#!zinfics

[zinfindoll]

Aftermath | Rated: G | reader pronouns: none CW: none AO3 link Part two to "Slumber"!

Woken up, you're faced with an important decision while dealing with the aftermath of Malleus' overblot.

Your dreams were whimsical.  Of you playing in a field of flowers, to going to an amusement park, then finally, to you relaxing on the shore of an ocean.  It was just you — nobody else was around as you sat on the beach, gazing out at the ocean serenely.  The sun seemed to be setting, but it had been for a while, hanging stagnantly in the air and dying the sky of reds and purples that any photographer would have killed to capture.

It was just you, on this beach, staring out at the ocean and trying to remember why you had felt so stressed.

Your memories were jumbled.  The world of Twisted Wonderland seemed a lifetime away, small fragments barely seeping into your mind.  It was hard to make sense of them.  At some point, you felt stressed again, as if your peaceful life on this beach wasn't natural, but the moment you got that feeling, a fog seemed to settle over your mind.

No.  Everything was just fine.

You don't know how long you had been sitting on the beach when you finally got up, turning around.  The scenery morphed into a clearing into the woods, and despite the strangeness of it, you didn't find any fault with it.  The trees dipped low, creating an almost hidden nook in the forest as wildflowers dotted the clearing.  It was magical, breathtaking, and...

Yet, something felt off.

That fog threatened to take over your mind, its soothing fingers trying to reassure you that you were safe, but this time you brushed it off as you noticed somebody else in the clearing, snoozing away peacefully on the grass.  He had to have been around your age, with glass-like skin and silver hair that spread out around him like silk.

Up until now, you hadn't seen a single other soul in this (reality?  dream?  space?) place, and so naturally curiosity took ahold of you.  For some reason, he looked familiar, but you weren't sure you had ever seen him in your life.

In a bed of thorns laid Silver, peacefully resting, an odd green glow surrounding him.

Silver...  Silver?

Your head started to hurt a bit, causing you to grimace as you took a step forward.  Your legs felt like lead, but the closer you got, the more your mind seemed to regain its clarity until you were collapsing by his side, trying to clumsily shake the teen awake.  Fragments of your memory were still floating around, not quite allowing you to piece together the full picture, but you understood enough.

Something was dearly wrong.

"Silver...  Silver!  You have to wake up!  Please..."

The boy stirred, purple eyes fluttering open as his eyebrows knit together, mumbling your name in confusion.

"Where...  are we?"

You wished you had the answer to that question.  You didn't, though, so instead you tried your best to fill the knight in on the situation.  "I believe...  We're both under a sleeping curse.  Malleus...  He...."  It was a struggle to tell Silver that his lord overblotted, but Silver seemed to get the memo, a heavy sigh leaving him.

"I understand."  Closing his eyes in thought for a moment, he seemed to be dredging up his own memories of what had happened before Malleus had cursed him.  "You found a way home, didn't you?"

"Ah..."  So, that really was the cause.  Malleus couldn't stand the thought of you going back...  ". . . Yes.  Crowley made a breakthrough, and I had told Malleus about it."

Silver nodded, standing up before helping you up.  He didn't seem as lethargic as he sometimes was; was it perhaps because he technically was asleep in your reality?  Neither of you planned on staying here long enough to find out.

As more memories seeped through, your surroundings seemed to shift.  You were still in the clearing, but no longer did it look magical.  The flowers were wilted, the trees now without leaves and all jagged branches.  Thorns seemed to poke out in the darkness, viscous black ink dripping onto the ground.  Where the overblot droplets met the ground, it seemed to corrode, the grass and flowers folding in on themselves and disintegrating.

No longer was this world enchanting.  It had warped into its nightmarish actuality, as if to punish you for fighting against Malleus' curse.

How did you two get out, though?  Malleus was one of Twisted Wonderland's best mages, and you were a magicless human from a different universe.  Was there even a way out for you?

Silver nudged you along, hand on his sword.  "Come on."  You didn't need to be told twice, following close behind him as he lead you through a narrow path in the woods.  Not for a second did you take your eyes off him, afraid that if you looked away for even a moment, he would disappear and your surroundings would shift once more.  That worry never came to fruition, though.  Without any other problems, Silver had managed to guide you both out of the woods and at the entrance of the Diasomnia dorm. 

The sky was dark green, almost black with the storm clouds hovering menacingly above the dorm, and everything was covered in thick thorns, blocking entrance.  Withdrawing his sword, though, Silver made quick work of the thorns, allowing you two to pass and enter the building.

The dorm was empty.  Everything cast alight in green, you had never seen Diasomnia look so dead before, dust floating around in the air as everything else seemed eerily still.  Like you had walked into a picture, everything stuck motionless and unchanging for eternity.  Nothing else could be heard besides your quiet footsteps, yours and Silver's steady breathing.  Where did you two go in the dorm?

Thankfully, your question was answered.  Some hallways were blocked by thorns too thick for Silver to cut down, and without his pen, there was only so much you all could do.  The thorns seemed to lead you and Silver down a path until you eventually made it to the room you had met Malleus in.  The doors, which had previously been barred shut in your reality, were now open, one door looking as if it had been almost ripped off its hinges.

The air seemed to shimmer around you as you and Silver stepped in, the scene before you contorting into something almost cartoonish as if you were looking through a bubble.  You recognized the people in the room, but you struggled to make sense of the scene before your eyes.  Leona, Ruggie, and Jack all seemed to have confronted Malleus, the large phantom behind him reminiscent of a huge dragon.  Lilia and Sebek were somewhat in the middle between the Savanaclaw students and their dorm leader, trying to appeal to Malleus.  What was most jarring, though, was what was floating behind Malleus...  

Floating on beds of thorns, were you and Silver, ensnared and glowing lightly.  You both looked so peaceful in your sleep, but when you looked closer you could see the trail of dried tears on your cheek, a light smudge of black on the corner of your lips.

Silver seemed frozen beside you, taking in the scene with a severity you had never seen on his face before now.

The others were talking, but you couldn't hear them.  It sounded distant and warbled, as if your ears were clogged with water.  It was a strain to even hear them, let alone try and make out what they were saying.  Likewise, reading lips was impossible with how the scene rippled like a disturbed pond, constantly moving the images.

Slowly, though, the phantom behind Malleus seemed to dissipate, his attire changing back to his normal Diasomnia form.  You and Silver had clearly arrived at the tail end of whatever confrontation had broken out as Lilia stepped forward to comfort Malleus.  From behind, yours and Silver's bodies ( god that was so weird to think about) were gently lowered to the crown, the thorns dissolving into thousands of green sparkles.

And yet, you still remained asleep, even as Jack ran towards you, catching you before you could hit the ground (not like you had plummeted to behind with, you had been let down so softly ).  You could barely hear him, but it didn't take a genius to guess he was calling out your name, trying to wake you up.

You looked beside you towards Silver, only to see him gone.  Glancing back at his body, you saw the way Lilia had gone over to him, kissing his forehead gently, seeming to break the curse that had caused him to sleep.

Why were you still asleep?  Malleus was brought back to his senses; why were you still cursed?

Jack had turned to Malleus in anger, and you could tell by the look on Leona's face, his ears pressed back, that he was also berating Malleus.  The fae in return had slowly gotten up and walked over to you, Jack seeming to hover over your body for a moment before stepping back.  His eyes didn't leave Malleus or you, but Malleus took no notice of him.  His attention was solely on you as he caressed your face, a thumb swiping over your lip to rid it of the black ink that had smudged when he kissed you earlier.

Malleus murmured something, but you couldn't hear it.  His grip on you tightened as he pulled you closer, and he stooped down, lips hovering over your own for a moment.  He hesitated to kiss you, before moving up slightly, lips pressing softly onto your forehead as if to coax you awake from the sleeping curse he had inflicted upon you.

The bubble you were in, watching this scene, suddenly popped.

Your eyes felt unbearably heavy when you woke up, squinting them closed more before struggling to open them.  You felt fatigued, your body drained as you looked up.  All you could see was Malleus, holding you close and looking relieved to the point of tears as you finally were freed from the curse he inflicted upon you.

When he spoke, he used your name, your true name and not 'Child of Man', and you found it hard to find yourself angry at him.  You were much too tired for anger, or any other spiteful emotion.

"We need to...  Talk," you slurred out to him, before sleep took you once more, body needing to recuperate from the magic.

When you next awoke, it was not in the arms of Malleus, but in the infirmary.  Sunlight filtered in brightly through the windows, and judging by the amount of small gifts and flowers littering the window sill (most gifts shoddily wrapped), you could safely assume you had been out for a decent amount of time.

You didn't wake alone.

Snoozing on your lap was Grimm, and when you shifted he immediately bolted up, eyes wide as he noticed you were awake.

"MY HENCHMAN!"

Practically bawling, Grimm threw himself in your arms, and you immediately hugged him back.  Shushing him as you would a scared child, you glanced out the window, glad to see the sky was back to normal, no thorns to be seen.

After Grimm had finally let go, your day was filled with visitors from all sorts of dorms.  You had apparently been asleep for three days — three days as your body got much-needed rest from what it had been through.  The rest had caused you to feel rejuvenated, if not a bit restless as you were forced to spend one more day in the infirmary.  Your friends had used this time to swing by, expressing well wishes and filling you in on everything you had missed.  Even Crowley had popped in, letting you know that everything was set for you to go home now should you wish to leave (which was very fun to explain to Grimm and the ADeuce duo, who had been in the room when Crowley decided to swing by).

Despite all of your visitors, though, Malleus never came.  It wasn't until late in the night, when Ace and Deuce managed to drag Grimm off, that Lilia had swung by your room by himself.  Despite his usual smile, the air felt somewhat heavy, and you spoke first, suddenly feeling tired once more at the conversation that was ahead of you.

"I didn't mean to hurt Malleus," you started, but Lilia shushed you.

"It is not your fault that he overblotted," he cut you off.  "In honesty...  It may have been brewing for a while.  As his guardian, I should have noticed the problem in his feelings, but instead I fed into them.  But please, do not hold this against him, either."

"I don't."  Your response was mindless and swift, but after taking a moment to think about it, you realized you really didn't hold it against him.  He hadn't been in his right mind, and while you perhaps were a bit frustrated with how everything had played out, anger wasn't one of the emotions you felt towards your friend.

Still, you wanted to talk it out.

Lilia had been speaking, but you hadn't truly been paying attention when you unapologetically cut him off.  "I want to talk to Malleus."  Realizing moments after how rude your interruption was, you could feel yourself flush.  "Er...  Please."  If anybody could convince Malleus to come see you, it'd probably be Lilia.  Sure enough, Lilia didn't take your interruption or you ignoring him to heart — he only gave you an enigmatic smile, patting you twice on the head before heading out to probably find his ward.

It was only a few moments before a couple of fireflies floated into the room, one landing on your nose and distracting you as the very man you had been waiting for all day appeared.  The firefly on your nose floated off, allowing you to give Malleus your undivided attention as he shifted in place, arms crossed.  He didn't meet your eyes for a moment, and you had to think — for somebody usually imposing, he seemed more reminiscent of a scolded child, or a pouty toddler.

You sighed.  You were just glad he had been pulled back to reality from his overblot.

"I'm not mad."

Finally, his gaze met yours, searching your face to see if you were lying.  When he didn't respond, you continued, leaning back in your bed.  "I'm...  A bit upset with how everything turned out.  I don't appreciate being put under a sleeping curse."  Your voice was stern, and you made sure to not break your gaze from Malleus.  "But..."  Your shoulders slumped.  "I can't find it in me to be mad at you."

"You should be," he murmured.  ". . . I hurt you."

He was right.  You should be; and while you weren't mad, it didn't mean your relationship with him could just easily bounce back to normal.  Overblot or not, he had broken your trust.  It would take time to recover that, time which you may not even have should you choose to go back and stay in your world.  You told him as much, wanting to be firm that, despite the lack of hostility, you did not condone what he did to you and Silver, watching as he seemed to slump slightly.  He didn't argue, though — chances were, Lilia had given him a similar lecture.

Still...

"Crowley found a way to keep the portal stable should I choose to go home," you started slowly, gauging his reaction.  "I don't have any magic, so I can't open it back up to come back, but if somebody were to open it on this end for me to allow me to come back..."  You trailed off, hoping for Malleus to catch the hint.

He did.  "Child of Man...  Are you saying you'd want to come back to this world?"

Did you?  You weren't entirely sure yet, but the thought of leaving your friends behind hurt, and you figured it may be better for you to visit here than to have them visit your world.  The thought of somebody like Malleus, or the Leech brothers, or even Ace in your world was enough to make you shudder at the chaos.  Best to not deal with that.

"At the very least, it'll be possible for me to travel between the two.  So I won't be gone forever."

"You'd want to come back, even after what happened?"

Even after I almost cursed you to sleep for a thousand years? He seemed to mean.

You leaned forward, gently grabbing his hand, calling out his name softly.  He watched you carefully, emerald eyes hopeful.  "I...  Care for you a lot, Malleus.  Of course, I care for my other friends greatly, but..."  You busied yourself with looking at your conjoined hands, watching as your fingers intertwined with his own.  "You hold a special place in my heart, even with what had happened.  I don't want to leave this world on such a dark note with you.  I want... To continue to spend more time with you."

Your voice cracked at the end of your confession, and Malleus had finally closed the distance, pulling you into him in a comforting hug.  You were still in bed, but he had sat down, practically pulling you into his lap as he held you close, your face buried in his chest.  Fingers stroked your head, and while you couldn't see Malleus' face, you could imagine the soft look on it that he often donned when around you.

"Even now, you're not afraid of me...  You're truly something else, my dearest Child of Man."  An amused huff left him — at least, you think he was amused.  "Truthfully...  I don't want to part with you, even for a moment.  If you'll allow me, I'll rebuild the trust between us.  I, too, care for you greatly."

Pulling back slightly, Malleus tilted your chin up to meet his gaze.  "I didn't ask back then, but I will ask now...  Can I kiss you?"

Once again, it was your name, and not his nickname for you, that left his lips. Heart fluttering, you could only nod, allowing him to tenderly place his lips upon your own, a kiss soft and sweet and conveying all the emotions neither of you had spoken out loud.  When you finally separated, you leaned your forehead against him once more, feeling somewhat tired from the long day of visitors and the heavy conversations.

Sensing your fatigue, Malleus once more stroked your head, holding you firm in his arms.  "Rest.  I'll stay right here."

Unlike before, when you had resisted sleep in Malleus' arms, knowing about the curse he had placed, you found yourself more willing to relax.  There was no curse, or overblot, or betrayal here.  It was just you and Malleus, and while you knew you'd need to rebuild that trust with him, for now, you felt safe in his arms.

And so, you allowed yourself to sleep once more.

#!zinfics #twstfics #malleus draconia #malleus draconia x reader #malleus x reader #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland fic #twst fic #twst #twst malleus #nah bc why am i so nervous posting part two lmao #anyways yeah idt it'd be realistic if mc just up and forgave malleus so mb yall he gotta earn that trust back

[trekkie-lkm-archive]

Info: So I was watching the movie and I was just like, 'Gee, Kirk's sure getting knocked around a lot, I wonder how he's still standing?' BECAUSE I MEAN JUST- Let's list what I remember.

1) Was whammied by McCoy and his medical voodoo. 2) Was further whammied by really goddamn severe allergic reactions to said voodoo (even if it was hilarious at the time.) 3) SKYDIVING FUN TIEMZ and fighting on the Giant Drill of Death. 4) Vulcan nerve pinch, osnaps. 5) Was deserted on a fucking freezing planet, chased by a bigass Cloverfield monster, rolled down a huge snowbank and ran for his life across cracking ice. 6) Unexpected mind rape meld. 7) Had the crap beaten out of him and was choked half to death by Spock. 8) Had the crap beaten out of him by Romulans who (they're related to Vulcans, right?) are probably x100 times as strong as humans. Strangled again. 9) From what I can guess, little to no sleep for anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. 10) HE WAS RUNNING A WHOLE LOT, I mean the man must have been goddamn exhausted. 11) Mental stress from A) the destruction of a whole fucking planet, B) the loss of almost the entirety Starfleet Academy cadets (probably including the green chick he'd been 'friendly' with), C) memories he might have picked up from Spock Prime about the life he never lived and might never have, plus the severe the emotional backlash from the meld and D) ALL OF THAT GODDAMN STRESS. Srsly.

So what I would like is a post-movie fic where Kirk, after the adrenaline wears off (this can be immediately after they escape the pull of the anomaly or hours or even a day later, I don't care) completely crashing. Like, having a conversation one minute and falling flat on your face the next type crashing. Because really, the human body isn't made to withstand a beating like that without requiring some recuperation time.

McCoy/Kirk, Spock/Kirk, Spock/Kick/McCoy or Spock/Kirk/Uhura is preferred. Hurt/comfort is a must. Bonus points if there's concerned!Uhura finally demonstrating even the slightest sliver of respect for Kirk after everything he did. Even more bonus points for concerned!McCoy snark. :D

I don't know it's appropriate for a kink meme, but I'd really rather the focus be on the hurt/comfort and characters than the on sex, if there's any sex at all. I leave that up to the author.

...hopefully that wasn't too specific. BUT I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER SRSLY. I don't know why Kirk whump is so addictive. He just bruises so pretty, IDEK. (thread)

Fill: 1/3

Author: Kain_was_Here

Archive Link

Fill: 2/3 + Journal

Author: Kei_Rin

Archive Link

Fill: 3/3

Author: Zinfic

Archive Link

Plus bonus fic's mentioned in comments:

One + Archive

Two + Archive

#archiving #star trek #kink meme #zinfic #Kei_rin #Kain_was_here #new author #mckirk #gen

[zinfindoll]

Slumber | malleus draconia

Slumber | Rated: T | reader pronuns: none CW: none AO3 link Part One | Part Two can be found here!

Malleus overblots at the thought of losing you when you going home becomes reality.

Six overblots — since you had arrived in the world of Twisted Wonderland, thrust into a world of magic and mayhem, you had saved six people from being consumed by the negativity of their magic.

So far, it was one from each dorm.  Diasomnia had been the odd one out, and while you sometimes were afraid Sebek might wind up going too far, you never believed that any of your friends from Diasomnia would risk overblotting.  Lilia and Malleus themselves lived for hundreds of years already, Silver was much too mild-mannered, and Sebek was, well, Sebek.  His loyalty to Malleus would probably keep him from overblotting, if only to not bring shame to his lord's name.

You were so confident in your friends, that you had missed the warning signs, the red flags slowly raising.

It started when you had gotten hurt. 

You had tried to break up a fight Ace had started, resulting in you getting punched in the face.  It left a nasty lump above your eye, the right side of your face purpling from the resulting bruise, and you had immediately been taken to the nurse's.  Still, there was only so much that could be done for you, and so you were sent back to your dorm, icing your face the rest of the day.

When Malleus had seen you that night for your nightly walk (by now, Tsunotarou was more a force of habit to call him, rather than the placeholder for when you didn't know his identity), emerald green eyes had immediately picked up on your injury.

"Child of Man," he started, a finger underneath your chin as he tilted your head up.  You winced slightly, not out of pain, but rather for his reaction.  "Who did this to you?"

"It was just a random Heartslabyul student.  Riddle already dealt with them."  It wasn't a lie — both Ace and the student he had been fighting got collared as a result of your injury.

Malleus wasn't convinced, but allowed you to pull away from him.  "Does it hurt?"

Yeah.   You didn't want to worry him, though, so you lied.  "Mm.  Not really.  It'll heal in no time."

A huff left your taller friend; he knew you were lying, and you knew he knew, but thankfully he didn't call you out on it.  Instead, he once again pulled you close.  "Come with me back to Diasomnia.  We'll get this fixed up."

He didn't need to ask twice.

The second flag should have been the increased worrying over you.  Granted, over the past year, you had gotten injured a lot, but now it seemed personal to Malleus whenever you got injured, as if he were wounded himself.  More often than not, you found Sebek or Silver hanging around you, as if to guard you.  Malleus didn't tend to make appearances around you in the day time, but even Lilia would pop in every now and then, scaring you as he usually did.

Your nighttime walks also tended to last longer.  It was harder to part with Malleus, now.  While the feelings between the two of you remained unspoken, it was clear you had grown on him much more than he prepared; and vice versa.  You assumed, though, that the feelings would always remain unspoken.

After all, one day, you'd be back in your own world, leaving everybody behind.

You had no time for romance.

By the time the third flag had raised, it was too late.  You were lost in your own world as Crowley finally declared that there was a breakthrough, that he had found evidence of interdimensional travel and that you were much closer to getting home.  While interdimensional and reality-altering magic was difficult, it wasn't impossible.

Finally...  Finally!

You could finally get home.

The thought, though hurt you.  You had made so many friends here, had been through so much...  You knew you would never forget the memories you made here.  Those memories, and the people you met, would always be held close to your heart and cherished...  

But what if you could never come back and visit?

Would this be a final goodbye to all of your friends?

Holding onto those worries, you stayed quiet about it until that night, wanting to confide into Malleus as your closest friend.

"Crowley finally figured out how to get me back to my world."

Beside you, Malleus seemed to still.  ". . . Is that so."

"I mean, there's still time before I'm able to leave, but...  I don't know if I'll be able to come back.  I've been gone for so long in my own world..."  You trailed off, not giving voice to your fears.  What if everybody had given up on you, had assumed you were dead?  It had been months, after all...

But you had people waiting for you.  To not give them closure...  It was terrible.  

Why did you have to choose between one or the other?  Why, when you had been so excited to finally get back home, did you feel melancholic now that it was becoming reality?

Malleus peered down at you, eyes seeming to glow in the night as they always did.  "Do you wish to stay, Child of Man?"

Did you?  You didn't know.

"I have to go back," was your response.  "My parents, my friends...  They're all probably worried about my disappearance.  I miss home."

Still, Malleus pressed the issue, not quite believing your answer.  "And so you'd leave behind the ones that care about you in this world?"

He seemed to pick out your biggest worry and hand it back to you, hitting you tenfold with the simple question.  While you had never gotten irritated at Malleus, you couldn't help the feeling that rose up as you whirled on him.

"It's not like that," you insisted, eyes stinging with unshed tears.  "I'll miss everybody here, so much!  If I could have both, I would , but I don't really belong here.  It's only right for me to go home."

Malleus' response was somewhat stoic and underwhelming.  ". . . I see."  He was right next to you, but felt so far, as if your words had bridged a distance to great to repair.  "I believe I'll have to cut our walk short tonight.  Apologies, Child of Man."

No — this wasn't how you wanted this conversation to go, but before you could cry out to him, the fae seemed to disappear, a trail of fireflies in his wake.

You stumbled, staring in the place Malleus once was with clenched fists, willing yourself to not cry.

You were finally able to go home...

... So why did it feel like you were making a mistake?

The day after you broke the news to Malleus, the weather was gloomy and stormy, the skies tinted green.  Back in your world, it would be a warning that a tornado was near.  Was it same, here?  It was hard to tell.  The air was still, stagnant.  The calm before a huge storm.

You opted to wait to tell your friends, and even Grim, about the news Crowley broke to you.  You wanted more time to think.

"Something's off today."  It was Jack who pointed this out at lunch, his ear twitching as if he could hear something you couldn't.  While Ace, Deuce, and Grim didn't quite get what Jack was getting at, you understood, nodding once.

"Right?" you confirmed, pursing your lips together.  "I have this weird feeling in my stomach that I can't shake..."

As if to punctuate the strange feeling, thunder echoed out, rumbling so violently you could feel the ground beneath you shake.  You could only grip onto the table as you watched your tray clatter to the ground, splattering your lunch everywhere.  Despite your stomach's growls, you found it hard to care about that right now.

Shooting up from your seat, you looked around in confusion, everybody else visibly confused.  "What was that ?!"

"Nothing good," Jack replied grimly, also standing up.

"Yeah, no shit!  That shook the entire campus!"  Ace exclaimed in irritation.  You could tell that some of his food spilt onto him as he tried to wipe it off his blazer.  "There's no way that was just normal thunder!"

Ace was, unfortunately, right.  As your group (along with many other students) peered outside to see what was going on, you noticed the thick stalks of thorns slowly encompassing the school, threatening to devour the campus of NRC.  The thorns were gargantuan, and you couldn't help but blanch at the thought of getting stuck with one of those.

Nudging your friends, you began to usher them back inside.

"Get in, now !"

The thorns were fast, but not fast enough.  The students that had gone outside had heard your shouting, had realized what was going on, and soon everybody was back inside, just in time for the windows to be completely covered.  The lack of outside lighting made the cafeteria feel a bit dimmer, but thankfully the lights were still on.

"FNNNNG?!  JUST WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Grim yowled, and you looked around, trying to find somebody who might have the information.  Azul and the Leech twins didn't have a clue, and neither did Jamil or Kalim.  Your eyes darted over to where your favorite Diasomnia members usually were, only to see that all four of them were gone.

The knot in your stomach tightened.

This didn't bode well.  In fact, if you had to fathom a guess....

"We need to get to the Diasomnia dorm," you declared to your small group of friends.  " Now."

How did you explain to your friends your thought process, and your feelings?  The original Maleficent (at least in the fairytales of your world) had encompassed a castle in thorns.  Diasomnia was based off Maleficent — seeing all of the past dorms and members having some correlation with the Disney tales you grew up on, it wasn't a farfetched idea to correlate this to Diasomnia.

But that meant, then...

Were your friends in danger?

The last time you had seen Malleus, he had parted abruptly.  You hadn't ended that interaction on good terms.

Was he alright?

"Whoa, whoa, wait, seriously?!  Are you nuts?!" Ace asked, pulling you back by the arm.  "Did you not just see how those vines or whatever swallowed this building?!"

Deuce nodded, crossing his arms, but Jack was the one who spoke, always the voice of reason.  "I wouldn't rush over yet.  Look who's coming over."

You followed his gaze, eyebrows shooting up in surprise at the last dorm leader you would have expected to be in the cafeteria, let alone interact with your group.

"Leona," you greeted, looking at the familiar teen trailing behind him.  "And Ruggie.  I'm surprised you two are here."

"Not by choice," Leona grumbled.  "Did I hear ya correct?  You're headin' over to that lizard's dorm?"

You shifted in place, nodding.  "Yes.  I think what's happening is Diasomnia related."

"It is," Leona confirmed, once again taking you by surprise.  "This magic...  It reeks of an overgrown lizard throwing a temper tantrum."

So it is Malleus...

"N' how do you think you're gonna manage making it to the dorm with all those thorns?"

You resisted rolling your eyes.  "If only there were somebody who could turn what they touch into sand," you drily responded, looking up at the beastman sarcastically.

Ruggie chuckled.  "Shyeeehihihi, is there somebody like that?"

On the other hand, Grim was not amused.  "Will you just help us?!  How am I supposed to stock up on tuna if I can't even go outside?!"

Talk about priorities.

Leona scowled.  "And what will I get out of it?"

"The opportunity to one-up Diasomnia," you told him.  While you had no care about the conflict and one-sided rivalry between the two princes, you needed all the help you could get.  By the way Leona's ear twitched, you could tell he was hooked on the thought of showing Malleus what for, even if it wasn't actually going to happen.

"Did I hear that the Ramshackle Prefect is going to tread once more into enemy territory?"

You looked back to see it was Azul who spoke up, Jade and Floyd right beside him.  Floyd grinned.  "Shrimpy's gotta backbone as always!"

"I'm not making a deal, and I don't have time for this."  You glanced at the cafeteria windows, dismayed to see some kind of black substance dripping on the windows like rain.  However, this wasn't your first rodeo, or your second, or even your third.  By now, you knew what that was.

Overblot.

Somebody had overblotted.

Malleus....

Your fingers curled up into fists once more, gritting your teeth.  Was this your fault?  Was last night the catalyst?  You weren't sure, but there was only one way to find out.

"Ace, Deuce.  Can you ask Housewarden Riddle to try and keep order here?"  Another glance at the window, and you saw that the thorns seemed to be pressing more insistently into the glass.  Would the window panes hold up, or would they shatter?  "I don't know how much longer those windows and the walls will keep the thorns from closing in if they are still growing.  We'll need as much magic here as possible to ward them off."

Azul nodded.  "We'll stay here and help with that.  Floyd, I trust you're in a good enough mood today for your unique magic to actually be useful?"

"Aye aye!"

You knew there was no point in asking Grim to stay behind — where you went, he tended to follow.  And so, after a brief game plan, you set off with Leona, Ruggie, Jack, and Grim, everybody else staying behind to try and protect the school.  With Leona's unique magic dissolving the thorns, the three of you were able to make it to the mirror hall in no time.

It was eerily empty.

A part of you had honestly expected for Crowley to be waiting for you, to ask you to take care of this like he always did.  To push his duties as headmaster onto the magicless, otherworldly human.

He wasn't here, though.  It was just you and your group, and you had no time to worry over how strange it felt before you were barreling forward, growing more and more concerned.

When you went through the mirror, you had expected to step out to a large castle like you always did.  Instead, you appeared in an empty throne room.  Thorns covered the walls, sprawled like ivy, and the room itself was dim, cast in a green glow.  Turning around, you saw there was no mirror, and that you were all alone.

"Grim?"  You called out hesitantly.  The door behind you was closed, the thorns and vines preventing it from being opened through normal means.  "Jack?  Ruggie?  Leona?! "

Your voice echoed, but there was no response.

Something had interfered, and separated you from your friends.

Glancing around the room, you tried to see if there was anything hiding that might be of use; a soft glint of silver was what caught your eye, and before you knew it, you were running forward, hoping your eyes were just deceiving you.

In a bed of thorns laid Silver, peacefully resting, an odd green glow surrounding him.

"Silver?  Silver!"  Gently, you shook him, careful to not prick yourself.  "Silver...  Please, wake up!"

"It's no use, Child of Man."

The sudden voice and drop in temperature had you whirl around to the newcomer, your breath stopping at the sight before you.

As you thought...

It was Malleus.  Dressed regally in what you could only assume was black, formal attire from his home kingdom.  His horns seemed larger, black scales seeming to litter his skin in small patches.  His hands, usually gloved, were curled into sharp, vicious looking claws, dipped black in ink and overblot.  Even from here, his eyes seemed even more bright than usual, black dripping from his head and mouth in thin rivulets.

Your knees felt weak, but you forced yourself to stay standing.

"Malleus..."

His name left your lips in a breathless whisper, and he stepped closer to you.  "Malleus..."  You licked your lips, unbearably dry.  "What...  What did you do?"

He sighed, and you were glad to see there was no phantom lurking over him.  Yet.

"After our conversation last night...  I began to realize...  You humans are truly fragile."  His voice was low, a mere murmur, but you heard him crystal clear.  "It would be so easy for you to be ripped away from me, be it illness, or injury, or even going back home...

". . . Unless I interfered."

Your heart seemed to stammer in your chest, but you stood your ground, looking up at one of your dearest friends, hurt that you were the one that caused for this to happen to him.

"I..."

Voice trailing off, you fumbled.  What could you even say?  An apology wasn't the move.

"You and Silver, both children of man...  I came to realize, perhaps it's best that I keep you both safe, until the danger passes."

Danger?  What danger?

Malleus was standing right in front of you, now, and you noticed the small puffs of smoke that left his lips.  A pointed claw tilted your chin up to look at him, and you felt mesmerized by his stare, as if you couldn't pull away.

Perhaps you shouldn't...  Perhaps he's right...

What?  No.  He wasn't right.  He was slowly losing his grip!  You had to do something!

And yet...  Why did you feel as if you lacked the will to act?

Sensing your warring emotions, Malleus continued.  "Child of Man...  Here.  A gift from me..."

The smoke that left his lips was now tinted green as he bent forward, pressing a chaste kiss to your mouth.  You felt ink smudge against your skin, felt the smoke seeming to settle into your body, invading your lungs and bones and filling you until you felt weightless, weightless, weightless , as if you could easily float away.

Your head felt foggy.

This wasn't normal.

None of this was normal.

"Malleus, please..."  You could feel the drowsiness starting to take into effect, eyelids heavy, but you forced yourself to stay awake as you wobbled forward and into Malleus' arms.  He held you gently, as if you could break under the slightest bit of stress.  You probably could, right now.

Your plea fell on deaf ears.

"It's alright," he murmured, tugging you closer.  Your forehead rested on his chest, and you fought to keep your eyes open, but it was difficult, only growing increasingly harder to stay awake.  "One thousand years will feel nothing but a dream to you."

"No...  I can't..."

You couldn't finish your sentence before finally succumbing to the magic Malleus had cast upon you, growing limp in his arms as you fell into an endless slumber.

"When you next wake up...  I promise, things will be better."

But you were already lost in your dream world, too gone to hear Malleus' promise to you.

"And I promise...  I'll show you a real happy ending."

#!zinfics #twstfics #malleus draconia #malleus draconia x reader #malleus x reader #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland fic #twst fic #twst #twst malleus #malleus x y/n

[zinfindoll]

Snowball | epel felmier

Snowball | Rated: G | reader pronouns: none CW: none

Part of the 25 Days of TWSTmas collab on Quotev!

"HENCHMAN, WAKE UP!  IT'S AN EMERGENCY!"

Waking up to Grim shaking you awake on a Saturday morning was not how you wanted to start your day.  Cold and groggy, you brought the blanket closer to you, not fully conscious yet as you mumbled for him to go back to bed.  Unsurprisingly, Grim persisted, jumping on your stomach and causing all the air to leave your body momentarily.

"Ow — hey!  What was that for?!"

Brushing him off and sitting up, you could only glare at the furry little demon, waiting for an explanation as to why he was so adamant on getting you up at — you glanced at the clock on your phone — seven in the morning.  Couldn't you be allowed to sleep in on your day off?!

Grim, unperturbed by the look you gave him, waved a paw over to the window.  "I told you, it's an E—MER—GEN—CY!"  He emphasized every syllable in annoyance, and dread pooled in your stomach.  Clutching the thin blanket around your shoulders, you stood up and padded over to the window, flinching as bare feet met cold wood.

A part of you just didn't want to look outside.  Whatever 'emergency' this was, perhaps blissful ignorance was better.  However, peering out the window gave you no answer to the question you had for Grim.

Frost crept on the window edges, and for a moment you could only look out in awe at the beautiful sight before you.  The ground was blanketed in crystalline white powder, only continuing to pile on as snow drifted softly to the ground.  It must have started sometime while you were sleeping — there had to be a couple inches by now.

It was your first snow since coming to this world and school, and the sight was mesmerizing.

Grim broke you out of your reverie.  "It's terrible!  I'm going to go melt it all right now—HUH?!"

Arm snapping out, you gripped the back of Grim's neck like you would any other cat.  Despite the sweet smile, you were anything but pleased as you realized the real reason why Grim roused you out of the comfort of your warm bed.

"You will do no such thing."  Grim trying to melt the snow was a recipe for disaster, not to mention it'd ruin the beautiful picture.  "Did you seriously wake me up for this?"

"PUT ME DOWN!"

Well, now that you were up, you might as well get ready for the day.  Dropping the feral little gremlin, and ignoring his cry of annoyance with your treatment to him, you made sure to dress as warm as you could.

By the time you were done, it was just after eight, and snow was still sprinkling down.  A week ago, you had borrowed some products from Vil (at his utmost insistence that you improve on your self-care).  Unfortunately, one of the things he gave you had made your skin itchy, and so you wanted to return it to him.  You were aware he was probably already out for the day doing a photoshoot or advertisement, as such was the life of a celebrity, but nonetheless you could at least leave it with Rook or Epel or somebody else at his dorm.

While you were aware the weather might not be the same at the Pomefiore Dorm than on the rest of campus or Ramshackle, you were pleasantly surprised to see it had still snowed a bit.  Snow dusted the ground and the roofing of the castle-like dorm, although not in the quantity that Ramshackle had.  It wasn't near as windy, only a bit of nip from the cold.  Pomefiore was always a beautiful dorm to admire, but the snow gave it a whole other quality, and you couldn't help but take a moment to appreciate the view.

That was, until something cold and wet was lobbed at you, hitting you in the back of the head and knocking your hat off.  Immediately, your shoulders scrunched up towards your neck at the sensation, but snow was already seeping down the back of your jacket and shirt.

Whirling around, you fully expected to see Grim, or even Ace (although why would Ace be at Pomefiore first thing in the morning?), but instead you were met with a different face, grinning cheekily at you.  

Epel was bundled up, with a hat and matching gloves, and your eyes zeroed in on the ball of snow that he had in his hands, ready to be weaponized against you or any other unsuspecting student.

"If Vil catches you throwing snow, he's really going to get on your case," you teased, not quite making a move to retaliate.  Yet.

Epel stuck his tongue out, and when he spoke, you could tell he wasn't caring too much about hiding his accent.

"Vil's not around.  Off doin' some kinda photoshoot for the day."

"And so you're using your temporary freedom to harass innocent bypassers?  Why, Epel, I never knew you to be so cruel!"  With dramatics that could almost rival Rook, you placed a hand to your chest and pretended to feel faint.  Epel saw this as his chance to try and throw another snowball at you, but you ducked just in time, hastily scooping up snow to throw back at him.  You also missed, your aim not quite the best, but at least he got the message as he continued to grin mischievously.

"When else am I gon' be able ta?"

"Well, you're going to regret challenging me.  Not to brag, but I was the king of snowball fights growing up."

The threat of a challenge was enough to spur both of you on to a full-fledged war, the serum you had for Vil all but forgotten as you and Epel threw snowballs at each other.  Ducking and dodging, time seemed to slip right by you both — students learned quickly of the war going outside Pomefiore, and many of the dorm members avoided the area like the plague, not wanting to get involved.

Many of the dorm members — not all.

Neither you nor Epel had seen it coming until it was much too late, both of you getting nailed in the heads with snow.  Knowing it wasn't either of you, you both stopped, glancing around.  It didn't seem like there was anybody that could be a culprit, until a voice called out, cheery and dramatic and definitely belonging to the guilty party (not that he sounded guilty whatsoever).

"Monsieur Cherry Apple, Trickster!  Whatever are you two doing?"

Rook's hands looked clean, but you knew better.  Before you could call him out, though, Epel immediately straightened his posture, hands going behind his back as if he could hide what he was doing.

"Why does it matter?"  Epel asked defensively, and you wearily looked at both of them.  If Rook, for some reason, decided to join the fight, you were going to dip.  He would absolutely annihilate you, that you were sure of.

"Why, mes amies, it just looked like you two were having a wonderful time!  I'm sure—"

Rook was cut off as Epel lobbed a snowball right at him; if he was surprised, Rook didn't show it, swiftly dodging.  The only problem was, neither you nor Epel had noticed the figure standing behind Rook with arms crossed until it was too late, the snowball hitting the chest of the only person that willingly would stand so close to Rook.

Vil Schoenheit.

Your eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, the scene seeming to progress in slow motion as the snow splattered over his outfit, a bit of it going upwards and hitting his face.  Already, he had looked displeased with yours and Epel's antics; now, he looked downright furious, his face flushing so violently that you could see a bit of red peeking through his foundation.

Epel's face was paler than the snow outside, and a glance at his expression told you all you needed to know.

You both were totally screwed.

Giving an awkward little wave and smile, you tried to diffuse the situation.  "Um...  Hi, Vil!  I came to return the serum you lent me...."

"Both of you inside.  Now."

He wasn't your dorm leader, Pomefiore wasn't your dorm, but you still followed Epel inside the dorm like kicked puppies, realizing that you were about to be on the receiving end of a lengthy lecture at hitting the Vil Schoenheit with a snowball.

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

#twstfics #twst #epel felmier #twst epel #!zinfics #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland fic #epel felmier x reader #fly high epel for hitting vil with a snowball

[zinfindoll]

SWAN SONG [ Malleus Draconia x Reader]

Six years since you've gotten back to your world, and not once have you forgotten the memories you spent in Twisted Wonderland. No matter how much you missed your friends, though, life goes on... That is, until one day you encounter blot in your world. Something is happening that is blending the two worlds together — and it's up to you to reunite with old friends and foes to stop it before both worlds are gone. For good.

Rated: T CW: Use of [Y/n], she/her reader pronouns, major character death, angst with happy ending, swearing

INDEX

00. hiraeth 01. bleeding over 02. campus visit 03. familiar faces (coming soon!)

#malleus draconia #twst #twisted wonderland #upcoming fics #swan song #malleus draconia x reader #malleus #malleus x reader #zinfic

[zinfindoll]

Swan Song | M. Draconia — 02. campus visit

[ previous chapter | index | next chapter (coming soon!) ]

Rating: T CW: use of [Y/n], she/her pronouns for reader, swearing, mild violence

Author's Note: so much happens in this chapter! i really hope you all enjoy it, and apologies for the delay! ♥♥ finally get to be reunited with malleus next chapter !

Earlier that day....

There weren't many things that surprised Lilia Vanrouge nowadays.  Part of it was just his age — 700+ years of living would do that to anybody.  The other part was that, in his last year at Night Raven College, he had pretty much seen it all, thanks to an otherworldly traveler who, despite being magicless, had fought off a plethora of overblots and managed to practically unite the school.

Leave it to this little human to be the one to surprise him once more.

Lilia Vanrouge had been enjoying his retirement, living a cozy life away from all the chaos and spending his days picking up new hobbies, improving his cooking, and playing video games.  Today was gaming day since a new event was starting in the co-op him and Idia were currently playing, but as he was setting up his computer, he decided to check his phone.  There was no reason to, but something in him was compelled to pick it up and open up Magicam...

Only to see that one person he thought would never be seen again was online.

Lilia's eyebrows raised.  Nobody had her account information, but the account was kept up for classmates to look back and reminisce.

Before he could even do anything, a text came through from Idia, talking about how he was still caught up in something and might not be able to play today.  Naturally, Lilia immediately asked if it was about the former Ramshackle prefect's sudden online presence, only to earn a 'what???????'.

The old fae hadn't planned on spending his day on the phone with Idia trying to figure out what was going on, but that's how it ended up.

"IDK how this is happening... ugh, terrible timing, too..." Idia grumbled over the phone.

"Ahh, that's right.  You're still working on those missing persons cases, right?"  That... was another worrisome thing.

Idia was silent for a moment.  "Yeah...  Nobody has been found yet."

Lilia couldn't offer any reassurances, but he did know that their previous classmates going missing was certainly worrisome.  Among other things going on in the world...  He wondered if it was related to the prefect's return.

Idia clearly thought the same thing.  "Ortho's running a scan now.  Are we having a sequel or something..?" 

"Big Brother!  The signal is gone!"

Sure enough, the prefect was no longer online.  Lilia could hear Idia's groaning over the line, and after a bit more talking, the two hung up with Lilia mentioning he would tell Idia if it happened again.

With this on top of three former NRC students missing...  Lilia couldn't help the foreboding feeling in his chest that he may be having to come out of retirement.

══════════════════

Idia Shroud couldn't stop thinking about the earlier phone call with Lilia and the fact that the former Ramshackle prefect had been online.  Even if it was only for moments, it was still bugging him.  He didn't need this added stress — and as cool as the prefect was, there was trouble wherever she went.  Not that she wanted said trouble, but she unfortunately had that main character energy that naturally attracted it.  Cool, but completely overwhelming for Idia at times.

Pouring over the files in front of him, Idia kept on going over the security footages of the latest disappearance.  Due to the nature of the disappearances, STYX had been tasked to look into them — and since Idia had gone to school with the victims, they were hoping to get added insight.

So of course, this meant more work for Idia.  And he would complain that it dug into his video game time (especially since Project Idol came out with a new installment), but deep down he was worried.  Not just for the ones who disappeared, but if things kept up...  He had a feeling it wasn't going to stop.

"Big Brother!  The prefect is online again!"

This caught Idia's attention.

Immediately switching monitors, Idia had started to try and track the location signal.  Moments later, his phone started ringing, and Idia picked it up.

"I know, I'm on it," Idia told Lilia curtly.

The signal was weak — but it was there.  Idia could hear conversation in the background on the phone, but he didn't pay much attention to it as he continued to trace the signal.

PING.

"Got it!"  Idia cheered a bit too loudly, cringing at himself immediately.  Thankfully, Lilia didn't comment on his voice and instead asked Idia to send the location.  Idia did moments later — better Lilia than him.  He did not want to travel and see what the hell was going on over there.

"Wait— Malleus!"

Idia cringed as he heard Lilia's stern voice call out to him, using his first name rather than his newly-appointed title.  After a few moments, Lilia sighed.  "That child...  I suppose I'll follow him.  Maybe it's for the best.  I was getting outta practice as it is!"  Despite the bravado of cheer, Lilia sounded bone-weary.

"Um..  yeah.  GL, HF," Idia told Lilia, who chortled and thanked him before hanging up.

And Idia couldn't help to think once more about how everything happening was probably connected right now.

Keeping an eye on the signal to make sure it didn't disappear once more, Idia went back to work, rapidly typing away at his keyboard.

"Ace?!"

Even through the bad resolution that was no doubt the product of terrible service, you would recognize the two faces anywhere.  Six years had passed since you had last seen them, but they still looked more-or-less the same, if not more mature.  Just by a bit, though.

"YO it's actually you!" Ace exclaimed, the audio cutting out a bit.  You could see Deuce attempting to shove more of himself into the frame.

"Dude, move over!"

You were quick to cut them off before they started bickering.  "How... Shit, I mean— what the fuck is going on?!"

It was hard to get your thoughts together.  So much was happening, between the mirror and the earthquakes and now this!  You struggled to wrap your head around it all, and you knew it was all connected somehow.  There was no way it wasn't.

"We don't know either," Deuce responded.  "But it's bad over here!"  The audio started to glitch out worse.  "Riddle is — ing!"

"Wait, what?  I can barely hear you!"

"Riddle is missing!" Ace said louder, static still crackling.

"Wait, what?!" You repeated, although this time you did hear them, you just couldn't believe it.  Riddle was missing?!  How the hell was that possible?

They started to say something else just as the ground began to shake again.  It started out gentle before it seemed to get worse.  You vaguely heard Yuna call your name as you toppled onto the grass, your phone nearly flying out of your grasp as you waited for the tremors to stop.  Almost distantly you could hear people screaming, car alarms going off violently at the earthquake.

You weren't sure how long this one lasted.  Between Ace and Deuce yelling for you, Yuna yelling by your ear, the screaming and the car alarms...  It was overwhelming.  You squeezed your eyes shut, fists clenching at the grass as you waited for it to stop.

Even when it did, you felt as if the world was still trembling around you.  You were barely aware as Yuna helped you to your feet.  She looked disheveled and frazzled; no doubt you matched her appearance.

"Are you okay?" Yuna asked, her glasses askew.  You nodded.

"You?"

She gave you a shaky nod, before her eyes widened, looking behind you.

"Wha...?"

You turned around to see what she was looking at, only to feel the blood leave your face.

The mirror wasn't just leaking blot — it was now bubbling, hitting the grass in acidic splashes that killed the plant life.

"Guys..."  You turned to face the phone camera at the mirror, hearing broken up exclamations from your friends at the sight.

"Is that blot?!"

Deuce spoke up over Ace.  "I thought your world didn't have magic!"

"It doesn't!"  But even despite the irrefutable fact that magic didn't exist in your world, the blot kept pouring fourth, covering the entire surface of the mirror and pooling dangerously on the ground around it.  You dragged Yuna back with you as you noticed the pool of blot getting closer and closer to your feet.

What were you even supposed to do in this situation?!  It's not like you could just magic it away!

"You have more of those magic friends, right?"  Yuna asked, grabbing at your arm without tearing her gaze away from the mirror.  You nodded, your mouth dry.

"Uh... yeah."

"Can you Instalive it?  Or whatever their version of Instagram is called?"

That was...  Actually a good idea.

"Guys, I'm hanging up to live stream this in hopes others will see this," you told them.

"WAIT—"

You hung up before they could say 'goodbye'.  Unfortunately, you didn't have a lot of time right now.  Fumbling with the Magicam app, you managed to get to the livestream feature, immediately making sure the camera was facing the mirror as you hurriedly began to try and explain the situation.  You noticed a couple of usernames, but tried to ignore the comments as Cater immediately started to bombard you.

"What the hell is that."

You looked over your phone at the mirror, only to see in horror what was rising up from it.

A blot creature.

Well, sort of.

It was clearly fashioned out of blot, but it didn't look like the previous blot monsters you had faced off again.  It was a lot smaller, with a dripping, goopy head rather than a glass bulb.  It almost looked like a Kingdom Hearts villain, but more...  Malleable?  Liquid?

Either way, it definitely didn't bring forth any positive feelings.

And of course, because life really liked testing you, more of these mini blot monsters started to form.

"Oh fuck me," you muttered under your breath.  Before you could even say anything in the live stream to see if somebody had an idea to help, your phone powered off, dead.  Probably for the best — you were going to need both hands for whatever shit this was about to be.

Yuna called out your name in a panic as you both backed up.  Those who were outside immediately noticed the monsters appearing, phone cameras popping out to video this when all you wanted to do was to yell at them to fucking run!  

But... the monsters didn't seem to care much about you or anybody else around.  They all started to crawl towards your dorm.  Exchanging confused glances at Yuna, you tried to think of what the hell could be important in the dorm unless something was hidden in there.

Like, say, a shoebox under your bed.

You swore again.  "Yuna, we have to get back to the room."

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"I think they're after something I brought back from Twisted Wonderland!"

"Then let them have it!"

You gave her an exasperated look before sighing.  You didn't have time to argue this right now!  Shaking your head and gritting your teeth, you started to run towards the dorm, ignoring the burn in your legs and lungs.  Yuna cried out in frustration behind you before following you.

It was nice to know that your current roomie was apparently a ride or die at the very least.

"If we get killed, I'm going to kill you!" she shouted at you as the two of you ran into the building, avoiding the monsters as if they were the plague.  You skidded to a stop by the door, grabbing the fire extinguisher mounted crookedly on the wall.  It wasn't a great weapon... But it was better than trying to square up with a blot monster with your bare hands and wet noodle arms.

The weird thing about these monsters was that they didn't have the helmet heads.  Without hesitation, you swung the fire extinguisher down on one that got too close to you and Yuna, only for it to immediately splatter into harmless ink all over you both and the walls.  Some got in your mouth, tasting like dirt and ash.  Ew.

Ignoring Yuna's commentary, you continued to run up the stairs, mind racing.  The blot didn't sting — not that you were complaining, of course.  Not to mention there were so many, and as long as you didn't get in their way, they didn't seem aggressive.  And that made you wonder...

Was it actually blot?  Or was it the product of somebody's unique magic?

Maybe you were overthinking it.  You tended to do that a lot, paranoia being one of your best friends, but there was a hell of a good reason for that.  Your time in Twisted Wonderland had unfortunately taught you to be wary and cautious of everybody you met, to suspect everybody had ulterior motives.

Besides — how else could this all be happening?  Somebody had to be behind it.  But if they were, were they behind the earthquakes and other disasters happening?

Ugh.  You wished you had more time to think, but time was of the essence.

"There's so many...!"

Yuna was kicking at them, and a part of you feared of her after you saw her splatter three without breaking a sweat.

Note to self: don't ever get kicked by Yuna.

Thankfully, there were none of these monsters in your dorm room yet.  Shutting the door behind yourselves, you immediately went to pull the shoebox out from under your bed, trying to sift through the items.

"Um?!  Do we have time to go through everything right now?!"

. . . Yuna had a point.  Grabbing your backpack, you started to dump all of the items inside, one of them catching your attention.  Without thinking twice, you caught it, gazing at the shimmering green gem stone.

It was a simple necklace, with a silver chain and what was apparently green sapphire.  It looked simple, but considering the gift giver, it no doubt cost more than your college tuition.

"Come on!"

Slipping the necklace on, you grabbed the backpack and started to leave the dorm room — only to get swarmed.  Yuna shrieked, kicking one away from you and stomping on it as you two traversed the narrow hallways once more to leave the dorm.  Now the monsters seemed to be targeting you, which proved your theory right.  Something in that shoebox was attracting them.  But what the hell was it?

Progress was annoyingly slow but eventually you and Yuna made it out in the fresh air again.  There seemed to be no end of the small monsters, and you could feel yourself getting winded.  Yuna didn't look much better.

"What now?" she asked.  You didn't have an answer, grimacing as one got you with sharp claws through your jeans.

"Hell if I know," you responded breathlessly.  Wait until the cops show up?  What could they even do?

The ground started to shake again.  It hindered the monsters as much as it hindered you, and you and Yuna held onto each other, attempting to stay upright to no avail.  It didn't take long for both of you to topple like dominos — the pavement you were standing on was less forgiving than the grass you fell on earlier, but you could barely focus on the numbing pain as you saw the ground cracking a few feet away from where you and Yuna were.

Through the earthquake, you could shakily make out something larger leaving the mirror, squeezing through and ballooning out.  Yuna watched it with wide, horrified eyes; you were sure your expression mirrored hers.

It was nothing like the small menaces from before.  This thing was the size of your dorm, with large, bat-like, inky wings that dripped blot threateningly.  On it's head was the signature black helmet of a blot monster, and its talons tore up the grass as it stepped out of the mirror.

It was horrifying.

And it was the exact same creature from your nightmares.

As the ground stopped shaking, you pulled yourself and Yuna up, your legs feeling both like jelly and lead at the same time.

"Run," you breathed, tapping Yuna's arm without looking at her.  "RUN!"

The two of you started to bolt just as the blot monster swooped down, cleaving through the pavement and causing you and Yuna to dive in separate directions.  You barely registered the stinging scrape of pavement against your flesh, scrambling to your feet as the monster instantly turned to you.

Welp...  At least Yuna will hopefully be safe, because there was absolutely no chance you could dodge this one.

Flinching as the monster dove straight at you, you couldn't help but call out the one person you needed most, wishing for one last time to have been able to see him.

"MALLEUS!"

And if you opened your eyes, you would have noticed the fireflies appearing around you.

#swan song #malleus draconia #malleus x reader #malleus draconia x reader #twisted wonderland #twst #twst fic #zinfic

[zinfindoll]

Swan Song | M. Draconia — 00. hiraeth

[ prologue (you're here!) | index | next chapter ]

Rating: T CW: use of [Y/n], she/her pronouns for reader, swearing

The world, as you knew it, was ending.  You weren't sure how you got here, standing in the middle of a city that had been reduced to rubble.  Black smoke plumed upwards, and the sky was a dark red — not that you could see the sky, since it was covered with pure black clouds that seemed to drip ink onto the world below.  It was an acrid smell that nearly burned your nostrils, and you took a step forward, stepping over a large piece of metal that was once part of a car.

You couldn't see anybody else around.  It was just you.

In this world of ruin and chaos...  It was only you.  Where did everybody go?

Walking forward, you kept your eyes peeled for anybody else that may have survived whatever happened here, but...

Nothing.

The silence was unnerving, but you didn't have to worry about it for long — in the distance, you could hear a guttural roar, causing you to flinch backward as the ground rumbled underneath you.  It continued to tremble even after the noise had stopped, and you leaned against a crunched-up car to keep your balance.  Something moved in your peripherals, and you looked up to see a large creature rising from the rubble, inky black wings batting violently.  It had a domed head much like a diver's helmet, filled with ink, and another roar shook the decimated city.

It wasn't ink.

It was blot.  In your world.

How did it get here?

Swearing, you turned around and ran, but the creature was much quicker.  With claws resembling a hawk's talons, you were scooped up by the back of your shirt before the creature threw you up in the air.  Squinting your eyes closed, you waited for impact as you fell back down, falling, and falling, and falling...

Your back hit the floor, limbs flailing in confusion for a moment, tangled up in sheets in blankets.  Your heart felt like it was about to beat out of your chest, and suddenly the darkness that consumed your vision turned into a bright light, causing you to squint and try and cover your eyes.

Your dorm mate was by the light switch, looking down at you in disgruntled concern.  Her hair was matted and sticking out every which way — she had been woken up.

"Girl...  Again?"

You groaned, head falling back onto the carpeted floor with a muffled thump, not bothering to clamber back into bed just yet.

Your roommate, Yuna, just sighed after making sure there wasn't an intruder and flipped the light back off, shuffling back to her side of the dorm and grumbling the entire while.

 The digital clock on your dresser read just a bit past four in the morning.  Once more, you hit the back of your head on the floor in exasperation.

The dream repeated in your mind like a broken record.

══════════════════

"It's been six years since you've been back."  Your therapist, Melanie Dorsett, leaned back into the chair that she sat in, eyes boring into you.  Not at all concerned, you were lying on the couch, eyes rolling up towards the ceiling as your feet propped up on the armrest.  "And you are still having these nightmares of...  overblots.  Are you still taking your medication?"

"Yes," was your tired response.  "And it's been helping...  A bit.  The nightmares aren't as frequent."  A lie.  If anything, they were more frequent.

Melanie nodded, setting the clipboard she had been writing on to the side.  You glanced over at her, waiting for her to speak.  "What you went through..."  She hummed.  "It's not something that is easily forgotten."

You snorted.  "You don't even believe what happened to me actually happened."

"I'm not here to discuss that," she countered.  "It doesn't matter if it actually happened because it's real enough to you that it's affecting your day-to-day life.  This alternate world...  Wherever you were, you were gone for three years, [Y/n].  It's clear it's left trauma."

Of course it did.  You were suddenly snatched from your home and woke up in a coffin, only to realize you were in a literally different universe where everybody except you had magic — and you couldn't even enjoy said magic, because you were too busy playing pseudo-therapist and fighting giant monsters as everybody had mental breakdowns!  It was a good thing you couldn't overblot.

You didn't say that, though.  You'd just be regurgitating information that you have told your therapist plenty of times before.  Tired, you could only ask her: "Do you think that Twisted Wonderland exists?"

Melanie sighed, pursing her lips.  ". . ."  She was contemplating her words, but her hesitation spoke legions.  You knew her thoughts before she finally spoke them.  "I do not," she started.  You snorted again, averting your eyes to stare up at the ceiling.  Of course.  "I believe that whatever you went through, wherever you went...  Your mind had to make it up to cope with what was going on.  I don't believe you're just making this up for attention.

"With that said, I don't believe you're, as you so eloquently put earlier, 'fucking crazy' either."

A dry smile tugged your lips upward, amused at her quoting you.  "Appreciated."  That smile died down quickly, though.  It was nice somebody at least didn't believe you were going insane.  Even your parents looked at you as if you were a freak, despite them actually seeing you step out of a mirror into their living room.

So much for familial support, huh?

Melanie looked up at the analog clock that ticked away on the wall, and you followed her gaze.  "It seems that's all the time we have today.  Do me a favor...  Consider this as homework, if you will.  I want you to meditate before going to bed tonight.  Try to calm your mind, and see if that will help with the nightmares."

You didn't think it would, but you thanked her anyways and promised you'd at least give it a try.  Bidding her goodbye, you left the small office, nodding at the receptionist before exiting the building.

Outside, the sun shone brightly, but it only could combat the autumn chill of September so much.  Tugging your coat closer to yourself, you started walking down the sidewalk, putting your headphones on and trying not to dwell too much on the nightmare that had disturbed both you and your roommate earlier.  It was always the same nightmare, too, although it seemed to add on stuff every time it came to plague your sleep.  This time, it was the clouds dripping in blot — that was a new one.

The weird thing was, the nightmares had started recently.  It had been six years since you had wound up back in your world, devoid of magic.  Granted, you had nightmares from the start, but they had been few and far in between, not to mention anything like these.  These nightmares, the vivid ones, had started a few weeks ago, only getting more detailed as time went by.  Were your anxiety meds not working?  You weren't sure.

You didn't have classes today — besides therapy, it was a rare day off for you, and with nothing else to really do, you started heading back to your dorm.  

Beneath you, the ground rumbled lightly for a moment, and you stopped walking on the sidewalk.  Other students had stopped as well, but nobody seemed too alarmed.  Earthquakes had been weirdly common for the past month, only growing more and more frequent, but not anything that caused too much damage.

You heard car alarms go off, even as your music was playing through your headphones, and once the rumbling stopped, you were back on your way to your dorm. 

Nothing else had happened on your way back, and your roommate was out at her classes, leaving you by yourself as you let yourself in and turned on your television.  Unsurprisingly, the news was going over the recent series of earthquakes and other natural phenomena that had been plaguing the country.  Conspiracy theorists claimed the world would be ending soon; the smarter conclusion was that global warming was causing all of the natural occurrences.

Using the television as background noise, you went over to your bed and pulled out a shoebox from underneath it.  It was small with few belongings, stuff you had managed to bring back from Twisted Wonderland.  A couple of cards, some trinkets, a bat-shaped charm...  But most importantly, and what you were aiming for, was an old cell phone.

At first, you had been afraid that once it died, that was it — the charger for the phone obviously didn't exist in this world, but you had been lucky enough to figure out that wireless chargers did work.  The concept was the same, there just wasn't the specific type of cable for the Twisted Wonderland phone (which made sense but had still been annoying).

Unlocking the phone screen, you paid no heed to the "NO SERVICE" that flashed in the top corner.  Instead, you went to the photo album, scrolling through the photos you had taken with your friends.  Some of them were pretty blurry, selfies of you and your first-year friends progressing into all of you graduating.

You felt homesick.  Kind of funny, considering Twisted Wonderland hadn't been your homeworld, and up until you left, your only goal was to survive there and make it back here.

Ironic, how this world works.

If you continued to look through the photos, you'd get sad.  Exiting the album, you went over to the messaging app, shooting a quick message to Malleus.  It was undelivered, of course, like the hundreds of messages you sent him and everybody else in the past few years, but even just typing out the messages was cathartic.

The messages remained undelivered, the circle next to them all remaining empty.  Messages that would never reach the receiver.

There was no point in making yourself feel more down right now.  It's not like MagiCam would work, considering it wasn't compatible with the internet in your world, and so you locked the cellphone again and shoved it back in the shoebox.  You slid the shoebox underneath your bed before settling back into the covers.

A quick nap wouldn't hurt, especially considering you barely got any sleep prior.

With the television as background noise, you fell into a light slumber.

══════════════════

A scream was what aroused you from your sleep this time.

Eyes wide and heart nearly palpitating in your chest, you shot upright into a sitting position, knees drawn up to your chest protectively.

"Huwha—?!"

You could feel a bit of dried drool from the side of your mouth, but you paid no heed as you immediately looked over at your roommate.  It was her who screamed, face ashen and charcoal eyes widened behind her rounded glasses.  Nothing seemed out of place.  No intruder, nothing grotesque or broken or missing, but she looked terrified all the same.

Still tense, you swung your legs over the edge of your bed, momentarily looking out the window.  You had well slept past the hours of a 'nap', but perhaps that was your fault for not setting an alarm.

"Yuna.  Breathe.  What happened?"

Yuna looked over at you as if you had grown an extra head for a moment.  She blinked a couple of times before seeming to snap out of her trance.  "I..."  She swallowed thickly, glancing over at the floor-length mirror she had set up.  It was a cheap five-dollar one, and it seemed completely normal, but the way she was glancing at it made it seem like it was possessed.

Well...  Wait...

Your eyes were still slightly bleary from just waking up.  Rubbing them, you squinted, noticing something black and smudged at the top of the mirror, and you stood up to try and take a closer look.

"What the..."

Your heart stopped for a moment, before picking up even faster as you realized what was at the top of the mirror, dripping down slowly as if the frame itself was leaking.  It was a thick, black substance.

One you were more than familiar with by now.

Yuna noticed your apprehension and slowly tried to explain herself.  "I just got back...  When I turned on the light, I swear I saw something in the mirror, and it was dripping — dripping whatever this is."

Something in the mirror...?

"Is it blood?"  She asked, leaning closer, and you instinctively put a hand on her shoulder and brought her back gently.

"No...  It's..."  Damn.  How did you even explain this?  You'd have to fill her in a lot, and even then, you doubted she'd believe you.  More importantly, though...

It had been six years since you had last been in Twisted Wonderland.  Everything had more or less fallen back to normal, and there had never seemed to be any clue on it existing or how to get back save for what little belongings you had.

Which begged the question...

Why was this happening?  Just what was going on in Twisted Wonderland to have it leak into your world?

Whatever it was, you doubted it was anything good.

#swan song #malleus draconia #malleus x reader #malleus draconia x reader #twisted wonderland #twst fic #twst #zinfic #this bad boy has been in my drafts for MONTHS i'm so sorry y'all #the Big Bad is an oc based off a disney villain kudos to whoever manages to guess it

[zinfindoll]

Swan Song | M. Draconia — 01. bleeding over

[ prologue | index | next chapter ]

Rating: T CW: use of [Y/n], she/her pronouns for reader, swearing

There was no way you or Yuna could go to sleep after that, leading to the two of you going to a 24-hour café that was by your dorms.  Neither of you talked for a moment, and you were content with just sipping your favorite comfort drink as you waited for Yuna to snap out of whatever daze she was in.

It took a few minutes, but finally her eyes snapped to you as she took a sip of hot coffee.  "Just...  What the hell was that?"

"Huh?"

The question caught you off guard, and you waited for Yuna to elaborate.  She didn't keep you waiting.

"Back at the dorm, it was like you knew what was going on with the mirror.  So, what — are you in some kind of cult?  What the hell did I see?"

"I have no clue because you haven't said anything.  So what did you see?"  More importantly — was it that creepy Mickey Mouse that you had once seen, or one of your friends?  You paused, then tacked on: "And no, I was not in a cult."

Yuna exhaled through her nose.  While you could understand that she was shaken up, a tired sort of impatience was welling up in your stomach.  For six years had you tried to look for some proof that Twisted Wonderland had been real.  It's not that you cared about proving to others that it was — you couldn't care less what they thought or believed.  However, as much as you were glad to be in the comfort of your world...  You missed Twisted Wonderland.  You missed your friends, the crazy shenanigans you all got into, and even Grim.  You had written off the possibility of going back years ago...

But what if it was still possible?

"I don't know," Yuna took another long sip from her cup.  "It was some tall, dark, shadowy creature.  I couldn't make out any features, except for red eyes, and horns that curled outwards."  She shuddered.  "It was only there for a second.  When I turned the light on, it was gone, and the mirror was..."

That didn't sound familiar to you.  Red eyes and horns?  It didn't sound like anybody you had known.  Hell, it might not even be from Twisted Wonderland.  If two worlds already existed, what's to say that more alternate universes and worlds didn't exist?  Not that you wanted to entertain that possibility.  You did not have the mental energy to get involved with a third world.  What was next?  Pixar rip-offs instead?  Some messed up Grimm Fairytales universe?

But then, how did that explain the blot?  If the mirror really was leaking blot, that was...

". . . Well, anyways."  Yuna cleared her throat.  "Not to pry into personal stuff, but does this have to do with anything about you disappearing all those years ago?"

Your eyebrows shot up.  "You knew about that?"

"You went through three roommates in one semester, so, yeah, I did some digging.  Just never brought it up because, well, I figured it was traumatic.  Or something."

"Well, thanks, then."  Your tone was dry, and you pondered your next words.  Again, you had no clue how to explain this, and there were no promises that Yuna would even believe you.  The brunette wasn't going to let this go, though.  Sigh.  "Look...  It's absolutely batshit insane.  You wouldn't believe me."

Yuna was unimpressed with your feeble excuse.  "I just saw a demon in our mirror which is now bleeding some kind of black substance.  Try me."

Chewing on your lip, you debated your options.  It would be easy to just lie and brush it off.  It was certainly better than having your dormmate think your crazy or, even worse, file to move rooms and leave you stuck with somebody else.  You had very little evidence of Twisted Wonderland outside of your hidden shoebox — just the few scars that littered your body, and the memories you retained.

At the same time, though...  Wouldn't it be relieving to get this off your chest?  Sure, you had your therapist, but she didn't believe you for a second, no matter how she worded it.  While Yuna believing you was slim, there was still a chance...

And no matter how jaded you had become, you still craved for somebody to understand what all you had been through.

Ugh.  Fuck it.  Yuna's the one that's insisting.

"Alright, alright."  You leaned back in your chair, crossing your arms and pursing your lips.  "Not sure where to start, so bare with me..."

Where did you start?  It was certainly too lengthy to start from the very beginning, but perhaps if you just condensed it a little bit it would suffice?

"I guess I'll start with nine years ago..."

══════════════════

Unsurprisingly, it was a lengthy story, even abridged — after all, you spent three years in that world.  You didn't give Yuna a complete play-by-play, but you gave her the rundown.  How you woke up in a coffin, made friends with an egotistical and pyromaniac cat, and proceeded to survive near-death experiences not once, not twice, but nine separate times.  At least.  You didn't tell Yuna about the friends you made, or about the clubs and the more fun experiences, but you told her about blot and overblot, and how it could affect others.

For Yuna's credit, she didn't interrupt you, even as her expression grew more and more incredulous.  By the time you had finished with your "little" rundown, at least an hour and a half had gone by.  You awaited her reaction with crossed arms — judging by her expression, she didn't believe you for a single second.

Honestly, you couldn't blame her.  If the roles were reversed, you would have thought she was delusional as well, but it didn't make the scenario any less frustrating.

Yuna finally shook her head as if to clear her thoughts.  "You have got to be kidding me..."  It came out in a grumble.  "Be for real right now.  Are you fucking with me or something?"

The look you gave her spoke leagues without you needing to open your mouth, and she threw her hands up in the air, on the cusp of disbelief and exasperation.

"Everything you just told me is absolutely insane.  You basically went to some — some Disneyworld-based alternate universe with magic?  And — and — ugh."  She was struggling with getting her thoughts together, and you allowed her a couple of moments, trying to debate on your next move.

Well, I'm already in this deep.

"I have proof.  Back at the dorm.  It's not much, but..."

Yuna scrutinized you for a moment, before relenting.  "Jesus.  Okay."

Your eyebrows raised.  "You're not going to argue anymore???"

"As unbelievable this all is...  I know I saw something in the mirror.  And you saw that stuff dripping from the mirror, too...  I don't fully believe your story, but something is going on."  She took a deep breath, finishing her coffee.  It was her third one.

"Gee.  Thanks."  With a roll of your eyes, you pulled some cash out and left it on the table, enough to cover your drinks and tip.  You'd take her half-hearted belief, even with all the sarcasm you gave your roommate back.  It was baby-steps.

The walk back to your dorm was thankfully quick, shortened by the quick steps you and Yuna took to try and get out of the night time air.  During the middle of your walk, the ground seemed to rumble for a little bit, but it certainly wasn't as bad as the earthquake from earlier, and quite frankly, you and Yuna had bigger problems to deal with right now.  

For better or worse, the mirror looked the same.  You weren't a fan of it leaking blot into your dorm room of all places, but at least nothing was crawling out of it.

You did not voice your worries or thoughts to Yuna.

Checking over it one more time to confirm that the mirror looked okay, you went to grab the shoe box from underneath your bed while Yuna kept a watchful eye on it.

"Hey, does this look like it has more blot...?"

"Probably," you answered absentmindedly as you unlocked your phone.  "Here.  Feel free to go through the photo album."  You shouldn't have anything weird on there, save for some of the memes you stole from your friends back in their world.  Yuna fumbled with the device, and you tensed as she nearly dropped it before she managed to get a grip on it.  Carefully, she started to go through the photo album, and you gauged her expressions.

"No way...  These are all photoshopped, right?" she asked with furrowed eyebrows, although you could tell she hardly believed it herself that they were photoshopped.  Most likely because she had seen your computer graphics skills and, well, they certainly could use work.

"They aren't, but I don't have any other way to prove it," you admitted with a frown.  She seemed to have scrolled over a video; moments later, you heard the obnoxious voice of Ace speak up, yelling for your attention in the video.

Glancing over Yuna's shoulder, you saw how Ace was (poorly) filming it — he had stolen your phone for some reason or another, and had started to harass you, Deuce, Grim, and Jack as you all studied.  It was a short-lived video before Jack had sighed and yanked your phone back, but the short video made your heart ache and yearn for something you knew you would never have again.

You weren't sure what expression was on your face.  You didn't even know you were pulling a face until Yuna called out your name in concern, pursing her lips in thought.  ". . . Look.  I'm sorry," she sighed, scratching the back of her head.  "This is all a lot to swallow.  But whether it's real or not, it's clearly affected you.  I wish...  If all of this is truly real, I hope you can see them again."

The brunette didn't quite seem on board all the way, but she was trying, and you had to give her props for that.

Yuna glanced back over to the mirror, humming.  "You think that could be the key to getting back?"

". . . I don't know," you sighed.  "But honestly, I doubt it's anything good."

"What do we do, then?"

And that was the golden question — what did you guys do?  Throwing it out might do more harm than good, but it's not like you could call the police, either.  You and Yuna exchanged a glance that proved you were both on the same mindset that you didn't have many options right now, and she groaned, throwing her head back.

"This sucks."

And honestly?  You agreed.

══════════════════

The next day, you and Yuna made a bit more of a solid game plan: since the two of you had alternating class schedules, you'd trade off.  Today, she would watch the mirror and keep an eye on it, and you would go to class, and then vice versa.  It was the best option you both had right now while you brainstormed how to deal with this.  Yuna promised to try and do some research via good old Google, but considering you had been trying for years, you weren't too positive she'd get any results.

The first half of your day had been going relatively smooth.  Blotted mirror and your growing anxieties aside, your classes passed by without a hitch, and you were able to swing by the campus store to pick up thick cleaning gloves in case you needed to handle the mirror.  In the mean time, you warned Yuna to not touch the blot at all.

Around 4 in the afternoon during a lecture hall, your phone had started to go off.  Thankfully it was on silent, but you could feel it vibrating insistently in your pocket.  Not wanting to get in trouble, you ignored it — but then it started to ring again, and you quickly excused yourself to go out into the hallway, glancing at the caller I.D.

Yuna C.

. . .

"Hey.  Is everything okay?" you picked it up, not getting a good feeling at her calling.

"Yeah.  Sort of?"  She sounded a bit frazzled.  "The mirror looks the same...ish.  But your phone has been going off like crazy here.  It won't stop ringing."

"My — huh?"

"Your phone!  The one you showed me with all the photos from Wonderland?"

"Oh shit.  I'm on my way right now."

Hanging up on Yuna, you went back into the lecture hall and hastily apologized to the professor, spouting a half-assed lie about some emergency before grabbing your belongings and running out of there.

While the lecture hall wasn't super close to your dorm, you made it there within twenty minutes, something you were certain was a record for yourself if you weren't too preoccupied with what Yuna had told you.

Your phone has been going off like crazy here.

Maybe once upon a time, you would have been excited, but considering it was right by the mirror dripping with blot, you were more scared for Yuna than anything.

Busting into your dorm room, you expected the worst, afraid to see some blot monster in the room, or to see the mirror doused, but it more or less looked the same.  Yuna didn't seem too concerned, instead holding your phone.  When you came into the room, she readily handed it to you.

"Sorry...  Wasn't sure if I should answer it.  Your DMs on MagiGram?  MagiCam?  Have been blowing up.  So have your texts."

She was right, and you noticed how it showed you had one bar of service.  Somehow, you were getting service from Twisted Wonderland.

"Ugh...  I don't have a good feeling about this," you murmured, unlocking the phone.  Unsurprisingly, a majority of the texts and DMs were from Ace, Deuce, and Cater, and even a few from Kalim and surprisingly one from Idia.  They had all apparently gotten the notification that you were online, and you hesitated, debating on who you should send a message to.

Well, you didn't know if anybody got new phone numbers, so you opened the group chat you had with a majority of your friends on MagiCam.

hey guys, i don't know how i'm getting service, but i am. i think something is wrong. i am still in my world, but blot is here and now i can get service again. if you guys get this, i'm afraid it's affecting your world too.

You hesitated, fingers hovering hesitantly before you sent it and added on one more message.

i miss you guys.

You waited impatiently for the messages to send, the shitty service taking forever to go through...

. . . Only for the "FAILED MESSAGE" to appear besides both messages, "NO SERVICE" once more at the top of your phone.

"Damn it!"

In anger, you chucked your phone at the wall, watching it bounce off the wall and onto your bed.  Hot tears pricked your eyes.

You had been so close!  So close, only to have it snatched away again!  You could almost scream in frustration, and you buried your face in your hands, resisting the urge to just scream.  Yuna hovered over you, unsure of what to do.  She seemed awkward, clearly not good at comforting others.  Even if she was, you weren't sure anything she could say would comfort you.

"What do you think it means?" she asked after a second.  You glanced up at her, not quite understanding what she was getting at, and she gestured towards the mirror.  "I mean, first the mirror, and then the phone.  Clearly they're correlated.  And you mentioned you traveled in that other world through a mirror, right?  What if this mirror is like, I don't know...  Some gateway?"

You glanced back at the mirror.  With the amount of blot accumulating, you weren't sure you wanted to attempt stepping through it right now.

"Try bringing the phone over to it?"

Well, it was worth a shot.  Grabbing the phone, you made about two steps before the dorm room started to shake.  Unlike last night, this earthquake was much more sizable, sending you and Yuna toppling to the ground unceremoniously as the items and books off your shelves fell to the floor.

"The mirror!"

Yuna shrieked as the mirror fell off the wall, landing glass down on the wooden floor.  Neither of you could get up for a few seconds, and only when the shaking stopped did the two of you scramble to a stand on shaky legs.

"Is it broken?"

She nudged it with her foot and flipped it over, careful to not touch the blot.  It seemed unharmed, not even a crack on it, but you noticed how the blot was slowly eating away at the floorboards beneath it.  In fact...

"Hey.  Is it just me, or is that way more blot coming out of the mirror?"

It certainly was.  At Yuna's words, you grabbed out the gloves you bought from campus store earlier, giving her a pair.

"We have to get this out of here," you demanded.

Yuna looked pointedly at the floor boards.  "You don't think they'll charge us for that, do you...?"

"Now, Yuna!"

She slipped the gloves on, and the two of you quickly and carefully brought the mirror out of your apartment, blot dripping onto the floors in small droplets, leading a trail until the two of you got outside.

The earthquake had been one of the largest by far.  Car alarms once more were blaring, and the damage of trees was easy to see.  There was a huge crack in the sidewalk that made your heart clench, but you had not time to survey the aftermath.  With the mirror dripping with blot, your first priority was to get it away from anybody else.  The two of you made it to the lawn before dumping the mirror onto the grass, both of you panting.

"Shit.  It's getting worse," Yuna pointed out, almost the entire mirror engulfed and overflowing with blot now.  "What do we do?!"

"I don't know," you replied grimly.  Who did you even call in such a situation?  It's not like the police could do anything!  At the same time, though, clearly you couldn't do nothing.  The blot wasn't stopping any time soon, and your world didn't have magic to combat blot!  You weren't equipped to deal with this!

"Well, we have to do something!" Yuna shouted, throwing her hands up in the air.

What to do, what to do...!

Your phone started to ring.  In irritation, you pulled it out, ready to turn it off silent only to realize which phone it was that was going off.  Without hesitation, you found your thumb pressing the 'answer' button, a familiar face popping up on the screen in terrible pixilation and glitchy quality.

"Ace?!"

#swan song #malleus draconia #malleus x reader #malleus draconia x reader #twisted wonderland #twst fic #twst #zinfic #twenty years later...

[trekkie-lkm-archive]

Info: But how 'bout everyone's had sex in the chair... except for Kirk, and he's pouty. First in my mind's Spock/Uhura, but I was thinking the rest of the crew, too. Bonus if someone makes Jim's dream finally, FINALLY come true.(thread)

Fill: 1/1

Author: zinfic

Archive Link

#mckirk #star trek #archiving #kink meme #st xi kink #zinfic