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feathersnow · 6 years

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Not All Slytherins Are Bad : Chapter 3

Title: Third Year - Nino and the Mysterious Song Summary : A mysterious song had caught Nino's attention and he is determined to find out the source. Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Nino Lahiffe [A03 Link] Beyond the thousand old shelves holding ten thousands of books which had created narrow paths of the ceturies- old library, students were silently huddled in study rooms, reading corners, around any available tables.Nino Lahiffe and his friends managed to grab a corner in the Dragon section and were studying silently by themselves.The Hufflepuff boy busily reading Chapter 3 of Mermaids and Mystical Sea Creatures when he heard someone singing. He lifted his head and looked around. It sounded distant and echo-like. His friends were all buried in their books. “Do you hear that?” he asked. Max Kante, a Ravenclaw boy, looked up from his book. “Hear what?” “A voice,“ he said looking around, “Someone is singing and it’s beautiful. I can’t make out what it is,” Max listened. “I don’t hear anything,” he said “No one is singing in the library. It’s really quiet, and stop talking,” his voice dropped into a hiss. “ I’m trying to study,” The singing was still there. It sounded like a female singing.. and suddenly, it faded away. “It’s gone now,” said Nino. “You must have been listening to too much music,” his friend reasoned. “Your brain might be playing the songs that you had listened to.” Nino shook his head,trying to clear out the music. “Perhaps you are right,” and he went back to his book. He doesn’t recall listening to this kind of music before.

The next time it happened was during Potions class. The same melody had crept up on him growing louder and louder. Nino at whatever he was doing and listened. It was the same female voice and the tune was longer. It wasn’t like his upbeat, fast tempo music. Rather, it slow and simple, like a lullaby. The female voice was light and the song came out smooth like honey.

The tune was mysterious and mystical. He couldn’t understand the words. It sounded like a lullaby a mother singing her child to sleep.

Was it a non-human tune?

“Dude, your potion is going to blow!”

He looked down at his culdron to see it bubbling and frothing over the edge. In the middle of his mixture, a huge bubble grew bigger and bigger. He quickly backed up, and three seconds later, it exploded , splattering green goo everywhere.

The professor took off 20 points from Hufflepuff and made the house clear up the mess.

As the days passed by, the melody in his head grew louder and louder and it wouldn’t leave his head. He wished he had his headphones, but they were taken days ago.

On the eighth night , he tried to wrap his pillow around the back of his head, trying to cover both his ears. “I just want to sleep,” he mumbled. A breeze blew into the room, making him shiver. Groaning, he got up and walked to the window. His dormitry room was facing Black Lake, and he could hear the singing from out there.

He groaned, slaping his forehead. “ I’m not going to get any sleep till I find out what it is, right?” he mumbled to himself.

Huffing, he went back to his bed and grabbed his glasses. “Fine, lets settle this once and for all,”

The moon hid behind the clouds, making everything around pitch black. The dry leaves cruched under his boots and Nino shivered in his blue coat as he kept walking. He had a yellow lantern in his hand.

The gentle waves of the lake splashed quietly, and he brushed the tall reeds away as he edged closer to the lake. The singing was louder than ever before. “Hello?” he asked loudly, holding up his lantern high above his head. The singing suddenly stopped. “Is anyone there?”

The waves splashed gently on the rocks.

The boy swallowed, and walked around the lake “Look, your singing is beautiful, but I would appreciate it if I could get some sleep. I haven’t been getting a good rest for the past few days. I have a test coming up,”

The wind blew the clouds away. The moonlight to stream down. A werewolf howled, sending shivers down the his spine. But beyond that, he saw a small figure standing in the waters, and was walking towards him.

“Um, hello?” he asked, raising his latern shakily. He bravely walked nearer towards the waters edge. It was girl with pale porcelein skin and very long black hair. She wasn’t wearing anything

“Oh my goodness,” gasped Nino, putting down (almost dropping) the lantern, and rushed towards her. The coldwater splashed up to his knees. He took off his jacket and slipped around her body. “What are you doing in there? It’s freezing.”

The girl didn’t answer. She looked like she was around the same age or younger than him.

“Come on, lets get you warm. You are going to catch a cold,” he said, gesturing her to the land. “What is your name? Can you talk? Which house are you from?”

She opened her mouth, but instead of talking, she began to sing.

He gasped and his eyes widened. “This song…it was you who had been singing. It’s so beautiful,”

The girl smiled and continued to sing. She gently pulled the boy’s arm and walked backwards. Entranced, he followed silently. Her face was just so flawless and skin was so smooth. His eyes were on her face and moving lips. Seeing the singer singer makes the song more beautiful and enchanting.

What was she singing? Was she singing in a different language? Or wass it a non-human language? What was she singing about? Was it a message? Was-

Suddenly he realized his whole body was cold. His body felt like he was being pierced with tiny shards of ice. He couldn’t breathe. He felt like his head was wrapped in a tight ballon. His eyes went wide with panic when he saw very little light. He looked up to see the wavy moon above him.

He was underwater! He raised his hand towards the light source, kicking his legs. Something tugged him, pulling him downwards. He looked down to see the girl who now wore a creepy smile. She opened her mouth baring her long and sharp teeth.

He screamed, but only bubbles came out from his mouth. He struggled and tried to pry her fingers away from the arm, but she held on with a vice grip, and pulled him deeper into the abyss. Something grabbed his other arm and dragged downwards. It was a lady that looked almost like the girl. His chest burned, longing for air. Red and black splotches danced in front of his vision.

Suddenly, bright balls of green and blue lights rained down from above them. His captives screeched in fear. They quickly released him and swum downwards, leaving him alone.

He felt a strong sharp tug on his pants , and he was dragged upwards, shooting out into the air, and landed hard on land. He spluttered and coughed out all the water. He was on his hands and knees heaving and breathing heavily. Someone rubbed his back.

“You’re okay…you’re okay,” said a gentle female voice. Hot tears formed in his blurry vision. He could make out the yellow glow from the lantern.

“Are…are you human?” he asked, breathing heavily, his whole body shaking. “Don’t worry I am,” she said rubbing his back “I saved you from those Sirens,” “W-what?” “Sirens. They are underwater female creatures that have a beautiful voice, luring men into the sea. We learned that last month, remember?” “I thought….,” he shuddered, “I thought they don’t exist anymore,” They were gone. Extinct. Or if they were, they wouldn’t be found in these parts of the country.

“Well, until now they do. I have been hearing their songs for the few days, and came out to check if it was true. Luckily I got here in time before you went into deep waters. C’mon, we need to get you to the Hospital Wing or you will get pneumonia,”

“T-too c-c-cold,” he chattered, bringing his knees his chest and wrapping his arms around himself. “C-can’t m-move,” He was probably going to die on the spot.

He felt something poke his arm. Then, he felt warm. He opened his eyes to see steam rising from his pyjamas. He looks up to see a blurry face of a girl. “Feeling better?” she asked.

“Y-yeah,” he said blinking. He put his hand to his face. “Where are my glasses? Oh crap, it must have fell into the lake,”

“Don’t worry about it. Accio glasses,”

“ACK!” he yelled as something hit him in the face and stumbled backwords.

“Ohmygosh! I’m sorry!I’m sorry!” she spluttered.

He looked down to see his glasses in his hands. They were cracked. She waved her wand above his hands.

“Oculus Reparo,”

The glasses was a hissed and crackled. Nino fumbled and put them on. His vision was much clearer and sharper than before. In front of him, there was a girl wearing grey pants and a pink jacket. Her hair was pulled in two ponytails, and she had bright bluebell eyes.

“That’s better, isn’t it?” she asked smiling at him.

“ Y-yeah..,” he breathed, staring at her. “You aren’t a siren are you?” She giggled. It was music to his ears. “Sorry to disappoint you. I can’t sing,” “Um…have we met?” “Um, we do take the same classes together. Everyday in fact,”

Nino thought deeply. She stuck her hand out towards him. “Let’s head back to the castle. The sirens might come back,” The boy took her hand, and she pulled him up. A breeze blew by. He quickly wrapped his arms around himself. “Where is your jacket?” she asked. “I gave it to girl,” he shivered, looking at the lake . “It must be out there somewhere.” The girl whipped out her wand from her pink jacket, “I’ll get it,” she pointed to the lake. “Accio jacket,” Five seconds later, a jacket soared in the air and landed with a splat next to their feet like a dead fish. “I got to learn how to control that,” she muttered jabbing her wand at the wet clothing. Steam began to rise from it. “How did you learn how to do that?” he asked, gazing at her in awe. “You’ll learn it soon,” she said passing the jacket to him. He slipped it on. It felt dry, hot and cosy. “Alright. Lets get going. Lumos,” The tip of her wand shone bright like a white star. “Whoa,” Nino marveled in awe, “How did you learn that?” “We’ll learn it soon,” she simply said. “C’mon lets go,” He grabbed his lantern. “Maybe you can teach me?” he suggested, following behind her. “Sorry, can’t,” “Why?” “Because…it’s classified,” He hummed in thought. “Are you a Ravenclaw? Because Ravenclaws always study ahead of classes,” “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not one. I do get that sometimes,” Okay, so Ravenclaw is out. He sould notice if she was in his own house, so Hufflepuff was out of the question. “ARGH!” The girl screamed and fell forward , landing face flat straight into the ground. He rushed to her. “Are you alright?” “I’m okay. I get this a lot,” she mumbled. “I need to look where I’m going,” “Wait,” he said slowly “Are you the girl who’s potion had exploded and gave everyone swelling last week?” She groaned. “Don’t remind me,” He took a few steps back from her, “You’re a Slytherin,” “Yeap,” she said, standing up and dusting her knees. “But…you are so different from the rest of them,” he cautioned. “I get that a lot too,” He swallowed, “You aren’t going to lead me to one of your gangs, are you?” “What? No,” she spun around facing him, determined. “I would never do that,” “How can I trust you?”he squeaked, taking a step back. “Because I didn’t let you drown in the river,” she reasoned and smiled. She spun around and continued to walk. Nino followed her, closely this time. “Um, thank you for saving my life,” “No problem, Nino,” “May I know your name?” She chuckled. “My name has been broadcasted everyday by the professors everytime I create an accident. So tell me, you have sharp hearing. If everyone could hear the siren, all the boys would have been gone,” “I love music,” he confessed. “Both by Wizards and muggles. The Siren’s song was beautiful, rare and enchanting. It got to a point that I needed quietness, but it won’t stop singing. I have a pair of headphones, but some Slytherin boys had taken it. Do you think you can help me get it back for me?” he asked hopefully. “I’ll do anything to get it back,”

“I’ll try. But no promises,” she said smiling at him. “They are much bigger than us,” “Wait a second,” he said slowly “You’re a girl…,”

“I’m glad you noticed,” she drawled.

“How come you able to hear the Siren’s song?” She shrugged. “I heard it one day and thought I needed to check it out if it’s true. But I don’t get affected like boys like you,” she said , jabbing her wand at his chest playfully. “You know so much about these creatures and spells,” he mused. “What’s your secret?” The girl turned around and continued walking. “One thing about Slytherins is that we are full of secrets,” “You are so mysterious,” “Well, I am a Slytherin,” she smirked, and turned her head to wink at him. “ Hey, race you back?” Before Nino had the time to reply, she had already broke into a run.

“W-wait! Don’t leave me here,” he yelped running after her.

He couldn’t remember what had happened that night later on, but he woke up the next morning in the Hospital Wing. Sitting on top of the chair next ot his bed was his satchel – his headphones and music were all there.

The next time he went to class, he kept a look out for the girl who had saved him. Her signature pigtails and clumsiness were not hard to miss. Sometimes he wondered if it was the same girl who had saved him that night. She stuck close to her house buddies, which Nino does not dare to approach. To his puzzlment and disappointment, she never waved or looked at him once.

“Why do you keep staring at Marinette?” Max asked one day. “I’m sorry, who?” Nino asked , turning to his friend. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” said the Ravenclaw, gesturing to the Slytherin girl with pigtails. “Have you talked to her before?” “Well, you see…,” and that’s when Nino realised that if he told his friend what had happened that night about her saving him from drowning in the lake because of a Sirens’ song no one could hear, Max wouldn’t believe him.

The Hufflepuff boy cleared his throat. “No, we‘ve never talked before.”

#Miraculous Ladybug #hogwarts au #my writing #marinette dupain-cheng #Nino Lahiffe

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chillensnart-blog · 7 years

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One Fork, Two Forks

AO3 Link

Pairing: Coldwave

Summary: Mick takes a summer job in Wyoming as a fire lookout, nothing goes as he expects it to.

Or the Firewatch AU no one asked for, but I wrote anyways

The hike itself isn’t all bad, the heat is refreshing after a long winter and a cold spring. The air is crisp and clear, making it easy to just breath in everything around him. It’s the hottest peak of the day, the time every other hiker would be complaining about, trying to find shade to hide under. Not him, though. Mick loves the heat, even when it’s blistering and suffocating. Even when it licked at his skin, boiling and scarring it up.

Mick isn’t quite sure how he managed to get this job, but he isn’t about to complain. People in charge was probably being stupid, didn’t do a more thorough background check. Otherwise, there is no way they’d let a pyromaniac be on fire lookout. Mick just got lucky.

It’s still quite a ways from the tower, looming in the distance. He estimates it will take the rest of the day and a bit of the evening before he arrives. There isn’t much else for him to do other than look at trees and the occasional stream along the way. Better get going, he doesn't want to have to set up camp again.

He’s exhausted by the time he reaches the top of the tower, the stairs the last hurdle of his hike. The sky had turned dark a few hours ago, the air getting chillier with each step. He just wants to flop down onto the bed and let himself sleep for a full day.

“Hello, Two Forks Tower. ” A male voice pipes up, slightly static-y and with a slow drawl to it.

Mick stares at the small, yellow walkie-talkie radio sitting on the desk, charging. He frowns and narrows his eyes at it, wondering if whoever speaking will go away if he ignores it.

“Hello? Mick Rory? ”

Mick picks it up, examining and trying to find an off button for it. Maybe he can just pull the battery out.

“My name is Leonard Snart- ”

“Yeah, I know.” He interrupts, distantly remembering that he heard the name during orientation at some point.

“Oh good, he speaks! ” Snart says, heavy with sarcasm. “So what’s wrong with you? ”

“What?”

“No one in their right mind comes out here, so what’s wrong with you? ”

“‘S none of your fuckin’ business.”

“Aww. ” Snart mocks and Mick can practically hear the smirk in his voice. “Someone’s grumpy. ”

“What’s wrong with you ?” Mick shoots back with a snarl.

“Oh! That’s a great idea, go ahead. ”

“What?”

“Take a guess, what’s wrong with me? ”

“I fuckin’ hiked for two days, I just wanna sleep, okay?” Mick sighs, sitting on the small bed and slumping down.

“C’mon. Five more minutes, that’s all. Go ahead. ”

“You pissed off the mafia so now you’re hidin’ out here.”

Snart laughs for a full minute, “ I wish .”

“Right, g’night, then.” Mick yawns, laying his body down. He doesn’t exactly fit, the bed a little too small for someone of his stature, but it’s softer than the floor, so he can’t complain too much.

“Wait, now it’s my turn. ”

“Good. Night.”

“Let’s see, I know nothing about you. You’re not an axe murderer, are you? ”

Mick ignores him, yawning again and closing his eyes. “Mick? ” He starts to drift, hand loosening around the radio until it drops to the floor with a thump. “Heh. Good night, Mick. ”

DAY 1

“Good morning, Mick! ” Snart’s voice was overly cheerful as Mick grumbles his way to a meal in the tiny kitchen of the tower. “Or afternoon, you almost slept the whole day away. ” Good, he needed that sleep.

“There’s still some daylight hours left, so I hope you’re ready for your first job! ” The cheery voice is starting to grate on his nerves, but he suspects Snart is doing it for that purpose alone. “Just call me back when you’re done floundering by the stove! ” Mick rolls his eyes at that, muttering insults under his breath.

Wait.

Snart can see him? His movement stops from the realization. Slowly, he goes to the radio still on the floor where he had left it and picks it up.

“You can see me?” Mick demands, snarling.

“Hello to you, too. Yes. I’m just north of you, at Thorofare lookout. ” Just great. Perfect. “You can’t see me? I’m waving. ”

Mick sighs, and goes back to ignoring Snart. He’ll take a look later with his binoculars, after food. It isn’t anything fancy, just potato stew with a few spices he brought along. No meat, since it’ll just go bad in this heat. Nothing fancy, but filling enough.

“Are you done, yet? You’re certainly taking your time. ”

“And you’re fuckin’ annoyin’.” Mick answers, mouth full.

“No one ever taught you not to talk with your mouth full? ”

“What do you want?” He asks, swallowing the last bite and already regretting the question.

“I’m getting you acquainted with the job. There’s a thing in the middle of your room, round with a map on it? ”

“Yeah?” Mick turns to it, raising an eyebrow even though Snart can’t see it.

“That’s the Osborne Fire Finder, invented in 1914 by W.B…. ” Snart trails off, obviously trying to get Mick to finish his sentence.

“...”

“Guess! ”

“...Osborne?” Mick says dryly.

“You use this to spooooot…? ”

“...Fire?”

“You guessed it-, what the fuck? ”

“What?”

“West window, you see that, right? ”

Mick walks over to the window, confused. What exactly is he suppose to be seeing? There’s trees and the almost setting sun, and- Oh.

“Fireworks.”

“Yeah. Fucking idiots. You need to get down there. Fire hazard alert. ”

“‘S that even my job?”

“Your job is whatever I tell you to do. ” Wow, this guy sure is bossy. “And the closest ranger is two days away. So, get hopping, Mick. ”

“Do I arrest them?” Mick asks, unsure of what the protocol is.

“No. Just. Tell them to knock it off and take the fireworks away. You might need a rope to get down the shale between you and the lake. There’s one in the supply box on the way, code is: 1-2-3-4. ” Snart pauses, “It’s actually that for all of them .”

“Secure.” Micks scoffs, but picks up his backpack, slinging it behind him.

“Easy to remember and surprisingly, no one thinks to guess it. ”

Mick laughs a little at that, making his way down the tower. His body is still a bit sore from his two day hike, but stretching his muscles after the long sleep will be good for him. Besides, he’s always up for yelling at a few idiots stupid enough to light fireworks in a forest. Not that getting to see a giant fire will disappoint him.

He checks his map, making sure he’s heading the right way. Getting lost will just be inconvenient, not to mention, embarrassing. It only takes him a few minutes to get to the supply box and as promised, the rope is inside. It looks a little old, less sturdy than he likes. Better than nothing. Step one done, Mick continues on his way.

The shale slide is steeper than he first imagined, “That looks pretty steep.” He reports to Snart, peering down to the bottom. “I dunno about this.”

“Hm. I don’t remember it being that bad. It’s not even named. ”

“Why don’t we call it ‘you’re gonna get me killed’.” Mick snips back, hooking his rope onto the hook beside it.

“Don’t be so scared, you’re a big boy, right? ”

“Fuck you.” He growls, then takes a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

The rope snaps half way down, Mick yelling out in panic. Thankfully, it isn’t too high that he breaks something, but it sure is painful for his back. He groans, rubbing at the bruise that he’s sure will appear and wishing he never listened to Snart. The radio crackles beside him, lucky that he hadn’t land on it.

“You’re not dead, are you? ” Snart asks, voice wary. Serves him right. Mick wonders what Snart will say if he just doesn’t answer for a bit. “Mick? ”

He gets up with a huff and another groan, picking the radio up. “Shit. Please tell me you’re okay. ” It’s a little fun actually, messing with the other man. “Mick? ”

“I hate you.” Mick finally says after a few more rounds of Snart calling his name, but there’s a grin on his face.

“Oh thank god. I mean. You asshole. ” But it’s too late, Mick knows how relieved Snart is. Still grinning, he continues on his way, with only mild discomfort from the fall.

It isn’t long until he reaches a meadow, perfect for pitching up a tent. The downside are the empty beer cans scattered around the area. He finds two backpacks, too, along with a campfire that’s still smoking. Mick reports all that to Snart, the other man groaning about idiots and how stupid some people are. The campfire, he stomps out completely, only slightly tempted to light it back up again. The cans are stuffed into his backpack, but Snart tells him to leave the other backpacks alone, not wanting to deal with complaints of harassment. Now all that’s left is the find the culprits.

Mick finds a bottle of whiskey, half full. Nice, good stuff too. The campers certainly don’t deserve it, he thinks, putting that into his backpack. The fireworks are there, right out in the open. Still no sign of anyone else, though. He heads towards the lake, starting to hear music from that direction.

The bra he stumbles upon has him grimacing, isn't that great. “There’s a bra.” He tells Snart, “And panties, too.” Actually, there's two pairs of them.

Snart laughs, “A nudie pyromaniac. Good luck. ” Mick winces slightly at the pyromaniac comment, if only he knew.

“There’s two…”

“Two? ” Mick doesn’t like the amusement in Snart’s voice.

“Two naked ladies.” He confirms with a sigh. The music is getting louder, he must be close.

“Can you handle that? ” There’s a smile in there somewhere, full of sarcasm.

“Shut the fuck up.” Mick grumbles, stomping his way to the lake. He can handle it, he just prefers not to. “They’re in the lake.” There are two figures there, probably drunk, and a boombox off to the side at the shore.

“Skinny dipping? ”

“Yeah.”

“Is that a guy over there?” One of the girls says, just as Mick was about to say something else to Snart.

“Oh boy. Have fun with that. ” Snart actually giggles, then goes quiet, presumably to let Mick do his job. Asshole.

Here goes. “Hey! Knock it off with the fireworks or you’re fucked!” Mick shouts, getting straight to the point. No use in starting off easy.

“Don’t threaten us!” The other girl shouts back, voice harsh and angry. “Yeah, who the hell are you, creep?” The first girl adds.

Really, if anyone’s the creep, it’s the ones currently naked in a lake. “He’s just one of those lonely guys who likes to boss people around.” Girl two answers back.

“Why do guys think it’s alright to stare at girls?” Girl one says, almost ignoring Mick.

“Why do idiots think it’s alright to light fireworks in the middle of the fuckin’ forest?” Mick shouts back at them and picks up their boombox.

“Whoa! Put that back!”

“You want it back?” Mick taunts, “Stop lightin’ fireworks.” It’s tempting to just chuck the thing into the lake, wanting to piss off the girls like they pissed him off.

“Fuck you! You creep!” Girl two yells back. “Yeah, fuck you!” The other pipes up.

And there it goes, splashing into the lake, the music cutting off abruptly. Pity.

“Oh my god!” They both screamed, “UGH. Let’s get out of here.” Yeah, pissing people off is fun. “Fuck you!” Girl two says one last time before they both swim behind a rock. Mick raises an eyebrow at that, because there’s no way they can swim to the opposite shore and the only way out will be towards him. He wonders how long it’s going to take them to realize that.

“How’d it go? ” Snart asks after a short moment.

“I hope they get hypothermia. Or get eaten by a bear. Or both.” Mick answers and turns away. Whatever, he’s got their fireworks, anyways.

“That good, huh? ”

“Shouldn’t be anymore trouble, boss.”

“Atta boy. Thanks for going down there. ” It doesn’t sound sincere, but Mick pretends it is. What an asshole.

“Right. How do I get back now? No rope for the shale slide.”

“Go through Thunder Canyon. ” Snart instructs, “No shale slides and relatively easy terrain. ”

“Relatively?” Mick repeats warily, but follows the order with a quick check of his map.

Relatively easy was a lie. Mick isn’t scared of heights, but he really doesn’t enjoy having to walk across more than two wooden logs with death below him. The climbing is a pain, too, but it isn’t too hard. Still, relatively easy isn’t a good description for it. He tells Snart as much, who only laughs and tells him to suck it up. Again, asshole.

Snart turns out to be an easy conversationalist, likes to talk a little too much, but he still lets Mick cut in with comments once in awhile. They don’t share about themselves, cutting it off when it got too personal, either by Snart or Mick. When that happens, Snart tries to start a new conversation, usually with puns too horrible for Mick to ignore. Yeah, that’s a thing. Puns. Horrible ones. Ones Mick isn’t ever going to repeat for his own sanity.

Their conversation is helpful, Mick learning more about the area and that there was an incident involving Yellowstone burning down. How he would have loved to see that, not that he tells Snart. He knows can’t hide his pyromania forever, but he sure as hell can try to delay it. It helps that Snart doesn’t suspect a thing, who would?

Thunder booms in the distance as he goes through a cave, Snart commenting about how their job is going to get busier with the storm. Mick takes that to mean they’ll expect a few fires. He can’t wait.

There’s a guy pointing a flashlight at him when he exits the cave, but Mick leaves it. There’s hikers and campers all around, it’s summer and as long as they don’t attack Mick or light up fireworks, they’re cool.

The tower is a welcomed sight and Mick sighs with relief. As he gets closer, however, there’s a feeling of wrongness. His suspicions are confirmed when he sees his cooking pot lying outside at the bottom of the stairs. He picks it up, frowning, and heads upwards.

Mick curses when he sees the broken window, anger raising up. He storms into the tower room, growling at the mess and, great, his sheets are gone, too. “Someone fuckin’ broke in.” He tells Snart, pissed off and itching to burn something to calm it. He can’t, though, not out here. He can’t lose another job, he needs this.

“They what? ” Snart replies, voice serious for once. It almost sounds cold.

“Wreck the place, threw one of my cooking pots out the window, stole my fuckin’ sheets. Fuck!”

“Holy shit. ” Snart says, then, “Or should I say sheet. ”

Mick groans out loud, but the bad pun does help to quell his anger a bit. “Not the time.”

“Sorry, sorry. ” There isn’t a hint of regret in Snart’s voice. “I’ll let the Service know what happened. Any idea who did it? ”

“I dunno, the girls at the lake? I did throw their stereo into the lake.” Mick admits gruffly, picking up his things and putting them back to their rightful place.

Snart sighs, “I wish you hadn’t done that. Alright, I put in a call. ”

“Will they catch whoever did it?”

“They’re not exactly Hawaii Five-o .” Is that a show? Mick doesn’t watch much TV, but he thinks it's some sort of investigation show. That, or Snart's messing with him. “I’ll have the rangers keep an eye out for two girls in the meantime. Best we can do. ”

“Any chance I can get a gun out here?”

“Ha .” Snart laughs, “If you can find one. Good luck with that, though .”

“Great. Should’ve brought my own.”

“As if they’d let you in if you had. ”

“Ugh. I’m goin’ to bed. Without my sheets.” Mick grumbles and puts the radio to its charger.

“Goodnight, Mick! Sweet dreams of beating teenage girls up. ” He hears from the radio as he lays down. His lips quirks up, even with the anger still boiling in him. Tomorrow. He’ll deal with it tomorrow, after possibly watching his stove’s flames for a few minutes.

DAY 2

“Rise and shine, Mick. ”

Mick grumbles, turning away from the voice and blocking it out. Just a few more minutes.

“Wake up. ”

Ugh.

“Waaaaake up, Miiiiick. ”

Yeah, he’s up. Mick rubs the sleep from his eyes as Snart starts to chant his name. “Mick. Mick. Mick. Mick. ” It only stops when he gets to his radio, “Fuckin’ stop.” He yawns out, voice scratchy and deep with sleep.

“Oh good. You’re awake. ”

“Hng.”

“Me, too. ” Snart says sarcastically, “Anyways. Job for you. Storm must’ve knocked out a telephone line somewhere, which means we’re cut off. ”

“And you want me to what? Fix it?”

“You probably can’t. But what you can do is take a hike up to where the wires run through your area and report back if it’s down. Then I can let a ranger know where the problem is and have them get someone on it. ”

“Great. Another hike. Where is it?”

“North. The cave you went through yesterday, just straight north after that. ”

“Got it, boss.” Mick says. Might as well. He grabs a few power bars for the trip, planning a good meal when he gets back. He’s never taken so many hikes in such short amount of days. It’s...new. Not something he likes, but not something he overly minds.

His strange conversations with Snart continues, the man even putting in a few urban legends about the forest. Some of them were so absolutely ridiculous, Mick can’t help but laugh. It’s nice, this easy friendship in just a few hours, in just a day. They’re stuck here, just the two of them in the middle of nowhere. It feels like Snart’s the best friend he’s never had and isn’t that just cheesy. He scoffs and shakes his head at himself, but there’s a small smile on his face.

Mick sees the felled line in the middle of Snart’s explanation of how figure skating points systems work.

“Hey. Found the line. ‘S cut. And look, they left a note.” Mick interrupts Snart’s rambling and picks up a piece of clothing, giving it a look of derision. “On underwear. Says ‘Go to hell’. Beer cans too, must’ve been the girls.”

“How nice of them. ” Snart drawls, “I’m guessing they cut the line? ”

“Looks like.”

“Great. ” There’s a hint of annoyance in Snart’s voice, “Fucking idiots. This is how people die, do they not realize that? What if I need to report something urgent, or god forbid, there’s a fire? ”

“What do y’want me to do?” Mick asks helplessly, sensing the anger from Snart. The man is usually so cool and calm, even when he’s ranting. He’s still cool, of course, but it’s different. Very...chilling.

“Find them. ”

“And?”

“...I don’t know. Nothing that comes to mind is legal. ”

“C’mon, boss. I’m here at your service, whatever you want.” Mick surprises himself at how cheery he’s being. Maybe Snart is starting to rub off on him.

“I want you to scare them. Really scare them. Wreck their shit. Burn a few things. Let’s see how much they appreciate things burning if they like to light fireworks so much. ”

Micks laughs, “You’re serious?”

“Maybe not about the burning, because that’s just more problems for us. ” Pity, since that’ll definitely be something Mick will enjoy doing. “But please, if you see them or their things. Get your revenge. Steal their sheet. ”

“You’re horrible.”

“Yes, I am. ” At least Snart’s back to his old self, all sarcasm and drawled words.

Mick follows the trail of beer cans, picking up after them. Fireworks, littering, cutting up telephone wires, how did they even get up there? Seriously. These girls are the worst kind of people and Mick’s been to prison. That’s saying something.

The view here is nice, all the colors clashing into a beautiful scene of nature. There are reds and blues and greens everywhere. A splatter of white, a peek of yellow. It’s like a painting, except it moves and is apparently turning Mick into a hidden poet. But he dares anyone not to look across the high canyon and think some poetic thoughts.

Mick finds a backpack hanging in a dead tree along his path. Inside, there’s a camera, one of those cheaper single-use ones and a shit-ton of rope. Like, a shit-ton and they look a lot sturdier than the single one he had before.

“Looks like you hit the jackpot. ” Snart comments when Mick tells him his discovery.

Mick smiles as he takes a quick picture with the camera. “Thanks, Jonas Hunter.”

“Wait, wait. Who? ” Snart asks.

“Jonas Hunter, was sewn into the bag.”

“Huh. ” Mick frowns at the surprise in Snart’s voice.

“You know ‘im?”

“Yeah. Kind of. Just haven’t heard that name in a long time. ”

“Yeah?” Mick encourages as he walks and continues to follow the path. There isn’t anymore beer cans to pick up, thank god, but he thinks he’s still going the right way.

“He was stationed where you are three years ago with his father, Rip. Good kid. ”

“You can bring kids out here?”

“I’m not exactly strict with the rules. ” Snart admits, “And they took off halfway through the summer .”

“Must’ve been your charm.”

“Yeah, it just didn’t work with twelve year olds, unfortunately. ”

They go quiet after that, Mick making his way down some shale slides with his handy new ropes. Finding them really was a stroke of luck, he’d probably have to go the long way around if he hadn’t.

“You see that? ” Snart’s voice crackles through the radio as Mick arrives at the cave he first went through. He takes a look around, trying to spot something high that even Snart can see.

“The smoke?” It was thin, hard to notice against the bright sky, but he manages to make it out.

“Looks like it’s way down in the south west. You can cut through the meadow by the lake to get there. Kick their ass. ”

“Got it, boss.” Mick smirks, heading towards that direction.

“So what made you take the job? ”

“Needed a job.”

“That’s it? ”

“Yeah. What about you?”

“Hm. Wouldn’t you like to know. ”

“So, the fire.”

“The one in Yellowstone? What about it? ”

“How big did it get?”

“It got pretty out of control, how big do you think? ”

“Must’ve been a sight.”

When Mick finds the campsite, it’s already in pieces. The tent is torn up, clothes strewn everywhere and look, “I found my sheets.”

“Oh nice. Gonna steal theirs? ”

“A little too late. The place is in pieces, must’ve been a bear or somethin’?”

“Wait, it’s already wrecked? I’d say serve them right, but...they’re not hurt, are they? ”

“No sign of ‘em.” Mick ruffles through a few of things and finds a note taped to the destroyed tent. “Dear psycho.” He starts to read.

“What? ”

“I hope you’re fuckin’ happy. We’re leavin’ and we’re goin’ to find the police or whatever and tell them about how you creeped on us in the lake, and then came and destroyed our campsite and all of our stuff. Oh and stealin’ panties is gross out. You’re probably a mental fuckin’ axe murderer and are so going to jail.” Been there, done that. “I hope it was worth bein’ a jerk over some fireworks. Dick.” Mick finishes with a nod. “Lovely note they left me.”

“Wow, I knew you were an axe murderer! ” Snart snorts and laughs, “And you stole their panties? Mick Rory! ”

“I didn’t steal anything! They’re the ones that stole my sheets!” Mick keeps the note, just for future reference.

“Well, there’s no way for them to call the cops and weird stuff happens in the woods. Could be other people, or they were just drunk as fuck. Who knows. They’re gone and they ain’t coming back. We can just get back to work, alright? ”

“Yeah, alright.”

DAY 3

Mick finally starts to board up his broken window today, half talking with Snart as he does his task. He hammers in one more nail, but is still missing three more boards to cover it up completely. It isn’t his best work, then again, it’s not like he can get or find glass out here. It’s the best he can do on such a short notice and with such limited resources.

“Mick? ” Snart asks as he finds a good enough piece of wood by the outhouse. Mick hums in response, waiting.

“What do you look like? ”

“Why y’askin’?”

“Curious. ”

“I look like a guy.”

“Really? I never would’ve guessed, we could be twins. I look like a guy, too! ” Mick pauses his hammering just to dramatically roll his eyes at Snart’s sassy tone. He hopes Snart can see that from his tower.

“I dunno? Tall, big?”

“That’s a start, I guess. ” Snart sighs, “Let’s see. From what I can make out, you’re a white guy wearing pants. How can you even do that in this heat? ”

“I like it hot.” Mick defends, picking up another board and nailing it in.

“Do you wear anything else? ”

“Clothes?” Mick isn’t sure where Snart is trying to go with this.

Snart sighs again, longer this time. “Moving on. What about your face? If I’m sitting across from you, what do I see? ”

“Uh, shaved head, crooked nose. Scruff?”

“Okay, what about your eyes? ”

“What?”

“I’m drawing you, I need to know. ”

“What?!”

“Is that not okay? ” Mick sputters for a second and Snart continues before he can say something. “Don’t answer it. I’m gonna do it anyways. Eyes? ”

“They’re brown?” Mick says helplessly, bewildered by this turn of events. At least he’s got his window finished.

“I mean, happy, cold, warm, tired, sleepy? I don’t exactly have crayons on me. ”

“Angry.” Mick nods, definitely.

“Oh yeah? Hot and angry, got it. ”

“Yeah. So what’s next? My window’s all done.”

“What do you mean what’s next? ”

“You’re the one who's been givin’ me orders, boss.”

Snart laughs, warm and happy. “What’s next is you actually doing your job. You know, sitting at the window till September and calling me at the first sign of smoke. ”

“Oh. Right.” Mick mutters, a little disappointed. The excitement of the two days has him itching for more adventures, but that is suppose to be his job.

DAY 9

“Hey, Mick. Having a good afternoon? ” It’s been awhile since he’s heard Snart’s voice.

“Yeah, ‘s not bad.” Mick answers, mouth full of sandwich.

“I come with bad news, unfortunately. Two young women were reported missing, got parents out in California that haven’t heard from them in a week. If they’re the ones from last week, then...you might be the one who’s seen them last. ”

“I didn’t do anything!” If this becomes an investigation, they’re going to look closer into Mick’s record and that means they’ll know about his pyromania. He’d going to be put back into jail, he can’t have that happen!

“I know, I believe you. ” Snart assures, “It...won’t be an issue, okay? If they turn up dead, then maybe. I’ll just not say anything, save us the trouble. ”

“Okay, yeah.” Mick mumbles, relieved. He really doesn’t want to get wrap up in this bullshit.

“Right. Well, enjoy the sunset. ”

DAY 15

It’s the middle of the night, but Mick hears Snart’s voice from the radio.

“It’s been good. ”

“You’ve been safe? He’s still not out, right? ”

“Okay. ”

“Sure. Good night, Lise. ”

DAY 33

New food. More supplies. Only downside is that Mick needs to get himself over there to pick it up.

“Is it too much to ask for them to deliver it to the towers?”

“I get my stuff hand-delivered. ” Snart brags, Mick imagining a smug smirk on his face.

“That ain’t fair.”

“Life usually isn’t. Perks of over ten years of service. ”

“You let yourself be here for more than ten years?” Mick says with amusement.

“Shut up. Anyways, supplies are for a few other towers, too. So don’t take all of it. I don’t want to have to call for more. ”

“What if I get hungry?”

“Mick… ”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mick checks his map, the supply drop on it circled a few times over. He thinks about asking Snart about the thing a few nights ago, but Mick himself isn’t sure if that was a dream or not.

When Mick arrives at the drop, he decides to go for it, curiousity eating at him. “So, who’s Lise?”

Snart takes a long moment to answer and when he does, his voice is cold and hard. “Why do you know that name? ”

Ah, a touchy subject then. Mick’s not going to push it. “You called me in the middle of the night, ‘s all. Nothing else to it, boss.”

Snart hums and doesn’t say anything else. Mick has a few guesses, girlfriend, maybe? Kid? Family? Snart’s a mystery despite all his endless talking. He’s one of those people who says a lot without giving a single thing about themselves up. Mick doesn’t mind it much, it gives them a distance he likes to keep.

“Alright. Got my stuff.” Mick reports, taking out his box of supplies and heading back to his lonely tower.

“Just yours, right? ”

“Who do you think I am?” If Snart knew about Mick’s history, that answer would be a lot different.

DAY 64

That night, Mick’s outside again, on top of his tower, just watching the light of the fire in the distance. It’s beautiful, captivating. It makes taking his job completely worth it. He wants to go over there, to where the flames are burning everything down in it’s path. If Mick thinks it’s beautiful all the way out here, it must be glorious out there.

“It might be the biggest fire of the year. ” Snart’s voice interrupts his thoughts, snapping him out of his slight daze.

Mick shakes himself off before answering back, “Yeah. ‘S really goin’.” He hopes he manages to keep the awe out of his voice.

“Better call it in. ” Mick feels a shot of disappoint from those words. “We’ll probably still be stuck with her for the rest of summer, though. ” That makes him feel a little better, at least he has something to watch when he’s bored. "Why don’t you give her a name? ”

“Me?”

“Yeah, I’ve named most of the others, I’ll give you a chance. ”

Mick scratches his beard, it’s been growing out once he ran out of shaving cream. “Heatwave.”

“Heatwave? ” Snart laughs, “Strange, but okay. ”

“You’re the one that asked.”

“Alright, big guy. ” There’s a moment of silence, Mick starting to get lost in the fire again. “Hey. Mick. ”

“Yeah?”

“Lise, uh, Lisa. She’s my sister. ” Mick immediately pays attention, this is the first time Snart’s ever offered up information about himself. “She’s an ice skater. Good, too. ”

Mick waits patiently for Snart to continue, “I’m here during the summer, but sometimes, we come during the winter. ”

“Ain’t it closed?”

“Why do you think I’m not strict about rules? ” Mick laughs, Snart gets more and more surprising. “Anyways. We spend a few days here, sleeping in the tower and then ice skating at the lake if the ice is thick enough. ” Snart sounds wistful, quiet and calm in the night.

“Sounds nice.”

“It was. ”

The conversation stops there and Mick goes back to staring at the distant fire.

DAY 76

“You’re not actually going to go fishing without a license? ”

“I’m sick of all this crap food.” Mick grumbles angrily, he’s very sick of fruits and vegetables and the only meat he’s gotten was jerky. He just wants something fresh and not out of a can.

“Suuuure. ” Snart drawls out, a small laugh in his voice. “If you’re heading to the lake, mind keeping an eye out for bear tracks? Apparently there’s a problem bear wandering around. ”

“You want me to fight a bear?”

“No! Just, let me know if it’s been there recently, alright? ” Mick likes making Snart laugh, it’s a nice sound, something he really can get used to.

He doesn’t find any bear tracks, but he does find a weird clipboard with… Mick’s eyes widens, brows furrowing as he reads over the words. It’s snippets of his and Snart’s conversations, some parts shortened, but...it’s there.

“Boss?”

“Find a bear? ”

“No, but. There’s a clipboard by the lake and it’s, well, it’s a lot of what we’ve been saying to each other.”

“What? That doesn’t make any sense. ”

“‘Yeah, it just didn’t work with twelve year olds, unfortunately’.”

“What the fuck? ” There’s a strange sound coming from Mick’s left, his attention turning towards it. He tells Snart to hold up, going over to check it out. It’s a little worrying, but Mick’s a big guy who can take care of himself. If it’s aliens, though, he’s definitely running. Snart continues to talk, voice worried and alarmed.

A red radio sits on the ground a few feet from the lake, looking completely suspicious. Mick takes careful steps towards it, wary and on alert. The hit attempt for his head is expected, Mick ducking just in time to avoid it.

“Shit!” A male voice exclaims behind him. Mick swings his fist out, hoping to catch the guy, but he hits nothing. “Shit, fuck.” Mick hears again, farther away this time. He turns just in time to see a figure fleeing away from him. Mick shoots after the guy, growling. That asshole is going to get it and Mick’s going to make him regret his existence.

“Yeah, you better fuckin’ run!” Mick shouts after him, following as the two dodges through the trees. The forest is thick, easy to get lost and to lose someone. The guy makes it easy to keep track of with his panicked shouting, though.

“Mick?! ” Snart’s voice cuts through, Mick has almost forgotten that the man is still rambling on. It turns his attention away long enough for the other asshole to get away. Mick snarls in frustration, Snart still shouting his name. He sounds almost worried, actually.

“I’m here. Was chasin’ some asshole that tried to attack me.”

“Some guy tried to attack you? You’re okay, though? ”

“‘M fine.” Mick reassures, coming to a stop as he loses the other man completely. Next time Mick sees him, that asshole is a dead man. “What’s Wapiti Station?”

“What? ”

“Says on the clipboard ‘Wapiti Station’.”

“Uh, I think that’s the University ran research site. It’s north of you, check your map. ” Mick checks it, finding the label. It’s a pretty big meadow, about the size of the lake. Not far, though.

“‘M gonna go check it out.”

“Be careful. Who’d you run into, anyways? Get a good look? ”

“Blond, white, British? He sounded British.”

“British? ” Snart’s voice is oddly flat, not in his usual way. “I’ll...call the Park Service. They keep a list of people coming in and out since, well, forever. See if any British people came through. ”

“‘Kay.”

The site, it turns out, is surrounded by miles of chain-linked fence. At least, Mick guesses it’s miles. He can’t see the end of it, but it looks huge.

“Found the site.” He tells Snart, kicking lightly at the fence. It doesn’t look too tall, Mick can probably scale it easily. There’s also a gate there, but it’s locked and Mick doesn’t have a way to break it open.

“Is there anyone there? ”

“No, but I’m gonna climb it.” Mick nods, already half way up.

“Wait, Mick! ”

Mick pauses, brows furrowing. “What?”

“You should bring someone with you. ”

“And who exactly can I bring with me?”

“There’s a few people doing a controlled burn, their camp is south of your tower, a little east of the old scout’s camp. It’s better than going alone, right? ”

“That’s all the way out on the other side, Snart! I can just jump this fence and get it over with.”

“Mick, please. We don’t know who or what’s out there. ”

“Fine. We’ll do it your way, boss.” Mick sighs and hops off the fence, he was almost over, too. Time to take another hike.

“So, you think they’re spyin’ on us?”

“I...I don’t know. ”

“What about the other towers? You talk with ‘em, right?”

“They haven’t report back anything weird. ”

“What about for yourself?”

“Nothing. ”

“So what exactly happened during that attack? ”

“Saw a red radio on the ground and this guy tried to knock me out.”

“Jesus. ”

“The...radio. Do y’think that someone could be spyin’ on us with that?”

“I...don’t know if someone could even do that. ”

“That ain’t a no.”

“Let’s not get too paranoid, just keep hiking. ”

“What if a controlled burn gets outta control?”

“Someone gets fired. ”

“Ugh.”

“Found a pond, more like a pile of mud.”

“Ah. Pork Pond. There used to be a sign, but people kept stealing it. ”

Mick finds the camp easily, but it turns out the firefighters are already gone. “Well, it looks like they’re already gone.”

“Ah. ” Mick has a slight feeling Snart planned this.

“They left a note…” Mick scans over it, Dr. Palmer, squad boss Lance, Wapiti Station. “They’re runnin’ some sort of research at the station there.”

“Someone is running a research and writing down our conversations? What the hell is going on? ”

“Thought you might know, boss.”

“Fuck. At least we know something is definitely happening behind the fence. ”

“Maybe ‘s just a coincidence?”

“Do you actually think that? I have a bad feeling about this, Mick… ”

Mick spots an axe buried slightly in a tree. He grins, taking and testing its weight. It’s small, but it’ll do finely. “Nice. Got an axe, can probably break through the gate instead of climbin’.”

“Fine. Check in and keep on alert. You might be followed. ”

Mick only makes it to the pond before Snart speaks up again. “Mick. You said you heard something by the lake, right? ”

“Yeah.”

“So. Let’s assume you’re being followed, where are you right now? ”

“Pork pond, trees, in the middle of nowhere.”

“See anybody? ”

Mick makes a full body turn to check, “No.”

“Tell me what you think of this: ” There’s a slight static and then someone coughing painfully, a mutter of ‘fuck’, then it cuts off with more static.

“The hell?”

“That wasn’t either of us, right? ”

“No.”

“Fuck. ”

“There’s no way someone from another lookout can hear our line, is there?” Mick asks, feeling more paranoid than he has in a long time. This is some fucked up prank if it’s someone from another lookout.

“Not without tapping into it. ” Snart’s voice holds a bit of tension in it, maybe feeling just as paranoid as Mick is. "Get to your tower, don’t let anyone in and don’t use your radio. I’ll call you. I will. ”

DAY 77

“Good morning, Mick! ”

“You’re awfully chipper.” Mick barely got any sleep last night, too stressed about someone stalking him.

“It’s a brand new day, a great time to celebrate! ”

“...”

“Anyways, I don’t think I’ve ever taught you about this poster you should have hanging up. Floral of the Shoshone? ”

Mick turns, spotting the poster tacked beside one of the windows. “...Yeah?”

“Have it good look at it! It’s very good information about all the trees and stuff around your area. ”

Mick is slightly lost, “...Okay, it’s right there, I’m lookin’ at it?”

“You see the tree on the top row, second to the left? ” Cottonwood, looks bushy, green, like tree. Where the hell is Snart going with this?

“Yeah, it’s-”

“No, no! You don’t need to tell me! ” ...Alright, has Snart lost it? “ You know where you should go for great hike? ”

“Uh.”

“There’s an area in your sector that’s called, that tree’s name, you should go there. Great view. ”

Ohhhh. “I’ll get on it, boss.” Mick grins, Snart is a clever one, if a little strange. Cottonwood Creek, that’s south of him.

“1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8. ” Mick’s not quite sure what Snart means by that, but he’ll figure it out.

The creek is part of the controlled burn, the trees surrounding it brown and burnt. It’s not exactly a nice view to other people’s standards, but Mick appreciates the leftover destruction fire can cause. There’s a cache not far and, well, Mick can guess the code’s been changed. He finds a brand new radio inside, an ugly color of green, but who cares.

“Nice.”

“Fuck, Mick. I spent all day getting that to you, lied to so many rangers. Hopefully you’re now holding a clean untapped radio. ”

“Yeah.”

“You have to get into that site, Mick. ” Yeah, Mick’s planning on it.

“Sure thing, boss.”

“Fucking shit. I’ve been on this job on and off for thirteen years and nothing like this has ever happened. ”

“I can’t believe this is even happenin’.”

“Me neither. Be careful, Mick. Take care of yourself, just...Don’t get hurt, alright? ” Mick’s a big guy, been in and out of prison, he’s sure he can take care of himself.

“Don’t worry, boss. I got this.”

“Yeah. ” Snart sounds nervous, scared almost. “I just don’t wanna lose you. You’re my best friend. ”

That’s...No one’s ever said that to Mick before. It makes his heart clench painfully. They’ve only known each for about two months and a half, but it really does feel like a lifetime. “You’re mine, too.” He whispers, quiet and like a secret.

What Mick finds at the site sends a chill down his spine and anger boiling through his veins. “They’ve been monitorin’ us, writin’ reports, assessments, fuck!” He snarls, these people know about his pyromania, about his past. Like, like some sort of lab rat.

“What do you mean? ” Snart asks, voice angry. There’s a huge tent in the site, along with a few monitoring towers and beeping devices. Mick’s not sure what they do exactly, but he has a guess.

“Fuckin’ shit. They know about your sister and your-” Father. Mick doesn’t even know about Snart’s father. From what the reports say, it’s not pretty.

“Fuck! They know about-! ” Snart shouts and Mick winces.

“I should burn this shitty place down.” Mick growls, throwing papers and cans of food everywhere. “See how they like it when people mess with them.”

“No. Don’t. ”

“We could just call it in, like a fire.” Mick finds some weird device and it starts beeping like crazy. It looks kind of like a receiver, can be useful in tracking these people down.

“Mick. ”

“What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

“A firefighter dies trying to stop it. Okay, we can’t. ”

Mick heaves a deep sigh, trying to push down his angry urge. Tonight, he’ll go stare at the giant fire for a few hours. That sounds nice.

“Mick. Just head back to your tower. We’ll figure something out tomorrow, okay? ”

“Yeah, boss.”

As Mick leaves through the gate, he spots a column of smoke, not the one from Heatwave. It’s...it’s burning and it’s beautiful and it’s so close. He can go back and touch it if he wants, all that heat and movement, eating away at everything around it. Absolutely glorious. The flames are getting bigger, crackling in a giant roar. Mick holds his breath, hands clenching around the metal of the gate.

“Mick? Are you back? ”

“It’s...so beautiful.” Mick says dazely back to Snart.

“What? Mick! ”

“The fire.”

“What fire? I told you not to set the site on fire! ” Mick didn’t, he’s pretty sure he didn’t, did he? “ Mick?! ”

“God, you’re beautiful.” It’s getting closer to him, he can feel the heat in the air now.

“The fire? Are you fucking kidding me? Mick?! You’re a pyro? Fucking shit! ” Snart yells, “Mick! You have to get out of there. MICK! PLEASE! You promised to take care of yourself! ”

It takes Mick a few more minutes of Snart yelling his lungs out, but he does snap out of it. Shakily, he answers back, voice hoarse from the smoke. “Sorry, boss. I’m here now.” He rips his eyes away from the fire before he can get lost in it again, running from the area. It happened again, always again. He’s supposed to have this under control, but that’s just a lie he’s been telling himself.

“Mick. Please, tell me you’re okay. ” Snart asks, his voice just as hoarse.

“I’m okay.” Mick answers, panting under his breath as he continues to just run. “I’m okay.” He says again, for himself and repeats it until he reaches his tower.

“Boss? It’s beepin’.” Mick picks up the receiver he found at the site, glaring at it.

“What are you talking about? ”

“This wave receiver thing I found.”

“Maybe you should go follow it. ” Ouch, Mick winces, so Snart is still angry about the fire. He’s already told Snart that he isn’t the one who started it, but he guess Snart’s more angry about the pyromania thing.

“Will do, boss.” Mick says helplessly. He doesn’t know how to fix this, he just wants his friend back.

He follows the beeping into a bush, which turns out to be some sort of rigged alarm and a backpack with a key marked ‘Cave 452’.

“Mick, that’s you, isn’t it? ”

“What?”

“Where are you? ”

“In the middle of the woods. I found an alarm and a key for a cave, I think it’s the one by the canyon?”

“So the man at your tower isn’t you? ”

“What.” Mick starts to run, if it’s British guy again, if he’s the one who’s been spying on them, Mick’s going to beat him to a pulp.

“He’s leaving. ” Mick pumps his legs faster, hoping to catch the guy before he can get away. There’s no one at his tower when he arrives. He curses and just heads up the stairs. No one still, but there’s a device with headphones taped to his door.

“'I should burn this shitty place down.’” His own voice says when he listens to the recording, it cuts off, then, “‘God, you’re beautiful.' 'The fire? Are you fucking kidding me? Mick?! You’re a pyro? Fucking shit!’”

“There’s a recording. Of our conversation back at the site.” Mick tells Snart, “It made it sound like I started the fire. Fuck.” Mick slams his fist angrily into the door, wood creaking under it. He’s getting real sick of this, all this shit that's been happening.

“Jesus. We’ll get to the bottom of this, okay? Just sleep for now. You have the key to the cave, right? Maybe we’ll find something there, but tomorrow. ”

DAY 78

“I have some news. ” Snart sounds tired, voice low and heavy with stress.

“Good or bad?”

“Both? I guess. Someone called in a tip about the fire at the site and told the service I know who started it. ” That’s just great, Mick thinks bitterly, the whole world seems to be against him. He’s going to the cave today, no matter what Snart says. He’s going to put an end to all this bullshit that’s just been piling up against the two of them. “And. The girls that were missing? Turns out they just landed in jail for taking a drunken ride. ”

“Serves ‘em right.”

“Yeah, so there’s that. I’m probably going to be questioned and then they’ll probably look closer into your record and find out about your...pyromania. ” Mick grits his teeth, it was always going to come forward one way or another, he had just hoped it would be after this job.

With the two fires merging into an even bigger one, the air outside is thick with smoke. It’s a little hard to see and breath, but Mick gets through it to reach the cave. His radio won’t work inside and he tells Snart as much. The locked door is rusty and old, it takes Mick a few tries before the lock clicks and he can push the door open.

The cave is eerily quiet, such a contrast to the roaring fire outside, even if it’s from a distance. Mick swears he can hear his own heartbeat in the silence, which makes the door slamming behind him a surprise. It’s British guy, Mick can tell from his position. He growls, lunging for the door, but it’s locked again and no way to unlock it from this side. The guy steps back and runs. Fucking great. Mick shakes the door one last time for good measure. Asshole.

He really hopes there’s another exit or Mick’s going to live the rest of his life starving in here. There’s a long steep drop and a crack in the rock, like someone had put a piston into it at some point. It’s gone now and there’s no place he can hang a rope to get down. Farther in, is a pile of loose rocks, Mick manages to dislodge it with his handy axe. There’s another hole, a small shoe sitting halfway down. Mick frowns down at it, that’s weird.

Following the only path he can go, he eventually does make it out. Mick sighs a breath of relief and radios Snart. “Fuck.”

“What’d you find? ”

“Nothing yet, Brit closed the gate on me and I can’t go down the slide inside.”

“He what? ”

“Tried to trap me in, I guess. Found another way out.”

“Fuck. ” Mick agrees with that sentiment.

“Know any place I can find some climbing equipment?”

“Uh, you might find something in one of the caches, but other than that, no. ”

Mick gets lucky again, though. The world may be against him, but luck’s sure on his side. He finds a little fort in an alcove a little ways outside of the cave. It’s actually pretty neat, filled with a few books and pieces of paper. Huh.

“I think I found Jonas Hunter’s fort.”

“Jonas Hunter? ”

“Yeah. He’s got notes and plans, with banners and shit here.” And look, pistons. Mick grins, putting them away into his pack. That will help him go down the slide.

“Wow. I think I know who’s been following you. ”

“Who?”

“It’s just a guess, but...British, white, blond? I think it’s Rip Hunter. ” Which what?

“I thought he left with his kid?”

“Me too, but...first you find Jonas’ backpack, then his fort? It’s almost like- ”

“He’s been herding me here.”

“Exactly. ” Shit, Mick thinks. Was the kid in on this, too? That’s fucked up. He can feel anger pushing forward again, teeth clenching. He’s going back to the cave and finally figuring this whole thing out. Rip wants him in there? Mick’s going to settle this once and for all, find out what’s down the slide.

“Fuck.” Mick’s seen his fair share of dead bodies, but that’s. Rip knows this is here, his own fucking son . Jonas’ body is crumpled up, dried from the three years, thin and missing a shoe. Did Rip want Mick to find this? That sick bastard.

Mick steps over the body carefully, grimacing. Poor kid. He makes a promise to give Rip a good punch in the face for Jonas, and then the rest will all be for forcing Mick into this fucked up game.

When Mick finally gets out of the cave and his radio is able to receive transmissions again, Snart is talking to himself, pretending to be Mick for some of the conversation.

“Why Mick, you’re a pyro? ‘Grrr. Yeah, boss.’ Thanks so much for telling me!”

“...I don’t sound anything like that.”

“Oh! ” There’s a short scuffle. “You’re back! ”

“Yeah.” Mick knows how down he sounds, but he just saw a kid’s dead body.

“Are you okay? What’d you find? ”

Mick hesitates for a moment, does Snart really need to know? “It’s...Jonas.” Yeah, no more secrets. “I found his body.”

“What? ” Snart’s voice is quiet, disbelief clear.

“He must’ve fell or something. Down a cliff. His body’s at the bottom in the cave. And fuck. Do we call this in?” Mick shakes his head, body moving on its own to take himself back to the tower. He’s a little in shock, he was expecting a fight, not a dead kid.

“Fuck. ” Fuck is right. Fuck this place, fuck this job. Fuck Rip Hunter. “His own kid. What the fuck. ” Mick’s pretty messed up, but even he wouldn’t just leave his dead kid rotting inside a cave.

“Yeah.”

“We’re...We’re leaving tomorrow. They want to evac the area because of the fire. So just, head back. ” Mick can do that.

“Yeah, boss.”

DAY 79

They don’t talk until the next morning, Mick lost in his thoughts and staring at the fire. It’s hard to see pass all the smoke now, so there isn’t much to look at. He ends up not sleeping at all, anger and sadness coming in short spurts throughout the night. Mick wishes he can be with the fire, burn all his emotions away, free him from all of this.

“You all packed up? ” Snart finally speaks up, sounding like he hasn’t had a wink of sleep either.

“Just about.”

“You hear the plane? They say the fire’s 2% contained. ” The conversation stays stubbornly away from everything happening.

“They’re pickin’ us up?”

“Yeah. At my lookout. Maybe I can finally meet you. ” That makes Mick smiles a little, he’s looking forward to that, has been all summer.

“You never told me what yo-”

Beep. Beep.

Mick looks down at his hand, holding the strange receiver thing. “Was that…? ”

“Yeah, it’s beepin’ again.” Mick doesn’t want to go, he wants to just forget all this happened. “I’m just gonna ignore it.”

“Wait. What if...it tells us everything? Why he did all this? ”

“I don’t want to fuckin’ know what went through his fucked up mind, alright?” Mick snarls. “You go, if you’re so fuckin’ curious!”

“...Okay. Give me the thing, I’ll go. ”

“What? You’re serious?”

“Yeah, if you’re not. I just want to know why. ” Snart says stubbornly and Mick realizes this man is an idiot.

“No.”

“What? ”

“You’re not fuckin’ goin’. I’m headin’ to your lookout and then we’re leavin’. That’s it. No more of this bullshit.”

“I just want to fucking know why, Mick. Get to the bottom of this. ”

“‘S not worth it!”

“Maybe it is to me! ”

“What?”

“I’m the one...I’m the one who didn’t tell anyone about Jonas. If I had, maybe he wouldn’t be there, rotting in that damn cave! ”

“Snart-”

“Maybe you don’t care, this doesn’t have anything to do with you, anyways, but just. Let me do this, please! ”

Mick sighs heavily, as if he actually has a chance. “Fine. I’ll go. Fuckin’ get to the bottom of this.”

“No, just give me the thing, you don’t have to do this. ”

“Shut up, boss.” Mick snarls, slamming his door open and stomping down the stairs. Fucking Snart.

“Mick! Wait, I want to come with you! ”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on the lookout and helpin’ with the evac?”

“I can say I’m looking for you, put one of the firefighters here. ”

“No. Just stay put. I’ll put an end to this.” He clicks the radio off, not wanting to argue anymore about this.

The beeps leads him to another recorded message, ‘MICK’ and a big arrow pointing up drawn on a rock. He listens to the recording, brows furrowing.

“Hello, Mr. Rory. I do hope you manage to find this before it burns up. We’ve been causing each other headaches for a long time now and thanks to you, I have to find a new site for living as nice as the one you’re about to find. You can’t blame me for doing this, not after I bumped into you by the cave when you first got here. I just thought… I’ve been here for the last three years, even past all the winters.

“There are only so many books to read and then I got bored, rigged up something to listen into radios. Ha. Mr. Snart’s not someone you really want to know. He’s not as nice as he sounds. Possibly more of a criminal than you are.

“I only stopped worrying about you two finding out about a week ago and that’s when everything went so bloody wrong. You don’t know what it’s like to have a kid. No one does! I didn’t kill him. Jonas. My boy. I would never-

“He fell. Didn’t put in his piston correctly and it just...I didn’t want it to happen. Nothing I could do.

“I thought about going back, telling the truth. But how can I? My wife, she...I can’t face her. Don’t look for me. Sorry about...all of this. ”

Mick really wants a few moments and few words with this idiot, but it sounds like Rip’s long gone. He looks up the shale slide in front of him, the last piece of the fucking puzzle. Maybe it’s better to leave some things unturned, let sleeping dogs lie and all. He clicks his radio back on, ready to report back to Snart.

“Mick? Mick, where are you? ” There’s coughing, “Mick? I’m...I’m at the cave.”

Fucking Snart. Mick runs, lungs pumping hard from the lack of oxygen in the air so heavy with smoke. “Fucking idiot! Don't move, I'm comin' to you!”

“Shit. ” He hears the voice not only on the radio, but at a distance as well. His heart beats quickly, both in anticipation and from the length he just ran.

“Snart?” Mick calls out.

“Mick!” He turns to his right, spotting a figure just outside of the cave. He’s there, he’s really there. Snart’s taller than Mick first imagined, only maybe an inch or two shorter than Mick. His face, though, that’s something special. Blue eyes, sharp features, Snart honestly looks like he can be in a magazine, a fucking model, he’s that pretty. There’s a smirk on his face, smug and looking like it’s always there. It fits him so fucking well, matches the sass when he was just a voice on the radio.

Snart takes just as long to look at him while Mick slowly steps forward. “Hey you.” When Snart speaks, all quiet like that, Mick can hear the slight nasally tone that’s there. The words are a drawl, deep and as always, holding a sarcastic edge. It’s so familiar, but so new at the same time. It’s everything Mick’s ever wanted.

“Hey.” Mick replies, finally, after a few seconds. The smirk on Snart’s face gets bigger.

“You weren’t lying when you said you’re big.” Snart comments and Mick shrugs. “We better get going, before they stop making the rounds. Tell me what you found on the way.”

“Yeah, boss.” Mick grins, following Snart as the other man leads the way.

“It was an accident.”

“Still. He should’ve... told someone at least.”

“Said he can’t face his wife.”

“Fucking asshole .”

“You didn’t go up there?”

“Didn’t wanna know.”

“What do you think ’s up there?”

“Nothin’ important. Maybe some hermit’s house.”

“Kind of impressed that he was there for three years and no one noticed.”

“What do you think’s next?”

“Dunno. ‘S your call, boss.”

“You mean it?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, Mick.” Snart says to him on the helicopter, squeezing their linked hands. Mick turns to him, taking his eyes off the fire. The sight from up here is beautiful, making it look huge and encompassing. “Thanks.”

Mick’s brows furrows, confused. “What for?”

Snart smiles, a real one, not the smirk Mick’s gotten used to in such a short time. “For everything. For...being here.” The man leans forward and presses a kiss to Mick’s cheek. It’s soft and careful, almost questioning. Mick turns, catching Snart’s lips before he can move away. Behind them, the fire roars and Mick gets lost in something different.

It feels like home.

#dccoldwave #i cant believe i actually wrote this hfaskdlghsadf #[myfic

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captainatin · 7 years

Text

Unwavering essence chapter 5: Break dance

Never ending darkness, Kathleen felt herself be swallowed up by it as she clung onto a shimmering yellow light.

*Game over

*Restart save file?

“W-What?” The battered ballerina whimpered as white text floated in front of her. “I don’t know what’s going on.” She sniffled as the left she was clutching faded away into nothingness. “What do you want from me?” She weakly called out to the mysterious words that hung in the air. “This can’t be just a dream, it’s all too real for that!” Her hand slammed against the floating words and her eyes slammed shut as tightly as they could. The girl let out deep breaths to calm herself down, she felt a warm feeling wash over her and take away her exhaustion in addition to taking away her cuts and bruises. She opened her eyes to the sound of a crackling fire and the smell of smoke blowing into her face.

“Are you alright miss? We don’t see many of your frog shepherds around here!” Kathleen heard a distant voice call out to her, they were approaching but their tone was sweet and gentle. The girl coughed from the smoke and opened her eyes, the fumes burned and made her eyes release tears despite having sobbed out so many before. She spun her head around to face the person that was coming closer. “You okay little girl?” The monster looked quite unfriendly in comparison to their words, they were a giant snake with a pig’s head on top. The beast looked rather horrifying to the girl until she recalled her drawing.

“Uhm, I’m fine, really I am.” Kathleen felt like she was hyperventilating, that her lungs would cave in at any second and suffocate her. “I really have to get going!” She tried to speak normally but it sounded more like a loud screech.

“Oh, I’m sorry for frightening you!” The reptile shouted out with concern written all over her expression and her voice. “I’m sorry, really I am!” The ballerina girl glanced back only once and saw the woman slither back into her house and slam the door shut. The human felt a twinge of guilt run through her stomach, up her throat, and into her brain.

“What the hell was that all about?” Kathleen whimpered to herself as she trotted her way out of the town. She strode her way through a thick mist, she could barely see what was two feet in front of her. Why did she look like her? That careless doodle, this has to be a dream! She slapped herself across the face but she didn’t snap out of the living nightmare she had found herself trapped in. Why can’t I wake up? Someone else needs to slap me. She nodded in conclusion as she slowly waddled forward, breathing in the fog with each shaking and shallow breath.

“Hey, why are you crying?” She heard the voice of a small child pipe up behind her, she stopped and dared to turn around to look at the monster that was behind her. A penguin body with a badger head and paws. “You shouldn’t be upset over someone asking if you’re okay. That’s kinda rude don’t you think?” The creature tilted its head as it shuffled forward on its tiny little feet. The beast looked horrifying in comparison to its sweet voice.

“G-Get away from me!” Kathleen turned around and rushed forward as she stuffed her emotions back into her heart, this is what she always had done. Speeding by rocks and glowing blue flowers, her feet thundered against the stone floor as she accelerated even further before splashing in puddles that were formed by water dripping from the top of the cave system that she had entered. Disregarding the fact that she was already in a cave. The ballerina girl tripped over herself and fell flat onto her face, blood gushed from her nose and onto the rocks she was left staring down at. “I don’t know what to do.” She whimpered to herself as she stood to her feet and covered her nose with her hands, the blood oozing out onto her fingers in thick red streams came out after the thinner blood from before. Great, I don’t have a stupid tissue to plug all this up. Insult to injury. She growled and shuffled forward.

“Uhm, lady?” The badger avian hybrid quickly hobbled over as quickly as they could to catch up with the human girl. “You aren’t okay, you look like you could use a tissue or a hankie or something like that.” The creature batted its eyes at the woman as it patted her back.

“Just leave me alone you little monster!” The dancer sniffled as the blood seeped over her fingers and dripped onto the rest of her hand before running down her arm, coating her skin with the red hue. Seriously? Why can’t these little punks leave me alone? Can’t they tell I don’t want to be anywhere near them? They’re just a bunch of freaks! She tried to run but felt a twinge of pain surge through her right ankle. No, I don’t really think that. I’m not thinking right, I’m in a lot of pain and I need to calm the hell down. The girl sniffled again as she clutched her nose in a poor attempt to stop the bleeding.

“I mean, yeah I’m a monster. Ma’am, aren’t you one too?” The beast wobbled faster to catch up before it tripped and fell on its face. “Ooof! That was not a nice spill.” This creature didn’t get a bloody nose like she did, its snout was undamaged and it was already back on its feet and catching up with her. “We’re all monsters down here! Ain’t no one else down here but us! We haven’t seen a human in a loooooooooooooooooooooo-” The badger thing took a deep breath. “-ooooooooooooong time. Or at least that’s what my mama told me, she’s really really smart and I think you need to get a tissue.” High pitched noises were not the girl’s forte so the voice of the child ended up being incredibly irritating to listen to as she picked up the pace. As she walked faster, so did the curious little child that trotted along behind her.

“What part of beat it did you not get? I’m legit going to get pissed off at you! I’ve given you a damn warning so just buzz off!” Kathleen stomped as she whipped her head around and stared into the soul of the creature, she blinked as her vision turned black and white. “No, no, no, why did you do that?” She backed off slightly as a mortified feeling washed over her, she didn’t know how to fight in the underground without killing them.

“I didn’t do nothing!” The creature stuck its tongue out at her before quickly retracting it. “You’re the one that opened the stupid menu! I don’t know why you gotta be such a mean lady! It doesn’t make sense.” They pouted as they folded their arms and plopped down onto the ground. “So you gonna attack me or what?”

“What? No!” The dancer exclaimed as she held out a hand in protest. “No, no, no! I don’t want to fight I just want to get out of here and not worry about abnormal things! I want to go back to my home so please get out of my way!” She cried out as a rhythm played out in her head and a spectral foot was launched at the badger.

“Ouchie!” The monster covered its head as the attack dissipated. “W-What did you do? I feel really heavy.” They tried to stand up but only plopped back down onto the stone cold floor they had been sitting on. “Meanie!” The beast swiped its claws and sent an energy blast rocketing towards the girl’s blue floating heart.

“Oh no! No, no, no! I didn’t mean to do that on purpose I swear to all that whatever you monsters call holy!” The slash grazed her cheek and blood slowly seeped out from the razor thin cut, she raised a pair of fingers and tapped the injury. It stung like salt on a wound, there was nothing she use to dull the pain so she was left agonizing over it. The blood from her nose seemed to have ceased its exit but her right arm was covered down to her wrist in the caked life essence. “Please don’t do this.” She took a deep breath before coughing out a wad of mucus that had blood blended in with it. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“But you did already! You’re a meanie and a liar!” The beast growled as it slashed at the air multiple times, several white energy slashes soared through the air and missing their pink wearing target. “Dodging isn’t fair!” They huffed as they released even more energy waves, still ferociously tearing through the air with their claws. “You can’t just do that, don’t you know you gotta stay still?” The monster shouted as sweat poured out onto the rocks, they looked tired and almost unable to move.

“I am staying still.” Kathleen growled as she stomped her foot and launched another spectral shoe at her enemy, she hoped to quite literally kick some sense into the creature that sought to harm her. “Sorry I got to do this little man!” Another shoe flew out and struck the monster’s head leaving a bulging sore like the kind you would see in a cartoon.

“You ain’t sorry! You ain’t sorry one bit, no you’re not!” The badger fell onto its belly and tried clawing forward. “Too heavy….so much weight, I can barely move!” They whined as they scampered to move forward but to no avail. “Please help me!” A harsh scratching sound rang out through the cave in unison with the sound of dripping water, the creature drug its nails across the floor and wailed. The screams were terrifying for the girl to sit there and listen to, she had no idea how to escape the fight so she felt there was no other option than to put the child out of its misery.

“I am so sorry, really I am.” The ballerina averted her gaze as she stomped on the creature’s neck and another wail was released to echo through the complex interior of the cave, a mortifying screech that would give even the bravest of men nightmares or trigger flashbacks for an old war veteran. Suddenly the sound came to a stop and the cruel shrieking was nothing more than a bitter memory. A bitter memory that the young girl could not shake out of her head no matter how hard she tried. “I’m so sorry.” She sniffled as she sobbed into her bloody hands, the caked blood only reminded her of the last creature she had killed. Dust clung to her legs as she shook in place.

*LV up! 3 ---> 5! HP increase, DEF increase, ATK increase!

“W-What?” She meeped out as her vision returned to normal and the white text hung in the air to mock her and the dark deed she had just committed. What do you mean when you say what? Kat, you know exactly what it means! Hurry the hell along and just go home! It isn’t safe down here, it never was. I was being a total idiot and I need to get out of here. How do I get out? Something about a castle, and King Asgore, and what was the rest of it? God I have no clue what is going on! I just want to get out of here! She slowly turned around and stumbled through the area, her slower pace prevented her from falling down again. It started to rain, drops splattered against the floor of the cave making sounds as it clattered a little at a time before picking up the pace. Soon it was pouring down water as if to sweep away the girl under a tidal wave of emotions and thoughts. She came to a wooden bridge that creaked with every step, the support ropes looked thin and the planks looked softened up by the downpour. What’s the worst that could happen? I’m in enough danger as it is. The girl sniffled as she held onto the ropes with all her might, clenching tightly around them for support as she slowly skidded her way across the rickety bridge. Her clothes were drenched and her entire body was shaking in fear, remorse, and the cold feeling that encompassed all of it.

“Hey! You there!” The girl looked up to see a small tent up ahead with a fire next to it, the flames flickered but there was a slight overhang to the cloth of the tent so that none of the rain could douse the heat that danced across the pile of sticks and slabs of coal. “You should come over here and sit by us!” The speaker was rather gruff and masculine, he sounded like a smoker who had just downed a whole bottle of alcohol after finishing his blunt. His appearance was even more unsavory, his green and wrinkled skin made him look like a goblin, his rounded button nose didn’t help the thought either.

“Uhm, I think I’ll pass.” Kathleen swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, the rain had soaked through her clothing but stopping was not an option, especially when stopping meant dealing with another creature she had doodled up while in the classroom. “I really have to hurry and I can’t stop to chat.” She tried to walk past the man but his figure seemed to grow until he was towering over her.

“Who said you had a choice in the matter?” The beast gave an ugly sneer as he snapped his fingers and two other giants came out from the tent, they held belts and rope that looked like they had been used before. “Because you really don’t!” A deep laughter rang out from the man’s gut as he leaned over and grabbed the girl by the throat. “Come now little human! You’ve built quite the reputation for yourself haven’t ya?” He wiggled her around in his grip before setting her down in between him and his two fellow goons.

“What are you talking about?” Kathleen gasped for air as she fell to the ground and fell into a fit of coughing and wheezing for precious oxygen from the damp environment. “I haven’t met many people down here, just leave me alone please!” Her vision turned hazy in addition to fading back into black and white.

“Awh, she thinks asking us nicely will make us leave her alone!” One of the other two cronies laughed before the original goblin joined in, before long she was surrounded my laughing beasts holding rope and different kinds of belts and straps. “We’ll be ready to have some real fun with you!” He stifled his laughter as he tied her hands together and scratched his long fingernails against her stomach, slicing part of her ballerina outfit into thin ribbons forcing the girl to twinge in pain at the cut. She refused to look at any of them, nor did she look at the cut that ran across her belly.

“Come on then little one! Didn’t you kill a whole lot of monsters? I haven’t seen the posters up yet but they said a human is in the underground causing a big ruckus!” The third beast sneered into her face and giggled as he slashed at her plain white stockings that had been tainted with dirt and grime, the cloth that clung to her legs was soon covered with blood as the newest addition to its appearance. “Who knew punishing a criminal would be so much fun!”

“Yeah!” The original goblin that had approached her chimed into the conversation as he crouched down and grabbed her head, pulling it backwards to force her to look up at him, the bun bounced slightly with the pins still secured tightly inside it. “Now I see why the royal guard are so harsh on people. There is no way I could pass something like this up.” He breathed heavily as he lowered his hand down her back which caused her to shudder in response.

“You sickos!” She shouted as she leaned forward before slamming her head back into his chest, the pins came loose and gouged into him, forcing him to wail in pain like the animal he behaved like. No, this cannot be happening! Three goblin freaks trying to kidnap me and do god knows what? Hell no! I got to get out of here! But how do I fight all three of them? My hands are all tied up! Her thoughts raced and she was barely given enough time to think before the beasts hand came back to her throat and lifted her off the ground and squeezing tightly around her voice box in order to stop her from screaming.

“You little whelp! Who do you think gave you the right to do that?” She tried to speak but as she opened her mouth the beast clenched tighter before slashing at her uncut cheek. “That will be your first lesson in pain, there will be many more from now on!” The monster threw her onto the ground and as she scampered to get up she was pushed back down by his massive hairy feet, her face being shoved into the rocks like before. The other two goblins began kicking her and beating her by whipping the rope and leather belts down upon her as she broke down into tears and shrieks of utter agony that echoed through the stone.

“Halt, you thugs stop right there!” A blue flower budded nearby, it wasn’t the plant speaking but it did seem to be relaying the message.

“What was that?” The three goons whipped around as they tried to find the source of the voice, the cruelest of the three was the most confused out of all of them. “I thought you two said that the knights were done with their patrol! The royal guard shouldn’t be out this late an hour!” He spat at his two comrades before his mouth hung open, gaping widely at a sword that had been thrust straight through his back.

“That was me.” The beast crumbled into dust that was washed away but the rain clattering against the rock, the rain also resounded against armor but the human girl had no way of looking up at the man who had come to save her. “Now I suggest you two run along before anything else unsavory happens to you.” The man stepped forward and took a deep breath.

“And why should we be scared of you? He was taken out by surprise but we can see you as clear as the sky is rumored to be!” The second goon scowled as his ropes warped and twisted around to reform into a brutal looking five tailed whip.

“Oh, I really don’t think we should mess with him.” The third monster swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly backed off. “Don’t you realize who he is?” There was a great deal of fear in the creature’s voice, it was impressive how fast his confidence and cruelty melted away into cowardice.

“Yes, I am Chester!” The blade whistled through the air and soon the man was standing with the sword to both the necks of the rowdy hooligans, the girl still couldn’t see anything above the medieval armor that was shaped to fit an average humans proportions. “The former captain of the royal guard.” The noble warrior let out a satisfied scoff, he was likely bearing a wide smirk across his face. “Just because I have been stripped of my title do not think that I am an incapable warrior who won’t defend those in need.” He lowered his weapon and shoved the goons back with a giant block that he had created. “I’m a hero through and through so don’t try anything funny!” After he had made sure the goons had left, he turned around and sheathed his blade as he got into a position where the human could see his face.

“You look like….” Kathleen was at a loss for words, she was staring at a giant wooden box that was placed on top of a suit of armor, he appeared to have googly eyes attached to his face and his nose was a keyhole lock. His whole face looked like it had been ripped straight out of a renaissance festival, the wood looked old and chipped in several different places. “You look like a memory chest.” Her loss for sensible words might also have come from the immense amount of missing blood and the heavy pounding of her hearts and lungs screaming at her to tend to their needs.

“Hey, shut up!” The man growled as he stooped down to pick her up from off the ground. “Wait, sorry human, that wasn’t directed at you.” Chester quickly shook his head as he began walking, he appeared to be rather careful not to jostle around too much. “It was to someone else, just talking to myself.” He smiled awkwardly.

“Uhm, okay then, you’re pretty weird for a proud warrior of the underground. I heard your whole speech thing about not being the captain of the royal guard anymore, that must suck!” The girl chortled with glee, she wasn’t in her right mind, she didn’t even think about the dangers of the royal guard knowing that there was a human like her in the underground.

“Yes, it sucks a lot.” The man fidgeted slightly as he raised her a bit higher to keep her away from the pommel of his sword that bounced on his hip. His face twisted into that of disgust as he looked up at the ceiling. “How uncouth of a comment to make!” He exclaimed before shaking his head and looking back down at the girl he was holding in his arms. “Once again I do apologize for that.” He smiled sheepishly before stopping at a glowing yellow light. “This is the stop.” He nodded as he laid the human down under the light. “Go on.” Chester motioned with his head in order to encourage her to touch the shimmering star. “Just touch it!” He grabbed her hand and raised it up to make contact with the light.

*Realizing that you can’t live among monsters only hardens your integrity

It’s right, I can’t come back here after I leave. I was such a stupid little girl for thinking I could do something as crazy as that. Kathleen sniffled and a tear ran down her cheek as she stared up at the light and the ceiling of the cave above it. All the physical pain in her body had faded away and the wounds had all vanished in an instant, the only damage left was all mentally, something that could not be fixed nearly as easily. “Thank you, I really appreciate all of it, really.” She nodded as she leaned up and grunted to clear her throat. “I’m sorry that I bothered you.” The girl stared at her feet and swallowed the lump that had formed in her esophagus.

“Oh, it wasn’t a trouble at all! A real hero isn’t bothered by a call for help!” The man posed with a finger thrust skyward in a noble gesture, it felt rather awkward and unnecessary for him to do something like that. “I know that we should be asleep! Can’t you just settle down for once?” He growled and rolled his eyes as he started walking away.

“Uhm, sir are you sure you’re okay? Talking to yourself isn’t normal if you’re having verbal arguments with yourself.” The girl didn’t mean to be rude but it was rather concerning to her that her rescuer appeared to be a little more than odd.

“Yes, uhm, indeed. I am alright! Okay, splendid, ravishing, wonderful, excellent, outstanding, fair, marvelous!” Chester spun around to face her, he seemed rather twitching and nervous. “Of course I’ll invite her to my house! Why would I just leave her standing out in the rain? That would be simply shameful of me!” He exclaimed as he walked towards her again. “Would you like to come to my house and stay awhile? You should get out of the rain before something bad happens again. Nothing good comes from a stormy night from what I’ve heard about human tales.” He once again held a smile that seemed strained and awkward, almost like he wasn’t honest about any of it.

“T-Thanks for the offer but….” Her voice trailed off as she stood up and backed away slightly. Can I really trust him? I know he saved me and all but….what if he’s just trying to lure me in like that stupid flower did? I can’t take that risk can I? She pondered the offer for a moment before she gasped at the thought of Ribbon and how he would react to her actions. Not everyone down here is bad. I need to know that and trust a bit more. The girl shook her head as she chuckled lightly. “Actually, I’ve changed my mind, let’s go!” She trotted past him and to the right side of the branching path.

“Other way.” The vigilante chuckled as he slowly made his way towards her and to the opposite side of the path that she had began sprinting down without a second thought. “It is down this way, that path will lead you to the junkyard and I don’t think you really want to go to that kind of place at this hour. It stinks like you would not believe, it is probably worse than a skunk in an abandoned butchery shop.” The girl plugged her nose at the very thought of that kind of stench plaguing an area. “I apologize, I probably shouldn’t have gotten that image stuck in your head.” He rubbed the back of his head and it creaked rather loudly. The two of them stood still for a moment, the only sound being that of the water clattering against the stone floors, leaving large puddles for the pair to walk through on their way to shelter. Chester shook his head to snap himself out of the trance, or at least it seemed that way if you didn’t consider his eyes rolling once again. “Come now, we must get going before you get soaked all the way through. Wait, you’re already drenched...drats.” He grumbled as he put his hand behind her back to motion her along like a father would do with his child.

“T-Thank you, uhm, about you being a knight….and knowing I am a human.” Kathleen shuddered as she walked side by side with him, her eyes had drifted down to her feet again. “Aren’t you going to turn me in? It could get your position back couldn’t it?” She let out a heavy sigh and tilted her head in order to get a slightly different view of the path ahead.

“I wouldn’t dare even dream about turning a human over to Asgore! That’s the entire reason why I am no longer a member of the royal guard!” The man exclaimed as he waved his free hand extravagantly. “Yes, I know there is more to it than that but she doesn’t need to know that now does she?” He leaned forward and looked past the dancer, his eyes locking with a certain height on the wall as he spoke.

“I don’t need to know what? I’m sorry but it is kinda hard to trust people down here given the amount of times I’ve almost died.” Kathleen slowed down her pace and let the man walk in front of her for a bit.

“I was demoted for trying to release the human souls that had already been captured by our king. That is why I left the royal guard, I am a traitor to the entire underground and I am despised by all who still remember my name! Old man Chester.” He smiled, it was odd that he could do that in spite of the fact that he was being mocked and insulted for doing what he thought was the right thing to do.

“Wow, and you don’t hate anyone for it?” She resumed walking along side the block head, she clearly expressed her sense of wonder and respect for the man and all he had sacrificed for the sake of his identity. “That must have taken a lot of integrity.” The girl unwittingly addressed the one word that had followed her through her entire journey in the underground. No, it hadn’t followed her through just the underground, it had followed her through the entirety of her life. The one word to sum up everything she needed and what she had quite a bit of. Integrity.

“Yes, I suppose it did.” Chester let out a wistful sigh as he slowly picked up the pace, splashing through every puddle that formed along his path. “My house is close by so we should try to hurry up now!” He broke out into a swift stride but soon slowed down as he realized that the girl had not followed along with what he had said. “Is something the matter?” He tilted his head, his once pleasant expression had drifted down to concern written across his face.

“N-No, everything is alright.” The girl smiled as she trotted up to him and followed along, it felt nice to have a companion again even though she realized that it would be short lived. “Thank you for worrying about me, it really means a lot.” She nodded as they approached a small hut that had been set up inside a carved out alcove among the towering rocky spires.

“Nonsense! I already told you that it was okay.” The man swung the door open and a rush of heat came out to meet the two of them. “Oh dear, I don’t think that is suppose to happen.” He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat as he walked inside and gasped at the sight of a roaring fire that was eating through a rug. “Move please!” He shouted at the dancer in a rather panicked manner, it seemed he was more scared of a small fire than he was any monster that would dare to challenge him. The block head quickly fanned the rug out into the rain, flapping it up and down in order to try and douse the flames faster. “Ah, yes, uhm, there we go!” He laughed heartily but awkwardly as he moved back inside the hut and laid the rug down on the floor in its rightful place.

“Your house is really….” The dancer struggled to find the right words to describe it. Everything looked rather plain, the walls were a beige hue and the only interesting thing about the rest of the tiny interior was a small stove in the far left corner from the door. The rest of the humble abode looked like it would bore even the most simple of people to death. “Bland.” She stated her thoughts bluntly, there was no other way to put it without telling the man a blatant lie straight to his wooden face.

“I know, but I make it work. The floor is really soft so I don’t need a bed and there is a plentiful supply of moss I can use to make some delicious soup!” The little girl was shocked to see him speaking with such a straight face, she shook her head as she figured that it might be a culture difference that she just didn’t quite understand. “Oh, you haven’t tried it have you? Of course a human might think it’s weird but I just know you’ll love it! One second, I’ll go grab some moss from-” He was cut off by the sound of static cutting through the air and forcing the two of them to clutch their ears in pain.

“Ches-es-ester-er-er-ester, what did I tell-ell-ell-te you about housing-ing-ing-housing humans?” A garbled voice rang out as the rain slowed to a stopping point. “You know that the verdict you got was rather generous-ous-ous-ous-gener-er-er-er-er-ous. I could-ould-ould-could-ould’ve executed you where you stood-ood-ood-stoo.” A skeleton crept into view, it was hunched over slightly and there appeared to be gaping holes in its palms, it twitched with every step. Cracks ran across the skull and opened up to a dark void in between, the eye sockets were completely blank for a moment before two white dots appeared, their gaze piercing the girl down to the very soul.

“Mr. Gaster, a pleasure to see you again.” The warrior’s face grew cold and spiteful, it was clear that the skeleton was not there for a nice chat. “I thought I told you to leave me alone, or has one of us forgotten in our old age?” He spat as he slowly drew his sword out of its sheath, his stance lowered as he prepared for an attack from the twitching figure.

“Your humor-or-or-hu-hu-mor has improved-oved-oved over the years it seems.” The skull bobbed slightly as he chuckled. “Unfortunately I understand sarcasm.” The monster sighed as he fixed its gaze onto Chester’s wooden head. “Now hand over the human-an-an-human. Or else I will have-ave-ave to exe-exe-exe-execute-ute-ute-ute-ute-ute-ute-ute-” The lab coat draped around him and shook rapidly along with the entirety of the pile of old bones. Another deafening shriek of static filled the ears of the human girl and the block head. “Make-ake-ake your choice, now.”

“I choose to shut you up!” Chester growled as he leaped forward and sliced downward with his sword, a giant block flew out but was pushed out of the way by two gigantic hands that had formed from the nothingness. The sword made contact with a strange bone structure, it resembled a dragon’s head and it laughed for a second before shooting out a laser that pushed the knight back into the tent. He screamed in pain as he landed, a beige heart appeared over his chest and it glowed brightly as it drenched the room with its radiance.

*But it refused

“Just one hit and we’re already this damaged?” The warrior chuckled as he stood to his feet.

“Because you got angry, we gotta keep it cool, old man.” The ballerina gasped as she saw a phantasm appear behind Chester, it looked like a human boy only a few years older than her. He floated just above the knight’s waist and he leaned his arm on the monster’s shoulder in a nonchalant manner, he almost looked bored by the current predicament that they had found themselves in.

“W-Wait what?” Kathleen had the sudden realization, the reason the man’s soul held color in the battle menu, the reason why he had kept talking to himself all the time, all of it made sense now. The human trapped inside of him was giving advice, an eternal guardian, like an angel.

“Who you calling old? You might look like a kid but your soul has been around a lot longer.” The battle hardened veteran chuckled as he took stance once again. Another dragon head appeared and shot at the man, it was deflected in an instant by a quick swipe of the man’s sword. “Now then, how about we-”

“Tip the scales!” The duo shouted in unison as Chester charged forward and unleashed a flurry of slashes, each swipe was blocked by the giant bone hands but some of the damaged seemed to go back to the scientist.

“Interesting, you have found-ound-foun a way to activate that on command-and-and-and. I will have to study that human’s soul to figure out more about this phenomenon-on-on-menon.” Two heads appeared to the left and a third swerved from behind Gaster and to the right, the duo was already moving out of the way so the blasts missed and instead unearthed large amounts of debris from the walls of the mountainous terrain. As the knight lunged forward two hands clasped together to grab his sword, but it seemed like the warrior had predicted it as he sent a block out to either side of him to slow down the grasping bones. The tip of his sword scraped the skeleton’s side as he tried to dodge, the scientist twinged in pain. “You’ve seemed to have grown-own more accustomed to using the soul-oul-oul-ouls power. That’s going to be bothersome.” Gaster grunted as he sent a bone spiraling on a collision course for his foe’s spectral partner.

“I’d be curious to try that too, but it won’t work.” The human phantasm shrugged as the bone passed through him and clattered against the floor. “I appreciate the compliment though, we’re much stronger than the last time you fought us. I can say for certain it won’t be nearly as easy.” He yawned as his head drooped down slightly.

How can he be so laid back? How can he be so calm? What the hell is up with this guy? He’s a human and he doesn’t seem to be bothered that his life's in danger! Kathleen swallowed the lump in her throat as she watched the three fighters dance across the blue stones of the waterfall area, the swirling bones and slashes of white energy were mesmerizing to watch. It appeared as if neither of them could land a hit after their first exchange of blows. I guess it’s because he has been down here a long time. I wonder if he thought about it like I did, not wanting to leave this place. A giant bone swung down to crush the knight but it was held back by the sword that glowed with power, the spectral body of the human drifted in front of the wooden warrior. No, he seems too bored to want to stay down here. This is all so stupid! Why don’t I just run away? This would be the perfect time to slip past unnoticed! She growled at herself but her eyes were locked on the action.

“What-at-at-at are you plan-an-aning?” Gaster tilted his head as he watched the beige soul slowly approach. The boy smirked as his hollow body filled out with color, making him look incredibly real as if he were a completely normal person again.

“Screw off!” The human socked the skeleton right in the jaw and forced a tooth to fly out of the doctor's mouth and rattle against the floor. The rain started again. “Damn that felt good.” He bounced in place as a spectral baseball bat appeared and he used it to wack the sack of bones around the arena.

“I see-ee-ee-ee-ee, you can use the monster-er-er-er as an anchor to the physical plane. I wonder if that will take a toll on him.” The man in the lab coat pointed back to Chester who was panting heavily as he remained pinned down by the gargantuan bone. As the human’s head whipped around to see his comrade, his foe materialized another dragon skull and blasted him into his ally. They both fell to the ground and were smashed by the bone. “Now, are we done here-ere-ere?” Gaster growled as he walked forward, his hands still raised in front of him. He summoned several more of the skulls and aimed them all at where the two were being squashed under the weight of the attack.

“Not even close!” Chester burst out of the bone, the spectral body of the human had retreated inward but the knight’s body looked like it had sustained little damage. The dragon heads roared and blasted their attacks with a loud screech, the resulting explosion swirled dust around and obscured the vision of the girl.

That’s it, I have to help them. Kathleen swallowed the lump in her throat and charged out of the tent. A navy blue heart appeared in front of her and pulsed brightly, drenching the area under its glow.

“Don’t even try it!” Gaster shouted and sent a swarm of light blue bones towards her, they all made contact but it didn’t seem to bother her in the slightest.

*But it refused

“Leave them alone!” The dancer leaped through the air and landed in front of the pile of rigid bones, she tried to kick at his chest but he leaped back to dodge it. There was an made attempt to summon more bones but the girl didn’t give him a single moment to think, she stomped on the ground and a volley of ethereal ballet shoes rocketed towards the man in the lab coat. A certain tune popped into the girl’s head and she continued to hum it as more and more projectiles assaulted the enemy.

“What on earth is this?” The doctor seethed as he tried to weave his way through the endless stream of attacks, there wasn’t a single room for an opening, he couldn’t afford to even think about producing a counter attack. “It’s like your soul is overflowing! I’ve seen it before but not quite like this.” His voice seemed to clear up to the point of sounding close to normal. A shoe grazed his left leg and made him quiver, he felt like an invisible shackle had been placed to pull him down. He tried to adjust to the shift in weight but he couldn’t adapt in time for the continuous storm of kicks, with each attack he felt his body get heavier and heavier and heavier. The green bar above his head slowly declined to a small sliver before he pushed through the pain and summoned a dragon skull to block the attacks. The girl seemed to be wrapped up in her own little world, detached from her surroundings as she blankly stared forward and hummed the familiar tune in her head, it was a song she heard a lot as a child. Such sweet memories were interrupted by a blast to the face from the drake’s maw.

“God-!” Kathleen was swept under a wave of agony, she screamed in pain as her vision was filled with a bright white light that burned like the sun in the middle of July. The girl couldn’t speak, she couldn’t move either, she was forced to stand there in torment. As the sound of the beast had vanished, the pain seemed to lessen slightly. The attack had ended and she fell to her knees, she still couldn’t see anything, the light had burnt itself into her eyes and prevented her from looking around. She sniffled as she remained on her knees, the pain was too much for her to bare while remaining sane.

“I’m sorry kid, I had hoped for a relatively painless death.” She heard the sound of bones scraping against the stone floor, it was clear that the man was forced to slowly hobble towards her due to the injuries he had suffered during their fight.

“I-I-I just….” The human girl tried to speak but she couldn’t choke out any words that meant anything, her whole body burned and her mind could barely process anything that was going on around her.

“I pray that your soul will find some comfort, kiddo.”

“W-Where am I?” Kathleen snapped to her senses and looked around, there was nothing but pitch black darkness surrounding her. No sound, no scent, nothing to feel with her hands, even the sound of her own voice felt drowned out by the empty silence she sat in. Soon she felt a pull on her soul, like something was draining her of her essence.

“H-Hello?” A voice called out through the darkness, it sounded like a little boy who had been separated from his parents. “If you’re out there please help me!” The child appeared in front of her and she flinched slightly. “I can’t do this on my own.” His face was covered with scratches and bruises, his naturally soft features ruined, his purple striped shirt was missing its right sleeve. In spite of all that he looked as innocent as a baby could possibly be.

“You seem to have a lot of stick-to-itness.” The girl chuckled as she approached him, crouching down slightly as she stood in front of him. “I mean you have a lot of integrity there kiddo.”

#Unwavering essence #Blue Soul #human souls #undertale #gaster #but it refused #Chester #beige soul

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