inside was a piece of soft, black foam with a slit in the middle, which he slid the ring into. He then wrapped the box in some blue tissue paper before placing it in a small, thick plastic bag. “Here you are, my dear. May magic always light up your life and guide your path.”

“Thank you very much, sir. Have a good day.” I offered him a thankful smile before carefully picking up the bag and returning to the front of the store, where I retrieved my groceries. I pulled open the door and glanced up at the sky before exiting the store.

The clouds above were a medium gray, spread out enough to allow the sun to shine down in strips of light. Off in the distance, the sky was nearly black and the clouds were quickly moving in my direction. Thankfully, the storm was rolling in from behind me, so I should be able to keep ahead of it.

I picked up my pace, boots slapping the wet pavement as I tightly clutched the bags in my hands. Honestly, I just wanted to hurry up and get home so I could put the ring on. I really don’t understand why I’m feeling so excited about this. I mean, sure, I appreciate a nice wring, a cool leather bracelet, a long chain necklace, but I’ve never felt this happy about a piece of jewelry before. Maybe because it has a dragon on it? I do love dragons, but I’ve gotten dragon-themed merchandise plenty of times in the past.

I feel like a little kid at Christmas.

When I finally reached the third floor of my apartment complex, I had to set the bags down in order to get the door unlocked and open. As badly as I wanted to just leave the groceries on the counter to be put away later, I knew that there were several items that needed to be put in the refrigerator, and a couple that needed to be kept frozen. Shaking my head, I put away the cold items as quickly as I could before moving to the adjoining living room and sinking down onto the old, brown couch. It had seen better days, and it squeaked quite loudly as if protesting my weight.

I carefully pulled out the box, letting my fingers trace the carving of a large tree – possibly an oak or cherry -, before lifting the lid. Just as before, the metal was ice cold when I first picked it up but quickly grew hot. Maybe the metal reacts to skin or sweat?

‘It is said to harbor unparalleled magic power within,’ The man’s words echoed in my mind. For a moment, I considered the possibility before shaking my head. Nah, that’s far too ridiculous.

As my thumb rubbed over the carving of the dragons, I couldn’t help but think about how cool it would be to see a dragon in real life. If only they were real… though, if they did exist, I doubt they’d be willing to co-exist with human beings.

I slid the ring on the middle finger of my right hand and smiled before glancing at the clock. It was getting late and I’m starting to feel like I’m starving. The rest of my night passed by without incident. I watched some anime, heated up leftover pizza from three nights ago which I do not recommend doing, watched some more anime, questioned my life choices while sitting in the bathroom, and then I finally retired to bed just after midnight.

As I curled up under the comforter, I inspected the ring until sleep finally claimed me.

──────── ∘° Third 🐲 Person°∘ ────────

The hour hand slowly ticked over, striking three in the morning. Rae Winchester turned over in her sleep, right hand slipping out from under the comforter and hanging over the side of the bed. A small stream of light from the full moon outside shined in through the crack in the curtains, falling directly onto the ring. It started to radiate with an ethereal, white light that slowly started to crawl up her arm. It wasn’t long before her entire body was bathed in this light, filling your body with a strange sensation of warmth.

It penetrated her dreams, morphing them from a zany adventure with her favorite anime characters to a void of navy blue as far as the eye could see. She found herself hovering in this void, hearing a faint chanting somewhere in the distance.

The light around her began to pulse in tune with her heartbeat. A cloud rolled across the moon, cutting off the stream of light and she stirred, tossing and turning. The light grew to a degree so bright, it was impossible to see before it exploded outward without a sound. It slowly faded, plunging the room into pure darkness.

The wheels of fate shifted direction that day as a new path was written out before her. Little did you know, the purchase of that ring was about to change her life forever, forcing her onto a path she has no say in.

I tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes.

⤞ Forward

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#change the face of history #series #slice of life #magic #au #alternate universe #fanfiction #fanfic #fanfics #scenario #scenarios #writing #creative writing #writeblr #skyrim #the elder scrolls #the elder scrolls v #the elder scrolls v skyrim

[askspiderqueen]

Three’s a Party (Caitlyn x LeBlanc, Elise)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @sweatered-mermaid​

I LOVE YOU LITTLE POOFERFISH

“Don’t you have something that isn’t so....flamboyant?” Caitlyn sighed.

She was seated at the edge of the bed, very patiently watching the one and only Matron of the Black Rose rifle through her side of the closet looking for something that was more, well, plain. They weren’t attending the party to be noticed after all. It was more like a reconnaissance mission, one that Evaine had decided to insert herself into at the last moment. The Sheriff had chosen to give Vi the night off; the Enforcer wasn’t the best at remaining in the background. Pink hair tended to draw quite the attention. She sighed again. LeBlanc’s voice drew her attention, “Ah, what a shame. We’ll have to wait then.”

The Noxian stood in a dark purple sleeveless dress, staring at the mirror and frowning. It was lightly frilled and unevenly cut, with the right side being longer than the left. The garment hugged her curves perfectly, and Caitlyn’s electric blue orbs trailed briefly to Evaine’s behind before she caught herself. Too late. The Deceiver was already smirking at her through the reflection. The Sheriff rolled her eyes, hoping her face wasn’t too red. “Wait for what?”

“Your girlfriend thinks I’m a servant,” a new voice sounded behind her.

Caitlyn jumped, almost sliding off the bed as she turned around. There was a snap of magic and something flew towards LeBlanc. The Deceiver caught it neatly, holding it up to observe the choice of dress. “You’re wearing that,” the newcomer ordered, “And if you don’t like it, you should have gone to get one yourself.”

The Sheriff blinked, staring at the long haired woman before her. Hazel orbs shot over, and a neat eyebrow cocked. “What?”

The gears in Caitlyn’s head turned, albeit a bit too slowly for her liking. “Elise?”

“No, it’s the queen of Freljord, you hamster-brained yordle.”

The woman glared, and the Piltovan just threw her an exasperated look, shaking her head. “Your taste might be improving just a tad, Elise dear,” LeBlanc interrupted their silent battle.

The Deceiver had on a simpler and longer black dress. It had a slit up the right thigh and an intricate design woven in the back. The garment was sleeveless, but not incredibly revealing as the material went up to her collarbone. It was a good choice, Caitlyn silently admitted. She’d never say it out loud to Elise, of course. Speaking of which...

“Why exactly are you still here?” the Sheriff hesitantly asked the Spider Queen, who was currently scowling at the Matron for her previous comment.

Elise’s attention returned to Caitlyn. The new color of her eyes was a bit unexpected, but it was still a great improvement from their usual unsettling blood red. “I hear there’s an event of interest tonight,” the Shadow Isler replied, her expression morphing into a smirk.

The Sheriff blinked, then turned to Evaine for help. The Deceiver was purposely looking away, pretending to fiddle with her jewelry. “No,” Caitlyn stated, standing up,  “No. Absolutely not.”

She had never liked Elise but tolerated her for Evaine’s sake. Actually, the Deceiver didn’t seem to like her much either, but the two seemed to know each other very well....The Sheriff stopped her thought process there and went back to grabbing LeBlanc’s attention. “Evaine? What did you tell her?”

LeBlanc finally looked up, and the twinkle in her eye told Caitlyn she was about to launch into an intricate lie of twists and turns with the purpose of confusing the Sheriff. The Piltovan raised her hand before the Deceiver could speak. “Truth,” she said sternly.

Evaine shared a look with Elise before shrugging. “I needed a small favor so I told her she could tag along if she wished.”

Caitlyn threw her hands up, “Why?”

“Don’t you have a suspicion some of those items were stolen anyway?” Elise crossed her arms and cocked her hip, “By a certain little group that’s been running around everywhere? They have been in Noxus too.”

And that, the Sheriff realized, also explained Evaine’s interest in the “Unveiling of Ancient Magical Artifacts From Across Runeterra”. The businessman conducting the event likely attained some of the relics from an auction by the thieves. However, she had witnessed the Black Rose’s methods of finding people. LeBlanc would often start broad with those who had recently been in contact, spiraling closer and closer until she unveiled secrets and destroyed the victim’s life, letting them suffer before actually killing them. Caitlyn didn’t approve one bit. And if Elise was involved, that meant she had been targeted as well and was also looking for revenge.

The Piltovan took a deep breath, speaking to both other women but maintaining eye contact with Evaine, “They will be caught with time and will be spending the appropriate time in jail. Your interference is not needed.”

She knew even before the words left her mouth that she was wasting her breath. Noxus functioned under a brutal method that used death as the consequence for most transgressions. However, she had been working to convince the Matron such extreme actions were unnecessary. It worked better on certain days than others. “There’s a rumor one of the men is Noxian,” the Spider Queen was rebutting, “We will deal with him under our terms. I don’t take people breaking into my place very lightly.”

Caitlyn gawked for a moment, having expected the both of them to argue for the death of all the thieves. Evaine must have spoken to Elise beforehand and warned her of the Sheriff’s views on the death penalty. “I suppose that...can be arranged,” she finally managed.

The Spider Queen looked as if she wanted to say more, but the Deceiver interrupted, a hand brushing Caitlyn’s shoulder. “Now that that’s settled, why don’t you get changed, dear? You’re the only one who’s not ready. We’ll have to leave soon if we wish to arrive on time.”

Confused, the Piltovan glanced over at Elise, who, despite her altered appearance, was still in a rather casual attire of simple pants and a v-neck shirt. The Shadow Isler must have noticed her look because she scoffed and snapped her fingers. A burst of magic later and she was standing in a body-hugging crimson dress that left one of her shoulders bare.

Sighing, the Sheriff shook her head and started towards the closet to grab her own garment, a dark blue piece that was loose past her hip, allowing for easier movement. It did have a somewhat low neckline, but nothing too revealing. She would put it on the normal way.

If not for the two people she had come with, Caitlyn might have actually managed to enjoy herself in the museum. Well, as much as possible, knowing that some of these artifacts had been stolen. A portion of her attention was always diverted towards keeping an eye on Elise and Evaine. LeBlanc tended to be significantly more mischievous when around the Spider Queen. That’s not the say the two weren’t useful. The Sheriff could tell they were no strangers to disguises and distractions; their tones remained flirtatious to select guests, but hazel and jade orbs - the Deceiver had taken on an illusion as well - were always sharp and alert.

There was...quite the odd crowd in certain spots. Caitlyn’s gut told her there were some individuals here that generally did not attend events like these. They seemed awkward; not quite sure where to look and how to look. She had pointed it out to her companions, and they had agreed almost immediately. One of such people was a large man, almost bursting the seams of his tuxedo. His voice was gravelly, matching the gruffness of his face. Visitors were keeping a wide berth around him, and the Sheriff was sure she once spotted the gleam of a gun beneath his suit as he shifted. A sweep of the room showed at least three other suspicious looking individuals.

Maurice Delaroue, the man responsible for the occasion, was due for a speech in approximately ten minutes. Caitlyn suspected an assassination, or at the very least a kidnapping, was to occur as he spoke. She leaned against the wall by herself, close to a door that read “Employees Only”. Her blue orbs were eying the cheap alcohol she was holding, but the Sheriff was, in fact, listening to Elise and Evaine employ more of their distraction techniques. They had sauntered close to the guard, starting small talk amongst themselves and slowly drawing the man into the conversation. And so Caitlyn casually sipped at her glass as she waited for the door to open so she could slip in unnoticed 

Ah, there. A woman in a well-ironed suit made her exit, too busy flipping through a notebook to even look up at her. Caitlyn immediately slid through, casting one backward glance to find Evaine, Elise, and the guard laughing over something trivial. Almost too easy.

Delaroue. She wasn’t quite sure where to start. Perhaps a meeting room or a small office? After disposing of her drink, she kept her back straight and face forward, making it seem as if she knew where she was going. Several people passing by gave her a glance, but that was all. Some muffled voices to the side made her falter, and, ensuring there was no one else around, the Sheriff peered through the meshed window of the door. A man that perfectly match the picture in her folder back in her office was shaking hands with a blond individual, and Caitlyn backtracked to the end of the hall to avoid looking suspicious as the door opened. Delaroue remained in the room, and the Sheriff dipped her head politely as she passed the blond man. He grinned at her in return. The smile was slightly unsettling, but she quickly shook it off as she raised her hand to knock. She entered immediately after, “Mr. Delaroue?”

He looked up, an expression of surprise on his face. Caitlyn entered and quickly closed the door, reaching into a hidden pocket for her badge. “Sheriff Caitlyn,” she said, holding it up for him to see, “Although you likely know me, judging by the look on your face.”

Delaroue straightened, brushing back his hair. He looked rather confused, and stammered, “Ah, y-yes, I’ve seen you on the news. Is there something I can help you with?”

Caitlyn looked him in the eye and kept her expression neutral, conveying that her next words were serious, “I have reason to believe that you are in danger. I’d like to evacuate you as silently as possible to avoid tipping off anyone who wishes you harm.”

He seemed genuinely shocked. “For what reason? This is a very important night for me. There may have been several delays, but I assure you, my security is quite efficient-”

“I’m afraid you should consider re-evaluating the entirety of your security team, as I was able to enter without alerting anyone,” Caitlyn interrupted patiently, “Now, if you wish to inform someone that an emergency has arisen and requires your attention, then I would advise you do so outside. Anyone could have come in here and-”

She stopped short, a thought suddenly occurred to her. “That man,” she stated, fixing Delaroue with an intense stare, “The blonde one. What did he come in for?”

Delaroue just gave a weak shrug, rather intimidated by the sudden change in her tone, “He just came to congratulate me on organizing this event and putting together all those rare artifacts. Gave me a business card in case I-”

“Give it to me,” Caitlyn demanded, “Now.”

The man was shocked but obeyed, reaching behind him to grab a white card. Caitlyn already had the hextech scanner on the back of her badge ready, and as soon as she held the piece of cardstock up, it beeped positive. Shit. “Leave the building. Tell security there’s a bomb,” she ordered, before dashing back out into the hallway.

She pressed another button on her badge as she ran; it would notify the station of a situation that required immediate attention, as well as her location. Cursing her heels, Caitlyn burst into another room, one with many cleaning products. An older man jumped in surprise, and she immediately grabbed him by the arm, dragging him out. “Get out of the building. There’s a bomb,” she told him calmly.

She didn’t have to say more. Caitlyn rushed about the hallways, helping any stragglers towards the stairs. There was an announcement running repeatedly on the intercom at this point, so she rushed back into the room where she left the card. It was warm to the touch. Fuck. She had less than a minute.

She absolutely hated purely magical explosives. Hextech, she could deal with. There was still an obvious switch and wires for deactivation. But this, this was a formless, hazardous spell woven into a card, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. The Sheriff ripped off a portion of her dress, using the material to grab the card to avoid burning herself. She shot out of the room and back down the hallway, yanking a window open. Clambering out into the fire escape, she immediately started towards the roof. She had to get this as far away from people as possible. Another strip of her dress was torn off, and she tied one end to her badge, slipping the smoking card into it as she went. It was about to explode. She wouldn’t make it to the roof, but at least she was only one story away. Grabbing the loose end of the cloth, Caitlyn swung her badge in several quick circles, building up its velocity as much as she could before releasing it towards the sky.

BOOM.

It exploded not two seconds later, shoving Caitlin onto her back and rattling the entire fire escape. She groaned, coughing from the debris and smoke all around her. Her eyes stung, and even after blinking several times, she couldn’t see clearly. The Sheriff made an attempt to stand but swayed dangerously to the right. Everything was muted.

A good portion of the top of the building had been blown off, but the rest of the structure was intact. Good. Now if only she could-

Creaaak.

The Sheriff yelped as her world suddenly tipped. The top part of the fire escape had loosened from the wall due to the explosion, and it was now bending precariously outward. Caitlyn couldn’t help herself from sliding off the edge, but she managed to grab onto the metal railing before she plummeted to her death. Shit.

She dangled, wondering if she could swing herself down to the level below. Unfortunately, she could barely make it out due to the smoke, and the sudden impact from landing might rip the entire fire escape from the wall. She looked around futilely, hoping for more options. The railing gave a jerk, moaning in protest at her weight.

She could fall three stories and live right? It wasn’t that far away. The Sheriff glanced back down, squinting at the lower level. Better than falling, she supposed. She swung back and forth a few times, building her momentum before letting go and angling her body to her destination. She exhaled, stretching desperately for a handhold as she flew through the air.

She missed.

Caitlyn wasn’t sure if she was screaming, but she must have been because the breath was suddenly knocked out of her by something very large. “Oomf!”

She struggled for a moment, disoriented by the sudden horizontal movement. The Piltovan turned her head and would have screamed again had her lungs been working properly. A giant spider had grasped her in its jaws, and its glowing red eyes narrowed as the two made eye contact. The Sheriff wanted to faint. The familiar stomach-dropping sensation of falling prevented her from speaking this time, and the two landed on the ground with a bone-shaking thud. Caitlyn found herself dropped to the floor, knocking the air out of her again, and Elise turned upward with a loud hiss. The Sheriff glanced up just in time to see the fire escape fall on them.

Screeeeeech.

Caitlyn was curled into a ball and had her eyes screwed shut, so she wasn’t quite sure if it was the screech of metal or the giant monster above her. Once her brain realized she wasn’t dead, she carefully blinked, automatically looking up. The fire escape was bent around them like a cage, and Elise still had her front legs and jaw against the metal. The Spider Queen seemed to groan, finally releasing her death grip and staggering slightly. There was a clear fluid leaking from one of her right limbs. The Sheriff scrambled to get up, wincing as a sudden pain in her side flared. There was still dust everywhere. She couldn’t see past the cage they were stuck in. Of course, another hunk of metal crashing down hadn’t helped.

Slowly, Elise morphed back into her human form - the one with red eyes and short dark hair. Caitlyn had never witnessed the transformation; it was quite surreal. The second and fourth pairs of legs migrated to the back as human skin broke through the dark carapace with a sharp crackling sound. The rest of the appendages morphed into limbs, their clawed tips dissolving into fingers and toes. The large mandibles retreated into Elise’s mouth, and her eyes merged into one glaringly crimson pair. Her right arm was bleeding. The Spider Queen was naked, but as soon as she was fully human, her usual outfit began to cover her body. Advantages of magic, Caitlyn thought tiredly.

She was half standing, wondering how to get out the cage when there was a clinking sound from behind. The Sheriff wanted to turn around and look, but the glowing golden chains threading through the railings immediately told her who it was. The metal ripped open, shrieking with protest, and Caitlyn felt a pair of arms wrap around her as she stumbled to meet her girlfriend. “I heard the explosion,” she heard Evaine whisper.

LeBlanc didn’t have to say more. Caitlyn just nodded weakly and buried her face into the Matron’s shoulder. There was a cough somewhere to her left. “Elise, thank you for saving me. Oh, of course. No goddamn problem. It’s not as if we both almost died or anything,” came the sarcastic drawl of the Spider Queen.

The Piltovan raised her head, blinking at the sudden realization. She turned towards the Shadow Isler. “You...saved me,” it came out more incredulous than she had intended.

“Congratulations, Detective. You must have graduated at the top of your class,” Elise huffed in response as she limped over, wincing.

Her shoulder appeared to have been dislocated, accompanied by a compound fracture of her forearm. There was blood all over her right side at this point. She should have fainted already from the pain, but the Sheriff wasn’t quite sure if her anatomy was even close to that of a normal human’s. “She crawled up the side of the building once we were outside. She could get to you faster than I could,” Evaine supplied helpfully.

Caitlyn’s brow furrowed, “There was dust everywhere. How did you find me?”

Elise sneered disdainfully. “You weren’t exactly the quietest person.”

The Sheriff had a feeling there was more to that answer, but she’d save it for later. She turned to ask Evaine if she had sustained any injuries, but the loud blaring of fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances took away any chances of questioning. A commotion was definitely headed towards them, and LeBlanc released her slowly, making sure she was supporting herself. “We’ll be at home,” Evaine nodded, backing away to stand next to Elise.

Caitlyn, looked at them in confusion. “Elise needs medical atten-”

“I’ll be fine,” the spider mage interrupted.

She definitely did not look fine at all. “Also, no one saw a giant spider,” Evaine added, smiling pleasantly.

The Sheriff was still rather befuddled, but she gave a slight nod. “You owe me so much,” she heard Elise say as the two teleported away.

Caitlyn sighed tiredly, turning to meet the paramedics hurrying towards her.

It was late into the night when the Sheriff stumbled into the apartment. The lights were on in the living room, so she slowly trudged her way there, kicking off her heels as she went. She had been questioned nonstop left and right, but she stood by her story that she had been knocked out after the explosion. No, she had no idea how she ended up on the ground. No, she didn’t know why the fire escape was bent around her like that. In the end, they could do nothing but bandage her ribs and let her go. They hadn’t even caught the blonde culprit. She’d probably get called back in the morning, quite honestly. Not that she didn’t have a mountain of paperwork waiting for her already. At least all sightings of a giant spider had been dismissed. Mostly. She’d have to work on that.

The lights were bright. Caitlyn had to blink a few times before she could focus on Elise sitting in the armchair. The Spider Queen had her right arm in a stark white cast and looked very disgruntled. The Piltovan was about to ask where Evaine was, but a breath close to her ear answered her question. “We were just wondering when you’d come home. Welcome back, dear,” LeBlanc purred.

Caitlyn felt a good portion of the tension leave her body at the sound of the voice and she leaned happily into her lover. It made her realize just how wound up she had been from the day's events. She let the Deceiver guide her to the couch, plopping down with a grateful sigh. LeBlanc swept her hair back, kissing her forehead. “I’ll grab more wine,” she murmured, gesturing to the empty bottle on the coffee table, “Why don’t you have a bath?”

Caitlyn opened her mouth to protest, but Evaine was already gone in a puff of smoke. That left her with Elise, who was regarding her silently. A bath sounded wonderful, honestly, but the Sheriff couldn’t find the strength to stand up again. Maybe in a few minutes. Her eyelids fluttered closed, but they were startled open again by a quiet voice. “You know, I've never in my entire life seen Evaine panic,” the Spider Queen finally said, “Anxious, yes. Panicked to the point of irrationality? You must really be that special.”

That made the Sheriff look up. “I’m sorry?”

“She was debating teleporting towards you,” the Noxian laughed sharply, “Until I told her she'd likely end up dead in the wall since she didn't know where she was going. And you wouldn't enjoy that very much, would you?”

Caitlyn’s mind was so sluggish after the long day. “A wall?”

The Spider Queen raised an eyebrow at her. “Teleportation can be very dangerous if you don't know your exact destination. Many have turned up dead because they ended up merged with a large object, like a building. You can imagine it's not pleasant.”

The Piltovan actually shuddered at the thought, while Elise simply looked amused. They were left in silence again. The Spider Queen raised the wine glass she was holding to her lips, downing the rest of the drink. Caitlyn wasn’t sure how she still managed to look so graceful despite being in a cast. She decided she really should take care of her personal hygiene and get some rest. She hadn’t expected the other two to still be awake, but they had likely been waiting for her. The Sheriff was at the threshold to the hallway when she stopped. “I never thanked you for saving me,” she said suddenly.

The Noxian hummed. “You did,” the smirk in her voice could be heard.

That brought a chuckle out of Caitlyn. There was a whoosh of magic, and Evaine appeared again, frowning at two bottles. “Both,” the Spider Queen stated helpfully after staring for a moment.

The Matron looked at her, then Caitlyn, then shrugged. “Open them, would you, Elise? I’m awfully tired from the long day.”

She set one bottle next to the Shadow Isler and placed a hand on her forehead to emphasize her words. Caitlyn heard the Spider Queen scoff, “Don't you even dare. You're the only one that got out unscathed.”

Evaine actually had the gall to raise her finger dramatically and point at the long, but thin, scratch from the debris on her leg. Even Caitlyn had to sigh at that. Elise turned her head and the two shared a look. The Sheriff shook her head in exasperation. “Right. You children have fun,” she quipped weakly.

LeBlanc looked up long enough to throw her a warm smile, and Caitlyn’s heart fluttered. “Want company?” the Deceiver asked innocently.

The Piltovan stammered for a moment before her brain managed to find the correct words. “No, I’m fine!” the Sheriff practically squeaked, trying not to blush.

The Shadow Isler was busy holding the bottle with her free hand and stabbing the cork with one of her spider legs, but she let out a short laugh. Evaine began to pour the wine into three glasses with her magic, and standing back, Caitlyn really couldn’t tell that she was staring at two of Noxus’s most brutal individuals.

Elise had saved her today, she thought as she headed to the bathroom. The Sheriff would never have expected it in her entire life. Perhaps she wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe...just maybe, Caitlyn had a good chance of turning them both around.

To be continued...?

#Drabbles #Elise #Caitlyn #LeBlanc #I'm technically not late #MFW I said smut and then never got to it #Soon(TM) #Help me find grammar mistakes pls ty