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carmenxjulia · 3 years

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Another Duane interview transcript, coming at you! This one was from a smaller Carmen Sandiego chatroom. There were several interviewers, so that’s why the name of the question asker changes. Get the details below the break! Stay tuned, more interview transcripts coming soon.

Duane Capizzi:

HI EVERYONE! I'M IN!

Sorry I'm late, I got lost on the way haha. Then got lost trying to change my PFP

Thanks for gathering! Shall we get started? Let's do some Q&A!

(as long as they are not geography questions haha)

Fuel:

What characters or plot points were cut from the final product?

Duane Capizzi:

Ooo, starting with a right hook to the jaw!

Let me think about that for a moment: I'm hesitant to give too much away because I'm really hoping we can tell more stories in this world at some point

Which is to say, we tend not to waste anything: if we don't use it when we originally planned, we usually find a way to use something later - and there's usually a "karmic" reason that we waited.

I'll also preface by saying this: I know season 3 was more of a mini-drop and some felt season 4 was rushed. But I wish EVERY season were longer. Season 1: ideally, i wanted the Pilot to be its own event and 10 more episodes after that (but we had to tell the post-Pilot story in 7. At the end of the day, that had its benefits: we got to the Shadowsan turn earlier and I think that's when a lot of viewers realized the ride they were truly in for). Season 2: we initially figured we'd need 5 episodes to have Carmen doing the ACME dance with Chief, and wound up doing it in 3 - mostly because it quickly became clear that Rio needed to be a 2 parter, and the Zack and Ivy backstory a rough 2 parter. So we squeezed 3 episodes worth of plot into 209. It was exhilarating!

So, we had hoped to have more episodes for Season 4 of course. We had a ton of ideas and had to compress things a bit. But honestly in many ways it was for the better. I know we all wanted to live in this world longer, but I think sometimes the flip side is true - when you have big ongoing storylines, it can get frustrating when some things drag out too long. But, we got all the "story" we wanted to tell in Season 4 - we just lost some "incident" if that makes sense. We would have taken longer to get there.

So, all that preface to answer the question: we wanted to do more musical numbers! We had a Bollywood dance sequence in a return to India caper with Paperstar. We wanted to do a famous Elvis suit theft in Las Vegas during an Elvis impersonator convention (Shadowsan's an early elvis guy; Brunt likes the Vegas "jumpsuit" era). We also wanted to do a thread where Gunnar gets captured by ACME so that Julia could interrogate him and he could play mind games with her a la Hannibal Lector and Clarice. CAVEAT TO ALL THIS: these were some ideas that were bouncing around, that may not have seen the light of day if we couldn't get them to work. But they were on our wish list.

re: "other stories" - I could live with these characters for another 32 episodes easily and there have of course been discussions. But alas, that is up to the powers that be. Let's keep fingers crossed - and keep the Carmen love alive online so that someone up there takes note

There is more of course, but those are some things that spring to mind.

Fuel:

Were there any scenes cut for time that were your favorite?

Duane Capizzi:

Not much springs to mind: our directors were amazing at getting everything in the scripts to fit naturally (and in fact, I was the one who was usually suggesting trims to let other things breathe, etc). We were limited to 22 minutes of episode time, NOT counting front and end credits so a little longer than the average show. We have a pretty good idea when the SCRIPT is too long, so the cutting usually happens at script stage before it gets to the board crew so that they don't waste efforts over-boarding material that won't be used.

We had hoped to build out Chase and Carmen teaming up for the first time, meeting at Carmen's hotel lobby etc for more scenes of them together; but had to reduce that to get that all to fit in the VERY packed episode 406. But again, tighter was fine considering. That's one area that leaps to mind. (note that when I say packed, I don't mean that in a bad way: we spend a lot of time pouring over details in editing to make sure everything gets its due).

If I think of anything, I'll circle back at a later point. But the simple answer is that scenes were usually trimmed or compressed at script rather than board or animatic. So nothing comes to mind. I know it's hard to believe, but "shorter is usually better."

except for my answers to fan questions of course

Fuel:

We saw that in s4 episode 6 that Julia's mother(?) is wearing a necklace remarkably similar to the one Julia wears all the time. Is this the same necklace and if so, why was it given to Julia?

Duane Capizzi:

Just when I thought I was detail oriented! Wow! You guys blow me away

I can't take credit for that: it was either the board artist or director who added that. They do slip things in! As I've said before, EVERYONE on the crew really brought their A-game and were as deep thinking and as passionate as I was/am about the show.

It's a nice detail and I would say your interpretation works!

It took me three or four reviews before noticing that the team had slipped in baby Carmen near the play set in Mom's front yard at the end of 408. When I caught it, I was like: bravo!

Fuel:

When they first met, Zack and Ivy said to Carmen that they were the only family they had, do you know what happened to the rest of Zack and Ivy's family?

Duane Capizzi:

I don't. At least, I don't yet until such a time that I might have the opportunity to explore that. It was important to their relationship with Carmen that they be orphans, so they had that common bond (aside from being "thieves who steal from bad guys" - even if it was only gonna be one time for Zack and Ivy).

I know there are writers out there who like to do entire bio's for characters up front but i'm not one of them. It could be a trap in many ways. I like to have a general idea but be open to the demands of the ongoing storyline. You discover things along the way - it's like you're taking a journey with the characters by writing them, and the longer you spend, the better you get to know them (that was not a prepared statement by the way - I just made that up but I'll have to use it again :). So in Z/I's case it wasn't important to the story or Carmen's relationship, we felt. Conversely, we STARTED with Shadowsan's family backstory with 203, but more important to me was that we use it as a platform to explain why he stays with Carmen and crew. He really has no home at that point, so it was relevant to the present ongoing story. Which is what made that especially powerful to me.

Also, there's always a push-pull between telling character back stories while balancing them with ongoing episodic plots. You have to service both. If you just tell back story, then you're writing a biography

Arden:

What was the biggest challenge when designing these characters, especially the pre-existing characters from the series in the 90's?

Duane Capizzi:

This is probably more of a question for Chromosphere, re: challenges. But from my standpoint overseeing that process, the first thing I'll say is that we weren't necessarily trying to be "true" to those characters since we reinvented nearly every one from the ground up. (with the exception of Carmen of course - her trademark red hat/coat weren't going anywhere! But mostly the update with Carmen was in the styling of her "outerwear"

ALTHOUGH: I will admit that I was pushing for Carmen to have shorter hair as Carmen. I thought it would be a cool update. Chromosphere were really passionate about giving her long full hair and I have to see that they were right. The short tomboy cut worked so well for Black Sheep anyway. We had a different hair style for each of her ages.

So about the reinventions: Gunnar is in spirit a similar character to the original (old colleague in Vile and an early mentor if I remember), but his presentation completely different. We weren't trying to be "in canon" with the original. The beauty of CSD is that every incarnation has been its own entity so that freed us to reimagine the characters. THE CLEANERS, for instance: gimme some Cleaner love! There were a pair of janitors from the original game named RICK AND NICK ICK. They were literally janitors, it was too silly for our purposes. But, it's one small step to make them "Cleaners" (in the sinister hit men sense) - and lo, our reinvention.

So to summarize the answer to your question, they weren't really challenges to me so much as FUN to creatively reinvent the original characters (many of which were from the game, so not really "characters" per se with dialogue and inner lives). Whenever we could, we tried to use character names from the originals and update their looks and personalities. Where we couldn't find an equivalent for what we needed, we created characters from whole cloth. For instance, it seemed a miss to do a heist show without a tunnel guy and a high rise climber guy. Hence, LC & ET, everyone's favorite taco truck vendors!

(yes, i've seen some short hair carmen fan art on Twitter - someone did a great one recently!)

Arden:

Are there plans to give us more of the characters in, say, novel/graphic novel form?

Duane Capizzi:

I know HMH has done a bunch and no doubt have more in works. There's currently a novelization of the Pilot with some additional material if anyone's interested. I consulted on the second one, Clue for Clue, because it falls in the timeline while Chase was still Interpol/pre-Acme so was tricky.

And depending on whether another series in this canon makes it to air, I may just approach them about writing one or two myself to get some "further adventures" our there. Anything is possible!

Arden:

If you could go back and change anything about the series, what would it be?

Duane Capizzi:

File under anecdote, but there was what I felt was an important expression on Gray that kept me awake at nights, from his graduation ceremony at Vile. When we revisited those flashbacks in the Gray arc in Season 4, I had them change his expression there (to be more evil less innocent). We had it corrected in 404 so was able to get permission to have Netflix "fix" the Pilot by adding that shot in. I am tenacious!

We really poured over everything, it's the series that I have virtually zero complaints with the end product to be honest. But the simple answer is: I would have gone back to 106 and "un-greek'd" Gray's nametag. It's sort of a rule for international that we scramble signage (which is weird for a show that takes place in many countries/languages, I know I know). It's mostly for localization/translation reasons. And I'm sure there are some countries where Gray's name might be spoken differently. But as a proper name, I think we could have made an exception and seen "Gray" on his name tag. See? Details! But that's about the worst of it

there's also like one small line from Chief in 208 where she indicates she knows Carmen is a good guy (something to that effect) which I felt was too absolute and would have tweaked the line to temper it a bit. It's tiny, but looking back it sort of bugs me and I kick myself for not catching it. But this is absolutely the series I wanted and couldn't be happier.

Carmen:

How did Carmen know she could trust Julia? As far as we know, she has not seen or heard Julia defending her, and in the Fashionista Caper, Julia even held up her gas gun to her, saying she was under arrest. Do you have any opinions on this? Was it just intuition?

Duane Capizzi:

I'm gonna go with intuition

Carmen was raised on an island with some hardened criminal types. I think she's a pretty good judge of character. Poor Julia, trying to be tough with Carmen didn't suit her.

But, great observation! I'd have to mentally step through everything to see if Carmen had any earlier indication but i think you're right there.

Yes, sometimes you just gotta follow your heart

Carmen:

Are there any characters that didn't actually interact that you think would get along well?

Duane Capizzi:

Amazing question! First, I'd have to think more about who DIDN'T meet - you're asking the hard questions haha. But "get along well" is very specific! Hmmm, care to volley anyone?

I'll also add that so many smaller moments get lost in the "binge" of it all, but I am surprised how few fans have noted the first meeting between Player and Julia. THAT was a good one IMO! Very sweet!

Before getting back to your question, I also want to add that we were originally going to find a way for Carmen to lose her earring in Stockholm so that Julia could pick it up and be communicating with Player. BUT, I cut it at treatment stage because I knew we didn't have room in that episode to service it. Circling back to questions 1 & 2, another case where it turned out better saved for later IMO (saving Player meeting Julia, not to mention the earring business in 402 with Ivy).

Oh of course, Julia and any of the other Vile members. It would have been Gunnar for my vote, as mentioned earlier. We probably would not have had Julia meet anyone else and mixed it up more. I like that Cleo sort of became J's personal nemesis.

YES, SONIA & XIFENG (and LUPE PELIGRO, if I can add). The intent was (and is, if we ever get to revisit) to see them again in Carmen's travels. We started to expand Carmen's world but when we finally learned the finite number of episodes we had to finish the story, we drilled back down into the essentials. Would love to see them some day!

I'm hesitant to share too many things I have in mind in this forum for hope that they will see the light of day one day. You know, "spoilers"

Julia:

Do you have any opinions on Zari? Just in general? Some thoughts on her backstory would be nice if possible

Duane Capizzi:

I love Zari! I really don't have any back story on her at this point. She was originally just "Agent B" but when the need arose to give story points to another agent, we chose her because she looked so awesome! And Sharon Muthu gave voice to her so wonderfully.

I love when we finally teamed her with Chase. Hopefully the anticipation was that she would give him a hard time. I love that we defied expectation (organically, of course) and had her respect him by the end of that episode (for believing that he foiled Carmen!)

Julia:

Do you have any thoughts on small facts about any character, major or minor, that you think are fun/interesting to think about, but don't necessarily add to the plot itself?

Duane Capizzi:

Bellum, like myself, likes cats. But you knew that!

I try to put everything pertinent on screen, doing double duty to service any given episode's story but also the overarching story. That "journey" thing I mentioned earlier - we had no idea Chase falling on his own car would be a thing when I first came up with it. But as other characters refer to the incident, it took on a life of its own and made the characters feel more real.

Sorta kinda related to this question and some earlier ones, I will say that I DO think there's more to learn about Shadowsan's past vis a vis Lady Dokuso: it's clear to me that they have a history together, and it's something I hope to explore someday soon (maybe in a book if not another series

Julia:

Are the Carmen Sandiego books a part of canon?

Duane Capizzi:

I only consulted on the first two or three (too busy with series!) and have not read them, so hard for me to answer in a definite way. They are definitely in the universe we've created, but not in the timeline that I know of (which would have been too hard to pull off with our script development running concurrently). But do know that the book team at HMH pays close attention to the series and world so they should be perfectly compatible. Look no further to their clever social media on the series for example.

Kenz:

We saw in season 4 that Julia and Carmen helped each other mid to long term; would there ever be a possibility that Julia would permanently or semi-permanently join team Red?

Duane Capizzi:

Of course there's a possibility. But in a sense, with ACME now finally on Carmen's side, in a sense if Carmen were back in the game Julia, Chase, Zack and Ivy would ALL be an extension of Carmen's crew. But, would J remain with ACME or literally come to Carmen's team at her HQ? As they said in an old radio show: "Only The Duane Capizzi knows ..."

Kenz:

Where do you see Carmen in her retirement (if she retires)? Do you think she would still travel the world or settle down somewhere? Similarly, do you have any thoughts on what some other characters could be doing years down the line?

Duane Capizzi:

That is a big question, and one difficult to answer without some potential future spoilers (and yes, I really want to tell more Carmen stories if you can't tell But I'll answer by giving you one "read" on our open-ended ending as seen in 408 (read no further if you haven't seen it - yeah, right haha). The ending suggests to me that Carmen settled down for a spell to forge that relationship with her mother, to make up for lost time. But, if that is indeed Carmen that we see on the rooftop, I think the ending suggests that Carmen doesn't stay still for very long. If Vile is back, there is work to be done! Carmen has a life mission - she's one determined lady.

But of course, it's deliberately ambiguous: "anyone with your heart, wisdom and courage can be Carmen Sandiego." Is it Carmen? Sonia? Someone we haven't met? I think both endings resonate: Caroline and I always said "Carmen is bigger than a person, Carmen is a movement" would be a great message to end the series on. And I think our ending resolves this chapter of Carmen's journey as a person, but also elevates her to mythic status. Which is why I love it!

And, that seems to me a pretty perfect question and answer to end our chat on. Thanks everyone! Again, I cannot tell you how moved I am to see that we have such a passionate, intelligent and talented fan base. THANK YOU.

Take care guys, thanks again for having me! 'night!

#Carmen Sandiego #CS Crew #Duane Capizzi #Interview #Transcript

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saintheartwing · 3 years

Text

So...I’ve Begun Reading Artemis Fowl...It IS Really Good

So, I decided to check out the movie and...ugh.Not good. So I began to think “How badly did they screw this up” and began reading the books.

They’re REALLY good. The thing you need to know about Artemis Fowl is he starts off as...well, a smug snake. He’s a big jerk in a lot of ways who, after his dad supposedly dies out trying to get into a new market in Russia which the Russian mafia doesn’t take kind to, his mom goes nutso. She doesn’t recognize him half the time. His only friend is his butler...and he doesn’t even know Butler’s real name. He’s also a super brilliant young man. Add all that up, and you get a very selfish, self-centered, pretentious young man who doesn’t find ANYBODY his equal.

He decides upon doing some investigation into the more strange and occultish things in the world to get hold of a ton of money through a SEEMINGLY insane, ludicrous way...through the fairy world. Yes, there’s actual elves. He got into it, evidently, by trolling through the ancient stories and there always seemed to be commonalities among them from ancient races.

Artemis slightly lucks out. He’s able to get hold of basically the Fairy Bible, the Book of the People. It provides insider knowledge of how they do things, and through that, he makes a plan. He’ll kidnap a fairy, overcoming their magic, and ransom them for gold. It’ll be difficult, they need to get one that’s low on magic. And they have to wear special sunglasses that will be reflective, for fairies can MESMERIZE people, hypnotizing them. They’ll catch one doing the necessary ritual for magic recharge.

The good news is fairies are fairly commonly popping out of the Underground they live in in Ireland...where the Fowl manor is located. And the ritual is best done near an ancient oak and a riverbend and even better, under a full moon. Well, there’s one not too far from Fowl Manor...and after some staking out...Fowl catches one. A fairy named Holly Short, the only female fairy on the recon unit that the fair folk have.

He, Butler, and his butler’s sister Juliet lock her in a room with a bed. They’ve got their hostage. They use the helmet armor she’s got to communicate with her boss. The fairies figure out where Fowl Manor is, but though they can slow down time, pretty much stop it...Artemis now has fairy tech because he caught Holly, and this means Butler can move freely through the time bubble. He kicks the butts of EVERY recon agent sent to save her. So Holly’s boss, Commander Root, has to come in for negotiations.

Artemis wants gold. A ton of twenty four carat gold. And a ton of gold is, evidently, 64.3 million dollars. A looot of money. Root says that Artemis can’t win. They have a “bio bomb”. It destroys all organic matter used on it, and if they’re caught in a time field, as they are right now, they can’t just race out the front door to get away. There’s only one helmet, and there’s three of them. They’re trapped.

Right?

Well, Artemis says he knows how to escape it. And he’s thought of everything ELSE the fairies would do so far. So...they send in a wild card. Professional Thief Mulch Diggums, a dwarf. Dwarves are natural diggers, they tunnel by unhinging their jaws, eating through the dirt, and expelling it out their rump.

...yeaaah...THAT particular scene from the movie’s pretty accurate. So Mulch is called on to tunnel into the Fowl estate to try and help free Holly. At the same time, Holly’s got a way to break free. She’s been using the bed to break into the floor and beneath the floor...is some earth. And she’s got an acorn on her. With that acorn and the proper words and access to real Earth...she can recharge her magic. Not even reflective lenses can keep her from mesmerizing Juliet. And Mulch finds Artemis’s copy of the Book of the People, thus taking away his big advantage over the fairies. Holly’s now free, but she can’t leave the house. Fairies have rules to adhere to if they wanna keep their magic, and when captured by Artemis, one of his rules was “You absolutely can’t leave the house”. Now...she COULD leave her room. He didn’t say she couldn’t do that. But the house? Nope.

No matter. Root’s gonna send in the gold, get Holly out...then bio bomb the place, stroll in, and claim the ransom.

Unfortuntely his second in command and friend, Cudgeon, has a better idea. They’ve got a troll Holly recently caught. Cudgeon suggested to the fairy’s ruling council to just launch the troll in. Have it wreck the place, the humans will be screaming for help, and then the fairies can just bust in and kick Fowl’s little ass up and down the halls. And if Holly’s hurt, well...too bad.

It goes badly. Butler is strong and skilled but he was trying to get Juliet to safety and he wasn’t expecting a TROLL. Holly tries to help fight it off but she can’t get her helmet to work properly, it’s been damaged, and the weapon she used on the troll earlier to beat it was IN the helmet. She only manages to make it reel back, but she’s badly hurt. BUT...not so hurt she can’t use magic to heal Butler. Who is NOT. PLAYING.

He rises up, puts some nearby knight armor from a standing knight stand on...and has a mace. BAM! BAM! BAM! He has a Sig Saurer submachine gun. BAM-BAM-BAM! Nobody touches his sister. But...Holly asks him not to kill the troll. It’s beaten. And it’s just a dumb animal, please show mercy. So he doesn’t kill it, kicks it out, and Artemis and Juliet and Butler get contacted by Root, who agrees to send the money in, apologizing for the troll.

Holly feels bad that Juliet’s about to get killed, she doesn’t feel bad about Artemis, but she doesn’t want Juliet killed. She says “I have magic, please, isn’t there anything I can do, you’re gonna be killed!” Artemis says there’s nothing she can do. He knows there’s a real danger coming but he’s sure he can beat it.

Although...there is ONE thing Holly could do with her magic.

Then...sure enough...Holly is allowed to leave the house with half the gold. Payment for services rendered. The fairies launch the bio bomb as Artemis and Butler and Juliet drink drugged champagne.

And THAT...is how they beat the time field and the bio bomb. By knocking themselves unconcious, they can weasel out of the time field’s effects. When the fairy recon team comes in...yep. Sure enough, no bodies lying around. Artemis has escaped. So he gets to keep half a ton of gold.

And...well, Holly did some magic for Artemis. She cured his mother of her mental illness. And that’s the first book.

Artemis is kinda unlikable, but having Holly freeing herself basically, not being a true damsel in distress, AND her saving Butler, who’s a lot more uneasy and disliking of Artemis’s plan, makes the story engaging. Artemis may not be a nice kid you can like, but the other characters make up for that. And there’s great worldbuilding and humor, with some nice, dry wit.

The “Artic Incident” shows that Artemis’s mom is having him see a shrink. THe issue is he doesn’t respect anybody else. Nobody alive. Sure, he respects people like Einstein and Archimedes, but nobody PRESENT. And his dad’s still gone.

...or so he thought. A video has come in. Slightly blurry. But a man is tied up to a pole in a Russian winter and a sign on him reads...Hello Son.

...Artemis is sure it’s him. And the FAIRIES are sure Artemis has teamed up with one of the most problematic, and STUPIDEST races of all...goblins. Nasty little things who can breath fire and who are super dumb...but now they’re using human tech to attack the fair folk underground. Who else but Artemis would do it? It’s sinister, evil, clever, it’s totally him.

The joke, though, is it isn’t him who’s sold the tech to the goblins. Holly brings him in to be interrogated by Commander Root, and the scientist centaur, Foaly, who’s a brilliant mind and who makes fascianting devices like iris cams, little cameras that can slip onto your eyes as easily as a contact lens. Artemis isn’t behind what the goblins are doing BUT...he’s willing to help find out who is...

If they help him get his dad back. Well, Root agrees. Holly at first doesn’t believe Artemis actually cares until more time goes on and she realizes “Oh, wow, he’s serious, he DOES care about his dad, he’s not as cold and cruel as I thought”. They find out though that...well...they’ve got problems. While going to Russia, and trekking through the artic to where his dad is being held...goblins attack, and their weapons have been sabotaged! Somebody on the inside has screwed them over.

But no, it’s not Foaly or Commander Root or the like. It’s Cudgeon. He’s teamed up with the pixie Opal Kaboi, a brilliant young woman who “upgraded” all the fairy folk police weaponry...as part of a plan for Cudgeon to take over the fairy lands. He’s sold weapons to the goblins, and he’s depowered the fair folks weapons...but then he’ll come riding in, JUST in time to save them. The weapons of the fair folk will be restored, the goblin rebellion put down, and they’ll all be so grateful he saved them he’ll get into a position of power. And then he’ll make Opal Kaboi meet with a tragic accident. Maybe several. And, of course, he’ll kill off Commander Root and Holly and Foaly and those “mud men”, as he calls Artemis and Butler. Heck, all the fairies call humans mud men. Racist pricks.

Artemis is able to help stop the rebellion. He exposes cudgeon to Opal, Butler and Root kick goblin ass, and in the end, they uphold their end of the bargain and go back to Russia to free Artemis’s dad, faking him being shot. Artemis thanks Holly...rather profusely, at that. He’s SUPER grateful. She’s given him back his family, she’s saved his life once, and she’s just an amazing woman and-

Yeaaah, it’s sorta implied he KINDA has feelings for her. And Holly’s grateful too, not just for the “helping to stop the goblin rebellion and conspiracy” thing. She had lost her finger in an incident involving a train earlier when travelling through the artic with him. A door had slammed and cut her finger off, but Artemis was able to get it back on and to use the magic ritual to heal her, meaning she didn’t have to lose her trigger finger. She gives him a gold coin that she shoots through, a trophy, and says that beneath that exterior, there’s a “spark of decency. Blow on it sometime”.

The next story has Artemis trying to be a bit more...well, less criminal. He’s got some technology he salvaged from that helmet Holly left behind at his house. He’s used the tech and made a fancy computer cube, YEAAAARS beyond anything humanity has. No, he’s not putting it on the market. Not yet. He wants a businessman, Jon Spiro, to invest in his company he’s gonna be making. He’ll keep the cube off the market, Jon Spiro can sell his stocks, and invest in a real winner. After all nobody else has this kind of tech.

Spiro, however, is like “I could just kill you and take your fancy computer here you just showed me”. And Artemis is like “Oh give me a break, I arranged to meet you in a public restaurant, in broad daylight, and with my bodyguard who’s like three times your size, you can’t threaten me.”

Well. actually...he can. Spiro had the ENTIRE PLACE filled with his assassins before Artemis arrived. All the “customers” are his men. He takes the cube and leaves Artemis to get plugged by his bodyguards. Not good! The good news is Artemis rigged a sonic grenade underneath the table and they set it off. So all the bodyguards are beaten down!

Bad news is that one of the bodyguards actually was prepared for such a thing...well, mostly. His teeth are all blown out but he’s still concious enough...to try and shoot Artemis right in the chest.

Butler barely saves him, taking the shot, and managing to shoot THAT guy, knocking him out. But Butler...Butler’s wound is basically fatal, and he reveals his true name, Domovoi, before he goes limp.

Artemis is DESPERATE. He has only one recourse. He sticks Butler in the nearby frozen fish ice tank in the restaurant to keep the body cool, and calls in a favor, getting a cryo pod delivered to keep Butler’s body cool. He then makes a call. A public phone call...that talks about stuff ONLY the fair folk would know, all to get the attention of the fairies. And lucky him...Holly shows up. He begs her to heal Butler.

“Please, Holly. I can’t just let him go. It’s BUTLER...”

“...alright, Mud Boy.” Holly agrees. She owes Butler, after all. He’s saved her life several times and he’s a good man. Foaly the centaur is unsure the magical procedure will work, it’s NEVER really been done before. Artemis keeping the body cool has helped, but...it’s a shot in the dark.

But...the magic ritual works. Holly heals him. But she’s also sorta...took some of his life force. The process made him age a bit. He’s now got a beard! But, still, he’s alive.

Artemis admits what happened with the cube computer, and Jon Spiro. And the cube is SO powerful and SO beyond normal human tech, in Spiro’s hands, it’d be a nightmare for all parties. He can easily, if he cracks the code on it, find out about the fairy folk. So Artemis offers to clean up his mess if he can get some help from Holly. Commander Root says sure...if he agrees to a mind wipe. He, Juliet, and Butler. They’ll remove all memory of the People from him, he won’t remember anything about fairies and the like, and they’ll fill in the gaps since, after all, he’s known about them for several years now.

Artemis agrees, and they come up with a plan. Jon Spiro can’t get INTO the cube. So Artemis will agree to come to him in exchange for Spiro not going after him and his family, and he’ll crack the code he put on the cube to allow Spiro to make use of it. But it’s a trick. He’s wired with some fairy tech to spy on Spiro through it all as they make a plan. He’ll “fix” the cube, crack it open...but make it so it won’t actually tell Spiro about The People. On top of that, he knows full well Spiro wants to use the cube to get even with his rivals...

And what better way to do that than to break into their own corporate HQ with the cube and hack their security and steal all their stuff right from out of their noses? Artemis is like “I don’t think that’s a good ideaaaa” in a sort of more subtle “Stop, don’t, come back” bit from Willy Wonka. He’s COUNTING on Spiro being a “rub his face in it” type...and Spiro really, REALLY is that type. Super petty, super smug. And super screwed. Artemis and the gang manage to trap him, get the cops to show up, and they steal the cube back, with Artemis tricking Spiro handily. He even fiddled with the cameras in the facility that Spiro tried to break into to make it look like HE wasn’t even there at all!

With the adventure done, the gang has to have their memories wiped. Artemis gives Mulch Diggums, who helped with everything, the gold coin memento Holly gave him saying “it means a lot to me, and I’d like you to have it”. He also thanks Holly for everything. He has both his family and now real friends thanks to the People. He wishes he didn’t have to forget that.

Soon, the memory wipe is done. Artemis tried to leave behind some memory triggers to get AROUND the wipe, like unsent emails, online storage, and even a time capsule buried in the yard. But...well, that gold coin he gave to Mulch the dwarf isn’t ACTUALLY the coin.

It’s a computer disc. With a few memory triggers on it. He also has a note attached to it. “Wait a few years and come find me...we’re gonna do a TON of business together”, basically. Artemis, meanwhile, realizes a short time after the mind wipe that..something isn’t right. He was washing his face...when a tiny lens fell from his eyes. A corroded contact lens with a mirrored layer behind it. And Juliet and Butler had them too. But they don’t remember putting those lenses there...clearly, something’s up. And he’s determined to find out what.

Meanwhile, Holly and Foaly are rather sad about wiping Artemis’s memory. They were really beginning to like him. They’re worried, too, that maybe wiping his memory has taken away all the progress he’s made. Maybe he’s back to being that cold, cruel criminal Holly met those few years ago...

Well, the People will soon end up needing him. Because the pixie Opal Kaboi, sinister mastermind and sociopathic inventor, has been faking a coma, and she’s got two servants of hers to break her out. She switches herself with a clone of her that’s brain dead to fake the coma, and she’s got a plan. She’s disguised herself as a human, the child of a billionaire environmentalist, and she’s going to make herself human...and have her dad do a special project. A project...to tunnel down into the Earth to tap into the core.

And, well...fairies live underground. The two races are sure to meet thanks to this project, and Opal is sure they’ll be war, and with her sinister technology and skills, she intends to wipe out the fair folk and have humans win, and then work her way up from there, getting more and more power so she can finally take over the world.

Artemis, meanwhile, is engaging in some theft of a very special painting...the Fairy Thief. He’s now gonna be the youngest thief in the entire world, and as he admires the painting, he realizes something about this Pascal Herve painting. The fairy is lingering at the window because she can’t come in unless INVITED. How does he know that?

At the same time, Holly and Commander Root are trying to track down a goblin general who was able to sneak out of prison. Root has recommended Holly to basically take over the division she’s a part of, to be, well, a commander herself. And he also wants her to know how proud he is of what she’s become. He’s become a secondary father to her after she lost her own dad twenty years back.

...I think...you can guess what I’m going to say next. No, he’s not three days until retirement. But he and Holly walk into a trap set up by Opal Kaboi. The goblin general is wired. When Root tries to grab the goblin...a special bomb is strapped to him. One that’s messing with the electronics in the room they’re currently stuck in. Foaly, watching everything from Holly’s camera, can’t hear what’s being said, and all he sees is her pointing a gun at her commanding officer, he can’t even see the bomb because the bomb’s made of a special stealth ore.

Root is gonna explode. But Opal says “Hey, if you shoot this ONE SPECIFIC PART of the bomb...MAYBE you’ll stop the countdownn, but you really should go off and save those mud men, because the Fairy Thief painting they’re after has a tracking chip in it. And I’ve sent a bio bomb after them to blow them up.”

Holly is SURE she can make the shot and stop the countdown but...

...well, she doesn’t. Poor Root is violently blown up. It’s a horrifying, terrible scene. And shortly after as Holly BARRELS desperately to try and save them, the bio bomb soars at Artemis and Butler! The good news is Butler leaps out the window with Artemis, using a bed to cushion the fall.

The bad news is they barely survive. Holly manages to save Artemis, carrrying him off, intending to come back to help Butler later, he’s just WAY too heavy to carry, and after healing Artemis, and he awakens, she explains what’s going on.

You might think he doesn’t believe her. But no, he does. He remembers the strange lenses he’d put in his eyes, and her story lines up with them. He found out shortly after discovering those lenses HE ordered them, and he could only have done so to cheat a fairy mesmer. So he belives Holly...but he doesn’t remember her one iota.

Butler, meanwhile, is visited by Mulch Diggum, who’s broken out of prison upon hearing Julius Root is dead and Holly is suspect number one. They’re his friends...and he HAS to help them! So he’s gone to Fowl Manor...with the memory trigger disc. He plays it for Butler...and Butler remembers everything. Good thing too...

Because Opal Kaboi has just found Artemis and Holly and intends to PERSONALLY have them killed as NASTILY as possible cuz they avoided being killed by her little bombs earlier. She’s gonna have trolls tear them apart. And she rubs salt in the wound by telling Holly that hey, funny story...that sweet spot I told you about? On the bomb on Root? That I said if you shot, it’d stop the countdown? Well, there wasn’t one. I lied just to frame you. The good news is, Artemis had his phone on and was leaving a message at Fowl Manor, and Butler and Mulch heard the whole thing, so they know where Opal is gonna be sending them. And they hurry over as Artemis begins to get more of his memories back, and they try to escape from being torn apart by trolls.

Soon Artemis has his whole memory back...and he’s torn by guilt over what he did to Holly when he first met her. He feels scummy. And he also swears to stop Opal Kaboi. And he knows exactly how.

They know where Opal is going to be because she’s bragged so much. Mulch is able to sneak onto her ship...steal the bombs she intended to trigger that would be part of her plan to damage the home of the fairies and make them even MORE vulnerable to the drilling plan her “adopted human father” was planning...and put them in her ship. In fact, right where she was keeping her chocolate truffles. Just to add insult to injury. Opal had been all “You’re so dumb if you thought stealing the bombs would stop me, I’ll just detonate them and your whole ship will blow up”. Well, Opal, they did steal them from your ship...but they just moved it to another part of the ship you didn’t think to check...

Until it’s too late. Opal’s ship blows up, she BARELY escapes to the surface...and just as her magic has run out, leaving her stranded in Italy and forced to work in a vineyard, digging holes for grapes and the like. Artemis and the gang reunite with Foaly and explain to him and the fairy authorities what happened, and after an investigation and Commander Julius Root’s funeral, Holly is cleared. She and Mulch decide to work together as private detectives, the Fairy Folk now consider Artemis and Butler a true friend of the people, Mulch has his criminal record expunged completely, and Artemis, in a show of generosity, decides to secretly donate “The Fairy Thief” painting he stole (which,t to be fair, was taken from ANOTHER thief...) to the Louvre.

The fourth story is definitely the height of the series. Some dramatic changes, Artemis at his very best, the interplay with the gang, the high stakes...so I can recommend the series. Well, to a point. THIS point. After this, the books begin to go downhill. It just comes across as spinning it’s wheels, and then for the last book, well...

Well, uh...see, there’s this plan Opal has to cause chaos and because a TON of her technology is now being used up on the surface world, all the technology she had friggin blows up. We’re talking stuff like dialysis machines and other medical equipment made useless. Pacemakers? BOOM! Right in your chest! Submarines no longer functioning! People on boats? Stranded! People begin looting. PLANES FALL FROM THE SKY.

Oh but hey, at least they’re not distracted by TV anymore. No really, that’s...like, nobody really dwells on what’s clearly a horrific, apocalyptic scenario and god knows how many people died...

Look, I love the series. But I think I can best recommend it...in the graphic novel format it came in. So check those out. They go all the way, at least currently, up to the fourth book. So just read those if you can. They’re a ton of fun and super creative. :)

#artemis fowl #fiction #action #Adventure #comic #recommndation

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yelena-bellova · 4 years

Text

Don’t Be Afraid: Poe Dameron x Solo!Reader - Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen: Team Effort

Series Masterlist

Plot: Finn and Rose lay out their plan for Poe and Y/n.

Warnings: one or two curse words, semi-graphic description of violence and injuries, angst with Poe fluff interspersed

Word Count: 4.2k

A/N: How I managed to write a 4.2k chapter based on a five minute scene, I have no idea lol. This one was really fun to write though. Enjoy!

—————

“Okay, just give it to me one more time, simpler.”

Finn and Rose, a maintenance worker I’d seen around base, had just laid out an extremely complicated plan of how we could escape the First Order. Poe sat in the center of the room while I stayed seated at my mother’s side. Parts of it made sense and others were harder to understand. Tech was neither of our specialties, I could make things float and Poe blew stuff up.

“So the First Order’s only tracking us from one Destroyer, the lead one,” Finn began explaining once again.

“So we blow that one up?” Poe inquired, his eyes lighting up as he looked between Finn and I. Case in point, tech wasn’t his forte.

“I like where your head’s at, but no,” Finn replied.

I chimed in, “You’ve blown enough up for one day.”

Finn continued, “They’d only start tracking us from another Destroyer.”  “But if we can-“ Rose spoke up, only for Finn to talk over her.

Finn stepped closer to Poe, motioning with his hands, “If we sneak on board the lead Destroyer and disable the tracker without them realizing, then we can-“

“They won’t realize it’s off for one system cycle,” Rose stepped forward, “About six minutes.”  “Sneak on board,” Finn said as Rose pulled up a holographic schematic of the Destroyer, “Disable the tracker. Our fleet escapes before they realize.”

I had my chin propped against my fist as I watched a hunched over Poe absorb the information. It wasn’t the craziest plan I’d heard all day and with Finn and Rose knowing their stuff, we could trust them to have thought each step through. Poe hummed as he contemplated while Finn stared hopefully at us.

“It actually makes sense,” I commented neutrally, there were still a lot to think over if we went through with this. The fact that we’d be going behind Holdo’s back being a prime example.

Poe rose and took a few steps in my direction before turning around and waving his finger between Rose and Finn, “How’d you two meet?”

The two of them looked at each other and judging by their faces, there was definitely a story to their meeting they were dancing around,   “Just luck,” Rose answered innocently.

“Yeah? Good luck?” Poe asked, coming closer towards me.

“Not sure yet.”

“Poe, Y/n, we gotta do this,” Finn implored, “It’ll save the fleet and it’ll save Rey.”  Poe came and joined me next to Mom, looking between the two of us. He carefully slipped his hand over hers, the gesture warmed my heart. Poe had lost his mom at such a young age, I knew he had always seen Leia as that type of figure in his life. The possibility of losing her was a difficult weight for him to bear.

Loss. A concept I’d become overly familiar with over the past couple of days. Four days ago my mother was well, my father alive, our fleet secure and Poe never having left my side. Adding in the fact that Rey, Chewie and R2 were off who knows where and could be walking back into this mess, my anxiety had quickly blown through the roof. I needed to do everything I could to ensure my loved one’s and the Resistance’s safety, whatever that entailed. I inhaled to address Poe, but a different voice came out,

“If I may be the sole voice of reason,” 3PO interrupted, “Admiral Holdo will never agree to this plan.”  I looked back over to Poe and gave a half shrug, “We’re not going to come up with anything better.”  “Yeah,” he sighed and nodded, “You’re right, 3PO. It’s a need to know plan,” he turned around, “And she doesn’t.”  The protocol droid stammered, “That wasn’t exactly my-“  I stood up and went over to him, placing a hand on his metal arm, “3PO, I need you to go against every instinct you have right now. If you don’t trust them, trust me at least.”  “All right,” Poe agreed, strutting towards the table with the Destroyer holo projected above it, “You guys shut down that tracker, we’ll be here to jump you to lightspeed.”

“The question is,” I came to stand next to Finn, “How do we sneak the two of you onto Snoke’s Destroyer?”

“We steal clearance codes,” Rose suggested.

Finn shook his head, “No, they’re bio-hexacrypt and descrambled every hour. We can’t get through their shields undetected, nobody can.”

I chewed on a nail as I wracked my brain for anyone who could help us.

I snapped my fingers once it hit me, it seemed like Poe had just come to the same conclusion I had.

“Maz,” I declared, jogging over to the other side of the room and switching on the holoprojector. I punched in a few numbers and said a silent prayer that she picked up. The others crowded around me as we waited for her to answer,  “Do we know if she’s still on Takodana?” Finn inquired from my left side.

“No idea,” I replied, “It’s a long shot but if anyone could do it, it’s her.”

Just as I’d finished my sentence, Maz appeared in front of us,

“Baby Solo!” she greeted loudly, “I’m so glad to see you’re okay.”  “You too, Maz,” I smiled, “I wish I was calling under better circumstances but-“ 

“Poe Dameron! Alive and in love I’m assuming?”  I snuck a glance at Poe, catching the small grin he gave me, “Incredibly so.”

 Finn awkwardly cleared his throat, snapping us back into reality, “Maz, we need your help.”

“Back in trouble again? So soon?” she replied.

Finn laid out our plan for her in detail, explaining her part in sneaking him and Rose onto the Destroyer.

“Could I do it? Of course I could do it,” she exclaimed as she adjusted a gun in her hands, “But I can’t do it. I’m a little tied down right now!”

Blaster fire echoed around her and caused us to jolt backwards, 3PO and BB-8 letting out exclaims.

“Maz? What is happening?” Finn asked.

“Union despite,” Maz ceased her fighting momentarily, “You do not want to hear about it. But, lucky for you, there’s exactly one guy I trust who can crack that kind of security!” Max rolled and dodged a few shots, “He’s a master codebreaker,” she loaded her gun again, “An ace pilot, a poet with a blaster,” she fired a few blasts confidently.

“Oh my,” 3PO said, “It sounds like this codebreaker fellow can do everything.”  “Oh yes,” Maz replied, a distant look in her eyes and her voice low, “He can.”  The four of us awkwardly looked at each other before she began speaking again,

“You’ll find him with a red plom bloom on his lapel, rolling at a high stakes table in the casino on Canto Bight.”

“Canto Bight?” Poe repeated, looking to me and Finn defeatedly, “No, no, that’s…Maz, is there any way that we can take care of this ourselves?”  Maz adjusted her goggles and began adjusting a device on her wrist, “Sorry, kiddo. This is rarified cracking. You wanna get on that Destroyer, I only know one option. Find the Master Codebreaker. And Baby Solo?”

I looked up to Maz as she sighed, “I’m so sorry about Han.”  I exhaled slowly and gave a hint of a nod, “Thanks, Maz.”

We parted with a goodbye greeting in an alien language and Maz flew off on a jetpack, the holo cut out then.

Poe looked distressed at the thought of sending Finn and Rose to Canto Bight, not that I wasn’t. But I’d seen Finn in action, he was undoubtably smart enough to navigate the situation just as he had on Starkiller.

Finn held out a hand towards Poe and I, a cloaked binary beacon resting in it. I was about to ask why he had one, when I remembered earlier in the day my mother had mentioned how she’d given Rey an identical one. It was how she would find her way back to the fleet. Once again, Finn’s personal stake in this was to protect Rey. That was his driving force. His eyes pleaded with Poe, who took it after only a few seconds of deliberation.

“Okay, we need to get you guys on an escape pod,” Poe said, “The problem is that you’ll show up on our radars.”   “So we need to have someone on our side on the bridge who will cover for us,” I finished his thought.

Poe ran through a list of names in his head, “Connix is our best bet. If you can make sure they get to the pod unnoticed, I can talk to her.”  I turned to Finn and Rose, “You two should probably take BB-8 with you as well, if Poe’s alright with it.”

This was probably going to be the most difficult part of the plan; getting Poe to temporarily part with his beloved droid. He looked down at Bee and let out a grunt of acceptance, “Yeah, he’ll be able to help you guys.”  “We’ll take care of him, I promise,” Finn assured Poe, he’d looked out for Bee once already and could do it again.

Whoa, do I get a say in this at all?  “Would you rather sit here with Poe and I and wait for the Destroyers to blow up the ship or take a trip to Canto Bight and help save the fleet?” I asked as I rested my hands on my hips

…I say I go with Finn.

“Good choice,” I replied before looking back to Finn and Rose, “Let’s get you guys in a pod.”

They nodded and the five of us, made our way out of the room.  “I’ll comm you when I get a hold of Connix,” Poe said quietly to me before we parted down different hallways. I gripped my communicator tight in my fist.

Once it was just us, I turned my attention to Finn and Rose, “Okay, how’d you two really meet?”

“I was going to take a pod to get the beacon as far away as I could. To protect Rey,” he answered.  I chuckled quietly as we turned a corner, “You’ll go to the ends of the galaxy for her, won’t you?”

Finn didn’t say anything, just kept his eyes focused on our path ahead. But I had no doubt that his cheeks had heated up at my comment.

“Rose, how do you play into this story?”

“I stunned him once I figured out he was trying to escape, I was planning to…” she trailed off, scared to finish her sentence.

“I don’t bite, I promise,” I said as we made our way through a quieter hall, nearing the escape pod bay.

“I was going to turn him in for desertion,” she replied meekly, probably worried I’d dislike her for the fact that she’d wrongly accused my friend.

“Attagirl,” I patted her shoulder and she cracked a smile, I already liked her.

The escape pod bay was never guarded and didn’t have anyone but maintenance workers in it typically. That’s why I was so surprised to see someone outside the entryway.

“I’ll handle this,” I whispered before taking the lead and strolling casually towards him.  “Commander Solo,” the young man addressed me confusedly, “What are you doing here?”  “I’m giving our latest recruit a tour of the ship,” I answered easily while gesturing to Finn, “Everyone is required to know where the escape pods are so if you wouldn’t mind letting us through?”  The man looked me over, disbelief written over his face, “On whose authority? Shouldn’t you be on the bridge?”  I raised an eyebrow, I was no stranger to dealing with young cocky recruits, “My own authority. Last time I checked, I outranked you. Now step aside.”  As I attempted to move around him, he stepped in front of me, “I think I’m going to have to call someone down to fact check your story.”  “To fact check my…?” I scoffed and pinched the bridge of my nose, how the hell was I supposed to get this guy to leave? An idea formed quickly, though I wasn’t thrilled about attempting it but there weren’t any other options.

I sighed defeatedly and slowly waved my hand in front of his face, “You will step aside and let us through.”  He tilted his head and chucked heartily, “What the hell was that?”  I shook it off and concentrated harder, repeating my movements, “You will step aside and let us through.”

“Y/n, what are you doing?” Finn whispered from behind me, I waved him off with my free hand.   “Alright, I don’t know what weird shit you’re trying to pull, but it’s not working.” 

Ignoring his comment, I silenced all other thoughts in my mind and focused entirely on what I wanted him to do,

“You will step aside and let us through.”  Like clockwork, the asshole straightened up and said, “I will step aside and let you through.”  I waved my hand again, this time more confidant it would work, “You will return to your quarters and…take a nap.”  “I will return to my quarters and take a nap,” he repeated, promptly leaving us and heading to his given destination.

My lips quirked up at what I’d accomplished, I’d never tried to use a mind trick on anyone. I’d heard about them over the years and my uncle had mentioned them in stories he told me as a child. As weird as I felt, invading someone’s mind and bending it to my will, it would come in handy in situations such as these. I’d have to add it to my arsenal. Shaking my head to clear it, I led Finn and Rose into the bay.

“So, are you going to tell us what that was?” Finn asked slowly.

“Jedi mind trick,” I answered, searching for the pods, “I’d never tried it until now.”

“Wait,” Rose gasped, “Are you a Jedi?”

“Not a Jedi,” I answered just as quick as when Poe had brought up the subject, “But I have a lightsaber, it’s complicated.”

“Whoa…” she said under her breath as we approached a pod, I entered a code in the keypad to authorize their departure.

“Solo,” Poe’s voice came through my comm, “You there?”  “What’s the word, Dameron?”  “We’re clear.”  “Copy that.” I replied.

The pod doors opened as I pressed a button, Rose was the first to climb in but stopped in the doorway,  “Thank you for helping us,” she said, “Not a lot of commanders listen to maintenance workers.”  “Don’t mention it, it’s people like you keep this whole operation going,” I replied with a smile, “You probably do more work than I do.”  With that, she grinned and entered the pod leaving me and Finn alone. We both let out a heavy sigh, neither one of us were fond of the idea of being split up. Especially with Rey already on the other side of the galaxy somewhere.

I embraced him bittersweetly, “You better come back in one piece.” 

“I will,” he promised as he tightened his arms around my back. 

Finn had quickly wormed his way into my heart, into Poe’s too. He fit perfectly in the Resistance and among us, there was no question as to whether or not he belonged here. The thought of him not making it back caused tears to spring to my eyes. It was crazy to think I’d only known him a few days when it felt like saying goodbye to a lifelong friend.

“Listen,” I pulled back to see his face, “I haven’t thanked you for what you did on Ilum. You saved my life and I…”  “Y/n, you don’t need to thank me for-“  “Yes, I do,” I interrupted, “I will forever be in your debt for what you did. You allowed me to come back to my mom, to Poe, to this fight. So yes, I do need to thank you, Finn.” 

He looked so awkward accepting my gratitude, like it was one of his first times doing so. Then I remembered that the compliments Poe, Mom and I had paid him were probably some of the only ones he’d ever received. My heart hurt for him all over again.

“You’re welcome,” he replied with a sheepish smile before giving me another quick hug, “If you want to pay off that debt, just protect that beacon.” 

“You know I will.”  We parted and the only thing left for me to do was kneel down and hug Bee, “Stay safe, it takes two of us to manage Poe.”  Keep him safe while I’m gone.

“Easier said than done, but I’ll try,” I laughed.

If Rey gets back before we do, will you tell us?  “Of course, buddy.” I said running a hand over his head, “If we made it through the past few days, we can make it through this.”  With that, Bee rolled away into the pod behind Finn. I gave them and Rose a salute just before they closed the door, sealing themselves off from me. Yeah, if we made it through Jakku, Rathtars, Takodana and Starkiller, surely we could make it through this…

I hoped.

——————

Poe and I met back up in my mother’s med bay room, he had returned before I did. 3PO was still standing faithfully at the computers, monitoring Mom’s vitals.

“Any change?” I asked as I came to stand next him to read the levels myself.

“Unfortunately, there has been no change in the Princess, Mistress Y/n,” the droid responded.

That was as close to an inside joke as 3PO was capable of. Long ago when the Resistance had been formed and Mom took on the new title of General, 3PO had a hard time stopping referring to her as Princess. He still did it on accident sometimes. I’d told him that if we were talking just him and I, he could call her Princess. I’d always loved the thought of my mother being royalty as a kid and the title was still comforting to hear.

“Okay, thanks anyway,” I sighed, walking away to pull my chair next to Poe’s. He was still positioned at her legs, watching her intently, waiting for any sign that she was awake. I sat down beside him and laid my head on his shoulder, looping my arms through one of his.

“Finn and Rose get away okay?”  I nodded gently, my eyes never leaving Mom’s face as I silently pleaded with her to wake up.

“Don’t you have things to be doing?” I inquired softly, “I’m the one that Holdo grounded, not you.”  He chortled quietly before sobering back up, “Not really, I’ll go check in with a few people in a bit. Other than that, this is where I’m supposed to be.”  I snuggled a little closer to him, as much as the chairs would allow. His devotion to me and Mom was nothing short of heartwarming, I appreciated him more than I’d ever be able to sum up in words.

Without realizing, my eyes had begun to droop shut and I let out a small yawn. The exhaustion of the past few days hadn’t worn off yet.

Poe kissed the top of my head softly, “Get some rest, I’ll wake you up if anything changes with her.”  I sleepily nodded and allowed myself to drift off, my last thought was an image of Finn, Rey, Poe and I sitting around a cantina table laughing about our separate and shared adventures. 

————��——

I found myself among the familiar flames once again.

The bodies were still strewn around me.

The thick smoke filled the air.

My lightsaber was clipped at my waist now.

A new single scream erupted this time.

I spun around and watched my younger self run to two bodies lying face down. She fell to her knees and wept over them,

“Mama! Papa! Wake up! Wake up!”  My heart broke at the gut-wrenching memory that was resurfacing, consciously and unconsciously. My parents death had faded over time till I couldn’t remember anything other than the tears I’d shed in the alleyway on Naboo. I hadn’t remembered finding their bodies or screaming their names. Not until now.

“Wake up, Mama! Wake up, Papa! Wake up!”  I cried forcefully as I watched the younger me lose her entire world. I began to stumble towards her just as a hand stopped me, pulling me back by my shoulder.

 “Y/n,” the calm voice said, undoubtably the unidentifiable figure in brown, “Don’t be afraid.”  My sobs wracked my body as I continued to listen to the younger me wail, “I thought I wasn’t afraid anymore.”  “Don’t be afraid,” the voice repeated, I could hear it clearer than I’d ever been able to. I could have sworn that I’d heard it before in my life...

Just as the hand let go of me, a piercing red blade shot through my abdomen. The air in my lung drained instantly, the pain searing hot as the hole burned through me. As it was violently ripped out of me, I was turned around to face a maskless Ren. Just as I’d left him, blood trickled down the side of his face where Rey had cut him,

“Don’t be afraid,” he gritted out, “Of what you could be.”  I attempted to scream, but nothing came out. The only noise was the younger me crying out, “Wake up! Wake up!”

—————

“Y/n, wake up!”

I awoke gasping for air, Poe was knelt in front of me with his hands gripping my arms. After I’d blinked a few times, I could see there was concern etched deeply in his face. I was still panting relentlessly, trying to slow my breaths but failing miserably. I looked around frantically at my surroundings, we were still in Mom’s med bay room. Turning to her, she was in the same position she’d been in when I’d fallen asleep. Safe to assume there were no changes while I’d been out.

“You’re okay, I promise.” Poe whispered as I continued to try and catch my breath, “It was a dream, you’re okay.”  I ran my hands through my hair and placed my elbows on my knees, Poe’s hands slid down to hold my calves. He allowed me all the time I needed to calm down, but I couldn’t do so hunched over in a chair. I needed to move. I rose from my seat and walked quickly over to the window, trying to focus on the stars we were passing. 

“Mistress Y/n, are you quite alright?” 3PO asked with concern.

“3PO, shh,” Poe reprimanded through his teeth.

I shook my head and waved Poe off, “It’s alright, I’m okay, just…a little shaken.”  “Can I be of service in any way?”

“No, but thank you, 3PO.” I replied, looking over my shoulder at the droid. He nodded and returned to his task at hand.

Poe hesitantly made his way towards me, I chuckled breathily at his caution and motioned him over. As I turned back to gaze at the stars, his arms wrapped around my waist and his chest pressed against my back. I leaned back into him, enjoying the warmth that seeped through the layers of clothing and how his comforting scent surrounded me. I laid my arms across his, my hands coming to rest on top of his. In the moments where I felt like I was free falling, Poe was the soft patch of earth for me to land on. I knew he’d catch me every single time.

“Do you remember your mother?” I asked out of nowhere, my breathing finally having calmed down.

“Yeah, not as much as I wish I did,” he answered wistfully, “My dad has holos of her back home, those help keep the memories alive.”  I hummed as I continued staring out the window, scouring every corner of my brain for a better memory of my family than the one I’d just been gifted. Nothing. I couldn’t remember my father’s smile, I couldn’t remember my mother’s melodious laugh. Not a thing. Just the blood seeping from their chests and my piercing screams.

“Why are you asking?”

 “I don’t remember anything about my birth parents except their death,” I answered calmly, “I wish I could remember who they were.”  “Is that what your dream was about?” Poe craned his neck over my shoulder so he could look at me.

I nodded but was still too shaken to turn away from the stars, staring at them seemed to be keeping my panic at bay.

“I think…I think they may have been Force users,” I said.

Poe was silent for a few seconds, simply intertwining our fingers and rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand. He was probably searching for the right thing to say in a situation that was so new to him,

“How can you know that?” he finally asked, “Can you know that?”  I shook my head, “I don’t know, it’s just a…feeling. It was just a theory I had but for some reason after that dream, it feels very real.”

Poe dropped his chin to my shoulder and I rested my head against his. I had a sneaking suspicion that this might be our last moment of peace for a while. I tried to drink it in, savor it, because waiting outside this bubble we’d created for ourselves was chaos.  

“This plan has to work,” I breathed, “I couldn’t save my parents, I couldn’t save Dad, but I’ll be damned if I can’t save the Resistance.”

----------

A/N: And the plot thickens...I promise not to string you guys along for too much longer as to who the parents are but ugh, I love a good slow build. I’ve also figured out a schedule for chapters, tentatively there will be a new chapter every Friday. It could change and I could drop two chapters in one week sometimes but for now, every Friday.

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Star Wars Permanent Taglist: @paintballkid711 @katrynec @caswinchester2000 @theliterarymess

#poe dameron x solo!reader #poe dameron fanfiction #poe dameron imagine #poe dameron series #poe dameron fanfic #poe dameron x reader #poe dameron #star wars #star wars fanfic #star wars imagine #star wars fanfiction #finn x reader #rose tico x reader

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canonicallysoulmates · 3 years

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Walker 1.07

This was a really good episode, there were a couple things here and there that could have been done better, but overall, imo, one of their best yet and a huge improvement over last week.

I definitely liked it a lot more, in terms of how it flowed, and the story and the focus and the acting, it’s just an overall much better episode.

It was another caseless week, the focus was on Walker helping Micki figure out what was going on with her mom and her arrest, and the second storyline was Trey taking the kids on an away game. On the side of those two things were Liam and Captain James who traveled to Mexico to continue investigating Emily’s death which somebody was not happy about but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

This episode had a lot of really good things but the highlights that should come as no surprise to anyone at this point were Micki, and Micki and Cordell.

I know I sound like a broken record because I say this pretty much every week, but Walker and Micki’s relationship: I absolutely love it ❤ This epi is no exception.

Last epi she was there for him, this week it was his turn to be a good friend and return the favor, and that’s exactly what he did; if y’all remember her mom got arrested at the end of episode 1.06, the reason for her arrest was a hit and run while under the influence which makes no sense to Micki because her mom doesn’t drink and she’s always been very responsible so Walker, being a good friend, accompanies her to San Antonio, were Micki’s mom is being detained, so she doesn’t have to deal with it alone but also because if he’s there they can make it an official investigation since he’s not related to them.

So they bail Adriana out, and she tells Micki she’s gonna solve things herself and that she did it, she did the hit and run. But our girl Micki does not believe her, things don’t add up for her, so they set to investigating what Adriana is hiding. And ooooh she should not have gone digging cause mama had a big secret.

On the lighthearted side of things they discover she has a boyfriend! But Micki and Walker didn’t realize he was her boyfriend at first, they thought he’d been harassing her but then after they show up to the dude’s house they find out he’s the boyfriend. Which leads to a very interesting family bbq.

But the big secret, the life changing secret, the reason she didn’t want Micki to get involved is that...Adriana is not Micki’s biological mom. She’s her aunt. Micki’s bio mom is an addict, and she tried to get clean and go to rehab and such after Micki was born so while she worked on herself she handed Micki over to Adriana to take care of her but three years passed before she showed up again, and by that point Adriana was too attached to Micki. She had become her daughter and while her sister claimed she was clean Adriana didn’t think she was gonna stay that way and she didn’t want Micki to be dragged into her mess so she told her to stay away and her sister agreed for payment so basically...Micki’s bio mom sold her.

Afterwards, Adriana packed up, she moved them out of town, she changed their names all so her sister wouldn’t find them. But she did, and that’s where the hit and run comes in cause Adriana got arrested due to there being DNA at the scene that partially matched hers but it was actually her sister who got into the accident. She had found them, and she wanted to see Micki but Adriana told her no, and they got into a fight about it and she drove off drunk so Adriana feels partially responsible.

This was a heartbreaking and unexpected reveal, it honestly made me wanna cy for both of these women! Poor Micki, finding out that this person who she has called mom her whole life, who she has tried so hard to make proud is actually her aunt and that her biological mom sold her, she’s feeling like her whole life was a lie, she doesn’t know who she is- I feel so bad for her! And Lindsey did an amazing job showing Micki’s pain, not just during her reveal but also earlier in the episode when she was remembering how her mom and her used to be close when she was little.

But I also feel really bad for Adriana because she just wanted to protect her daughter, and that’s what Micki is she’s her daughter, she’s the one who raised her, who loved her, who took care of her. And I hope Micki realizes and remembers that, I just want them to fix things between them. This storyline has genuinely struck an emotional chord with me.

And the way they got to the reveal was fantastic, it was done through the best use of flashbacks this show has done. (Yes, I am praising this show’s use of flashbacks I’m shocked too but in this episode they don’t just work, they do so incredibly well.) The thing about the flashbacks in this episode is that not only are they placed properly, not only do they not mess with the flow of things, not only do they serve a purpose but they’re done like memories. I’m not sure how to explain it but with Walker’s flashbacks you see the scene play out crystal clear and a lot of the time that just takes the viewer out of the scene, here it’s played like her actually getting lost in her memories and it matches the tone that was set.

Also, real quick before I continue when Micki told Walker what had happened, he was all “do you need me there? I’ll come to you right now” which 🥺

That whole part was excellent; other great things were that Trey and Walker are becoming friends which I am loving, there was a really intense action sequence, and there was a shocking cliffhanger cause remember how I said someone wasn’t happy about Liam and James snooping around in Mexico? Yeah, someone put a bomb in their car, they weren’t in it but when James went to unlock the car 💥 . So that was exciting!

But like I said at the beginning there were some things here and there that could have been done better. This episode has a lot of unrealistic aspects starting with the kids, I am seriously begging this show to write teenagers better. The soccer team has a “secret” tradition to play something called thirsty ball basically they drink and play soccer. I put “secret” in quotation marks cause usually those things are not actually a secret and there’s at least one adult that knows about it. Anyways, all the kids sneak out for this thing and not a one of them came up with a lie to tell Trey.....*sigh* They planned their little game out but not the lie to tell the coach, I’m sorry that is not realistic I know for a fact that they would have come up with one hell of a lie and they probably would have snuck out at night when he wouldn’t be checking up on them.

Another thing I don’t find realistic is Trevor getting to tag along when he doesn’t go to the school, I don’t know maybe schools in the US are different but I can’t recall one time when I had a school or camp trip that they allowed anybody to tag along that wasn’t a student, the only exceptions were sometimes the kids of teachers that were going on the trip or sometimes they could follow in a separate car. But getting to tag along in the bus and have the school pay for his stay and probably food. No.

And I love him, but how did Trey become head coach when he lost those kids? Even if the other coach, who we never saw, was the one that was supposed to be in charge Trey still has a level of responsibility, they were lost on his watch too, and it’s not like they could hide what happened Trey had to call the parents. Yeah, he saved their lives but he’s also the one who lost them.

The action was fun and intense but can this show stop condensing the action scenes to only like two minutes? Please? I want longer action sequences.

I also want Walker to stop letting his kids off the hook, this is the second time those kids have gotten themselves into danger and instead of having to face consequences or at least getting a stern talking too he just gives them a hug and let’s it go. Like, I get he’s relieved they’re safe but they seriously have to understand the danger they were in, there have to be consequences for their actions.

Speaking of consequences, y’all remember the friend Stella got into trouble back in episode 1 which put her friends parents under treat of deportation? Well, her parents had to move back to Mexico because the threat of deportation was too real and they didn’t want to drag their daughter into things. I really hope that’s not the end of this story cause if it is then it’s a disappointing cope out on part of the show to not have to actually talk about deportation, the roles Ranger play in it, and the role Stella played in this specific case. But we shall see.

All that being said, it’s like I stated at the beginning, this episode has a couple things it could have done better. But, the majority of it was great, the things that could have been better and were unrealistic are easy enough to look past in the grand scheme of things, and overall it was a really solid episode. I really enjoyed it.

#was it perfect? no but it got damn close #walker #opinion on walker #walker 1.07 #walker spoilers #mine

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voltrontranscript · 3 years

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VLDS7E7: The Last Stand, Part 1

Season 7 Episode 7: The Last Stand, Part 1

Transcript by @dragonofyang

Episode Summary: The Paladins make their way back to Earth, but upon reaching out to Sam Holt, discover Earth’s distress beacon and that the Galra have invaded. We catch up with Sam and the technological developments on Earth since his return four years prior to the Paladins’ approach, and the trials Sam and Colleen face when in the heart of the Garrison.

[Google Doc]

Hunk: I can’t believe it. We’re finally back to Earth.

Keith: Well, what are we waiting for?

Pidge: I’ll see if I can get a message out to my dad. Dad, it’s me, Pidge. Do you copy? We’re back in Earth’s solar system, and heading home now.

Sam’s voice: To any beings who receive this message--

Pidge: Dad, you’re okay. How’s Mom and Matt? Is he with you?

Sam’s voice: Planet Earth has been… Most of the citizens…

Pidge: Hold on, let me try to get a clear signal.

Sam’s voice: ...have been captured.

Pidge: What? Who’s captured? Dad, what are you saying?

Sam’s voice: Those of us remaining are making our last stand. If you get this message, please get word to Voltron. We need help.

Keith: Guys, are you seeing this?

Sam’s voice: To any beings who receive this message…

Allura: Oh, no.

Sam’s voice: ...Planet Earth has been overrun by the Galra.

Lance: The Galra have invaded Earth.

Sam’s voice: Most of the citizens have been captured. Those of us remaining are making our last stand. If you get this message, please get word to Voltron. We need help.

Hunk: It’s not a reply. It’s a distress signal.

Pidge: Dad.

[Scene change to a flashback, labeled “Four years earlier…”.]

Sam: Admiral Sanda, how long have I--?

Sanda: It’s been about a week since you landed. Sorry, we’ve had you under for most of the time.

Sam: A week?

Sanda: We had to run tests. You spent years in an alien environment. Look, Sam, the joint chiefs are eager to hear what you have to tell us.

Sam: Tell the chiefs I’ll debrief when I’m ready. There’s someone I need to see first.

[Scene change to a lounge in the Galaxy Garrison.]

Colleen: Sam.

Sam: Colleen, I’ve missed you so much.

Colleen: I thought you were dead. I thought I’d never see you again.

Sam: You’re squeezing me pretty tight. Being abducted by aliens didn’t kill me, but I think you might.

Colleen: Aliens?

Sam: On the Kerberos mission. Matt, Shiro, and I were taken by hostile aliens.

Colleen: So Matt is with you?

Sam: No, but he’s alive and safe. So is Katie. They’re together. Last time I saw them, they were just outside the planet Olkarion. They saved me. There was a device on my pod, a transmitter. Where is it? I can use it to contact my children and the other Paladins, cadets.

Sanda: I’m afraid we can’t allow you to broadcast yet. We need more information before you start sending messages into deep space. Any contact with alien species needs to be run through the appropriate channels. We need to be sure you’re not putting Earth in danger, Sam.

Colleen: I don’t care about your channels. I want to talk to my children.

Sanda: And you will, soon. We just want to debrief you first.

Colleen: Tell them what you know, then we can talk to our children and get you home.

Sanda: I’m afraid we can’t allow Sam to leave the premises. We’re not prepared to tell the world about the existence of alien life just yet. Remember, everyone thinks you’re dead.

Sam: So you’re holding me like a prisoner?

Sanda: Not a prisoner. You’re free to move about within the Garrison grounds. Just until we’re ready.

Colleen: If he’s staying, I’m staying, too.

Sanda: I’m afraid you don’t have the clearance, Colleen.

Colleen: This is the only family I have left. You’ll get me the clearance.

[Scene change to a meeting room in the Galaxy Garrison.]

Iverson: Here’s what we know. Two years ago, during your Kerberos mission, our scans picked up an anomaly at your location. Minutes later, we lost contact with you and the rest of the crew. In the immediate aftermath, we intercepted a transmission.

Unnamed Galra Commander’s voice: We found these primitive scientists. I don’t think they know anything useful.

Zarkon’s voice: Take them back to the main fleet for interrogation. The Druids will find out what they know.

Sam: That last voice is Zarkon, the emperor of an advanced hostile alien race known as the Galra.

Unnamed officer: How advanced?

Unnamed officer 2: And how do you know they’re hostile?

Sam: Do you have the device I asked for? The one from my pod?

Sanda: Bring it to him.

Sam: Before I left, I downloaded as much information as I could from the Castle of Lions. For ten thousand years, Zarkon has been expanding his empire, conquering vast swaths of the universe and harnessing its quintessence in order to survive and maintain power.

Sanda: Quintessence?

Sam: It’s an energy generated by living beings.

Bearded officer: You mean certain alien beings?

Sam: No. Quintessence is within us all.

Bearded officer: Impossible. We’ve never come across anything like that.

Sam: Maybe because this is beyond the realm of what you think you know. Have you ever traveled faster than the speed of light? Have you ever seen a living creature bio-hack nature? Have you ever come face to face with an alien warlord who’s older than the entirety of human civilization? Well, I have. And I assure you, it’s all real. Following our abduction, Shiro, Matt, and I were taken by Galra scouts to the main fleet where we were interrogated. After that, we were split up. I spent the next year at a remote outpost, working alongside other captive scientists researching and creating new technologies to be used by the Galra. I later learned that Shiro and Matt had been sent to fight in the gladiator pits. Matt would’ve been killed, but Shiro, he saved my son’s life. Later, Matt was rescued from a work camp by alien rebels. He now works alongside them, fighting back against the Galra. During his time on Zarkon’s command ship, Shiro discovered that Zarkon was looking for a super weapon hidden on Earth. Shiro escaped to get the weapon first.

Iverson: That must be when Lieutenant Shirogane returned to Earth.

Sam: That’s right.

Iverson: Following Garrison protocol, we placed Lieutenant Takeshi Shirogane under mandatory quarantine, but he managed to escape with the aid of several Garrison cadets. We later found out the one known as Pidge Gunderson was your daughter, Katie Holt, who had illegally enrolled in the cadet program under an assumed identity. The following day, the Blue Lion appeared on our radars. Long-range sensors tracked the UFO to the edge of our solar system traveling at speeds we’ve never achieved. It disappeared along with the ship. That was the last activity we had until your pod arrived on Earth a month ago.

Glasses officer: So that Blue Lion, that was the super weapon?

Sam: Part of it. The super weapon is known as Voltron. It’s made up of five mechanical lions. As fate would have it, when Shiro crashed on Earth, those same Garrison students that got him out of quarantine became the pilots, or Paladins, of the five lions of Voltron. The Paladins are doing everything they can to protect the universe from the Galra. But we must begin to bolster Earth’s defenses now, or we do not stand a chance. War is coming.

Iverson: So this Zarkon, you think he’ll attack Earth?

Sam: No. Zarkon is dead, but the Galra Empire is not stopping. There are factions fighting for control and looking to dominate their own sections of the universe. Without a clear leader, things are worse than before.

Iverson: So what do we do?

Sam: We hold a conference and announce what we know to the world.

Sanda: Absolutely not.

Sam: They need to know. And if we can bring the world’s top minds together, it might mean the difference--

Sanda: If we told the world there was an imminent attack, we’d set off a global panic.

Sam: But there will be an attack.

Sanda: When? How will the attack happen? Is there a plan to stop it? None of these things have been discussed. None of these things have been thought through, and until they are, we’re not going to be responsible for sending the world into disarray.

Sam: If you would allow me to contact Katie and the Paladins right now, we could begin to answer those questions.

Sanda: Very well.

Sam: This is Sam Holt calling the Paladins of Voltron. I’m on Earth. Please respond. Pidge, this is Dad. Come in.

Colleen: Katie, it’s your mom. Are you there?

Sam: The transmission’s not being received. There might be interference. We need to keep trying.

Sanda: We can have someone send out regular transmissions around the clock until we hear from them. But in the meantime, we stay quiet.

Sam: Very well, but we should at least begin preparations.

Iverson: We already have.

[Cut to an elevator in the Galaxy Garrison.]

Iverson: We’ve been studying the ship that Shiro crash landed in for the last year, and we’ve begun research on the ship you arrived in. We thought the technology would be exactly the same, but that’s not the case.

Sam: That’s because one is Galran and the other Altean, created by two different alien species. So, did you get it airborne?

Iverson: Unfortunately, no. We got the nav system and other instruments turned on by powering them externally, but the power it would take to fly them is unsustainable.

Sam: Hmm. The crystal must have been damaged on entry if you couldn’t power it.

Sanda: Crystal?

Sam: It’s the main energy source for most alien spacecraft. If you haven’t been able to get it running, then what have you been doing with it?

Sanda: We created a simulator based on the controls so that when we figure out how to integrate the tech into our own ships, we’ll be ready to fly.

Iverson: Commander Holt, I’d like to introduce you to the best pilots to come out of the Galaxy Garrison in the last year. These are officers Griffin, Rizavi, Kinkade, and Leifsdottir. They’re young, but their ability to adapt to new flying techniques is a step above.

Griffin: On behalf of my squadron, it’s an honor to meet you, sir.

Iverson: I’ve got them running drills in the simulator five days a week. They can take just about anything you can throw at them.

Sam: Good. Now it’s time to get them out of the simulator and flying these things for real.

Rizavi: But they aren’t working, sir.

Sam: Then we better get them working.

[Scene change to outside the Galaxy Garrison.]

Griffin: No way.

Rizavi: When can we fly them, sir?

Sam: You’re gonna be flying ships much faster and much more maneuverable than this in no time.

Rizavi: Sir?

Sam: This is just an Altean shuttle pod. The engine and functions are extremely basic. If we’re going to defend the planet against the Galra, we’re going to need better ships.

[Scene change to the Galaxy Garrison meeting room.]

Sam: When I was enslaved by the Galra, I was forced to work on technologies that are a hundred times more complex than a simple pod. And after I regrouped with the Paladins, I continued learning alongside the Olkari, some of the most amazing engineers I’ve ever had the honor to work with. They taught me everything I know about integrating technologies. These are Altean schematics. We’re gonna use these to upgrade our weapons, build new ships, and create a defense for Earth. Engineers will be in charge of salvaging what they can from the pods. Repurposing parts is of the utmost importance. Our pilots must get out of the simulators and into real ships powered by crystal technology if they hope to stand a chance against Galran battle tactics. It’s gonna be a steep learning curve, but I know they’ll get it. The Garrison will become the epicenter of technological advances beyond what this world has ever seen. In the meantime, we will continue our attempts to contact Matt and the Paladins. It’s imperative that we find out what’s happening beyond our galaxy. There is a war coming, and we need to be prepared.

[Scene change to another flashback, labeled “One year later…”.]

Griffin: Sorry, guess I’m too quick.

Rizavi: Not for my micro-pulse boosters!

Sam: How’s the response time compared to the previous generation?

Rizavi: Instantaneous, sir. It’s like it knows what I wanna do before I think it.

Iverson: It’s amazing what you’ve done in just over a year.

Sam: We’ve done it together.

Unnamed female officer: Sir, you’re needed in the communications room immediately.

[Scene change to the Garrison’s communications room.]

Colleen: It’s Matt. He contacted us.

Matt: Mom, is that Dad?

Colleen: He just got here.

Sam: Matt, are you okay? I’ve been trying to contact you and Katie for months. Where are you? What’s going on?

Matt: So, you didn’t hear yet?

Sam: Hear what?

Matt: Mom, Dad, no one has seen or heard from the Paladins in the last six months.

Colleen: No…

Sam: Katie… What happened?

Matt: No one is really sure. There are rumors that Voltron fought Lotor, then they just disappeared.

Sam: So, they could still be alive.

Matt: No one knows. But, Dad, listen to me. You need to stop broadcasting from Earth. Members of the Blade of Marmora and the Voltron Coalition are being hunted. Our army has been all but wiped out. The situation is bad out here, and the last thing we need is to put Earth in danger.

Sam: But how will I get ahold of you?

Matt: I have to go. I’ll contact you when I’m safe. I love you both.

[Scene change to Admiral Sanda’s office.]

Sam: It’s time. We need to tell the rest of the world the situation.

Sanda: Sam, I’m sorry to hear about your daughter, but we can’t get off course.

Sam: If we want to finish the IGF-ATLAS, we need more resources and more manpower. The world needs to come together so that we can take the fight to the Galra.

Sanda: You’re too emotional right now and you’re not thinking straight. We’re not building ships to go fight aliens in different galaxies.

Sam: But they need us!

Sanda: The citizens of Earth need us.

Sam: And yet you refuse to tell them the truth!

Iverson: Maybe we should talk about this later.

Sanda: We can talk later, but my decision will be the same. We’re not telling the people of Earth, and we’re not fighting in someone else’s war.

[Scene change to the Holt’s private quarters.]

Colleen: They’re gonna be okay.

Sam: They will be okay because they’re strong just like their mother.

Colleen: We’ve gotta do something. We can’t just sit here while our children are in danger.

Sam: We’re doing everything we can with the limited personnel we have.

Colleen: Then we’ll get more personnel and more resources. The admiral is making decisions for the rest of the world. I say let them make decisions for themselves.

Sam: You wanna tell the world? The repercussions could be serious. They could kick us out of the Garrison.

Colleen: It’s risky, but that ship may never get done otherwise. And I’ll do whatever it takes to see my kids again.

Sam: Okay.

[Cut to Sam and Colleen walking into the communications hub.]

Sam: You’re sure you wanna do this?

Colleen: I’m sure.

Sam: Alright, I’ll be broadcasting on every channel. You ready?

Colleen: Citizens of Earth, my name is Colleen Holt. I am the wife of famed astronaut, Sam Holt, and mother of Matt Holt. Two years ago, it was believed that they died during a deep space mission. That was a lie. My husband, along with his crew, were abducted by an alien race known as the Galra, a fact that was covered up by the Galaxy Garrison.

[Cut to Admiral Sanda’s office.]

Unnamed soldier: Admiral, you need to see this. They’re broadcasting on every channel.

Colleen: A year ago, my husband returned to Earth, but the Garrison forced him to stay in hiding.

Sanda’s voice: I’m afraid we can’t allow Sam to leave the premises. We’re not prepared to tell the world about the existence of alien life just yet.

Sam: But I refuse to stay hidden any longer. We desperately need your help. Not every alien species is friendly, and Planet Earth must be protected. Here at the Garrison, we’ve been working on creating advanced ships and weaponry.

Sanda: Get the rest of the guards.

Colleen: The footage you are about to see is real.

Sam: These are the Galra. If they find Earth, they will attack, and we must be prepared.

Griffin: Huh. Guess the cat’s out of the bag, huh?

Colleen: But there are those that have spent years protecting us. They are the Paladins of Voltron, and they come from Earth.

Hunk: Ugh, I can’t wait to be back home. I’m not really sure when that’ll be, but when I get there, I really want Uncle Filo to make some of his amazing pork lau lau. I can almost taste it now.

Lance: Hi, Mom, hi, Dad. It’s me, Lance. I’m here in outer space somewhere. I, um, uh, don’t really know what to say. Uh, I miss you guys. I miss you guys a lot.

Pidge: Mom, I’m so sorry I left without saying goodbye. I think of you every day.

Colleen: Now is the time to come together. To protect our world, we must be united under one cause.

Sanda: Override the lock. Lock them up.

Iverson: For what?

Sanda: For divulging top secret information.

Sam: Now, now, Admiral. Don’t get emotional.

Sanda: You disregarded a direct order.

Sam: You held me at the Garrison against my will. You lied about my death. You wanna control every situation, but face it. You can’t. The world needed to know this, and now that they do, it will be better for us. Right now, the world needs a leader that’s not afraid to face facts and you’re not it.

Sanda: And you think you are?

Sam: Yes.

Sanda: Get these traitors out of here.

Iverson: Stop. If Sam goes, I go too.

Glasses officer: Admiral Sanda, calls are coming in from all over the world. Citizens want to know how they can help. It’s incredible.

Sam: It worked.

[Scene change to the desert outside of the Galaxy Garrison.]

Sam: That’s the last one.

Griffin: Think it’ll work?

Sam: Well, particle barriers are tricky, but if my calculations are right, these just might act as a perimeter. What’s that?

Griffin: I don’t know. I didn’t think we were doing any test flights today.

Sam: They’re here. Activate the particle barrier immediately.

Woman: Are you sure, sir? We haven’t run diagnostics--

Sam: Do it, now!

End.

#voltron #vld #transcript #lance #allura #hunk #pidge #keith #sam holt #colleen holt #commander iverson #admiral sanda #james griffin #rizavi #leifsdottir

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ft-dads-au · 4 years

Text

Spellbound - Chapter 2

Shadowlight Week 2020 Prompt: Fall Pairing: Sting x Rogue

A Collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

AO3 | Prev: Ch 1

Chapter 2: Fall

The sound of the backpack zipper opening seemed louder than it should due to the library being so silent, but the guy in front of Rogue didn’t seem to notice, muttering to himself as he emptied what must have been half its contents in search of something.

Rogue watched in silent fascination as a small pile of receipts, empty food wrappers, used paper products, and a few jewels of loose change littered the previously pristine table, finally ending when the desired item was found. A familiar book, one which he had just put away in his own neatly organized backpack, sat in front of the stranger.

Foreign accent, tall, blond, wearing crop tops… As Rogue observed him more closely, he was excited to realize he’d seen this guy before.

“You’re in my Bio class!”

“Really? I didn’t notice, classes here are so much bigger than I’m used to. The name is Sting Eucliffe,” he extended his hand out to Rogue in greeting, waiting patiently for him to shake it.

Rogue was amused by the formality, but he shook it nonetheless, figuring it must be more common wherever he was from.

“I’m Rogue Fullbuster,” he introduced himself, “Nice to meet you.”

“Same!” Sting beamed, again with that smile that was brighter than Rogue’s future, “Did you already do the worksheet?”

Rogue groaned, putting his head on the table for dramatic effect. The sound of Sting’s laughter surrounded him, making him lift his head again to see what Sting looked like when he laughed. Rogue should probably shush him, but he didn’t want to.

“It’s not that bad,” Sting commented, opening the book to the chapter Rogue had just closed.

“Easy for you to say,” Rogue grumbled, “I’m a creative writing major, all this stuff is just gibberish to me.”

Sting gazed at him in surprise, “Why are you even taking it?”

“It was the only open class that would fulfill the requirement,” Rogue sighed, cursing himself yet again for waiting til the last minute to pick his classes.

“That’s rough,” Sting commiserated, “I can try help you if you want?”

“That would be amazing!”

“Sure,” Sting grabbed his book and moved to the seat next to Rogue, once again sifting through the contents of the backpack that Rogue had begun to consider more of a trash bin until he retrieved his laptop and opened it.

While it was busy booting up, Rogue got distracted by the scent of whatever cologne or body spray Sting was wearing. It smelled nice, although he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. All he knew was that it was pressing buttons that should be left unpressed if he ever wanted to get that biology assignment done.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” he finally managed to tear himself away from his thoughts when he realized Sting was talking to him.

Everything about this guy was just a little too something, too loud, too messy, too handsome, a little voice inside his head added smugly, and he certainly couldn’t deny it.

“I was just asking how far you got?” Sting asked once again, looking slightly amused.

“Honestly?” Rogue grimaced, hating to admit he was having so much trouble, “I entered my name?”

And there was that laugh again, warm and full of mirth, lifting Rogue’s previous mood effortlessly. “Okay, uhm, let’s start at the first problem then.”

Sting began to explain the concepts that minutes ago had been incomprehensible. To his amazement, Rogue found that once he was able to concentrate on the words rather than the man who was saying them and his cute accent, he was actually able to understand some of it. Sting never lost patience with him, only stopping once to chuckle, “Wow, you really suck at this,” before launching into another explanation.

An hour later, they had both finished the homework. Rogue looked out the large library windows, not at all surprised to see it was already dark.

“I don’t even know how to begin to thank you,” he admitted, “there was no way I would have gotten that done without your help. I feel like I should make it up to you somehow.”

Sting was about to reply when his stomach decided to do so for him. With a slight tint to his cheeks, he asked, “I don’t suppose you know any good places to eat around here? The food at the dorm kind of-”

“Sucks,” they both said in unison.

“Let me buy you dinner, it’s the least I can do,” Rogue suggested, even though they’d been working on homework it was the most fun he’d had in a long time.

“Alright, I gotta warn you though, I eat a lot,” Sting had already begun to stuff his book and laptop back into his backpack, along with all the other items that he’d piled on the table.

Rogue wasn’t too worried, he ate a lot also. He had already put his stuff away, so he led the way to the library exit, mildly surprised to see Sting hurry ahead of him to open the door, holding it open until Rogue walked through.

Well, that was considerate, Rogue thought, once again flashing to his dream and the traits his dream self had written on the strips of paper. What had they been?

Oh, yeah, that’s right. Rogue could remember quite clearly the one that said nice ass, but that wasn’t something he was just going to check out right here and now...

That thought lasted a whopping 3 seconds before Rogue could feel the corners of his lips tugging upwards because who was he kidding, he totally was. And it was easy enough to be subtle about it. All he had to do was reach for his pocket to grab his pack of cigarettes- which he was going to do anyway- and pretend he was making sure nothing would fall out when in reality, he was looking just a few extra inches to his side.

Yep, it was pretty nice, and the rest of him wasn’t bad either. Rogue cupped his hand around the cigarette sheltering it from the wind while he lit it, already considering where to go for dinner.

He noticed the slight wrinkling of Sting’s nose at his smoking, but if it bothered him, he chose not to say anything, so Rogue decided to engage him in conversation.

“Anything you’re in the mood for?”

“I don’t suppose you know any good places that serve seafood?” Sting asked eagerly.

“Seafood?” Rogue was taken aback, that was definitely not what he’d been expecting to hear. “Uhm, I think there might be a place a few blocks away from here, my parents used to take us there.”

Rogue kept his cigarette in his mouth as he did a quick search on his phone for the restaurant he was thinking of, relieved to see he’d been right, the place was only a few blocks away.

“Looks like you’re in luck,” Rogue said, leading the way to the address listed on the site.

“Thanks,” Sting fell in step beside him, looking decidedly chipper.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Rogue smirked, “it might be terrible.”

“Can’t be any worse than what I’ve been eating lately,” Sting muttered, “Never thought I’d see the day when I’d tire of junk food.”

“I feel ‘ya, ever since my parents moved I’ve been eating crap too. Should’ve let my mom teach me how to cook when she offered,” Rogue laughed, remembering his few disastrous attempts at cooking for himself. “So, where are you from anyway?”

“Edolas,” Sting replied, and taking in Rogue’s blank expression added, “It’s an island to the east of here.”

“An island, huh? This must be pretty different for you,” Rogue commented, “What do you think of Magnolia so far?”

“I haven’t really got a chance to see very much of it yet.”

“Oh, that’s too bad, maybe I can help with that,” Rogue offered, hoping that Sting would take him up on it so that he could see more of him.

They chatted on the way to the restaurant, Rogue asking questions about Edolas and receiving responses that he only half-listened to, too intent on watching the way Sting’s eyes lit up when he was excited, or the way he used his hands to talk. Much too soon, they had arrived at the restaurant, which was a bit fancier than he remembered.

Enough so that he worried they might be sent away, given Sting’s outfit. However, the greeter only gave them the briefest of glances when he asked for a table, replying in an apologetic voice, “I’m sorry sir, we are reservation only and we are unfortunately all booked up for this evening. Perhaps you can join us another time?”

Rogue thanked her and went looking for Sting, who had somehow disappeared from his side. He found him standing in front of a lobster tank, which was full of the crustaceans, each with their claws held shut by a band.

He couldn’t help a smile, Sting was talking to the lobsters contained within, arms once again moving a mile a minute, but it was his words that he found amusing.

“Aren’t you a pretty fella?” Sting cooed at the largest lobster Rogue could ever remember seeing. “Bet you look even better inside my belly.”

“Making friends?” Rogue teased, ignoring the looks they were getting from the other people who were waiting to be seated.

“Oh, haha,” Sting replied, hand moving to his neck, “Never seen one that big before.”

“That’s what he said,” Rogue replied out of habit, but he was surprised to see Sting stare at him curiously.

“Oh, that’s just something my friends-, “Rogue began to explain but thought better of it, “You know what? Nevermind, stupid joke.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that joke before,” Sting clarified, “I was just surprised that you used he.”

“Is that a problem?” Rogue tensed slightly, he thought he’d gotten a certain vibe from his friend earlier, but maybe he’d been wrong?

“I’d hope not,” Sting laughed, turning back to the lobster tank and mouthing Thank You before cheerfully adding, “I’m still going to totally eat you, though.”

“I’m sorry to say, you’re not,” Rogue announced, “They’re booked for the evening.”

“Oh man, that sucks,” Sting whined, “I was looking forward to it.”

“I think the place next door sells fish sandwiches,” Rogue cajoled, trying to get out of the restaurant before they caused a scene.

“Not what I had in mind,” Sting pouted but seemed to consider Rogue’s offer nonetheless, finally turning back to the lobster tank and pointing at it. “Don’t look so smug Sheldon, this isn’t over,” before following Rogue out the door.

The place next door did indeed sell fish sandwiches, along with a host of other things, but it was also extremely noisy. Rogue didn’t mind all that much, he was used to Fairy Tail on weekends after all, and few things were louder than that, but Sting looked disappointed.

They put in their order at the counter and sat down at a table, waiting for their number to be called. Music was blaring from the speakers, and people were yelling in an attempt to be heard over it.

“This is worse than my dorm,” Sting yelled across the table.

Rogue shrugged, shouting back, “My band plays the bar circuit on weekends, I’m kind of used to it.”

“I know, I saw you guys play last weekend.”

“Oh? What did you think?” Rogue asked, he knew his guitar playing was decent, but he was always nervous to hear of what people thought.

Their number was called just as Sting was about to answer, and Rogue couldn’t blame him for hurrying to fetch their food, considering they were both starving, but it still made Rogue wonder if he’d been avoiding his question.

They ate their sandwiches, attempting some small talk, but as most of it got lost in the noise, they soon gave up and tried to get out of there as quickly as possible. In a record 15 minutes, they were back outside, and Rogue noticed Sting gazing at the other restaurant with longing.

“Fish sandwich not up to your standards?” he teased.

“It was alright,” Sting muttered.

“I sure hope so, you ate five of them!” Rogue laughed, “I thought that lady was gonna pass out when she saw how much food we ordered.

“Yeah, that was kind of funny,” Sting admitted.

Rogue looked at his watch and noticed it was getting late. Too bad it was Wednesday, else he could’ve asked Sting if he wanted to get some drinks. The dinner hadn’t exactly gone the way he’d hoped. “We’ll just have to make a reservation next time,” he suggested, already thinking of a retake at the fancier, more atmospheric seafood restaurant.

“Next time?” Sting raised an eyebrow, “I like the sound of that. Does that mean I can get your number?”

“Sure, but only if I can get yours too. I don’t think I’ll pass Bio without you,” Rogue retorted.

“Not the answer I was looking for, but it’ll do for now,” Sting winked, handing Rogue his phone so he could plug in his number.

0-0

October 10, 2012

Although Rogue was used to having an audience by now, it felt kind of weird to have a single spectator during a rehearsal. He wasn’t the type to enjoy being in the spotlight all that much, but when they played in crowded student bars, he’d quickly get swept up in the atmosphere and forget everything but the songs they were playing. That proved to be somewhat more difficult with someone as distracting as Sting watching them, as even though he was casually doing some homework, he’d break into a wide smile every time his eyes met Rogue’s, which happened, well…quite a lot of times.

And if that wasn’t enough of a distraction already, Rogue could practically feel Totomaru’s eyes burning into him, and he could tell by the fierceness of his drum playing that he wasn’t too happy about the situation.

Maybe he should have thought twice before suggesting Sting come along to band practice, but then again, it shouldn’t be such a big deal. The only reason why he’d come up with the idea was that they had agreed to study at Rogue’s place after, since the library had been so busy lately. If Maru wanted to have a jealous fit over that, it shouldn’t be his problem, right? They’d broken up, he was free to do whatever he wanted.

With that in mind, and because he didn’t want to get teased for being distracted later, Rogue doubled up on his efforts, and...okay, maybe he wanted to show off a little as well. It proved to be good motivation, and soon those pretty blue eyes became a muse rather than a distraction.

The love songs they often practiced suddenly took on new meaning, their words resonating as they flowed through him, making it difficult for him to meet Sting’s eyes, too afraid of exposing the feelings that he didn’t dare give a name to so soon.

At any rate, they played the stars from the sky, and satisfied with their progress, Gajeel called for a smoke break. As Rogue put his guitar away and grabbed his jacket, he was surprised to see that Sting was also putting on his coat, “Fresh air sounds good,” he smiled, turning to Juvia as he asked, “aren’t you coming?”

“The air is never fresh around those three,” Juvia snorted, and she grabbed a sketchbook and a pencil case from her bag to keep herself busy, as she always did.

They walked through the building to the alley where they smoked most of the time, so they wouldn’t block the sidewalk in front of the entrance.

“Are you really that cold?” Rogue frowned at Sting, who buried the lower half of his face inside his scarf, pulled the hood of his winter coat over his head, and shoved his hands inside his pockets. The big fluffy fur trim that encircled his face made him look like he was about to scale Mt. Hakobe, instead of merely joining Rogue in the alley for his smoke break and he found that kind of adorable.

“I’m from an island,” Sting whined, his voice sounding muffled from behind the scarf, “It’s so much more colder over here, we usually don’t get these kinds of temperatures until it’s almost Christmas. How are you two still wearing only a shirt and a leather jacket?”

“You should see my brother, he’s probably still walking around in just a t-shirt,” Rogue chuckled, lighting his cigarette and passing the lighter to Gajeel, who was holding out an open hand. “Does it ever snow in Edolas?”

He thought about the fun they could have once it was really starting to get cold, perhaps introducing Sting to some things that were entirely new to him. That is, assuming he wouldn’t have resorted to hibernation.

“It does, but like, very rarely? Maybe we get a day or two, or a week, at most? Usually, temperatures are well above the freezing level again by the end of January.”

“Heh, just wait until you’ve experienced a Magnolian January,” Gajeel snorted, exchanging a knowing look with Rogue and Totomaru, who lit up a cigarette as well, “You’ll be claiming we’ve hit an ice age.” He held his cigarette between his lips as he reached out to touch the fur trim on Sting’s jacket, his eyebrows knitted together in an apprehensive frown. “At least you’re already dressed for one, ’s this shit real?”

“Eww, of course not!” Sting exclaimed, slightly offended but seemingly not minding the intrusion of his personal space.

“Good.”

Gajeel backed off again, satisfied with that answer, and Rogue breathed a sigh of relief at the thought that they’d all been spared of one of his seemingly endless rants. But on the subject of personal space, Rogue considered his definitely invaded when Maru moved closer to him, putting his hand on Rogue’s shoulder.

“So, Sting-” Maru blew a cloud of smoke in Sting’s direction, “have you done a lot of sightseeing already?”

Waving the smoke away, Sting shook his head, “Not yet, I’m just starting to find my way around the university and stuff, but I was planning to do that during fall break.”

“Cool. You should take a day trip to Hargeon Port, oh, and try one of those canal rides here in Magnolia.” Looking at Rogue and giving his shoulder a squeeze, Maru continued, “We did that on some of our dates. It was really great, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it was nice,” Rogue agreed with a forced smile.

They’d had a great time together, he couldn’t deny that, and even if he’d ended their relationship, he still valued their friendship. But Maru made it no secret that he still had feelings for him, and Rogue was getting more and more frustrated by his constant attempts at getting back together. He just didn’t know what to do to make him understand that without snapping and possibly causing a big fight between them.

He calmly removed Maru’s arm, taking the last hit from his cigarette before dropping it on the ground and stepping on it, “Let’s go back inside, we still have studying to do.”

“Sure, book nerd,” Maru teased, ruffling his hair.

“Knock it, skunk!” The familiar nickname slipped out before he knew it as Rogue tried but failed to swat Maru’s hand away, bringing him back to times when things were a lot less complicated between them. Maybe, hopefully, those times would eventually return, when Maru would move on just like Rogue had done.

“Come on, wouldn’t want you to freeze to death,” he joked at Sting, sticking out his tongue at the dramatic pout he received in response.

They went back inside and played a few more songs, the newer ones they hadn’t gotten a chance to practice last week since the studio had to close for repairs due to the fire. All the while, Rogue was dying to leave, for two reasons. He wanted to study, not just because that meant spending time alone with Sting, but because midterms were coming up. But the main reason why he wanted to get them out of there had everything to do with the way Sting was getting awkward under Maru’s scrutinizing stares.

He was more than relieved when the song they’d agreed to be their last had ended. Flashing Sting an apologetic smile, he quickly put his guitar into the carrier and grabbed the rest of his stuff. “See you guys next week,” he called over his shoulder as he led the way out of the studio, walking a little faster than usual.

“Sorry it took so long, we have a gig this weekend,” he explained, searching his pockets for his car keys, “Shall we get some food delivered? We can get started while we wait.”

“Yeah, good idea, I’m starving!”

“So, three large pizzas then?” Rogue grinned, already used to the ridiculous amounts of food Sting put away regularly.

Sting’s face wrinkled in thought, “You think that’ll be enough?”

“Gotta leave some room for dessert,” Rogue shrugged smugly, “Unless, of course, you don’t want any ice cream, or lava cakes, or…” Me, his thoughts happily supplied.

“There’s always room for dessert,” Sting replied very seriously, “it’s the most important meal of the day.”

“Dessert is not a meal!” Rogue laughed, and although Sting was trying to keep a straight face, he couldn’t hide the twinkle in his eyes.

“Yes it is. I say so,” Sting claimed, losing the ability to hold back his laughter before he’d finished the sentence.

They got into the car, immediately bickering over the music that played on the radio, and Rogue was amazed at how at home he already felt around Sting like they had known each other for ages rather than just a short week.

0-0

They were still laughing when Rogue opened the door to his house, although he wasn’t sure what they were even laughing about, he just knew it felt nice. He took off his shoes and showed Sting where to put his so as not to get any dirt on the floor.

Rogue led the way to the dining room table, where they both dumped their backpacks and Rogue’s guitar.

“So this is where you live,” Sting commented as he looked around.

“Yep, oh bathroom is that way if you need to go,” Rogue pointed at the door to the half bathroom that was located just off the kitchen while he looked up the number for the pizza place he liked.

“Don’t forget to get the lava cakes, “Sting urged, tossing his credit card at Rogue, “My treat this time.”

Just to mess with him, Rogue pretended to forget the lava cakes when he got the pizza place on the line and placed their order, only mentioning them at the very last second. The poor soul on the other end of the line probably didn’t know what hit them when Sting’s gape of horror had Rogue in tears, wheezing as he listed his address and managed a “See you later.”

As soon as he’d hung up and put his phone away, he knew he was going to pay for it. Sting came charging at him with one of the soft pillows from the couch, delivering a few well-placed blows as they tumbled to the floor.

Still laughing, Rogue held his arms up in mock defense from the continuing onslaught, “I give, I give!”

Sting let up, blue eyes twinkling with mischief as he leaned ever closer before grabbing the pillow and getting up, leaving Rogue feeling incredibly disappointed. “Thought so!” he grinned victoriously, holding out his hand to help Rogue off the floor.

Rogue released a sigh, playing it off as a side effect from his laughing fit, “Alright, let me show you around the house, I doubt you’ll be focused enough to study with lava cakes on your mind.”

There wasn’t that much to show since Sting had already seen the hallway and the living room, which crossed into the dining room, but Rogue needed something to drag himself down to earth again. He showed Sting every room in the house except for his parents’ bedroom and their bathroom, finally ending the short tour in the basement.

“Guest bedroom-” Rogue opened the door to the room his dad and Gildarts had built for Cana when she, Gray and Rogue were in their teens, so she could have her own room and Gray didn’t have to share his with Rogue anymore. It hadn’t been used in a few years, and over time it had been filled with all sorts of old junk that his parents had meant to sort out and either donate or throw away.

“Still more tidier than my room at the dorm,” Sting chuckled sheepishly, “at least here you can still see the floor.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Rogue muttered under his breath before turning around to his favorite part of the house, “And last but not least, the entertainment room -,” he was about to say more when Sting interrupted him.

“You have a pool table?! That’s so cool, can we play a game while we wait for the pizza?” Sting asked hopefully.

“Sure,” Rogue shrugged, setting up the table while Sting grabbed some cue sticks, “You any good?”

“I’m alright,” Sting conceded, handing Rogue a stick while grabbing some chalk and applying it to the tip of his own.

“Well then, show me what you’ve got,” Rogue taunted, completely trash-talking cause regardless of owning a table he was only average at it.

“Alright,” Sting furrowed his brow in concentration and hit the cue ball as hard as he could, but even though it made an impressive sound, none of the balls went into any of the pockets. He bit his lip, looking at the floor. Clearly, that hadn’t gone like he’d wanted.

Rogue laughed, “Well that was, uhm… something. Wanna try again?”

When Sting nodded, he reset the balls and stood back. This time it went much better, and they started a proper game with Sting calling stripes.

“So, uhm, can I ask you something?” Sting was fiddling with his cue stick making Rogue awfully curious as to what he wanted to know.

“Could I even stop you?” Rogue snorted good-naturedly as he set up for his next shot.

Sting chuckled but wouldn’t meet his eyes, “What’s the deal with the drummer? He was definitely shooting daggers at me earlier.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that,” Rogue aimed the cue ball at the nearest solid ball, attempting to get it into one of the side pockets, not at all surprised when he missed. With a sigh, he added, “We used to date, but I broke it off. He’s just having a hard time accepting that.”

“I thought it might be something like that,” Sting commented, “Isn’t it hard to be in the same band?”

“He’s a good drummer, I’m kind of hoping he’ll get over it sooner rather than later,” Rogue heard the doorbell ring and put his stick away to head upstairs. “Guess that’s game.”

Sting followed, needing to sign the slip for their food. Once the door was opened, he moaned happily at the smell of chocolate wafting towards him, and if Rogue didn’t know better, he would have thought the idiot was getting ready to hug the delivery man.

“Down boy,” he muttered, feeling a tad jealous for no discernible reason, even as Sting looked back and grinned at him, arms laden with boxes.

“Food!” he cheered, carrying the boxes to the dining room while Rogue got some paper plates and sodas ready.

By the time he brought them in, Sting was already inhaling the first pizza. Twenty minutes later, there was nothing left, and after doing a quick cleanup, it was time to study.

“Do you want me to play some music or something?” Rogue asked.

“No, this is great,” Sting answered, looking down at his phone. “I work better without it, it’s one of the reasons I go to the library, there’s always music playing in our suite, and I feel like a jerk to ask them to turn-” he stopped in the middle of the sentence as he looked at his phone once again and started laughing.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, you should see this,” Sting laughed, “my roommate just sent me this great TikTok!”

“After we get some studying done,” Rogue reminded him.

“Right!” Sting gave him a mock salute, grabbing his backpack and opening it up to grab his laptop. “Oh hey, can I get your wireless password?”

Rogue tried to ignore the amount of trash that fell out of the backpack in the process, but it was a losing battle. “Do you want me to show you where the trash bin is?”

“Hmm?” Sting peered at him absently, still in the process of booting up his laptop.

“Nevermind,” Rogue sighed, entering the password and sitting down with his own laptop. He had a feeling that it wouldn’t make much of a difference if he got Sting to tidy up the backpack now, it would probably be just as messy again within a few days. Sting just wasn’t a neat person, which was just about the only flaw Rogue had found in him so far.

“We should start with Bio before we get tired,” Sting suggested, pulling his book out and opening it to the chapter they had been covering that week. For the next hour, Sting went over everything they were supposed to have learned, explaining it so that Rogue was able to understand it.

He took lots of notes, knowing he might forget when he had to study without Sting there, but once they were done and had each moved on to different subjects, Rogue mostly ogled his new friend. Biology was his weakest subject, and he couldn’t help but be fascinated by the way Sting’s forehead furrowed in concentration when he read something he didn’t quite understand, or how his tongue peeked out when he was doing math problems. It was very distracting, and Rogue couldn’t help but wonder what it would have felt like if Sting had kissed him earlier, rather than just teasing him with the pillows.

“Aren’t you going to study?” Sting interrupted his train of thought, which was probably a good thing.

“I sort of am, I’m thinking about this story I have to write for one of my classes,” Rogue lied, having not done anything but stare for the last thirty minutes or so.

“Funny, your thinking looks a lot like checking me out,” Sting grinned.

“Someone’s a little self-centered,” Rogue retorted, reluctant to admit that Sting had pretty much hit the nail right on the head.

Sting snickered but chose not to comment, going back to his book and making exaggerated expressions every few minutes until he was once again distracted by his phone.

Rogue made a point of opening a book and staring into it, embarrassed at having been caught. Would it have been so bad to admit it? Time passed quickly as they both tried to get their work done, and much too soon, it was time to drive Sting back to the dorms.

On the way back, he thought about how pleasant it had felt to have company, even if they had studied for most of it. Maybe he should invite Sting over to study more often, midterms were coming up soon, and he’d definitely need help with Biology.

“You’re a lifesaver,” Sting announced with great enthusiasm, “I got so much stuff done! It would have taken me days to get that done in my room or even the library.”

“Midterms are coming up,” Rogue dangled an unspoken invitation, waiting to see how Sting reacted.

“Oh that would be great, even only for a day or two,” Sting beamed, “That would be so much help.”

Maybe it was because of how much fun they’d had, or the way Sting made him forget so many things that had used to bother him. All Rogue knew was that his infatuation with Sting continued to grow in leaps and bounds, making him question whether he could possibly already be falling in love with the exchange student.

He wasn’t really the type of person to be spontaneous, but the reality was that he didn’t have a lot of time to figure out his feelings, not when Sting would return home at the end of the school year.

So before he could overthink it or let himself chicken out, he blurted out, “Why don’t you stay with me for exam week?”

#fairy tail #ftdadsau #shadowlightweek2020 #stingue #ftlgbtales #fics #update #prompt: fall

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shikastemari · 5 years

Text

— revenge; shikatemadai. ࿐ྂ。

written for Shikadai Week 2019 | day 06 - family

words | 1412

rating | K

warning | none

a/n | my last admission for Shikadai Week! thank you so much for hosting such an amazing week @shikanaradai!

masterlist in bio

Shikamaru controlled his breath as he could hear the enemies’ footsteps.

He pondered his chances against the two opponents slowly walking towards where he was hiding. Both were extremely strong and Shikamaru doubted he could beat them at the same time. The taller one was a war hero, known by being one of the cruelest ninjas the Villages had seen, and the other one, although a little young, seemed to have a promising career in the shinobi world.

The Nara had no idea what he would do to escape the situation.

“He’s around somewhere. Pay attention!” the most experienced one said.

“Ya,” came as a response and Shikamaru smiled as they continued to advance.

His best shot was to trap both of them with his Jutsu and wait for them to give up

Shikamaru prepared himself to jump in front of them and catch both off guard with his Shadow Jutsu. Counting down to three, he threw himself in his enemies' path, already using his hands seal to trap them.

But it didn’t go as expected.

He only managed to trap the older one, which smirked to him mischievously. It was an ambush, and Shikamaru ran directly towards it.

Before he could expect, the tiny sidekick jumped on his back and poke his throat with his a little fan. Shikamaru let go from the enemy in front of him, but instead of throwing his hands up as a surrender gesture, he grabbed his attacker’s legs, keeping him from falling off.

“Is that all you can do?” The woman in front of him folded her arms, raising one of her eyebrows and a smug grin plastered on her face.

He rolled his eyes at her. “Dai, what did dad say about pressing too hard against people’s throat? If it was a real kunai, you’d kill the guy before you could make any question.”

“You lost!” A 5-year-old Shikadai wrapped his tiny arms around Shikamaru’s neck and giggles erupted from the young boy’s mouth.

“You’re getting old, Nara,” Temari came closer and touched his nose. She always got unbearably cocky every time she beat him while playing ninja with Shikadai.

“Can we play again?” Shikadai asked.

“Only if you’re in my team this time,” his father replied.

“But mom,” Dai pouted.

Shikamaru grinned. He was such a momma’s boy.

Temari took a step forward and helped Shikadai to get off his dad’s back. “Maybe some time for us to rest before playing again? Dad’s getting old, he needs to breath.”

“Woman, you’re older than me,” Shikamaru frowned, earning a smile from Temari in return.

“But who has better lungs?” She raised her eyebrows.

Before he could say anything to contest her, she brushed her hand against his, an invite to hold it which he promptly accepted. At some point in their teasing, Shikadai had run to the backyard, and both followed him.

They sat on the ground, as their kid ran around with his little fan around, swooping leaves and smiling every time. “See mom? My chakra is better than yours!”

“That’s not really hard, so- ouch,” Shikamaru rubbed the part of his arm where Temari just punched. She had a playful frown on her face as she looked at their son.

The world stopped for a while as he watched her. Since they met, Temari always caught his attention. Not only by being incredibly beautiful and breathtaking, but she had one of those interesting minds, with a point of view Shikamaru couldn’t even ponder.

With age, everything about her seemed to have gotten better. He was sure she was one of the most beautiful human beings ever walked on earth.

“What?” She tilted her head, making her bangs fall on her eyes.

“I’m pretty sure you lost your tan,” Shikamaru teased. “You should go out on the sun sometimes.”

Temari narrowed her eyes, but he noticed the corner of her mouth trying not to smile. He wished she did. He just loved her smile, especially when he was the reason.

“Shut up Nara,” she turned her head to Shikadai and he did the same, not before spotting a ghost of a smile on her lips.

Shikadai was still spreading leaves by the backyard. He murmured Temari’s jutsus every time and Shikamaru knew her heart was probably racing inside her chest.

“You’re pretty focused on mom’s jutsus today, aren’t you?” Shikamaru asked.

“Yes, cause I know pa’s already.” Shikadai shrugged, a copy of Temari’s eyes staring right back at him with determination.

Temari and Shikamaru just raised their eyebrows to his response.

“Mind showing us?” Temari requested, curiosity laced in every word, and honestly? Shikamaru could relate badly.

Shikadai just came a bit closer to both, his posture flawless. He dropped the little fan somewhere.

The little Nara jumped into the Shadow Jutsu position, his fingers like Shikamaru used to do, though the signal was a bit off. One of his hands was too low and he smiled at the sight.

“Shadow Possession Jutsu!”

Nothing happened. By the corner of his eye, Shikamaru saw Temari cover her mouth to keep a laugh from escaping. His heart fluttered with love at the scene, as Shikadai started to get impatient with his own shadow.

“Move,” Shikadai whispered to his shadow on the ground. “They’re watching.”

After a few seconds without nothing happening, Shikadai expression changed from determination to sadness. He had a little pout on his lips, completely bothered.

Shikamaru was melting, and not because of the hot sun.

“It’s okay Dai, my shadow does it sometimes.” The kid raised his head and stared at his father. “My shadow gets so lazy and doesn’t move.”

His expression changed to relief. “Then, what do you do to make it move again?”

“I try again another time. Maybe you need a little bit more training. Dad can help you if you want?”

Shikamaru didn’t want to admit, but he caught his heart beating faster by the proposition. He always wondered what would be like when he actually started training his son, if he would pick things way faster than Shikamaru did when he was younger.

He hoped he could be a good teacher like his father.

“Ya,” he smiled, and it was missing a tooth. The old Nara couldn’t help but smile back.

He watched as Shikadai went to grab the little fan when he felt a hand over his. Temari stared at him, her eyes showing nothing but love and Shikamaru wanted to kiss her right there, but his son screaming her jutsus weren’t exactly building up a mood for them.

“Wind Release: Air Current Wild Dance,” and he swooped the little fan in the air.

A small, yet strong breeze covered both Temari and Shikamaru one second later. They turned their heads to Shikadai’s direction, their mouth agape and his eyes widened.

“Did he-?”

“Konoha’s hot days have no such breezes.” Shikamaru voiced out.

Shikadai kept rolling on the grass,

Temari got closer, planting a kiss on Shikamaru’s cheek while his eyes were still locked on the kid in front of them.

“Sorry, old man. I beat you again.”

Usually, he would tease her back. But, Shikamaru knew how much that meant to her. During all Shikadai life, both of them heard he was his mini copy and he knew it somehow affected her to keep listening to it.

It was just not true.

Yes, Shikadai inherited his looks, except for the eyes. Those beautiful eyes came from her, and he loved it because it made Shikadai her little copy too. Not his looks, but his personality. His energy? Completely her. All the faces he made, she was there. When he was angry, sad, or just tired, his expressions were purely his wife and that was what no one ever mentioned.

It felt like all the world couldn’t see their son by what he really was: the perfect balance of both of his parents, and Shikamaru loved it.

“Twice in a day huh, guess I’ll have to make up for it later,” he raised his eyebrow and Temari smiled.

“And how will you-?”

“Dad, did you rest already?” Shikadai screamed, jumping on him.

“Yes,” Shikamaru got up, still holding Shikadai, who got heavier, he noticed. He offered his free hand to help Temari to get up, which she took it. Once she was standing next to him, he raised one eyebrow and returned the smile she offered him when she beat him earlier, “Time for revenge.”

#shikadaiweek2019 #shikadai nara #shikatema #shikamaru nara #temari

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kashimos-hajime · 6 years

Text

Pachelbel’s Canon in Disaster

Request: firstly I just want to say that your writing is insanely good & I love reading your stuff. secondly i wanted to know if I could send in a Kavinsky request if that's ok? you invite peter to a family function to meet your extended family & he's nervous because he's afraid that they wont like him because they kinda have a thing about dating within your race (I'm coloured/black btw) its always something i worry about sadly but if you don't feel comfortable writing this that's fine

A/N: That sucks that you have to deal with that anon. I hope your family opens up soon and you can love who you want to love. Unfortunately, I didn’t write it as a black reader because I am not black and I don’t want to offend anyone by using stereotypes. Therefore, I used people of my own race (Chinese) and went from there. Hopefully, it’s okay! I mostly wrote fluff for this because I don’t think I can bring myself to write such hate right now. Sorry for such a long wait.

As the usual, thank you to @teawithbucky for being the OG.

Masterlist and Taglist are in my bio!

Summary: When you’re invited to your cousin’s traditional Chinese wedding, your boyfriend’s feelings about meeting more of your family resurface and while you don’t want him uncomfortable, you do want him to go. So, it’s up to you to convince him.

Characters: Peter Kavinsky, Chinese!Reader

Wordcount: 1.8k

Rating: K+ (soft, sweet fluff)

You knead the back of your neck with your fingers as you wait for the water to boil. It’s nearly there and you just want to make some noodles. There’s a soft rhythmatic pad of footsteps and you turn around to see Peter coming down the stairs with the messiest bedhead you’ve ever seen. Your other housemates are either asleep or out so you have to house to yourselves as long as you’re quiet.

“Morning,” he calls sleepily, collapsing on the couch in the living room. “You’re home?”

“Because it’s noon,” you reply as you start seeing the bubbles you’ve been waiting for. Taking out a frozen slab of udon, you slip it into the water and cover the pot. “You want some lunch?”

“Yes, please,” he says, voice scraping hoarsely. You smile at him, shaking your head as he gets up and makes his way into the kitchen, sitting on one of the tall stools at the counter. Heading around to him, you press a kiss to the side of his head before pecking his lips. His arms wrap around you, pressing his face into your stomach. “Squishy,” he mumbles into your middle and you laugh, threading your fingers through his hair.

You and Peter have been dating since he saw you at the movie theatre. You two hit it off since he saw you at the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 at your local cinema and had argued profusely over who was your favorite (yours being Yondu, his being Gamora, which then led to an argument if Yondu even counted as a Guardian, which led to you winning and him asking you out and you saying if he ever had the luck to see you again). Over a few chance encounters, you found yourself becoming close friends and then falling head over heels in love, leading to you taking the initiative and asking him out.

The two of you now live in a house along with three others that go to a university with Peter. You yourself is an aspiring actor and have just landed a role in a TV show that’s meant to be a mid-season replacement. Hopefully it hits off.

“You don’t have work today?”

“I already finished my scenes,” you say. “I woke up at midnight, drove over, finished at ten this morning.” He raises his head, chin against your stomach and you grin hopelessly at his wide brown eyes and tangled brown hair that falls into his eyes.

“You didn’t wake me up?”

“You were binge-watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine again,” you say with a sigh. Brushing hair away from his forehead, you bend over and kiss his forehead. He smiles as you pull away and go to the pot to make sure it doesn’t burn. You take the chopsticks that are resting atop the bowl and stir around the noodles, separating them. As you do so, your phone rings and you glance over your shoulder to look at the ID. When you see it’s your mom, you look to Peter.

“Can you answer that? It’s my mom.” He takes the phone, swiping to accept the call.

“Hey, Mrs. (Y/L/N).” You turn back to your pot as Peter makes conversation with your mom. You know they get along fairly well since introducing them a few months ago and you like how they interact so you just continue cooking. Covering the pot again, you go to the freezer and pull out some dumplings you had bought before coming home this morning. Peter has a smile on his face as he talks and you use your chopsticks to transfer the noodles to a bowl and pour the pepper and green onion dressing you had prepared earlier, tossing it so it coats the noodles evenly before sticking the chopsticks into the bowl and placing it on the counter across Peter.

You slide the bowl over to him and he stops it with a hand before removing the phone from his ear.

“Your mom wants to talk to you,” he said, taking the bowl and starting to slurp on his noodles. Rolling your eyes playfully, you turn off the stove and go to sit beside Peter. The dumplings can wait.

“Hey, Mom,” you start in Chinese. “What’s going on?” Peter spares you a glance when you start speaking your native language, smiling and kissing your cheek. Turning your head, you ask silently for another on your lips and he obliges quickly before returning back to his noodles.

“Did you check your mail lately?”

“Yeah? Why, is there something important in there?” you ask, trying to think back to the contents you had quickly scanned before setting it on the small cabinet near the stairs. There were bills, ads, and magazines, nothing more but-

Oh, wait.

“Oh, the wedding invite! Yes, I got it, plus he emailed me yesterday to make sure.” Getting up, you go said cabinet and take out the white envelope with the card within. Bringing it back to the kitchen, you open it and slide out the card.

“Can you make it or do you have filming on that day?” Checking the calendar hanging on the wall with a quick look, you shake your head before remembering your mom couldn’t see you.

“No, it should be fine. Unless I’m pulled for reshoots, I should be done by March so I can make it,” you say and you hear your mom giggle on the other end.

“I can’t wait to see your cousin in a suit,” she says nefariously and you sigh, eyes resting on Peter who’s sipping on his soup. “You should bring Peter along, have him meet the family.”

“Oh, yeah, of course. Bye, Mom.” Hanging up, you set your phone down and read over the invitation. Seeing as it’s January, you highly doubt the director would pull you in for reshoots when the weather is completely gone in March. The series is nearly in post production and you sigh, leaning forward on your elbows.

“What?” Peter asks, setting his now empty bowl in the sink. You sigh, coming around to stand by him near the sink as he begins to fill the bowl up with water so nothing will stain. He turns to you and you loop your arms around his neck, pulling him down. Kissing him multiple times, you just savour in his presence. There hasn’t been enough time between you lately and as the snow outside layered on the sill of the window, you just brush noses with him.

“I have to go to a wedding,” you mumble, lost in his scent, as his hands settle on your hips. He’s always had this effect on you. “My mom said I should bring you as my plus one.” He frowns and your eyes scan his face, not exactly confused. He’s always shied away from meeting your family, with your differences. In fact, he had made you make sure he learned everything he could about what was proper and what wasn’t, teach him how to make chopsticks, and even when he became a regular guest, Peter always helped with the dishes and tried to be almost overly helpful.

Now, his worry had faded away after a long stalemate in the war between you and your parents. They had hated that you brought some guy who seemed lazy, sleazy, and white, and you hated that they never saw past that. The only reason you are now on speaking terms is the fact that Peter proved them wrong and they let go of their prejudices. Still, clearly the confrontation lingers in Peter’s mind as much as it does in yours from time to time. You hate to see it resurface as a much bigger beast at the thought of meeting your extended family when the two of you had thought that part of the war was over.

“And?”

“Well, do you want to come?” you ask nervously. “You don’t have to but it’ll be nicer if you’re there.” You search his face, reading every inch of his hesitation.

“I’ll think about it.” You cup his face, brushing your thumb over his cheek and smile.

“Okay.” Pulling away, you sigh and he leans down to press his lips into your hair. Your hands trail down his neck and onto his arms, holding him there until you are ready to leave.

The topic becomes a dreaded subject. Every time one of you sees the calender with the red circle around the date of the wedding, either you or Peter leave the room. You hate how your relationship changed but you can’t help it. Especially because it’s a traditional chinese marriage, you know it just amps up the pressure on Peter to accept. If he says no, it may seem like he’s disrespecting your culture because he doesn’t think it’s worth his time. If he says yes, he may think or say or do something he thinks is wrong and therefore not have any fun at all.

When there are two weeks before the wedding, you and him are hanging out in your shared bed. You’re resting at the head of the bed, back against the headboard as you work on your newest resumé while he’s sprawled across the end of the bed on his back, scrolling through his phone and reading the textbook he downloaded onto his phone.

You sneak glances up at him, trying to approach the subject carefully. You don’t know how to say it, nor how to broach the subject but you want him to come. You want to show off your boyfriend like everyone else in your family does, and you want him to meet people you’ve grown up with all your life.

“So… it’s two weeks away,” he finally says, letting his phone and his hands drop to his sides. “I still don’t know whether or not I want to come. I’ve thought about it,” he adds, propping himself up on an elbow and turning to you. “Believe me, I have.”

“I know.” You close your laptop and set it aside as he crawls up between your legs and rests his head on your tummy. Threading your fingers through his hair, you sigh. “You’ve been using that brain more often than usual,” you tease, leaning over and pecking his forehead. He glares and scrunches up his face at you but you merely sigh, remembering the situation.

“I want to go, (Y/N). You know I do. I just can’t-”

“I can teach you. Everything I know about traditional weddings; everything from clothes to food to manners. We can start and if you feel ready by the date of the wedding, we can go together, okay?” A hopeful smile crosses his face and he sits up.

“Really?”

“Yeah. What do you think?” Leaning over, he kisses you hard against the lips and you laugh into it as the two of you roll over in bed. He gently moves your laptop to the nightstand as you land on top of him.

“I think it’s a fantastic plan.” Beaming, you lean down and your noses brush.

Two weeks later, Peter stands beside you at the wedding reception, your hand in his.

Your smiles can not be brighter.

TAGS: @teawithbucky @shadowsndaisies @itzyagirlrae

#to all the boys i've loved before #to all the boys i've loved before x reader #to all the boys i've loved before movie #to all the boys ive loved before #to all the boys ive loved before x reader #tatbilb #tatbilb x reader #tatbilb fanfic #tatbilb fanfiction #to all the boys ive loved before fanfiction #to all the boys ive loved before fanfic #to all the boys i've loved before fanfiction #to all the boys i've loved before fanfic #peter kavinsky #peter kavinsky imagine #peter kavinsky x reader #peter kavinsky fanfiction #my writing #peter kavinsky fanfic

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shotsbyshae · 5 years

Text

Who I Am

I'm Alexandra Sloan Wilson, the Winchesters are friends that gave me a family and I've been a hunter most of my life. Sam and Dean can often make life complicated, but little did I know, I was the one who was about to make things complicated. Every good hero & villain has their origin story...this is mine.

London

July 2nd, 1988

An older woman stands there, her long blonde tresses of hair framing her thin face as she looks down at the small infant bundled up in the bassinet in front of her. The baby has tiny black curls on her head with dark brown eyes that stare back up at the woman, full of innocence.

"I'm so sorry little one," the blonde-haired woman speaks softly, gently cupping the side of the child's face. The woman is torn in what she's about to do, and it is written all over her face as she holds both of her hands above the child in the bassinet and begins speaking in Latin.

The child's eyes suddenly glow a bright blue purple color for a few moments, then the color starts to glitch out, as if there's a bad connection, while the woman continues the spell. Then the bright color slowly fades away, leaving just the innocent brown eyes looking at her as the baby's face scrunches up in pain and she begins to cry.

She gently picks the infant up from the bassinet cradling her against her chest, "Everything's going to be okay now Alexandra." The blonde woman looks over as she hears someone else enter the room.

"Is she okay Melinda?" the woman questions as she comes closer, her long black hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

"Yes Laura," the blonde replies, "she's just a little fussy is all, she might be hungry."

"Well," the woman looks at her coldly, "go on then."

Melinda hesitates for a moment, looking from the child in her arms to the woman in front of her, "Would you like to hold her?"

Laura crosses her arms and the blonde woman continues, "You're her mother Laura."

"I have some business to attend to," the dark-haired woman replies, "I'll be back later."

She turns and leaves the room and Melinda looks down at the child whose crying has stopped and is looking at her with wide eyes, fingers entangled in some of her blonde curls.

"I will get you out of here," Melinda says quietly to the infant, "I promise."

London

Present Day

Lexi sits at the small dining room table, a folder lays open in front of her, with pages and photos expanding from it. She holds one photo in her hand and Ketch walks over to place a coffee mug on the table in front of her, careful to avoid any of the documents. Greyson and Ketch have been helping her for several weeks now tracking down leads on the witch Katrina and whoever it was who hired her to take Lexi. She'd lied to Dean when he'd asked if they'd had any luck. They had traced the lead back to a woman name Laura Addington.

"Who's this?" she asks looking at the photo of Melinda.

Greyson sits across the table from her, sipping from a coffee mug of his own, "Melinda Clarke."

"She was the one who dropped me at the orphanage?" the dark-haired girl questions.

"Yes," Ketch replies sitting down beside Lexi at the table, "Logan said she was sent by the British Men of Letters to obtain you, but she never returned."

"Obtain me? Why?"

Greyson shrugs his shoulders, "We don't know. There's no records of why."

"What does she have to do with Addington?" Lexi questions.

Ketch reaches over and pulls another photo out from the file folder as he begins, "Addington…"

He carefully slides the photo of a beautiful woman with dark green eyes and long black hair in front of Lexi as he continues, "is your mother."

Confusion and shock flash across the girl's face, as she reaches for the photo and stares at it, "What?"

There's a long moment of silence as Lexi processes this information and she shakes her head incredulously. "So, my bio-mom Laura, wants Michael…Dean, gone," Lexi looks at Ketch in disbelief, "what the hell is happening?"

"I'm as confused as you are dear," he replies.

"I should call them," she says quietly.

"No," Ketch interrupts her quickly, "you shouldn't. We need to wait until we know what Addington's plan is. Don't you think they have enough on their plates as it is?"

"And I want to know why the Men of Letters wanted to obtain you," Greyson adds, "whatever the reason, it can't be good."

"Where do we start?" Lexi questions Ketch.

He reaches over and pulls a piece of paper off the top of the stack, "I have an address for the son of Melinda Clarke."

"Ok," she replies, "Where?"

"Close to home actually," Ketch gives her a smile, "Salina, Kansas."

"Well that's not weird at all," Lexi replies sarcastically.

Saint Louis, MO

October 12th, 2000

A twelve-year old Lexi steps off the bright yellow school bus and slowly walks up concrete path to the small red house. To anyone else, it would appear warm and welcoming, but to her, it was cold and callous. Most of the kids in her class hated school, but for her it was an escape, it was this place she had to call home which she hated.

Today was the start of spring break, which meant a week stuck in this place and the dread weighs her down as she opens the front door.

"Alexandra," Lilian, her latest cream of the crop foster mother, calls from the kitchen.

She'd lost count on the number of foster homes she'd been in, but this one was by far the worst, even though she'd only been here two weeks. She slowly makes her way into the kitchen and pushes the stray strands of hair that have fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear.

"Yea ma'am," she says upon seeing the tall brunette woman in the blue dress. Lexi can smell the vodka from across the room.

"I went to gather your laundry this morning," the woman begins, anger apparent on her face, "you didn't make your bed."

"I'm sorry," the girl says quickly.

Lilian raises her right hand and comes down hard across the girl's cheek and Lexi clutches her face in pain as the woman states, "Don't let it happen again."

From outside the house, the scene is witnessed through the large kitchen window and someone lowers a camera before they turn and leave.

Later that night, Lexi sits at the desk in her room, looking in a small mirror, checking to see if there was a mark left from the slap earlier when she hears a small tap on her bedroom window. She leans over to look and sees a familiar face giving her a small smile.

Lexi stands up and walks over to open the window and the visitor doesn't enter the room, he just moves to sit on the windowsill.

"Peter," she acknowledges the older boy who looks to be anywhere from sixteen to eighteen.

"Wendy," he replies with a smirk at the nickname.

"You're late," she says as she pulls her desk chair over beside the window and sits down, folding her legs up under her.

"Sorry," he reaches over, offering the girl a Styrofoam cup, "I had to make a stop, but I brought you this."

Lexi accepts it with a little hesitation, "What is it?"

"Chocolate peanut butter milkshake," the boy replies, not telling her he had to hand deliver the photographs he'd taken earlier to child services.

She takes a sip from the straw and looks down at the dark brown wooden floorboards below her.

"Are you okay?" he questions quietly as he watches the girl.

"Always," she replies, giving a quick fake smile, "You know you show up when things are great."

"I'm serious," the boy says with concern apparent on his face.

"Then take me with you," Lexi looks at him with subtle contempt.

The boy with dirty blonde hair looks at her dejectedly, "You know I can't. My grandmother is trying, but…"

"You've been saying that for the past year," Lexi narrows her eyes at him, "what's your angle?"

"What?" he asks with confusion.

"I'm thankful," she begins quietly, as not to disturb the rest of the house, "you saved me that day on the street. Those guys would have killed me, but this coming around and finding me…" She places the milkshake down on the windowsill and stands up from the chair before she steps away from the window. "Foster home after foster home," Lexi continues, as she turns back to look at the boy who sits in her window, "I mean…at first, I thought it was nice, like you wanted to protect me, but now…" Lexi spreads her arms out beside her in frustration, "it's getting a little weird. It's been over a year, you keep saying your grandmother is trying to help get me out, but here I am. Is this a game for you, some twisted, perverted game? Are you trying to weasel your way into my pants or something?"

"No Alexandra," he says quickly, with a shake of his head, "God no…I would never do that to you."

Even at twelve, she isn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed by that statement. He is cute, boy band cute, no doubt about it. The kind of guy other girls her age talked about all day; they scribbled Mrs. Timberlake or Mrs. Carter all over their notebooks.

"Then why are you here Peter?" she questions him as she folds her arms across her chest.

He drops his head for a moment, then glances back up at her solemnly, "It's complicated."

A door slams from inside the house which causes them to look at each other in surprise as Lexi quickly moves to the window, "You have to go."

"I'll be back for you," Peter grabs the milkshake with one hand and Lexi's wrist with the other for a split second to garner her attention, "I promise."

"You better," she replies, then gives him a soft smile before she carefully pulls the window closed so it doesn't make any noise. She jerks her desk chair back to her desk and sits down as she pretends to do homework. The door to her bedroom jerks open and Lilian stands there for a moment, checking the room before she slams the door shut.

Salina, Kansas Present Day

Ketch reaches up and knocks on the door to the apartment while Lexi leans back against the wall, facing him. She's giving him a doubtful look as she folds her arms across her chest.

"What makes you think he even still lives here?" Lexi questions her friend as they hear a deadbolt being unlocked from inside.

"Yea," the man says as he cracks the door open, "can I help you?"

"We're looking for Evan Clarke," Ketch says, indicating himself and Lexi.

"Who's asking?" the guy questions defensively, peering through the crack at the two strangers.

"It's concerning his mother, Melinda Clarke," Ketch continues trying to remain civil, but Lexi slams her hand hard against the door, turning so she can see the man who is peering through the crack.

"Look," she says sharply, "are you Evan Clarke or not, because I don't have time for this shit."

The man's blue eyes look as if they recognize her for a moment, but he shakes it off, "give me a minute." He closes the door and Ketch looks at Lexi in exasperation at her outburst and she shrugs her shoulders.

After a few moments the door opens back up and a tall, beautiful blonde woman exits the apartment, purse and shoes in hand, walk of shame evident. Lexi cocks an eyebrow and gives Ketch a smirk as she enters the apartment. The dark-haired girl looks over to Evan then points back at the blonde who just left as she says, "Sorry for the intrusion."

"I doubt that. Now, what about my mother?" Evan questions from the small kitchenette area. "And who are you?"

Lexi takes note of his athletic figure in the dark jeans he's wearing, and the grey pocket t-shirt which fits just a little too snug around his shoulders and chest, but she doubts any woman in their right mind would complain. Suddenly she's reminded of all the layers she's accustomed to dealing with when it comes to the men in her life and realizes it's actually a blessing. This one-layer stuff is quite distracting. His hair is darker on the bottom, but lighter on the top and a bit on the longer side, not as long as Sam's though. He's also sporting a dark beard that would almost rival that of the younger Winchester's when he let his grow, not that she would ever tell Dean that.

"Historians," Ketch answers, since Lexi's not going to, "with The British Library."

Evan appears to be putting coffee grounds into his coffee maker, but quickly moves to pull out a small pistol from under the cabinet, pointing it at the two people standing across from him.

"British Men of Letters sounds more appropriate," his tone is laced with anger, "I'm not an idiot."

"Do I sound British?" Lexi looks annoyed, but she has her hands up, "Trust me, we're not with those assholes. We're hunters."

Evan eyes them suspiciously still, "Why do hunter's need information about my mom?"

"There was a child," Ketch begins carefully, "a child the Men of Letters sent your mother to obtain."

"Yea and," Evan says, still training the weapon on them.

"We just need to know why?" Lexi adds.

Evan slowly lowers the weapon and lays it on the bar in front of him, before he begins, "Because…my mother was a witch…they needed her to bind the child's powers before she brought her back to them."

"Powers?" the dark-haired girl questions, confusion apparent on her face.

"The child was a fourth generation natural," Evan says, "My mother was able to bind her powers, but she still died trying to protect her."

Lexi has grabbed the nearest chair to lean against, her legs feeling weak under her. The entire room seems larger now than it was when they first entered it and suddenly the voices of the men in the room with her seem so very distant and far away. Powers. Witch, I'm a friggin' witch, she thinks to herself.

"Do you know why the Men of Letters wanted the child?" Ketch questions, reaching over to place a reassuring hand at Lexi's elbow.

"No idea," Evan shrugs his shoulders, "what does it matter anyway? The girl died when she was twelve."

"What?" the dark-haired man asks in surprise at this comment.

"The child," the other man continues, "the Men of Letters had her killed. She's dead."

Ketch and Lexi immediately share a glance as Evan turns to pull a coffee mug from the shelf above his sink, and Lexi speaks up, her voice meeker than she prefers, "No…I'm not."

The mug slips from Evan's hand and shatters upon impact on the floor, he turns to look behind him at the young woman standing in his living room. Evan stares at her for a moment, anger flaring in his blue eyes.

"Get out!" he snarls at them as he raises his hand toward his door, causing it jerk open.

"Easy there," Ketch's eyes go wide in shock, the revelation Evan has powers made very obvious.

"I said get out," Evan repeats himself, using his hand to fling Ketch out of the door.

"Look," Lexi tries to bargain, she can see the extensive emotional state the man is in, "I just need answers…"

Evan walks the small distance separating him and the dark-haired girl until he's towering over her, but she doesn't back down, "I don't know who you are, but I watched Alexandra die when she was twelve. I was there when the car exploded, the British Men of Letters murdered her, and for you to show up at my door…"

"An explosion?" Lexi interrupts him and she takes a step back, "I was told my foster parents died in a car crash when I was twelve. Why were you there?"

Evan tilts his head slightly, unsure if he wants to answer her question, "My mother died protecting her. I felt like it was my job to protect her too, a way to honor my mother."

Lexi's staring at him and suddenly the piercing blue eyes don't belong to the man before her, they belong to the teenage boy sitting on her windowsill offering her a milkshake. She snaps back to the present and she's nauseous; he hasn't crossed her mind in over fifteen years. Lexi realizes she's still staring at him and she slowly covers her mouth with both hands as she turns away from him. Evan turns around still agitated and begins to walk back to the kitchenette, using his hand to fling his door shut, leaving Ketch outside of the apartment.

"Peter," the name slips from her lips quietly, stopping Evan dead in his tracks, "you're Peter Pan."

No one had ever called him by that name but her, it was the nickname she had given him years ago.

Evan slowly turns to face the girl, confusion replacing some of the anger as he says, "Wendy."

Lexi raises her eyebrows and gives a small, reassuring nod.

"You're alive," Evan nearly chokes on the statement.

Lexi nods her head once more, "I am."

Eighteen years of self-hatred for not protecting her comes boiling to the surface and Evan doesn't control himself. Lexi sees the mixture of relief and anger wash over the man's face and she takes a small step backwards as he jerks his hands sending a lamp crashing to the floor, while books and magazines from the end table beside the chair go flying across the room. Various other small objects vibrate off the shelves that line one wall of the apartment as the man's emotional outburst continues. Lexi ducks as a book sails past her head which scares her a little, after all, she's not used to dealing with this kind of environment and she quickly grabs the book angrily.

"Hey!" she yells as she throws the book back at Evan and he stops it with his hand, "Watch it!" She realizes what she's just done and has a split-second regret, because it's apparent he's a witch like his mother.

Evan drops the book onto the bar and closes his fists tightly, looking a little shameful, "Sorry. It's a lot to process."

"Really?!" She yells, unable to contain her outburst, "You just told me I'm a friggin' witch. That's a lot to process."

There's a small knock on the door, which is Ketch signaling he's still outside, and Lexi moves to open the door for him. The black-haired man adjusts his jacket as he walks back inside the apartment and looks over to Evan, "Are we all on the same page now?"

"The 'I'm alive and apparently, I'm a witch' page," Lexi says with a touch of sarcasm to Ketch.

"Fourth generation I believe," her friend corrects her.

The bearded man gives a single nod of his head as Lexi closes the door and a thought occurs to him, "Wait, how did you find me?"

"An old Men of Letters file," Lexi replies crossing her arms, "why?"

"They know your alive?" Evan asks, concern growing on his face.

Ketch looks over at Lexi, as he answers, "Of course, why?"

"We should go," Evan replies, "as soon as they found out you were alive, they've probably had someone watching you."

That would explain those surveillance photos, Lexi thinks to herself.

"I have a box of my mother's things in a storage unit about thirty minutes outside of town," Evan says, then looks over to Lexi, "I've never really gone through it, but I know there was a folder with your name on it."

"Let's go then," Ketch responds before he turns towards the door.

"Hold up," Lexi interrupts, "we're just supposed to trust Chris Halliwell?"

The bearded man looks a little offended by the Charmed reference, as Ketch turns back to look at Lexi, "The door isn't sound proof, I thought you knew him?"

"Yea," she begins with a tone of exasperation to her friend, "eighteen years ago. People change Ketch, hell, two years ago you I wouldn't have trusted you with a dog, much less my life."

"I'm standing right here," Evan says with annoyance raising his hand to signal his presence.

"Don't you know," Lexi continues her speech to Ketch, ignoring the other man's remark, "you don't trust the strange guy from your past who seems to have good intentions, especially when he has magic hands."

Ketch stands there for a moment in silence and then takes a deep breath before he pulls his pistol out of the shoulder holster under his jacket and holds it out for Evan to see as he glances over at the blue-eyed man with annoyance, "This is loaded with witch killing bullets by the way, if you're considering using those magic hands of yours again."

"Understood," Evan replies with a smirk, "keeping my magic hands to myself, not a problem, just keep psycho Sally there in check."

Lexi gives Ketch a death glare before she storms passed him to jerk the door open. He's holstering his pistol as Evan walks up, knowing Lexi's out of earshot he gives an exasperated sigh as he says, "That's easier said than done sometimes."

"It's number eleven Alexandra," Evan says as he climbs out of the car in front of the storage unit.

"Lexi," she corrects him, "or Wilson, please, no one calls me Alexandra." The three of them approach the unit with the number eleven on it and Evan pulls a key from his pocket to unlock the padlock. Once he slips off the padlock, he opens the door and flips on the light switch. Once the room is illuminated, it is evident the small unit has been ransacked.

"No!" Evan states, rushing over to a shelf and pulling an empty banker box from it, "son of a bitch!"

Lexi and Ketch follow cautiously behind him and she picks up a broken picture frame, in it a picture of Melinda and a little five-year-old Evan stare back at her and she gently lays it on the shelf beside her.

"When was the last time you were here?" she questions him quietly.

"Two days ago," Evan replies, then slings the empty box across the room in frustration.

"I'll go check the security footage," Ketch states before he turns to exit the unit.

"I'm sorry," Lexi says, "I did this."

"It's not your fault," he responds, picking up some photo albums from the floor.

"I kicked the hornet's nest," she replies.

Ketch is able to recognize two of the men on the security footage as former associates he used to work with. The three of them decide to stop at a small diner they passed on the way to the storage unit for food and to discuss their next steps. Lexi barely eats any of the burger she orders, but she does drink a couple of beers with the order of fries she snacks on, before she excuses herself from the table.

"I need to make a call," Ketch states as he too stands up to step away from the table, leaving Evan alone in the small diner.

Once outside, Ketch dials a number on his cell and places it up to his ear, "Hi, I don't have much time to explain, but we have a bit of a situation."

Lexi approaches the bathroom sink and notices the pretty blonde-haired woman who stands a few inches taller than her standing at the sink beside her re-applying a matte shade of red lipstick to her Kardashian looking lips.

"I saw you earlier," the woman states in recognition looking at Lexi in the mirror as she begins to wash her hands.

The dark-haired girl glances up to the mirror in confusion as the woman continues, "You came in with those two guys, the handsome one and the British one."

The blonde gives her a flirty smile as nudges Lexi's arm with her elbow, "Mmmm girl, I could take one off your hands if you'd like."

"Oh," Lexi laughs as she grabs a towel to dry her hands, "I better hold on to them for now."

The woman leans over close to Lexi and her face turns serious as she whispers in Lexi's ear, "Seduce Evan Clarke, play on his emotions Alexandra, make him fall for you."

Lexi has a dazed expression on her face as the woman whispers the order to her and blinks once before turning to exit the bathroom after the blonde finishes speaking. The woman turns back to the mirror with a malevolent grin and transforms from the pretty Kardashian type blonde-haired woman into Laura Addington.

"So, when I make you kill him," Laura states to herself in the mirror, "It'll be more fun to watch."

Once back at the table, Lexi looks around the small restaurant, "Where's Ketch?"

"Oh," Evan replies, "he said he had to make a phone call."

Lexi nods her head then smirks to the man across from her, "So, there's a blonde in the bathroom…she basically wants to take you home."

Evan raises a curious eyebrow, "Oh really?"

"I grabbed her number," the girl replies, "just in case, I know you like blondes."

Evan leans forward slightly, "I don't, actually."

"If you say so," Lexi shrugs her shoulders as if she doesn't believe him.

"Do you trust anyone?" Evan shakes his head at her in disbelief.

"The list is small," she responds with a smirk.

"You used to trust me," he replies sincerely, "a long time ago."

Lexi thinks on those words for a moment, that was a lifetime ago. She swallows the lump that forms in her throat and she stands up from the table, "I'll be outside."

Evan watches her walkaway, then he somberly pulls his wallet from his back pocket to pay for their food.

Lexi has taken up position on the swing set across the street from the small diner. She hears the chime of the bell on the door indicating that someone has either entered or exited the building, but she doesn't look up. She continues to idly swing back and forth, letting her boots drag through the pea gravel on each backwards pass. After a moment, a Styrofoam milkshake container appears in her line of sight and she slows the swing to a stop, looking up at Evan who gives her a tiny, apologetic smile, "Chocolate peanut butter."

"You remembered," she looks surprised as she takes the container and takes a sip from the straw.

"Was it something I said in there?" Evan questions as he sits down on the swing next to her.

Lexi looks over at him, fiddling with the straw in her cup, "It's dumb, really."

She holds his gaze for a moment, then looks back down to her feet. He furrows his brow and grabs the chains of his swing in each hand and turns it to face her, "Tell me."

"You were the first," she begins without looking up, her arms are wrapped around the chains of her swing, "you were the first boy who broke my heart."

Evan has a look of surprise at this revelation, "What?"

"You promised to come back for me," she replies without looking at him, "and you didn't."

"I thought you died," he says with a touch of exasperation.

"I didn't know that then," Lexi looks at him innocently, "You spent over a year in and out of my life being the guy who would sneak into my room at night just to check on me."

"I never snuck into your room," Evan corrects her, "I always stayed outside the window."

"And then there's that," she continues, "You were the coolest guy, super cute, and you were always checking on me, so I just thought that…and when I brought it up, you shut me down so hard. I never got over that, maybe that's why I like to be in control now; I don't want to feel that way again."

"Alexandra," Evan begins softly, as he sits there staring at her in shock at this confession. Lexi looks back down as he continues, "You were twelve and I was seventeen, that five-year difference meant a lot back then. You were just a kid."

The dark-haired girl cuts her eyes over to him as she responds, "I'm not a kid anymore."

What are you doing? She thinks to herself, stop it, you're basically throwing yourself at him. This is not who you are. You are stronger than this.

"Trust me," he leans closer to her with a flirty grin, "I've noticed."

Lexi turns her swing sideways to face him, some unnatural force inside her feels as if it's making her body move against her will. I mean really, she thinks to herself, it could be worse. At least he's attractive, she carefully moves closer until her nose is almost touching his, she bites her bottom lip seductively and Evan takes a deep breath before he whispers, "Don't do this, unless it's what you want."

The dark-haired girl hesitates for a moment, before she lays her forehead against his, closing her eyes. After a few seconds she lifts her feet and allows the swing to jerk her away from him.

"Sorry, I feel like that was a little slutty of me," she apologizes standing up quickly, "I don't know where that came from. That was weird."

Evan raises a curious eyebrow as Lexi continues, "Where's Ketch?" The blue-eyed man shrugs his shoulders as another voice interrupts them from behind Lexi.

"Ketch," the voice begins, and Lexi turns to see Greyson standing behind her, "is back in London."

Was Greyson the call Ketch had to make, she thinks to herself and suddenly feels betrayed.

"What?" Lexi questions him in surprise as Evan stands up quickly, "Why?"

"We need to talk Lexi," Greyson says then glances at Evan, "alone."

"I don't think so pal," Evan remarks.

The dark-haired girl looks over at the blue-eyed man as she folds her arms across her chest, "Excuse you, I speak for myself."

The smug look on Greyson's face drops as Lexi turns her glare back to him, "I don't think so. He goes where I go."

"How long?" Lexi's voice was low but angry as she looks across to Greyson.

The blonde-haired man looks defeated as he sees the pain in her eyes, "Lexi…I'm sorry, I…"

"HOW LONG?!" She yells at him, slamming her fist down on the small table beside her.

"It was after you met," Logan answers, "after you left London the first time."

Lexi looks over at the blonde headed woman, shaking her head in disgust, "I thought we were friends. I thought I could trust you."

"It was the only way to protect you," Greyson says quietly, "they would have sent someone else after you if Logan wasn't the one monitoring you."

"You've been lying to me this whole time," the dark-haired girl responds, the resentment inside her building, "you knew who I was, you knew everything about me…YOU KNEW AND YOU LIED!"

"We need to go Lexi," Logan urges her, "Laura escaped two days ago. She's coming for you."

Lexi shakes her head slowly, "Like I'm supposed to trust you now."

Greyson reaches to take her hand, "Lexi please…"

She jerks her hand away from him, a tear slipping down her cheek, "Don't…don't you dare touch me."

Lexi turns and jerks the motel door open, glancing at Evan for a brief moment, "Let's go."

"They're not going to let you leave," Logan states from behind Lexi.

The dark-haired girl looks back over her shoulder at her former friend, "We'll see about that."

Evan climbs into the passenger seat and looks over at Lexi cautiously as she throws the car into reverse, she reaches over to put her hand on the side of the passenger seat. She looks over her shoulder to check behind her then she slams the gas pedal into the floor. The man braces himself as he watches her turn back, slamming the gear shifter in drive as she spins the steering wheel flawlessly around, executing a J-turn. She can't help but smile to herself, knowing Dean would be proud to have seen that, after all, he'd spent almost an entire Saturday teaching her.

Lexi pulls the car out onto the road only to slam on the brakes as her headlights illuminate four dark SUV's blocking the roadway. She counts eight men, each standing on either side of the vehicles, weapons drawn and aimed at them. The dark-haired girl grips the steering wheel with both hands but doesn't look away from the scene in front of her as she speaks, "Hey Ev."

"Yea," he's also sizing up their current situation.

"You can use those magic hands now," she says.

"Thought you'd never ask," Evan remarks with a smirk as he raises his hands up and uses them to slide two of the SUV's apart, wide enough for Lexi to drive through and she slams on the gas. The blue-eyed man quickly disarms the men left standing with a wave of his hand as they try and take shots at the car as it blows past them.

They drive in silence for a while in the dark before Evan breaks the silence, "I'm sorry."

"That list of people I trust just got a lot smaller," she comments, not taking her eyes off the road.

The screen on her dash lights up: Incoming Call: Dean W.

She reaches over and pushes the green answer button on the screen and says hesitantly, "Hey Dean."

"Lex," his tone is stern, indicating he knows something is up, "what the hell is going on?"

She glances over to Evan as she speaks, "I may need you to elaborate?"

"Ketch left me a voicemail earlier saying he didn't have time to explain, but that there was a situation," Dean begins.

So, Ketch didn't call Greyson, he called Dean, Lexi thinks to herself, so he didn't betray her after all.

"Then I hear him say 'What the bloody hell Moore?'," the older brother continues and Lexi can't help but smirk at Dean's British impression of Ketch, "then the phone cuts off and I've tried to call him back three times and I just keep getting sent to voicemail. Aren't you with him?"

"I was," she replies, "but yea, I'm pretty sure Greyson took him back to London."

"Wait your stateside?" Dean questions incredulously.

"Yea, long story, I promise I'll explain later," Lexi says, "but unless I tell you otherwise, don't trust Greyson or Logan."

"Got it, that guy was a dick anyway," he responds, and she can hear the concern in his voice, "Lex, are you good?"

"Always," she answers, "I'll call you later."

"You better."

"Bye D."

"Bye."

Evan waits for a moment before he speaks, "Friend of yours."

Lexi smiles warmly and it's the first time he's seen her actually smile, "My best friend, he and his brother Sam, they gave me a family, something I never really had before."

"That's good," the man replies with a smile, "Happy looks good on you."

Lexi and Evan are walking up the front walk to a small house with blue siding when the front door suddenly jerks open and a young woman looks at them angrily, "Hurry up and get inside."

The dark-haired girl can't help but notice the blonde mohawk the other woman is sporting, along with a lip ring and dark eye liner, which just adds to her 'don't mess with me' vibe. She has on black cotton shorts, which only accentuate her long tan legs. Lexi wants to compliment her Guns n Roses tee-shirt, but she thinks it's probably best to keep her mouth shut for now.

"Sorry V," Evan says as they make their way inside the house, "I wasn't sure where else we should go. Alexandra, this is V."

"Lexi is fine," the dark-haired girl corrects him with a smile to the woman, noticing the dark purple stud on the side of her nose.

The woman nods but doesn't seem overly friendly as she points to the couch in the room, "I put some pillows and blankets over there, bathroom is down that hallway."

"Thanks," Evan responds, "I need one more thing though."

"You know it doesn't always work like that," V looks at him with slight frustration.

"Will you try," the blue-eyed man responds, "please."

Lexi is sitting in the middle of the tiny living room, V sits directly in front of her, both women sit with their legs crossed under them and three white candles are lit and sitting in the floor between them. Evan sits on the edge of the coffee table overlooking them.

"Psychic huh?" Lexi says quietly to the other woman.

"I prefer the term clairvoyant," V replies, "the future is my niche. Sometimes I see things without having to be near someone, especially people I know."

"One night," Evan says, "I'm at bar and V calls me, tells me the redhead I'm talking to is married, and to leave, because she just saw a glimpse of my future and it involved her husband walking in on us the next morning and killing me."

"True test of friendship there, because she was hot," V smirks to Lexi then continues, "Now, for this to work, I need you to open your mind to me Lexi, no walls, understand?"

The dark-haired girl takes a deep breath, not liking the idea of letting a stranger in her mind, but she glances over at Evan, "Understood."

V takes both of Lexi's hands in hers and both women close their eyes. V's face looks as if she in distress as her eye lids flutter and after a few moments she jerks her hands away from Lexi, looking at the dark-haired girl in anguish, "Oh no."

"What did you see?" Evan questions his friend.

"Her death," V responds quietly, then looks over to her friend in horror, "Evan you kill her."

The shock is apparent on Evan's face at her statement and Lexi sits there in silence staring blankly into the flames of the candles in front of her.

"No," Evan responds quickly, "that can't be right."

"When have I ever been wrong?" V sounds offended, "Someone named Laura wants her with her powers unbound, but you said Laura can't have that type of control and there is no other way."

Evan looks confused and he looks over to see Lexi looking up at him. He can see the fear she's trying to keep hidden, a lot has changed in eighteen years, but that look hasn't. Evan shakes his head, "No, we'll figure something out."

"There may not be another choice," Lexi says stoically.

Later that night, Evan rolls over onto his back on the floor, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, sleep evades him with his mind racing over the evening's earlier events. He feels a pair of eyes on him and glances over to the couch beside him and sees Lexi is curled up on her side staring at him.

"Can't sleep?" he states the obvious.

"Tell me about your mom," she says quietly.

He rubs an exhausted hand across his face, "I don't remember much, mostly stories my grandmother would tell me. She loved Elton John, which drove my grandmother crazy at the time but growing up she would play my mom's old Elton vinyl's whenever she would start missing her, which was often. She would tell me that my mom always saw the good in people, even when others didn't."

"Did your grandmother ever talk about what happened to her?" Lexi asks the question hesitantly.

"Not really," he responds, "all she ever told me was that she had given my mother a resurrection charm before she left for London that day and how angry she was that she hadn't used it."

The words resurrection charm rings a bell in Lexi's mind and Rowena's name comes to her and a sudden realization hits her, "That's it."

She sits up quickly and Evan looks at her in surprise, slowing pushing himself up from the floor as Lexi continues, "Laura wants to unbind my powers. What if we beat her to it?"

"How?" he questions her.

"I don't know," Lexi replies, "but I know someone who might."

"Lexi dear," Rowena sounds a bit groggy in the phone, "this better be important."

"It is," the girl replies into the phone in her hand, she has it on speaker and is holding it between her and Evan, who has moved to sit on the edge of the coffee table across from Lexi, "Hypothetically speaking, if a witch's powers were bound, how does one go about unbinding them?"

There's a momentary pause on the other end of the line, "What's this about dear?"

Lexi can hear the trepidation in her friend's voice, "I promise to explain everything, but it's very important Rowena, you know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't."

The woman sighs audibly, "The only way to unbind their powers is through a specific ritual."

"Do you know it?" Lexi questions trying not to sound eager.

Another momentary pause, "Do you have a pen?"

Evan scrambles on the table for something to write with and finds a pencil with a notepad as Lexi speaks, "Yes, go ahead."

Rowena gives Lexi the necessary information and Evan writes everything down as the woman speaks through the phone. Once she finishes speaking, Rowena's tone of voice changes, "Lexi dear, have you talked with Samuel?"

The dark-haired girl looks up at Evan and pushes the button to take Rowena off of speaker and puts the phone up to her ear, "No, I spoke to Dean earlier tonight. What's going on?"

"Michael's gone," Rowena says calmly, "Dean suffered some major head trauma and he escaped. He…he convinced me to let him inside and I did, but he still killed some of the hunters in the bunker."

"Who?" Lexi questions solemnly and Rowena's voice seems distant as she sadly names them off to Lexi.

"Jack was able to defeat him though," the woman continues, "Michael is gone for good this time."

"How are they?" she asks wondering why Dean hadn't said anything before.

"I can't quite get a read-on Dean," Rowena says, "but I know Samuel's taking it hard."

"I should be there," she says more to herself than anyone else.

"Why aren't you?" Rowena's tone isn't hurtful, she sounds genuinely concerned.

"It's complicated," Lexi responds, "I promise, I will explain everything later."

After she ends the call with Rowena, she holds the phone in her hand for a moment debating on whether to call Sam or not. I need to finish this situation with Laura first. If Michael is gone, she has no reason to be after Dean at this point. She'll only want me and if I have my witchy powers unleashed, I'll have the advantage.

"Everything okay?" Evan's question breaks her train of thought.

"Yea," she replies, nodding at the notepad, "You think you can do this?"

"This will be easy," he taps the notepad on his knee, "are you sure you want to do this?"

"What?" she questions.

"There's no going back," Evan responds, "once we do this, everything changes."

"I get it," she holds her hands up, wiggling her fingers, "powers."

"With great power comes great responsibility," the man says his tone serious.

"Spider-man," Lexi furrows her eyebrows, "really?"

"It's all I could think of," he shrugs his shoulders, as Lexi stands up from the couch, "are you sure you don't want to call your friends, talk this over with them."

Lexi starts to walk toward the hallway but stops at his statement and turns slightly to look at him, "I'm not looking for forgiveness, and I'm way past asking for permission."

She turns to continue towards the bathroom as Evan raises a curious eyebrow, "Was that Captain A…"

"Damn straight," Lexi calls over her shoulder without turning around.

"Language," Evan smirks as she disappears into the bathroom.

Lexi sits in the middle of an elaborate circle lined with candles that Evan had drawn in the middle of V's living room floor; he made the comment she'd make him clean it up later while he was drawing it. Lexi gives a final nod to Evan before she begins the incantation, which she repeats twice before taking the small knife in her right hand and cutting a small incision in her neck.

Evan watches in awe as purple energy pours from the cut and illuminates what appears to be shackles surrounding the girl. The room begins to shake as blood pours from Lexi's eyes, and each shackle slowing begins to shatter. Once they're completely gone, the blood from her eyes disappears, the cut in her neck heals, and all the candles surrounding her are blown out by a sudden breeze.

When Lexi opens her eyes to look at him, they're glowing a bright blue that slowing fades away and she takes a deep breath as the bedroom door to their right jerks open and V looks at them angrily, "What the hell have you done?"

"Trying to change the future," Lexi states from her place on the floor.

"No shit," V responds, then she looks over at Evan, "it's changed alright. She lives, but now several other's die, including you."

Lexi looks at her confused, "What? What do you mean several others?"

V looks back down to her, "I don't know, I didn't recognize them. Two guys, one tall with long hair and a woman with blonde hair, all of them around you."

Lexi feels nauseous, "When?"

V looks over at the clock on her wall, seeing that it is two in the morning, "Today."

Lexi quickly stands up, her mind racing, "I should…I should go."

"What?" Evan questions, "Wait a minute, just calm down."

"NO!" Lexi says louder than she means to, "I'm going to go, you need to stay here."

"I don't think that's a good idea," he responds.

"She literally just said everyone around me dies today," Lexi says in frustration as she walks towards the front door, "stay away from me. Please. I don't want your blood on my hands."

Lexi walks out the door and V grabs her friend's arm as he starts to chase after her, "Evan, let her go." He turns and sees the concern on his friend's face, and he takes a deep breath as he glances back at the closed door.

Lexi sits in her car as the sun comes up over the horizon, I just have to stay away from everyone today. No problem. She looks down at her hands, she doesn't feel any different after the unbinding ritual, Maybe I don't have magical powers after all, maybe everyone was wrong about me this whole time.

Her phone rings, and she looks down to see Dean's name on the caller ID. It seems a little early for him to be calling and she hesitantly answers, "Hey."

"Hi sweetheart," a woman's face says from the other end of the phone and she knows without question it's Laura.

"Where's Dean?" Lexi questions angrily.

"Oh, he's here with me," Laura responds, "So is little brother. I'll text you the address. It goes without saying that if you don't show up, I'll kill them both."

The phone clicks and angry tears begin to stream down Lexi's face as she starts her car.

Lexi parks her car beside the brick building and walks around the front of it to see an abandoned parking lot, a couple old cars scattered about it. She sees Sam and Dean both standing about six feet from each other, it apparent they're being held in place by an invisible force. She's also surprised to see Greyson and Logan are standing close to them as well, both of them in the same situation.

Laura comes walking out from behind a van and past where Sam stands to smile at the girl who's just joined her party, "My little girl is all grown up."

Lexi shakes her head balling her fists up at her sides, "Don't…don't you try to play the mom card now you psycho."

"Oh, you're angry with me," Laura feigns sadness, "why? Because I kidnapped your friends? They're not your friends sweetie, they lied to you, remember?"

She points a finger over at Greyson and Logan who look ashamed at her statement and Laura continues pointing over to the Winchesters, "And let's not get started on these two, they're holding you back."

Lexi doesn't respond, the anger inside her building as Laura says, "You were meant for greatness darling and the life you've been living…it's pathetic really."

"Leave her alone," Sam snarls to the woman and Laura turns to him, using her hand to throw him back against the van. Lexi can see pain shoot through his body from the impact as Laura begins to move her hand again.

"STOP!" Lexi yells, gaining Laura's attention in time to see Lexi throw her hand up in her direction, sending a shot of energy at her, knocking the witch back across the concrete and causing all the windows in the cars to shatter around them.

Everyone looks at Lexi in disbelief as Laura begins to laugh maniacally as she stands back up, "Look at you. You unbound your powers; did Evan help you with that?"

Lexi just stares at her without responding and Laura continues, "He did, didn't he? Well this makes things more interesting."

The dark-haired witch looks over to Greyson and Logan and then back to Lexi giving her a direct order, "Kill the blonde girl."

"No!" Greyson yells.

Lexi's eyes go wide in surprise at the statement and she realizes she can't control her hands as they raise up and shoot a blast of energy straight into Logan's chest. Greyson yells out in agony as he watches his sister's body crumple to the ground. Sam and Dean watch the scene unfold in horror and see the sadness on Lexi's face at what she's just done.

"How could you?!" Greyson screams at Lexi.

"No," she says quietly, "I didn't want to do that."

Laura flings her hand at Greyson, knocking his head hard against the car behind him, rendering him unconscious, "Men, so dramatic."

"Why," Lexi asks in confusion, "why are you doing this?"

"Because it's fun. I've been in a cell for almost thirty years, I've been a bit bored," the witch says with a smile.

"Lexi," Sam says carefully as he begins to walk towards her, "this isn't you."

"I know," she says nodding her head, "I can't stop though. There's something wrong."

"We'll fix it," he reassures her with a half-smile.

"Fight him," Laura orders and Lexi shakes her head, her face is wrought with guilt as she rushes towards Sam, slamming her right fist into his jaw.

Dean starts to pull his pistol from the back of his jeans, but Laura flings it away with her hand and pins him back against the car with a fling of her wrist.

"Lexi stop," Dean calls out and for a moment Lexi stops her assault and looks over at Dean in fear.

"No Alexandra," Laura interrupts, "continue." The dark-haired girl starts her assault on the younger brother again.

"What did you do to her?" Dean snarls at the witch as she moves closer to him.

"Melinda may have bound her powers," Laura begins, "but I cursed her with obedience as soon as she was born."

Dean tilts his head curiously waiting for the woman to explain and she does, "The curse of obedience, you've never heard of it? To think you call yourself a hunter. Once cursed, you obey every order given to you by the one who cursed you."

Sam is trying to defend himself against Lexi's onslaught, refusing to fight back, as Laura leans in closer to Dean with a mischievous smile, "Or the one who's love is pure and true, or some stupid Disney princess shit like that."

She sees the realization in his eyes and Dean starts to smile as he starts to speak, but Laura holds a finger to her lips and says, "Ssshhhh, sweet prince. I don't think so."

When Dean tries to speak again, no sound escapes and panic is evident on his features as he realizes that Sam's voice is gone as well when his brother looks at him in fear before Lexi does a low leg sweep and takes the younger brother's feet out from under him, knocking him on his back.

"KILL HIM!" Laura's voice booms from the distance and Lexi looks down to the man on the concrete below her.

Lexi sees blood coming from a cut she caused during their fight and watches it roll down the side of his head. She can see the fear in Sam's eyes upon hearing Laura's order and she closes her eyes for a moment as tears begin to stream down her face. She's fighting everything in her body, keeping her hands balled tightly into fists at her side; she falls to her knees beside the man.

The dark-haired girl looks over to the car Dean is pinned against, his face anxious and blood red as he yells, but no sound escapes his mouth. His eyes meet Lexi's and she feels her heart shatter from the hatred she sees in them. The inner struggle is evident as her hand moves, slowly and trembling, towards Sam; her nose is starting to bleed from the force with which she's fighting against the obedience curse.

"I'm sorry," she whimpers as the tears fall, "I can't stop it."

Sam reaches up with one hand and cups the side of her face, brushing away a tear as one slips down his own cheek, mouthing the words 'I know' and giving her a small comforting nod before he closes his eyes.

"LEX," a voice from behind her yells, "STOP!"

The force inside her disappears and she turns in time to see Evan step out from beside the building, he has a pistol trained on Laura and he takes a shot quickly. Laura looks from Lexi to Evan with surprise, then clutches the bleeding hole in her chest as she falls to her knees. His gun apparently loaded with witch-killing bullets.

"You," she spits at the man holding the pistol.

"Surprise," Evan's words are sharp as he moves closer to the witch, "that was for her."

He nods his head toward the dark-haired girl on the ground then continues, "This is for my mom."

Evan takes another shot and a dark red hole forms in the center of Laura's forehead and she limply falls backward.

The force holding Dean against the car releases him and Lexi collapses onto Sam's chest, tears of relief wash over her, and he finally exhales as he rests one arm across the girl's back while he moves his other hand to rub the side of his head.

"Sammy," Dean's voice cracks as he calls out from the ground beside the car as he begins to compose himself in order to stand up.

"I'm okay," Sam calls out to his brother, and the girl moves back to sit on the concrete so Sam can stand up and he goes over to check on his brother.

She can't help but notice Dean doesn't make eye contact with her and she silently wipes away the tears from her face. An outstretched hand appears in front of her and she looks up to see the man it belongs to staring at her, his face solemn. She takes the hand and Evan pulls her to her feet and watches as she dusts her jeans off.

"I told you to stay away," Lexi says quietly.

"I know," he replies, "I don't listen very well."

"Thanks," Lexi glances over to see the two brothers checking on one another and she looks back up at Evan with a smile, "Did you call me Lex?"

He laughs with a shake of his head, before a voice from across the lot is heard, "You're the reason she's dead."

Lexi and Evan turn to see Greyson walking towards them, he looks frazzled and angry as he pulls a pistol from the waistband of his jeans and points it at the man standing beside Lexi. She knows Greyson's pistol should be loaded with witch-killing bullets.

"Whoa!" Dean announces, as Sam glances over to Lexi in concern.

Being a witch is still new to Lexi so using her powers doesn't occur to her, being a hunter comes naturally and she just instinctively takes a step to her left, keeping her arms out to her side, putting her body between Evan and the gun; hoping Greyson wouldn't shoot her.

"Greyson, wait," she begins to say, trying to talk him off this ledge, but the deafening sound of the pistol being fired startles everyone, even Greyson himself looks shocked to see Lexi sharply inhale and stumble back into Evan.

Evan catches her as she starts to fall backwards. "Lexi," his voice is shaking as he drops to his knees with her, but she doesn't respond. She's gone.

"LEX!" Dean's voice breaks the silence surrounding them, as the older brother appears on the other side of them. He pulls Lexi to him, angrily shoving Evan backward as he mutters, "No, no, no."

Sam staggers in his steps when he's close enough to realize she's gone and he turns menacingly towards Greyson, "You son of a bitch!" The younger brother storms across the empty lot and sees the gun fly out of the blonde-haired man's hand, not knowing how and frankly not caring. The anger inside flows through him as he comes across with his right fist connecting hard with the side of Greyson's jaw, knocking him to the ground.

Evan was responsible for jerking the gun from his hand, and he's coming up behind the younger brother now, anger evident on his face as well. He jerks Greyson back to a standing position with the wave of his hand and he comes in with an undercut to Greyson's stomach then another punch to the face which once again knocks him to the concrete.

Sam stands there, still a bit surprised at the revelation of Evan being a witch also, having just watched him move a grown man with just the flick of his wrist. Evan glances over at the younger Winchester and both of them stand just a little bit straighter, sizing each other up, and giving nods of understanding.

"Sammy," Dean's voice is cracking a bit as he calls out to his brother.

Both men turn their attention back to the oldest Winchester as they move quickly back to where he's still kneeling on the ground. Sadness evident on each man's face as they look down at the lifeless body of the girl.

One of them barely knew her, but yet he felt so connected to her even though he hadn't seen her for nearly twenty years. To know her, was to love her. He thought this chapter of his life was just beginning, how could it already be over?

One of them was already more broken than he wanted to admit and looking down at her just reminds him how fragile life really is. She was his sister; she was the one who could make him laugh when things started to become more than he could handle on his own. How is he supposed to do this without her?

One of them allows the tears to fall from his eyes, because she was his best friend. The one who knew him better than he knew himself, the one he could confide in about anything, she was his person. He never wanted this, he never wanted her, but she scaled those walls he'd built up. This is his breaking point. How is he supposed to let go?

Lexi finds herself sitting on a park bench by a beautiful lake, the sun is shining brightly. The view is breathtaking and for a moment she forgets where she is until a voice beside her speaks.

"Amazing isn't it."

Lexi glances beside her and sees the blonde-haired woman from the photo: Melinda Clarke. The dark-haired girl stares at her in disbelief as Melinda glances over to her with a warm smile, "Hello Alexandra."

"Hi," Lexi replies, shock evident on her face.

Melinda reaches over and cups the side of Lexi's face proudly as a tear slips down her cheek. She isn't sure why she's overcome with emotion at the woman's presence. Maybe it's because this person had cared more for her than her own biological mother had, or maybe it's a slight familiarity to another blonde-haired mother figure in her life, or maybe it's both.

"You saved me," the girl says curiously, "why? Why me?"

The blonde smiles again, "Sweet, sweet Alexandra, there's so much good inside of you. I knew it from the moment I saw you, and there are more bad witches in this world than there are good."

"But I was just a baby," Lexi says, confusion in her voice, "and Evan…he needed you."

Melinda's smile falters at his name and sadness graces her features, "I knew Evan would be okay, he needed you more than he needed me. I had to save you, in order to save him."

Lexi tilts her head in slight confusion at her statement and Melinda smiles, "So, you two found each other?"

"Yea," the girl answers hesitantly.

'And I'm already dead,' she thinks to herself, 'I just thought the Winchesters were a hazardous relationship to have in my life.'

"I hope he's doing well," the blonde replies.

"I don't really know him," Lexi gives her a small smile, "but I think he takes after you."

"I'm glad," Melinda says, then pats Lexi's knee lovingly, "It's almost time for you to be getting back. Do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"Tell Evan I love him very much," the blonde begins, "and that I said how wonderful life is while he's in the world."

Lexi catches the Elton John song reference and smiles before a thought crosses her mind, "Wait, he said his grandmother gave you a resurrection charm when you left that day. Why didn't you use it?"

Melinda's posture straightens up a little bit as her face lights up and she gives Lexi a quick wink, "Because I knew someone needed it more than I did."

"Let me try to bring her back."

Dean wasn't one to trust strangers, especially witches, but that phrase alone was enough to get Evan's foot in the door. Evan had driven Lexi's car, following the black Impala back to some place the other two men had kept referring to earlier as 'the bunker'.

Sam kicks the door open to the infirmary room and carries Lexi's lifeless body over to the bed, carefully laying her down on the mattress, while Dean shows Evan to the storage room for supplies. He pauses for a moment, brushing hair out of her face, and his features falter for a moment as he allows the pain to get the best of him again. He runs both hands over his face and regains his composure the best he can, turning to go in search of his brother.

He finds Dean standing in the kitchen, phone to his ear, looking very impatient and furious, and after a beat he throws the cell phone angrily against the opposite wall, shattering it instantly, "DAMMIT!"

"Still no answer," Sam says solemnly, knowing his brother had been desperately trying to contact both Castiel and Jack with no luck, as well as Rowena.

The only person he'd spoken with was Jody right after everything happened, completely by mistake, he had assumed it was Castiel calling him back and answered without looking at his caller ID:

"Cas, Lexi's…" he hesitates a moment, "Lex's gone, and we need Jack…we need him to try and bring her back."

There was silence on the other end of the line, then Jody's voice breaks a little as she says, "She's gone?"

Sam and Dean exchange 'oh shit' glances at each other, as Sam carries the dark-haired girl's body to the Impala.

They both knew it was only a matter of time before Jody came barging into the bunker. Dean walks over to the sink, keeping his back to his brother. He's barely keeping it together and he knows right now he needs to be alone.

"Go check on the witch or warlock or whatever the hell he is will you?" Dean doesn't look at his brother when he speaks.

Sam understands the meaning behind the request, and he turns to leave the kitchen, giving his brother some time. Dean contemplates praying to Chuck, but he's not helped the last few times he's called out to him. He closes his eyes tightly trying to hold back the overwhelming emotion which makes his knees weak. A few tears slip past as he sinks to his knees in the kitchen floor, bringing his hands to his head in frustration. After a few moments, he lifts his head, staring at the ceiling, not having heard the person walk into the room behind him.

"What did you do?" A familiar, but breathless voice questions.

Dean twists his body around to find Lexi standing just a few feet behind him, she's gingerly touching the blood-soaked shirt she's still wearing, and she glances up at him in confusion as she continues her tone slightly harsh, "If you made a deal…I swear to God…" He's on his feet as she's speaking, a smile of relief creeping back on his face at the anger in her words.

"I didn't," he says, closing the distance between them. Lexi can see the tears in his eyes and feels a tinge of guilt for her tone. "Thought crossed my mind," he continues as he wraps his arms around her, effortlessly lifting her off the floor and she feels the quick kiss on her forehead.

"Dean," she whispers sadly, cupping his face in her hands as she brushes away the remaining tears with her fingers and thumbs. He closes his eyes as she does, but not before she sees the pain there; He watched me die. She can't imagine what he'd felt, what he's feeling.

"I'm sorry," she says and without hesitating leans down to brush her lips across his. It wasn't a kiss brought on by passion or attraction, nor did it linger for long. It was a small, fleeting moment of love and comfort, but neither could deny the intensity behind it as she pulls away, her eyes landing on his for a brief second. Lexi quickly moves up to kiss his forehead and then pulls his head to her chest as she lays her cheek against the top of his hair.

"Lex," Sam's voice is barely audible from the kitchen doorway, but she glances back over her shoulder to see the look of relief wash over the younger brother's face as he makes his way into the kitchen.

"Hey Sam," the dark-haired girl gives him a small smile as Dean places her back on the floor in time for his brother to envelope her in a hug. He holds her for a bit longer than he normally would, but he'd just lost her and if he was being honest with himself, he was a little scared to let her go again. Losing the other hunters had taken its toll on him and losing one of his closest friends was almost more than the man could take.

After a few moments he does pull back with a smile on his face, "It worked."

"What?" she questions searching his face, unsure what he's meaning.

"The spell," Sam continues, "that Evan did to bring you back."

"Evan's here?" Lexi looks at him in surprise, the name bringing back a memory.

"He wasn't in the room when you woke up?" Dean questions and Lexi shakes her head.

The brothers share a look of concern.

"If it wasn't him," Sam begins, confusion on his face, "what brought you back?"

Lexi looks between the two of them, remembering what had at first felt like a far away dream when she'd woke up, but now was beginning to feel like more than that. She takes a deep breath before she says quietly, "I think I know."

Lexi manages to find a burgundy t-shirt in a basket Sam insists are clean clothes and would contain some of Mary's things before she makes her way into the storage room. She sees Evan frantically searching drawers, a small pile of things he's gathered lay on top of cabinet. She watches him for a moment before she clears her throat and he turns quickly at the sound. He looks at her in disbelief for a moment before he carefully takes a step towards her.

"You died," he says hesitantly, not sure how it's even possible she's standing there.

Lexi shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, "I walked it off."

He shakes his head, narrowing his eyes at her disapprovingly.

The girl takes a deep breath before dropping the information she has, "I saw your mom."

Evan's brow furrows after he registers her statement, "What?"

"When I died," she continues, moving closer to the storage cabinet, which he's now using to support himself with one hand, "I saw your mom."

"Really?"

Lexi nods her head, "The resurrection charm your grandmother gave her…" The girl takes her finger and points it at herself, and suddenly, everything makes sense to him. The charm is what brought Lexi back.

"Whoa," Evan replies turning to look at the supplies he has gathered on the cabinet, "that explains a lot."

Lexi nods her head quietly and stands there for a few moments in silence with him before she speaks again.

"This looks like some serious spell work," Lexi points at the ingredients.

Evan gives her a sidelong glance, "Well, you did die."

He stares at her and she can see the emotions waging war behind his eyes. She tries to think of a witty comeback, but words evade her, and she has to break the stare by glancing back down at the ingredients. She picks up a small bundle of white sage to toy with in order to keep her hands and mind occupied.

"Did she say anything else?" he asks after a moment.

"That she loves you very much," Lexi says, which makes him smile, "oh, and to tell you, how wonderful life is while you're in the world."

The smile fades away, sadness replacing it briefly and she panics, "What's wrong? Did I say right?"

He nods his head as he adds quietly, "She used to sing that song to me all the time."

They stand there in silence for a second before Lexi says with uncertainty, "Do you need a hug or…do you need me to go?"

Evan looks over at her with a raised eyebrow, "Did you just ask if I needed a hug?"

"I'm usually really good at this friend stuff," she replies beginning to ramble, "being there for someone emotionally. I just don't really know you, and technically I'm exhausted, so I can't tell what that look is…"

"You took a bullet for me," he says flatly, "and died."

He shakes his head angrily and uses both hands to shove the pile of ingredients off the cabinet and into the floor, turning to stalk away from her as he does so.

'How very Dean Winchester of you,' she thinks to herself, 'Least he didn't use magic. Maybe he only uses magic when he's really angry, or maybe when he's really angry he uses physical strength instead of magic.' She watches his shoulders rise and fall slowly as he takes a few deep breaths, 'Easy big guy, please don't Hulk out me, I don't want to fight you. What's with all the Marvel references? FOCUS Lexi!'

"That makes twice," he begins then turns to look at her, "I've watched you die."

She doesn't respond, she just stands there holding the sage in both her hands, watching his movements cautiously as he continues, "Do you have any idea what that's like?"

Lexi hesitates, glancing down at the mess in the floor for a moment before brings her eyes back up to meet his. For the first time Evan can see a small glimpse of the pain she's hiding.

"I know what it's like to lose people…friends and family," she replies quietly, her voice breaking as events from earlier replay in her mind, "and I would have lost Sam today, and Dean, but I didn't, because of you…you have no idea what that means to me…and I owe you for that."

"That's not how friendship works," Evan says genuinely with a small smile.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shoots from the right side of Lexi's temple behind her eyes and she reaches up to gingerly touch the side of her head. She grabs the cabinet in front of her with her other hand to steady herself, momentarily feeling weak.

"Are you okay?" Evan questions with concern as he takes a step closer.

"Yea," she replies, the pain still emanating through her skull, "just a headache."

"LEXI!" Jody's voice echoes down the hallway and Evan glances towards the door to see a woman with short dark hair come bursting into the room, a look of relief on her face upon seeing the girl in front of him. He can tell from the redness in her eyes she's been crying.

"Lexi," she says again as she approaches the girl, seeing the current state of pain she's in, "what's wrong?"

"Headache," Lexi manages to say as Jody reaches over to place her hands on her shoulders, but as soon as she does a blast of energy from the girl sends the short-haired woman flying back towards the door, knocking her off her feet.

Both Winchesters have walked in through the door in time to see this phenomenon occur and they look at Lexi in shock as she fearfully glances to Jody in the floor.

"Jody," she says with concern, turning towards her.

Sam moves to help the sheriff to her feet as she shares a look of concern with the youngest Winchester, "I'm okay."

"What was that?" Dean questions moving further into the room.

Lexi shrugs her shoulders, "My head just started pounding. I don't know what's happening."

He nods his head with understanding as he slowly walks towards his friend, holding his hands out in front of him cautiously, "Why don't you come lay back down? Maybe you just need to rest some?"

Lexi's head is throbbing to the point she feels as if it could explode and when Dean reaches for her hand, she pulls away from him and says quietly, "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't," he replies with a reassuring smile, "you got this."

Sam's eyes search the shelf next to him and they land on the magical cuffs he and Dean keep on hand for Rowena in case of emergencies. He doesn't want to use them on his friend, but if she's having trouble keeping these new powers in check, then it's better to be safe than sorry. Evan's on the offense too, he's already picked up some of the ingredients he shoved to the floor moments earlier and has placed them back on the cabinet; carefully, he takes the top off a gold powder.

Dean steps closer to Lexi, while Jody and Sam watch fearfully as he reaches out with one hand to touch to the top of her shoulder, then says carefully, "It's going to be okay."

As soon as his hand touches her though, the same unseen force flings him back across the room, crashing him into his brother. Lexi watches the scene unfold in horror and she says quickly, "I'm sorry."

She glances over to Evan who's moving towards her and she says pleadingly, "I can't control it."

"I know," he replies as he opens his hand in front of her face, revealing a small amount of the gold powder, "I got you." He speaks a phrase in Latin before blowing the powder from his palm into Lexi's face which immediately makes her eyes close and he grabs her around the waist with his other arm to keep her from falling to the floor.

Sam grabs the cuffs as Dean recomposes himself looking over at Evan curiously, "What'd you do?"

"Just a sleeping spell," he responds, scooping her effortlessly into his arms, "Until we can find something to temporarily bind…"

Sam holds out the handcuffs in front of him, "Like this?"

"Exactly," Evan responds, then waits for Sam to slip the cuffs on Lexi's wrists.

"What the hell happened to her?" Jody questions in exasperation, then looks at the person holding her, "And who the hell is this?"

Evan sits at the table in the large library, feeling very much out of place in a room of strangers, but at least Dean had offered him a beer. Jody was sitting at the opposite end of the table from him while Dean had taken his place in the middle, explaining the events of the day to her. Jody takes a long drink from her bottle as she processes everything.

"So, this is our new normal?" she questions the older brother.

Dean just nods his head in agreement, it's obvious this thought is just now occurring to him as well, "Yea, looks like we've added another witch to the ranks."

"Witches…psychics…werewolves…angels…Lucifer's kid...alternate worlds," Jody lists, "are we sure this isn't the plot of a new film franchise?"

Dean rubs the back of his neck as he agrees, "Right."

"Sorry, did you say Lucifer's kid?" Evan questions from the far end of the table.

"Yep," Dean says tilting his beer toward the other man, "welcome to the party."

Lexi's eyes slowly start to peel open and she realizes she's back in the infirmary. She sits up quickly, remembering the events in the storage room.

"Hey," Sam says soothingly, standing up from the chair he was sitting in, "it's okay."

She realizes her hands are bound and looks down at the metal cuffs etched with engravings. The dark-haired girl recognizes them, she knows they've had to use them with Rowena before to bind her powers. A feeling a relief washes over her, and she closes her eyes for a moment as she takes a few calming breaths.

"Rowena's on her way," the younger brother states as she feels him sit down on the bed beside her, "She thinks she can help. We had to use the cuffs, I'm sorry."

"No," she turns to him, "thank you. I can't…I…"

Thoughts race through her mind, she'd been pushing them down since she'd woke up earlier. Focusing on everyone else made it easier not focus on herself, but the tears finally well up in her eyes.

"I killed Logan," the words come out quietly, "I almost…almost killed you…"

"Lex, I know what you're going through, I've been there," he replies, trying to console her, "that wasn't you."

"But it was me," she responds, staring up at him, "I wasn't possessed Sam. I wasn't subconsciously stored away in a happy memory somewhere in my own mind. I wasn't in control of my hands, but I was there the whole time, and I saw everything. I heard everything. I felt everything."

The tears fall silently down her cheeks as she stares at him, remembering the look of forgiveness he'd given her in those almost final moments of chaos, and she swallows the lump in her throat, "I felt everything Sam."

Sam wraps his arm around her, pulling her into his side as she rests his chin on top of her head, hiding his own tears from her. His heart breaks for his friend and for himself, because regardless of all the good they do, all the people they save, it feels as if it's never enough. Why can they never seem to catch a break?

Here's a question for your soul;

How many times can a broken thing break?

And the Gods whispered:

Let's see, shall we?

-Nikita Gill

#supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester #sam winchester #oc

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