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cbraxs · 5 months

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Warped [Time Warp Trio Fanfiction] - Chapter 17

The Palace of Versailles was beyond magnificent. It was a nearly ninety million (yes, million) square feet estate covered in gardens, winding walkways, and topiary, with the main attraction the palace itself, a towering presence of marble white and cream that glowed in the night brighter than the hundreds of candles lighting up the night.

The soft winter breeze carried the fragrance of flowers through the night air. The din of excitable chatter nearly drowned out the airy sounds of several flutes, harpsichords, and violas.

It would have left Anthony breathless… if he had been there on holiday.

He imagined Isadora would’ve adored the palace, trying to capture every pond, fountain, garden, and tree to recreate later in her artwork. She’d ask a dozen questions and inexplicably have a dozen more answers. She’d love it so much she’d beg to stay for just a few more minutes and, of course, Anthony would give in.

He sighed and placed his mask on his face. He couldn’t afford to get distracted with thoughts of his daughter, not when he was purposely heading into a trap. He had to be alert. Focused.

Anthony was glad he warped close to the entrance, and even happier he was hidden behind a large yew tree. The estate was positively crowded with hundreds of gilded carriages and thousands of guests dressed to the teeth made their way inside. Women dressed in big baroque dresses decked with ribbons and bows. Meanwhile the men looked almost as extravagant, wearing every color under the sun. Many of them wore masks similar to Anthony’s, allowing them to enter without invitation.

With a snap of his fingers, his outfit changed to match that of the aristocratic party guests. Green mist shimmered around his form and when it vanished he wore a green frock made of silk and velvet with gold embellishments. White breeches, black boots, and a jabot-- fluffy white neckwear-- completed the look, and with his green and gold domino mask, he blended in with the crowd.

Anthony recognized when and where he was: The Yew Ball. The celebration of the marriage between the Dauphin of France, Louis Ferdinand de France, the son of King Louis the XV, and the Infanta of Spain, Maria Teresa Rafaela. Many of the guests were looking for the king for even a simple glimpse of His Majesty, but Anthony had a different target he was hunting down.

Mad Jack had to be here. Even if this were a trap (and it absolutely was) and he did not need to be there, he’d still be here. The man couldn’t help himself. He had this deep psychological urge to gloat even at the cost of his goals. It was infuriating but could work to Anthony’s advantage.

The Warp Wizard made his way through crowded courtyards, making polite and short conversations to not stand out. His eyes scanned every masked face and accessed everybody for a familiar lanky build, but there was no sign of Jack.

Past fountains and Roman-styled statues, he came across the ballroom, a wide open space situated outside surrounded by fountains and beautifully shaped hedges. Couples waltzed along to the lovely music while others socialized on the sidelines. Anthony scanned the dance floor when he saw “her.”

Across the dance floor was a woman with an oversized white powdered wig and an unbelievably big and bright green dress. She stood out like a broken arm.

Anthony ignored his years of training to blend in and go unnoticed. He stormed across the ballroom to reach her, blind to the strange looks from the other guests. As if sensing Anthony’s presence, the bearer of the bad wig turned around, a wicked grin under his mustache and a mean gleam behind a monocle.

“I’ll be damned.” Mad Jack snapped his fan shut with a dramatic flourish. “Look who the cat dragged in. It’s Anthony the Steadfast.”

“You look ridiculous.”

Jack laughed, like anything in this situation was funny. “Is that any way to talk to a lady?”

“Don’t play games. Why did you bring me here?”

He had the nerve to tut-tut-tut at him, waggling his finger like a disappointed guidance counselor. “So impatient. Why don’t you ask me to dance first?”

Anthony could arrest him now. Send him to Em and be done. But he needed answers and playing along with this silly game might be the only way he might ever understand what this nutter was up to.

He held out his hand and grimaced when Jack placed his gloved hand in his. The two of them glided to the dance floor, falling into the practiced waltz they’ve done a dozen times back in their academy days.

“You’re looking well,” Jack said.

Anthony snorted. “Like you ever cared for my well-being.”

“You got me there. Never could stand your meatheadedness.”

He’s been called much worse. As Anthony rolled his eyes, he caught a glimpse of something resting against Jack’s collarbone. It was a necklace of pure gold, two bands coiled around each other like serpents.

The madman noticed what Anthony was looking at and smiled. “Lovely, is it not? A perfect copy of the Necklace of Harmonia. I took it off the hands of a witch who was squandering its power.”

Jack was a thief. That was nothing new, he always had sticky fingers even when they were young. At first, it was endearing, but then he started taking historical artifacts. Important items that always got him in trouble, and for what?

“What do you want, Jack?”

“What do I want? As if anyone has ever given a flying fury about what I wanted. If they had then we wouldn't be here now, would we?”

Anthony could never comprehend the sheer entitlement of this manbaby. Ever since they met, it was all about what the universe owed to him, what he deserved. Like a disease, it’s only gotten worse with age.

“I suppose,” he mused, “that’s not entirely true. Dulari cared, once. That is before you and my simpleton of a brother corrupted her with your utter incompetence and softness.”

“You do not get to talk about her that way! Not after the way you treated her.”

“She didn’t do anything she didn’t want to do.”

Anthony stopped dead midstep. His jaw was tight. He clenched Jack’s hands in a death grip with his, and he briefly imagined them around his neck.

Jack’s smirk widened. “Uh-uh-uh. Remember the Academy’s golden rule: Don’t cause a scene~”

Anthony dropped Jack’s hands and sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t want to fight you. That gets us nowhere. Just tell me what you want with Isadora.”

“What makes you think I want—”

“For once in your life tell me the truth! I know what you’re up to, so why don’t you just admit it.”

A bluff. He still had no clue what the maniac was up to, but he hoped this would catch him off guard.

Apparently, it worked. Jack’s playful features morphed into shock before he quickly reclaimed his demeanor. “What does it matter? With those little earrings, I can’t get near her, anyway. Sounds like you’ve already solved the problem.”

Anthony’s heart skipped. Time slowed around them. “You’ve been around her?”

“I’ve had some run-ins, nothing you need to worry your empty little head about. But I must say, you ought to be ashamed. You stifled Isadora’s potential, fed her with half-truths and lies. She’s weak, nowhere near as powerful as Dulari, but for my purposes, she’s the best bet. If she doesn’t survive the process, then it’s no fault of mine, now is it?”

A chill swept through the ball. The horror of what he said hit Anthony like a crashing wave. Rage took hold of Anthony. In a blink, his fist, glowing green with magic, slammed into Jack’s face. The man flew past the dance floor, past hedges and shrieking guests, crashing through a gilded window.

Anthony summoned his wand. With a wave, he vanished and reappeared near where his fist carried Jack off to: The Hall of Mirrors.

He yelled for the few remaining guests to flee, and thankfully they listened. Hundreds of people poured out of the hall past statues and mirrors until the two of them were left alone.

He pointed his wand at Jack and raised him above the rubble and glass. The wig disappeared in the flight. His dress was in tatters revealing his suit underneath because of course, he was wearing his suit under the dress.

Manic laughter erupted from Jack’s upturned lips, speckled with red.

The blood in Antony’s veins boiled. “She is not your damned battery!”

Jack shot his hand forward. Anthony dodged out of the way of the cane sword that whizzed by, the tip barely slicing through the sleeve of his suit and grazing his arm. He winced in pain, dropping Jack in the process. Jack landed with a crouch and shot a bolt of magic at the chandelier overhead. Crystal shards as sharp as daggers plummeted down over Anthony. He would have been skewered if he hadn’t jumped out of the way, skidding ungracefully in shoes not meant for combat.

The chandelier exploded in a plume of shredded crystals. Quartz shrapnel splintered in every direction. Anthony whipped his wand like a lasso and caught the crystals overhead, hurling them back at Jack. He dodged; hardwood and dirt erupted where he once stood. He vanished in the cloud of debris.

Fire from the candles spread throughout the room, coating the room in red and orange light. Air burned in Anthony’s lungs. The flames reached high above them, licking at the marble walls and painted ceiling.

Anthony wiped at the beads of sweat forming on his brow. Cautiously, he approached where Jack lay, a pair of magic-proof handcuffs appearing in his hands in a flash of green.

“I’m finally taking you in, Mad Jack. Under Em’s authority, you are—“

Sharp pain flared from his shoulder blade. The fez-wearing man from the diner stood behind him, pulling the blade from his back, a wicked grin under lifeless eyes.

Another stab at Anthony’s side brought him to his knees. His vision doubled and blurred. He struggled to keep balance on his knees. Poison, he thought groggily. The blade was poisoned. The warmth of blood bloomed from his wounds soaking his clothes and staining the floor.

From the dust clouds, Jack emerged. Hate radiated throughout his body. He stalked towards his fallen ex-friend brandishing his sword.

“Finally, I can be rid of at least one thorn in my side.” He raised his sword, primed to rend Anthony’s head from his body weakened. “But fear not, old friend. Isadora will be in capable hands, at last.”

He swung. But the blade never touched his neck.

A flash of green as bright as the sun slammed Jack like a freight train. A blur of purple rushed past, but Anthony didn’t have the strength to follow it. His magic fizzled in and out as he tried miserably to heal his wounds. Behind him, Jack and a familiar voice shouted back and forth. Swords clashed and magic blazed. A flash of golden light seized the room, then… nothing. Silence. He couldn’t distinguish the roar of the fire and his blood rushing through his ears.

A moment passed before the sounds of footsteps quickly approached from behind. Anthony tensed.

“Anthony! Oh, dear. You’re hurt! Can you move?”

“… Joe?”

Joe the Magnificent stood before him. His purple suit was torn and his mustache was smoldering. Joe tried to help him stand, stopping when Anthony grunted in pain and nearly collapsed.

Joe frowned and fished out his pocket watch from his breast pocket. “Please hold on, my friend!”

Somewhere between bleeding out and warping, Anthony passed out, his thoughts on his daughter, her sweet face clear in his mind as everything else faded away.

#time warp trio #timewarptrio #fanfiction #mad jack #hiiii #so i disappeared #sorry about that #i can't promise it won't happen again

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softquietsteadylove · 10 months

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Hey birdie! ✨

I've got a cute fluffy idea for "My First And Only" if that's okay! Thena and Gil fell asleep on the couch at Thenas and Ajak comes home after a long day at work. She's seeing them and takes a picture she's going to use as her smartphone background. Thena wakes up and glares at her mother but she can't get up because Gil is holding her! ✨🖤 Hugs and Love! 🖤✨

Thena blinked, finding the living room dark. The question of 'are you still watching?' having come and gone. She sighed, not quite ready to get up yet.

Gil wasn't either.

Right--they had been watching cooking shows while waiting for her mother to get back from work. Gil always kept her company when Mother was working, whether here or at his place with Karun. They had come home with onigiri and a new flavour of cup ramen to share as a snack.

And they might have made out a little bit.

Thena tried to reach for her phone but, somehow, she and Gil had moved from just leaning together on the couch to now fully cuddling. Gil was slumped over on the throw pillows, but with his arm firmly around her waist. Their legs were woven together messily, tangled in the subconscious desire to have their feet up while they rested.

"Gil," she whispered, although Gil was a very sound sleeper. The few times she had gone to his house on the weekends early in the morning, she had discovered as much.

That was also how she discovered that Gramps made wonderful pancakes.

"Gil," she whispered again, pushing on his chest faintly.

"'Ena," he mumbled, forgetting the 'Th' and only nestling further into her mother's plush sofa and pulling her tighter against him.

Thena smiled to herself, alone in the dusk. Gil was nice and warm, she had to admit. It was very different from when she had sleepovers with Makkari and Sersi, all three of them crammed into her double bed upstairs.

Gil sighed in his sleep, holding onto her in the slim space between his body and the back of the couch. His arm was both loosely and solidly wrapped around her.

Just so long as no one could see--could know she was indulging herself like this, Thena pressed her face to his chest. He smelled nice; he had started wearing some kind of scent since they started going out. She wasn't sure if it was real cologne or not, but it was kind of nice. And of course he smelled like whatever he had been cooking.

She wrapped her arms around him too, under the hoodie he was wearing. It was a little too warm for him to need it, but she was pretty sure he always had a jacket or sweater or something just in case she got cold so he could lend it to her. He loved 'boyfriend stuff' like that.

Thena sighed, quickly being pulled into sleep again by how warm and comfortable he was, even napping on her mother's couch in the early evening. "I love you, Gil."

He was asleep; it was the only reason she said it.

"Honey?--I'm sorry I'm late, my love, I--oh."

Thena kept her eyes closed, hoping her mother would simply...mind her business. For once.

Ajak was enthralled by her relationship with Gil. According to her, she wasn't sure if Thena would ever find herself in want of a romantic companion, and was thus ecstatic that she had found such a suitable partner as Gil.

She had plenty of 'I told you so's, in not so many words.

Thena listened as her mother abandoned her shoes by the door but definitely didn't go upstairs, or even into the other room towards the kitchen.

Ajak was quiet, tiptoeing in sock feet over the living room rug and towards them. She turned on the small side lamp and opened the curtains just a little.

Gil adjusted on the couch at the brighter environment before settling his head by Thena's again.

"Oh!" Ajak whispered in delight.

Thena's cheeks burned. She wasn't sure if it would be worse to be awake now or not. Maybe her mother would get the hint - for once - and leave them be if she pretended to still be asleep.

Ajak's phone made the quiet noise of a camera clicking.

"Mother!" Thena did her best to turn and glare at her mother, although still within Gil's hold.

"Sorry, honey," Ajak whispered, although obviously not with any real regret. "Did I wake you?"

Thena hesitated. "Yes."

"Sorry, my baby, you go back to sleep," Ajak murmured, although she didn't exactly scurry off to leave them alone.

Thena pushed against Gil's chest to angle her head, "what are you doing?"

Ajak was holding her phone with one hand and tapping away with her pointer finger of the other. "How do I change the background on this?"

"What?!"

"I know you've showed me before," Ajak murmured, tapping and pressing on various parts of her phone screen. "Oh, wait."

"No, Mother, you-"

Ajak looked up as Thena's fussing only got her encased in Gil's arms again. His embrace weighed down Thena against him, letting him nuzzle his face closer to hers again.

Thena heard Ajak squeak in delight. Perhaps it was just as well her face was being pushed into Gil's side again, having started to become engulfed in warmth.

"Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm going," Ajak practically giggled. She moved lightly, pausing only to pull the throw over the back of the couch over them.

Thena glared at her mother. "If you use that as a background I will-"

"Hush, Thena, don't want to wake Gil," Ajak cut her off, blowing kisses to them both as she finally bounded upstairs.

Thena pressed her face into Gil's chest one more time. She had to find a way to delete that picture from her mother's phone, and maybe from the face of the earth.

#My First and Only AU #ah young love #as they say #Ajak is obsessed #she's telling all her friends at the hospital about her daughter's sweet boyfriend #and they spend all their time together and he's such a little gentleman with her #Ajak did try to give Thena The Talk again since she started dating #but Thena nearly burst into flames and screamed at her mother that this wasn't necessary and stormed off #Ajak yells after her that she just wants her to be safe!#but anyway she doesn't mind at all if the kids want to have a little nap on the couch #I mean look at them!#they're so cute!#Gil does eventually wake up and lets go of Thena and apologizes when Ajak brings them in plates of dinner #poor boy is so embarrassed #he promises nothing happened!#Ajak just smiles and says that she knows that and she trusts them both completely #it's fine sweetheart don't worry #Thena is glaring the whole time chanting in her head #deleteitdeleteitdeleteitdeleteit #Ajak just grins at her because no she won't #it really is her phone background #much to Thena's horror #but once Gil is done being embarrassed about it he quietly texts Ajak #will you send me that picture?#Thena calls him a traitor and doesn't kiss him for a whole week

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