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lulu2992 · 4 months

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Uncovering the unreleased Far Cry 5 in-game Encyclopedia

The almost complete but unused in-game encyclopedia, reconstructed thanks to the oasisstrings file.

Please note that it’s still cut content, so some information might not be relevant anymore.

You can read the oasisstrings file here. Pictures from this encyclopedia were also extracted and posted by @xbaebsae here.

Part 2: Locations - Holland Valley

Gardenview Packing Facility

The last facility added to the Hadlers' apple empire. They shipped their apples throughout Hope County and beyond. When the cult went red state, the Hadlers stopped their legal threats and resorted to violence.

Silver Lake Trailer Park

A community of people just trying to do their best.

Gardenview Orchards

A part of Doug and Debbie Hadler’s apple empire. After their ciderworks facility, they expanded to a second, larger orchard: Gardenview Orchards. Then they opened the Gardenview Packing Facility.

Rae-Rae's Pumpkin Farm

Fiery matriarch Rae-Rae Bouthillier cares about two things: Prize-winning pumpkins and her dog Boomer.

Gardenview Ciderworks

The first major facility owned by Doug and Debbie Hadler. Ten years ago, they had a dream: an empire made of apples. They nearly achieved it too, until the cult forcibly took over everything they had worked for.

Bridge of Tears

It was called the Mišihrew Bridge when the railroad was still active. It’s now a rickety old train bridge and John Seed's ideal location to send a warning message to all sinners.

Frobisher's Cave

In 1970, a cougar, named "Frobisher" by the locals, killed the star pitcher of a rival baseball team. The Hope County Silver Foxes won that year and changed their name to the Cougars in Frobisher's honor.

Howard Cabin

Home of Niesha Howard, an extreme rock climber from Canada who moved to Montana to be a prepper.

Copperhead Rail Yard

Copperhead Rail was created in the late 1800s by Emmet Reaves. It was shut down in the early 70s and a lot got left behind. It became a place for kids to get drunk or bums to find shelter, then the cult bought it.

Lincoln Lookout Tower

It’s the last working fire tower in the county. A man who worked here promised to help the Strickland family fight off the cult if ever their farm was under attack.

Sergey’s Place

A hobo historian calls this place home. Nobody's seen him in a while though.

Boyd Residence

Will Boyd lives here, or at least he did. No one in the valley talks about him. And for good reason.

Strickland Farm

Property owned by the Strickland family of farmers. No friends to Eden’s Gate.

U.S. Auto

A scrap yard containing trashed cars, broken farm equipment, and even a few busted planes. Eden's Gate uses the garage to build and maintain their convoys.

Doverspike Compound

Les Doverspike was a militia nut and he built himself a bunker. Nobody in the prepper community liked him. Despite that, he was anti-cult and pro-Resistance.

Harris Residence

Mike and Deb Harris were preppers with a cunning plan to keep themselves fed after the end of the world.

Reservoir Construction Yard

Deep North Water wanted to build a new reservoir for the Holland Valley. The company ran out of funding and was chased away by Eden’s Gate.

Dodd’s Dumps

Colin Dodd used to run garbage disposal for the whole Holland Valley, and his business lot shows it. The cult intimidated him into leaving but has yet to sort through all he left behind.

Davenport Farm

The remains of a run-down farm. Local farmers let their cows graze here. Can't let good land go to waste.

Hilgard Electric Power Station

The Holland Valley's power supply is reliant on this transformer station which is controlled by Eden's Gate.

Golden Valley Gas

Once the kind of gas station that gave out free bubble gum to kids, Golden Valley is now a strategic point of gasoline and auto maintenance for the Project at Eden's Gate.

Green-Busch Fertilizer Co.

Facing a decline in business, the Green-Busch family said “yes” and sold the place to John Seed on the condition that locals could keep their jobs and work alongside Eden's Gate.

St. Isidore School

Once a religious boarding school, it was forced to close its doors by Eden's Gate.

Dodd Residence

Home of Colin Dodd, hoarder and DIY enthusiast. He never throws anything out. His granddaughter Nadine's been known to lurk here.

Roberts Cabin

Home of Joe Roberts, a hunter. He's gone missing. He loved hunting deer above all else.

Hope County Clinic

Dr. Kim Patterson provides medical services to Hope County's farmers and low-income residents, many of whom would never receive care in such a remote area.

Holland Valley Station

In the days that it was up and running, Copperhead Rail used to stop here. Eden’s Gate uses this station to catch people who try to escape the region.

Grain Elevator

As the farmlands started to collapse, the grain elevator was the first casualty. Too expensive to maintain.

Henbane River Rail Bridge

Copperhead Rail was created in the 1880s during a mining boom, and shut down in the early 70s after the industry collapsed.

Flatiron Stockyards

Bobby Budell established the stock yards in 1946, and has proudly provided farm and ranch auction services since. The economic and community base employed over 25 people at its height.

Fillmore Residence

Home of Doug Fillmore. Not much is known about him.

Dupree Residence

Home of Tommy Dupree, an idiot who used to work at Green-Busch Fertilizer Co. He got fired by Eden's Gate because he was as dumb as the crap he bagged.

Catamount Mines

Fall’s End owes its existence to the gold Orville Fall discovered here in 1865. The mine brought a generation of prosperity to the region until a suspicious accident entombed 100 men within it, forcing its closure in 1912.

Sunrise Farm

Sunrise Farm was going under, so owners Mike and Chandra Dunagan reluctantly sold it to Eden's Gate. Big mistake.

Deep North Irrigation Reservoir

Originally designed to irrigate farms, the reservoir became a liability when the cult began putting Bliss in the water supply. The Resistance sealed it up to buy themselves time.

Red’s Farm Supply

The Redler family has run this place for 4 generations, and earned a reputation for honest business. Wendell did his best to keep it out of cult hands.

Purpletop Telecom Tower

In the 1950s, Purpletop Telecom built this tower, blessing people with the wonders of AM radio. As time and technology marched forward, they were also given the American splendor of a local TV station.

Woodson Pig Farm

This place has been in the Woodson family since 1943. Current owners Andrew and Frances Woodson used their wealth to try to stand up to John Seed and fight him in court. They lost, and joined the Resistance.

Sawyer Residence

Don Sawyer came from out of town to join the Project at Eden's Gate. He restores canoes, but isn't very good at it. Visitors have sworn they've heard him swearing in Russian over those boats.

Hyde Barn

Kenny Hyde's a poor man in Holland Valley, but that doesn't stop him from loving deep fried balls. He's the proud keeper of Fall’s End Testy Festy decorations, stashing them at his barn until they're needed.

Kupka Ranch

Zip Kupka's the only one who really knows what's going on in the Holland Valley.

John’s Gate

A missile silo long decommissioned and abandoned. The locals used to call it "Area 68." Eden's Gate bought it in secret and turned it into a bunker that is in John Seed's safekeeping until the Collapse.

Security Gate

Formerly the entrance to the missile silo, it's now the gateway to John Seed's bunker. Everything taken in the Reaping passes through this checkpoint.

Steele Farm

The Steele family managed to get their kids out of Hope County, but stayed behind to try and defend their home from Eden's Gate.

Lamb of God Church

A Lutheran church. Its elderly priest was overshadowed by Pastor Jerome’s charismatic sermons. John once asked the priest to say “yes.” Not a chance. Then, the priest was gone. He had taken a “long vacation.”

Lamb of God Sacristy

The Project at Eden's Gate has turned the Lamb of God Church's sacristy into a holding place for everything they need to baptize people at the water's edge.

Armstrong Residence

The Project at Eden's Gate targeted the Armstrong family early, burning their home to the ground when Grace Armstrong refused to devote her sharpshooting skills to the Father's cause.

Bradbury Tractor Shed

A shed for tractors.

Hope County Jail Bus

Prisoners hijacked this bus but were run off the road. The wreck was left to rot in the woods. When Eden's Gate brought prohibition to Hope County, some enterprising moonshiners set up shop behind the cult’s back.

Parker Laboratories

Home and workshop of Dr. Laurence Parker, and the origin of many mysterious noise complaints.

Seed Ranch

The power of yes gave John Seed this dream ranch overlooking the Holland Valley. it has commanding views, a private air strip, and secluded soundproofed rooms for his most invigorating religious pursuits.

Bradbury Farm

The home of the Bradbury family, hay farmers for generations. The strange pattern of dead hay in the field does not impact the quality of the final product. That's the Bradbury guarantee.

Bradbury Hay Field

Bradbury Farm's hay is baled and stored here before being sold to clients looking to feed their livestock with quality hay.

Laurel Residence

Laurel family honey was a local market favorite until their bee colony collapsed and jeopardized the business. It also spooked the Laurels who sunk money into a bunker and became preppers overnight.

Eden’s Gate Greenhouse

Bliss plants are found throughout the Henbane River, but they're also found here. John Seed takes the flowers he receives by boat from the east and plants them in his greenhouse.

Seed Boat Launch

Once a favorite spot for summer frolickers, this boat launch is used by John Seed for receiving shipments of Bliss and other supplies from elsewhere in Hope County.

Rye & Sons Aviation

This plot of land was first settled in 1920 by Willard Rye. He started a crop dusting business. His sons inherited both and it now belongs to the current generation of Ryes: Nick & Kim.

Kellett Cattle Co.

The Kellett family supplied beef for 3 generations. These proud Republicans thought they recognized the American spirit in Eden’s Gate, but when John Seed asked them to serve the Project, they said “no.”

Fall’s End

After prospector Orville Fall struck gold, his small mining camp quickly grew. Decades later, his rival, rail baron Emmett Reaves, shot him dead in the streets, giving the town its official name.

Old Silo

Welcome to the middle of it.

Kay-Nine Kennels

The owner, Kay Wheeler, loved her dogs more than life itself. She bred and trained hunting and guard dogs. When Eden’s Gate showed up, the local demand for guard dogs tripled. John Seed noticed and took action.

Sunrise Threshing

A silo and shed complex attached to Sunrise Farm. Rumor has it that Mike Dunagan's stashed a lot of cool shit around here somewhere.

Redler Residence

Home of Wendell Redler, local businessman and Vietnam veteran.

Adams Ranch

Jules Adams lost her husband in an "accident" after saying no to John Seed. Her family's struggled to keep the cattle ranch out of cult hands ever since.

Miller Residence

Despite financial hardship, the Miller family refused the cult’s invitations, prepping for doomsday all on their own. When the reaping came, Jerry Miller was out working.

Wellington Residence

The Wellington family mine is an urban legend, supposedly stuffed with gold, explosives, or both depending who you ask. Generations of Wellingtons (possibly inbred) have tried and failed to strike it rich here.

#far cry 5 #hope county #holland valley #boomer #wendell redler #kenny hide #zip kupka #john seed #jerome jeffries #grace armstrong #larry parker #nick rye #kim rye #far cry absolution #will boyd

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nerdy-the-artist · 1 year

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Maytroid!… sort of?

So contrary to my name, I don’t actually do a whole lot of art. It’s quite rare in fact. What I do more often, though, is write. I made a previous post about some tidbits about my own Metroid AU I’m working on. So naturally, for me, I wanted to do something similar for Maytroid. However, I felt like prattling on about the different characters and creatures for each prompt would get old pretty fast. So instead, I’m gonna style these like data logs that Samus Aran might have scanned throughout her various missions. There will be some areas that may change in the future, especially where I’m approaching the topic for the first time, like with Z-57. To avoid spam, I’m going to group these into weeks, releasing a group of these “scans” every Friday up until the end of May. Without further ado, let’s begin.

Day 1: Ruins Test

Chozo mural transcribed and translated

“The greatest warriors of all peoples and all walks of life are not measured by their capacity for violence and destruction, the power to end life. A weapon does all of these things. What a warrior is, what a warrior is attuned to, is his moral compass. Without it, a warrior is simply a weapon, pliable and controllable as the blade, or indifferent and rabid as a roaring flame. To be a warrior and lead warriors relies on your ability to take life and preserve your mind, conscience, and convictions. Of all the wonders that we, the Chozo, bring forth, none are so valuable as the absolute attunement of the mind. And yet, it is one we cannot give. It must be found.

Find it.”

Day 2: Omega Pirate

Scan of Glaxamore data terminal from operations on Tallon IV

“Subject 42 mental acuity has experienced minimal degradation. Upon numerous tactical exercises, carefully trained to minimize subject’s innate advantages brought about by Phazon, tactical prowess has been measured at 40/35, well within expected parameters for standard soldiers. Subject has been agreeable and eager during testing, needing minimum coaching to enter suspended animation, surgical procedures, or live fire interviews.

However, there have been questions and concerns regarding the possibility of sudden and catastrophic mental deterioration. Subject 42 has multiple times reported hearing whispers and visions when inert. Subject has additionally reported dreams of planets completely enveloped in Phazon. While the possibility of locating such a deposit of Phazon would be invaluable to securing Glaxamore’s supremacy, and the study of Phazon Parapsychology is still burgeoning, such dreams have been deemed too unreliable to warrant the resources necessary to locate such a planet.”

Day 3: SA-X

Ship log: Presence Queries

Subject: Samus Aran

23:04 (Landing bay)

23:28 (Medical ward)

06:45 (Facility Lab Entrance) (Medical Ward) Addendum: Triangulation Error

06:47 (X-Parasite Containment) (Medical War) Addendum: Triangulation Error

06:53 (X-Parasite Containment) (Nautalis Containment) (Medical War) Addendum: Triangulation Error

Multiple triangulation errors detected. Location data deemed unreliable by Aurora Unit.

Day 4: Spire

Intel Scan

Individual appears to be a Diamont. Galactic Federation records list the species as extinct after the destruction of their star. Biological scans indicate individual is 572 DY, making him middle aged by Diamont standards. Hormone and body language readings indicate he is experiencing immense and repeated emotional distress.

Day 5: Experiment Z-57

Battle Scan

Creature appears to be Corpius specimen with heavy biological modification. Immediately identifiable modification include various flesh grafts, four bio-prostheses, poison glands, and a low intensity plasma cutter. Scarred into the creature’s flesh are the Chozo words “Hadar sen Olmen”. The end result of the modifications is increased speed and dexterity, heat resistance, a poisonous bite to unarmored bio forms, and a powerful ranged attack. Log will be updated with further data upon availability.

#metroid #fanfiction #metroid prime #sa x #metroid prime hunters #metroid au #metroid fusion #Samus Aran #experiment z-57 #chozo #maytroid 2023

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usafefire · 1 month

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Unveiling the Power and Controversies of AFFF Foam: A Comprehensive Analysis

In the realm of fire suppression, Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF Foam) stands as a crucial tool in combating various types of fires, particularly those fueled by flammable liquids such as gasoline, oil, and jet fuels. Its effectiveness in quickly smothering flames and preventing reignition has made it a staple in firefighting operations across industries ranging from aerospace to petrochemicals. However, the widespread use of AFFF Foam has sparked debates regarding its environmental impact, health risks, and alternatives. In this comprehensive analysis, we delve deep into the science, applications, controversies, and future prospects of AFFF Foam.

Understanding AFFF Foam: Composition and Mechanism

AFFF Foam is a firefighting agent formulated to create a stable blanket over the surface of flammable liquids, suppressing the release of flammable vapors and extinguishing the fire. The composition typically includes surfactants, fluorinated surfactants, solvents, stabilizers, and water. These ingredients work synergistically to form a thin film on the liquid surface, cutting off the oxygen supply and cooling the fuel below its ignition point.

Key Components of AFFF Foam:

Surfactants: Surfactants lower the surface tension of water, allowing it to spread evenly across the surface of the flammable liquid.

Fluorinated Surfactants: These compounds enhance the foam's ability to form a stable film by reducing its tendency to break down under high temperatures.

Solvents: Solvents aid in the dispersion of the foam concentrate and improve its flow characteristics.

Stabilizers: Stabilizers help maintain the foam's integrity over time, ensuring its effectiveness during storage and application.

Applications of AFFF Foam

AFFF Foam finds extensive application in various sectors, including:

Aerospace: AFFF Foam is used in airport firefighting to combat aircraft fires, particularly those involving jet fuel.

Petrochemical Industry: Refineries, chemical plants, and storage facilities utilize AFFF Foam to suppress fires involving oil, gasoline, and other flammable liquids.

Military: Military installations and vehicles rely on AFFF Foam for firefighting and fire suppression operations.

Marine: AFFF Foam is employed aboard ships and oil rigs to combat fires caused by fuel spills or engine malfunctions.

Environmental and Health Concerns

Despite its effectiveness, AFFF Foam has come under scrutiny due to its environmental and health impacts, primarily stemming from the presence of fluorinated compounds such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are synthetic chemicals known for their persistence in the environment and potential adverse effects on human health. When AFFF Foam is discharged during firefighting operations or training exercises, PFAS can leach into soil and groundwater, contaminating drinking water sources and posing risks to ecosystems and human health.

Contamination of Water Sources: The widespread use of AFFF Foam has led to the contamination of water bodies near firefighting sites and military installations, raising concerns about long-term environmental damage and potential health risks to communities relying on these water sources.

Health Risks: Exposure to PFAS through contaminated drinking water or direct contact with AFFF Foam has been linked to various health issues, including cancer, reproductive disorders, and immune system dysfunction. Military personnel, firefighters, and residents living near affected sites are particularly vulnerable to these risks.

Regulatory Response and Alternatives

In response to growing concerns, regulatory agencies worldwide have taken steps to address the environmental and health risks associated with AFFF Foam. Measures include:

Phase-Out and Bans: Some countries have banned or restricted the use of AFFF Foam containing certain PFAS compounds, opting for alternatives with lower environmental impact.

Cleanup Efforts: Government agencies and private organizations are undertaking remediation efforts to address PFAS contamination in soil and water, including the development of innovative cleanup technologies.

Research and Development: There is a growing focus on developing PFAS-free firefighting foams and alternative suppression technologies that maintain effectiveness while minimizing environmental and health risks.

Future Prospects and Conclusion

The future of AFFF Foam lies in innovation and sustainability. While its effectiveness in suppressing flammable liquid fires is undeniable, addressing the environmental and health concerns associated with PFAS contamination remains a significant challenge. Moving forward, continued research and development efforts are essential to develop safer alternatives and mitigate the impact of AFFF Foam on the environment and public health.

In conclusion, AFFF Foam plays a vital role in firefighting operations across various industries, offering unmatched effectiveness in combating flammable liquid fires. However, its widespread use has raised legitimate concerns regarding PFAS contamination and associated health risks. By prioritizing innovation, regulation, and cleanup efforts, stakeholders can work towards a future where fire suppression technologies are both effective and environmentally sustainable.

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shafi1234 · 2 months

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Top 5 Challenges In Fire Fighting Design Specialized Environments

Introduction

Firefighting design is the installation and management of fire safety measures in buildings and areas that are at risk of fire. It plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of people from the effects of fire in residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. Fire protection has to be tailor-made to meet specific environments like high-rise structures, historical buildings, industrial buildings, and residential apartments. Customized evacuation plans and automated suppression systems reduce the impact of fire and protect life and property. Fire Fighting design is indispensable in the modern world but faces a few challenges in specialized environments. What are they?

What Are Firefighting Challenges?

Firefighters are exposed to occupational hazards like high intensity of heat, smoke inhalation, dehydration, and falls. They face challenges such as lifting people and heavy fallen debris in narrow hallways, elevators, and staircases. Multistoried buildings, cliffs, bridges, mountainsides, etc. pose challenges. Moreover, extreme weather conditions, poor visibility, natural disasters like storms, etc. are challenging. Accidents like chemical spills, radiation, and structural collapses are a big challenge for firefighters.

Challenges In Fire Fighting Design Specialized Environments

Marine Environments: Navigating Challenges at Sea

Marine emergencies often occur far from shore making it difficult for the team to go in time. So, the ship must be equipped with trained people and essential equipment. Moreover, the equipment must be designed to withstand the corrosive effects of the sea. The design and layout of the ship must be tailored to fit firefighting solutions.

Aircraft Hangars: Protecting Aviation Assets

Fire spreads rapidly in large open spaces of aircraft hangars. They are storage places for combustible fuels and other flammable substances. Moreover, they contain expensive and sensitive aviation equipment. Firefighting design should integrate advanced fire detection systems, foam-based suppression systems, specialized fire-resistant materials, etc.

Data Centers: Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure

Traditional water-based firefighting may damage electronic equipment. Specialized suppression systems such as gas-based systems have to be used. Moreover, data centers have a complex layout. The strategic placement of fire suppression systems is important. Firefighting design must address security concerns as data centers house secret data.

Oil and Gas Facilities: Managing Hazards In High-Risk Environments

The place has highly flammable substances. So, the firefighting system needs special equipment and suppression systems. Easy access and effective communication must be ensured as they are located in remote places. Firefighting design must also ensure minimal environmental impact.

Historical Buildings: Preserving Heritage Amidst Fire Risks

Non-invasive suppression systems are needed to protect aged materials and the building. Firefighting design must prioritize the preservation of cultural assets and valuable artifacts. Designing evacuation plans is essential because of the complex layouts and narrow passages.

Conclusion

Fire Fighting design plays an important role in protecting people, environment, and property against the hazards of fire. It is important to develop comprehensive solutions to address the challenges of specialized environments. We provide personalized firefighting designs to address specific challenges. Contact us today for efficient fire protection systems that ensure a safe and secure environment. https://www.arabianinfotech.qa/

#fire fighting training #fire fighting equipment

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spacenutspod · 7 months

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10 Min Read A Tale of Three Pollutants Freight, smoke, and ozone impact the health of both Chicago residents and communities downwind. A NASA-led mission looks to help by mapping air pollutants at a neighborhood scale. Credits: NASA/Kathleen Gaeta It was a hazy August day on Chicago’s South Side, and Nedra Sims Fears was hosting a small gathering to talk about the air. Interstate-94, which bisects her Chatham neighborhood, hummed nearby. “This was the summer I spent watching summer out my window,” Fears said. That’s because asthma runs in her family, and smoke from wildfires in Canada had wafted into Chicago, making it difficult for her to breathe. Many of her neighbors don’t have air conditioning, which means they don’t have the luxury of shutting their windows against the tiny hazardous particles contained in the smoke. Scott Collis of Argonne National Laboratory, left, and community leader Nedra Sims Fears work to advance urban resilience through science. They collaborated with NASA during the STAQS air quality mission in Chicago. NASA/Kathleen Gaeta The fine particles, called PM2.5, are more than 35 times smaller than a grain of sand and can infiltrate deep into lung tissue. They degrade air quality in Chicago neighborhoods that are already disproportionately exposed to fossil fuel emissions. These include South and West Side neighborhoods located near highways, warehouses, and intermodal facilities, where freight-loaded trains and trucks converge. Thousands of such facilities are spread throughout Illinois, and they are hot spots of diesel exhaust and nitrogen oxides. “Walking down the road, you see truck after truck after truck going into these facilities,” said Fears, who leads the Greater Chatham Initiative to revitalize a host of South Side neighborhoods. “Those neighborhoods live with day-to-day air pollution. It doesn’t take Canada being on fire for them to suffer.” This was the summer I spent watching summer out my window. Nedra Sims Fears Chicago community leader The result is that residents of Chicago and communities downwind are breathing harmful air pollutants including PM2.5, fossil fuel emissions, and smog. These pollutants move throughout the atmosphere and change by the hour, periodically exceeding the levels considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A version of this story plays out in every city in America. In New York and Los Angeles, tailpipe emissions spew from congested streets. In Phoenix, record-breaking heat stokes ozone formation. In port cities like Baltimore and Houston, emissions from ships, as well as oil refineries and chemical plants, contribute to dirty air. While air quality monitors are distributed throughout the country, they are sparse in some regions, which means they cannot tell every neighborhood’s story. A NASA mission aims to change that with new tools to monitor air pollutants from the streets to the stratosphere. STAQing Up Observations NASA and NOAA, among other agencies, worked together this summer through the STAQS and AEROMMA missions to calibrate and validate NASA’s new TEMPO satellite. The satellite and missions combined aim to not only better measure air quality, and the major pollutants that impact it, but also to improve air quality, from street to stratosphere. This effort was documented during the August 2023 campaign leg, which took place over the Chicago region. Credit: NASA/Kathleen Gaeta Several thousand feet above the Fears’ home, one of the largest flying laboratories in the world circled the skies over Chicago. The plane – NASA’s four-engine DC-8 jet – is a storied research craft. Over the past 25 years it has supported field campaigns across all seven continents. On this August 2023 day, it carried 40 researchers and a pack of scientific instruments investigating air pollution over the cities and pasturelands of the Midwest. From his seat over the wing, Barry Lefer watched the city’s iconic skyline rise from Lake Michigan. “Air pollution has dramatically improved across the U.S. in the past few decades due to environmental regulations, but some communities are still hot spots of poor air quality,” said Lefer, head of the Tropospheric Composition Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The researchers onboard – from NASA, NOAA, and multiple universities – converged this summer on cities across North America. In coordinated research campaigns, they studied a range of air pollutants from industrial emissions to volatile chemical products used in cleaning agents and personal care items. Interior view of NASA’s DC-8 plane. Credit: NASA/Kathleen Gaeta NASA’s part of the mission was called STAQS, short for Synergistic TEMPO Air Quality Science, and it focused on Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, and Toronto. STAQS included two Gulfstream jets equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and ground crews deployed in mobile research trailers across the country. At the heart of the mission were two overarching questions: How do air pollutants change and move through the atmosphere, and which communities are disproportionately exposed? A Vivid New Picture 2023 was a noteworthy summer for another reason: More than 22,000 miles above Earth’s surface, a new NASA-funded instrument started scanning Earth. TEMPO, short for Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution, is the first space-based instrument designed to continuously measure daytime air quality over North America at the resolution of a few square miles. TEMPO launched in April, and NASA and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory released its first data maps in August. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument measures sunlight reflected and scattered off the Earth’s surface, clouds and the atmosphere. Gases in the atmosphere absorb the sunlight, and the resulting spectra are then used to determine the amounts of several gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, including nitrogen dioxide. Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio/Kel Elkins TEMPO plus field campaigns like STAQS are giving scientists a more vivid picture of the air pollutants that contribute to disease and premature deaths in the U.S. These include nitrogen oxides, a byproduct of fossil fuel combustion commonly emitted by tailpipes and smokestacks; aerosols such as dust and soot particles; volatile organic compounds; and heat-trapping greenhouse gases such as methane and water vapor. As that new data is gathered and analyzed, air pollution scientists will have details down to a level that matters to people on the street. The data will be freely accessible, Lefer said, and particularly useful to researchers, state agencies, and local policymakers working to develop solutions. “The hope is that the detailed new data we’re collecting will help communities make their air safer to breathe,” Lefer said. Crew member Matt Berry of NASA Armstrong smiles from the communications switchboard of NASA’s DC-8 airplane during a research flight over the Upper Midwest. Credit: NASA/Kathleen Gaeta Ground-level ozone, a main ingredient in smog, is a particularly compelling target for Lefer and the STAQS team. While ozone high in the atmosphere protects Earth from dangerous solar radiation, ground-level ozone aggravates respiratory diseases. It often spikes after rush hour, as nitrogen oxides react with chemicals called volatile organic compounds and sunlight. Each year, ground-level ozone and PM2.5 particles lead to more than 100,000 premature deaths and billions of dollars in annual damages in the U.S, according to the National Weather Service. In the Chicago area, Lake Michigan’s powerful influence on local weather and winds cause ozone plumes to “travel on air currents, causing pollution levels to exceed EPA standards in rural communities hundreds of miles away,” Lefer said. Plume Over the Prairie A short drive up Interstate-94 from Chicago, ozone was on the mind of Todd McKinney, who was scrambling in the dark. A raging Lake Michigan storm had knocked out power in his research trailer nestled in a Wisconsin prairie blooming with wildflowers just across the state line from Illinois. McKinney, a graduate student from the University of Alabama-Huntsville, was trying to get the lights back on before members of a Wisconsin environmental agency arrived for a tour. For much of the summer, he has been living and working in the trailer, which is one part camper van, two parts high-tech laboratory. Its centerpiece is a custom-built lidar for measuring ozone in different layers of the lower atmosphere, also known as the troposphere. The mobile facility is part of NASA’s Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet), a high-powered array of lasers used to identify and locate air pollutants. Is the ozone that we’re seeing coming from an industrial source or the whole city? Is it caused by people idling in their cars at rush hour? We don’t know yet, but we’re working to track it back. Todd McKinney University of Alabama, Huntsville Graduate Student The instruments were originally designed to be stationary. But McKinney said that the development of TEMPO was an inspiration for many researchers, who wanted to get out into the field and contribute real-time data to the summer’s air quality campaign. The trailer he’s working from has been in the making for 10 years – ever since the first announcement of TEMPO. Such ground-based measurements — which also include hourly drone flights and a continual stream of high-altitude weather balloons — help crosscheck the early data coming down from TEMPO in space. Located downwind from Chicago, shoreline areas like Chiwaukee Prairie are occasionally dosed with ozone that has blown in from the city, he said. But the source is often difficult to pinpoint. “Is the ozone that we’re seeing coming from an industrial source or the whole city?” he said. “Is it caused by people idling in their cars at rush hour? We don’t know yet, but we’re working to track it back.” And tracking it back is the first step to developing a solution. Empowering communities Using advanced computer modeling to map air pollution hotspots across Chicago, a research team from Northwestern University found that neighborhoods alongside Lake Michigan experience more ground-level ozone pollution than the rest of the city. The researchers also found that neighborhoods located near highways like I-94 experience twice the concentration of nitrogen dioxide and dust than communities with the best air quality in the city. The growth of online shopping and same-day delivery warehouses comes at a cost to air quality, with nearby homes taking on the burden of pollution. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab “Empowering communities with data is an environmental justice issue,” said Daniel Horton, assistant professor in the department of earth and planetary sciences at Northwestern, who leads this research. He hopes that NASA measurements will inform clean-air solutions, such as the electrification of heavy-duty trucks and buses, and more green space in urban neighborhoods. Chemicals emitted from cars, trucks and factories react with sunlight and heat to form ozone, a key ingredient of smog. Plumes of ozone then get pushed by lake breezes into rural communities. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab Air pollution is not an intractable problem, emphasized Zac Adelman, whose regional consortium works with state agencies in the Upper Midwest to improve air quality. The solution lies in devoting resources where they’ll be most effective. “The question is, what do we control?” said Adelman, executive director of the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium. “What are the sources that we need to be concerned about, and what’s actionable information that we can bring to the state regulators and to the federal government, too?” Empowering communities with data is an environmental justice issue. Daniel Horton Northwestern University professor and researcher “The STAQS campaign and associated monitoring activities that are growing up around it are giving us an opportunity to try to answer those questions,” he added. “That’s a pretty empowering concept, right?” Sacred Space Requires Clean Air Back in her living room, Nedra Fears and atmospheric scientist Scott Collis of Argonne National Laboratory discussed how more trees, open spaces, and green rooftops might improve air quality in hard-hit neighborhoods. It’s part of a project they’re collaborating on called CROCUS, short for Community Research on Climate and Urban Science. Combining scientific research and community guidance, the CROCUS team studies climate challenges in urban Chicago. Community input is critical, Collis said, to identify questions and topics – from localized flooding to heat waves – and ensure that research results directly benefit local residents. The team contributed to the summer’s air quality campaign using a network of sensors deployed throughout the region. CROCUS is funded by the Department of Energy. Air quality is a complicated issue, but for Fears, the goal is simple. She wants to go on morning walks with her husband. She wants her neighbors’ concerns to be heard. Mostly, she wants to breathe clean air in her own living room, not shut the windows against the pollution she can often feel at the back of her throat. “You don’t want that pollution in your house,” she said. “Your house is your sacred space where you can be joyful and well.” Story by Sally Younger. Video and stills by Kathleen Gaeta. Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Earth Science Missions Climate Change NASA is a global leader in studying Earth’s changing climate. Earth Science in Action NASA’s unique vantage point helps us inform solutions to enhance decision-making, improve livelihoods, and protect our planet. Earth Earth—our home planet—is the only place we know of so far that’s inhabited by living things. Share Details Last Updated Oct 24, 2023 Editor Kevin Ward Contact Related Terms Earth Earth Science Earth’s Atmosphere Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO)

#space #astronomy #news #science

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leonollora4110 · 10 months

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Exploring the Hidden Hazards of Asbestos Lurking in Your Home

When it comes to the safety of our homes, we often think about protecting our loved ones from visible dangers like burglaries or accidents. However, there's a lurking menace that remains largely invisible to the naked eye—asbestos. This notorious mineral, once widely used in construction materials for its fire-resistant properties, poses significant health risks if disturbed or deteriorating. In this article, we delve into the potential hazards associated with asbestos in residential settings, shedding light on the importance of an asbestos inspection report and the measures you can take to safeguard your home and family.

As you sip your morning coffee or relax in your cosy living room, you might be oblivious to the fact that your home could be harbouring asbestos, silently threatening your well-being. Asbestos fibres, when released into the air due to damage or degradation of asbestos-containing materials, can be inhaled and lead to severe respiratory illnesses, including mesothelioma and lung cancer. Identifying the presence of this hazardous substance requires a comprehensive asbestos inspection report, conducted by trained professionals who meticulously examine various areas of your home. By understanding the potential risks and acting proactively, you can mitigate the dangers associated with asbestos, ensuring a safer environment for everyone within your household.

Understanding Asbestos

Asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral composed of thin, fibrous crystals, has been used for centuries due to its desirable properties. Its resistance to heat, fire, and electricity made it a popular choice in various industries, including construction. However, it wasn't until the 20th century that the health risks associated with asbestos exposure started to emerge.

Asbestos fibres are incredibly durable and resistant to chemical degradation. They are divided into two main categories: serpentine and amphibole. Chrysotile, a serpentine form, accounts for about 90% of the asbestos used globally. Amphibole asbestos includes various types like amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite. These microscopic fibres, when released into the air, can be inhaled and cause significant health problems.

Historically, asbestos found its way into countless construction materials due to its versatility and affordability. It was widely used in insulation, roofing materials, flooring, cement products, and even household appliances. Its fire-resistant properties made it particularly appealing in buildings, ships, and industrial facilities. Unfortunately, the widespread use of asbestos during the 20th century means that many older homes may still harbour these hazardous materials today.

Understanding the presence of asbestos in your home is crucial, as it can pose serious health risks if disturbed or deteriorating. Asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) may not always be visible to the naked eye, making it challenging to identify them without proper inspection. The next section explores the potential health risks associated with asbestos exposure, shedding light on the importance of proactive measures to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Health Risks Associated with Asbestos

Exposure to asbestos fibres can have severe consequences for human health, particularly in the respiratory system. When asbestos-containing materials are damaged or disturbed, microscopic fibres are released into the air and can be inhaled. Over time, these fibres can accumulate in the lungs and other organs, leading to various respiratory diseases.

One of the most devastating conditions linked to asbestos exposure is mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer that affects the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart. Mesothelioma has a long latency period, often taking several decades to develop after initial exposure to asbestos. Unfortunately, this means that individuals may not experience symptoms until the disease has reached an advanced stage, making treatment more challenging.

In addition to mesothelioma, asbestos exposure has been strongly linked to the development of lung cancer. The inhalation of asbestos fibres can cause genetic damage to lung cells, leading to the formation of malignant tumours. Smoking in combination with asbestos exposure significantly increases the risk of developing lung cancer, making it crucial for individuals exposed to asbestos to quit smoking and seek regular medical check-ups.

Apart from mesothelioma and lung cancer, prolonged asbestos exposure can also result in other respiratory diseases such as asbestosis and pleural plaques. Asbestosis is a chronic lung condition characterised by scarring and inflammation, leading to breathing difficulties and reduced lung function. Pleural plaques are non-cancerous abnormalities that form on the lining of the lungs and chest wall, causing discomfort and potential complications.

Common Areas for Asbestos Contamination

Asbestos can lurk in various areas of your home, often hidden in plain sight. Being aware of these common areas of asbestos contamination is crucial for identifying potential risks and taking necessary precautions.

One area where asbestos is frequently found is in attic and wall insulation. Older homes built before the 1980s often used asbestos-containing insulation materials, such as loose-fill insulation or vermiculite insulation. These materials, when disturbed during renovations or through natural wear and tear, can release asbestos fibres into the air, posing a significant health hazard.

Flooring and ceiling tiles are another potential source of asbestos contamination. Vinyl floor tiles, linoleum, and certain types of adhesives used in flooring installation may contain asbestos. Similarly, ceiling tiles, especially those manufactured prior to the 1980s, often contain asbestos fibres. It is important to exercise caution when removing or replacing these materials to avoid fibre release and subsequent exposure.

Roofing materials can also be a hidden source of asbestos in residential buildings. Asbestos cement roofing sheets or shingles were commonly used for their durability and fire-resistant properties. Over time, weathering and deterioration of these materials can result in the release of asbestos fibres. Regular inspections and proper maintenance of roofing structures are essential to prevent potential contamination.

Pipes and ductwork are often overlooked areas where asbestos can be present. Asbestos insulation was commonly used to wrap pipes and line heating ducts, providing thermal insulation and fire protection. Damaged or deteriorating insulation can release asbestos fibres into the air, which can be easily inhaled. Proper assessment and professional handling of asbestos-insulated pipes and ductwork are crucial to minimise the risk of exposure.

Managing Asbestos in Your Home

When it comes to managing asbestos in your home, understanding your options and taking appropriate steps is crucial to protect yourself and your loved ones from the potential health risks associated with asbestos exposure.

If asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are in good condition and undisturbed, leaving them untouched may be the safest approach. However, if you plan to renovate, remodel, or make repairs that may disturb these materials, it is essential to consider the options for handling and removing ACMs. One option is encapsulation, where a specialised sealant is applied to encapsulate the asbestos fibres and prevent them from being released. Encapsulation can be a cost-effective method, particularly for areas with minimal damage or contamination.

In some cases, removal of ACMs may be necessary, especially when they are severely damaged or deteriorating. However, asbestos removal should always be performed by licensed professionals with expertise in asbestos abatement. Professional asbestos abatement ensures proper containment, removal, and disposal of asbestos materials, minimising the risk of fibre release and ensuring the safety of everyone involved.

It is important to note that asbestos removal is subject to specific legal requirements and regulations to protect public health and the environment. These regulations vary by jurisdiction, and it is essential to comply with them to avoid potential penalties and ensure the safe handling of asbestos. Hiring a licensed asbestos abatement contractor not only ensures compliance with these regulations but also provides peace of mind knowing that the removal is conducted according to industry standards and best practices.

Taking proactive steps to manage asbestos in your home is crucial for creating a safe living environment. Whether it's encapsulation or professional removal, it is recommended to consult with asbestos experts to assess the condition of ACMs and determine the most appropriate course of action. By adhering to legal requirements and regulations, you can effectively mitigate the risks associated with asbestos and promote a healthier home environment for you and your family.

Preventive Measures and Safety Precautions

Preventing asbestos-related risks in your home involves adopting proactive measures and adhering to essential safety precautions. By maintaining and monitoring asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), educating yourself and your family about asbestos safety, and seeking professional advice for renovations or repairs, you can significantly reduce the potential hazards associated with asbestos exposure.

Regular maintenance and monitoring of ACMs are crucial to prevent fibre release and maintain a safe living environment. Ensure that ACMs, such as insulation or roofing materials, are in good condition and not damaged or deteriorating. If you notice any signs of wear or damage, seek professional advice on the best course of action. Additionally, it's important to avoid activities that may disturb ACMs, such as drilling, cutting, or sanding, without proper precautions.

Educating yourself and your family about asbestos safety is essential for raising awareness and minimising the risk of exposure. Familiarise yourself with common asbestos-containing materials and their potential locations in your home. Teach your family members to recognize warning signs of asbestos and the importance of not disturbing or tampering with suspect materials. Promote good hygiene practices, such as washing hands after handling potentially contaminated materials, to reduce the chance of inadvertent fibre ingestion.

When planning renovations or repairs that may involve ACMs, it is wise to seek professional advice and guidance. Consulting with licensed asbestos professionals can help you assess the presence of asbestos, determine the appropriate precautions, and develop a safe approach for the project. They have the expertise and necessary equipment to handle ACMs safely, minimising the risk of fibre release and exposure to you and the workers involved.

#asbestos #aspestos inspection #building inspection

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hainingxingji · 2 years

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Super Transparent Mesh Tarpaulin Fabric PVC Mesh

Features of Plastic PVC Truck Tarpaulin:Lightweight and high tensile and tear strength, good abrasion resistance, high intensity, waterproof, Uv Resistance,anti-mildew, and fire resistance.Application:Mainly used in the truck cover, tarpaulins for transportation facilities such as train, ship, container, and the awnings for the warehouse.

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mobilefireunit-blog · 5 years

Link

The Buckeye System is fabricated from (9) 40’ containers. (3) 20’ fully insulated burn rooms are included and have been designed for repeated live-fire training (Class “A”, LPG Fueled, or both Class “A” and LPG Fueled).

#flashover training simulator #fire training structures #shipping container fire training facility #conex box fire training

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buckybarnesdiaries · 3 years

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longing, rusted, seventeen, daybreak, furnace, nine, benign, homecoming, one, freight car

bucky barnes x reader. ⎢ masterlist.

Bucky is kidnapped by Hydra to reactivate the Winter Soldier.

word count: 2.924 words. it worth it, i promise!!!

warnings/tags: none. angst as hell mostly. but it has a happy ending.

author notes: i don't speak russian, but i haven't used google translate either, so no worries. none of my stories contain reader’s body descriptions to be inclusive.

join the tag list NEW!!! here.

No. It couldn't be possible. It had to be part of a terrible nightmare. Bucky couldn't have been kidnapped by Hydra again.

You didn't know what to expect in the ship flying to the secret location of the organization. For Stark, it didn't take more than a couple of minutes to track the arm down, since Shuri put a small monitor on it when the soldier stayed in Wakanda. She never told it, wanting to use it in some kind of circumstance like the one you all were going through now. And you couldn't be more grateful, but it didn't help to make you feel better.

You were sitting close to the back hatch. Back rested against the metallic wall and legs curled to your chest. Nothing inside your head more than the hallucination of a pair of blue eyes staring at you. Blaming yourself was something you couldn't avoid. You should have been with him, by his side, protecting him as many times you promised him. But in fact, you just failed him. You failed his trust, his love. You let them take him. Only God knew which torture Hydra was putting him under, while you were there, lamenting.

You didn't even notice Steve's presence squatting next to you until he placed a hand on your shoulder. Then, you raised your face towards him. He was suffering too. In the end, Bucky was his long-life friend, his big brother. He lost him once and felt like he was going to lose him twice. Although this time was different. You were carrying the dispositive that could put to sleep back the winter soldier, but, at what cost?

“Buck got you now. Everything is gonn—”. He spoke in plural, referring to your last night's talk.

“How could you be so calm, Steve? How do you do it?” You whispered through your trembling lips, about to break in crying.

“Because he needs us focused, not distracted”.

He was wise. Captain America was wiser than anyone in that ship. He curled the left corner of his lips up, trying to make you feel good, trying to transmit you the encouragement you needed to not give up. And he did, more or less. You had to fight harder than ever. For Bucky, and only for Bucky. That's why you didn't hesitate on jumping out from the ship when it landed on the cold hard ground, as the freezing weather hit you on the face.

Following the plan, you ran quietly to the back door hidden under a huge layer of snow. Shaking part of it with the palm of your hand, you placed the device with technology from Wakanda on the locker. Not later than fifteen seconds, it deciphered the code to open the hatch. Once in position, the Avengers followed you downstairs. The passage was empty and silent. The only sound that broke it was a couple of rats running away from your presence. You all had studied the plans of the building, mostly underground, remembering exactly where you had to go.

The coast was clear, that was the reason why you all were so confused. You were expecting to find more than a dozen of agents, but when T'Challa enunciated through your earwigs that he only located two heat spots, you couldn't believe it. How only one man kidnapped the most fearless assassin up to now? Tortuous and bitter screams dragged you back to reality, causing your brain to react to make your legs run faster than ever in your whole damn life. You knew by heart that voice beneath all the pain.

Your skin bristled when your gaze landed on that chair of horrors, connected to an enormous power source. Bucky was sitting there against his want.

“... добросердечный… возвращение на родину… один…”

“STOP IT”. Steve yelled.

Huge mistake. You were aware of it when —yes— that man stopped reciting the Russian words to re-activate the Winter Soldier, but only enough time to push a red button near to him and close the heavy door in front of you. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. At the moment you glimpsed Steve’s shield sliding above the floor, straight to the inside of the room where Bucky was being tortured, you followed the same way. Never in your life, you were this fast. Like a lightning bolt, you snaked yourself under the small distance between the door and the ground before being closed. Now, it was you, that man and the soldier.

“You’re late…” He mocked with an awful American accent, under James crying out loud in pain. “грузовой ваг—”.

Your left hand moved quickly to unholster your gun and shoot him. One… Two… Three… Four bullets right to his head. The man fell dead before he couldn’t complete the command. You didn’t lose time, running to the controls to try to turn that machine off. But it was impossible. Even if you knew Tony could do it, there wasn’t signal inside those large and wide walls made of steel reinforced. You were in one of those abandoned soviet bunkers, that could save you from Armageddon. You were inhaling and exhaling so fast that your lungs never got really full, trying to focus, trying to shut every single noise around up. Trying to think of a plan b. But it was your heart who pushed you to act and not your brain. Grabbing Steve’s shield, you aimed for the energy source before tossing it like a damn frisbee.

That thing blew up, turning off any kind of light and dispositive around, as the sparks and the cables decorated your surroundings. Just like the fire that started to burn down a pile of boxes with different documents of Hydra. But that wasn't why you were impatient. Catching the shield when it came back to you, your legs moved immediately to Bucky, still stirring on his seat for a few seconds else. Then, he simply stopped shaking. Her eyes were wide opened. Reddened, in tears. His chest rose and fell violently. His heart was racing. And you could see the trauma taking control over his body in holy silence.

You didn't doubt removing the protection from his mouth along the restraints keeping him on the chair. Your fingers trembled like never before, not having any more time to lose. Probably, the Avengers would be trying to open the door when the emergency red lights illuminated the bunker, producing a loud alarm sound to indicate that something was going wrong inside the facilities.

“C'mon, Buck… C'mon, we have to leave”. You told him, trying to help him to stand up.

But as soon as your hand was about to land on his arm of vibranium, the five cold digits got closed around your throat. Soon, the lack of air for you was more than evident. He got up on his own, not needing you to do it. The ocean blue in his eyes turned into a dark storm. There wasn't any gesture on his face, more than his jaw clenching, pressing his teeth together. That wasn't Bucky —your Bucky—, but the unstable trained assassin Hydra turned him in. You could barely gulp saliva, gripping his metallic wrist with both of your hands to try to stop him from murdering you.

He couldn't. He couldn't kill you. His strength was suffocating you with no mercy, though.

For a moment, you felt too weak to fight, seeing everything around you getting blurred and darker. Blacking out. But there was something inside you, a sweet tone of voice calling your name. A male voice. Your eyelids rolled down bit by bit, wanting to concentrate on that honeyed sound being closer and closer.

“любить”.

The sore whisper left your lips. Love. The first time Bucky told you about love came to your mind. He told you about his family. George, Winnifred, Rebecca. He told you how much he desired to have a family of his own. To be loved.

“новый”.

Your almost dead fingers traced the form of his new arm made in Wakanda when you felt him lifting you from the floor, being suspended on air.

“сороковых годов”.

Trying to keep a firm tone of voice as much as the pressure let you, the Russian words were spat to the confused soldier, who wasn't understanding what you were doing. The forties changed his life. He was sent to war and, lately, captured by HYDRA. It was something he'd never forget, part of his DNA.

“заката”.

You didn't know what the hell your subconscious was doing either till that precise instant. You were reprogramming him. You were using his own memories to reset his wiped brain from them. Dusk. The first night he spent in Wakanda, Bucky was terrified. But you stayed with him. You comforted him by saying that everything was going to be okay, that his life would be different. That he was safe. That he was at home.

“лето”.

His last night of summer in that kingdom, Bucky took you to his favorite place between the woods, wanting to show you the fireflies fluttering in the middle of the gloom. He used to walk there whenever he woke up from a nightmare. Those small insects used to make him feel better for some reason he didn't comprehend. Until he saw their light reflecting on your amazed orbs. Bucky knew then he was in love with you. Besides his long-life friend, the only person who never judged him, who never ran away from him. The same person that now was dying under his fingers.

“шесть”

Six years took him to be Bucky, after his last war, after the last effort, after the last jump. He was a new man. You made him a new man. A good one. You guided him through the right way. You helped him to get used to the twenty-one century. You accompanied him to therapy and stayed in the waiting room every single session until he finished.

“заткнуться”.

The soldier ordered you to shut up, earning quite the opposite when you knew it was sorting some kind of effect on him, as soon as you felt some relief by the grip loosening around your throat and your tiptoes touching the ground. Little by little, you opened your eyes again, gluing them on the blue ones fixed on you.

“боец”.

He wasn't a super soldier, he was a fighter. He spent the last six years of his life fighting for it, fighting for ruling his existence, fighting for being pardoned for crimes he didn't want to commit, fighting for your love. Bucky furrowed swallowing, allowing you to place your feet on the floor.

“Бруклин”.

And when he demonstrated to the world that he was no longer the Winter Soldier, but James Bucky Barnes, he moved to his birthplace. Brooklyn. You and he rented an apartment together when you both learned that you couldn't live apart. That you were made for each other.

“Отец…”

A tear ran down your cheek, slowly moving your left hand to his free one. A shiver toured his backbone when he felt your warm touch holding his hand and, even if his cold fingers were still around your throat, the soldier bowed his head to follow the connection between the two of you. His flesh hand landed on your stomach, pressing it under yours, trying to transmit to him the news about your pregnancy status. Bucky was going to be a father. You were going to build a family as he always wished.

“Свобода”.

As the sob escaped your soul, his hand made of vibranium released your neck. Freedom was what he got after all those years.

Bucky was free.

His hold was the only thing that kept you on your feet, pining to the cold hard ground, as well as you trying to fill your lungs with the heavy air around you because of the dense smoke coming from the flames burning down that damn place. You watched Bucky picking the shield close to you, probably believing it could be easier to kill you with it than with his own hands. Your arms automatically wrapped your abdomen, as if you could protect your unborn child from that horror, crying James' name to remember you.

“James… James…”

You weren't able to stop whining, feeling a heavy sorrow under your chest, covering your vitals organs. The noisy sound from the bunker was suddenly turned into a constant beep, beep, beep that caused you to frown yet keeping your eyes closed. You called him once and again until a warm hand laced his fingers with you. Peace invaded you eventually, after a fond squeeze around your skin followed by a pair of rough lips pressed on your forehead. You let yourself go, not finding any strength inside your heart to continue awake.

The next time you opened your eyes, you needed a moment to adjust your gaze to the sunlight. Purring feeling more comfortable than before, you rolled on your stomach, sinking your nose into the large pillow. Bucky's scent was like a punch of reality. Your eyes snapped open as your pulse increased, starting to panic. Sitting up, your orbs moved quickly all around the room you recognized instantly. It was your dorm in the Compound, the one you used to share with your boyfriend —and the father of your child. It was empty. No trace of James anywhere. You tossed away the oxygen mask and the sheets covering your stiff anatomy, getting up from the bed. Another huge mistake.

Everything spun around you, feeling strong dizziness hitting your head, having to sit down for a second. But as soon as you felt recovered, you stood up again walking straight to the main door to step out. The hallway was deserted, hearing some voices coming from the meeting room. You followed them slowly, finding balance with your palm against the walls. Sam was the first one noticing your presence, coming faster to help you.

“James… James…” You mumbled, not really sure about when you started to sob again, whilst your muscles got tense with every syllable.

“He's okay, he's okay, take it easy, girl”. He tried to calm you as Steve reached you to bring you to the closest chair.

“We don't know what you did… but even if that man introduced the commands again… you turned it off”. Natasha spoke this time.

“I re— I repro— reprogramed him”.

The confusion was more than evident between the Avengers present in the room. But no one of them had the need to ask how. The spy taught you Russian in your free time, you weren't a fluent speaker, but it was enough to have a chat. Even so, you weren't going to say the words you used. You weren't going to make Bucky go through another wipe. If they worked, you'd make sure that he'd hear them when the occasion required it.

“I wan— wanna see him… please”. You cried covering your face with both hands, desolated after the hell of the situation you had to live.

“He's resting”. Steve informed you, squatting close and placing a hand on your right thigh to gently caress it. “And you should do the same. For your baby”.

“There's no way you're gonna stop me from seeing him”. You replied, raising your head and looking at him through your eyelids. Silently pleading.

He snorted, convinced that you wouldn't change your mind. Nodding two times with his head, he stood up and offered you a hand to hold it and help you to walk. Steve guided you through upstairs, following your pace step by step —he could have carried you onto his arms, but he wasn't sure if he could hurt you accidentally. You were too weak, barely breathing properly because of all the smoke you swollen inside the bunker. Although you started to feel somewhat erratic and excited as you were coming to Bucky's old dorm.

Steve opened the door for you, letting you walk inside before closing it behind your back. Your boyfriend was peacefully sleeping under the sheets. There were some scars on his face, already healed but yet seeming painful. The only explanation you found to be there was that Bucky used the shield to open the door and take you out of the bunker. A theory that made more sense when you noticed that he hadn't his prosthesis and his shoulder was covered by a thin black microfiber.

You headed to the bed, tucking in to wrap his warm and heavy body between your arms. At the moment he felt you, he embraced you as better as he could, not opening his eyes but shedding a tear. His lips started to tremble as you pecked them, previous to hiding his face into your neck.

“I'm so sorry…” Bucky sobbed, causing your whole anatomy to shudder because of the sorrow in his voice.

“We're gonna be okay, my love… You, me, our baby… Our family”.

His crying increased after those two words, caressing his back slowly to comfort him somehow. You knew that this recovery would be hard and painful, being conscious of how close he had been to end with your life. He didn't want to do it, nobody could deny it. You were everything he had, everything he always wished for deep inside his soul and heart. And the acknowledgment of having a baby with you only provoked him to feel guiltier.

But as you said so, everything was going to be okay.

feedback is appreciated, please, leave a comment to let me know if you liked it.

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#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky x reader #the winter soldier x reader #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan imagine

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wicked-mind · 3 years

Text

From The Ashes

Summary: The last time you saw Bucky and Steve was in the 1940’s. Now that you’re somehow in the present with them confused on how, the truth is going to come out eventually.

Word Count: 3.9k

Warnings: Swearing, death and revival.

All Writings Masterlist

*gifs not mine

“What are we doing?” Bucky asked towards Steve as they stood in the elevator waiting to get to the floor to the briefing room. They had been called up by Sam in an urgent matter.

Steve looks at Bucky, his arms folded across his chest, “Not sure. Sam just said it was urgent.” He said, his face like stone but behind those blue eyes sat a hint of worry about what the situation could entail. Once the elevators door opened, Steve lead the way to the briefing room and looked at Sam, “What’s going o-“ His words cut off when he realized Sam wasn’t alone in the room and behind him in the chair sat a woman he had seen before but not since the 1940’s.

Bucky was right behind him but he saw the woman before Steve and froze behind him. Those eyes… He would know them anywhere. They’ve snuck into his dreams many times before and it always made a deep ache in his heart. Only Steve knew about what you meant to him. You were his doll. His sweetheart. His best and only girl. He had tried to figure out what became of you when he escaped the grasp of Hydra but all he could figure out is that you seemed to pass away in a house fire. He scanned you over, his lips parted in disbelief, “Y/N?” He finally breathed out.

You smiled softly over towards the two, “Hello, Stevie.” You said before your eyes flickered to stare into Bucky’s, “Hi, Bucky.” The last time you had seen them was 1943 before Bucky was shipped off to England and Steve managed to somehow get accepted into the military. You knew how you ended up here decades later, but that was a secret only known to you. But you decided today was a good day to make your presence to them known since Bucky seemed to be doing better from what you saw on the news.

Steve was the first to move, walking towards you and sitting beside you in his own chair, “How are you here?” He asks softly, scanning over every part of your face to make sure it was really you.

When you were about to speak, Bucky interrupted walking over towards you but keeping a little distance between you, “How do we know it’s really you?” He asks, still on guard. It wasn’t everyday someone who had been thought dead just appears in the future. There’s only been a few people that happened to and he was one of them along with Steve.

You smiled over at Bucky, “Need proof, darlin?” You ask and watch his eyes soften at the pet name you used to call him, his posture relaxing a little from being on guard. They knew your secret. You held your hand out in front of you, palm up and a small flame suddenly appeared in your hand before you closed your palm, extinguishing it. Steve and Bucky were the only ones that knew of your enhanced abilities- Pyrokinesis. You could control and create fire with your mind. It was kept a secret because in the forties people saw those who were enhanced humans as some sort of sorcerer or a witch but once Bucky and Steve had caught you fiddling a flame on your fingers as you read, you came clean. You thought it would deter them from being friends with you, ruin your relationship with Bucky thinking he didn’t want to be with a freak. But that wasn’t the case. They both still accepted you.

As soon as the flame extinguished in your palm, Bucky immediately closed the distance and pulled you up from your seat into a tight hug. You swear you could hear him breathing jagged as if he was going to cry but not tears fell from his eyes, “How are you here?” He breathed out into your shoulder before releasing you, keeping his gloved hands on your shoulders as if to keep touching you to make sure you were real and this wasn’t some sort of sick dream.

You smiled softly at him, “I don’t know…” You said softly, a lie, before looking over to Steve, “The only thing I remember is that I just was here seven years ago. Then all the things happened with Thanos and the blip as I was learning how to live in this new time. I saw you two recently on the news, they talked about you two and Sam bringing down some super soldiers so I decided I should come say hello.”

Steve immediately offered you to live here at the facility with them, saying you could join their team if you wanted when you got up to leave. You accepted graciously, happy to be able to spend time with the two of them and catch up on everything you missed. You trained with them while also strengthening your ability. You had been keeping it on the down-low since you returned years ago and you needed to get your ability back into full force. But that wasn’t the only thing you had being strengthening. Your bond with Bucky was still as strong as ever and even though he had changed a lot from the man you knew, he was still the man you loved and with the way he looked at you, you knew he still loved you too though you hadn’t made any moves towards each other yet. Sometimes he would get close, wrapping his arms around you and staring into your eyes like he was going to kiss you, but he always just hugged you tightly and sighed in relief when you wrapped your arms around him.

You had begun to go on missions with them after two months of training, coming especially handy whenever enemies tried to use any type of explosive that you could easily contain and control with your power to manipulate fire. You even got a fancy high-tech suite that was fire resistant. You sat on the quinjet next to Bucky, listening at Steve went over the mission. He was going over everybody’s positions for the third time. You shifted in your seat a little which caught Bucky’s attention. His eyes scanned over you, “You alright?”

You looked up to Bucky and nodded with a slight smile, “Yeah, I’m okay.” You replied softly and returned your gaze to the floor as your brow pulled together. You had this weird feeling sit in your stomach, almost burning.

Bucky kept his gaze on you, watching you carefully. He knew everything about you including the way you looked when you were uncomfortable, “What is it?” He asks quietly as to not interrupt Steve going through the plan. He wanted more than anything to reach over and grab your hand… But he had been struggling with you being back. When he left you in 1943, he was a completely different person and was worried you wouldn’t like who he was now. He didn’t like who he was now, so how could you?

You kept your eyes on the floor, “I just have a bad feeling.” You responded quietly before tilting your head over to look at him to see him watching you with a concerned look spread across his features, “It’ll be fine though. I’m sure it’s just the jitters.” You sat up straighter and put a confident smile on your face.

Bucky nodded at you, “It’ll be fine. I’ll make sure it all goes according to plan. I got you.” He said and the corner of his lips curled upwards in a half smile as he placed a hand on your thigh to comfort you.

You smiled at his touch and nodded, “Thank you.” Then your gaze returned to Steve as he explained the rest of the mission. The organization known as A.I.M. consisted of terrorist arms dealers and scientists who specialized in advanced technological weaponry. Their main goal is to overthrow the world governments for their own gains and they had recently been creating chaos which is why the team was sent to deal with them at one of their bases and also steal some information on their weaponry.

You gripped onto your seat as the quinjet landed, swallowing hard. The feeling in your stomach hadn’t faded, if anything it had grown as if telling you this wasn’t going to end well. You stood from your seat and cracked your neck then followed by your knuckles. You were going to be the first one in with Bucky right behind you while Steve and Sam made sure nobody came for reinforcements. You walked down the quinjet ramp and saw the bunker a little less than half a mile away, starting to walk towards it slowly.

Noticing your hesitancy, Bucky followed you quickly until he walked beside you carrying his usual assault rifle. He stayed close, trying to just comfort you with his presence. Once you two got to the doors of the bunker, he looked down at you, “We are only here for the information. We just get it and get out.” He reminded.

You nodded before seeing redwing zoom beside them to scan the fake access code they received into the lock panel. You flicked her wrists and your hands immediately started to glow with flames circling around them. As soon as the door opened, you reached your hands out and flames erupted from your palms forward to take out the A.I.M. agents that were guarding the gate. With Bucky on your heels, the two of you started running down the corridor, taking care of anybody in your path. Once you got to the weapon room, your hands immediately extinguished from the fire and you started to look around for the information you needed while Bucky stood guard, “It’s not here…” You muttered out, rechecking every table and filing cabinet.

Bucky’s brow furrowed and he moved from the doorway to look with you. They were looking for a certain folder as well as a certain new weapon A.I.M. had created, “That’s impossible. Our inside guy said they’d be here.” He said, his eyes scanning every inch of the room. His head snapped towards the door as he heard footsteps, pulling you behind a pillar with him for cover.

You peeked around the pillar to see A.I.M agents flooding in, guns pointed directly at the pillar as if they already knew where you two were. Your hands ignited again and you started to chuck fireballs at the enemy agents, landing most of them, “Looks like our inside guy might’ve not been so much our guy. This was a set up.” You said softly. Bucky was focused on each target, firing spurts from his gun that hit every target but the A.I.M. agents kept flooding in, slowly cornering the both of you. You heard Bucky’s gun click as he ran out of rounds, “I hate that sound.” You told him before flinging another fireball at an approaching agent.

Bucky looked over at you for a split second, “Yeah, me too.” He grunted out before pulling out one of his knives. and quickly stabbed an enemy agent in the throat as they came around the pillar, “Any ideas on how to get out of this?”

You kept flinging fireballs at the agents as they approached. The two of you moved behind another pillar in the furthest corner of the room from the door, “Only one.” You say, peeking out and throwing more fireballs, “You aren’t going to like it though.”

Bucky looked at you for a moment before focusing on the door. He didn’t really have a choice right now and whatever plan you had was better than the one he had. He was armed with only a knife while the A.I.M. agents were armed with all types of high-tech weapons and there were more flooding into the room at every second, “What’s your plan?” He asks.

You look up at him biting your lip softly, “Stay here. Stay down. Trust me.” You tell him before starting to slowly walk out from behind the pillar, throwing fireballs at the closest ones. You heard Bucky yell your name and for you to get back to cover. You cracked your neck and closed your eyes for a moment and when you opened them, your irises were gold but moving like they were melted gold. Your body erupted into flames before you outstretched your hands and with a scream, all the fire on your body quickly grew and moved to all the agents, crisping them up instantly and falling to the floor. You walked to the door and did the same, taking the ones out in the hallway as they fired at you.

Bucky watched with wide eyes but had moved to kneel on the floor as the fire swirled above his head, watching from around the pillar as you went to the hallway. Once you were out of view and it seemed like the fire had suddenly disappeared, he cautiously moved across the room, “Y/N?” He asks before peaking out the door. His eyes widened, seeing you laying on the floor with red stains starting to soak through your suit slowly in different areas across your chest, “Y/N!” He yelled, kneeling down by you. He quickly observed your wounds, six bullets straight to the chest and stomach. He pressed two fingers to your neck and found a weak pulse, “Dammit!” He growled out before opening coms on his ear piece, “Sam, Steve. Mission failed. I’m coming out, Y/N is down. Get the medical supplies on the quinjet ready.” He quickly scooped you up into his arms and started carrying you out. It seemed clear, you had taken care of most of the enemies before they managed to shoot you. He walked out of the doors, carrying you passed Steve and Sam who were looking at you horrified. He got into the quinjet and laid you down on the floor, “Steve, give me the medical kit.” He growled out.

Sam went to start the quinjet, knowing they needed to get back to the facility as soon as possible to the medical team where the cradle would be waiting. Steve grabbed the medical kit they had and opened it, helping immediately to try and pack the bullet holes and put pressure on the wounds.

“C’mon, doll. C’mon!” Bucky said, keeping pressure on the wounds and replacing the gauze as the blood absorbed into them rapidly, “You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. I got you. You’re going to be okay.” He kept repeating in a panic.

You heard his voice and opened your eyes lazily to look up at Bucky, tears welting up into your eyes, “Bucky.. There’s things you don’t know… Don’t leave me… Stay with me…” You whisper out weakly, blood leaking out the corners of your mouth.

Bucky looked at you as you spoke, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere and neither are you. Just stay awake, stay with me.” He said with a small, pained smile that quickly changed to a frown when you coughed a little before your body stopped moving completely and you were staring up at the ceiling blankly. Steve slowly pulled his hands away from your body, realizing you were gone. Bucky looked at Steve, “What are you doing?! You have to keep pressure!” He growled out.

Steve looked at Bucky, “She’s gone, Buck.” He said softly, watching Bucky fumble around for more gauze and keeping pressure on your body. Once Bucky tried to start CPR on you, Steve grabbed him and pulled him back away from your body, “Buck! She’s gone!”

Bucky struggled in Steve’s grasp, his tear filled eyes staring at you on the floor wide-eyed, “No, Steve!” He yelled, “She can’t be gone! I just got her back!” He said, pushing Steve away and dropping next to your body and pulling you against his chest. He pressed his face into your shoulder, not caring about the blood that was covering him, “No, sweetheart… I’m sorry… No..” He whispered against your shoulder, “I should’ve known you had a stupid plan… Should’ve listened to you when you had a bad feeling..” His voice cracked, “I’m so sorry… I wasted time with you again… I need you, baby… Please don’t go.. I love you…” This hurt worse than when he left you in 1943. At least then he knew you were safe at home and he was the one that didn’t know if he’d make it back. He felt guilty. In 1943 he had confessed his feelings for you and by some god damn miracle you had come back to him and due to him feeling so broken, so unworthy of your love because of what Hydra did to him, he didn’t make any moves with you to let you know he still loved you.

The ride back to the facility was silent, Bucky leaning back against the seats with your body still in his arms. Once they got back to the facility, a medical team was waiting for them at the landing zone. Sam walked down the ramp first, letting the medical team know that they weren’t needed. Steve walked out beside Bucky who was carrying your body in his arms, an emotionless look on his face. He carried your body into the medical bay and laid you on the metal table, looking down at you, “I really screwed up, Steve. Again.” He said softly, his voice breaking.

Steve had followed Bucky in, standing beside him. This loss hit him deep as well. You were one of his best friends, always stitching him and Bucky back up after they’d get into fights. He had a crush on you for the longest time but knew from the way you looked at Bucky that there was no chance and he had forgotten you when he met Peggy, “I’m sorry, Buck.” Steve said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Bucky shook his head, “I should’ve told her how I felt the first time I saw her back here.” He said softly, his eyes staring at your now pale face, “I felt like I didn’t deserve her… Like who I am today didn’t deserve her and I kept her at a distance.” Tears had started to flow slowly again down his cheeks, “I love her. It’s always been her.”

Steve nodded, a saddened expression still on his face, “I know, Buck. I know.” He said and squeezed Bucky’s shoulder, “I’ll give you some time.” He gave you one last glance before heading out of the room to leave Bucky alone with your body.

Bucky pulled up one of the stools and sat beside you, lifting his flesh hand to gently stroke your hair which was slightly matted from the blood, “Y/N, I’m sorry.” He whispers out, his nose and eyes stinging from crying, “I should’ve known when you said you had a bad feeling. You’re never wrong, sweetheart.” His lips twitched into a slight smile before returning to a frown, “Why did you have to go and do that, huh? Go and get yourself killed- I’m so mad at you, doll. I’m mad at myself too… I shouldn’t have wasted time with you just hugging you. I should’ve been loving you. Showing you how much I missed you. How much I love you…” He scooted his stool over to grab a water basin and a towel, “I’m not leaving you though… I’ll get you cleaned up. You’d be so angry if I left you looking like this.” He went over to the sink and filled the water basin up with warm water before returning to your side, slowly wiping off the splotches of blood the best he could from your suite, skin, and face. When he was finished, he went back to the sink to clean up the mess he made and wash his hands. The orange glow on the wall in front of him caught his attention and he turned, seeing that your body had erupted into large orange flames, “What…” Bucky breathed out, watching the flames grow to engulf the whole table to the ceiling. He held his hand up, blocking the brightness from his eyes before the fire started to die down. His eyes widened in shock when he saw you sitting up on the medical table, breathing deeply as the flames sucked back in through your skin and you were left sitting on what looked like a pile of ash. Bucky practically tripped over his own feet sprinting over to you, taking your face in his palms and scanning over your face, “Y/N? Doll?”

You opened your eyes slowly and looked at him, “So we’re back to pet-names now?” You ask and managed a small smile. Luckily your suite was fireproof so it had managed to stay in tact through the flames.

“How?” Bucky asked simply, keeping his eyes on yours. He was shocked, he had watched you die and carried your lifeless body back here before you just erupted into flames and now… here you were. Just sitting there like nothing had happened, like you hadn’t been injured at all. Like you hadn’t died in his arms.

You sighed softly and reached your hands up to rest on his that were still on your face, “There’s some things you and Steve don’t know, Buck.” You told him softly, “I’m not just a pyrokenetic… I’m a phoenix. We don’t die very easily, we just revive.”

Bucky’s brow pulled together at the news, blinking at her in disbelief, “Why didn’t you tell Steve and I this?” They had always known about your ability to manipulate and create fire, so why couldn’t you have trusted them with this?

“I couldn’t. Phoenix are rare. A lot of people believe we are a myth but there are those who hunt us relentlessly” You told him, taking a deep breath, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I’ve been around since about the 1860’s, that’s why I never had any family. There’s only a few things that can kill us for certain and bullets aren’t one of them.”

Bucky continued to stare at you, speechless at your words. At least he didn’t feel like the old one anymore. He stepped back from you and tilted his head a little, “Steve is not going to believe this.” He said.

You jumped off from sitting on the table and walked closer to Bucky, “Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you… Are we okay? You seem mad.”

Bucky looked down at you, “I thought you were dead, Y/N. I thought I had fucked up again and lost you before I could…” He paused, watching your expression closely, “Before I could tell you that I still love you.”

You stared back at him, “Oh…” You managed to squeak out, “And… I’m assuming this kind of changes that?” You asked quietly. You had always been worried about how another person would feel about dating an immortal being. Who would want to be with someone forever trapped in the body of a young woman while they grew old? You look down, fidgeting with your fingers.

Bucky watched your expression change to a defeated look which broke his heart. He took a step towards you and grabbed onto your face with his large hands again, pulling your lips to his. His lips twitching into a small smile when he felt you kiss him back softly. He pulled away and looked down at you, “Are you kidding me? Now Sam can stop calling me the old one.” He said softly down to you, “I love you. Doesn’t matter if you’re a phoenix, a zombie, a human… Hell, you could even be the damn devil and I would still love you.”

You smiled up at him, lifting your palms to place on the sides of his neck gently, “I halfway hope you wouldn’t love me if I was a zombie… But I love you too.” You replied and gave him another kiss to the lips before pulling away, “Speaking of zombies, how about we go prank Sam and Steve? I could pretend to be back from the dead and want to eat their brains.”

Bucky chuckles and shakes his head at her, “Yeah, alright. C’mon, sweetheart. They’re probably in a shitty mood anyway and could use a lift me up.” He said before taking your hand and pulling you out of the medical bay to go prank the two.

_____________________________________________________________ Permanent Taglist: @buckypops @stcrryslibrary @bibliophilewednesday

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky x you #bucky x reader #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #james bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes

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nnightskiess · 3 years

Text

𝐳𝐨𝐲𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐳𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞

₊° - 𝐳𝐨𝐲𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐳𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

₊° - 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: y/n isn't too keen on letting zoya go on her journey through the fold and arrives at the encampment late at night to ease her worries.

please do not copy, republish, translate or reproduce this imagine on wattpad or on other platforms. respect the author's work <3

when word got round in the little palace that a spot for a grisha healer in the second army opened up for the supply run through the fold, y/n wasted no time and offered to go. they had applauded her for her willingness and bravery, but all y/n could think about was seeing that one gorgeous sqauller again, who quite literally blew her away the moment they first met.

zoya nazyalensky's striking blue eyes had captivated y/n the moment they locked with hers and hadn't it been for the squaller looking away, y/n was sure she'd still be lost in them. y/n deemed zoya to be one of the prettiest girls in os olta and the little palace combined, but her beauty was not the only thing about her that had made y/n unable to get the girl out of her head.

zoya was a squaller, a grisha able to manipulate the wind and air, but zoya also possessed a big fire in her belly, one that was almost always quite present. it helped her to the top, but was also one of the qualities that had a tendency to make her intimidating or feared. y/n however, looked right through it and never stepped back whenever zoya would raise her voice or squint her eyes just long enough for other grisha to leave her alone. and exactly that had caught zoya's attention.

training was going terrible, the new squallers seemed to lack the confidence and passion that was needed for combat training. botkin had been so frustrated that he let some of the older grisha take the task and train them. y/n had watched from the sides as zoya visibly grew more annoyed at the youngsters and bit her lip when that same frustration finally caught up with her,

"enough! come back when you're worthy of wearing that kefta or don't show your face again!" she sent a large gush of air their way, making everyone's kefta's blow up in the wind before she turned around, letting out a quick breath through her nose.

y/n approached, a tiny smirk on her face. she'd waited to the sides to see how long it would take to crack the girl's patience. zoya wasn't a quitter, but her tough love seemed to worsen the children's performances even more.

zoya felt a presence behind her and turned around with a sneer as she sent another wave of wind behind her.

"i said-"

y/n was sent against the wall before she landed on the earth with a thud.

zoya tried to hide her initial surprise and gave the girl a once over, tilted her chin and crossed her arms, "what do you want?" she wasn't in the mood to apologize and kept her arms crossed, not even bothering to help the girl up.

y/n dusted her kefta off and tried to delay her reply, which she knew was frustrating zoya even more. y/n finally looked up, a cheeky smile on her face as she spoke,

"you could be sent away for that... we aren't allowed to use our powers here, did you forget?"

"look around- do you see anyone here?"

zoya was right- most boys and girls had silently left the training facility after zoya's outburst and botkin was probably downing a glass of kvas to drink away his frustrations of the day.

"because you scared them all away."

zoya put her nose up in disdain and turned back around- she didn't have time for this cocky know-it-all girl. she rolled her eyes as y/n followed her around the courtyard, getting slightly annoyed,

"i'm not sure if you have it in you, but maybe next time try and ease up on the tough love? be kind for a chance?"

"it's not what works best. do you think they'll be coddled when they're part of the second army? you healers are too sensitive. you should consider changing that or this world is going to eat you up."

"too sensitive?" y/n tried to hide the hurt in her voice and shook it off, "you don't know the injuries i've had to heal, the pain and gore i've seen. you should consider changing your mind on healers. without us, we'd be off way worse."

zoya had been annoyed at y/n's challenging rebuttal at first, but would later realise it wasn't out of lack of respect that y/n didn't seem to falter under her hard glares, it was because of the intrigue and adoration she held for her. if she backed down like all the others, she would never get a chance to break down zoya's walls.

eyerolls out of annoyance faded into playful eyerolls and zoya quickly realised that y/n would be one of those people her superiors had told her about all those years ago when she was first brought to the little palace. in order to not succumb to the stress of being a grisha, let alone one in the second army, one needs companions. companions you trust to have your back, companions to share your worries with and companions to help you see the light in difficult situations, even in the dark of the fold. and a loyal companion y/n became.

zoya was less hostile to the healer than she was to anyone else and people soon caught on. to not lose her air of intimidation, she tried to keep her soft smiles to a minimum and playfully pestered y/n whenever she could- even though no one but the two knew it was playful- only to get a joking sneer back in return, which never failed to crack the tiniest grin on the squaller's face.

"why do you look ready to leave?" y/n suddenly appeared in the doorway of zoya's suite. "planning to run away?" she joked but her worries grew as zoya didn't reply.

zoya didn't look up and instead continued to prepare her bag. y/n noticed that she was wearing the good luck charm she'd given the girl to wear whenever she had to go on a difficult or risky mission. a silent promise to both, if you will, to make sure whatever would happen would turn out alright. y/n's smile faltered,

"where are they sending you off to?"

"kribirsk, i'm going to help sail the skiff for a supply run to ketterdam."

"you're going through the fold?!" y/n took haste steps into the room and stopped right behind zoya, "why haven't i heard about this?! when are you supposed to cross it?!"

zoya let out a sigh and looked up, her hands placed on her hips, "stop it. i'll be fine," she went back to folding her clothes, "you know it's not my first time."

"no, but every time might as well be your last!"

y/n pulled at zoya's arm to make her stop, the squaller immediately glared at her. she hated when y/n became worried, it always intensified the worries she was already feeling herself, even if she would never tell anyone.

"i'll be fine, i promise."

"what happens there isn't really up to you... besides, i just don't like sitting here and waiting in agony for a word from you telling me you survived."

zoya finally gave in, she couldn't hold up her front any longer as she looked into y/n's worried eyes. she let out a deep sigh and rubbed her forehead before her hands dropped to her neck. she grabbed the talisman and held it up, "this'll protect me."

"zoya, it's not some-"

"no. it will. you said it would. i trust you. now, will you trust me? i'll be back before you know it." zoya softly stroked y/n's cheek with the back of her finger, something she did when the girl needed reassurance and comfort. "i'll come back, y/n."

the two women stared at each other for a long time, exchanging silent promises. but y/n's sudden movement caught zoya off guard, and before she could realise the girl had softly planted her lips against her own, y/n had already retreated.

"write to me."

zoya nodded absentmindedly, her head still stuck in the moment before.

"-and you better come back in one piece, nazyalensky."

zoya nodded again, this time less distracted, and she pulled y/n back when the girl made a move to walk out before planting a soft kiss on the girl's cheek.

"i will. or else you'll just have to patch me up again."

but zoya's nerves proved to be more difficult to contain now that y/n wasn't around, even if the girl had a tendency to sometimes make them worse with her worries. she knew she had promised to write, but what was she going to write down? how scared she really was? what would that do to calm y/n's nerves- both their nerves? not to mention that the confident squaller had felt insecure ever since their tiny kiss. was she supposed to write a different letter? was y/n expecting her to? or were they still just friends? or would it only upset y/n if she wrote to her like friends would?

so, zoya thought it was best to just not write at all, to spare both their feelings. but y/n, who had been waiting for a letter in the little palace, had gone mad after a few days. she hadn't received a letter noting zoya's arrival, neither had zoya written her one to tell her when the journey to west-ravka would take place. she felt awfully left in the dark, even if she knew the second army had arrived at the encampment through a general at the palace, she needed to hear it from zoya. or had she scared the squaller off? was the girl regretting their moment? had she lost zoya completely now, even as a friend? she needed to know.

the only worries she felt when the horses pulled the carriage over the roads to the encampment, were the worries about zoya, not about the voyage she was going to have to take through the darkness. after all, she'd have zoya by her side, who would undoubtedly try to protect her if needed, who could calm her down with just a look her way, just like how y/n would be there to heal and support if the situation asked for it.

y/n was assigned a tent with the other corporalki, but could care less about settling in for a good night's sleep. she needed to find zoya's tent first. she needed to see her at least once before setting foot on the ship the next morning.

the torches lit up the campsite and created eerie shadows on the surrounding tents, sometimes even forming into a shadow that looked way too similar to the volcra whose screams and cries filled the air now and then. y/n shook it off and walked along.

she finally heard zoya's familiar soft voice behind a tent's fabric to her left and a guy clad in the clothes of a tracker walked out a few seconds later. it slightly confused y/n, but she walked to the entrance of the now pitch black tent nonetheless.

"zoya?" she whispered out softly, still a bit unsure if she'd actually been right about hearing the girl's voice. what if this was someone else's tent?

"anyone here?" she called again, her eyes now slightly adjusting to the lack of light. a shadow moved to her left before she fell to her knees as all the air in her lungs disappeared. someone had her in a headlock.

"zoya! it's me! it's me, y/n!" she coughed and heaved, clawing at her throat for air. she heard the squaller gasp as fresh air filled her lungs once again. a candle was lit a second after, which barely illuminated the tent, but enough for zoya to see her friend on the floor.

"what are you doing here?!" she hissed, her panic replaced by anger almost instantly, anger that stemmed out of worry for the girl. y/n being there could only mean one thing...

"i had to see you." y/n accepted the help of zoya and was put to sit on the girl's bed. "you promised you'd write... why didn't you?"

zoya ignored the question and fired a question of her own the healer's way, "why are you here? i doubt they let you go without a reason."

y/n refused to make eye contact, but zoya refused to give in and forcefully grabbed the girl's chin. y/n expected to see the squaller's eyebrows knitted together in anger or worry, or both, and a sneer on her face, but was instead met with a look she couldn't quite place, one she barely ever saw. if y/n wanted an answer, she would have to answer zoya first.

"they needed a healer."

"on the supply run?"

y/n nodded meekly but kept looking at zoya's features, trying to decipher what she was thinking.

"y/n, you shouldn't have... not after-"

"i know. i know i had to watch my friends get torn apart last time, while i sat there and couldn't help all of them at once, i know- but zoya- if something were to happen to you and i wouldn't be able to at least try and help you out, i would never be able to let it go."

zoya's grasp on y/n's chin loosened until she finally let go and dropped her hands on her lap. but they didn't feel right there so she immediately grabbed onto one of y/n's, giving it a light squeeze.

"you didn't write to me. that usually means you're either worried and don't want to worry me or... well... after, you know... i thought you might've..."

zoya squeezed again, telling the girl she didn't need to talk further, she knew exactly what she meant.

"i know something has shifted between us, but i don't regret it. that wasn't why i didn't write...well, it was." she continued when y/n rose an eyebrow in confusion, "i was afraid you might've regretted it."

"no, i-"

"it doesn't matter, you shouldn't have come." zoya's walls were back up again in a snap of her fingers and she let go and sat up, immediately shielding herself from whatever rejection about to come her way.

"zoya-"

"it's probably best if we both get some rest."

y/n looked to see if zoya was slightly joking but pursed her lips together when she saw the girl's blank face.

"fine." the healer jumped up and stormed out of the tent, throwing the entrance drape shut so harshly that the tiny candle went out, which left zoya by herself in the dark of the night. at least it would let her get used to the dark that was waiting for her on the end of the encampment.

y/n buttoned and unbuttoned her crimson kefta multiple times, a nervous habit of hers, but kept them buttoned when the horn indicated it was time to go. had it been worth it? offering to cross the fold just to talk to zoya? only for her to get the cold shoulder? no. but at least now she was able to protect the girl.

she walked onto the sandskiff along with other grisha and, this time, cartographers, and immediately locked eyes with zoya, who was already stationed at the front. zoya looked regal, standing there, with her chin held high and her hands behind her back, almost as if she owned the sandskiff. to others, she might've looked cocky, but not to y/n.

zoya's eyes inspected everyone who walked onto the ship and thus also landed on y/n's. but, while she'd lightly glared at everyone, her glare softened when she looked at her friend. she dipped her head in acknowledgement. what y/n didn't know, was that while zoya had tried her best to pretend that y/n wouldn't be going on the supply run, seeing her step onto the skiff had broken that fairytale thought and had made her slightly break out an uneasy sweat. y/n's talisman was hidden under her kefta, but zoya could still feel it pressing against her chest. it calmed her down a little, but not enough, certainly not when the ship started moving and y/n was not on the docks staying behind.

screeches and yells of those terrible beasts were the first things to welcome them into the fold before the clear morning sky finally turned black and the air turned cold. the volcra sounded distant though, so as long as they kept quiet and in the dark, there wouldn't be a reason to panic.

zoya glanced y/n's way every now and then. even if there still wasn't trouble in the air, she just needed to reassure herself that the girl was okay. same for y/n- she kept glancing to the front of the skiff to see zoya's eyes illuminate in the blue of the tiny lantern. zoya's eyes never failed to calm her down, but looking into them now brought her even greater comfort. or discomfort...if she thought long enough about what happened last time she crossed the fold.

the wind howled, the wooden skiff creaked and thunder filled the sky. the occasional lightning lit up their surroundings and showed the shipwrecks from previous supply runs, a great reminder to everyone on board that they should count themselves lucky if they survived this crossing.

"marker one...."

"how many more are there?" a cartographer girl dared to ask and y/n closed her eyes, knowing the answer wouldn't satisfy her.

"thirty-seven."

y/n's hands clasped around the sleeves of her kefta as she hugged herself. only twelve more markers and she'd reach the place where it all happened last time.

barely one marker later and the growling and screeching sounds of the approaching volcra made everyone tense up. one volcra made a close appearance, which made everyone either duck or ready their guns. it was eerily silent after that. y/n tried not to look at the frightened faces of everyone else and instead tried to count, but that proved to make her even more nervous after another volcra screeched nearby- they weren't going fast enough.

zoya felt suffocated when the blue lantern, which was meant to be their little safe haven during their crossing, dimmed. however, the real panic set in when it became pitch black and she lost all sight of y/n. the deck suddenly lit up by the orange hue of a lantern one cartographer boy had set alight in panic, which illuminated y/n's pretty face with an orange tint, but zoya was anything but relieved. this wasn't a good thing. at all.

"blow it out! what are you doing?!"

all hell broke loose when the lantern attracted volcra, who were now surrounding the sandskiff, flying over it to wait for the perfect opportunity to catch their prey. if that wasn't bad enough, the lantern had fallen over and a small fire was starting to eat away at the wooden deck, making it even harder for everyone on board to hide. people were being picked up by the creatures and all y/n seemed to be able to do was freeze. last time she'd been running from left to right to try and help aid the people on board, but even when she had prepared herself for this outcome this time, no muscle in her body seemed to want to move. she didn't know what hurt her ears more- the gunshots, the screeching of those terrible monsters or the agonizing yells from the people on deck. one thing stood out through those yells- a pained yelp coming from no other than zoya made her head shoot up to where she thought she'd heard it.

zoya had watched y/n tense up from her side of the ship and was well aware that past memories were probably troubling her mind, making her unable to get to work. all worries or insecurities were thrown out the window once she realised she needed to keep y/n safe. a volcra had dived to pick her up right as she made a move to run to the healer, but a shove from one of the other grisha had saved her life. her shoulder broke the fall and one of her hands met the flames, making her cry out in pain.

this did the trick and burst the healer's bubble. y/n crawled across the deck, trying to stay as low as possible, and gritted her teeth whenever she came too close to the fire and the heat became painful. zoya noticed her approach and tried to move closer too, only to grasp her shoulder in pain.

"ssssh, i'm here, i'm here, let me-" y/n stammered in a panic as she looked at the damage. she gently stroke her fingers over zoya's burns first. zoya threw her head back at the initial pain and incredibly annoying itch that followed, but let out a shaky chuckle out of relief when the pain subdued before eventually fading away.

they weren't out of danger yet and the volcra hovering above them proved exactly why. zoya's eyes widened as she watched it approach over y/n's shoulder and she pulled the girl on top of her in a tight embrace. the movement made her grit her teeth in pain, her shoulder still hurt like hell, but at least the volcra had missed this chance. she saw it circle around, waiting to pounce once more. she reached for the gun beside her when it turned around, ready for another try. but zoya didn't give it one and directed a shot at its chest, which caught the beast off guard and gave the perfect opportunity to one of the escorts on the ship to finish him off with another shot.

"are you alri-"

"go! get inside!" zoya gently pushed the girl off of her again.

"you're hurt, let me-"

"i need to help send this skiff back. go!"

"it'll only be-"

"we don't have time! i can handle a broken shoulder but i will never forgive myself if something happened to you!" zoya yelled back over the chaos and was supported by another squaller who pulled her to the other side of the deck. y/n sat there, baffled. a harsh force of wind made y/n's hair blow up and the ship started to move again. a young man, one of their escorts, ran up to her, pulled her on her feet and guided her inside.

there she sat, waiting, while a mix of screams, screeches, thunder and gunshots made for a horrifying mix of sounds, while she couldn't do a thing, while zoya was bait up there...

a light so bright beamed through the cracks and holes of the wood and even from her cover, y/n had to shield her eyes.

silence. complete, utter silence. no more volcra, no more shouting or gunshots needed. the wind that the squallers created to send them back home was a comforting sound to y/n's ears and it was all she wanted to focus on as she knew they were going back.

the darkness soon turned to light again. the sky had changed back and was filled with puffy clouds as the air grew more pleasant to inhale. they were back, they were safe. but still, y/n kept seated, not wanting to go out and see the damage. not again.

yes, the sandskiff had returned home, which meant that squallers had sent it back, but zoya had been out there for a while even before the light. going out there meant there was a possibility she was going to receive the news that zoya hadn't made it.

"i need a healer here! quick!"

y/n wiped her teary eyes that were still burning from the smoke, pushed the stray hairs out of her face and stood up. she was not going to let people suffer just because she was afraid of facing her fears. she let herself fall onto her knees next to a cartographer girl whose leg still sizzled from a terrible burn. she seemed pretty out of it- her head lulled as a cold sweat coated her face.

"hey, you're going to be alright. i'm y/n, i'm a healer." she tried to reassure her, even if she was unsure if the girl could even hear her at this point, "i'm going to have to touch it, but it's going to get better after that. i promise. try to sit as still as you can so it won't scar." she went to work and saw the girl's eyes flutter open. "see?" the girl nodded and sent a tired smile her way. that was enough of a thank you for y/n and she immediately stood up to try and see where she was needed next.

zoya had climbed her way down as soon as she could and panic filled her when she couldn't find y/n anywhere. this was where she'd seen the boy take her to?! but as she walked back, she saw the girl tending to a wounded man and a sigh of relief left her mouth. she watched y/n stand up,

"can you tend to my shoulder next?"

y/n's head whipped around at the familiar voice, and even if it sounded hoarse and tired, she could still hear a playful undertone.

"thank the saints! you're alright!" y/n went in for a hug but reminded herself of zoya's injured shoulder and squeezed the girl's hand instead.

"who else sent us back?" zoya smiled tiredly and let y/n pull her out off the chaos on the ship to be sat down on the docks. the healer helped her out of her kefta and zoya noticed y/n was trying to suppress a meek smile at the sight of the talisman that clung around zoya's neck.

zoya closed her eyes as y/n's soft hands made contact with her bare shoulder and she only dared to open them again once the pain was replaced by the familiar feeling of a healing itch. she grabbed the healer's hand and intertwined their fingers.

"are you still hurting?"

zoya let out a breathy chuckle and shook her head, "no, i believe i'm fine now. just a bit shaken."

y/n nodded and stared off into the distance, she knew exactly what zoya meant. a soft tug on her hand made her look back at the blue eyed girl.

"i'm sorry."

"zoya nazyalensky saying sorry? that's a first."

"hush you, i'm serious. don't make me regret this." zoya rolled her eyes, glad to have this y/n back. for a second, back in the fold, when she saw y/n so tensed up as she was reliving her trauma, zoya was afraid she might never get her back, if they were to even get out of the fold alive. but here she was, holding the girl's hand and staring into her eyes. she was here. with her.

"it was wrong of me to downplay your worries when i knew where they stemmed from. you've had to go through that, see that happen... and it was only fair of you to fear my departure. i should've written to you and-"

"zoya, it's quite-"

"let me finish." a light squeeze in her hand and a somewhat serious glare from zoya made y/n shut up, "i also shouldn't have treated you like i did last night. but can you try to imagine the worry i felt when i realised you were going to do the crossing? if something happened to you, that would've been because of me. you were on that ship because i was there, because i didn't write back."

"i would've taken the offer even if you had written to me, to be quite honest..."

zoya rolled her eyes, "of course you would've."

"zoya, when will you understand that i'll always try to have your back?

"but why must you put yourself in harm's way to do so?"

"because that's just how it goes!" y/n squeezed zoya's hand this time, trying to get her message across. "we're companions remember?"

zoya smiled softly and put a strand of hair behind y/n's ear before she wiped away the dirt on the girl's temple. her fingers then travelled down the girl's cheek and jaw before resting there, "i think we're more than companions, don't you think?" her striking blue eyes then looked directly into y/n's, immediately captivating the girl like she was some siren trying to lure her into the pools of her eyes.

"are we?" y/n's voice was small.

"have you forgotten about kissing me already? should you need a reminder?"

"no- i haven't, i remember!" her cheeks turned scarlet as zoya tilted her head in a playful manner. oh gods, how stupid could she be. "i mean, i don't. a reminder would be nice?" the meekness of y/n's voice warmed zoya up and she stroked the girl's bottom lip with the pad of her thumb,

"you sure?"

y/n nodded, but that wasn't what would satisfy zoya.

"talk. use your voice."

"yes, i'm sure."

zoya lifted her chin and looked at her in a way only she could, but it wasn't disrespectful at all. she looked at y/n as if she was the only girl in the world, but even if she wasn't, she'd still pick her. she'd pick her as a friend, a companion, or whatever they were going to be next.

#zoya imagine #zoya x reader #zoya nazyalensky x reader #zoya nazyalensky imagine #zoya one shot #shadow and bone imagines #sab imagines #sab x reader #grishaverse imagines #s&b x reader #s&b imagines

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sonoftatooine · 3 years

Text

Whumpay 2021

DAY 24: PROTECTED BY AN ENEMY / HURT BY A FRIEND

Characters: Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Nute Gunray.

Warnings: Blood and injury, mild depictions of violence

Summary: Prequel to Day 9. When Senator Padmé Amidala is captured by the Separatists after being betrayed by her old friend, Onoconda Farr, and scheduled for execution, she finds an unlikely rescuer in the Sith assassin, Darth Vader.

***

There were many things that Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo had not expected to happen when she had travelled to Rodia to persuade her old mentor, Onoconda Farr, to accept Republic aid for his starving people rather than joining with the Separatists in a desperate attempt to save them. She had not expected her attempts at persuasion to fall upon deaf ears. She had not expected her Uncle Ono to betray her, to capture her and hand her over to Nute Gunray and his compatriots in return for promised supplies for his people. She hadn't expected to be bundled into a Separatist ship in chains with no resistance, no attempt at help from her old friend. Hadn't expected to transported to an unknown CIS base, bundled into a small dark cell and faced with a smug Count Dooku, stood before the containment field she had been trapped in, telling her with a cruel smirk that she may have escaped justice at Geonosis, but she would have no such luck this time.

She was to be executed.

What she had expected least, however—what she had never expected even as she hung limp in her chains alone in her cell, hoping for rescue—was that she would escape Dooku's twisted justice, not at the hands of her allies, but at one of the old Sith's own. She would never in her life have imagined that she would ever be in a position to be rescued by Darth Vader, the feared Sith assassin of the Separatists. And yet—she ducked, stumbling over the uneven, rocky ground outside the Separatist base as a barrage of blaster bolts aimed towards her, only for them to be sent back at the battle droids that had fired them before they could even reach her—here she was.

And here, she thought as she caught that deadly whirl of black and red in the corner of her eyes cutting through the ranks of their pursuers with brutal efficiency, was he. Vader. A man she had never once met, but countless horrific stories about. Shielding her. Protecting her. Risking his own life to save hers.

“Which way is the ship?” she shouted over the whizz of blaster fire and the roar of STAPs, gripping her own blaster tight as she fired several shots at the guards attempting to rush them.

Vader did not respond. Instead, he threw out a hand, fingers spread wide, and the droids were thrown backwards in a mighty Force push. In the distance, she could see several armed Neimoidian guards rushing out of the facility, ready to hunt them down.

“Come” he said. “This way.”

***

“Senator Amidala.”

His voice was deep and resonant through the vocoder of the blank death mask that kept his features concealed from allies and enemies alike. Robed from head to toe in black, with no chink in his armour to see what lay beneath, he looked every inch the mysterious Sith assassin that the Senate and the Jedi had come to fear as he stepped slowly into her cell and came to stand directly before her, inscrutable and expressionless. Padmé swallowed. Trapped as she was in a buzzing blue containment field, she could do nothing stare back into his eyes—or at least, where she thought his eyes must be. She would not show him she was afraid.

“Darth Vader,” she said. Her voice hoarse from tiredness and thirst, and she had to draw on all of her politician's training to keep the apprehension out of her tone. “I don't believe I've had the pleasure. Are you to be my executioner?”

'I'm not afraid to die,' she reminded herself, just as she had done chained up in the beast arena at Geonosis what now seemed like so long ago. 'I'm not afraid to die. I'm not—' Vader tilted his head to the side, as if he were considering...something. The mask shielded his expression from scrutiny as much as it hid his identity, and Padmé could not even guess at what he was thinking. She, however, tried very much not to think that that mask had been the last thing that so many people must have seen.

“Lord Tyranus has spoken to you then?,” he spoke eventually. His arms folded in front of him in a gesture that she supposed was meant to look intimidating, but that to her looked almost...defensive, as he was trying to make himself look smaller, self-comfort. Which was blatantly ridiculous. This was Darth Vader. But there was something about the gesture, something which struck a chord of familiarity in her that she could not quite put her finger on— “Your execution has been scheduled for tomorrow morning.”

He was, Padmé decided as she clenched her hands into fists, steadfastly ignoring the ache in her arms after having been suspended in position for so long, nothing like Dooku—or was it Tyranus, for she could only assume that it was he that the other Sith was referring to with that name. Dooku had visited her in her cell earlier that day, unbearably smug for all his pretence at playing the gentleman, promising her that she would pay the price for the arrogance of the Republic she had pledged her life to. Vader, on the other hand, was blunt and abrupt, disinterested in being drawn into a verbal sparring match, and showing no inclination whatsoever to even so much as draw attention to his power over her, let alone crow about it. There was no air of enjoyment about him, no sense of victory. Only tension. And yet, despite his directness, he had not yet explained to her the reason for his presence in her cell.

“Then why are you here?,” she shot back. “Do you intend to interrogate me? I shall tell you nothing!”

Vader did not respond to this declaration, merely stared at her unflinchingly through the red-tinted lenses of his mask. She could not see his eyes, but she felt the weight of his gaze on her nonetheless.

“No,” he said, suddenly, without ceremony. He turned away sharply, like a puppet jerked about on a string. The change was so odd, so abrupt, that Padmé didn't quite take it in at first. She blinked.

“No?” she echoed.

“I don't want your information.”

'Then why have you come here if not for that?' Padmé thought, frowning. She may not be Force sensitive, but she didn't need to be to know that there was something going on, something very strange, as if the man before her were trying to wrangle himself into a decision which he was not quite sure he should make. But what it was—

“Then what do you want?” she breathed.

***

From the few holos they had of Vader that she had seen played in the Senate, she had always thought of him as something akin to a vine tiger, supremely graceful, inexorably powerful, and deadly dangerous to any unfortunate soul that happened to cross the path of his blade. Seeing him now, Padmé could only conclude that she had been both right and wrong. He was graceful, yes. Powerful, most certainly. Deadly—undoubtedly. But such a comparison could not possibly encompass what it was to see him fight in the flesh. He was a whirlwind of black robes and flashing red plasma, a one-man storm directing blaster bolts back at their pursuers with such speed that she could barely follow it with her eyes, even as he reached out with the Force to crush droids into scrap metal, and to rip Neimoidian guards from their speeders and STAPs. It was utterly terrifying to watch, and she couldn't quite tell that it was more or less so for the fact that it was for her. To protect her.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she was not quick enough to dodge a blaster bolt that whizzed out of nowhere, heading right towards her face with deadly speed. With a shout of alarm, she threw up her arm in a futile attempt to shield herself, but the blow never landed. Lowering her arm cautiously, she saw that the bolt was hovering, static, inches in front of her, so close that she could almost feel the burning heat of it on her skin. It was buzzing angrily as if it wanted nothing more than to surge forward from the grip that held it and strike her down.

What?!

“Mind on the fight, Senator,” Vader called as, with a gesture of one gloved hand, he sent the bolt whooshing back towards one of the pursuing droids with deadly accuracy. “I'd like to get you out of here in one piece.”

'Why?!,' Padmé wanted to scream. 'Why are you doing this?! Why are you protecting me?!' But he was right. She needed to focus on getting out of here alive and harmed. On them both getting out of here alive and unharmed. Questions, she thought as she ducked another bolt that whizzed dangerously past her ears, could come later.

Taking a deep breath, she tightened her grip on her blaster and fired.

***

“Whatever happens next, don't panic,” Vader said. “Follow my lead.”

A wave of one gloved hand, and the containment field deactivated. Without anything to hold her up, Padmé pitched forward alarmingly, but Vader stepped forward to catch her before she fell to the floor. The fingers at her waist were hard and made of metal, but his left hand, which had caught her by the shoulder, was as much flesh and bone as her own. 'Not a droid then', she thought nonsensically as she remembered one particular rumour about the Sith assassin that had been circling about the Senate a few moths past before the Jedi debunked it—droids, after all, could not wield the Force.

He set her down on her feet with surprising gentleness for a man of his reputation, but the moment she had regained her balance, she drew back as if burnt. Padmé couldn't quite tell if she should be relieved or not. She was too dazed trying to figure out what in the Galaxy was happening.

“Vader...what—?” she stammered, all of her promises to herself to stay calm and collected around him forgotten in the face of this baffling turn of events.

“Give me your hands” the Sith said in lieu of an answer. When she didn't move, he reached out and took them in a grip that was firm but not rough and, pulling a pair of stun cuffs out of the folds of his robes, placed them upon her wrists. He did not, however, click them properly shut—indeed, made no effort to at all. Padmé stared down at them, her eyes wide.

“What are you doing?” she whispered. It couldn't be what she thought it was. It couldn't be—

“I have a ship hidden away from the base,” Vader replied measuredly—or, at least, the vocoder made him sound measured. Surely he wasn't that calm. He didn't look calm. He looked tense, ready to fight, as well he should if he were proposing— “It will take you to Republic space. The Separatists will not be able to reach you there.”

Then, before she had even had time to process that extraordinary statement, he had taken up position behind her, metal hand resting on her shoulder, ready to push her out of the dark cell and out towards freedom.

“When we encounter the guards, play along,” he instructed. “They won't dare to question me but it will only be so long before they realise something's wrong. We will need to be quick.”

***

“Which way?,” Padmé gasped as she ducked under yet another barrage of blaster fire, her legs and lungs burning from the exertion of running so far. Their pursuers were gaining on them, and worse, they had managed to get a hit on Vader. A stray bolt out of the last spray they had sent their way had managed to slip past his defences and strike him in the shoulder, and he'd been forced to transfer his lightsaber to his left hand as he pressed his right hard to the wound in an attempt to stem the bloodflow. It didn't stand out against the deep black of his robes, but she could smell it, sharp and metallic and a visceral reminder that, strong as her unlikely protector was, he was far from invulnerable.

“Make for the canyon,” he said. If he was in pain—and she was sure that he was; blaster bolts hurt even Sith Lords—there was no indication of it in his voice. Or rather, the voice of the vocoder. It didn't seem to pick up on the subtleties of tone, and even if his tone had sounded weak and hurt beneath the mask, his words boomed out as loud and clear as ever. She wondered, vaguely, what he sounded like without it. “It will give us cover if they try to shoot from above.”

Padmé stared wildly at the rocky landscape around her, at the mouth of the canyon they were nearing. She didn't like the look of it. True, there was a lot of overhanging rock that would shield them from blaster fire from the droids in the air, and anyone who pursued them in there would be forced into a bottleneck, but still... Tall and narrow and with no idea of where it led, it seemed to be just the kind of place that the guards would want to drive them into.

“What if they trap us in there?” she asked, only to be forced to duck under another barrage of blaster fire.

“I will deal with them” Vader retorted. Even though both his hands were gloved, she was sure that his flesh hand clutched about the hilt of his lightsaber was white-knuckled.

“You're injured!,” Padmé argued. Her eyes flickered to his shoulder. The cloth beneath his hand was wet and sticky with blood. “Your bleeding! Are you sure—?”

“I'm fine,” Vader cut across her. He forced himself to straighten up, and despite being able to see nothing of his face, she got the distinct impression that he was gritting his teeth. “Sith draw their power from pain.”

Padmé winced.

“Vader...” She said. The red lenses fixed on her, the flying blaster bolts reflected in them like comets reflected on the surface of a dark lake, and then he turned sharply away.

“Let's go.”

***

“Stand down.” The sharp order barked through the mask's vocoder was enough to make the Neimoidian in charge of the contingent of battle droids sent to guard her turn from healthy green to sickly pink with fear. “I have orders to transport the prisoner.”

“I—my lord,” the Neimoidian fumbled, red eyes wide. He had sprung up ready for action when he had seen her exiting the cell, only to falter upon noticing the looming Sith Lord behind her, and now seemed to have no idea what to do with himself. Padmé glared up at him through her lashes. She recognised him as one of Nute Gunray's toadies even though she didn't know his name. “My lord, forgive me, but...is Amidala not scheduled for execution tomorrow?”

Behind her, she felt Vader draw himself up to his full—and rather impressive—height. The hand on her shoulder squeezed down in a manner that would look aggressive to any onlookers but in reality was nothing more than a steady pressure, mindful not to hurt her. Nevertheless, she took care to add a pained wince to the charade.

“You dare question me?!” Padmé thought the question might have been delivered as a low snarl, but the vocoder turned it into a deep, robotic boom, full of inexorable rage that could only be weathered, neither prevented nor avoided. “You dare question Lord Sidious' orders?!”

The Neimoidian looked like he might faint.

“No-no,” he stuttered, trembling violently. “Of course not, my lord. P-please forgive me. I meant no offence to Lord Sidious.”

Sidious? Sidious? The Sith that the Jedi believed to have infiltrated the Senate, to be at the heart of the war? Did Vader know him? It had always been presumed that it was Dooku that Vader served, but what if it was the mysterious Darth Sidious that was his true master? Vader certainly seemed to know to use his name for effect, and that he would be believed if he did. Clearly, that name held a great deal of weight amongst the Separatists. A lot of fear too.

“My master is not a forgiving man,” Vader returned coldly. “But if you do not obstruct me any further, I may decide not to mention your insolence to him.”

The Neimoidian seemed weak with relief—so much so that Padmé thought he might keel over from it.

“Y-yes, my lord. Thank you, my lord. I'm terribly sorry for inconveniencing—”

“Enough.” The hand on Padmé's shoulder gave another squeeze. Despite herself, it felt strangely reassuring. “I have no interest in wasting time listening to your grovelling. Let me pass, and do not take up any more of my time than you already have.”

Vader was beginning to flag. He was still fighting hard, slicing through droids and organics alike as they chased them through the canyon, but his movements had become a little slower, a little more laboured. He was trailing blood from his shoulder, staining the ground below him red.

“Are you alright?” Padmé called over her shoulder. He was lagging a little further behind than he had before, trying to shake off a pair of super battle droids that had managed to catch up to him and were attempting, without success, to break through his defence. In answer, Vader whirled about his saber with an odd burst of static from his vocoder that might have been a groan of pain and sliced off their arms to remove their weapons before raising a fist and crushing them violently into nothing.

“Keep moving!” he called, the deep boom of his voice echoing through the canyon amid the shouts of the guards and the clanking march of oncoming droids. With a wave of his hand, the Sith sent the remains of the two SPDs careening into the approaching crowd, and the shouts turned into curses and screams.

Padmé turned to run, expecting him to follow her, but before he could, one of the Neimoidian guards, who had found himself at the head of the charge following the destruction of the two droids, launched himself—quite bravely and extremely foolishly—on top of the rogue Sith, attempting to tackle him to the ground. She faltered, but she needn't have worried. Another Force push sent him flying back into the wall of the canyon, and with a whoosh of the red blade, the Neimoidian's head was cleaved right from his shoulders.

“Run!” Vader snapped again. The red lenses fixed on her unmoving form, he had failed to notice the badly damaged B1 approaching behind him, just functional enough to hold a blaster and aim it straight at his head, ready to— Padmé's eyes widened in alarm.

“Vader!” she screamed. Without hesitating, without even pausing to think, she raised her blaster in front of her and unloaded a round of bolts right into the droid's head.

***

“Take it,” Vader said. He was watching her eye one of the blasters discarded by the two battle droids they had fought after an encounter in the corridor had been interrupted by alarms blaring out throughout the facility upon the Sith's ruse being discovered. Or rather, Vader had fought the droids—insomuch as raising a fist and crushing the pair of them into two balls of scrap metal and sparking wires could be called 'fighting'. “They will be coming for us now.”

Padmé stared at him in shock. If the vocoder hadn't made his voice boom out loud and clear, she would have thought she had misheard him over the sound of the klaxon.

“You'd trust me with a weapon?” she asked incredulously.

“You need to be able to defend yourself,” Vader replied. “Besides, we are hardly out of danger yet. I'm your way out of here, and even if you did try to kill me, I would stop you.”

It wasn't an unreasonable argument, and Padmé could not deny the logic in it. She stooped to pick up the blaster and primed it, watching the Sith carefully out of the corner of her eye. He showed no signs of nervousness at her being armed—not that it was particularly easy to tell—and it suddenly occurred to her that he could probably sense her intentions, just as the Jedi could. She wasn't going to harm him—even if she hadn't needed him to escape, she wouldn't harm him. She wasn't about to stab—or indeed shoot—a man who was risking Force knew what to help her in the back.

“Why are you doing this?” she murmured, no longer able to hold back the question that had been burning in her ever since he released her from the containment field. She needed answers, needed to understand. But Vader simply shook his head, turning to face the two super battle droids that had just turned the corner into the corridor. He reached down to his belt and, with a menacing snap-hiss, his lightsaber sprang to life in his hand.

“I don't think now's the time, Senator” he said and, without another word, leapt into the fray.

***

The droid staggered backwards, unresponsive, as the blaster bolts seared through the processors in its head. As it crumpled in a heap on the ground. Vader whirled around in search of where the shot had come from. The lenses of his mask fixed upon her for one brief moment before their pursuers forced him to turn his attention back to the fight, and in that short second, Padmé would have said that he almost seemed...startled. Had he not expected her to defend him as he had defended her? Surely she was mistaken. If he expected her not to harm him—for practical reasons if nothing else—then would he not expect her to have his back—at least for the time being—in battle too?

She didn't have the chance to linger on her thoughts, however. There were shouts from behind her, and with dread in her heart, she wheeled around to see more droids approaching from the other side of the canyon. It was just as she had feared. They were hemming them in.

“Vader!” she screamed in warning.

Vader's mask was inscrutable as ever, and the only way she could tell what he was thinking or feeling was the tension in his frame as he staggered towards her, positioning himself so he could keep both groups in his line of vision. His grip tightened against the hilt of his lightsaber.

“What are we going to do?” Padmé whispered. There had to be a way out of this. There had to be. She just couldn't see it.

“We keep fighting.”

“But—” They were trapped. They were trapped and he was injured and as determined as she was to see them escape, she wasn't sure either of them could fight against all of them. She wasn't afraid to die, but now she had somehow dragged him into this mess too and if he died as well it would be her fault—

“It will be alright,” Vader said. “I promise you.”

And then, with a ferocity beyond even that which she had already seen, he threw himself back into the fray.

***

“Lord Vader!” It was not so much Nute Gunray's indignant shout that stilled them in their path, but the blast door they had been dashing towards slamming shut before they could slip through it. Gripping the stolen blaster tightly in her hand, Padmé turned around to face the Viceroy of the Trade Federation. He was surrounded by his posse of battle droids and Neimoidian guards, his eyes narrowed and his mouth pinched with fury. “What are you doing?!”

Vader whirled about, saber brandished before him, manoeuvring so that Padmé was shielded behind him. There was a click of several blasters being primed as the guards trained their guns on him as one. Padmé raised her own blaster, aiming it so that any bolts she fired would strike below her unlikely protector's arm and into the legs of their pursuers.

“Stand down, Viceroy,” the Sith growled. “Call your men off, or I will kill them.”

Gunray let out a wordless exclamation of rage, but it was belied by the pink tinge to his skin and the slight shaking of his hands.

“I will not have this!,” he blustered, his hands balling into fists. “I was promised her death!”

Padmé tightened her grip on the blaster, lips pressed firmly against the torrent of anger that was rising up within her as the memories of Geonosis and the Separatists' attempts to have her and Obi-Wan killed in that horrid beast arena swam before her eyes. How she despised this man. This man who had invaded her planet and tried to force her to sign his self-serving treaty by hanging the threat of her people's suffering over her head. This man who had tried to have her murdered when his plots blew up in his face and had weaselled his way out of punishment after punishment for his actions. This man who had tricked Onaconda Farr—her Uncle Ono—into betraying her. Articulate as she had always been, she had no words for how much she loathed him, and how much she wanted to bring the Republic's justice down upon him.

“By Tyranus,” Vader retorted. His mechno hand was gripping the hilt of his saber so hard she was surprised it didn't break, and she suddenly wondered if he was sensing her own anger in the Force. “Not by me.”

“She is a Republic Senator!,” Gunray howled in outrage. “An enemy of the Confederacy of Independent Systems! This is treason, Vader! Treason! Lord Sidious will hear of this!”

The guards were subtly adjusting their grips on their weapons. Preparing. Getting ready to fire, Padmé realised with a sick feeling in her stomach. They were going to—

“He will,” Vader said simply. “But I've already made my choice.”

And then he raised a hand and the ceiling of the corridor came crashing down between them. Gunray and the Neimoidians screamed as they scattered backwards to avoid the chunks of durasteel and sparking wires that tumbled violently down to crush them. Many of the droids weren't quick enough to dodge their fate, and soon enough, the corridor was entirely blocked with a solid wall of duracrete and metal and the twisted remains of B1s and SPDs. Padmé stared, wide-eyed, coughing at the cloud of duracrete dust floating in the air.

“That should hold them off for a while” Vader said matter-of-factly, as if he had not just ripped his way through solid metal and duracrete with nothing but the power of the Force. “We'd better get to the ship before they have time to regroup.”

He shot out a hand once more, and with a groan of protesting metal, the heavy blast doors were ripped clean from their hinges.

***

Vader's blade practically screamed as it sliced and stabbed through each and every one of their attackers like a man possessed. He seemed to be running on pure adrenaline now—or perhaps the pain and fear that he must surely be feeling, and was said to fuel the power of the Sith. There were very few of their pursuers left, bodies and droid parts strewn across the floor of the canyons, fallen to Vader's blade and her own stolen blaster. Now, there was only one Neimoidian guard and one battle droid left. Padmé raised her blaster, forcing her hands steady despite her growing exhaustion. One Neimoidian guard left.

The guard cried out, staggering backwards onto the ground as the skinny B1 crumpled beside him. If he had intended to beg to be spared, Vader did not give him the chance. The red blade flashed, and the Neimoidian gave an odd, breathless gasp as the saber plunged through his heart.

After the raging sounds of the battle, the sudden silence was almost unbearable.

She stumbled on her feet, throwing out a shaky hand to catch herself against the wall of the canyon. She felt faint, and sick, her heart pounding far too hard and loud in her chest, and she closed her eyes tight shut so she wouldn't have to look at the corpses at her feet.

“Senator...”

A familiar snap-hiss cut through the throbbing of her pulse in her ears, and her eyes shot open to see Vader turn back towards her, his saber, now deactivated, clutched tightly in his hand. His other hand was pressed tight to his heavily bleeding shoulder, and he was swaying alarmingly on his feet.

“Padmé” he said, and before she could take in what he had just said, before a single thought could even cross her mind, he collapsed down onto the floor.

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fanmoose12 · 3 years

Text

the devil you know

Сharacters: Hange Zoe, Levi, Moblit Berner, Zeke Yeagar, Armin Arlert

Genres: Action / Drama

Summary: Can you still miss a person, if everything you knew about them was a lie?

Сhapter 3/?

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

"Falco, c'mon!" Gabi tugged at his arm, so roughly and forcefully Falco’s sleeve got almost ripped off.

"It's dangerous," he repeated for the tenth time, refusing to give in. "And this thing—" he pointed at the large stone Gabi concealed inside a deep brown cloth. "It could kill someone, Gabi."

"It should kill someone," she rolled her eyes. "They're all devils out here. If we kill them, they'll thank us, when we get home. Maybe, even throw a parade! Falco!" she punched his arm, grinning. "We have to do this, don't you understand? We have to get out, save Mister Zeke and Professor Hange—"

"Are you sure?" Falco suddenly interrupted. "Are you sure that... Professor Hange wants to be saved?"

Gabi frowned, staring at him quizzically. "What do you mean, Falco? Of course, she wants to be saved! She lived years with those demons and now they dragged her back into their hell. You've heard Reiner talk about all of them, can you imagine how hard it was for her? How much she is suffering now?"

He heard Reiner talking about his life in Paradise, and then he heard Reiner talk with that man... Eren Yeager.

And he saw, he watched Professor Hange Zoe.

Her father was a hero, an honorary Marleyan who lived and died for his country. His child was very much the same, possessed the same intelligence, loyalty and fierceness, if Colt's stories were true.

But Colt also said that in many aspects Professor Hange was different from her father. And, from what Falco could see, his brother was right.

Professor Hange was curious, enthusiastic and incredibly kind, especially to the young candidates. She had never called them names, never looked down on them. On the contrary, she was always ready to cheer them up with a smile, a joke or a bag of candies she claimed to carry with her all the time specifically for them.

On a battlefield, she was fierce and fearless, a perfect leader. Around her comrades, she was witty and cheerful, a bright beam of positivity in the middle of the dark, cruel world.

But when no one was around, when she thought no one was looking, the light in her eyes faded and smile slipped from her lips. The exhaustion and guilt slipped through the cracks in her façade. Worst of all, she looked so sad. Maybe, Reiner wasn't the only who felt like this, wasn’t the only soldier, who was broken by this war and their country.

Maybe, Eldians weren't the only ones who could be called devils.

Maybe, Gabi - and all of them, obedient soldiers of Marleyan Empire, ready to sacrifice their lives just for a chance of receiving respect - were actually wrong.

"Alright, let's do it," Falco sighed, surrendering to his fate. With or without him, Gabi would do what she had planned to. It’d be best for both of them, if he followed. "But at least promise me to—" he swallowed, afraid to even think of it. He had seen enough deaths in his lifetime - in battle, at home - but to take a life himself… he was still reluctant to do so. "At least, promise me to try and spare that guard, alright?"

"You're too soft," Gabi chided, but, nevertheless, she nodded and even ruffled his hair, making Falco blush in embarrassment. "Thanks for sticking with me, Falco. I promise to get us out of this."

***

This part - the part with luring out a guard to their cell and then knocking him off - was surprisingly easy.

Those devils are too dumb, Gabi claimed gleefully.

Or, maybe, too kind, Falco argued softly.

Hand in hand, desperately holding onto each other and trying not to show their fear, they made their way through the dungeon.

"Do you even know where they keep Mister Zeke and Professor Hange?" Falco asked, extra careful to make his voice even quieter than usual.

"Only one way to find out," Gabi grinned and then stomped her leg on a stone floor, loudly.

The sound reverberated from the stone walls, making Falco shudder.

"Gabi!" he grabbed the sleeve of her dress, wide-eyed and absolutely terrified. It seemed like he could almost hear the guards marching to them, rifles in their hands.

To his immense horror, Gabi repeated her action again and again, holding a finger to her mouth.

"Yes," she said finally. "I think we're on the lowest level of dungeons. So, naturally, we need to go up, if we want to find them, and," she paused, squeezing Falco's hand almost painfully. He watched her, a little perplexed and worried over the passionate fire in her eyes. He knew that expression too well, it usually led to some kind of disaster - explosions, high-risk missions and them jumping on an enemy plane to try and kill as many soldiers as possible only to end up tied up and thrown into prison. Gabi's endeavors always led to disasters and rarely had good outcomes. "Then we save them. We'll save Mister Zeke and Professor Hange, Falco!" Gabi jumped up and down, still holding onto him. "We'll save the smartest, most important soldiers. They'll call us heroes!"

"Only if we manage to escape safely," he reminded, shushing her. "And that won't happen if you continue making a ruckus!"

"Alright, alright," Gabi conceded, lowering her voice. "Let's start moving."

Falco nodded and together, they slowly continued walking through the dungeons. The floor they've been put on didn't hold other prisoners, and it seemed like no guard, except the one they’ve knocked out (and possibly killed, Falco thought, shuddering once again), was stationed there.

Still, there was no such thing as too much caution, or so General Magath always told them.

"Professor Hange really is amazing, don't you think?" Gabi asked, thankfully, keeping her voice down this time. "To live among these devils for so long all by herself, without a friend or a comrade... I wouldn't be able to take it. Have you seen them? That Captain of theirs, he's so short, but so scary. I actually thought he'd throw us out of that ship."

Falco thought so too. Captain Levi was indeed a very scary-looking man, although it seemed like Mister Zeke's accounts of him were slightly exaggerated. He didn't look like a monster at all. And, perhaps, Falco simply didn't see him in battle, but up on a ship he looked... sad. His eyes, they seemed to hold pain deep inside them.

They actually looked a lot like the eyes of Professor Hange.

Perhaps, the source for the pain inside their eyes was all the same.

Before going to that plane and seeing Captain Levi in person, Falco thought that Professor Hange was a lot like Reiner. And they still seemed to be alike, still carried guilt with them and sometimes looked lost and confused, but Professor Hange's eyes... and Captain Levi's too... There was a look of heartbreak inside.

The way they seemed to avoid looking at each other, but still their eyes inevitably darted to one another made Falco wonder just what happened to Professor Hange during those five years she had spent on the island.

Reiner lost Marcel, lost Annie and then Berthold as well.

But who did Professor Hange lose that made her seem so sad when she finally had come home?

"Do you think they allowed her to keep the candies?"

Gabi's dreamy voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Falco narrowed his eyes at her, feeling even more confused by Gabi’s behavior than usual.

"Candies," she rolled her eyes, making an emphasis on the word. "You know, like the ones Hange-san always brought us?"

Ah. Of course, he knew about those candies. Hange-san frequently visited young candidates at training facility. As one of the main strategist and engineers she had more than enough right to. She said that watching them train helped her think, made her understand how to create and adjust the new weapons, so they were more suitable and comfortable for the simple soldiers.

Whenever she came, usually with the Warriors in tow, it was almost like holiday. Professor Hange brought laughter and positivity with her, generous enough to share her energy with all of them. She ruffled the hair on their heads and pinched their cheeks, telling them how good they were and how proud they made her feel.

She showered them with praises and gave advises on how to become even better than they already were.

And she brought candies - so many candies. Different ones too, not the plain-tasting, awful candies from the Interment Zone. No, candies from Hange were special, allowed only for Marleyans, and she shared them willingly and happily.

She usually brought a whole sack of them - chocolate, marmalade, caramel, candy canes, corns, chewing gum, fruit drops, jelly candy.... Professor Hange memorized everyone's favorite type of sweets and she always made sure that everyone got their share.

Their commanders didn't approve, obviously. Zeke didn't approve too, saying she spoiled them too much. Porco didn't like her attitude as well, claiming that Hange was turning them too soft. Reiner usually didn't pay much attention to it, and Pieck picked a candy or two of the bunch and chewed on them with a radiant smile.

So, of course, Falco knew about the candies. How could he not? They were inextricably linked with one of the best memories he had.

That's why - against all of his doubts - he was eager to save Professor Hange too. Not to become a hero, like Gabi claimed they would, but simply to repay for all the kindness she had bestowed upon them.

"Of course, I know about candies," he muttered. "You weren't the only one Hange-san shared them with."

"Huh," Gabi raised her chin, that self-contained smirk blooming on her lips. "I thought she only gave them to me. I was her favorite one, after all."

"You weren't even close to being her favorite," Falco rolled his eyes, playfully punching her arm.

He wasn't her favorite too. Hange-san didn't have favorites, or so she said. She said that all of them were equally bright and exceptional, destined for great things in the future. When Professor Hange said it like that - with her eyes burning and staring right at him, Falco could almost believe in himself. He could almost believe he could do whatever he put his mind to.

Professor Hange didn't have favorites, but if she had, it definitely would have been Udo. The smart, fierce Udo, Hange simply adored him. When asked, she told that he reminded her of an old friend. She never went into any details, but her smile seemed to be just a little bit gentler at the mention of that mysterious friend. And her eyes – they became just a little bit sadder.

After that question, she was quick to change the subject, turning all of the attention back to Udo.

"Just look at those cheeks," she always cooed, pinching them between her fingers. "So puffy and cute!"

Under her touch, Udo's cheeks always turned red as a tomato. However, as fierce as he could sometimes be, he never - ever - attempted to get away from her. He didn’t even complain or mumble that she was embarrassing him.

Professor Hange was just that kind of a person. It was almost impossible not to like her.

"I think I hear some voices," Gabi whispered into his ear.

Falco nodded, squeezing her hand just a little tighter. "Be quiet," he warned.

Gabi narrowed her eyes at him accusingly, but didn't retort, keeping quiet just as Falco advised.

The stairs were right before them and they started to slowly climb up, stopping at each step to make sure they remained undetected.

The voices grew louder, and soon one of them became distinguishable.

It was Professor Hange's voice. They both realized it at the same moment.

Gabi beamed, but Falco frowned.

Something was wrong.

The tone of her voice... It wasn't angry or scared or defying.

It was kind, gentle. Caring.

It was the same voice Hange always used with them.

"Gabi!" he meant to grab her and take her away, before she discovered the truth.

But Gabi was too fast, Gabi was too excited— she skipped to the edge of the stairs and reached a large wooden door. Glancing back at Falco, she winked and swiftly squeezed through the door.

Falco hurried after her. He couldn't let Gabi see what he just had discovered. If she did... it wouldn't be pretty.

He walked through the door, entering the narrow dark hallway. There seemed to be no guards here, but Gabi still tensed, slowing her step and allowing Falco to catch up with her.

The closest cell to the door was empty, second one - too. It was the third cell that voices were coming from.

Professor Hange wasn't the only one talking, from what Falco could hear, there were approximately three other people with her as well.

"Gabi," Falco murmured, grasping her hand. "Gabi, maybe, we should go back—"

He wasn't fast enough. Gabi took another step and from there she could clearly see the inside of the cell.

Just as Falco had thought, Hange-san wasn't alone. On one side of the table two men sat - one small with short light hair and one tall and long-faced. On the other side was Professor Hange herself and beside her— a girl, brown-haired and lean.

The same girl Gabi had failed to kill.

Professor Hange was smiling - all of them were, but they were talking in low voices, too quiet to decipher the words. The conversation wasn't a tense one, though, it was obvious. It became even more apparent when Professor Hange raised her hand and ruffled the girl's hair, smiling gently all the while.

That gesture— Falco had seen her do it so many times before. She used to raffle his hair, Gabi’s, Zophia’s and Udo’s.

But it seemed like they weren’t the only ones, who were lucky enough to receive affection from her.

It seemed that, maybe, Professor Hange wasn’t as loyal to Marley as she had always claimed to be.

Gabi gasped, and Falco moved, clasping a hand over her mouth and dragging her a few steps back.

She didn't protest, staring at the scene in front her with shocked, glassy eyes.

"Devils," she mumbled against Falco's hand.

"Let's get out of here," he whispered and led Gabi back to where they came from.

It took them hours of crawling around to finally find the unguarded exit. Gabi was suspiciously quiet the whole time, and the eerie silence made Falco even more nervous.

He didn't dare to start a conversation, though, knowing that one wrong word, one wrong move and Gabi would tip over the edge.

And she did, the moment they were out of the prison and away from its grounds.

"How could she!" she roared, kicking the nearest tree. "How could she betray us like this? And for who? Those devils?" she turned to him then, eyes wild. "See, that's why you should never trust them! They tricked her, they fooled her, I'm sure! We can't trust Hange-san too. And Zeke - he might be with them as well. Falco," she took a shuddering breath and then looked up at the towering forest in front of them. "From now on, we can't trust anyone, but ourselves."

#levihan #levihan fanfiction #ok i think we had enough people hating on hange #(although pieck still hasn't showed up yet.....i wonder what she has to say about hange's so called betrayal)#but! don't you worry! i've got bored of hurting hange #it's time to hurt levi in the next chapter :)#(which i'm planning to post very soon so stay tuned!)

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just-dreaming-marvel · 3 years

Text

Out Of Time ~ 106

MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 3,350ish

Summary: Y/N gets a call. (Yep, that’s it.)

Summer came and went. Tony and Y/N spent every second that they could together. And when they weren’t together it was because Pepper had forced Tony into meetings and Y/N was at the new facility training.

Talks of having children never came up again, but that’s also because Y/N was doing everything in her power to avoid it.

Before they knew it, it was October. Y/N and Tony were currently laying in bed after another round of sex. They were both shocked when FRIDAY interrupted their peace with an announcement.

“Excuse me, Boss,” the AI started, “but someone’s trying to reach you using the private line.”

“The private line?” Tony repeated.

“Only one person uses the private line,” Y/N stated. “After six months, now is when he decides to call? Not impressed.”

“Ignore it, FRIDAY.”

“I have tried,” FRIDAY said. “But it had been ringing off the hook for the past hour.”

Y/N groaned, burying her face into Tony’s neck. “Just answer it,” she said quietly.

“Y/N? You there?” Coulson’s voice filled the room.

“She’s here,” Tony replied. “Have you decided to finally call and apologize?”

“I have bigger issues right now.”

“Really, Phil?” Y/N questioned. “Like what?”

“Simmons is missing.”

~~~

Coulson went on to explain that Simmons disappeared about 6 months ago, after looking into the rock, the monolith, that was on Gonzalez’ ship. Fitz had been trying his best to find a way to reach her, but nothing. Coulson decided that he needed Y/N’s help on this one, to at least bring Fitz back to reality. That Simmons may never be coming back.

Y/N and Tony quickly dressed. Tony ordered for all the information to be sent to him so that he could also work on it. He gave her a kiss goodbye before she went through a portal to Coulson’s office in the base.

There Phil also explained what had and was happening the Inhumans. Jiaying had killed Gonzalez, trying to start a war. Cal was forced to kill Jiaying in front of Skye, who was now going by Daisy. The crystals had fallen into the ocean and were absorbed by the fish. Causing people to start unlocking there Inhuman DNA without the risk of others dying.

“I do want to apologize,” Coulson finished off his briefing. “You didn’t deserve any of how you were treated. I’m so sorry.”

“Where is everyone?” Y/N asked.

“Skye—Daisy, I mean, Mack, and Hunter are on an extraction mission right now. An Inhuman after terrigensis.”

“Do they know you’re bringing me in?”

“Not yet. Thought it might be a welcome surprise for them.” Coulson checked his watch. “I’m actually running late to meet them. You wanna come with me or stay here?” Coulson began leaving his office.

“You said you were just bringing me in to help Fitz.”

“Yeah, well, I have a new plane. You wanna see it?”

~~~

Y/N was in awe off the new plane, Zephyr One. It was definitely more suited to the team’s needs than the Bus was. Coulson told Y/N to stay hidden while he went to talk to Daisy. She couldn’t help but follow them.

“How’s he doing?” Coulson asked, speaking of the man in the containment module.

“Okay,” Daisy answered. “For now.”

“Third incident already this month, but at least we were able to get our hands on this one.”

“The rate of new cases is increasing.”

“We knew it would after the initial reports.”

“A new inhuman could emerge anywhere, without having any idea what’s happened.”

“Only in the continental US so far. Plus, this new aircraft can stay in the air much longer than the old plane. Days, really, so rapid response anywhere is—“

“You love your new toy, don’t you?”

“I ver much love my new toy. But even with the mind-boggling range of this puppy—“

“Inhumans are still disappearing.”

“This is the first one in a while we’ve been able to secure.”

“Well, it’s no mystery who’s taking them. That black-ops group was there before us.”

“I know.”

“Again. Whoever they are. How many do you think they’ve taken?”

“We know of at least five sightings. Five individuals who vanished before we could get to them. But the real mystery is, who’s running that group?” Coulson and Daisy walked over to the monitors.

“Not if you did your part. How did it feel to join the paparazzi, Phil?”

“I think I might have missed my calling. I have every body, every piece of software, tasked with identifying that woman.” He pointed to the woman on the monitor. “So we can figure out where she’s taking inhuman and what exactly she plans to do with them.”

“Sounds like you need me for more than just hutting down Simmons and calming Fitz then,” Y/N stated as she walked up behind them.

“Y/N?” Daisy gasped with surprise. “How— why—“ She ran up to hug her. “I’ve missed you.”

Y/N welcomed the hug. “I’ve missed you, too.” She pulled back to get a look at her friend. “Well you sure have changed. Chopped your hair off and are going by a different name? Sure sounds like I missed a lot.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I called her in,” Coulson responded. “To help Fitz.”

“Anyone else know you’re here yet?”

“No,” Y/N replied. “Not yet anyway.”

~~~

Everyone was surprised to see Y/N back. But no one risked questioning it, not wanting to get on her or Coulson’s bad sides. She followed Hunter and Coulson to his office, waiting for instructions.

“They’re not HYDRA,” Hunter stated. “You know, I’ve been digging, and my street sources tell me HYDRA’s gone silent. Eerily silent.”

“Really?’ Y/N questioned.

“Yes, but—“

“Yeah, the HYDRA finances we track are static,” Coulson interrupted. “No money’s changing hands.”

They entered his office, where Mack was waiting for them with pictures of the woman they were tracking up on the monitor.

“And by the looks of the hardware these gung-ho nutters are using,” Hunter added, “they’re well-funded.”

“So if this woman’s not HYDRA, what is she?” Coulson asked.

“Everything else,” Mack answered. “I mean, look at this.” He motioned to the monitor. “Two years CIA.”

“Is that MI6?” Hunter wondered.

“She really gets around,” Y/N muttered, reading off the monitor as well.

“Yeah,” Mack continued, “under which time, she was consulting with the CDC, apparently.”

“All under different aliases,” Coulson stated.

“Oh, I like her,” Hunter commented.

“Me too,” Y/N added with a smirk.

“Yeah, but how are you supposed to track down someone like this?” Mack asked. “We can’t look everywhere.”

“If we can trace that hardware,” Coulson said, pointing to the gun Hunter had brought in, “that could give us a place to start. Take that down to Bobbi in the lab.” Coulson moved over to an open briefcase underneath a red axe. “Have the team analyze it.”

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no,” Hunter quickly refused. “No, no, I’m— I’m…. Not going anywhere near Bobbi.”

“Really?” Y/N questioned. “Again?”

“Fine,” Coulson conceded. “Y/N and I will take it to her. Wouldn’t want you to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.” Suddenly, Coulson twisted off his left hand.

“Hold up! What is that? And when did it happen?” Y/N pointed at Coulson’s fake hand. “You lost your hand?!”

“Did I forget to mention that?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“I know that’s sarcasm,” Hunter continued with his rambling. “And I’m choosing to accept your thoughtfulness at face value.”

“Mack, you should head downstairs,” Coulson ordered. “Assist Skye with intake.”

“Daisy,” the other three corrected.

“Daisy. Damn it. Hard for us to get used to, huh?”

“Mm… no.” / “No, just you.” / “I just found out and I seem to be doing okay.”

“Okay. So, what do we know about this Jose Gutierrez?”

“He goes by Joey,” Mack answered. “Construction foreman, motorcycle enthusiast.”

“Appears to be able to liquefy certain metals spontaneously at a distance of up to 3 meters.”

“Good thing I kept Tony home then,” Y/N commented.

“Yeah,” Mack agreed. “And understandably, that development has scared the living crap out of him.”

~~~

Mack headed down to help Skye while Y/N and Coulson made their way to the lab. As they entered, the base shook.

“New readings on the monolith?” Coulson asked Bobbi.

“Nope,” she responded. “That was Daisy firing a warning shot.” She turned to see Y/N standing next to Coulson. “Good to have you back, Y/N.”

“I’m not back,” Y/N responded. “Just visiting.”

“Anyway, there’s been no new readings, no new anything on the monolith in months. Fitz even stopped sending automated probes into that room. No one’s stepped foot in there since… Simmons was swallowed up by it.”

Coulson was staring at the monitor, showing the fed of Daisy and Mack with Joey. “This was fish oil again?” He asked.

“What can I say? We pulled the product off shelves, but we can’t track down every bottle sold. The good news, if you want to call it that, is the deadly metallic elements sank to the bottom.” Bobbi led them to another part of the lab. “So the chemical contaminating the sea life isn’t deadly to humans just game-changing for inhumans. The bad news—“

“It’s not just in the fish oil. Where else could it have spread?”

“Other sea life. With ocean currents, it’s dispersed into the ecosystem.”

“I need to know how wide a range we’re talking.”

“Fitz and I have the team working on a computer simulation.”

“That biology degree’s finally coming in handy, huh?”

“Leaving me stuck staring at screens in here for all eternity.”

“I get it. Rehab’s a bitch. At least you’re not hoping your knee will grow back.”

They had stopped in front of a few scientists working and a glass box with a hand clutching a crystal in it.

“Is that—“ Y/N started. “Is that your hand?”

“Yep,” Coulson answered.

“Sorry,” Bobbi said. “I’m just frustrated. The simulation’s taking a while.”

“Have Fitz look into this, too.” Coulson handed her the gun from earlier. “If we can figure out where it came from—“

“We could narrow the search on the mystery girl.”

“I’m sure she’d prefer mystery woman. Oh, and by the way, where is he? Y/N’s been brought in to help him.”

“Fitz?”

“He requested yesterday to do some research at SHIELD archives, but I haven’t seen him all day.”

“All call him in. He’s chasing down on last lead on the monolith.”

“I’m guessing he’s had a lot of last leads,” Y/N said.

“Yes.”

“Call him in. Tell him I’m here. If you need to, put me on the phone.”

~~~

Daisy, Coulson, Mack, and Y/N were all in the common area, watching their new inhuman, Joey, on the monitor.

“He’s going nuts,” Daisy said. “Joey’s have a tough time. The change is hard enough physically. But emotionally, it’s a whole other thing. I tried talking him down, but I blew it in here. And Mack is not exactly coming off as a teddy bear.”

“You just told the guy I’m a teddy bear,” Mack defended.

“And then you told him the best case scenario was his head blown off.”

“Yeah.”

“I need help, and there’s one person who’s better at that than anyone.”

“Lincoln?” Coulson guessed. “You really want to go there again?” Coulson headed out of the room, the others following.

“He could help with intake. Plus, he understands the physical change. He’s a doctor, whereas we don’t even know what medical treatments to give.”

“Daisy’s got a point,” Y/N agreed.

“Last time you tried to sell him on it, he wasn’t exactly buying,” Coulson said.

“I’d like to try again,” Daisy said.

“Mack, what’s your take?” The paused in the middle of the hallway.

“I voiced my feelings about letting Lincoln roam free,” Mack responded. “I’d gladly drag him in here where he can’t hurt anyone. But if Daisy can talk him in… he might actually do some good.”

“Both of you go. Requisition a flight team and a quinjet.”

“You wanna come?” Daisy asked Y/N.

“I’ll pass on this one since I’m technically here for something else,” Y/N answered, throwing a glare Coulson’s way. “But that plan doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Now I’m wondering if this was all a ploy to get me back on the team.”

“Hey, Coulson,” Bobbi called from the lab. “Got her.” Y/N and Coulson followed Bobbi into the lab. They stopped in front of a screen with the woman pictured on it. “Weapon is a DARPA prototype. We tapped surveillance at multiple DARPA facilities, got a hit. The DC branch office. She visits every few days.”

“A routine,” Coulson said. “Tell me there’s a window where we can get to her.”

“It’s a small one. Every night she visits, she leaves at approximately 9:00 pm, with a small security detail. They’re all three dropped at the metro station on 12th. Half an hour later, her escorts buy her a coffee on the walk to the platform. But she boards the 9:35 train alone. Sits in the middle, drinks her coffee, and answers e-mails. It’s the only time she’s alone all day.”

“You’re going in to talk to her aren’t you?” Y/N questioned. “Phil, where the hell is Fitz? And why the hell am I here?”

“To help Fitz,” Coulson answered.

“Yeah, then where is he?” Suddenly, Y/N could feel Bobbi’s mind.

“Shit,” Bobbi thought, “Fitz is causing some real trouble. If only he would have stayed back like I told him to.”

“I don’t know where he is,” Coulson replied. “If I did, then you’d be helping him.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Y/N said. “It appears that I’m a little tired. While you are off meeting the woman, I think I’ll stay behind, rest and search for Fitz.”

Coulson was put off by the quick change in Y/N. “Okay… you do that. Let me know how it goes.” Coulson walked way and Y/N spun around to face Bobbi.

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bobbi responded.

“Cut the crap, Bobbi. Have you forgotten that I can read minds? Where is Fitz?”

“He found a lead in Morocco,” she whispered. “I’ve been covering for him.”

“Is he safe?”

“Lost contact a few hours ago.”

“Damn it, Fitz. Give me his number. I’m tracking him down.”

“Y/N, I think that—“

“I was literally pulled out of my bed to come here. And I was really enjoying retirement. So, you either willingly give me his number or I force it from you.”

~~~

Unfortunately, for Y/N, she had never been to Morocco. So she wasn’t able to create a teleport to get to Fitz. She was working on a tablet in the common area, when the team turned on the tv. President Mathew Ellis was on it, doing a press conference from the White House.

“Good evening,” Ellis greeted. “I’m here tonight to address growing concerns among out citizens of the threats we face that are not of this world. I don’t need to remind people of the catastrophes in New York, London, and, most recently, Sokovia. Tragedies that seem to be growing in number and scale. And the organization we had in place to protect us, SHIELD, brought airships raining down in our nation’s capital.”

“Every day, new dangers present themselves,” Ellis continued, “filling our peaceful streets with chaos. By executive order, I have created a special task force to neutralize these alien threats on our soil. The Advanced Threat Containment Unit, or ATCU, will be given full license to act with whatever authority is necessary. The laws of nature have changed. And until the laws of man change to reflect that, we must do what we feel is right.”

“I’ve never liked Ellis,” Y/N muttered.

Her tablet finally showed Fitz’ flight. He was coming back. And so she’d wait. Coulson found her that night, waiting alone in the lab and joined her. Neither of them said anything. Suddenly, Fitz came through the doors, tearing off his suit coat as he worked on the small object in his hands. Rolling up his sleeves, Fitz turned and noticed the other two. They slowly come closer to Fitz.

“We’ve been waiting for a while,” Coulson said.

“Had to be done,” Fitz responded. “It’s my last shot.”

“What’s supposed to be in there?” Y/N asked, looking at the object on his desk.

“The answer.”

“You’ve thought you’ve had the answers before,” Coulson said. “I think you’ve considered every possible answer… except the obvious one.”

“That’s why you brought Y/N here, isn’t it?” Fitz continued to work as he questioned them. “To change my mind?”

“I’m only here to help,” Y/N stated.

“You thought Simmons was trapped inside the monolith, but every instrument scan showed the stone was solid all the way through,” Coulson explained. “After hearing about the Pym Technologies disaster, you even thought she’d been reduced to a microscopic level. But no evidence supported that. And now…

“And now I think—I know—it’s a black hole,” Fitz said, frustrated. “It’s dark matter made solid. It can warp space-time. It— look, regardless— okay?” He picked up the object he’d been working on. “This is gonna tell us exactly what that monolith is. So…”

Fitz slammed it down on the desk, breaking it open. Coulson and Y/N shared a worried look. Fitz took out an old, rolled up piece of paper.

“Should we scan it?” Coulson suggested. “See if the computer can decipher what the—“

“It’s Hebrew,” Fitz answered, not looking up from the paper. “It’s just one word.”

“What does it mean?” Y/N asked, stepping closer to look at it.

“Death.”

“Fitz,” Coulson carefully called, “I’m gonna make the trip to Sheffield. Jemma’s family to deserves to know that she’s MIA.”

“Ohh,” Fitz scoffed, getting emotional.

“They need to be able to move on. And so do we. You have shown so much heart, never giving up on Simmons, and I will always, always respect you for it. But look around. We need you. We need that big brain of yours and that heart here. Okay? I miss her, too. I’m having a hard time accepting it. All of it. I-I’m on my third hand. But nothing feels normal because nothing will feel normal. Y/N went into retirement, and I know she’s mad I brought her back. May took off on vacation and never came back. So I lost my right hands, too. We have got to accept it, to say goodbye. We need to say goodbye.”

“Jemma would want us to do that, Fitz,” Y/N quietly added, her voice filled with emotion. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

Coulson walked away but Y/N stayed back to watch Fitz. He was clearly struggling with this. He paused at the door on his way out of the lab before quickly going in the direction of where the monolith was being stored. Y/N rushed to follow him.

“Fitz!” She called. “What are you doing?”

He grabbed a gun off the wall and marched towards the room. Fitz tore the caution tape away and broke into the room.

“Fitz! Stop!”

Fitz shot at the container, successfully breaking through the lock and straps.

“Fitz!” Y/N rushed up to him, standing in front of him. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing. But it’s not smart. Just think about it for a second!”

Fitz shoved her aside, causing her to fall to the ground, and quickly opened the door to the monolith. He stepped inside it.

“Do something,” he ordered the rock.

Y/N couldn’t do anything but watch. She knew and completely understood how bad he was hurting. It was the same when Bucky fell.

“Do something!” He shouted, breathing heavily. “Do something!” He screamed. “Do something!”

next chapter >

For those who didn’t know, on the series masterlist there is a section that contains the one shots and answered asks for the series. One shot requests and questions are always welcome for this series.

NOTES: from now on the taglist when be added by a reblog. I will reblog it using my second account, @just-dreaming-marvel-2. Just so that my main page doesn’t get too cluttered.

If you want to be added to the tag list, please dm me or send in an ask.

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brandywine-tomatoes · 3 years

Text

Only the Beginning - P. 2

SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 11!!!

Masterlist

PART 1

PART 2

Characters: The Syndullas, Captain Howzer, Rampart, a certain Mandalorian, referenced Crosshair

Prompt/Inspo: Howzer betrays his order.

TW: referenced execution, GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS, strong language, major character death

Word count: 3077

QUICK NOTE: PART 2 Y'ALL!! I'M SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG, I REALLY WANTED TO SPEND SOME TIME ON THIS AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT AS MUCH AS I DO! NO BETA, WE DIE LIKE CLONES! This starts directly after part 1

"Really?" Hera jumped, trying to see the unfolding situation.

"Look, we don't have much time-"

"Why would you help us?" Eleni pushed Hera back.

Howzer pushed his helmet off, tossing it on the long table that occupied the center of the converted conference room. "This wasn't what the Empire promised."

The parents looked to each other, a few mouthed words and head movements exchanged before Cham spoke.

"What's the plan?"

"These conference rooms weren't always holding cells," Howzer started. "HVAC systems were installed years ago that connects the entire building, including-"

"The mining facility!" Hera pushed through her parents. "We can steal a ship from there. They'll never expect it."

Howzer snapped his fingers. "Exactly."

"How do we know you're not just leading us into a trap?" Cham put his hands on Hera's shoulders protectively.

"My whole life I’ve been trained to protect civilians, not execute them."

That seemed to convince the skeptical parents enough. The family located the vent and helped unscrew the cover while the captain stood outside as a lookout with his helmet under an arm, tapping his foot nervously.

Should he really be doing this? There was still time to follow Rampart's orders. To be a good soldier, to correct his mistake. But he was created to fight the Empire, not serve under them. Why was he so concerned with following their orders? Why was he so eager to follow their every command? So many questions turned his mind inside out, making every small thing seem so complicated. He rubbed the side of his head to try and dull the light throbbing that started.

A knock from the inside made Howzer jump. He slid the door open a sliver to see a small Hera beckoning him inside. He assumed her parents were in the vent waiting for her.

"I'm going around, I'll see you down there," he whispered.

Hera looked uneasy. "Um, okay. Be safe."

"You too, kid."

He closed the door at her retreating form and tugged on his helmet with a deep breath. All he had to do was take the shortest route to the mining facility and hotwire a ship. Easy.

He walked the halls with his usual authority tight in his shoulders and slowing his eager pace. Many salutes, 'sir's, and 'captain's were exchanged as soldiers walked by, thankfully Howzer's helmet hid his uneasy and, frankly, terrified expression.

He descended too many staircases and walked too many lengthy hallways for him to be remotely on time for the Syndullas. He hoped, force, he hoped, they found a hiding spot and watched the troopers working instead of being apprehended by them. But a little thought nipped at his conscious. It would be better if they were caught, wouldn't it? They deserve a merciless ending for their crimes against the Empire. Weren't those my orders? Don't good soldiers follow orders?

He dwelled on them for too long, missing a salute to a couple of shinies.

"Captain?" An armoured trooper brought him back.

"Is there a problem?" He forced an annoyed anger into his words.

"No sir, no problem."

The duo kept walking, blasters in hand and voices low. Well fuck. If that had been Rampart or a commander, he would've seemed suspicious. He would've been watched closely by whoever was behind the security cameras at every corner. His hand shifted to his own blaster in its holster as he walked a little faster, a cruel reminder that he had a way out of a struggle.

Howzer eventually made it to the new mining facility without any other distractions or detours. It was oddly easy getting there, and it was oddly quiet when he stepped off the pristine floors onto packed dirt with the sky open around the crater. He darted his attention to the large cannons surrounding the area, ‘a precaution’ was Rampart’s excuse to having them.

He walked deeper into the area and drew his blaster, an eery feeling of something about to go horribly wrong setting in. The crunch of dry dirt and the smell of wet clay put him even more on edge. Why was nobody here? Workers were always here 24/7.

“Such a disappointment, captain,” Rampart’s voice sounded. Shit. He couldn’t see him no matter where he looked. He ran for cover behind a large shipping container and clicked the safety of his blaster.

“Howzer!” Hera’s small voice screeched before being muffled. The blood drained from his face and his heart spiked. They wouldn’t kill a child over such trivial matters, would they?

Across the pathway from his hiding spot, Rampart, three troopers, and the cuffed Syndulla family appeared on a watchtower-like structure. Eleni and Cham had seemed to accept their fate while Hera still struggled against the thick cuffs.

“Is this what an accident looks like?” Rampart started again. “Helping insurrectionists escape?”

“Is the kid okay?” The captain yelled.

“Excuse me?”

“Hera Syndulla.”

Rampart looked exasperated. He signalled one of the troopers to remove Hera’s gag.

“Howzer, don’t move! It’s a-”

“She’ll remain perfectly fine as long as you come out with your hands raised.”

Don’t move... what did she- this whole thing was a trap. Somehow it was a trap. He’d be killed if he followed Rampart's order and there was no promise of the Syndullas surviving. Somehow this whole thing was a trap, but he couldn’t see it. Maybe re-enforcements would burst through all the entrances and surround them. Maybe all the ships were rigged with explosives. He could take care of Rampart and his three escorts, but any others would be a gamble.

“You’re wasting my time, captain. You either come to us or we come to you.”

He was running out of time. Out of the Syndulla’s time. With the watchtower in his sights, he silently begged for forgiveness and aimed for the three troopers, three of his brothers.

He layered shot after shot as he ran under the tower, seeing at least two of the shinnies drop before he was swiftly climbing the large pegs up the pole, one hand still occupied with his blaster. That split second of seeing the bodies of his brothers he shot brought prickling tears to the corners of his eyes. He’d never be forgiven for this, he’d never forgive himself for this.

He slowed his climbing until he was directly under the hatch leading to the platform Rampart was holding the family. He heard scrambling and heavy footsteps along with a few shouts of orders. You could just kill the family now, make it look like an elaborate plan. Rampart would praise your ruthlessness, a simple thought crossed his mind, making him nauseous. What was happening to him? Is this what all his brothers were going through? Is this the fall of the Republic?

He tried to push down his thoughts and focus on the task at hand.

He took a breath and pushed the hatch open in the middle of Rampart yelling an order. He shot toward the running footsteps and took down another one of his brothers, the body slipping over the thin railing and falling straight to the ground. The tears were gathering in his eyes, slowly blurring his vision. All that was left was Rampart.

He pulled himself up through the hatch and stood before a horrific scene unfolding. Cham and Eleni were visibly freaking out while Rampart held a blaster to Hera’s temple with an arm around her throat. She tried to blink away her sobs as she shook on her feet, the cloth gag muffling her cries.

“Hold on, Admiral, think about this,” Howzer cautioned, trying to keep his blaster steady.

“No captain, you think about this,” he snapped. “I have a blaster and the girl. Think of all the ways this could go wrong.”

“Admiral, you don’t want to do this.”

“I am fully prepared to do what’s in the Empire’s best interest.” His grip tightened on the blaster.

Howzer’s heart picked up speed and his chest felt like it was caving in. He’d been on so many battlefields, seen so many of his brothers fall, but this fight would rival most in how terrified he was. He didn’t want to keep standing there, he needed to do something! Anything to stop Hera’s muffled sobs.

“Put down your blaster or she dies.” He visibly stiffened his arm around the young twi’leks throat, her hands trying to push it away.

Howzer panicked and threw his blaster over the side, immediately regretting his split-second thinking. He held his hands up in surrender.

“And I thought you clones were smart.”

The blaster whipped from Hera’s temple to Howzer, firing a sizzling red bolt that lodged in his armour and jolted him backwards, knocking the wind out of his lungs. He fell on his back, gasping and coughing while the pounding in his head grew. His torso pulsed with pain, his ribs definitely bruised.

A shot fired.

Once he gained his breath back, he expected to see Hera’s small form crumpled on the floor, but he instead saw the Syndulla’s tightly embracing their crying daughter as best they could with the cuffs and Admiral Rampart’s limp body slumped against the railing.

Whirls of beeps sounded from behind him. He turned to see Chopper floating in mid-air with his blaster clutched between two metal pincers.

“You- you-”

The droid interrupted him with un-enthusiastic beeps.

“You set it to stun? Why wouldn’t you just-”

His arm was pulled by small hands. He looked down at Hera and realized how little time they had left to escape.

Howzer quickly jumped into action. He grabbed the keys off Rampart, ungagged the family, and unlocking all their cuffs in no time. Hera wrapped her arms around his neck as soon as the cuffs dropped.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice finally clear.

He pat her back, not really knowing what else to do. “Any time, kid.”

“They’ll be sending re-enforcements soon.” Cham looked over the facility.

“There’s a ship that looks fueled and large enough to have a hyperdrive,” Howzer pointed to a ship peeking out from the rows and rows of shipping containers close by. “You go, I’ll stay back and cover your escape.”

Eleni looked appalled. “That’s not an option, they’ll kill you!”

“It gets you off this planet, there’s no room for debate-”

“It’s not an option, captain. We don’t leave our own behind,” Cham cut in from beside his wife.

Howzer’s heart warmed, but his mind stayed on course. “Every second we waste talking is-”

“Howzer,” Hera spoke up. “Please don’t leave us.”

He sighed, taking his helmet off. “Kid, I have to.”

“No, you don’t!”

“Look, you don’t understand-”

“I do understand!” She raised her voice. “You want to be a hero and I won’t let you! I don’t want you to end up like the others.”

That struck something. He was trying to be a hero, to die a heroic death in the name of the Republic like his brothers should’ve. But the Republic wasn’t around anymore. There were only citizens like them trying to find the broken pieces and glue them back together. He wouldn’t be able to do that if he sacrificed himself to a fight that wasn’t worth it. Live to fight another day.

He dragged a hand down his face and put his helmet back on. “We have to be quick.”

Chopper flung his blaster to the platform.

The family speedily made their way down the ladder and across the path with Howzer protecting their flanks, a blaster in hand, on the lookout for shining white armour. He winced with every jogging step, his bruised ribs not having any of it.

Eleni soon fell back to match Howzer’s pace.

“I want you to promise me something, Howzer,” her voice was serious.

“Anything.”

“No matter what happens to me or Cham, you have to protect Hera. Don’t give me that look, I can tell under that helmet. Our priority has always been Hera, it has never shifted from her,” she stopped in front of Howzer. “I need you to promise she’ll be safe under your care. You’ll put her before us.”

“You all are my priority, we’re getting off this planet.”

“Captain Howzer, promise me.”

He sighed heavily. He’d get them off this planet no matter what... but without Eleni asking, he’d already always put Hera first.

“I will ma’am. She’ll live a long life as long as I have something to do it.”

He could visibly see the stress lines in her face smooth out. She nodded her gratitude and went up ahead to her family.

He’d never seen such devotion; he was a little dumbstruck. He had to gather himself for a second before continuing on with his blaster raised. The promise of Hera’s long life staying in his thoughts.

The ship’s large cargo bay door swooshed open with the click of a button and they piled inside. This was too easy.

“Something’s up,” Howzer said.

Cham peered up the stairs to the cockpit where Hera darted up to start up the ship. “Agreed. There should’ve been more opposition.”

Eleni approached a little black compartment built into the wall, inspecting the area for a key or switch. As she dusted her fingers around the frame, the smallest of switches caught the pad of her index finger and whirled open. Howzer spun around, blaster raised to see Eleni inspecting a shiny WESTAR-34 blaster pistol with its twin still in the black felt-lined compartment.

Howzer sheathed his blaster and chuckled. “I’ve only heard of one man who owned Westar-34s. You know how to use them?”

She clicked off the safety and raised it to a wall, closing one eye and using her other arm to steady it. “I think I got it.”

“You’ll need it, Eleni Syndulla,” a younger voice came from outside the ship.

A teenage Mandalorian led two squads of clone troopers out from behind the shipping containers surrounding the ship. The adrenaline that finally started to settle in the captain spiked and anxiety sent him into action. Blasters on both sides were unsheathed and set to lethal.

“Now let’s not do anything stupid,” the teen coaxed both sides, mocking the escapists. “If you put down those blaster pistols, I might let little Hera live.”

The three on the ship froze and spared a glance up to the cockpit in view. She was still there, happily jumping around the pit, just excited to fly.

“Eleni, maybe we should listen to them,” Howzer raised his voice.

“Captain?”

“Eleni, maybe. We should listen. To them,” he gritted out. He tilted his head to the back of the ship, towards the rope ladder. Her eyes widened and gave a small nod.

“Cham, go get little Hera please, tell her to stop the takeoff procedures and come down here,” she raised her voice as well.

Her husband seemed to get the plan and slowly walked towards the cockpit stairs with the Mandalorian’s permission. Just as soon as he was up the stairs, they could launch a counterattack that would definitely earn a few blaster wounds, but it would distract the Imps long enough to get the ship in the air and Cham to throw down the ladder.

“Captain, have you ever done something like this,” Eleni whispered, inching closer to his side with her blaster still raised at the clones. They were still clones. They could still be helped. But leaving them alive would only leave more forces to command. They had to... they had to kill so many.

He swallowed thickly. “No ma’am.”

“Enough of that ma’am shit. I think we’re on a first-name basis now.”

“No Eleni, I’ve never done something like this, but I’ve heard these kinds of plans are a 50/50 chance of being blown to bits.”

“50/50? I’ll take it,” she chuckled.

Now.

The pair ran and jumped off the metal floor of the ship onto the dirt, firing bolts upon bolts to cover one another.

They ducked under each other's arms and evasions of bolts, laying down mostly cover fire and occasionally hitting one of his... his brothers. His soldiers that he once commanded, that looked up to him. Should he-

His hesitation paid in a bolt to his shoulder, thankfully not punching through the plastoid, but a grim reminder that if he didn’t kill them, the family he was created to protect would meet a swift end. He fired back, hitting the trooper in the chest and sending him back to hit the ground.

“The ladder’s there, go go go!” Eleni shoved him towards it, still covering both their asses. Once Howzer scaled the ladder high enough for Eleni to start, he started shooting. Eleni tapped his foot forcefully, the signal for Cham to pull them up further so they could fly to a safer area and regroup inside the ship.

He didn’t know how the shot hit the perfect mark, but he didn’t have time to think. A bolt went through the arm Eleni used to hold herself on the ropes. An ear-piercing scream ripped through her throat, free-falling for a fraction of a second before Howzer caught her other arm.

She was floating above the chaos below that was nipping at her boots, only Howzer’s strong grip on her arm pulling her back. But he was slipping. He didn’t have the right leverage.

From the way he was upside down, his feet tangled in the ropes above, it was a surprise his helmet didn’t fall to the ground sooner. As it left his head, he got a clear view of the fear and regret in Eleni’s eyes as she was the only thing he could see against the sand being whipped up from the engines. He made a promise to bring them all off-world, not 2/3 of the team. They were a team.

Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes, a couple escaping in the wind and catching the light.

“Promise me.”

“Eleni, I’m not letting you go!” He yelled desperately.

“Promise me you’ll look after her!” She yelled with more force.

He let out a frustrated and terrified sob, his hands slipping. “I promise!”

“Howzer, I’m sorry!”

“Please-”

His hands slipped from her wrist and past her hands.

He screamed her name as she fell into, vanishing in the sand cloud with her arm still outstretched and another scream ripped from her throat, mixing with Chams.

A/N: THIS TOOK SO FUCKING LONG, I'M SORRY, but I hope it's up to par. I edited this thing twice, so hopefully it's readable. Someone asked to be on a tag list for this story and that got me thinking: do y'all want to be added to a tag list for my original works?? Comment/ask/reblog/message me if you want to be added to a tag list I guess??

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