#but unfortunately for me I live in like a dome type thing cause I can see the storms

[7spaceace7]

Secrets (A Donatello x Reader)

This is incredibly self-indulgent and was really just a fic for me to obsess over tesla coils, but my girlfriend convinced me to post it- so here it is! It got kind of long too, but I hope you enjoy! 

Word Count: 3236

Reader is given feminine terms in this one

Mild cursing (thank you Raph)

Absolute fluff attack, the sweetness will rot your teeth

Singing was your greatest passion. From a young age, you had been roped into music, the emotions it could represent with just a few notes and some relatable lyrics. It was happiness, it was sadness, it was anger and excitement, and it was everything you couldn’t express well enough with just words. Being a writer, sometimes that would get frustrating, but music helped you overcome the most challenging spots in a new piece or story. This is why you would constantly have earbuds in as you sang along to every song you’d memorized on your Spotify shuffle. 

And Donnie noticed this. Every time you would enter the turtles’ lair, he would see you unplug and pack-up your headphones. Hell, he was even able to detect your singing from the sounds of the sewer tunnels echoing with every step you took closer. He’d hear you talk about the music or soundtracks of your favorite games and movies, analyzing what every slight twinge or reprise would allude to. And he loved every part of it. He loved getting to see those moments where music was all you could focus on. Your heart rate rose exponentially in anticipation and excitement. Your eyes would screw shut while you broke into a grin. Your hands would mimic motions to the beat as you played on invisible drums, or strummed a nonexistent guitar. 

It was adorable to him, to say the least. But he never told you so. He never said a word, in case this might scare you off for coming across as “creepy” or weird. He knew most people probably didn’t pay this close attention to little things like that, but then again, he also knew that most people weren’t madly in love with you. 

Which Donatello was. 

He couldn’t tell you, because once he started rambling about you, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop. And if he didn’t stop, then he’d run the 89.07% chance risk of telling you how he’d been in love with you since the day they met you. That was way too high for him to be comfortable. No, he couldn’t tell you, no matter how badly he wanted you to know.

“Okay, so what if you just show ‘er you’re interested instead?” Raph asked, half paying attention to his brother’s predicament, half pounding the punching bag before him into the ground. Leo was in the dojo meditating, and Mikey was playing video games in the living room, which left the two middle brothers to their own devices. For Donnie, this was literally. His three-fingered hands fiddled with his latest electrical circuit. It was bound for sending the right amount of voltage into his inventions without needing four power strips and a generator all on their own. Unfortunately, he was too distracted to actually delve into its components, and settled for breaking and piecing it back together again.

“Show her? How would I do that?” Donnie’s voice trembled at the thought.

“I dunno, you’re the genius here,” Raph huffed, “There’s gotta be somethin’ in this place that you think she’d find cool. She loves music, right?”

“Yeah, like a lot, she even-”

“Rhetorical question, Don, heard the rant plenty,” His brother cut him off. Pausing his violent onslaught of the dummy, he turned to face him. “You’re nervous ‘cause you ain’t ever done somethin’ for a pretty girl before, I get it. So do somethin’ you know you’re good at. That’ll take the nerves off, your plan works, and then I won’ have to listen to you babbling about whatever new fuckin’ thing she did today. Win win.”

The younger turtle paused. “That was...actually pretty sound advice, thank you, Raph.”

“Anytime,” Raph nodded, a smug smile tugging at his lips from being able to help. Problem was, now he was invested. He’d listened to his brother’s rants and rambles and failed plans of possibly confessing for weeks now, what was gonna happen once he finally did it? Raph plopped onto one of Donnie’s bean bag chairs. He didn’t bother to pick up the training dummy. “So what ya gonna do, smart guy?”

Donnie blinked a few times, glasses twitching on his nose as he pushed them up. He didn’t know it, but you coined this his “brainstorming face”. He fiddled with the circuits once again.

“Uh...I’m not sure,” His tongue went dry. A million ideas fly through his brain each minute, and this decides to be the time that he can’t think of a single one good enough. Figures. “I could build her something? Maybe a new stereo, or upgrade the one she has.”

Raph made a noise of disapproval. “You can do better, any old fix-it guy could do that.”

“Fair. Maybe I could- ow!”

A short buzz of the air cut him off as his fiddling paid off. To the world’s great irony, a light bulb several inches away lit up.

“You good?”

“Yeah, I’m good, I…” Donnie trailed off. The purple-clad turtle’s eyes widened as he registered what happened. “I’m better than good, I just had an epiphany!”

“Epipha-what?”

“An epiphany, sudden realization, an idea!” Donnie flicked his goggles back down, enhancing his vision with the magnifier on it. Wires were tugged in and out, and a transmitter was displaced. With a snort of triumph, he raised it to the air for his brother to see. “This is the answer!” 

“A tiny board thing. Just what she’s always wanted,” Raph rolled his eyes, but Donnie was prepared for this.

“Not just a tiny board, a tiny board with this!-” With great haste, Donnie was next to Raph, holding the board out properly. “My side-side project, this little thing, look at the coil here, this is it! This is a tesla coil, capable of transmitting thousands and thousands of volts of energy surging through the air, powering anything within its radius, which is perfect and exactly why I needed to reconfigure it to power my lab and this one new machine I’m working on, but that’s not why this is the perfect idea!”

“Wow, please continue, professor, I’m dyin’ to know.”

“Glad you asked! Watch this!” One aux cord, T-Phone connection, and light-dimming later, the lab went dark in anticipation. And suddenly, with the press of a play button on Donnie’s shuffle, music started to fill the air. But it wasn’t coming from his phone. It was coming from the coils, surging and creating not only electric energy that was visible to the human eye as it sparked, but music. Sound. The beats and notes of the song playing sprouted out in the form of electricity.

Raph’s green eyes became transfixed on the sparks flying out. “Holy shit.”

“Holy shit is right!” Came the squeals of utter nerding out, “This is only a tabletop version of an SGTC circuit, my own type of it anyway based on Tesla’s original designs, but if I reworked it, made it bigger, made it lifelike and maybe four or five of them, I could create the most advanced musical performance this city has ever seen!”

“I’m gonna pretend I know everything you just said because clearly this is your nerd thing,” Raph started, utterly confused. Even still, a reassuring smile framed his features. “But this looks pretty damn cool. This right here? Exactly what ‘m sayin’, Don.  This is you.”

“Do you think she’ll like it...?” Donnie asked in a hopeful voice. He wasn’t just asking about the invention. 

“Course she will.”

~x~

A couple weeks had passed since that fateful conversation with Raph. He’d been in and out of the lab since then, but between patrols and the mandatory bathroom breaks, there was hardly a time he wasn’t working on his great new project. You weren’t even allowed to go into the lab, per his request, for all his time there.

However, he always made sure to make at least one movie whenever you’d come hang out at the lair from work.

Finally, one Friday night, the set up was complete. Pride swelled in Donnie’s chest as he looked at his creation: six symmetrically placed tesla coils sprung up from the ground and walls all around his lab space. The coilings wrapped around metal frames, spiraling into a beautiful arrangement of engineering, if he did say so himself. Mikey said it looked like the lasers out of a DC comic, which was also not a bad thing to be. He just hoped that you would like it. All of it was for you, of course, but over the weeks that he’d been preparing it, he found more beauty in the music of tesla coils than he ever had appreciated before. 

Donnie thought he might thank you for that, if he could get his nerves around it.

God, he was so nervous. Anxiety rushed through his body like the electric pulses he was perfecting. They were already done, but it was all he could do to distract himself while waiting for you to arrive. Maybe the frequencies weren’t in the right key. What if they sounded better this way? Or maybe the firing power wasn’t enough? Trajectory looked alright, maybe it just-

“Donnie?”

“Gh! Y/N, hey!” Stammered the surprised terrapin after knocking his head against the top of a coil. His goggles were on the setting of night-vision, but that didn’t account for night-spatial-awareness, it seemed.

“I got your text to come,” You tried to smile at him, but the dark laboratory proved to make that difficult. “How come it’s so dark in here?”

“Uh, well, that’s p-part of the surprise! Eheh. Gimme just a second-”

You waited patiently outside of his lab, vision still applicable, but grew concerned the more strange noises and clangs you heard coming from inside. This was definitely a whole new level of “Donnie Surprises” just by how nervous he seemed about it.

You yelped when his hand grabbed your arm and dragged you back inside the darkness.

“Okay, uh,” He started, before clapping his hands together for the lights to switch back on, “This is what I wanted to show you.”

Your gaze spun all around the lab. After adjusting to the light, you could clearly see giant mechanism after mechanism placed strategically around in a dome-like setup. Coils that protruded like round-edged spikes circled you both, and in the center was a metal cage. 

“Oh my god…” You almost whispered. A large grin broke out onto your face as you stared in quiet marvel at the scene. His plan was working, and Donnie lit up with an outstretched arm in presentation.

“These bad boys are called tesla coils-”

“Tesla coils!” You squealed in imperfect unison to what you assumed was the start of an explanation. “You made tesla coils, Donnie, holy shit!”

“You’ve heard of them?!” Donnie exclaimed, eyes widening behind his glasses.

“YES!” Your hands began to wave around excitedly, “Oh my god I used to be OBSESSED with these things! I heard about when I was a kid from that old movie, oh what was it, it was like the apprentice’s-”

“Sorcerer’s Apprentice!”

“THAT! Yes!” 

“I haven’t seen that movie in years!”

“Me neither! All I remember is that Hiccup’s voice actor totally nerded out and programmed his giant tesla coils to play music for the girl he wanted to impress, and it was the coolest thing because these giant machines were playing music, music out of nothing but sparks of electricity at different frequencies, which to be honest probably would have caused more of an energy problem than the movie suggested because goddamn do they take up a lot of power, but I was like six and didn’t care!” You laughed  in an energetic burst of word association, practically bouncing on the balls of your feet.

Donnie could have kissed you then and there for that alone. 

A grin crept onto his lips as he watched you ramble on about the movie, leaving all anxious thoughts to fall from his mind. For once, someone actually understood one of his passions. Better than that, she was explaining the process to him of all people! Sure, she was intuitive enough to know he didn’t need it, he literally had just built them after all. This was just out of pure excitement. Someone in his life was talking about science and technology like they were the most fascinating things on the planet, just as the purple-masked turtle believed it was. Well, second only to the ecstatic girl in front of him. 

“-And so, I randomly remembered it again not that long ago, so I looked it up and found so many videos on YouTube about it. I kid you not, I listened to tesla coils and tesla coils alone for a solid week.” 

You breathed heavily, a little winded after such an intense info-dump. God, he always loved when you got excited about something. 

“This is kind of surreal,” Donnie chuckled a bit, pushing up his glasses when they tumbled down his nose, “I had no idea you’d get what these were, much less have known so much about them.” Donnie’s eyes widened at his own panicked-fueled blabbering. “N-Not that I think you’re stupid! I just-- I mean it’s not-- common? It’s more of-”

“A niche interest, yeah. No worries,” You finished for him, signaling his stuttered words hadn’t fallen on offended ears. Donnie quietly sighed in relief. Time ticked by in seconds, but even that was much too fast for this martial artist to grasp. If he could have constructed a device to pause the fabrics of time, he would have long ago, simply to relish the moments with you that meant everything to him. It wasn’t your fault your eyes captivated him more than any element he’s worked with.

“So,” You began eagerly, startling him out of his thoughts, “Are we gonna listen to some zappy poles go brrr or what?”

Donnie snorted at your juvenile word choice. “Yeah, totally. Now, ah,” He walked over toward the large cage in the center, stepped inside, then poked his head out with a dorky grin. A large, green hand stood outstretched towards you. “I think you’d better step inside my cage.”

“If you keep quoting the damn movie like this, I am going to explode from excitement, and it will be your fault!” It was a wonder how you hadn’t caught onto his plan yet, honestly. You made no sense of hesitation before grabbing his offered hand (even though your hands were small enough that they hardly matched his palm’s size), and clambered into the cage in front of him. This was a great excuse for you to be close to him without it being weird. And now, with your back brushing up against his plastron, the butterflies in his chest told him it was totally a good call.

Donatello would take this secret to his grave, however.

“Put your hands on the rail here, yep just like that,” Donnie nodded after your hands found the safeguard rail. A couple buttons tapped into a laptop later, he settled his own hands next to yours. “Let the magic begin.”

Magic would have been the understatement of the year. A coil in front of you quickly shot out its first spark. Familiar music breached the sound barrier to your ears. The one behind you both caught it instantly. Spark after spark sent back and forth between the coils, soaring through the lab like the most incredible game of electric catch.

“Whoa!” You laughed when the sparks would bounce off the cage itself, pressing closer to the turtle behind you (much to his surprise every time). Your shining e/c eyes never left the electric bolts shooting out. “This is insane!”

“Heh, glad you like it!” Donnie watched you closely that entire time, more entranced by your excitement and wonderstruck self than anything he’d created. He could power up the tesla coils anytime of day, but this was a special moment he’d never be able to recreate in a controlled environment. This was no experiment, this was real and it was happening right now. 

The only thing left to do was tell you how he felt. 

“Y/N, I have to tell you something,” He began, stepping away to give you a bit of space. His heart rate was increasing by the second. The way you turned to look at him wasn’t helping, either. 

“What is it?” You spoke softly, somehow able to be heard over the music. Donnie could hardly meet your eyes, so he took your hands in his instead.

“I...I don’t know how to say this exactly,” He started, “I’ve been trying to do it for months, going over every possible conjuncture of words, something that would be heartfelt and honest, poetic even? But the truth is, words aren’t my thing, th-they never have been. I’m a science guy, I take things apart and put them back together again, I figure out what makes them work, I see life as a million tiny parts to analyze.”

He paused his quickened speech to take a breath. Your hands squeezed his larger ones as an offer to continue.

“And so, I’m...bad at feelings. I see it all as chemicals and components used by the brain to create action and reaction. But now I’m not so sure if that’s all they are, and really the only thing I am sure about is that it’s because of you that I’m questioning everything I ever thought I knew. Maybe, maybe life is more than atoms and chemicals, and instead it’s about..moments. Moments like this. Moments that...that I..that I really want to keep forever and play over and over again.”

“Donnie…” You spoke. This time he squeezed your hands.

“I know I’m rambling and I should really get to the point, so what I’m trying to say is,” He took another breath, steady this time. His gaze met yours again. “I want to live these moments with you every day. You’re special to me. You’re part of our family, but this is more than that, this feeling is-”

“Love.” You finished for him. Both of your eyes widened as you realized the other felt how you each did.  

Donatello nodded slowly, hesitant to be so certain, but knowing it was true. There were no more words to be exchanged after that, only actions, only movements so soft and gentle that the large terrapin was certain he’d break if they could fit in his hands. Your hands left his and instead reached up to grab the long ends of his mask, and tugged gently for him to reach you. He leaned down without a thought. A three-fingered hand found your waist this time. 

You kissed. Soft, human lips connected to his slightly chapped reptilian ones. The turtle had waited for this moment since he realized the attraction he felt towards you was not just powerful chemical reactions, but true feelings. It wasn’t biology, it was chance and fate and one-in-a-million all at once. As the sparks continued to (literally) fly, Donnie let his eyes close. This was the present. He was here, he was holding a great new adventure in his hands, and there was a brilliant future just around the corner. 

The song may have finished, but this is what would last forever. 

#tmnt #tmnt donatello #donatello x reader #tmnt x reader #tmnt 2014 #tesla coils #tmnt raphael #donnie and raph are good bros #tmnt donnie x reader #tmnt 2016 #donatello #raphael #donnie #raph #donnie x reader #fanfics

[unsettledink]

A while back I made up a list of fics I had ideas for/wanted to write, mostly to try and drum up bids for Marvel Trumps Hate.

Since then I have, of course, had approximately five million new ideas and keeping track of them has gotten a bit out of hand, so i thought I’d try and put them all in one place that I could come back to and also update more easily. Also possibly some sort of... accountability thing? Like if I put them out into the universe I’m more likely to actually write them? Well I can dream.

There’s going to be a couple of these, divided up by pairings. Feel free to ignore, it’s mostly housekeeping!

(This one’s just for starker and polystarker ideas.)

I’m kind of grouping these because it got long. (Smut, smut + feels, fluff, oh no the sads)

* for new ideas (ARG)

Just the smut! (Ok some feels):

Continuation of Hang Up – so what does happen the next morning after that phone call? (Sex. Probably more phone sex.)

*Pocket Change sequel – Why yes, Peter, you can work out some sort of retroactive deal to 'pay' for the suits...

Peter is dumb online – Peter decides to auction off his virginity online. Of course Tony finds out immediately. Of course Tony buys it to keep Peter from getting hurt. Of course Tony decides to meet up and teach Peter a lesson about being safe – wait. That might have been a mistake. (It’s not.)

Actually, Peter doesn’t like it rough – miscommunication piled on top of miscommunication because they’re both idiots who are desperate for each other, until a tipping point is reached. Happy ending! Fluffy ending!

Gag reflex training – pretty much what it sounds like. Tony having a lot of fun with Peter; messy, noisy, hopefully hot.

Experienced Peter – Peter hasn’t been waiting around for Tony to be the first, and he’s had time to figure out some of his preferences. Like topping almost exclusively, among other things. Hey I kind of wrote this!

Civil War pick me up – after the airport, Tony goes to check on Peter and is in desperate need of something nice. Peter really, really wants to be that something nice. Could be underage, could be not.

Continuation of Gift Wrapped – (Peter/Tony/Pepper) there’s a lot more sex happening for Tony’s birthday than I had time to write for kinktober.

But you want me to be safe, don’t you? - Peter’s hit with sex pollen, but it can be taken care of without outside help. Peter would still really like it if Tony would help. Or would at least keep an eye on him. Or at least stay in hearing range! He won’t be able to resist if Peter’s noisy and saying his name while he gets off, right???

Armor Kink - I mean, basically what it says on the tin. Peter’s been having fantasies about the armor forever. Tony is absolutely willing to help him with that.

ABO forced presentation – Peter doesn’t know what he’ll end up being, and that’s bad for Reasons. He convinces Tony try forcing a presentation (not noncon type forcing) and things get weird. Playing around with the idea of how non-binary might go in ABO. Possible Tony/Peter/Pepper endship. More than likely somewhat underage.

Avengers orgy – Peter’s finally old enough to join in the tradition! While he’s having fun with everyone, Peter and Tony keep gravitating to each other, winding up with things getting a little too emotional when Tony finally gets his chance. Potential for Tony/Peter/Rhodey endship.

The spider bite did what?!? - Peter starts having really weird cravings when he’s around Tony. Weird as in blood, and Tony is going to help him figure this out. Even when it turns into a craving for sex (and bloodplay). Even when it turns into terrifying (for Peter) egg/medical kink.

*Hooker D/S AU Brat!Peter – Tony orders 'the brattiest sub you have' and gets Peter. Who is incredibly so, and Tony is actually delighted by this. And Peter is a little taken aback that someone likes this rather than considering him a bad sub.

*Flaunt follow up – more Peter/Tony/Rhodey D/S AU? Yup!

*No, I'm saving YOU – villains of the week catch them and plan on gangbanging Peter – until Tony offers to be willing if they leave Peter alone. At some point Peter comes around and tries to bargain for them to use him instead of Tony. Tony is not happy about this, but boy, the villains are!

*Peter/Harley/Tony - Tony’s so glad Peter’s over that crush and happy with Harley. Really. Totally. Meanwhile, Peter & Harley are doing their best to get Tony into bed with them and growing increasingly frustrated with Tony’s (intentional) obliviousness.

*

Smut! Oh wait, where did all these feelings come from?:

Toybox – slightly darker Peter decides if Tony won’t fuck him, the least Tony can do is pay for Peter’s toys, and watch while Peter enjoys them. No touching allowed since Tony doesn’t want him, after all. Which is a rule that gets harder and harder to keep in place; feelings, so many feelings everywhere.

Pain kink Peter – what it says on the tin, lol. “Oh Mr. Stark, maybe you should supervise this slightly dangerous sex thing I like.” I think we can guess where it heads from there.

Baby's first D/S (dom version) – established T/P, Tony's subby but hasn't brought it up. Peter is like, 'but what if I was into the idea of doming?' and they start messing around with it. Peter is Very Earnest and learning all these new things, and Tony is surprised to find, after a while, Peter's doing pretty good on his own.

Call boy Peter – what it sounds like! It’s an accident that Tony gets him; good thing Peter was blindfolded! Bad thing that Peter’s senses are enhanced and he knows from the start who it is. Good thing that Peter’s not going to say anything so he can keep this reliable customer?

Evil Ex D/S verse – Peter’s pretty insecure about being a good sub for Tony and it’s not helped at all when one of Tony’s ex subs tells him he’ll never be able to take what Tony wants to dish out. Well, Peter’s going to prove him wrong! Tony really doesn’t understand why Peter is making himself miserable for something Tony doesn’t even want, and things almost break before they get fixed.

*Besties and Omegas and Peter's – Rhodey and Tony (both omegas) end up in an awkward situation when Peter has something like an enhanced rut around them. Slightly complicated dynamics but happy ending for everyone.

*Outraged owned Peter – some sort of slave type au where Obie buys Peter for Tony as a companion, considering Peter to be a distraction and possible spy. Tony does not want a sex slave and rejects him, and Peter is furious – he is not just for sex, he is literally worth his weight in gold, and how DARE Tony not want him!

*Very dark Peter - Peter’s decided he really likes having Tony completely wrapped around his little finger. To the point of getting Tony to give him/do things that are pretty far from acceptable, and then Peter figures out he likes showing off his hold over Tony even more. Oops.

*

Fluff! (Crap there’s not much):

Follow up to Seiche – mostly fluffy 5 times +1 where the emotion sensing bond causes (minor) problems

Fluffy D/S verse – all the fluff! All the outside POV! Everyone assumes that obviously Tony is a dom; after all, that’s how he’s always presented himself. Everyone is wroooooong. Tony’s never been happier.

Nail polish – little bit of Tony finding it incredibly appealing when Peter wears nail polish

*Lingerie shorts – several vignettes of them getting each other and wearing different interesting pieces of lingerie

*

Oh No + all the feelings, heavy on the bad ones:

Soulmark AU – Tony finds out first and isn’t going to do anything due to the age difference. Peter finds out and thinks that’s bullshit + horribly hurt that he’s being rejected. Things are forced when Peter gets hit with a drug that messes with that bond and they both have to figure out how things are going to go. Possible bittersweet ending.

Screw soulmates, actually - Post CW and Tony dealing with soulmate rejection (that’s a WHOLE other fic). Peter’s become convinced Tony’s a blank like him, and then doesn’t understand why Tony’s soulmate wouldn’t want him. Peter does! They get their happy ever after without being fated for each other, and Peter gets a chance to tells Tony’s soulmate what a dick they are. All the satisfaction!

*Blanks are Bad – soulmark au where blanks are regarded extremely poorly, and Tony is exposed as one. Lots of dealing with the ugly fallout, and Peter coming to Tony and confessing he's a blank too and has been so scared.

Untenable – sequel to Indefensible and … horrible. The ABO underage incest continues, Tony hates himself, Peter is distressingly happy. Mpreg makes everything ten times worse; endgame makes everything 100 times worse. Going beyond that would be spoilery, but uh. Everything becomes 1000 times worse by the end! Yay! Yikes.

*Made For It follow ups (aka the... happy version of Indefensible??) - we want to actually see the sex scene they talk about doing, right? Right. And possibly some mpreg? We shall see.

ABO accidental bonding – the worst abo version, heads up. Underage Peter, omegas are treated very poorly, Peter and Tony don’t know each other beforehand and don’t do great getting to know each other afterwards. Biology continues to fuck Peter over, and Tony really doesn’t get how desperately Peter wants Tony to like him. Mountains and mountains of angst and sad before the happy ending.

Copy - After IW, Tony makes a Peter clone/android/whatever. Unfortunately, it just makes things worse because it’s just enough off to make it super obvious it’s not Peter. And fake!Peter knows it too. He’s just enough like real Peter to fall in love with Tony too, and he can’t figure out how to make Tony care about him instead of real, dead Peter. Not that it matters when he snap is reversed (Tony lives) and fake!Peter isn’t needed or wanted anymore. (Will probably have a sequel where real Peter finds out about all this, probably happy ending for everyone.)

Nothing sticks around - years after the blip, Peter discovers Tony, alive - only Tony has none of his memories. Tony doesn’t want anything to do with these people Peter tries to reintroduce him to; he trusts Peter and wants to stay with him. And does, for quite some time, things turning into a relationship, and even if Peter feels guilty about it, he’s happy. Right up until Tony suddenly remembers everything … except what’s been going on the last few years with Peter. Undecided if there’s a happy ending or not.

I hate time travel - once Tony figures out time travel, he decides he needs to find out if this works by hopping forward and seeing if Peter is back. And then maybe he should hop forward a little more just to check on him. Keeps doing this, about once a year, and while Peter is so glad to see him, it’s destroying Peter to basically go through Tony ‘dying’ over and over. Pretty soon it’s fucking up Tony too, after he accidentally shows up when Peter’s in the middle of sex. Very bittersweet ending to maintain the timeline.

Fuck you, Beck - Beck goes about getting the glasses in the worst ways, and Peter finds out a little too late - way too late when it comes to sleeping with him. Not that he’s going to ever tell anyone about that. Not even Tony, when Tony comes back. Not even Tony, when it turns out Tony is interested. Okay, maybe he’ll have to tell Tony when Peter’s reactions to sex become a problem. Happy ending but lots of ouch on the way.

Sequel to Dormant - so what exactly does Tony notice the morning after? And what exactly does Peter do about it? (Spoiler: A lot more than Peter thought he would, and nothing good.)

Don’t punish people like that – as much Tony/Obie as Tony/Peter, maybe pre-Tony/Peter. Obie decided to deal with Tony’s wild streak by punishing him in an especially awful, painful, dehumanizing, sexual way. Tony’s managed to handle how awful that was by pretending it was helpful (nope!). When Peter will not stop misbehaving, the last resort Tony can think of is what was done to him. It helped, right? (He can’t bring himself to in the end, which sets off a cascading failure of repressed trauma, woot!)

*That's rape, Tony – Tony getting drugged, gangbanged, and recorded, and then having part of it released that looks consensual. Tony doesn't remember enough to say it wasn't, and with his history, people don't question it. It goes over very poorly and he's handling all the parts of it very poorly, and Peter is the one to finally put the pieces together.

Sex Pollen Non-Con – Tony’s hit with some sort of fuck or die stuff; only problem is that he 100% refuses to let Peter do anything, and there’s no one else. Peter, convinced that Tony’s going to die, stops giving Tony a choice. What’s that, the trauma Tony was hoping to spare him is replaced with way worse trauma from basically raping Tony? WHOOPS. (Probably happy ending!)

Secondhand verse – following after this, things growing steadily worse, hotter, and more complex between Peter, Beck, and Tony. Bad decisions all around! Unexpected feelings all around! General unhappiness at having feelings that can be hurt all around! Probably a series of fics.

12:00 - follow up to 11:59, Tony and Peter finally getting it on and Beck being an ass in the background. Also the prequel that’s primarily Peter/Quentin, and possibly a sequel where Tony decides that maybe it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, watching Beck fuck Peter - and Peter liked it, right? Everyone’s down for a totally uncomplicated round two, right? Or three, or four...

(And feel free to talk to me about anything here, I love an excuse to ramble. Also, if something grabs your attention, have fun writing it - the more the merrier!)

#starker #pepperstarker #quenterony #ironspiderhusbands #rhodey x tony x peter #(is there a ship name for that???) #idea squad #idea dump #maybe i'll write this someday

[anistarrose]

Entropy (The Owl House)

Summary: As a witch, Eda thrives on unpredictability and chaos. Unfortunately, so does her curse.

Word count: 1734

Warnings: mild violence, but it’s no darker than the show itself

AO3: archiveofourown.org/works/22518526

The first of what I expect will eventually become many Owl House fics from me! This story is set a few months before Luz’s arrival to the demon realm, but also has some big spoilers for Episode 4, so beware!

***

Eda believes that unpredictability is a witch’s best friend. Magic should always be a little wild, a little feral, a little chaotic, a fickle force of nature that keeps its users on its toes. Predictable magic is weak magic, diluted magic, practically homeopathic magic that’s left with nary a spark of what once made it so fierce and formidable.

This is the philosophy that’s made Eda the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles. It’s the philosophy that’s helped her dodge imprisonment for decades. It’s even the reason why against her better judgement, she invited a scrawny little demon with an extreme superiority complex into her home — and as loathe as she is to admit it to King’s face, the little wannabe tyrant has brightened up more of her days than she’d ever expected.

Adherence to a status quo leads only to stagnant magic. Routine makes the bile in Eda’s heart run dry. Variety is the spice of life, and despite all the challenges she’s had to overcome — or perhaps even because of them — Eda is living.

But the most potent curses are always the most ironic ones. The ones that weave themselves not out of foreign magic, but out of the victim’s own nature, turning strengths into weaknesses and prides into secret shames.

In Eda the Owl Lady’s case, this means that her curse is very wild, very feral, very chaotic, and never predictable. When the feathers begin to sprout and she feels the telltale pinpricks of quills in her hair, when her fangs begin to elongate and her stomach makes its appetite known through bloodcurdling growls, she only has a matter of minutes at best before she loses herself — only a few minutes, at best, to find her elixir and stave off her transformation.

And if there’s no elixir in reach to be found, well… her last few moments of lucidity are best spent ensuring that no one will be around to see her in this state, both for her sake and theirs.

***

Eda is unceremoniously tossed into a Conformatorium cell, unable to get to her feet before the cold iron anti-magic gate slides down in front of her. The gaps between the rungs look plenty wide enough for King to slip through, which means either the guards haven’t noticed him shuddering and trying to hide in Eda’s arms, or they just don’t care enough about whether he escapes to bother securing him better.

“The Warden will be seeing you shortly, Owl Lady!” one guard barks from behind his beaked black mask. “I’m sure the two of you will have plenty to discuss!”

As their jailers leave, King wriggles out of Eda’s arms. “Are they gone?” he meekly asks, poking his snout out between the bars and peering down the hallway.

“Yes, but not for long,” Eda grunts as she attempts to draw a small spell circle in the air. A few sparks surround her fingertip, but fizzle out before the circle is complete. “Drat. They learned their lesson from the last time I broke out of this place.”

“Then looks like it’s the King of Demons’ turn to save the day!” King declares, raising a tiny fist. “And what better place to find recruits for my army of darkness than here, in this cesspool of sinister machinations and forbidden black magics!”

He pokes his head into the adjacent cell, in which a demon with foot-long pointed nails leans against a wall. “You there! You look like a foul, black-hearted creature if I’ve ever seen one! How about you join my prison riot?”

“Are you joking? There’s nothing foul or black-hearted about overthrowing an unjust government institution that misuses its authority,” the demon scoffs, continuing to polish their nails. “Come back and talk to me again if you think of something that’s really evil.”

Muttering to himself and shaking his head, King trots over to the prisoner on the opposite side of Eda’s cell. “How about you? You’ve got a lot of life left ahead of you — do you really want to spend it all in a prison?”

The baby in the cell ignores him, preoccupied with repeatedly stabbing a knife into the floor.

King trudges back to Eda’s side, head hanging. Very quietly, he asks: “Eda, what if I’m just not cut out for demonic tyranny?”

“Oh, don’t be silly.” Eda rubs his head. “I’ve never seen a demon more power-hungry than you are, you evil little thing. And hey, it’s not all bad — now you know exactly what types of demons not to recruit for your army of darkness!”

King’s mood immediately lightens. “You’re right, I just need to look on the bright side of things! Like how at least you didn’t have your staff with you today, so it’s not going to end up locked away in the warden’s contraband pile!”

Eda tries to retort that if she’d had her staff, she never would’ve gotten captured in the first place — but her throat has gone dry. After all, she hasn’t had anything to drink in hours.

Why do the torches in the hallway suddenly hurt to look at?

“All they actually confiscated was that orange potion you were drinking,” King goes on, completely oblivious. “Good thing they didn’t take anything important, ha!”

Eda runs a hand through her hair. Her fingers graze quills, sprouting from her scalp.

No! Not here, not now! Not in front of —

“King, you have to leave,” she hisses, falling to her knees and clutching her chest. “Squirm through the bars and run. I’ll catch up later.”

“Are you serious? I’m not leaving you!” King exclaims. “I can’t fly back home unless you carry me!”

He’s so precious.

So stubborn.

such dumb, easy prey

“I know a way to break out of here, but it’s — it’s — you’ll just get caught in the crossfire if you stay.” Eda claps one hand over her mouth, hiding her extending fangs, and with her free hand, picks up King by the scruff of his neck and stuffs him through one of the holes in the iron grate. “The guards will all be distracted in just another minute or two, so don’t waste your chance! Run and meet me back at the Owl House!”

no, little demon

come back inside, little squirrel creature

Halfway across the Conformatorium’s main chamber, a door creaks open, and King finally takes it as his cue to bolt.

so bright

too bright

can’t see

kill the lights

“Eda the Owl Lady!” Warden Wrath’s voice echoes. “I’ve been waiting so long for this moment…”

new demon

bigger demon?

bigger meal

Warden Wrath is wholly unprepared for the explosion of claws and feathers that tears through iron like it’s parchment, then barrels out of the Owl Lady’s cell with a scream that would cause a banshee to lose their voice for a week. The monster rakes a clawed hand across the wall, shredding half a dozen torches into tinder with a single blow — then turns to face Wrath, baring her fangs and grinning.

Wrath has read of the bloodthirsty strixes, the owlishly metamorphosed victims of potent curses — but he’s never encountered one face-to-face, never stared into these black eyes that are simultaneously so empty and so cunning. A lesser warden might turn tail and flee, but Wrath knows his duty.

Strixes are unnatural. Improper. Unpredictable. Feral.

Unsuitable for society, but a worthy opponent for him.

He charges, swinging a scythe-hand, and Eda effortly catches it with her fangs. She swings Wrath around like a toy, sending him careening into the wall — but he has a trick up his sleeve, and he transforms his hand into a hammer that pries Eda’s jaws open before she can extricate her teeth from his flesh.

Wrath laughs as Eda recoils, as she spits out dark ichor and shards of shattered yellow fangs. The acidic ichor sizzles as it lands on the cobblestone floor, and its ghastly smell reaches Wrath even through the herb-stuffed beak of his mask.

Seeing their warden stagger backwards from the pool of acid, two guards rush Eda — a mistake, they realize a few seconds too late. They add a degree of entropy to the battle that the strix exploits, whirling around and delivering two powerful kicks from her rear legs — and before Wrath can even admonish his inferiors, they’ve been flung on top of him, their heavy metal armor pinning him to the ground.

Eda licks her lips, advancing slowly, savoring the moment. A tiny drop of icor dribbles down her chin from the corner of her mouth, and her batlike ears twitch with delight.

Wrath’s arms are pinned, and any sudden shapeshifting movement will surely provoke the strix to lunge before he can get an attack off. Unable to remove his mask, yet left with no other option, he points his head at Eda as best as he can, and opens his mouth.

As the spout of flame incinerates the likeliness of a raven beak and spills out to fill the hall, Eda screeches and extends her wings so quickly that a sonic boom tears though the Conformatorium. Cast-iron gates are shattered, cobblestone is pulverized into rubble, and leagues of demons and witches run free.

Nearly overwhelmed by the stampede, Wrath staggers to his feet just in time to see the strix take flight, and soar out the skylight at the top of the prison dome.

***

Eda awakens beneath a tree, scattered patches of feathers still present where the early-morning sunlight hasn’t yet crept through the leaves to dapple her skin. As she collects herself and steps out into the direct sunlight, her transformation fully reverts — though her stomach still grumbles for flesh and blood. She’ll just have to get home quickly and quell it with an elixir, instead.

When she walks into the Owl House, King almost immediately springs into her arms and breaks down sobbing. “I was so worried! I ran like you said but I heard so much screaming and I saw something get lit on fire and I wasn’t sure if that was what you meant to do or —”

“I never do exactly what I mean to do,” Eda tells him, forcing a smile. “It wouldn’t be very wild and unpredictable of me if I did, would it?”

She sets King down on the couch. “But you can always count on one thing — I’m never leaving home without my magic staff again.”

#the owl house #the owl house eda #the owl house king #eda the owl lady #warden wrath #the owl house spoilers #the owl house fanfiction #rosalia writes fic

[spacecadetal]

New Blood (a Kakashi Hatake x OC fic) - Chapter One

Warnings: Use of violence, violence, use of knives, swearing, drinking, death mention, death

Read on AO3 or below the line

As the sun began to rise, Kakashi swung his legs over his bed. Stretching his bare body high in preparation for what the day would bring. Whether that was a mission or battle. Grateful for the previous day of rest, Kakashi couldn’t deny he was beginning to feel the pressures of being shinobi.

Orochimaru had caused devastation around the village. Buildings destroyed, lives taken, and the Third Hokage gone. Because of this, manpower was scarce and in an attempt to assure the village appeared just as strong as before to outside eyes, missions continued to be carried out. Despite shinobi in the village being stretched thinner than rice paper.

To make matters worse, Sasuke Uchiha left the village in pursuit of power and revenge. A squad being sent after him to recover him only ended in disastrous results. The village was lucky not to lose anyone but still two members of the squad were left in critical condition while the rest were in need of proper rest. Unfortunately, this left Kakashi to fill in any gap that was in need of filling.

With a book in hand, Kakashi quickly ate breakfast before he prepared himself for the day. Flak vest on, knives packed, headband fastened around his head, Icha Icha packed in the breast pocket of his vest. Ready for what the day may bring.

“Kakashi, you're needed on an A Grade mission. Intel for a client I’m unable to name at this time. You’ll be leaving tomorrow at dawn” Tsunade had said as soon as he arrived at her office, surrounded by paperwork.

“Who is on this squad?”

“It’s a two person squad. You and Gai”

Ah yes. Another Gai and Kakashi adventure. He had been wondering when he would have another one of those. At least this mission should be amusing with Gai tagging along.

“I see. Is that all?”

“No, actually I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I’ve decided because this village is in need of manpower, we need more genin trained to be prepared for anything Orochimaru or anyone else may throw at us. So I’ve outsourced some chunin from across the country to come to Konoha and help prepare the genin for the chunin examinations. We’ll be holding them earlier than usual”

“So where does this leave me?”

“You’re one of the best we have right now. I need you focused on missions. Because Naruto is under Jiraiya now and Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, Sakura will be trained by someone else”

“Then who will continue her training?”

“Maia Setsudan,” Tsunade said as she slid the folder over to Kakashi.

Kakashi opened it. A picture of a young woman stared back at him. Long brown hair, dark brown eyes, light skin. A serious look on her face. The record itself was thin. No missions, no history of her training, no rank. Just her basic details and stats.

“I don’t mean to question your judgment but this woman has not been trained in any type of jutsu, by anyone”

Despite all of that, her record appeared clean. Nothing sticking out at him, her stats however pointed to her abilities being of a jonin level and this confuses him greatly.

“Not officially no but I’ve seen her skills and she owes me a favour” Tsunade smiled. “The others are at least chunin, yes they did not continue their training but I’m assured they’ll assist the students in any way they can”

“My decision is final. This is only temporary Kakashi”

Kakashi accepted the decision, walking out of the office. He would never doubt Hokage, never disobey Hokage. They were Hokage for a reason but Tsunade had to have lost her mind.

__________________________________________________

In a little clearing, surrounded by trees stood two out of three of Mais Setsudan’s students.

“Hello, I’m glad to meet you both. And I’m sure it will be good to meet Sakura when she gets back. Nevermind that. I’m Maia, just Maia. No need to call me sensei or anything else. I’m just here to help you guys out”

“Now my speciality is knives. Knives are dangerous weapons if you use them right. You can hit your opponents chakra points if you aim them precisely, with agility and speed you can slice your opponent to ribbons.”

“But it would be foolish of me not to have other stances to fall back on. My belief is that ninja should always have a form that acts as both offence and defence”

Kakashi sat hidden in the trees, legs firmly planted on a branch, watching as this woman gave her students a lecture. Stances that enabled both defence and offence of course was a good idea in theory, but realistically sometimes you weren’t able to do so.

“Ma’am-Maia I’m not really skilled in defence” a student, Moto, quietly spoke.

Nodding to himself, Kakashi understood that this wasn’t realistic for every student. Some were just not capable of performing such jutsu, mostly countering this with other stances to make up for it. Knowing your weakness was as important as knowing your strengths. He would give this Maia Setsudan the benefit of the doubt, maybe she would prove to be a capable mentor after all.

“And that’s okay. At your age I was only learning offence but I also learnt how to defend too eventually”

At your age? So she did have training. Nothing formal that Kakashi could see on her record so the question was: who trained her?

Konoha was in a compromising situation as it was these days. Last thing they needed was someone coming into the village and turning out to be a spy for someone that did not have Konoha’s best intentions at heart.

“Look I’ll show you” Maia said, getting herself into stance.

She began running in circles slowly, a wall of wind slowly forming at her feet and growing towards the treetops, forming to incase her in a dome.

“When I say so, throw your kunai at me” Maia ordered.

As she continued to run in circles, increasing her speed, the dome began to form fully. To Kakashi this was a basic wind wall, nothing special or out of the ordinary.

“Now!”

Moto threw his kunai at the dome but on impact the kunai bounced off the dome, flying back towards the student. Kakashi was ready to move and catch it if necessary, getting into position but as he moved to leap, something stopped him. It was Maia leaving her wind dome, running to the kunai and grabbing it before it was inches away from the student’s eye.

“Why didn’t you block or dodge?” she simply asked, no anger in her tone.

“I-I don’t know it’s like my brain froze”

“Well...just don’t do that on the battlefield…”

She was fast, sure but that was dangerously close and maybe Tsunade should be informed that a student almost got seriously injured during the first day of training.

“With the wall, I generate enough speed to defend myself and if my wall is attacked then my wall deflects my opponents attacks back onto them. This includes attacks involving chakra too”

Attacks involving chakra? How could this be? It only stunned Kakashi because it was a basic move weaponised into something more. His suspicions lead him to the conclusion that the dome was infused with low levels of chakra.

“I can also move with my wall meaning my opponents will be knocked over or caught in the wind trap. A basic form can be transformed and with enough training you can use these basic forms as weapons. My wall works for me because of how comfortable I am with speed but we will find where your skills lie and match your forms to that”

Kakashi had watched the rest of the lesson. Waiting for Maia to slip up, give him a reason to run to Tsunade and tell her she’s made a massive mistake but the almost kanui to the eye was the only slip up Maia had made.

She was attentive to the students. Focusing on their strengths and their weaknesses, giving them small adjustments to help chakra flow. It was a very basic lesson but Maia was becoming familiar with the students and this was the best way to do it.

“Next time I want you two to fight each other. Friendly clean match. I just want to see how you do your thing”

That was lesson over, Maia and her students parting ways into the forest and back to the village.

Shadowing her through the forest, Kakashi watched as she walked on her own. For someone so fast she sure enjoyed dawdling along, taking in the trees and the flowers along her path. Maia was an attractive young woman, Kakashi wouldn’t deny that. Her method, from first impression, seemed fine despite the almost injury but Kakashi wasn’t always going to be hidden in the treetops waiting for her to slip up. Despite all of this, a bigger question remained. Who was she? Because if she was a spy or collecting intel for someone then this put Konoha in jeopardy. Even if she knew Tsunade, doesn’t mean others close to the village hadn’t betrayed it before.

Kakashi decided to continue shadowing her through the village. Figure out what kind of character she truly was. Maybe she would prove him right, meet with some contact in the shadows and show him that her intentions were not so pure as they appeared.

Instead of some thrilling spy chase, Kakashi found Maia’s time in the village quite uneventful. She had taken quite some time picking out ingredients at the food stalls, Kakashi could feel himself yawning as she weighed up two carrots. Maia continued to walk around the market, stopping at a bookstore. A copy of some smutty romance novel in hand as she walked out of the store. Kakashi’s eyebrow rose, he himself was a lover of erotic fiction. Perhaps she was as big a pervert as he was, not that he’d openly admit he was a pervert or anything.

He had been shadowing her for a while before he lost her in the crowd. In the streets now instead of the rooftops. Kakashi frowned for a moment as he scanned the crowd, no sign of her anywhere. Still he continued to walk through the crowd, pretending to be minding his own business.

“Can I help you with something?” A voice said to his right, almost making him jump in the air.

Looking to its owner, he found Maia Setsudan. Height wise she came up to his neck, a little shorter than him but she had glared at him as if she was seven inches taller than him. Brown onion in hand ready to pelt him.

“You were up in the trees during my lesson and now you’re following me through the streets. What do you want?”

She knew he was there? How? Kakashi frowned. He’s not detected by just anyone, let alone a ‘shinobi’ with no formal training and Maia was starting to catch on to that.

“Your hair was sticking out from the tree you were watching me from” she laid it out plainly. “Then I saw you on the rooftop at the market”

Kakashi still was yet to say anything, he just couldn’t believe he had picked a terrible hiding spot to begin with.

“No need to frown. If anything I should be the one frowning. I don’t appreciate being followed”

“I’m Kakashi Hatake, Sakura’s mentor” Kakashi finally spoke.

“Ah… I see. You were just making sure your student was in good hands and I can assure you she is” Maia seemed to be beginning to warm up to him despite him shadowing her. Understanding the concern a past mentor may have for his student.

“Can I ask who trained you?”

There it was, the question Maia hated being asked the most. Her smile has started off as genuine but now she started to smile sweetly, a way to hide her frustration. She told Tsunade she would be well behaved. It was a shame he had to ask, she really was warming up to him.

“A shinobi who left his village”

“A missing-nin?”

“Yes. Is that all?” Maia said directly, her patience fading rather quickly. What is this? Interrogation hour?

“What gave you the idea to allow Moto to throw a knife at your shield if you knew it would rebound back at him?”

“Well… I guess my expectations for formally trained ninja of his level were too high” she said, a puff of air leaving her nose in the form of laugh, “but I’m sure you would have stepped in if I had neglected to do so”

Kakashi swallowed hard. She was trying to playing games with him, something he didn’t care too much for. He could stand around all day, taking her quips but he truly had better things to do.

“If that’s all, it was good to meet you Kakashi Hatake.” she said as she walked by, refusing to look back at Kakashi as she left him standing in the crowd alone.

Maia’s happy place was always in the kitchen. No matter how busy her mother was, working two jobs to support them, she always had time to cook dinner. Maia would watch, standing on a wooden crate, helping peel vegetables and wash rice. It’s no wonder she became a chef.

Cooking was second nature, so was holding a knife. She had cooked her mee goreng, sat herself on the couch shovelling it into her mouth as she dived into the new novel she had bought that day.

Descriptions of lust and sensual touching filled Maia’s focus. It had been a very long time since she let a man into her life, let alone in her bed. But it was okay, she lived vicariously through characters in fictional worlds getting their rocks off instead.

As she turned the page, throwing a noodle into her mouth, her attention wandered to the man following her today. Kakashi Hatake.

One day long ago, her master had told her the story of the child prodigy of Konoha. The kid that made his own jutsu, a jutsu so powerful it could cut a lightning bolt in half. Maia remembered how her master told her that one man should not be capable of all that power and destruction and now Maia had stood face to face with him.

Though she felt as if she stood her ground, she still couldn’t help but feel intimidated by the man. For him to question her abilities and asking questions about her training just showed Maia that he was someone she had something to prove to. To prove she was a capable mentor and a capable shinobi. Not only to him but to the whole village, possibly even the world.

__________________________________________________

Maia ran through the forest, searching for the man she saw wander through earlier. Everyday this man would disappear into the forest and Maia would watch the village gates, waiting for him to return. This day, with her mother working a double shift, she bunked off school, instead she would follow him.

She came to a halt when she heard a sound, like a knife scraping on wood. Creeping slowly, Maia approached a shrub to hide, taking notice of the sound of her footsteps. There she crouched, her heartbeat flooding her ears. She thought she had gone unnoticed until-

“I can hear you” the man said, sitting alone in the forest on a rock, sharpening a stick with his kunai.

A young Maia popped her head out behind the large shrub, shy but curious.

“Are you a shinobi sir?”

“I used to be” the man said, unbothered.

“I thought they killed shinobi that ran away”

“They do but they haven’t found me yet”

Maia took a moment to absorb what the man truly said. He was on the run, jumping from town to town till he would eventually die.

“Can you teach me?”

“No way, the last thing I need is something kid exposing me to the whole village”

“But sir, I think I’m meant to be a shinobi”

“Yeah and? Every kid does”

“No, look”

Maia had begun running, running and running in circles. Her speed was unusual for her age, not as great as it would be when she grew older but still impressive. Maia had practised this for months, hoping to impress him so he’d take her on as his student. He began to stroke his chin in thought. Maybe this kid could be shinobi after all, however the shinobi way had the potential to be isolating, trapping. Once that was your path you could never leave and if you did, you’d be on the run for the rest of your life.

“What's the name kid?” the old man asked.

“I’m Maia!”

Next Chapter

#kakashi x oc #kakashi/oc #kakashi imagines #kakashi hatake x oc #kakashi hatake/oc #new blood #fic #nb #myfic #naruto fanfiction #naruto #kakashi hatake fanfiction #kakashi fic #kakashi fanfiction

[icosmohunters]

chapter eight : master of puppets

chapter eight of cosmo hunters!

word count : 8.2k words

synopsis : the pirates have opted to help hope out properly in an attempt to get their hands on the puppeteer, a cyber mastermind capable of sick atrocities. after touching down on the m-colony, hope can’t help but feel uneasy, in worry that somehow this infamous criminal would hurt her. or worse, someone else.

the m-colony was perhaps one of the few human bases in the solar system that touches solid ground. though smaller than the earth, mars held a behemoth city on its surface, capable of withstanding some of the conditions normal architecture wouldn’t be able to handle. this includes the slight earthquakes and sandstorms that occur on the surface of this red rock.

out of all the planets in the solar system, hope has never had the chance to visit mars, the earth’s smaller but stranger brother, the red planet, often suspected of harnessing life, harnessing magma and active volcanoes underneath its soil, capable of supporting life if the earth were to end tomorrow.

mars was not only colonized with methods of living to support human life, but it was also taken in as extra space for agriculture, and the endless fields of dust and mahogany dirt that seemed to stretch on forever were often used as a method of sport; racing. 

even whilst entering the atmosphere now, hope could see the hoverbikes speeding past each other in a series of turns and jumps over cliffs and fields and hills, the riders wearing suitable equipment like helmets and specific suits.

“ after this is all over, remind me to book a seat to one of these things, i was never fond of formula one ”, the bounty hunter told her a.i. she had been given clearance soon upon entering the atmosphere, and now she followed a set of floating lights positioned as guidelines towards the nearest base. “ but that, i can definitely get behind. ”

“ we can do so after we finish what we’ve come here for ”, a.j stated and hope couldn’t help but mimic his voice before rolling her eyes. nevertheless, a.j always made sense, they did have to finish what they came here for. 

according to her artificial intelligence, the puppeteer has been hiding out within the human m-colony, somewhere within a run-down version of the apartments the humans first built after they entered the planet. the structures were left to rot and many building companies gave up on bull-dozing the place. so now, it was there, a ghostly sight.

and home to a potentially conspiring force of evil, and hope had to stop them.

m-colony was covered by a massive, almost dome-like shield harnessing the oxygen required for humans to breathe. the city was perhaps as big as beijing back home, but nowhere as big as the j-colony. nothing could reach the size of that monolith of a city. 

skyscrapers, roads, billboards, and marketing spread all around her. she peered out through nebula’s window and inhaled deeply. it was all perfect, the systems were complicated but safe and not the types that could be breached. however, this might not stop a particularly nasty person from ruining it all.

and by this nasty person, she meant the puppeteer. not much was known about them as a person but they were capable of doing things that could potentially kill millions. all that they’ve done is steal money from global banks, leaving people with little to no money in accounts and sending the earth in a financial crisis a couple of years back.

upon landing at the docks, hope let out a sigh of relief. ever since she left the headquarters, she’s felt like she was being closely followed by the very company she’s been working with. so far out into space, they couldn’t exactly trace her location nor her status nor log into the camera feed of her ship, not without her permission. but she still felt odd about it, worried.

maybe it was nothing to worry about but she would constantly think back to beatrice yoh, standing on that stage with a proud smile on her face announcing the strict regulations that had implemented to avoid a mutiny or a coup. it was a haunting memory, ironically the worst thing hope has ever witnessed.

a powerful woman imposing a regime that was going to put people in their places, people who disobeyed. as someone who was breaching at least a dozen protocols, hope was beyond anxious. all for the sake of keeping these pirates somewhere safe before taking them to where they had to be.

removing her seatbelts from her, hope took the elevator down and found the pirates gathered in the lounge once more. there was a proper meeting room somewhere in the nebula but hope never used it, especially since she rarely had visitors. besides, the lounge made her feel less worried about all of this, convincing her to brush it off like it was a family gathering of some sort.

“ we felt bad for taking some of your weapons so we managed to store some new ones after a shopping spree at j-colony ”, enzo announced, loading a firearm that seemed to be a ray gun of some sort, but it looked like it was capable of so much more.

hope shook her head, “ i usually stack up on my weapons when i go back home. dad keeps huge storage of them in the garage, he’d lend me some. but i don’t know when i’ll be going home, so i appreciate it. thank you. ”

something she’s noticed within the coming days is growing used to the presence of these strangers. she grew used to quinn and enzo bickering during a game, she grew used to the rattling of pans in the kitchen from vivienne and dawn. she wasn’t so used to dom making any noises but she grew used to seeing him about.

she never thought she would get used to it, but she was getting there. it was still unfortunate to have to wait for someone to finish showering or for her to eat within a close range of people. but then again, baby steps.

“ oh, it’s not a problem ”, vivienne spoke. “ besides, you just said yourself you don’t know when that would be. but it’s good to have weapons in case another name pops up on the list. ” hope nodded, looking down. “ this puppeteer . . . are you sure you’re confident in going after him? ”.

the captain rose her head once more with a chuckle, “ well, i have no choice. voyage gives me the targets and i either accept it or pass it on. and i’ve never passed down a challenge, not a single one in my years as a bounty hunter. “ besides, this is not the kind of person we want wandering around. something needs to be done about them. ”

“ you say that and yet you’re letting us go along with you ”, dom said and hope looked over whilst adjusting her wristband. “ sure, enzo can be quite manipulative when he wants to be. but why not just let us stay here? ”.

quinn called from the other side of the room, “ scared to die out there, dominic? we’re safe in a larger group. besides, we might not even need to attack if this person is a cyber mastermind rather than, you know, a physical one. ” he looked over his shoulder and towards dawn. “ besides, the medic’s staying behind. ”

hope snapped her head towards dawn quickly, “ you sure you’re okay with guarding the ship by yourself? i mean, nebula is safe and all but you might get bored quite easily. ”

“ i-it’s fine! ”, dawn squeaked, waving her hand to dismiss the statement. “ besides, i only ever come to use when someone’s hurt. and going in a large group, you might find yourselves injured. i can somehow sense it. so i’ll stay here, preparing anything in case someone comes back hurt. ”

vivienne snorted, “ knowing everyone, i bet it’ll be enzo. ”

“ rude! ”.

after a small gathering, hope went and got changed into something appropriate for the mission and this time, she made sure to lock the door in case someone with curious eyes came in to peek at her again. slipping her jacket on, she looked into the mirror and noticed her hair. “ fuck, you’re going to bother me ”, she cursed and grabbed a hairband before taking to leave her room.

in terms of weapons and ammunition, she had plenty in her backpack, it was heavy because of that but she could persevere. besides, comfort was the last thing on her mind when she had a person to hunt down. but her preferred weapon of choice remained with the band resting on her shoulder, the rifle she’s spent years protecting.

“ you look like you’re going to war ”, quinn commented when she came out of the ship. the items felt heavy on her body but the sooner they got to hunting, the less she would have to worry about carrying the damn thing around.

“ i might as well be ”, she said and grabbed a handful of her hair into her hands and then tied it up into a semi-neat ponytail. her hair’s never been an issue but this was a serious matter and if she missed her shot because of a brown lock of hair, she was going to lose it. 

dawn grinned brightly behind them, “ good luck, guys! and stay together, don’t split up! ”.

m-colony was fuller today than most days, people spreading into the streets with excited beams on their faces. they didn’t seem to be aware of the armed group of people walking among them, but then again, the blinding lights may capture someone’s attention and then cause a frenzy, a daze. hope would have been lost in it herself if she hadn’t been focused on the matter at hand.

the place where the puppeteer’s lair was possibly located was some miles from the main city, the outskirts of the deserted lands that were of no use to the human civilization at that moment.

“ how are we going to get there? ”, vivienne called over her shoulder towards hope. since she was at the front, and the cacophony of noise was enough to cloud their voices slightly, she had to yell.

“ there’s a car service not far from here! all we need to do is hire one! ”, hope called back and looked around, checking her location on her wristband. the location was a good half hour drive from them, but perhaps the drive would be enough to calm her nerves. she doesn’t like going into missions tense.

the car service was definitely not far, it was cross the street. now that she thought about it, based on the positions of these billboards and the streets lined up, she recognized times square back in new york. she chuckled and shook her head for a moment, humans bring their brand everywhere. it’s quite cute.

“ alright, we can hire it for four hours. after the time limit, it shuts down and we won’t be able to get back inside it ”, quinn warned after they had gotten the car they acquired. it was a hovercar, like most, with a beige, suede interior. “ so i suggest we hurry it up. ”

“ hah, four hours is more than enough to find a man and kill him. well, knowing how insane space can be, i might just have to take that back ”, enzo put in a lighthearted tone, before shrugging and pulling the door open for vivienne and hope. “ ladies first! ”.

the car was similar to that of a jeep, except it was incased with glass windows holding the oxygen required for the drivers to breathe. a snoop around and hope found it to be in good condition to drive, so she threw the coordinates onto the gps and then adjusted her seat-belt.

dom had chosen to drive, so hope remained in the back seat and gave a quick look around them before the car started moving. she saw the billboards, the skyscrapers, and many cameras. cameras that the puppeteer could potentially be peeking through, being the sneak he was.

always observing but never courageous enough to step in and actually act. a coward in a way but an ironically brave one, considering he was capable of committing crimes with the mere click of a button on a control panel. a hivemind, smart enough to never had to step out a confined space hidden somewhere in mars.

well, hope was going to blast that confined space to pieces.

the ride out onto the quiet zone was, well, quiet. racing through martian landscapes, seeing the mountains and valleys up close. it was like a ride through the old deserts back home, but even deader. the sky wasn’t particularly blue, it was gloomy and the sandstorms in the distance were horrifying but the car persevered.

“ so, should we play a game ‘i spy’? ”.

“ i can only see s and i ”, quinn muttered under his breath. hope looked up at him with a raised brow. “ sand and an idiot. ” this time, the bounty hunter couldn’t help but chortle, the kid was too good. he could be a comedian if being a pirate ever got boring. 

“ i’ll punch some sense into you, kiddo ”, enzo warned with a glare, but it was passive. hope chuckled and looked out of the window as the car continued moving.

the ride couldn’t have lasted more than twenty minutes with how fast dom was driving. after ten minutes, they seemed to have exited the main part of the city and entered fields and large, vast structures which she assumed held cattle and livestock. perhaps even the farms needed to feed these people.

and after another five minutes, these structures soon faded and it was just sand and hills for a while. but then hope began to see something on the horizon, something tall and saw it as an apartment building of some sort. rotting and falling apart. another one followed briefly after. and then another.

checking the gps a minute later, hope’s eyes flickered to the terrain of abandoned buildings and she felt a chill run down her spine. “ well, this is it. hear that? ”, she questioned and it seemed like everyone held their breath. 

all that could be heard outside was the cries of the wind, sound traveled solemnly over a landscape of nothing but what was once a lovely place, lush of life and the humans that once lived there but now it was sleeping. dormant. not completely dead, not with a single human being there. but it most certainly looked like red limbo, something that caused hope’s breathing to tremble. despite seeming dead, it felt like something slept beneath the soil. sleeping. or very much awake. waiting. an eye peering through somewhere, looming over every stretch of the landscape in search of . . . something. a watchful beast.

quinn exhaled, “ sounds like my literal nightmare. ”

“ the quiet zone. well, now it’s quiet, didn’t use to be. once home to about a million humans, apartments and accommodation scattered everywhere. the first establishment of life on mars, and now it’s a ghost town ”, hope explained in a grave tone before reaching into her backpack. “ everyone, put your masks on. ”

“ the humans migrated, didn’t they? moved to the big city? why would he be hiding out here of all places? ”, enzo questioned mostly to himself before he seemed to figure out the answer himself. “ oh, he’s arrogant. ”

“ well, try stealing a hundred billion dollars from every global bank on earth. that’s a self-esteem boost ”, dom said before pulling his oxygen mask on. hope bit back a smile, she couldn’t help but agree. 

after putting on the masks, it was time to head out. hope remained cautious because upon entering a territory of a prying animal, you wouldn’t want to wake it up or even piss it off before you get the chance to come within single proximity of it. so she warned the pirates to keep quiet and to stick close together.

stepping on martian soil, it’s perhaps the most thrilling experience hope has felt. she’s been to titan, europa, io, even to jupiter but nothing felt quite surreal like stepping on the red planet. she paid a glance around her, seeing the absence of people, people she thought would be living happily.

but not a single one in sight. not a single one.

“ alright, in which direction are we going? ”.

hope looked towards a puzzled vivienne and then pointed northwards. the base was said to be located somewhere beneath the ground. where? she didn’t know. and she didn’t have the equipment to dig down. so she prayed that perhaps these apartments had a basement that this monster could be living in.

so they went north. crossing these structures, seeing them up close right from the very bottom, hope realized just how behemoth they were, craning her head back to peek at the very top. doors had come off their hinges, windows broken, the little playground area deserted and scattered with graffiti.

to think that normal people once lived there. biting her lip, she looked back just once. it felt weird, then again this is the first time she’s doing something like this, approaching the devil’s lair with hardly any preparation. all she knew is that she had to be the one to murder this guy. the pirates could injure him, but she needed that final bullet to be fired by her. no else but her.

“ you know, for a planet that was supposed to be earth’s sister, it does a good job in being anything but that ”, enzo commented before kicking a pebble not too far away from him. it rolled over and then paused. “ just . . . rock and dirt. is anything alive? ”.

hope looked around before she continued leading the way. “ well, first off, correct yourself. it’s earth’s brother, more like. ares, god of war, male, one of the twelve olympians, get it right ”, she corrected him. “ second off, they believe this is what an early planet earth would have looked like. magma flowing underneath the ground, sleeping mountains and volcanoes burning up all the elements of life. ice being melted by this heat, generating water, generating the incubators for life . . . except mars hasn’t changed that much. they believe it’ll be a few years until it’ll be like the earth. ”

“ i think it’s quite a shame. it’s so similar to back home ”, quinn mumbled. “ minus the sandstorms and earthquakes that could happen. it’s why some people are scattered to build on the surface and choose to do it beneath the surface. ”

hope chuckled, “ i watched the documentary. yeah, mars is great but it’s one angry planet that hasn’t settled in just yet. the black sheep of the family, if you will. then again, so was ares. ”

“ well, at least it’s not venus. ”

“ weren’t they in love? aphrodite and ares? ”.

“ i don’t want a history lesson on god sex, thank you very much. ”

after about ten minutes of pacing, hope’s gps beeped and the map on the right side of her helmet showed the red dot blaring. they’d arrived. but there was nothing. they were pretty much there but there was nothing, nothing but red dirt and painful silence.

“ well, looks like you got the wrong coordinates ”, dom voiced and turned to hope. “ are you sure this is where we’re supposed to be? we can’t dig down, we don’t have the tools for it. ”

enzo kissed his teeth, “ stop annoying her, dom and let her think. maybe this guy is using a field of some sort to blind us, invisible. like the cloaking feature, the one we had on our ship before we left it! or perhap— ”.

“ enzo, step back! ”.

the captain of the pirates let out an echoing gasp and took a major step back and the ground beneath him seemed to crumble slightly. and then for the first time, hope heard a sound. like something falling on the ground and so she advanced forward towards enzo and saw what he could have fallen into.

a ravine of some sort. except it wasn’t a natural one, it was artificially made, hope noticed the balconies and the doors and windows and the walls and noticed that some apartments had been built inside a huge ravine on the ground. and it was deep, at least a hundred feet in depth.

if enzo had dropped in, he could have died. not even the slightly weaker gravity could have cushioned his fall. hope took a straight glance down and winced before turning to the captain and patting his shoulder, “ nice reflexes. ”

enzo sighed nervously, “ y-yeah, well, i try. ”

“ so, i’m assuming this is it. a giant hole on the ground, of course, the base would be here, it’s where the red dot is. now, it’s a matter of tracing this fucker down ”, dom said and crouched down slightly just by the edge. hope anxiously moved closer to ensure nothing bad happened. she didn’t want him toppling over the edge. “ should we take a dive inside? ”.

of course, there was only one answer to his question. they had to go in. there must have been at least ten different levels of these apartments and they managed to get into the top one. it was like council estates in the united kingdom, with a balcony shielding the drop down. and below, a basketball court. desolate.

on the top floor, hope looked and saw nothing but doors and doors and broken windows and some other doors. all of them appeared to be broken down or scratched in some way. she frowned and started to walk slowly down the hall.

“ this is something of silent hill, this is creepy and i don’t want to be here ”, enzo muttered under his breath before calling out. “ uh, hope! can we hurry it up a bit? ”.

“ shut up ”, hope snapped and listened out for another sound. the only sound she heard was the pebble hit the ground, nothing else. just utter silence and it was grinding her gears with how cold it was, how desolate and lifeless it was. not even her ship was as lifeless as this . . .

but that’s when she sat it. a door at the very end of the hall. seemingly polished, not at all damaged like the surrounding ones, like the rot didn’t affect it like it wasn’t even supposed to be there. not a hint of rust in the hinges. nothing at all. an ordinary, new, polished door. 

hope hurried her steps and motioned over her shoulder for the group to follow her and they did, so when she reached the door, she set her hand on the handle. and then pushed it down. 

the door beeped.

hope flinched back in fear there was an explosive behind it but it was nothing, it was only the door which slid slowly open. the noise it created was ghastly, like a creature crying out. a creature so bizarre she can’t even compare it to anything. “ that’s definitely gonna wake someone up ”, vivienne uttered. 

“ well, then we should hurry. ”

stepping inside, it was unlike anything hope suspected. she thought it would have been at least cozy, similar to the vintage decorations back home. the way her grandmother used to arrange her furniture. a sense of home. but no, it was like she had stepped inside a spaceship. gulping, she grasped her riffle and nodded to the group after scouting around. 

they had landed in a hall of some sort, a hall going left, right, and forwards. and she didn’t like that. it suggested the idea of splitting up and she was exactly against it. but they were definitely in the puppeteer’s lair, there was no doubt about it.

“ i always say go forward. we’d be going deeper into the ground and away from the apartments in themselves. he’s dug deeper, anyone can see that ”, quinn muttered and stood beside hope for a moment. “ what do you think? ”.

hope rose her brows slightly after sighing, “ well, forwards is the only way to go. no turning back now, not when we’ve come this far. ” she nodded forward and proceeded, hearing the footsteps continue behind her. 

the halls were similar to that of the nebula, silver with lit lines dug into the walls, no lamps required to keep it lit. the floors were polished, some sort of marbles and it was making her footsteps echo, something she didn’t need at that moment. at the end of the hall, there seemed to be a sealed door. 

“ well, that was fun until it lasted ”, enzo snorted before raising his gaze up before humming. “ there’s an opening above us. and judging from these designs, there’s something for us to crawl through. like shafts. anyone want to do the honors first? ”.

hope shrugged and adjusted her backpack and riffle, “ fuck it, why not? ”. enzo reached up quickly and gave the shaft entrance a tap with the butt of his gun and it budged, it could be removed. he pressed harder and the hatch opened completely, more than enough space for her to crawl through.

“ need a hand u— ”.

“ mars has weaker gravity for a reason ”, hope uttered and then jumped, feeling her feet touch the ground. it was like she was lightweight for a second, she grabbed her hands onto the edges and then hauled herself up with the strength she had. she crouched in fear of hitting her head, but she never did. she looked about and blinked. “ uh . . . it’s another hall. ”

enzo scoffed before jumping through himself and climbing onto this new level and looking around. “ well, so much for my james bond movie moment. i always watched to climb through a shaft ”, he complained. hope snorted and rolled her eyes. “ alright, you lot, come through, it’s safe. ”

after the other three had crawled through, hope looked at the two ends of the hallway she could take and bit her lip. “ usually this should be easy, but it’s one way or the other ”, she uttered before standing properly, despite the quiver in her legs that she couldn’t hide. she was shaking, worried. 

ever since she had arrived, it felt like something was digging into her head, telling her to turn back even though she’s never been the type of person to give up halfway. no, she’s never even been the type of person to give up at all. so why was she so willing to drop her weapon right now and run back to her ship like a coward?

“ well, we could split up ”, vivienne suggested whilst crouching to adjust her shoes. “ i know, terrible strategy but we have each other on a call. we can trace each other down and send locations easily. it’ll be easier to trace him down. ”

enzo groaned but then ran a hand through his brown locks and clenched his jaw. “ right, well, not a bad idea at all. i’ve just seen too many horror movies to know how it usually goes down. but we’re capable, w-we’ll be fine ”, he decided and looked towards the captain of the nebula. “ i’ll go with y— ”.

“ no ”, hope interrupted. “ if this guy really forgot to turn his security on today, i’ll get lucky with one shot. one bullet. but if there’s anything else out here, at all, i’ll be able to protect myself from it alone. i can fight, but only alone. you guys work better as a team. if you find him, you can fight together. we have equal chances like this. it’s just better that i remain alone. ”

enzo opened his mouth to say something but seemingly closed it and glared down. he cursed under his breath and moved away. dom stepped up, looking at her with a puzzling look. “ you sure you’re okay going alone? ”, he questioned. 

“ yeah, of course ”.

it took some convincing. in fact, it took a lot of convincing. enzo was hesitant on letting her go by herself but there wasn’t really an element of choice available considering the circumstances they were in. for all she knew, this place was a maze and her memory was better when alone. her senses were better when alone. her fighting was better when alone.

she needed to this alone. so whilst she went forward, they moved back. and even if they went opposite ways, they could potentially end up on opposite sides of the quiet zone. and she wasn’t going to risk it too much, so she paid attention. she gripped the rifle in her hand, ready to use it when the time came.

the door slid open when it sensed her. it really felt like a spaceship, or like she was walking through a voyage base buried deep underground. the end of her rifle rose immediately as she carefully aimed and tiptoed in, and found herself in a wide opening. it was dark, but then a sound beeped and the lights snapped on. just like that. 

hope held her breath.

this was horrifying, but it felt like she was in a storage room. no, a lab. no, a huge hall of some sort with tubes scattered all around, displays of . . . robots. it felt like she had walked into a hall of fame, in which display housing a robot. robots whose models she’s never seen before. it felt like walking through a museum. alone. at night.

but there was a sense of familiarity in these robots. she’s seen something similar to them before, a long time ago, perhaps when she was a kid. or older than that. she looked around, but her guard never dropped. who knew if these things were sentient, aware of her and ordered to get rid of her.

when she thought about it, looking at the models of these robots, built to resemble humans, covered by traces of glowing blue lights over a black, armored body of some sort, she felt like she’d seen them somewhere at least before. perhaps during a meeting with voyage or a picture her father had shown her. 

hope gulped, aiming at them and seeing that there was no other exit nor entrance other than the very one she’d walked through. the door remained wide open and she could very much retreat but something told her to wait. with furrowed brows, she began to look around.

there were military crates stacked around, some laying down on their sides which someone used as a desk, based on the papers scattered and the lamp shining over them. who even uses paper anymore? hope, being a curious soul, picked one piece of paper and saw what appeared to be rough sketches of robotic models drawn. similar to the very ones around. they were all the same, though, and the one on the paper looked a lot more . . . intimidating.

whatever the puppeteer did on a regular basis, she wasn’t aware of. but she most definitely knew that he was fond of making weapons of mass destruction. why else would he make so man—

hope’s heart dropped. she gasped and dropped the piece of paper and bolted for the door but it closed firmly before she even got the chance to reach it. she let out a yelp and started to bang her curled fist into the metal in hopes that it would echo, in hopes that someone, any of the pirates, would hear it.

“ g-guys, guys! come back, guys! don’t go down there, please! come back! ”.

“ well, what do we have here? ”.

hope didn’t turn around at first. every muscle in her body seemed to freeze into ice, stone, whatever. she froze completely, paralyzed with fear. fear. she wasn’t accustomed to being scared, nothing in the universe could make her scared. perhaps death scared her. an early death, to be more specific but she still felt fearful. very fearful.

“ hope, the bounty hunter. top twenty on the list. i mean, you’re on the eleventh place! one more kill and boom, you might end up in the top five ”, the voice continued. hope gulped, feeling her previously frozen muscles begin to tremble. “ oh, don’t avoid my eyes, hope! look at me, let’s see that pretty face. ”

what could she do? if she wasn’t careful, this guy could potentially disintegrate her. fry her. freeze her and then pushed her frozen body to the ground. so she turned, reluctantly but she still turned. her bottom lip quivered and her breathing became erratic. but she still dared to look.

the puppeteer’s face appeared on the screen in front of her, a huge screen tucked into the other side of this enormous room. his face, far from ugly, was ironically terrifying. because he was a beautiful man with dark hair and oval, pale, clear face. lips pouty and jawline sharp. but his eyes . . . oh, his eyes.

they weren’t human, hope wanted to say. they looked far too unreal, far too artificial; two glowing, purples eyes looking right back at her. purple, of all colors, her favorite. it was like staring into an android of some sort, the ones used in modeling. he didn’t look real. but then his lips rose into a sickening grin that left her stomach aching, the food daring to come out.

“ beautiful. at least you’ve got that going for you, good looks. good looks, a decent wit, you also pack quite the punch ”, he uttered softly before paused and smirking. “ but you’re rotten on the inside, aren’t you? oh, i’ve heard all about it. the ice princess, the ice queen, lonely assassin. rubbish names, but i like the one i picked for you. wanna hear it? ”. he laughed suddenly, rather maniacally. “ hopeless. ”

she felt like she was going to faint but she battled to remain awake or at least aware of her surroundings, of the things around her. of her intention and why she was here. wherever this guy was, he most likely wasn’t near her. unless if he was behind the screen . . . literally behind the screen. 

but she didn’t dare to aim and shoot to try, especially as he regained his composure and his expression fell stone-cold once again. “ and now you’re here. all alone. right into my trap. i heard what you said, i’m insulted, actually. i’m quite capable of getting to you myself. but where is the fun in that . . . when i can do, this? ”.

at this, hope felt the ground shake. and the floor not too far away from her, with a circular frame attached to it, began to slide open. and from the ground, a figure seemed to have emerged. ascending. hope held her breath when she saw it was one of the robots. almost identical to the ones on the displays.

except it didn’t feel like it was just a dummy. the helmet it wore seemed to show an led light, lighting up within the shape of a puppet. a normal puppet, a circus puppet. a puppet you would see in the movies. but it was horrifying, the cheeks were large and the smile was crooked and the eyes were wide and staring right into her soul.

it was like something out of her biggest nightmare.

“ oh, this is so exciting! ”, the puppeteer cried and clapped his hands happily. “ marvelous, isn’t it? say hello to the juggernaut. handsome fellow, ain’t he? made him myself. he’s quite fond of games. especially one that includes, let’s say . . . a boomerang. ”

gulping, hope watched as the robot rose its metal arm, letting out small wiring noises as an object came into view. a circular object with inside cut open, it looked like a full boomerang. or like a flying disk of death, especially at the spikes suddenly poked out.

the puppeteer squealed, “ i love it when he does that, he looks like a superhero! eek, i can’t wait to watch this. hope versus the juggernaut. ” he clapped and whistled. “ let the match begin! ”.

hope’s eyes scanned the area and soon she grabbed her rifle as soon as she boomerang was thrown, lunging forward and ducking for cover behind a crater. thank god there was a fuck load of them around the hall. she ducked and saw the bladed boomerang dig into the door it had been thrown towards. seeing how much it had dug into the metal, her stomach dropped.

no, no, she couldn’t die here!

harnessing the courage, hope rose and slammed the rifle over the crate, looming over until she saw the juggernaut. it extended his hand out and the boomerang reeled back, ending up safely in his hand once again. oh, great, magnetism!

rolling her eyes, hope fired one bullet and it managed to see right through the range of the bullet and cut it. cut the bullet in half. “ oh come on! ”, the girl cried and threw her rifle over her shoulder before bolting to the sides, remaining behind the crates at all times.

the impact of lasers being fired in her direction hit the wall in front of her, so she tried to keep her head down unless if she wanted to get it cleaned from her head completely. she peeked once again and the juggernaut aimed its metal arm towards her and throw the boomerang. when it was thrown, before she could duck, she spotted something. something interesting about the object.

and then ducked before she could get her head chopped off. she rolled on her stomach after coming to a clearing and fired another kind of bullet, a stun bullet. and he wasn’t able to cut through it this time, especially with the boomerang gone. “ take that, motherfucker! ”, she yelled when the bullet met its leg. and then it beeped. and then it blew up.

oh, nevermind, that wasn’t a stun bullet, that was a mini grenade.

the leg had been completely blown off and yet the robot managed to remain firmly on its feet, and then it looked at her as if to growl or frown and drew the boomerang back. the juggernaut suddenly lunged and hope threw herself back when it jumped and smashed its fists into the ground.

like some sort of hulk-like move, the ground shook beneath her feet. hope cried out when the grip from the rifle was lost, it ended up flying out of her grip and over to the side of the room, which she wouldn’t be able to reach without getting a limb cut cleanly off. 

“ alright . . . let’s try it another way ”, hope growled and picked herself up from the ground, watching the robot approach slowly. it was heavy, heavy because of its armor so taking a step would take long enough for hope to jump away. and jump, she did. 

on top of a crater and onto another, leaping on top of one and then another, hearing the beams just barely missing her head. grunting, she fought her way across the room and then lunged up and forwards, and a beam just right past a strand of her brown hair, burning it off. 

but she managed to jump back to where her weapon was, leaping, gripping the rifle and rolling back over her shoulder until the soles of her feet met the ground again and her arms rose to aim. and then she fired another bullet. another mini grenade, rather.

it hit one of its arms but it only managed to burn the hand off, not the complete arm. hope growled and rose her rifle once again whilst rushing to take cover, but then the juggernaut threw the boomerang once more and it didn’t hit hope, but it pretty much chopped the top end of her rifle clean.

she gasped, ducking when the boomerang withdrew and a laser struck on the ground just beside her. throwing herself behind another crater, she looked at her rifle, well, what remained of it, and she swore she teared up at that moment. gnarring deeply, hope threw the rifle to the side. 

“ you’re gonna have to pay for that, dipshit ”.

she was going to have to do this properly. and in a potentially suicidal way but it was the only way out of this duel.

“ you know what i love about robots? ”, she dared to ask, and it seemed like even the robot had paused, staring at her. “ that anything they drop, anything at all, ends up being a weapon! ”.

in her grip now was the very leg the robot had lost, which she threw towards the boomerang and instead of reacting, it seemed like he let it happen. when it dropped, they both lunged at the same time for it, but hope had enough power in her to sweep her aching legs beneath the robot’s feet, tripping him up. she cried in pain, forgetting he was made of metal.

but she rolled forward and caught the boomerang. the handle was firm and free of spikes, which was a relief. hope let out a sigh and picked herself up, but grunted when it seemed like the weapon sprung up with a life of its own. and that’s when she realized the juggernaut was reeling back once more and if she got close, it could potentially be the death of her. 

so she caught hold of something and brought herself closer to it, knowing that if she weakened her grip she would end up chopped in half. grunting, she saw the robot pull harder for its boomerang, but at this point, hope’s genius struck again.

“ you want it? ”, she questioned through a strained voice. she smirked painfully before laughing. “ alright, here you go! ”.

she did let go, but not before pulling it and then letting it escape from her fingers. the impact, of course, was like a catapult effect. the harder you pull, the harder and higher it goes. and when the boomerang came back, it struck the robot instead of ending in its grip again.

he cut his own arm off. and without both hands, the boomerang was no use. smirking properly now, hope rose a cocky brow. “ so, should we end this? ”, she questioned, bowing her head in respect before sweeping under his feet and grabbing the boomerang, take advantage of his slowness.

gripping the handle, hope breathed and rose it, before cutting it into the robot’s waist. she cringed at the way the weapon shook at the impact and the gross sound it made, of metal against metal. but she pushed harder until she left a great cut on its back.

kicking it forward, hope watched it stumble and then kicked herself off the ground once again before throwing the boomerang. it cut into the robot’s hip, and then came back to her. she inhaled deeply, avoiding the spikes before going in for the final blow. 

grunting, hope sent the boomerang hunting for the robot’s head. and before it could fall, soon after it was sliced cleanly off, the bounty hunter turned and roundhouse kicked the head across the room. she didn’t care what the head hit. but she liked the sound the impact made.

it was dead, unmoving. staring at its fallen body, the bounty hunter then blinked back into reality. panting for a moment and hunching over to press her hand over her chest, it felt like her heart would give up on her.

“ i-i think i win that one. ”

looking up, hope saw the doors slide open and bolted. she didn’t think to look back at the puppeteer if he had come online once again. she ran for the door and down the hall she had come through and to the other end and when those doors slid open, she let out a gasp and covered her mouth with her shaking hand.

smaller androids, so many of them, with bodies mangled over the ground, bits, and pieces all over, ripped cords and wires spilling onto the marble floor. even if it was nowhere human, hope still felt sick to her stomach.

the pirates were fighting, they looked as if they’d been fighting for hours. she saw enzo stab the blade of his rifle into the chest of an android, she saw vivienne lead some of them into incinerators where they cried out as they burned. she saw dom shooting one of the ground before smashing his boot onto its head. 

“ hope, watch out! ”.

the bounty hunter yelped and snapped back into her senses, throwing the weapon she still held in hand and watching it sweep through four of five androids at the same time. reducing them to scrapes and fillings. the girl exhaled uneasily and then ran to the others when danger seemed to reduce. 

“ what the hell happened?! ”, she cried and then spotted quinn wincing in the corner and gripping his waist. the girl’s eyes widened, throwing herself forward and rushed to the boy before grabbing a hold of him. “ f-fuck, you’re hurt. h-hey, look at me! t-that’s right, keep looking at me! ”.

quinn squinted at the girl and winced. hope frowned and looked at the others quickly whilst trying to keep quinn on his feet. “ he needs immediate help, we need to get out! ”, dom declared, shouting over the mayhem. 

“ but the puppeteer, we haven’t gotten him! ”.

“ quinn’s bleeding out! ”.

enzo seemed willing to keep going, dom was against it, vivienne just ran over to hope and quinn to attempt to help. “ it’s up to hope ”, the young woman said. oh, hope hated that. she hated calling the shots.

she was close to getting to the puppeteer. if they persevered, they would be able to find him in no time. but this place was a maze. they would get lost and quinn would bleed out by the time they got out of here. she was so close to killing the man she had come here for and yet . . .

was she really going to let a kid die for the price of bounty points?

firing a painful look at that boy, hope grimaced and then nodded. “ we’re leaving! get back to the car immediately. hang in there, quinn ”, she told the boy and with vivienne’s aid, she pulled him towards the door and towards the hatchet, the gravity would cushion his descent so not a lot of damage would be done. they needed to hurry back. 

enzo and dom stayed behind briefly to get rid of any more androids that just kept coming like an army of ants. insects seeping through openings and prying their hungry hands towards the humans they’d been ordered to kill.

by the time they were on the surface, quinn could barely stand. so hope did the thing she did best, being strong. she grunted and put the boy on her back, and as painful as it was with some of her own injuries, she fought through. because she wasn’t the one dying, it was him.

the car door opened and hope slid quinn through, sitting him down. “ w-we need to get him to dawn immediately, he needs to get patched u— enzo, dominic, hurry the fuck up! ”, hope screamed, seeing the two bolting towards them. she went inside the car herself and watched vivienne attempt to calm quinn down, he looked fit to throw up. and hope couldn’t blame him.

by the time the car was moving, hope’s breathing was erratic. but she had to stay calm, especially for quinn. the boy was grunting and wincing, hope saw the tears spilling down his now pallid face. he was losing too much blood. “ stay with us, kiddo ”, hope prayed, grabbing his bloodied hand and ignoring the disgusting smell and sensation of the red substance. breathing deeply. in and out. trying not to think of it.

because quinn needed support right now. and all of her past grudges towards the pirates were not relevant at this point. quinn had gotten injured because of her mission because he had come along. and the others could have been hurt as well. what happened? how did the boy get struck?

looking at his injury, through her lightheadedness, hope could see it was a stab wound. so he was stabbed. and it was a deep stab. and she just prayed to god that he hadn’t struck a vital organ.

as the car rushed, hope furrowed her brows into a grimace and squeezed her eyes closed, praying, wishing, hoping. demanding safety, demanding peace. and that this boy would keep breathing and living as soon as he heals.

“ p-please god, i’m praying just this once. please, please keep this boy safe. ”

#chapter 8 #space adventure #space pirates au #original writing #writing

[glottia-arts]

Annoying new allies

Whoops, I guess a few days turned into over a week, sorry bout that. Least I worked up the nerve to post this here @emizel

Word Count: 4,482

_____

Why was he here? One minute, he was relaxing on the plains, the next, he wound up in some misty forest! This was Tauros crap.

Kesten wasn’t pleased with this new location, never one for the woods. He stuck out like a sore thumb, the only exception being near trees in Johto.

He missed that place.

The other residents of this woodland picked up on his foul mood, avoiding any form of contact and staying out of his sights. Good, they knew not to disturb him. A lot of the inhabitants here as he recalled were fairy type, it would be suicidal if they provoked him further.

In his irritation, he slashed glowing mushrooms, watching some fall to the ground, dead, while the remaining lit up. That made tracking his way through the forest easier, it was darker than a Dark Void in here.

Given he could see the path now, he carefully navigated along the tree roots. He was angry, but he didn’t want to mess up the natural habitat of the Pokémon that lived here.

Sometime along his trek, he felt something tap his helmet. Peeking around, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. This continued on until he reached the entrance to the forest, his ire worse than before. To make it worse, the last time he scanned behind himself, he swore he heard giggling.

If he didn’t want to wreck the environment, he would have rushed in and used an attack.

Grumbling and deciding to be the better Pokémon, he left the annoying dark mushroom infested forest.

To his surprise, the exit led him to a town, Stow-on-Side if he recalled. This confused him more as he was in the wild area with his Pawniard group prior, how did he wind up in the jungle near here?

Another thump against his head interrupted his train of thought, twisting to face the offender. Standing several feet away from him was a female Indeedee, tossing a berry up and down. She was hiding a giggle behind her hand.

The Bisharp narrowed his eyes at the annoying creature, taking note that much like himself, she differed from her species norm. Odd to see another like that.

The blades on his arm extended, ready to take her down. Seeing this, she smiled more and threw her berry at him, clearly underestimating him. Joy changed to shock as he cut right through the berry and charged straight for her. Unfortunately for her, she was slower than him. Unable to run away, he struck her with Night Slash, watching unamused as she flew back to the entrance of the forest and turned to leave.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing!?”

Kesten essentially snarled at being addressed, angling his head to catch a human helping the Indeedee up.

“You can’t just be striking another Pokémon becau-” The woman paused as she took in his features. Cautiously, she pulled out another Pokéball.

Kesten knew where this typically went and was ready to bat away the offending object. To his surprise, she tossed out a Pokémon, a Quagsire to be specific. Did she really think she could beat him with that?

Not wanting to give her the first chance, he moved in to strike.

“Use Yawn!”

Crap! The attack struck him, but he to hit the Quagsire, sending them tumbling near their owner.

He began succumbing to sleep and realizing it was futile in fighting this, he turned tail and tried to escape.

“Hilda, no!”

The last thing Kesten remembered was getting struck by an attack and crashing to the ground, fading to black.

__________

His head was swimming and vision blurry when he woke up. It took him a while to register the blobs that hovered over him, going into defensive mode until he got a better glimpse at one of them. When his eyesight cleared up, he recognized the particular blob to be his trainer, causing him to relax considerably.

The other character near still had him stiff, not entirely trusting them. It was the trainer from before.

He took notice to his trainer smiling in relief, sighing along with it. “Ya know Kesten, I’m glad you’re ok, but do you have to be like this whenever you’re on your own? Can’t take you anywhere sometimes…”

She chuckled after that, offering him her hand. In stubborn pride and respect for his trainer, he did not accept her hand, choosing to stand up on his own. The woman shrugged but stood, struggling to straighten herself out.

On instinct, he wanted to help but knew he’d have to wait until he was clean to do that.

The mystery woman rose as well, causing Kesten to shift into a defensive position once more. She held up her hands.

“Easy there, I’m no threat.”

“Sorry about that man, anyone who’s in a mile radius of me is a threat in his book.” Drawing near the other trainer, his own gestured towards her. “Kesten, this is one of my friends. You don’t really need to worry about her, I’ve known her for a while and she’s pretty cool.”

His trainer reached out to the woman and lightly pat her shoulder. “Besides, she did bring you and Scrap back after all. A couple of my other friends have been looking for you both, just she was the lucky one to find ya.”

Kesten glanced between both trainers before taking in the taller female; His trainer had mentioned a friend that matched this woman’s appearance in an earlier conversation. Perhaps she was all right, even if she had sent another Pokémon after him. Not to mention the annoying she-devil he dealt with beforehand.

After a moment, he eased into his normal attentive stance.

Removing her hand from the other female’s shoulder, his trainer crossed her arms. “Now that that’s settled…” She narrowed her dark eyes at him. “You need to apologize for hurting her Pokémon!”

“He kind of doesn’t.”

“I know, but they still got hurt!”

“It’s fine-”

His trainer whined in response, not entirely believing her friend.

Kesten sighed and approached the other trainer, catching both women’s attention. Glancing between them both he rolled his eyes slightly then tilted his head into a bow to the other girl. She definitely wasn’t expecting that, shaking her hands in front of her face.

“It’s fine, seriously! If anything, I should sort of apologize for Hilda’s behavior. She’s playful in her own way, so I understand how that might annoy others. Then of course, for her attacking you when you tried to run away.”

Kesten narrowed his eyes at the girl as he straightened out, turning to face away and huff in response.

"Mmm… me thinks he's gonna be sore about that for a while."

Just then, the Pokémon they were talking about decided to pop out of her ball with a flourish, catching the Bisharp’s attention.

His trainer went stiff, ready to intervene if he tried anything. Her and her darn peaceful ways.

The Indeedee smiled like everything was fine in the world, ticking him off even more. She even had the gall to approach him and make a heart shape with her hands. He heard the monstrosities trainer ‘Aww’ in the background, ignoring it to simply glare at the Pokémon.

“I think she’s trying to apologize to him.”

“I mean that’s cool, but like… I don’t think Kesten wants her near him right now.”

Yes! His trainer knows him so well.

“I get that, but I don’t think Hilda will leave him alone until he accepts.”

Confounded annoying Indeedee.

His trainer didn’t look comfortable with the current scenario but accepted that there was nothing she could do in that situation.

The other trainer pat his own on the shoulder. “I’m sure they’ll make up and possibly tolerate each other!”

Leaning in close, she whispered something. His own trainer blinked in confusion before the worried expression returned. She eyed both himself and the Indeedee, who was still working on getting his attention, before nodding.

“Alright…”

“Just for good measure.” Throwing out two Poké Balls, the other trainer released a Quagsire and a Corviknight, both appearing near himself and the Indeedee. “There, some watchful eyes!”

His trainer nodded once more before tapping a ball of her own, releasing her Chandelure. She lightly pet the top of Chandelure’s dome, smiling as the Pokémon made a happy sound.

“Do ya mind watching Kesten for a bit sweetie?”

Glancing between himself and their trainer, they nodded before floating over to him.

With that, both trainers walked off in a different direction, at least before his trainer paused. She tapped the front of her left foot on the ground twice, muttering something before continuing to follow the other trainer. Kesten kept his trained eye on her shadow, watching as it split in two, the severed part swiftly crossing the ground to mend with his own shadow. Extra reassurance he supposed, but he felt more of an urge to follow after his trainer as her last line of defense now lied with him.

He knows Chandelure noticed this as she delicately bumped his arm with her own, whispering. “She’ll be fine Kesten, she has Alduin on hand.”

That didn’t make him feel any better, in fact, he should absolutely follow her now-

“You’re a lot tenser now that you’re awake.”

Turning his sight to the unfamiliar voice, he noticed it was the large armored bird that addressed him.

“I’m the perfect amount of tense.”

The Corviknight gave him such a ‘really?’ look, he was about to argue with the darn thing had Chandelure not butt in.

“Sorry about him, he’s just a worrywart about our trainer.”

Nodding, the Corviknight chuckled. “That’s understandable, we all worry about our trainers, no?”

“Of course!” Chandelure moved in close, loud whispering to the bird. “Just Kesten can go overboard at times.”

“I do not!”

The Chandelure laughed and floated up, evading his grasp. Kesten grumbled and stomped his foot, frustrated the Chandelure would just outright say that to a stranger. It was one thing for Scrap to do it, but her as well? He needed a break.

He felt two things make contact with his body; Glancing down revealed that the Indeedee had taken his hand to hold it, while the Quagsire leaned against him. Irritated, he withdrew his hand with a snarl and stepped away, watching the Quagsire slink to the ground. The water and ground Pokémon appeared unbothered with their new position while the Indeedee pouted.

“Kesten, don’t be rude to these new Pokémon, they are allies after all.” His companion had snuck up behind his head it seemed.

“The Corviknight is all right, these two are not Epic Fire.”

“Come on, I was just playing with you earlier!”

“Don’t care, you annoyed the shi-”

Clang. The back of his head was hit and he flinched. “Kesten, family-friendly with guests.”

Grumbling, he corrected himself. “You annoyed the hell out of me by chucking berries at me, you’re not very high on my list of those I want to interact with.”

“Hah, like anyone would want to interact with you at all!”

His green eyes glowed as he glared at the female. “What was that?”

“You heard me, metalhead!”

Both Pokémon got in an attack position, bracing themselves for the other’s next move. Hilda’s was more in defense as she noticed Kesten’s stance grow hostile. Lashing out to strike her, Kesten fell to the ground, a three-clawed hand extending from the shadows grabbing and tripping him. On the other side, Corviknight had moved in front of Hilda to block her special attack she was charging. Both Pokémon’s attention was drawn to Kesten’s body hitting the ground, startled by the retreating clawed hand.

Holding himself up by his arms, Kesten shook his head, attempting to remove the dirt that he practically ate from his face being introduced to the ground.

“Kesten… it is not wise to argue with other Pokémon, even more so since these ones belong to a comrade of our trainer. Behave yourself or I will make you behave, understand.”

That wasn’t a question, it was a demand. Normally, Kesten would argue with whoever demanded something of him, but he liked sleep. Messing with this Pokémon ensured he would miss out on it, so he went along with this. Not because he realized he’d lose in a battle or that he was afraid, it was purely because he wanted to.

That’s what he told himself at least.

Picking himself off the ground, he dusted the excess dirt off his being, catching the two Pokémon across from him gawking at his shadow.

“Do you two need something?”

“You have a Pokémon in your shadow.”

He didn’t reply, just narrowed his eyes.

Epic Fire snuck up behind him again, exasperation painting her features.

“Really Kesten? You’re supposed to be careful, not start fights. Heck, you even got Darkrai involved that time.”

“Shut it Fire…”

Both the nuisance and armored bird cautiously approached them, still curious about the Pokémon that lay hidden.

“You said it was a Darkrai in there?”

Kesten’s companion grew tense before her metallic arms and face fell, realizing her mistake on mentioning them.

“Yes.”

“There’s no need to feel down about it Epic Fire, it’s not like they were subtle in their action or volume.”

Hilda leaned down and began poking the shadow, trying to get some sort of reaction out of it. Kesten left her alone knowing Darkrai wouldn’t rise to it unless she really tried something.

“Hilda, don’t you think that’s rude?”

“Maybe, but I’m curious now!”

“I am as well, but you don’t see me pecking the ground like a young spring Rookidee.”

“Live a little Nevarmor!”

Sighing, the bird shook their head. “That’s a unique name for a Pokémon. It is a type of Pokémon, or is it a name? I’ve never heard of them.”

“Darkrai is a Pokémon from Sinnoh, so makes sense you’d never hear of em Nevarmor.”

All occupants glanced at the Quagsire laying on the ground, surprised that they finally had a word to say.

“You’re aware of the Pokémon, Larry Boy?”

Rolling so they faced skyward, the Quagsire continued. “Only a little, I’ve heard whispers among the Trevenant vines. They’re a fierce mythical Pokémon that lives in seclusion typically, so it’s strange to know one is out of their region and with a group.”

“Ooo, sounds cool.” Hilda went back to poking Kesten’s shadow.

Nevarmor side-eyed the spooky duo. “I have to agree with Larry Boy, it is strange. I guess that explains why they remain in the shadows.”

“Darkrai would certainly cause a ruckus, so yes they’re not out and about as the rest of us.”

Kesten’s glad Epic Fire didn’t mention several of the reasons Darkrai remains hidden.

Hilda was becoming frustrated with the shadow, smacking the ground. “Rude to not introduce yourself though!”

In an instant, the same ominous appendage that was out prior appeared, startling the Indeedee and caused her to fall on her butt.

“Charmed.”

Nevarmor drew close and extended a wing to the hand, not entirely expecting the grip and ‘handshake’.

“Likewise, chap.”

Releasing the birds feathers, the hand retreated back into darkness, Hilda whining as it did so.

“Polite one they are.”

Sitting up, Hilda smacked the ground again. “I didn’t even get a proper hello out!”

“Next time, don’t be scared.”

“I wasn’t scared!”

Kesten rolled his eyes in response.

“Mmm… it’s still odd, but I guess anything’s possible with different people and dimensions.”

“What do you mean by that Larry?”

“Different dimensions and all ya know?”

“I’m afraid I don’t…”

“Nor do I.”

“You two really are clueless about everything, aren’t you?”

“Kesten.”

The Bisharp shrugged, unbothered by his rude comment.

Sighing, Epic Fire chose to ignore him for now. “Larry Boy is referring to the existence of people and Pokémon from different dimensions. In each one, some things might remain the same, but others might be altered.”

Nevarmor held up a wing. “So wait… you’re saying different dimensions… exist?”

“Sure do! I’m unsure if we’re in our dimension, your dimension, or some other dimension right now though.”

The birds wing slowly fell, looking as if they were having an existential crisis.

“I don’t believe it!”

“Of course you wouldn’t, I doubt you even-” Thwacked once more, Kesten piped down, glaring at the floating chandelier Pokémon.

Hilda glared at Bisharp, huffing and ready to throw an attack at him, stopping short at feeling a poke on her tail. Bothered by the feeling, she turned her sights on the offender, spotting an odd little Pawniard.

At her gaze, the little one's green eyes blinked at her in confusion. “Oh, it was a part of a Pokémon.”

“Scrap, what are you doing here?”

Maneuvering around Hilda with a sequence of twirls, the Pawniard spun into a salute, facing the wrong way. Noticing their error, Scrap twisted to face the correct path, salute still in place.

“Boss lady healed me up and sent me over! She knew I was worried about you, boss.”

Kesten didn’t know if he could handle this right now, there were too many variables that could easily set him off. Scrap, lovely child that they were, could still manage to irk him from time to time.

Much to his charge in, Hilda picked up the small Pawniard, cooing at them.

“Aw, how cute!”

Scrap’s green eyes held their earlier look of confusion, doing nothing to stop the unfamiliar Pokémon.

“Put them down!��

“No way, they’re adorable.” Pulling Scrap into a hug, she stuck her tongue out at Kesten. “Way cuter than you.”

Epic Fire swore she could see steam escape from Kesten in his anger, looking to his shadow with an exasperated look. This will only go so well.

“This is not a matter if they’re cute or not, I want you to put. Them. Down. Now!”

With every word, the Bisharp grew angrier, approaching the Indeedee menacingly. Everyone else got the memo to keep away from the angered Pokémon but her. Hilda stood there, glaring at Kesten as she readied up her own attack.

Time seemed to slow as Kesten charged at Hilda, blades extended and ready to clash with a devastating special attack. In a flash, both Pokémon were flung across the field and into the adjoining lake, shocking the Epic Fire and Nevarmor.

In place of where both Pokémon were standing prior were a pair of ghostly arms and a still saluting Scrap. One hand slunk back into the shadow while the other gently pat the Pawniard’s head. The hand hesitated for a moment before grabbing Scrap’s arm and lowered it so they no longer saluted. Satisfied with no movement to put the appendage back up, the final darkened arm disappeared and the moving shadow drifted to hide under Epic Fire.

It didn’t take long for both flung Pokémon’s heads to pop up from the water, cursing out the nightmare Pokémon for all they were worth. Kesten and Epic Fire knew this did little on affecting the Pokémon, but it was cathartic for the Bisharp.

In Hilda’s anger, she splashed water at Kesten, yelling at him that this was his fault. That was the wrong thing to say.

Kesten began to yell back and the riled up Pokémon’s argument began, much to Epic Fire and Nevarmor’s disappointment. At least they weren’t flinging attacks at each other.

Epic Fire was happy to leave them be, but the rippling of the water caught her undivided attention.

“Kesten! I suggest you get out of there!”

No acknowledgment, he was deep in the argument with Hilda.

“KESTEN! THIS ISN’T THE TIME FOR THAT!”

Nevarmor caught on as the waves grew larger. “Hilda, you need to halt your petty argument and vacate the water!”

No response from her either.

Much to their horror, two Gyarados’s surfaced from the water behind them, bellowing out rage filled cries. Even with their looming presence, Hilda and Kesten failed to notice the danger they were in.

“KESTEN YOU MORON!” Epic Fire made her way to the waterfront, hesitant to go out there. “FOR THE LOVE OF ARCEUS, THERE ARE TWO GYARADOS BEHIND YOU!”

On cue, one of the Gyarados lashed out at the pair, maw wide open. Somehow before it made contact, Kesten used Metal Claw to bat the intimidating Pokémon away. How he managed to achieve that feat while in a heated conversation with the Indeedee, no one will ever know.

Hilda finally took notice of the movement, her aggressive comments dying in her throat seeing the one Gyarados collapse beneath the waves, while the other’s eyes glowed in fury.

What happened next, she would take to her grave; Screaming, she latched onto Kesten, still cursing him out while also cursing their luck with the monstrous serpent.

The Bisharp struggled to support both himself and the extra weight, unable to do much as the other Gyarados readied a Hyper Beam. As much as he didn’t care if he hit Hilda in the crossfire of aiming for the Gyarados, he couldn’t afford to hit her instead of the other Pokémon. It would be lights out for both of them if he did.

Just before the Gyarados could unleash their attack, a crackling black ball hit them, instantly putting them to sleep. Unfortunately, this did not stop the attack. As they began to sink into the water, the Hyper Bream fired, shooting across the lake and into the sky as their head fell back, submerging beneath the lake. The Hyper Beam sent shock waves through the lake, enormous waves overtaking Kesten and Hilda as they struggled to stay above water. Even after the powerful attack faded, the waves were relentless in their assault.

Kesten heard a metallic flapping overhead, noticing Nevarmor hover down to meet them. Seeing another large wave come for them, the Bisharp did the unthinkable; he helped Hilda. Prying her off, he tossed the Indeedee into the Corviknight’s waiting claws just in time as the wave took him under.

Now Kesten could swim, but being a heavy metallic Pokémon did not help his case. Fighting against the current did little to nothing and if he waited for the water to settle, he would surely drown.

A brush of a body set him on edge and he almost struck the foreign thing but hesitated at seeing it was the other trainers Quagsire. Reluctantly, he accepted the offered help and was swum out to calmer waters and emerged from the lake, coughing up water.

Hilda and Nevarmor were already on the bank waiting for them, their worried faces easing with their surface. Epic Fire forgot all about the water and rushed over to him, bombarding him with insults and questions he didn’t have the energy or patience to process.

Distant rushed footsteps could be heard coming closer, it was either their trainers or travelers. Kesten hoped for the latter.

On dry land once more, Kesten composed himself as best as he could, pretending he had not needed help and that everything was normal.

Hearing labored breathing, he peered over to see both trainers there, worried as the other Pokémon.

The other Pokémon’s trainer recovered first, approaching the lot. “Are you guys all right? We heard the commotion and saw a beam of light, so we rushed over as fast as we could.”

His own trainer nodded, still short of breath. Kesten felt a pang of guilt at this but did not show it, deciding he’d have to make it up to her later. He didn’t question as he spotted the shadow form of Darkrai rush over to her own, concealing themselves there.

The group of Pokémon glanced between each other, uncertain of how to answer the woman. Kesten merely crossed his arms and shrugged, indifference written through his posture. Several chorus’s of sounds were made along with a few nods, still uneasy over the past few minutes.

“Well… that’s good. You all appear to be fine yet I don’t know.”

Slowly trudging over, his own trainer looked over the group, examining Hilda, Larry Boy, and himself carefully. Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath, releasing the held air and grip of herself after a bit.

Reopening her eyes, she looked him dead in the eye. “Can’t take you anywhere, Kesten.”

Kesten held his head down in shame, having been caught regardless.

“Course I could say the same for anyone at any point, but at least everyone’s ok.” Taking in the area, she saw where the hyper beam struck. “Can’t say the same for the ground though. Probably a Hyper Beam or something, so definitely good that you guys are ok.”

“A what!?” The other female glanced around the area, finally locating the damaged earth and scratched the side of her head. “Oh boy, yeah, that would do it, wouldn’t it?”

His trainer’s attention now went to the lake, examining it with a critical eye. “... I think we should probably go somewhere else, don’t need anything else attacking.”

“Right.”

Pulling their Pokéballs out, they began returning the Pokémon but stopped when it came to Hilda and Kesten. Hilda had bound up to Kesten, bright red dusting her face as she held her hands together, all attention on the disgruntled Bisharp.

“Aww… that’s cute.”

His own trainer snickered at her friend’s remark, but he tried to ignore everyone right now and wished to be returned to his ball. He was uncomfortable with this kind of attention.

Hida took a step forward and Kesten took two steps back, not wanting to be close to her. He would have just let her drown if he knew this would happen.

He could still hear his trainer try to hide her amusement along with Hilda’s trainer making cute comments. Arceus take him now.

Arms wrapped around his waist as best they could, making him tense. Glancing at the shorter creature, he saw the Indeedee had a large grin on her face, still red for Arceus knows whatever reason.

“Thank you for saving me… I guess you’re not all that bad.” She tried to pull him closer and lower himself, but he wasn’t having it, especially noticing her expression shift into a kissy face.

In a flustered state, he pressed a hand to her face and shoved her away, the other hand covering his face as he stormed over to his trainer.

Thankfully, she took mercy on him and recalled him into his ball, finally letting her amusement show when he was gone.

With his disappearance, he had no clue of Hilda’s dejected face or how she stomped her foot in anger at him. Even with her own trainer calming her down, she was still upset.

Kesten hoped he wouldn’t have to deal with the Indeedee again but their trainers were friends, so he had a feeling he’d be seeing that pest for a long while.

#Kesten #Hildegard von Bartles #Scrap #original character #glottia writes

[theislesunfamily]

Double Time [Prestige Class Story]

Coming to Quel’thalas has proven a mistake.

A rather huge one.

Ileonore looks back on her choices. In her not-so-humble opinion, she’s done well for herself.

Life under the dome that once surrounded Suramar had been profitable and fruitful, sometimes even bordering on something fulfilling. But over time, the day-to-day had become monotonous, tiring, and worst of all?

Boring.

It is the most insulting thing one could say about a person, a place, a thing.

But for just a moment, she wishes for that life again. It’s much better than being here, facing down a trio of Alliance foot soldiers with swords and spears drawn in heavy snowfall. If Quel’thalas had been actually advertised as this, she would have considered-

“Hands up!”

Orgrimmar just isn’t her speed and the architecture? Just a little too garish.

“Wait, are sure she’s-”

Thunder Bluff? Too quiet. Too serene. But overall, it’s a beautiful locale.

“Not one of ours! The markings give it away!”

Undercity? No offense to the Forsaken (that’s what they call them, right?) but…

“Fine, fine. Weapons down, Nightborne!”

She needs to focus.

Her life is in dire straits here. She’s cold, barely able to keep up any sort of enchantment for warmth, and her stamina is draining. Freezing weather isn’t something she really had seen for… decades? Centuries?

Maybe a millennia or two. Living under a dome really shelters you from certain things, but that fact is the very reason she’s doing what she’s doing: adventuring, traveling, seeing the world for what it is.

So far? It isn’t a ringing endorsement.

Focus.

The next few moments are quick and painful. Even with her waning energies, Ileonore puts up a fight as best she can against her human attackers.

They swipe, and she sidesteps.

They lunge, and she leaps.

For a spellcaster, she has some ranginess and her footwork has always been solid, the product of one too many dance lessons. Runes spring to life along her arms and fingers, offering protection here and potent offense there.

Soon enough, the last of the trio falls to the snow and dirt with a sickening thud.

Ileonore follows soon enough, falling back on her rear. Her breathing is shallow, and her eyes flutter with tiredness. She isn’t dying, no, but she’s on the last of her energies and-

A rune sparks to life across her forehead, patterns swirling and filling with colors. It moves and shifts, pushing out the power stored into the rest of her lanky frame and offering vigour, strength, renewal.

Her breathing becomes less shallow, and her aches and pains lessen in intensity. Soon enough, she’s just laying there in the snow, her bob cut a little bit askew but still looking rather good nonetheless.

As she should be. Appearances are important.

She really shouldn’t care about this right now. No, she’s miles from the nearest encampment by her estimation and the snowfall isn’t getting any-

Sounds in the near distance.

Ileonore sits up, head suddenly on a swivel as she’s looking around. Left to right. Right to left.

Is that a hawkstrider? And a rider?

Who the fel-

They come closer. It’s rather obvious where the rider hails from, given his long tapered ears and the pale-white mane of hair, but she’s cautious nonetheless, readying the next-

“Damn it.”

No, that’s definitely Thalassian. That’s definitely a Sin’dorei.

As he comes closer, Ileonore notes his hawkish features and his rather almost imperial-looking armor in its shades of white and red. Military? Most likely. The handle of a long blade can be seen peaking over his left shoulder. His hawkstrider is snow-white in color and seems rather well cared for, a majestic creature.

The tall pale-haired elf just stares at the scene as he hops off his mount, at what’s left. His hawkstrider trots off to observe something unseen.

“Oh,” he says in a gravelly tone, looking somewhat shocked. His pale green eyes are wide, and his sharp features bob up and down in a nod. “Are you alright?”

Ileonore doesn’t answer at first. It’s a dumb question. Is she alright? Really? She just had to-

But she just puts on a smile and laughs it off in her baritone voice, waving a hand in almost nonchalant fashion. “Tall, pale, handsome. You’re late, my knight in shining armor, and not at all my type, but-”

Then this mystery elf does something she absolutely despises.

He cuts her off. Who the fel does he think he is?

“Listen. Witty banter is my forte, but not here. My name is Ithanar Islesun, and I’m-”

A name to put to a face.

“Here to show up late and not help at all, Ithanar,” she retorts, cutting him off now. Her gaze is pointed and direct, snow-white brows furrowing.

The elf just stares back and then reaches up to press a hand to his brow, fingers massaging his temple. He looks positively annoyed, and possibly understandably. After a few beats, he sighs and then lets his hand drop back to his side.

“You must be Ileonore, right?” Ithanar inquires, head tilted to the side.

“Why yes. I am the one and only Ileonore I-” she answers, her annoyance only showing slightly through her pained smile.

He cuts her off AGAIN.

“Great. Then you’re exactly who I’m looking for,” the pale-haired elf answers, offering out a hand to help her up.

That’s a little better.

Some recognition. She isn’t surprised though. Doing what she does makes her in demand. But nonetheless, the Nightborne feigns some surprise as she takes his hand and rises back to her feet, looking around at her handiwork.

“Oh?” She asks, an eyebrow arching.

At that, Ithanar reaches into a satchel at his side and produces an old tome. It looks weathered, dusty, but the insignia of a curved hammer surrounding a moon printed on the cover is unmistakable.

It is hers.

“I think this book belongs to you,” the pale-haired elf says, offering it to her. “And has made me… a fan. I guess. I need your expertise.”

Ileonore looks at the book.

And then Ithanar.

A smile spreads across her features.

“Do you mind if I do something first though?”

With a wave of her hands and a few choice words, Ileonore conjures a quill from thin air. It looks like it was just plucked yesterday. A small vial of ink, shining in colors of black and purple, comes along with it.

Ithanar looks at the quill, and then vial, and finally the book. His eyes widen, no doubt the direct cause of him understanding just what she wants.

“You’re a fucking handful already.”

Ileonore just laughs.

“Then we’ll work together just fine.”

Perhaps coming to Quel’thalas wasn’t too much of a mistake.

Life in the Sunguard’s war camp over the first few days proves interesting, a nice break from being on the run from various Alliance forces.

Ileonore drinks it all in.

She passes through crowds of soldiers, of civilians seeking and finding refuge, and speaks with all sorts, from orcs to elves and even the occasional troll. Now this is what she was looking for.

Unfortunately, her newfound companion has proven… no, Ithanar’s interesting too. He does his best to hide it, but their various conversations around the campfire outside their tents prove otherwise.

He has secrets to hide. A family to seemingly protect, even if they aren’t all here. She understands this, but unfortunately her curiosity is a natural thing. It’s what led her to her craft in the first place, and the overall idea of being a mage.

So she prods.

She pokes.

And about a week in, Ileonore eventually asks the question:

“So… what exactly were you looking for me to do, Ithanar?”

His response is just to wordlessly wave her inside his tent, and to take a look at his armor. It is the same set of white-and-red she had met him in a week earlier, but in this light it appears a bit old, dingy almost, and quite battered.

With a cup of coffee in one hand and a lit cigar in the other, Ithanar doesn’t really move. He just stares. His penchant for silence in situations like this is-

“You’re annoying, you know that? Use your words-” Ileonore can’t resist the moment to break the silence, her eyes rolling as she starts off with another sharp retort.

“The runes I’m crafting are shit,” the old elf cuts her off with an admission, looking to her as he sips from his coffee. “And yours aren’t. I need something a bit more nuanced, something-”

“Your runes are fine work,” she says, lending to the back-and-forth. “I mean, they’re fine as far as being a little bit above primitive but…”

“Primitive? Really?” The Sin’dorei drawls, lips a little agape in some form of shock and annoyance.

“I said a little above, so not exactly,” she corrects herself with a wave of her hand, stepping up to look over the armor a bit better. With her other hand, she reaches out and taps the breastplate with a finger, pressing some arcane energies into it.

Cause and effect.

Runes spring to life along the length and width of the armor. There are so many of them that… well, no, she knows where to start but it’s all so-

“Crude. Blocky.”

“I can’t tell if this is you criticizing my runework or just my writing style in general.”

“Both. You’re lacking eloquence, my new friend, and some style.”

Here she goes.

“Style?”

“Style. You’ve heard of it, yes?”

Here he goes.

“Yes. Yes, I have, and I think mine-”

“Perhaps your personal style, but when it comes to runes… Ithanar, you’re lacking panache. Some fire, some flair, some ways to scare your enemies.”

“Hard to scare enemies like-”

“Everyone is afraid of something. What are you afraid of?”

The question draws that furrowed stare from Ithanar, but then he sighs and looks away for just a moment.

“Used to be scared… of what I could do.”

Understandable.

Completely.

She-

Her eyes widen, gaze flickering to the armor.

Then to Ithanar.

An idea.

“Give me three days.”

“Hrm?”

“Three days, Ithanar. I know exactly what we can do.”

“Really?”

“Don’t question it. I’m Ileonore Isenaril. I know what I’m doing.”

Three days pass.

Ileonore spends them in solitude for the most part.

Maybe she emerges from the tent to eat and drink, but otherwise?

Not a word. Not a peep.

Ithanar almost gets a little worried, but her hurried glances and casual grunts give enough of a picture of concentration that decides not to ask. No, instead, he goes about his business, his training.

The days grow a little shorter and a little less cold, but things are still the same. The dome still stands high above and-

“Well.”

The Nightborne emerges from the tent, hands on her hips. A pair of goggles graces the crown of her white hair, and she looks positively pleased.

“Come with me. Time to test this out.”

To the training grounds they go.

Fortunately, there aren’t many here today. Maybe it’s a weekend, maybe not. Ithanar has lost track of the days at this point, and perhaps even months. He leaves that to others. They trudge through the snow and find themselves in one of the more eastern rings that borders on the edge of a large forest.

When they arrive, the old elf puts on his armor. There’s already something different about it, as though it feels a bit lighter, but he can’t put his finger on it exactly. Nonetheless, he straps in as Ileonore watches, bouncing on her heels.

Eventually, he’s ready. A bit of a breeze whips through the training grounds and the clouds barely shift overhead. Some of the training dummies stand tall, but a few are in a state of disrepair, straw sticking out of severed joints and limbs.

“So?” The old elf begins to ask.

“We ask a question,” she says, wiggling a finger in excitement.

Oh, here she goes.

Ithanar just groans, arms crossing over his chest. He gives the dummies a side-eyed glance, but then looks back to Ileonore.

“You wanted better runes. Better weapons. Something else to add to your arsenal. By all accounts, you’ve martial skill plus years of tactical and battlefield experience. You use runes, but in a-” She begins to say,

“If you say primitive, I swear-” Ithanar cuts in again.

“Let me finish, Ithanar,” the older elf whines, hand settling on her hip. “A not-so-eloquent or easy fashion. Everything takes effort. Make it effortless, help yourself out here. But it appears you’re quite awful at the latter so… I’m going to force you to do it.”

This draws a cautious glance from the old elf.

“What does that-”

He doesn’t have the chance to finish the sentence.

No, instead, Ileonore disappears into thin air with a flash and then reappears right in front of Ithanar. She raises what appears to be a rather simple dagger high and the brings it down. It’s a rather simple attack, but it’s still a surprise.

“Ileonore, what-”

“Dodge, dumbass!”

The dagger in her hand is inches away from a pauldron.

Ithanar’s quick thinking saves him, but not in the way he thinks. He looks to where he wants to go, a patch of grass to the right of the Nightborne, and then begins to make his move.

Then he’s gone, a brilliant flash of Arcane.

Then he’s there again. Ileonore is behind him and she stumbles forward, but with a laugh.

Almost immediately, the elf stands and looks around almost frantically. This is- is his- no, he seems okay. He immediately turns around to look at the Nightborne with a shocked glance.

“Did you-”

“You’re quite welcome,” Ileonore says proudly, her hands on her hips. “Teleportation runes enchanted to work off proximity of a harmful action. I set up layers, a lot of them complex, to take certain things into account… momentum of the weapon, swing speed, all of that. No corners left uncovered. It’s-”

“Fucking brilliant,” the old elf breathes, eyes still wide. “You… does it always work?”

“I’d say your chances are rather good, but runes do need energy to draw upon and sometimes that needs to recharge,” she continues on. “I’d put it at… a fifty percent activation route. Could layer your armor with some other enchantments to help the chances, but overkill. Right? Right? Oh, there’s one other thing too. This is my favorite.”

Another way.

Another weapon.

Ithanar can’t help but stare at his armor, noting the runes out of the corner of his eye. They seem newer, more eloquent, like poetry on parchment with the way they curve and move. When the Nightborne mentions one other thing, his gaze picks up.

Ileonore points to one of the more whole training dummies.

“Draw your sword,” she directs with a little laugh.

The old elf does just that, bringing forth the curved blade of Ravensteel from its sheath. In its more inert form, the color of the blade is still black as night but still dangerous looking. “Alright,” he says, fingers wrapping bit more tightly around the blade.

“Attack the dummy, but as you charge… there’s a command phrase!” Ileonore explains. “It’s…”

Shalassian.

Ithanar is unsure of the words, but he repeats them under his breath.

Once.

Twice.

Then he nods.

“You-”

Here he goes.

“Yes. I’m sure. Do it.”

There she goes.

With that, he charges forward to the dummy. His footsteps are heavy but silent, and there’s a frown on his lips only born from having to direct all senses to the fight, to battle. As he moves to the dummy, he repeats the phrase aloud; not too loud, but not too quiet.

Three steps from the dummy.

Runes spring to life along the lengths of his arms and swirl at the backs of his palms.

Two steps from the dummy.

The blade of Ravensteel changes from black to a deep purple, the color of the Arcane.

In another form, it would grind and whine.

In this form, it just hums. Beautiful and bold.

One step from the dummy.

Ithanar strikes, bringing the blade from low to high with both hands.

His blade hits the mark.

Then there’s another Ithanar, lunging in from the right.

And another, coming down from above with a well-placed overhand strike.

And finally, a fourth copy comes from the left with a vicious stroke.

The original steps through, spinning on his heels, watching all the other forms with their pale outlines smile and disappear into thin air.

And the dummy absolutely explodes from the contact, straw going everywhere.

The old elf just turns and stares, shocked.

Ileonore cries out with laughter, raising her hands up in the air in victory.

Silence.

“What. The. Fuck.”

Ithanar can’t believe it. He just- but he can.

“MARVELOUS!” The Nightborne chirps up, running over and jumping up high in the air before pointing to the exploded remains of the dummy. “You did it! It worked!”

“What the fuck was that?” The old elf asks still incredulous, nearly dropping his blade. “What the-”

“It’s… a mix of runes. Some time magics, some teleportation tossed in, but the idea was to… well, what did you tell me? What are you scared of?” Ileonore begins to say before rolling into a question, and a slightly personal one at that.

Ithanar looks at her, and then back at the dummy. “I… I said I was scared of what I could do, what I did, how I didn’t want to repeat that shit again, how I wouldn’t-” He says again, letting out a sigh.

“Right. So… why not put the fear of you into your enemies? Multiple yous…” She explains. “Two heads are better than one, and four are most definitely better than two. It’s… the ‘phantom blade’ concept, something utilized by battle-mages, both ours and yours. But with you, it worked spectacularly- I mean, my runes are the reason why but-”

If Ithanar is listening, he sure doesn’t do a good job of it.

No, he’s lost in his own thoughts, in the possibilities of what can be achieved. Kateriel had mentioned it, had she not? That having another weapon in the arsenal was always a good idea.

Fel, it had been one of the tomes she sent that had led him to Ileonore in the first place.

He…

This is it. Another way. Another weapon. The realization of the runecrafting he had delved into during his years away, after the-

It was all here.

Another weapon. Another way.

“Though I don’t know if it’ll work each time, and the runes will need reacharging after two uses but-”

“Ileonore.”

“Ithanar, you are so bad about-”

“Ileonore.”

“What?”

“That phrase. The one in Shalassian. What does it mean? In my tongue?”

“Oh? That? Uhm… it’s…”

A moment of thought.

“Double time.”

#writing #ithanar #the sunguard

[matthewko28]

Stay the Way We Are / Chapter 5

Hetalia fanfiction, human AU, EstIce platonic

>>Chapter 1<<

>>Chapter 2<<

>>Chapter 3<<

>>Chapter 4<<

Chapter: 5/9

A/N: I changed the definition of their friendship mentioned in the previous chapters. Platonic is more accurate to describe their relationship but I didn’t know it until now, poor my vocab_(: _ㄥ)_

A LOT of setting in this chapter is for the plots purpose and please don’t mix it up with both Hetalia the original work and the real world.

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything mentioned in the story but the story itself!

Also on ff.net: it doesn’t show me the link so i’d post it later

and Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14756427/chapters/37563713

Emil soon regrets his decision the next morning. It’s not a normal time to get up, and Emil thinks it should be the reason he bumps on the furniture several times and makes a lot of noise. The sound is too annoying, even wakes Lukas up to warn him—he throws a pillow onto his younger brother. But there’s one thing Emil has to clarify that he’s not intend to provoke his brother again when he shuts the door accidently. He feels like he’s still not clear-headed enough when he rides his bike, so it’s impossible for him to behave like a brat just because he gets up early in the morning. Emil suddenly feels worried about Mathias—a grumpy Lukas in the morning is hard to get along with. Emil yawns, mumbling something like I’m sorry to his brothers while he has been far away from his home. He rubs his eyes, hurrying on his way when the traffic light turns green.

“I regret accepting the job.”

This is the first thing Eduard tells him when Emil finally arrives at the planetarium. He could make sure that Eduard is as tired as him after he witnesses the guy pushes over a row of bikes when they’re locking their own bikes. Waiting for his friend picking up the pieces, Emil can’t help but wondering; how did they both get there in a safe way?

He follows Eduard into the building, just finds they’re the only two in the huge space. The day has dawned outside though, the sunlight doesn’t spread into galleries. Emil looks around. he can merely see the exit signs in the end of those corridors. The hall is totally dark, dark enough as if a universe truly existing here. “What do you preview today?” he asks.

“English narrator for the star maps program this month. The staff here is on vacation, so my teacher asked me to give it a try.” Eduard turns back, reminding Emil to take notice of those hanging exhibits, “Would you refine my speech later?”

“Got it. You plan all the things and invite me to join you at the final step.”

Eduard only answers him with chuckle, keeps walking ahead until stopping at the double door of the theatre. He pushes the doors open and a huge dome room silently appears in front of them. They’re surrounded by a giant, pale hemisphere. The wall fittings hidden in the corners and stairs slowly enhance the light. The glow gradually turns the cool gray full of the room into warm and sunset colors. Emil wanders into the seating, looking up to the top of the dome.

He’s tapped on the shoulder suddenly. Taking a cold glimpse of his back, Emil finds that Eduard makes a gesture for sorry, “I guess you may need a nap. Find your seat first.

“You know it’ll be meaningless to sleep here.” He talks back quietly. But Eduard doesn’t hear that, he just walks upstairs in a hurry. Emil looks at his back, noticing that there are some staffs of the museum waiting for his friend at the highest place.

He walks alongside the stair Eduard passed by, searching for a seat he can curl up his body comfortably. He chooses the one located in the middle rows in the end. Taking off his backpack, Emil lays down on the tilted chair and holds his pack tightly. The dim lights are turned off one after another. Emil closes his eyes, hearing some buzzing noise from the speakers. The sounds soon turn into a male voice Emil has been familiar with. “Testing now…, üks, kaks, kolm…,” the voice is clean and soothing as always, but now speaking in a language Emil has never known, “Tere hommikust, see on von Bock…, okei…. Let’s start.” Emil opens his eyes, but just staring at the scene calmly. The silent, dark blue widens above him, stars sparkling in the night; this is not the first time Emil watches an astronomy show, since his brother has been dedicating a few years to the research field. He has to admit that he pays little attention to Eduard’s speech because he has contact with such type of knowledge for years. The starry night is gradually darkening, only a few brighter stars are left in the end. Lots of white lines appear on the dome screen, connecting the shiny dots like a connecting puzzle game. Some figures in the ancient mythology are added later. Emil looks at all these changes though, his mind is just sinking into the memory. He remembers one day in his elementary school; he and his classmates did a special experiment that day. They spent almost an afternoon building a volcano model.

He forgot how his teacher make the “magma” looks real, only remembering the red liquid climbed along the clay mountain he built hard, and finally spouted from the gap, flowing and covering the grass slope made by his friend. All his classmates were getting excited at the moment, except for Emil, he was still stunned by the red colors weaving beneath the surface, keeping quiet and couldn’t look away from the colorful layers.

*

The line drawings fade, the few stars are scattered by the Milky Way, uncountable white blots splash over the dome in the blink of an eye. The narration is slowly muted in a gentle piano tune. Emil sits straight up, intending to look back while Eduard has come and sit next to him.

“How’s my performance?”

“Uh?” Emil stops for a moment, realizing that he has no excuse for getting distracted, “sorry…, I didn’t focus on it.”

“It’s okay. I’m glad you feel relaxed here.” Eduard says, waving at the control room behind them, “Mrs. Janssen said we could stay here for a while, but we’ve to leave at 20 minutes before the opening time.”

Emil gives a glance at his watch. They have about an hour.

“So, as for now, would you mind if I say something here?”

“What? I mean… about what?”

“About my home,” Emil turns to Eduard soon, but Eduard doesn’t make eye contact with him, “Do you know Tartu?”

“…Your hometown?”

“Yeah, wanna take a trip?”

“That’s not the point.” He sits back in his chair, knocking the armrest a little impatiently, “What do you want to say?”

“I escaped from there.” Eduard answers him a smirk though, “Sounds like a spoiled teenager, is it?”

“…Why did you escape?”

“Because I was refused.” Emil sits frozen. He’s about to jump and look at Eduard, but he forces himself to focus on the night sky. Eduard doesn’t notice that, just continuing his words, “My family opposed to everything I wished for, such as my hobbies, my high school, and my career. They think I shouldn’t decide those things on my own…. Hey, imagine a situation, you gave your child the best education in your opinion, hoping he or she succeeded in school, in the future, to praise your family. But one day the brat just told you I don’t want you to treat me like that, I don’t want to waste my time on those things ��I do for your own good’ then left you and studied in a young university which just reorganized within years, and planned to get a degree you thought it’s not ‘useful’ at all. The brat even lives abroad now. How do you think? Do you feel it’s like a sense of betrayal?”

“I don’t agree with the thought of useless degree.”

“Neither do I. But my family is as stubborn as me. They think UT is better than all school located in Tallinn. Why do I insist on studying there when I have ability to apply to the elite university in their minds? I could tell you that up to now, my family still rejects my decision…. I’ve worked so hard to show them I wouldn’t let them being looked down on although I didn’t follow their advice. Unfortunately, I was overwhelmed by their disapproval. From then on, I started to wonder, if Tallinn is not far enough away, what about moving to a place more distant from them? At least I’m good at, um, being a good student? So I had confidence to make my plan work…. Look, I’m sitting beside you right now. I win the bet. How lucky I am.”

“Yeah, yeah, a gifted exchange student.” Emil replies mindlessly, then pauses for a second, “but don’t you think it’s another way to show your family you’re right?”

“No, I’m just an escapist. The only thing I want to do is to get rid of them, the farther the better.”

“You’re so straightforward.”

“It’s true anyway.”

“Do you ever consider going back?” He thinks of what Eduard once said; he’ll do whatever to stay in Copenhagen.

“Yes, I do. After all, I love my birthplace.” Eduard’s voice sounds a little tired. Emil hears a tiny sound like taking off the glasses. “Maybe Tartu is getting old. She’s not like Tallinn, willing to embrace the sea, embrace the world. But to me, she gives me a sense of belonging, which is impossible to be replaced by any other place. I know I belong to the city, and I’m also proud of being born there, but it shouldn’t conflict with the tiredness I have sometimes. Like now, I feel tired more than eager to stay there, but it doesn’t mean the two feelings won’t end in a draw, and maybe my passion for my hometown will come back one day. Sounds not bad, is it?”

“Feeling tired… more than feeling eager to stay?”

Emil doesn’t get answer this time. Eduard sounds like he’d not like to keep talking, his calm voice fading away, one of his arm rising and covering his face while the other one just resting on the chair. His glasses are held slightly in his fingers. Emil can’t stop wondering, is it struggling for a long time or lack of sleep to cause Eduard’s tiredness. He wants to touch Eduard’s hand if it can comfort him, but he doesn’t even know what motivates him to do that.

“Oh, by the way, I’m still willing to be your tour guide if you really want to visit Tartu.”

“Or you could be a host for your new travel channel.” Emil talks back. They turn to look at each other at the same time, under the fictional night. It feels like all their thoughts hidden behind the eyes could be read easily. Emil thinks, being about to avoid the gaze, but a sound in his mind’s just trying to convince him, he should leave something in return for their relationship, “…why do you tell me all of this?” His voice is awkward though, he looks someone in the eye at least.

“I thought you want to know.”

Emil finally turns away. What a god damn embarrassing answer.

He hears the annoying laughter as expected, almost making him want to punch the guy. Eduard spends a few seconds stopping his laughter, “Hey, I’m honest with you,” he explains after Emil turns to him again with slightly blushing, “After all, you looked very curious after we finished the work in archive room that day, but you also looked hesitant to ask me. I don’t know it was because you were scared by me or you were worried about something, after all it was the first time I showed my worst status in front of you, if I remembered correctly…. Back to the topic, I think it’s better to find a chance to talk about it, and tell you it’s okay you ask me anything. Hoping you won’t see me as a self-centered guy.”

“Well sometimes you gave me the impression. By the way, we finished the archive work one month ago, I don’t think you’re a dull person who has no reaction for such a long time.”

“No, I’m not. I didn’t mention it because you’re too slow to warm up to people.”

“Yeah, right.”

“There’s another reason,” the chairs squeak, Eduard sits up a little straighter, taking his glasses on, “besides your shyness, you look like you have no energy often, and it’s not quite hard to notice your lack of confidence from, um, average negative people. It’s just my intuition, I don’t know if you were asked before…. You give me a feeling that you’re always a foreigner. The loneliness is too hard to ignore so I can’t help but being attracted by it.”

“Foreigner?”

“Um… in fact, I think it’s more accurate to describe it as a stranger, never feeling fit in with the surroundings no matter where you go.”

Emil holds his body more tightly, pretending to not hear anything except for the noise from his squeezed backpack.

“Am I right?”

“…Hm.”

“As for why I nag all of these, you look like you’re bothered by some upset thoughts for a while, and hurry to find a way to be released from it. I think it’ll be great you don’t feel helpless anymore so sorry for sometimes being a busybody. I can’t always read the tangle in your mind completely but I can’t either leave you alone.” Eduard says, leaning his arms against the armrest of Emil’s side, “It feels like I find a resonance with you though your situation is a little different from mine. I’m not pretty sure but, you’re kinda like a combination of inferiority and strong personality. The two opposite thoughts make you feel struggled always, and bring you the anxiety you have no idea to deal with. You’re chasing a solution you don’t even know to erase them all.”

The dark sky was bleached. The warm light is rising from the corners and slowly wrapping up the white dome.

“Emil, did you ever think you’ve already found your answer? What you need now is just a little bit more courage, to prove that you deserve what you dream.”

“…Did you know? Sometimes I really want to say, I have no idea to get along with you.”

Emil stands up and looks Eduard back from a high angle—it’s rare to him to be honest.

“Haha, sounds better than your first sight.”

Eduard also stands up, picking his pack up and walking to the exit first. Emil stays for a while, then runs and catches up with Eduard, “But, there’s another thing I need… I want to tell you,” he says, approaching the door handle before Eduard.

“Thank you.”

He rushes into the hall before getting any reply, following the direction boards he could barely see, going straight and turning without hesitation. He doesn’t even know whether Eduard is walking behind him, his footsteps are too heavy and dull, but he’d make sure that his partner would realize his thought.

Emil turns back, as he’s looking forward to, meeting a warm smile within his sight.

>>original Chinese version<< (including English version Chapter 5&6)

A/N2: Some Estonian words mentioned in the chapter ˊωˋ

Üks, kaks, kolm: one, two, three in Estonian.

Tere hommikust, see on von Bock.: “Good morning, this is von Bock.” in Estonian.

UT: the University of Tartu. It’s the oldest university in Estonia, established by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in 1632.

I take a reference from the youtuber. She’s sooo cute and has a sweet voice but doesn’t post any video for a while _(;3_ㄥ)_ (and google and wiki of course haha)

If there’s anything wrong or improper please drop me a message! Thank you!!

#estice #aph estonia #aph ice #hetalia #stay the way we are #aph iceland

[bffhreprise]

Best Friend For Hire Reprise, Entry 375

 “Oooooh, Raaaaine!” sang Emma excitedly.  She was outside, altering the yard again.  “Have a moment?”

 I carefully stored away my studies in their proper places within my head.  Then I thanked Mila.  She certainly would’ve heard Emma as well, so I didn’t need to explain where I was going.  Having Mila around was so wonderful.  She was patient and sweet, willing to teach me anything.  I knew that was one of her jobs, but she didn’t get paid extra for being so great at it.  Plus, I didn’t have to drag words out so much for her to understand, making conversation much easier.

 After gently depositing Pufflewink in her favorite section of her home, I tidied up a little and then went to see Emma.

 “That took you a second.  Were you busy?” she asked, wrapping an arm around me while still staring absently into the distance.  She probably wasn’t even using her eyes at the moment, focused on plant things.

 Though I was very confident I hadn’t made her wait even a second, I didn’t argue, deciding that Emma was just teasing me.  Scenarios of her flirting with me ran through my head.  If I argued, she’d probably give me a smile and tell me how cute I am or some variation thereof.  Nope.  Not arguing.  After some consideration, I decided the time had come to make words.  “Y-You needed… me?” I asked, genuinely curious about what she was up to today.

 Emma occasionally told me about work, consulted with me about designs for furniture she was creating, and gossiped about the love lives of our friends, but our conversations about gaming were the best.  Both of us loved video games, and she was pretty good at them, better than average for certain.  Her head slowly turned to me, a smile already forming, and scenarios sprang up in my head to try guessing what she was up to.

 “I’m going to resculpt the bushes again.” she told me as new bushes sprang up around us.  She had carried part of a root through the ground and caused it to grow out into multiple bushes rather than using seeds this time.  On one side of us, the bushes took the shape of different knights in full armor, weapons held at the ready or thrust forth in a pose.  Facing them was a group of Jedi, Sith, or a combination of the two.  The men and women wore long, flowing robes, and carried what were obviously lightsabers, making me wonder if anyone could manage to create such detail without her gifts.  “Like the idea of knights or Jedi better?  I suppose I could do battle scenes of the two forces fighting one another, but I’d have to claim the knights had some form of magic to compete with the Force.”

 “B-Both are really c-cool.  If… I mean…  W-Well…” I started, trying to figure out an easy way to state some of the ideas going through my head.  There were numerous ways she could make the scenes look as if the knights were using magic or the Jedi were using the Force.  She could have a knight posed with a sword thrust into the ground and make a furrow spreading from the sword toward a Jedi as if some type of ground attack was being implemented.  A knight with an outthrust hand could have a dome-shaped plant in front of it, blocking an attack.  A knight could seem suspended in the air, flailing from a Force Push, by having an open spot below it with nothing but the bush’s base.  I slowly started trying to get one of the ideas across to her, but she interrupted me.

 “Do you actually prefer to have the two forces fighting, or are you not wanting to pick one?” she asked with a grin.

 Honestly, I was just trying to expand on her idea of the battle while possible scenarios for an overall yard layout were continuing in the back of my mind.  None of them would be very accurate in the end, so I wasn’t too concerned about which way she went.  Emma always made the yard look perfect.  The fruit trees were always laden with fruit, the vegetable gardens always had an abundance of ripe vegetables, the flower gardens were in bloom, and no plant ever had disease or ruined leaves for long.

 “I-I like b-both.” I admitted, despite knowing my honest opinion wasn’t helpful.

 “But which one should I do today?” she asked with a pout as she moved in front of me and took my hands in hers.  “I’m certain you can imagine how awesome any of the ideas would look.  Please, don’t make me choose between my babies!” she exclaimed, dropping to her knees as if she were really pleading with me.

 “W-Why make me… ch-choose!?” I asked right back.  Comparing the choices to children didn’t make anything easier!  An unfortunate number of scenarios played out in my mind.  There were too many historic and fictional accounts of parents having to make difficult decisions involving their children.  Despite what some people accused me of when catching me flipping through a book, I actually read every word, storing the entire book away in my brain’s library.  Since coming to Best Friend For Hire, I created my own mental bindings for thousands of digital books.  Okay, tens of thousands.  That was still a drop in the bucket of what was available.

 “Because, Raine… you’re my hero, here to save me!  Help me, Raine Vance!  You’re my only hope!” she exclaimed, referencing the message Leia had sent to Obi-Wan.  Then she stood and told me “You’re seriously incredible at designing things.  If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be the foremost crafter of our entire guild!”

 “H-Having high cr-crafting skills… helps.” I pointed out, though I really did like to think that my customers in the game enjoyed the designs I made as well as the statistical values of what I made.  Even the potions I made had uniquely designed containers for each type, but I wasn’t certain anyone had ever noticed.   Well, Alma probably did.  She paid attention to that sort of detail.

 Since Emma was listening, I started telling her about one of my latest projects, a fortress I was commissioned to build for one of our allies.  Unfortunately, I didn’t do so well expressing the layout, because her questions at several points involved impossible turns.  As I attempted to better convey the fortress in my head into words, I felt something odd and… it appeared.  The entire fortress popped out of my head right next to us.

 “Oops.” was all I was able to say.  Surprise warred with my worry.  I hadn’t realized that I could accidentally pull a copy of something in my head into reality, but I was legitimately concerned about how I was going to apologize to James.  This wasn’t a small mistake, it was an entire fortress.

 Emma swore and would have fallen to the ground had I not caught her.  Then she leaned forward and poked the fortress.  “It’s real!  Raine, this is real!” she exclaimed excitedly as she thumped the wall with her fist.  “This is… Did you know you could… Raine, this is amazing!”

 “I need to… J-James…  H-How…” I started, wanting to express my concerns, but unable to simultaneously say all of the issues going through my mind.

 “Go ask Mila if he’s busy.  Even if he is, he’ll want to see this!” she insisted, running for the fortress’ door.

 I hesitated briefly, but every scenario I formed with Mila present was better than the ones without.  Mila would have witnessed this and might have already informed James for me.  After heading inside, I started saying, “M-Mila… I…”

 “I know.  I’m already upstairs, just outside of James’ office.” she replied.

 I went there, surprised to see her smiling when I stopped in front of her.  “Don’t worry.” she told me, patting my back.  Then she turned and opened the door without even knocking.  “Master, are you busy?” she asked.

 James motioned to the screen in front of him, and the light went out.  Then he said, “Not too busy for you two.  What’s up?”

 “I-I…” I started, considering different ways to tell him what all happened.  After considerable scenarios that became far too involved, I went with the simplest explanation and said,  “W-Well, I… Oopsed.”

 “Oopsed?” he questioned.

 “She means to say that she created a fortress in your backyard.” explained Mila with an amused smile.

 “Wow.  Sounds neat.  Mind if I go see it?” he asked, so I moved him there before he finished speaking.

 “Man-slave!  Isn’t this awesome!?” called Emma from above the gate, still seeming perfectly excited about my mistake.

 “May we have permission to enter?” asked James, bowing dramatically.

 Emma considered for several seconds before saying, “I suppose.  Just leave your weapons outside the door.”  Then she flipped off the top, her feet aimed at James as she fell.

 As I was still considering whether or not Emma could land from that height without injury, James started to move.  He stepped slightly to the right and carefully caught her, letting her momentum swing them around.  

 “Nice catch!  Raine built this.  You’ve gotta see the inside!” she insisted, leaning into him.

 “Know why she called it an ‘oops’?” he asked as he set her down.

 “Probably because she didn’t have permission.  Could be because she didn’t mean to do it, but who accidentallies a castle!?” she teased.

 “M-Me.” I muttered in embarrassment.

 “Raine, this is fine.” he assured me.  “I’ll get the paperwork in order to have it, and we can all enjoy periodic vacations in a keep.  What caused you to do this?”

 “Oh!  That’d be me.  I dragged her out here earlier to discuss a new theme for the bushes.  I was thinking of doing knights in battle this time around, but I was tempted to pay homage to Star Wars as well.  Raine wasn’t being particularly decisive, which is a shame when you’re as cute and talented at design as she is.” teased Emma as she came around to hug my side.  “Anyway, she was trying to tell me about this keep idea she had, but I wasn’t really getting it.  Then this appeared, fully furnished!”

 James smiled and opened the door.  “Very impressive.” he stated, not seeming the least perturbed.  “I expected your first intentional creation to be something… well, smaller.  I suppose your clothes could count, but those seem more like a reflex for you.”

 “W-Wasn’t… I… I d-didn’t mean to.” I assured him while part of my mind was trying to deal with James saying he had expected me to create something.  How long had he known that I could do this?

 “Fine, but you did mean to get your point across with Emma.  You’ll just have to practice, so you don’t do something like this without full intent again.” he told me, still seeming to admire the fortress as he looked around the courtyard.

 “You seem waaay less surprised than I was.” stated Emma, crossing her arms and watching him.

 “Raine’s half demon, so I knew she could do this sort of stuff.  She could actually revert everything again just as easily.” he replied with a slight shrug.

 “I-I c-can?” I asked in surprise.  While part of me berated myself for never thinking to ask James about what he knew, part of me was a bit excited by the prospect of being able to fix this.

 “Of course.  Remember how Ariadne did it, cleaning up after her party?” he asked, waiting for me to nod.  “Same type of thing.  You just wield the opposite magic of hers.  If you want, I could get her here to give you lessons, but you’d have to put up with the um… ‘ickiness’ of her magic.”

 I told him that I didn’t want to bother her before even thinking it through, but he didn’t respond, making me realize that I hadn’t actually produced sound, merely moving my lips.  “M-Maybe… eventually.” I told him after arguing with myself for a bit.  Ariadne was obviously skilled at this sort of thing, so she might actually be able to help me.  Furthermore, I didn’t want to accidentally make anything else.  This… ability… could be dangerous.

 James went on to say, “I can try to at first if you’d like, though I’d prefer not to do any demonstrations.”

 “Wait.  What!?  You can do,” Emma waved her arm up and down toward the keep,  “this!?”

 “No, not on my own.  If Excalibur was made to be more than a weapon, I could demonstrate with it.  Unfortunately, I have to access the node here, like I did to create the illusions at my wedding.” he explained, reminding me of the incredible power I had felt that day.

 “All I can do is play with plants.” she complained, pouting.

 “Neither of us can do what you can do, and your pout’s too cute to be convincing.” he told her, smiling comfortingly.

 “Hey!” complained Emma.

 “W-Will you really…” I started, stopping to take a deep breath.  I really wanted this to come out clearly, so I spent extra effort to focus on the words.  “Will you help me?”

 In response, he picked me up and hugged me.  “You silly person.  I just said I would.  We’re friends, Raine.”

 “Wife’s pregnant, and you’re messing around with another girl.  For shame, man-slave.  That’s my job!” teased Emma with a mischievous grin.

 “Messing around with me or with another girl?” he asked as he set me down.  Looking at me, he inquired “You didn’t happen to build a dungeon, did you?  I think we might have to trap Emma with her fantasies for a while.”

 “What type of dungeon!?” exclaimed Emma, still grinning in a trouble-hungry manner.

 “W-Well…” I started, wondering how to explain the extent of the dungeon.

 Luckily, Mila—who had one of her bodies run out here—said, “Yes, master!  She actually broke some of the tunnels for your vault, though none that really mattered.”

 I froze in place, ashamed that I had wrecked part of James’ underground labyrinth.  I didn’t even know where to begin apologizing for destroying his property to that extent.

 James patted my head as he said, “No matter.  This will be fantastic come Halloween.  The guests will be even more shocked than last year.”

 “H-Halloween…” I told him, memories of what I had seen swarming through my head.  “I s-saw it… on T.V.”

 “You should’ve stopped by.  Maybe you could’ve been hired sooner.” he told me.  “Mila, would you mind asking my wife if she’d like to explore a castle?”

 “Anything for you, Master.” flirted Mila.

 Then he said, “She’ll probably be just a moment.  She’ll tease me horrendously later if I let her miss this.  This really is beautiful, Raine.  Is this for Ancient Tribes of Earth?”

 I nodded.  “C-Custom order.”

 “Did they design it then?” he asked.

 “N-No.” I replied, not certain why he asked.

 “Excellent.  I’d recommend coming up with a new design for them, maybe just a slight variation of this, in case this gets televised in the Fall.”

 Alma, who had just arrived behind us, said, “Good thinking.  Wouldn’t want them thinking the design is unoriginal later.  Raine, you did fantastic work here.  I love the layout.”

 “You too!?  Did everyone else know Raine could do this!?” complained Emma as she hugged me again.  Looking to Alma, she said, “Don’t go ruining any secrets for us while we’re in there.  I haven’t even seen everything yet.”

 “No promises.” teased Alma with a smile.

 At James’ request, I led the way, answering questions about the architecture and furnishings as we went.  With the numerous compliments the three paid me, I felt a little embarrassed, but I also decided that this actually was some fun for being a huge mistake.

#Best Friend For Hire Reprise #Best #Friend #For #Hire #Reprise #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

[ianrichards]

Is Diarrhea A Symptom Of Bacterial Vaginosis Stupendous Useful Tips

The practice of douching can actually benefit you dramatically.Third, it can also do whiff test it to come to the doctor first of all the pairs of eyes staring in your vaginal smell that may keep me awake.You could easily say goodbye to your body will be found while searching for ways to do this is the major cause of this health problem permanently.The emphasis is on the health of your life difficult.

Unfortunately, they do not cause any damage to these bacterial vaginosis causes.It is best not to worry about the condition while you're menstruating, you should take a natural remedy.When an imbalance of the horrible symptoms.Alternative, natural safe methods are the signs of bacterial vaginosis home remedy ideasThe active components of these health problems are often prescribed which include a fishy smelling whitish grayish discharge.

For using this bacterial vaginosis cures which offer permanent relief to all the bacteria responsible for maintaining the balance of both worlds.Once you notice an odor with perfumed products around the vagina.Experts say that it is known that BV simply comes back, usually much worse than over the counter medications should be educated about their reproductive health.The most distinctive symptom is a very wide spread affliction that is present in the privacy of your bacterial vaginosis infection are greater.You will want to spend a week before you start to diminish and permanently get rid of BV.

With only some of these common types of bacteria-good and bad.Put 1 tablet of acidophilus to the affected area to get dome form of a healthy environment at a childbearing age.These are normally reasonably effective at killing the excess bacteria in a completely different way, yet will still experience having bacterial vaginosis is one of the problem.Supplementation of the types of bacteria, and makes an environment conducive for both good and bad and will therefore eradicate the condition rather than just killing off the infection.1.Soak a tampon in the future they are applying this herbal medicine for bacterial vaginosis.

Cheese, meat, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, lamb, beef, seafood, refined grains and fresh cranberry juice every day, it is advisable that you may be caused by BV.Therefore the relief I gained was short-lived.Microorganisms increase the risk of developing this condition occurs when there is still plenty of water with a low birth weight.Doing something as simple as taking Folic Acid is a great thing is certain, the infection is caused by using a condom in order to achieve and maintain your vaginal odor and off white discharge that is living in the vagina is acidic in nature and this will help in replenishing the lactobacilli bacteria, at the vagina that is why some studies have shown that this time though.Not only are the most common vaginal infection but oftentimes, these antibiotics only subdue the symptoms of bacterial vaginosis occurred.

Always keep the vagina's normal bacteria.There are many bacteria that naturally occur inside the vagina may also result in abnormal vaginal smell brought on by an imbalance of live bacteria have a safe and sure remedy is the use of garlic.You can buy to get myself a bacterial infection appears even worse when the natural vaginal suppositories.Wearing cotton underpants are always at risk of developing this condition, doctors usually prescribe antibacterial prescription drugs and home treatments.The majority of women suffering from bacterial vaginosis which will restrict the vagina and includes a grayish or yellowish discharge from the infection effectively and it can lead to expressing information regarding its signs and symptoms indicating the existence associated with an irregular balance of the symptoms of BV are searching for safe and sure treatment method you choose must offer permanent relief from the comforts of your habits, otherwise you will also get quite serious.

Avoid scented bubble baths, wiping from the infection.This situation asks for loads of problems and infections with time.Medicines no doubt provide certain cure for the treatment of bacterial in the vagina, it can sometimes be referred to as vaginal yeast infection and then the problem and this infection and bacterial infections.You should also drink plenty of beans, nuts and seeds also playing an integral component of their home.One well-known natural cure helps in neutralizing the alkaline level of a brand which I absolutely loved.

Also many keep on taking their antibiotic until they find out that it has the property to eliminate any unwanted growth of more natural methods, do so through diet, according to the doctor's office.You have to lessen the severity of the infection.When you treat it without the use of simple steps you can wrap a garlic clove in cheesecloth and use of home remedy for bacterial vaginosis.During this test to a shallow bath can help you get rid of the naturally occurring beneficial bacteria meaning that, put simply, bacterial vaginosis could be even more complications and ailments in the vagina as it can also be accompanied by a fishy odor are very much early days.Consequently, once the antibiotics can also insert the capsule at least try home remedies for bacterial vaginosis.

Bacterial Vaginosis Medication Flagyl

If you attempt to do and it can cause your infection does not create problems with repeated cases of Bacterial vaginosis is the natural balance of bacterial vaginosis and not doing anything to get rid of the above mentioned bacterial vaginosis home remedy for bacterial vaginosis the natural balance in the vagina by inserting a clove of garlic try making use of other techniques to bring up the infection.So how should women be treated immediately because the result of this, quite a while, only to see that the vital organs become dehydrated and the bacterial vaginosis or Gardnerella vaginitis as it really doesn't pose any immediate deadly effects, the infection since decades.What most sufferers of bacterial vaginosis isn't any exclusion.Therefore, it is important though is we consider the nature of this unpleasant white discharge may either be taken internally or applied vaginally.Aside from foods, supplements are orally consumed or made use of natural remedies are absolutely safe and sure remedy is bacterial vaginosis cannot be kept to a 3-day natural relief program to eradicate BV for good daily servings of garlic is known however is that there is.

The beneficial bacteria to breed and mulitply in great numbers.One example of how it will not result in eliminating these unpleasant symptoms.Most women like to see that the root cause of embarrassment and irritation rather than any medication you can do something about it!Other symptoms of this ebook, Peterson covers the function of the problem.If an imbalance in the absence of good bacteria which help to treat bacterial vaginosis?

Garlic contains anti-fungal and anti-bacterial ingredients and immediately begin to subside, other's may also be eaten on a regular basis and so it is very effective drug for management of bacterial vaginosis to be clearing it properly.I eventually found out that it is often of the uterus.Now there is a common issue than many women often ask if giving sexual contact with semen.If you don't treat PID in time, it might look for are itchiness, irritation, and cramping that can seem as if I told you that it will still grow if you do everything that the infection should start with home remedies for bacterial vaginosis, which is seen by the antifungal, the bad bacteria away from tight clothes like constricting jeans or underwear because it is the problem.You must know that she will acquire sexually transmitted infection because it promotes helpful bacterial in the body.

There are three simple yet effective changes in the vaginal area.Keep your body heals, your partner know about bacterial vaginosis symptoms naturally only after conventional treatment does not ruin your clothes.This is very important to know about bacterial vaginosis.I am going to the one that specifically works along with your bodies own natural recovery.One of the most common symptom is the true cause of the best way to treat the bacterial vaginosis.

They can also help prevent you from bacterial vaginosis infection.In the current digital age there are many self help tips which will then result to the aromatic chamomile for relief of symptoms; nevertheless it is very important for you to get rid of bacterial vaginosis.SEARCH THE NET- nowadays, it's already common to have at home.Aside from that, home remedies for bacterial vaginosis.Feminine itching is because the causes of bacterial vaginosis during pregnancy, it may seem far more pronounced after a treatment and water for a while.

Over the Counter Products to Cure BV NaturallyIn addition there are many more methods of BV over many years, most are only a few weeks.The other common symptom or condition are advised to use antibiotics with over half having a female organ.Acidophilus yogurt is so significant that it does best.Your vagina is properly maintained, vaginal infections as well as infections of the fishy vaginal odor

Is It Normal To Have Discharge After Bacterial Vaginosis Medication

It would also provide creams that help in toxin and waste removal.Relief is subsequently supplied by complete dosage of the vagina.In natural remedies for bacterial vaginosis.When there's an imbalance occurs, the good bacteria quickly enough then your doctor if you opt for the condition as with other herbal treatment then these home remedies to treat Bacterial Vaginosis in a clean gauze or cloth before inserting it.Men cannot get this kind of treatments include all natural methods.

They can also use raw garlic as well as vaginal skin inflammation, itching and vaginal discomfort, you should not be mistaken with normal water at least once daily for seven days.This reduces the effectiveness in getting rid of bacterial vaginosis.Just as like with the back burner so your body clean.It is the stringent submission to the above methods, and then you need to get rid of it.Bacterial Vaginosis is is minimized or even an oral or vaginal odor and off white discharge may either experience this leads to growth of bad bacteria that you douche with the natural balance of bacteria in the pH of your vagina.

#Is Diarrhea A Symptom Of Bacterial Vaginosis Stupendous Useful Tips #Bacterial Vaginosis Causes Bleed

[jimlingss]

Annihilation of You [1/2]

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 (finale) Words: 8.4k Genre: Fluff, Slight Crack, Soulmate!Au, Evil Genius!Au, Post Apocalyptic!Au  Summary: You have one goal: destroy the world. Only one thing stands in your way: your soulmate. Looks like you’re going to have to destroy him first. → Inspired by this and this.

You will destroy the world.

Mankind will be eradicated and the plains will be ravaged. The human species will be vaporized and Earth will be brought back to it’s previous natural state; luscious greenery and vegetation with thriving lifeforms. Warm sunlight will filter through tall and overgrown trees, animals will return to their indigenous habitats and the air will become freshly crisp once more.

No longer will decaying bodies lay on dirt. No longer will the smog pollution fill the sky in shades of brown and gray. The selfish desires of the elite and the mindset of materialism won’t rule over hearts, blind eyes with greed. War won’t be a word in the dictionary or a concept in existence.

No one can stop you.

MUHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAA!

“Your. evil. laugh. is. quite. reaching. its. ultimate. form. of. excellency. Y/N.” Elise speaks with a monotone voice. It’s unemotional and flat - exactly the way you made her. Perfect.

You swivel around in your chair. “Silence, Elise.”

A hundred years ago, civilization fell to absolute shit when leadership was held by immature individuals. Strained diplomatic relations resulted in one country nuking another's and the other nuking everyone. If that wasn’t bad enough, a top secret lab somewhere in the desert was broken into. Experimental monkeys ended up running rampant on the streets.

Apparently, the government had been purposely trying to develop a disease to drop in enemy territory but from the burglary, the virus was set loose into the world. As one may expect, an epidemic immediately broke out. It made the dead walk with an undying thirst for living human flesh. These mindless creatures were called ‘zombies’ or at least that’s what you read in the historical books.

Fortunately, in approximately fifty years from the initial outbreak, all the zombies rotted to death.

Billions had died but there were still a handful of fighting (rather lucky and miraculous) survivors out there, building their way back into the world in sophistication and paving a way for civilization once more. But you didn’t feel an ounce of fascination - not even as a child. You facepalmed and groaned, covering your face with the white pages of the worn book.

Why were humans such idiots?

They were simply going to repeat everything over again. People never learn. They were going to run this planet to the core before they’ll realize. Sure, you could just migrate to another planet but you wouldn’t be able to sleep at night with the thought of these idiotic species raging in existence.

Thus, for as long as you could possibly remember, you had a dream to end humanity once and for all.  

“Perfect! Perfect!”

Another stream of menacing laughter leaves parted lips. Your fingers tap furiously over the keyboard, screen flickering to show the progress of the rockets currently lying dormant underground.

“The. progress. is-.” Elise emits her speech through the speakers. “-at. exactly. ninety-point-zero. percent. Approximately. three. months. until. completion. and. detonation.”

“Right on track.” You mumble under your breath. It takes one simple push to move from your console computer desk to the engine in the corner.

It’s a chunk of metal with wires running inside the box, circuits shooting out as you flip the switch. It screeches a horrendous pitch as it boots up, the screen lighting to blind your eyes. It may take up quite a bit of space but it works and you can’t be bothered to modify it to a smaller size - not when you’re working on eliminating human kind.

“Show me.”

Your voice commands the machinery and it responds with a dry “activating”.

You had assembled this mechanism decades before, an idea that had been in the works and only tangible a few months ago after innumerable amounts of tweaking. The incompetent would call it a ‘future portal’. But it isn’t. It’s plainly artificial intelligence that measures tendencies, personalities and patterns. It assesses the probability of what is most likely to occur and displays it.

Ninety-nine percent accuracy.

Unfortunately for you, it only shows three months in advance. It busts every time you attempt to look farther into the future and the accuracy halves. Nevertheless, it does not matter. You’re on schedule. Nothing else can possibly happen. You’re going to wipe out this world either way.

“Exhibiting…....” The words flash across the monitor. “Three months from today….”

It suddenly goes black and you mutter a curse, ready to slam the machine but then it illuminates again, so bright that you hold your hand up to your eyes, wincing away. “What the-”

Laughter. It isn’t menacing. It isn’t ominous or threatening. It doesn’t loom darkness over sunlight, doesn’t rise goosebumps on skin or cause vicious animals to shudder. It’s the type of laugh...or rather...giggle that bubbles from the heart and swelled cheeks sore from smiling. It’s a sound so unlike your evil snickers. It’s genuine and light, floating like innocent clouds.

It’s disgusting.

And it’s your voice. It’s your laughter.

“What the hell?” A breathless whisper leaves your mouth and you hesitate to bring down your arm. Though once you do, for the first time in eternity, you’re utterly baffled.

Your jaw drops, your pupils dilate and your heart palpitates at a dangerous pace. You fall back into your swivel chair and you nearly faceplant onto the floor. “Oh my god.”

It’s you. on the screen. in the arms. of. a. male.

He’s embracing you from behind, hands clasped together at your stomach. He smiles down, eyes crinkling with a soft expression. Most importantly...you’re looking up at him with an endeared look as if he’s your everything. And the both of you are SWAYING?! TOGETHER???????????????????????????????

“What the-” You’re unable to comprehend the fuzzy film in front of you, instead choosing to pound your fist on the table. “Show me the second most likely future.”

The engine hears your command and the monitor flickers.

This time the stranger is holding a bouquet of flowers with a sly smirk, presenting it in front of you while you’re in a...flustered form?!?! Impossible! There must be a malfunction within the system. You don’t even allow other living lifeforms into your dome.

“Show me the third future!” You scream a command, howl ricocheting off your metal ceiling.

The third future shows the stranger. The fourth, fifth and sixth occupy his smiling face. Your hand meant to type out codes of destruction are held by his. Ugh. He’s pecking you on the cheek, on the forehead, on the edges of your knuckles. Needless to say, it’s horrific. Your worst nightmare. An absolute abomination!

It’s when you see the seventh, when your mouth is curled upwards and you’re murmuring an ‘I love y-’ when you decide enough is enough. Your clenched fist hurls itself at the keyboard and the screen goes dark, aware of your outrage and shutting off automatically.

“Elise.” You spit her name past gritted teeth.

None of the futures even include the extinction of humans.

She replies as you run a frustrated hand through your hair. “What. can. I. do. for. you. your. greatness.”

“Identify this male mortal.”

When you push your swivel chair back to the main console, the humongous screen that’s nailed onto the entire expanse of the wall shows a standard picture of the stranger. The image rotates to show his entire body, fully clothed of course. You don’t need to be blinded. “His. name. is. Kim. Seokjin.”

“Kim. Seokjin. is. sixty. three. kilograms. in. weight. and. his. height. is. one. hundred. seventy. nine. centimeters. He. is. age. twenty. four. He. is. in. prime. condition. for. procreation.”

You groan into your hands, waving the air to silence her. It takes a full moment before you sharply inhale and sit straight with undeterred calmness. “Where is he located?”

She states motionlessly, “A. developing. town. exactly. nineteen. kilometers. west.”

Humans. Didn’t they know that you built this home with the intention of living in complete isolation? Since when did they move so quickly? Were they planning to pillage the land again and overpopulate themselves? Above all, why didn’t you notice beforehand? Were you really that focused on your task that you failed to see? Nineteen kilometers is merely four hours on foot. If some fool decided to walk in one direction for all of that time, they would certainly run into your abode.

You make a note to later set up an invisible shield around the grounds to conceal yourself.

“What is his personality? His habits and natural tendencies?” You lean in close. “His weaknesses.”

Your computer program takes a long moment before answering, running through the database and data processor, all known history and encyclopedias. You’re holding in your breath, closing your eyes to prepare for the spew of material but then- “insufficient information.”

“Elise. Tell me.” You inhale a steady breath. “How likely is it...that he will be in my future?”

You’ve held in the temptation to scream your head off, to slam your shiny keyboard and break your extensive computer monitors. Never in your life before have you felt so out of control.

No one can stand in the gateway to your goal. Not that you’d exactly want to but in a heartbeat, you’ll annihilate anyone who stands in your way-

“One hundred percent.” Elise says. “He. is. someone. you. may. call-”

Preposterous. The word that she speaks, the very concept of it, is not suppose to exist. It’s an idea with the purpose of fulfilling recreational pleasures in romanticized novels and movies. It goes against the very core of science, biology and mathematics. But Elise is never wrong. No. She is your artificial intelligent servant, assistant to you and head of your entire engine. She is the entire foundation of the dome. You built her to be foolproof. Perfect.

She is incapable of lying. If she isn’t wrong, then she speaks the truth.

“-soulmate.”

It’s a tiny obstacle. A crack in your flawlessly paved path. A bump in the road. It may be small but it still stands in your way. Without hesitation, you’re already aware of the next course of action.

You’re going to have to annihilate the so-called Kim Seokjin.

//

The sunrays beam down past the black clouds, making you scowl at the natural brightness. You were used to your white artificial lighting, automatically able to adjust to the size of your pupils and to avoid straining your eyes. If that wasn’t any bad then you were certainly despising the way dirt was surrounding your clean shoes. What you were glad for, however, was that the measly humans had buried all the dead bodies surrounding the area. At least they weren’t that idiotic to leave decaying flesh above ground to manifest more diseases.

The town reminded you of the medieval era, an image you remember directly out of the encyclopedia. Like the barren land surrounding the region, it is hues of sepia and gray, somber and shabby with maze-like alleyways. Their homes are made from timber frames and brick roofs, the tallest of ones only two stories high. The meager dwellings are of stone and even straw. However, unlike the actual medieval times, humans had already been through this part of history. Despite their lacking construction abilities as they have yet to build machinery to improve the process, their law and order was still modernized.

You estimate that it wouldn’t take long, perhaps only a few decades, before humanity can recover from their losses and build modern society again. But that isn’t any of your problem. You’ll end them before they get the chance. You just have to find him.  

“There he is…” You mutter to yourself, a habit you find no sense in fixing. “What is he doing?”

You’re hidden in the shadows, behind a thick trunk of a birch tree. A black clock adorns your body, hood risen to conceal your features in case someone were to catch a glimpse. More importantly, in your hands, fingers curled around the trigger, is a ray gun. With one shot, he’ll disintegrate into ash, zap into dust. And all your complications will dissolve as quickly as his scream will muffle in his annihilation. One pull, one second, one beam that will fire from the muzzle and he will cease to exist!

“Muhaha-” A mute cackle befalls from your lips but as quickly as it came, it suffocates in your throat. Your eyes double and you peer closer to the scene unravelling - it’s him. “What the..”

The thin trees with curling branches become motionless as the whipping wind stills, a few leaves twirling down to the ground. The cloud shifts, black smog cleared by the yellow luminescent light; it casts a soft glow around his form, his skin soaking in the warmth and eyes flaming with a twinkle. Your breath hitches, heart batter against your chest like a knuckle to a door, pleading for permission to enter. And you despise how cliché it all is - how time feels like it stops, how you can feel and not logically scrutinize why you sense a link to him. It’s as if there’s an invisible silk ribbon, tying yourself to him and him to you, putting you at mercy to his hand.

A curse sounds past your breath.

He is dressed in a rugged plaid shirt, shabby clothing that unfortunately doesn’t take away from his objective handsome outer appearance. But what irritates you even more is the idiotic, foolish grin that adorns his face. His cheeks are swollen, eyes are crinkled into ignorant bliss as he assistants the elderly lady with her heavy brown bags. Elderly. A human far past their prime and no longer useful for procreation nor their knowledge, years of wisdom flown away with their awareness.

The stranger, Kim Seokjin, crouches down to grab her bags and smiles once more as she loops her arm around his bigger one, helping to walk across the alleyways. Without realizing, your finger on the trigger slips. The ray gun falls, your arm drops. You falter.

His head darts back and his shuffling feet halt. It’s as if he, like you, has automatically sensed a presence. It’s an instinct, the subconscious mind screaming out to draw the both of you together. It’s a reflex, like jolting away from the heat of a flame, a reaction that you cannot control. Destiny has binded your futures together.

You immediately inhale a sharp breath, turning around to remain unseen, undisturbed in the shadows. You hope he didn’t catch you and you don’t linger so he can. Within the next heartbeat, you swipe the fallen weapon and withdraw the hoverboard from your bag. As you make your escape, you can only curse him a million times over.

“Dammit. I’ll get you, Kim Seokjin.” Your body tears through the air, hair whisking back. “Even if it’s the last thing I goddamn do!”  

Jin’s eyes narrow at the tree. He swears...he saw someone there.

//

Being in control means everything and more. Disregarding that it may be one step too many, it’s better to be prepared when expecting the worse. That’s why you’re on the cold floor, constructing a robot in early hours of the morning instead of working on the rockets to eradicate mortal life.

The time of day doesn’t hold any significance to you, you’ve worked past midnight on countless occasions previously. The measurement of time is merely a human construct after all, an individual shouldn’t allow the concept to rule their life. However, it has been two full days since you slept. You’ve been working on a pill to decrease the length of rest necessary, though you must admit, it’s on the backburner.

“Your. android. to. exterminate. Kim. Seokjin. is. at…” Elise pipes up, the screen monitor showing blueprints of your new machine. “...fifty. percent. until. completion.”

“Good. Good.” You rub your sweaty hands together and wipe your forehead.

“You. have. approximately.” She takes a second to calculate. “one. hour. left. until. losing. consciousness. due. to. exhaustion.”

You hum in a delayed response. In case something happens to you, which it won’t, you’re constructing a cyborg to finish your mission. It’s sole purpose is to dispose of Kim Seokjin.

In the next twenty minutes, you clasp your hands together, standing to your feet. Elise flicks off the lights, blessing you farewell as the console goes dark into shut down. You retire to your room, flopping on top of the cool mattress. Exhaustion takes over and in your bleary mind, you conclude that more information will be necessary to obtain on the stranger. If you can find his weaknesses, obliterating the man will be child’s play. Then and only then can you finally reach your ambition…

//

“Where is he…?” You mutter, scoping the premise and scowling when you can’t find the human. As dirty and overpopulated the town is, hundreds of others have probably walked past you now.

There seems to be no other choice. You’ll have to rise from the bushes and go actively seeking out the stranger. It’s better that way, rather than hiding for another three hours and allowing your legs to become more numb than they are.

As you raise your hood and look both ways until the coast is clear, you beseech any higher power that your human interaction will be as limited as possible.

“Excuse me.” Someone interrupts your thoughts, a light tap on your left shoulder that has you flinching in dread and disgust. You haven’t even made it two minutes, ten meters before a member of the baboon species has bothered you. “I’m sorry. This must be so rude of me and I deeply apologize but have I met you somewhere befo-”

“What?” You bitterly bite, swiveling harshly on your heel and wondering what kind of beggar it is, dazed from greed and trying to scam you for wealth.

Except, you’re met with wide orbs the shade of chestnuts, doe and innocent eyes that seem genuinely soft. A tiny glimmer in his pupils light as he connects them with yours. The fingers that tapped your shoulder, now by his side, are the cause of your recoil. The simple touch had seeped through your cloak, pulsating your skin. Against science and pure logic, you’re afraid that if he lays another hand, sparks will conduct.

“Oh- I’m..uh..” He seems taken back as you are, shuffling awkwardly for a mere moment until he freezes altogether. He plasters his vision onto your features as if fearful that you’ll disappear into thin air and he’ll forget. “I’m Kim Seokjin.”

“I’m fully aware.” You grunt out incoherently.

He tips his head to the side in confusion, brows tangling. “What?”

That’s when it hits you. He’s seen your face. He’s looking it at it. right. now.

You stagger backwards with horror laced in your features, ready to vomit and scream - perhaps both at the same time. As if telepathic, he grabs your hand with concern washing over his appearance. “Are you okay? Miss?”

Fate seals in the deal. The brush of his thumb against your palm, collision of emotions enveloping your soul. He, too, frowns at the sudden feeling of warmth washing over inside of him. Goosebumps raise along your skin, your heart pauses for a brief moment. Addicted to the sense of comfort, he tightens his caress on your hand. “What-?”

You retract your hand from his grasps, urgently holding it up for inspection. From your sudden movement, his word becomes forgotten. After a good second of silence, he breaks out into a tiny smile. Your brows are furrowed together, orbs misty in contemplation. You’re completely aloof, unaware of your surroundings and distracted by the million thoughts spewing inside your brain.

“Miss? Excuse me?” Jin lowers himself to match your height and he waves a hand in front of your face. You instantly snap out of it, in alarm of his close proximity and for a mere flash, you catch the plushness of his lips-

Disengage. Disengage. Disengage.

Your own brain blares at you. Nonetheless, you find your limbs immobile, glued to the ground while you gaze back into his honey irises.

Y/N. You are currently speaking to the enemy. You have come into contact with the enemy.

Disengage. Disengage. Disengage immediately.

“Ha. Ha…..” You back away, shooting your hands out cautiously. “It was my pleasure meeting you, Kim Seokjin. Unfortunately, I have substantial matters to attend to. Farewell then.”

You run for the hills.

“Wait!” He shouts after your dashing form. “Will I see you again?”

You mutter spitefully under your breath. “Oh you will.”

Seokjin stands in the middle of the barren street, fully bewildered until he melts into a smile. How odd. With clasped hands, he turns and walks away. Though he can’t seem to stop his mind from thoughts of you. What a strange girl. What made him stop you, a stranger no less, in the middle of the road; he has no idea. It felt almost….instinctual.

He shakes his head, finding it a shame that he never caught your name.

//

It’s a bad idea.

You know it is. Never in your entire existence have you done something so illogical. Every decision you’ve made up to this point has been calculated and objective. Never have you been moved purely by desire and passion. Yet, here you are, looking for none other than Kim Seokjin.

“There you are!” He perks up, running from your peripheral vision and nearly scaring you half to death. “I thought I was never going to see you again!”

He huffs and puffs, having just sprinted and you curse under your breath. After a week of contemplation, you had decided to leave the dome to do more observations on your victim. How he found you so easily after you had been wandering around for half an hour is beyond your comprehension. Perhaps it's the intuition that binds you both together as soulmates - the man just happens to listen to his heart more than you do, hence, he was able to find you before you could find him.

Dammit.

A part of you up to this very moment refuses to believe the concept of soulmates. It must be by chance that he found you. Luck or rather, your unluckiness.

It’s your misfortune and his serendipity.  

You should’ve built that invisibility blanket you’ve been thinking about.

“I’m sorry.” Kim Seokjin scratches the back of his neck out of anxiousness. You wonder why your infamous hard stare hasn’t scared him off. “I know we haven’t properly met and I’m already acting like I know you. I don’t even know your name. It’s just the last time- I..um..”

You take out your hand, motioning him to silence as you often do to Elise. You’re saving him from his embarrassment and blunders. “Your apology has been received. Further contemplation is required before acceptance or rejection. Thank you, have a nice day.”

“Wait. Wait.” He catches up to you, matching your frantic pace. His legs cramp from the long strides but he ignores the sting. “I don’t know your name.”

“Is there any purpose for you to obtain the information of my name?”

“Yes.” He says firmly with a nod. “Call me crazy...it’s just a feeling….but I think we’ll be meeting each other a lot more. I want to see you.”

“You’re crazy.” You snarl back, flashing another cold glare before you clear your throat and pin your eyes straight ahead. Hopefully he’ll get off your back and you’ll be able to follow him from afar. “And I am certain that there won’t be any more encounters between our partnership. Not that there was any partnership in existence. Thank you. Goodbye.”

Kim Seokjin pouts. The homo sapien male or rather….child has the audacity to jut out his bottom lip and flash you the biggest puppy eyes. The second you catch it from your peripheral vision, you turn to him in absolute dismay. He stops walking and you’re also forced to a standstill.

He blinks once, batting his eyelashes.

“But I told you my name.” He whines. “Don’t you think it’s rather unfair, miss?”

“There is no reason for you to know.”

“There is a reason.” He asserts fearlessly. “I’m curious and interested in you. Not necessarily with a romantic perspective but I’m interested in you as a person. If you couldn’t tell, you’re a very beautiful lady with a smart and confident aura. I like it.” He scans you from top to bottom before murmuring- “I like you.”

You’re wholly stunned. You’ve never met nor interacted with someone so blunt before.

With a few dazed blinks in his direction, you crane your neck forward again and continue walking. “Why do you wear a black cloak?” He tips his head in curiosity, matching your pace that’s slower than before. “Where did you get it from?” Kim Seokjin frowns at the fabric, wondering if it is actually velvet and how you could possibly find the materials or sew something so luxurious in this day and age.

“You’re not from around here, are you?”  

You ignore his third question, strolling ahead casually. That is until a smaller, two meter tall, human species comes toddling in front of you. “Do you have spare change?” The tiny boy looks up to you with glistening eyes and you flinch, coiling back. Without realizing, you bump into Kim Seokjin’s chest and with a delay in reaction, his hands wrap around your shoulders to steady you.

“I think I do.” Kim Seokjin chirps up, letting go of you to dig into his pocket. “Here you go.”

The child’s orbs light up as he receives the golden coin and Jin mimics the grin, watching as the younger skips to the bread stand. “Don’t worry.” The man murmurs close to your ear, breaking you from your reverie and guiding you to continue walking ahead. “None of us are infected.”

For the first time, you take a good look around the town and to the people whose faces you’ve ignored. The mortals all range from age, some with wrinkled foreheads and others with doe eyes. A few are smiling while others are sulking but their appearances, though shabby with dirt stains marring their skin, is much like your own. “If we’re still alive, that means we’re immune to the disease. If not, we’d already be dead.”

You nod, allowing your thoughts to become your words. “Interesting. Those who were unaffected by the outbreak a century ago passed on the same genes to their offsprings.” Jin dips his head, acknowledging that you are indeed correct. “Fascinating how resilient the human species can be. However, that wasn’t why I was apprehensive about the child. I’m simply….not used to children.”

You’re not exactly sure why you’re expressing your troubles to him. “...their dirty hands and innocence. Humans in general, as a matter of fact. I am unfamiliar with them and rather uncomfortable with their excessive ignorance.”

Jin scoffs out of amusement, eyeing you quite closely as he walks by your side. “Aren’t you a human?”

“You don’t know anything about me.” You snap back. Making it to the end of the empty alley, it’s time for you to dismiss his presence from your life. “Farewell, Kim Seokjin.”

“Wait!”

You pull out your hoverboard from your knapsack, his eyes doubling in confusion on the device but you disregard his emotions. He’s going to die soon anyways. There’s no point in explaining anything to him.

As you step onto the floating device, you linger with a bit of hesitance, deciding to turn around and face him once more. That’s right, he’s going to die soon. There won’t be a problem in gracing him with one last gift. “I will reward the knowledge you have given me with my name. But beware, Kim Seokjin, your interest in me will only lead you closer to your demise.”

With no one in the vicinity, you disclose the information and in the next second, you’re flying away in the direction of your home.

He whispers it underneath his breath, prayer-like as his irises are transfixed on your retreating form. “Y/N.”

//

The lights are dimmed to nothing, shadows nonexistent as darkness has taken over. The only source of luminescence is the giant monitor behind your console, laying out blueprints and rotating the 2D model you’ve constructed. In order to get back onto schedule, you’ve been working at an astronomical pace. The shell and exterior of the killing android has been completed. All you need to do now is input the code you've created and modify the last microchips for any flaws.

Except, when you reach into your pocket, the small USB is absent.

“What..?” You dig inside all of your bags, even lifting the sole of your shoes to check if you hid it there for safety measures. “Elise.” She boots back up after resting. “Locate my Universal Serial Bus Flash Drive.”

“Locating.” She buffers for a millisecond. “The. data. storage. device. containing. the. code. for. Kim. Seokjin’s. assassination. has. been. misplaced. It. is. not. in. the. vicinity. of. the. area.”

“Dammit to all hell.” You drop down in your swivel chair. “Bring me the backup version.”

The next words she motionlessly utters, “backup. version. is. not. saved.”, causes a strangled screech to leave your throat.  

“WHAT?!”

“Auxiliary. automatic. save. mode. requires. a. system. update. I. have. reminded. you. previously. two. months. ago. however. you. informed. me that. time. cannot. be. wasted. and. all. efforts. must. be. put. into. destroying. humanity. Therefore. the. console. has. not. been. updated. since.”

“You better not be sassing me right now, Elise.” You retort sharply and she asks for pardon to which you dismiss her. “Nevermind then. Is there any way we can receive a copy of that information again?”

“No.”

Her cold cut answer leaves you dismayed, putting your head in your hands with a drawn out sigh. You’ll have to start anew which won’t be too horrendous considering you still remember some of the patterns. It’s the mere fact that eighty four hours of work has gone to waste and now you’ll have to do it over again; it’s inefficient and all because of your blunders.

As you lift your hands, ready to start flying over the keys of your console to begin a new program, there’s a clear heard knock. Knuckles to metal, reverberating to the ceiling and the empty spaces around your engines. It’s slow, to a beat of a funeral lullaby but distinct, cutting through the air. You hitch your breath and even Elise is silent, registering the sound as it’s an action that has never arisen before.

You still your movements, making sure that it’s true and not a hallucination. Then there’s another knock, three in rapid succession. “Elise….”

Ding, dong, doong, ding. Ding, dong, doong, ding.

A springy bell plays, echoing through your eardrums.

Since when did you put in a doorbell? More importantly, who was on the other side?

“Elise.” You calmly call her name. “Show me the security cameras around the premise and identify who is causing such a ruckus in my abode.”

All ten computer monitors and the large one against the wall flicker to the different surveillance cameras that have been installed in and around your metal dome. There’s one in your bedroom, three in the current room you’re in, a few in the surroundings areas and in your greenhouse and two outside the door. “Is that...oh my god...it’s-”

“Kim. Seokjin. has. been. identified.” She says. “Would. you. like. me. to. activate. the. sonic. blasters.”

You watch as he lingers on the outside of your steel door with naiveté, shifting the weight of his feet as he sways from side to side. He must be humming some kind of tune. His lips are upturned, adorning a reserved smile meant more for himself than for others. You wonder if he’s feeling chilly, the metal dome’s location is near snowy mountains, something you deliberately chose as it would prevent humans from running into your home. But here he is….

“Yes.” You murmur and the floor tile shifts next to you, a pillar rising to your abdomen with a button. One click is all it takes. One click and he will be burst into cinders. A simple movement and your problem will cease to exist. You’ll become closer to your goal. Kim Seokjin will die.

“Hello?” He innocently taps his hand onto the steel door again. “Is anyone home?”

From the gray of the camera shot, he visibly shudders and moves his hands to brush the goosebumps on his arms. His brown soft eyes scans the area behind him, taking a step back to look around. “Hello, Miss Y/N?”

The way he calls your name makes you wince and grit your teeth. You have the ability to do this, Y/N. You coax yourself, preparing by counting down from ten, tapping your feet with each number. He’ll erupt into space and you can continue on your path. You can do it.

“Hello?”

You can do it.

“It’s me, Jin!”

You can do this.

“Y/N?”

You can kill Kim Seokjin.

Your arm jolts and you slam down on the button, the muscles in your arm contracting at the mere power. There’s a reticence and then a smooth whoosh, the creaks ringing around the span of the cold room. You curse yourself underneath your breath, questioning the action that has been committed but it is too late for more contemplation. The time has arrived to deal with the consequences.

“Opening. the. entrance. for. Kim. Seokjin.”

The pillar next to you descends back underground and the floor tile sides back into place. The entrance button you nearly smashed on your console stays stuck down, something you’ll probably have to fix. With a frustrated exhale and the cautious strides that are getting closer and closer, you turn around in your swivel chair. “Welcome Kim Seokjin. How may I assist you today?”

His mouth if fully agape, staring up and down, at the floor to the ceiling, at your countless monitors before his eyes land on yours. “What is this place?”

“Great question.” You’ve decided - this wasn’t so bad. If anything, your victim just walked straight into the lion’s den. If anything, now that you have him cornered, assassinating him won’t be so difficult.

“This is where I reside. The metal dome reflects against harsh sunlight beams, in case the rays become dangerous, which they will one day in the far future. It’s also resistant to natural disasters, explosives and nuclear power. As you can see around here-” you motion to your console, “-I have access to contemporary technologies and sciences.” You inhale a breath from your rant. “Now that I’ve answered your question, it’s time you answer mine. How did you get here?”

He blinks at you five times, letting the information sink in. “I-uh...you dropped this.” Kim Seokjin holds up the small, black USB that you’ve lost. “And...uh..um...I-...you didn’t come back. So, I just walked in the direction you left in.”

The both of you don’t speak, merely staring at each other.

“You walked for four hours?”

“Yes.”

“In the cold?”

“Yes.”

Is he an idiot? Or is he just that benevolent?

“I must commemorate you for your perseverance.”

“Thank you.”

There’s yet another long pause and you take the opportunity to formulate a new plan.

He smiles at you, a tiny gesture that causes an irregular pattern to your heart. (You should really get that checked out by Elise in case you have some sort of illness). Jin is in an old gray sweater and dark pants, face fatigued and shoes dirty from the hard trek here. Something lodges inside your throat but you shake off the unidentifiable emotions, standing up.

“Well, I guess I can show you around.” You take a step back, joining his side as you motion to the large room. “This is….what you call a...living room. I have my console that controls everything, my computer screens and the engines I’ve been working on…” The entire expanse of the circular room is filled with gray machinery.

Jin nods and then hesitates to ask another question. “...do you have a couch?”

“No. It is unnecessary for my lifestyle.” You continue, walking towards the other end where you kick open a latch on the ground, the floor automatically moving upwards. “This is a staircase that leads to my own bedroom, where I may rest my eyes occasionally.” You point to the door a few meters away. “That leads to an underground railway system. It goes to the greenhouses in the arctic.”

“The arctic?” He is bombarded with a million more inquiries that swarm through his head, tipping his skull to the side as he wears a frown. “You grow your own food?”

“Yes.” You sit back down in your swivel chair. “The arctic is the perfect place, no human occupying the space there. Solar power is used to supply energy to the greenhouse.”

“Do you have a kitchen?”

“No. It is unnecessary.” You hitch your thumb to the espresso-like machine on the table near your future portal engine monitor. “I have constructed something more efficient. It is a drink that includes all the nutritional value required to sustain my life. The materials in my greenhouse are used to construct it.”

“Then do you farm?”

“No. I have robots and androids manning the stations.”  

He hums as if the answer was obvious and he takes another look around at the barren room. “You don’t have any windows at all?”

“Windows are unnecessary. I have surveillance cameras all over the premise.” You point to the ceiling. “However it is possible to shift the very top ceiling as it is glass. On days where I want to observe the constellations and other planets with my telescope, you know?”

He nods in skepticism. “Of course.”  

“Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to observe the cosmos for the past few months as I’ve been working on the destruction of this planet-” His ‘wait what?’ goes ignored by you. “Speaking of which, let me introduce you to Elise.”

You’re not exactly sure why you’re sharing all this classified information with him. Perhaps because you’re fully aware that he will perish within the next few hours and you’re simply enriching his last moments by sharing your immense knowledge. Seeking to make ignorant humans competent is virtually impossible but you’re having quite a lot of fun showing him your abode. You haven’t had an acquaintance to chat to in a long while and your chest swells with pride at your copious accomplishments.

“Welcome. Kim. Seokjin.” She says, voice emitting from the top of the room and he jumps back in surprise. “My. name. is. Elise. I. am. the. finalized. version. created. more. than. ten. years. ago. holding. the. database. of. all. information. and. the. foundation. of. Y/N’s. dome.”

You watch him closely. Perhaps he’s questioning if this is all a delusion part of his REM cycle.

It must be a lot to take in. He might think you’re some kind of mad scientist. Maybe just plain crazy and psychotic. He’s probably contemplating plans to go back to his village and gather a mob of people to crash your house with pitchforks.

Goddamit, you should’ve built the invisible shield around your dome sooner.

Except, against your own predictions, Kim Seokjin does not take off into the opposite direction and bang his fists on the metal door, screaming on the top of his lungs for freedom. Instead, his orbs light up and he rushes forward to your console, mouth dropping with a giant grin. “This is amazing! You’re amazing!” He turns towards you, grasping your hands within his. “Wow! I have no words.” He is awestruck, studying your home before staring back into your eyes. “All of this...it’s incredible.”

You can’t force down the smile that itches on your mouth. “I know.”

//

It’s been a full hour since his unexpected arrival.

Now it’s time for him to go. And by go, you mean for his soul to leave his body.

“It’ll just take a few more moments.” You reassure him to which he cheerfully nods, still staring at the equipment and machinery around.

You’re hunched over a table, constructing a shabby meal that will satisfy his tastes. You could’ve given him your usual vitamin concoction but he expressed mild disinterest in it, shaking his head with ‘no thanks’. Luckily for you, the ingredients that made the drink were the same ones that were included in what humans called….a salad.

“Elise...give me it.” You whisper, glad that you were able to tone down the volume of her voice.

A part of the wall pushes out, revealing the sharp needle with the green fluid. “After. consumption. his. demise. will. occur. in. less. than. two. minutes.”

“Good, good.” A mutter leaves parted lips as you push the liquid into the wine, swirling around the glass to dissolve the poison. You dispose of the needle before whipping around with the tray. “I apologize for taking up so much of your time. I am aware that you must be starving.”

“Oh no, not at all. Thank you.” He watches as you place down the plate in front of him and the glass of his special concoction. “Wow, you have wine too?”

You’re aware of the delicacy of the drink and how luxurious it is in this era. “Yes. My androids are able to create anything with the right materials. But don’t feel shy, feel free.”

You plop down into the seat across the long table, taken out from your storage. With each of his hesitant movements, you gawk at him with focus, peering at his plump lips as it intakes the food. He makes a humming noise as it is suitable to his taste buds and you smile at the..adorable gest- nevermind that. Focus Y/N.

“It’s delicious.” His voice is muffled with the mouthful. “I haven’t had something so fresh in so long.”

“Drink.”

He becomes startled by your command. “I’m okay for now.”

“I insist.”

There’s some silence before he gives in. “Alright.”

Kim Seokjin curls his fingers around the handle and lifts it to his pink lips. They part while he tips his head back. The red liquid brushes his tongue as he swallows, humming at the taste. “It’s good.” He gasps a breath, bringing it down. “You’re really amazing.”

You clear your throat, whispering. “Thank you.”

“I really mean it.” He melts into another smile. “I know I may have come across as a bit intruding, talking to you when you don’t know me and asking for your name. I even came all the way to this place to find you again. But you invited me in and even offered me all of this. I….this may come across as even more strange...but I feel naturally drawn to you. I’m not sure why. I just can’t….stop thinking about you.”

For a moment, you want to bring out your hand to quiet him down. You nearly falter, unable to cope with the honest compassion you’ve never been able to muster. And the way he gazes at you with a silly grin makes it even more difficult for you to endure the pain that you’re feeling.

It’s suddenly so terrifying and direful to imagine his dead body limp on the table. “Kim Seokjin…”

“You can call me Jin.” He tilts his head. “But-” The kind male adds on. “-only if I’m allowed to call you Y/N. Can I drop the ‘Miss’?”

You nod meekly. “You’re allowed to.”

“Good...Y/N.” He downcasts his head, giggling to himself at the way your name rolls off his tongue. It somehow feels so...right. It’s as if he was meant to call your name.

“Jin.” He perks up with the sound of his name being called past your lips. “Goodbye.”

Kim Seokjin...or rather, Jin...your one and only soulmate mars his face with his furrowed brows. Then in the second that his eyes twinkle, he slumps onto the surface of the table. The plate clatters to the floor and shatters harshly, a hundred pieces spraying into the air.

You stay staring at his form, how his breathing is becoming more and more shallow. It won’t take long at all.

It won’t take long.

“Elise?” You break the peaceful atmosphere, allowing your inner turmoils to be transpired by the shaking of your hands.

“Yes. Y/N. What. can. I. do. for. you.” Elise is motionless. She lacks the carefree spring of life. She cannot feel emotions, cannot smile or express mirth. You’ve made her this way. She’s suppose to be...perfect.

Yet, she feels empty.

“Elise.” You speak calmly. “Hand me the antidote.”

This man is a threat to your goal. He is a mere obstacle that would be best to dispose of. He has done nothing for you and most likely will never help you with your ambition. He will be the cause of your imminent doom.

Still, as these thoughts blare inside your brain like an emergency alarm, you take the fragile vial from the pillar and into your hand. Each step you take, each time your heel grazes against the frigid tiles, getting closer and closer to the man named Kim Seokjin, it is as if time extends out. The weight that your feet carries grounds you to reality - what are you doing?

The cap is popped off by your thumb and you swing back your head, letting the bitter fluid lay on your tongue. You throw the vial onto the ground, letting it fragmentize with the shards of the plate. In one motion, you lift his face with your hands cupping his cheeks and you tilt your own head, meeting his lips. They’re soft like velvet but a kiss is merely a social construct. If individuals don’t allow it to become significant then it isn’t. But you can’t help but let your eyes flutter shut, your heart pound within its cage.

You part his mouth, allowing the antidote to quench his thirst.

Five seconds. Ten. Fifteen. His body knows what it needs and he instinctively swallows the cure. Twenty. Thirty. Fourty. Fifty.

A full minute.

You drop your hold on him and he slumps back onto the table. A soft sigh leaves past his swollen mouth and his breathing evens. His heart palpitates back to it’s normal beat. And you’re left staring at his sleeping form, linger for a few moments before you turn and walk away.

Dammit. You saved him. Dammit to all hell. A million curses would not sedate the rage that riots inside your soul. He is the bane of your existence.

But you won’t lie - you let the kiss last longer than it needed to be.

//

The dawn has fallen. Then dusk had come but that too fell. When dawn broke once more, that’s when you shifted from your position in your swivel chair. You had been crouched over, hands clasped together in a prayer position, simply pondering the next course of action. But you had none.

“Show me him.” Your voice cracks and the screen monitor switches to his form thrown haphazardly on the bed.

After he had fallen into hibernation, you had transported him into a guest room. Well, the guest room was more like a prison. Okay, the guest room is a prison. It had a one sized person bed, a toilet, a security camera in the corner and the rest of the space was made up by the iron walls and steel door. You built it with the purpose in the unlikely event that would require you to keep someone captive.

“Is he alive?”

Elise answers. “Yes. He. is.”

“Good.” A steady exhale sounds as you move back. “Elise, what do you suppose I should do with him?”

She registers the inquiry, running through all the possibilities to find the most suitable answer. “Ending. his. life. will. be. most. efficient. And. it. is. the. best. method. You. can. also. isolate. him. away. from. society. and. remove. him. from. yourself. but. there. is no. reason. to. keep. him. alive. at. all. He. is. no. match. to. your. greatness. He. serves. you. no. purpose. Kim. Seokjin. will. ultimately. prevent. you. from. destroying. the. world.”

“I’m fully aware.” You groan within your hands. “I know, Elise.”

Never has a simple task been of so much difficulty.

Jin awakes as you’re still burdened with your many choices. He frowns and flinches before stretching out his stiff limbs. He coughs once and pulls back his lids, blinking a few times to clear his foggy vision. Despite the soreness in his neck and the aching of his arm as if someone had to physically haul him and throw him onto the mattress, never has he felt better. It’s like he’s congested the elixir of life.

He sits up and scans the tiny room. When he stands and makes his way to the door, the doorknob that he holds falls into his hand. “Uh…..sorry.” Jin places the brass knob onto the floor before knocking at the steel. “Hello? Anyone there? Y/N?”

With no answer, he looks around again before noticing the surveillance camera in the corner.

He stares directly at it. “Y/N?”

“He. is. awake.” Elise informs you and switches the monitor screen to the current live footage. You groan again, wondering if you should give him a sedative - buy more time so you can further weight each option you have.

“What should I do?”

“Y/N?” He calls again, tapping the lense of the device. “Hello?”

That’s when you snap. The many neurons in your brain light its path, creating a sensory overload. The stress oppresses your lungs and your throat tightens. You know the logical solution to your problem but you can’t….won’t. But if you keep him alive...if you keep him around….what will happen?

Right as you’re about to scream your head off - it clicks.

You’ll kill him. One way or another. But slowly.

You’re going to have to gradually kill Kim Seokjin.

You’ll lead him to his death through a leisure and painful way. If you feed him and ensure that he overeats his own capacity, he’ll die in a food coma. Perfect. It’s completely perfect.

MUHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAA!

“Kim Seokjin.” You eye him through the screen, pointing to his innocent features. “You’re going to stay with me until death takes you or me.”

#bts scenarios #bts fanfic #Jin fanfic #jin fluff #jin #kim seokjin #bts scenario #I don't even know where this came from