#ignore my emotional ranting . this is proof it was a very very good chapter and i enjoyed it so much rain

[transsweet]

what an enjoyable and heartwarming musical nerds chapter with only really one scene that made me sad ! i sure hope the ending isn't completely soul crushing and leaves me dying on the side of the road !

#ignore my emotional ranting . this is proof it was a very very good chapter and i enjoyed it so much rain #for reference . yes it's the fight scene that was the one scene . #it's 5 am i have two quizzes tomorrow . i will not be able to focus because of this #oh my god . oh my god . #the fucking . the fucking ending . #what if i cried really hard right now . what if i cried #i know i say this every chapter but i am being so honest . i am so honest right now i am so worried for next chapter . #FANNY YOU FUCK DONT READ THIS IF YOU HAVENT FINISHED YET #I WILL CRY SO HARD THEYRE GETTING SPLIT UP AGAIN WHATCIF I CRIED SO HARD #on one hand . i really want to see what actually happens and how sweet will handle the weeks they're gone . #on the other . muffled weeping from me stuffing my face in a pillow #i'll say it again the emotional response is proof this was a really good chapter i liked it a ton thank you rain :] #also . it's like 5 am . if some of this stuff sounded weird or came off wrong i'm . very tired so i apologize

[ahsien-saffari1-blog]

Love’s not Rocket Science

Prompt/Inspiration: The idea of Logan trying to ask Patton out using the advice he gave Thomas in the video ‘Alone on Valentine’s day’, “Do you like food?”

Genre: Fluff (I think that’s what it would be considered under)

Pairing(s): Romantic Logicality, (Hinted) Prinxiety

Word Count: 2448

Warnings: None that I can think off? There’s like one curse word in it? Remus is mentioned in passing.

A/N: This is my first time writing a SS short and I hope you enjoy!

You are Here | First Chapter (Logicality)

Second Chapter Pt1 (Prinxiety)

Second Chapter Pt2 (Prinxiety)

-

“Just go over to him and ask him out, it’s not rocket science Logan.” Roman said over the Skype call as he admired his freshly painted nails, not really paying much attention to Logan. 

Though in all honestly Roman was somewhat enjoying this, after all, this was one of the few times he'd ever seen Logan lose his 'robot nerd composure' as he liked to call it. It proved that he was in fact, still a human with emotions. 

"Patton's really nice and you know that, so it’s not like he’s going to suddenly hate you or anything. I mean, to my knowledge he has yet to hate anyone he has hung out with.”

Logan paused in his pacing and looked over at Roman, appearing very exacerbated.

“I can do rocket science, Roman!” He exclaimed, running his hands through his hair. “Rocket science is easy! Love however is an unsolvable enigma that the best approach to is impossible to deduce!” Romans eyes widened in surprise at Logan’s obvious panic.

“And how can you know that for sure?! Do you have data and examples you can provide me as proof? Maybe I’ll be the first exception!” Roman raised his hands up in surrender and in a display of shushing.

“Woah, calm down there Nerd." Logan glared at Roman through the camera.

“Okay, okay, fine,” Roman said, sitting up straighter and giving Logan more of his attention, “How about you just stop overthinking this all and do whatever you think will work best. Because firstly, Patton meeting my brother would probably be the first exception." 

Logan couldn't really deny that fact based on what he'd heard and seen about Roman's brother.

"Secondly, you’ve shot down all of the ideas I’ve offered you. So how about you just introduce yourself, ask about a common interest you two have, and then ask him out for dinner or something.” 

“That’s because the majority of your ideas are illogical and impractical! Patton is not a damsel in distress and there are no villains or ‘dragons’ in real life that I could save him from. I refuse to just run up to him and quote in quote 'sweep him off his feet'. And-” 

Logan’s rant was cut short by the sound of sudden loud shouting outside of Romans room - said Prince having swiveled his chair around to look towards his door. Logan was only able to catch a bit of what was being said, or more precisely, screamed.

“REMUS PRINCE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE LEFT FOR BOARDING SCHOOL TODAY WHAT THE HELL-” Roman’s expression had gone a bit pale as well as frustrated, teeth grit as he looked back over to Logan.

“Look I’m gonna have to cut this short, but I better see you talking to Patton tomorrow or-” 

“ROMAN GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE RIGHT NOW YOU WERE MEANT TO BE HIS TRANSPORTATION AND-!” Logan saw the panic flashing over Romans face before the call was disconnected and Logan was left standing in front of his computer, all alone with his own thoughts and panic over how he was going to deal with his predicament.

-

Logan let out a dull sigh as he entered the school, his normal, cool and cold composure back. The only difference in this morning was the fact that he had arrived later than usual to school and because of this, Roman had managed to beat him to his locker - which was directly next to Logan’s.

Roman looked over at Logan and flashed his usually charming grin causing Logan to roll his eyes.

“Greetings Roman.” Logan opened his locker - making sure to hide his locker combination from Roman’s sight.

“What’s with the late arrival, Nerd?” When Logan didn’t answer immediately Roman looked over at him and pressed further at the sight of how tired he looked.

“Woah there, were you up all night stressing about asking him out?!" There was clear disbelief in his tone, "I mean, did you even get any sleep last night?”

Logan looked over at him with an irritated but dull expression.

“You are well aware of my current situation and difficulty with," He grimaced momentarily as he got out the next word, "Emotions, Roman.” 

He began switching out his notebooks, “And no, I only got a total of three hours and seventeen minutes of sleep.” 

Roman frowned at this before her flashed his signature smile again and slapped Logan on the back causing Logan to have to grab onto the edge of his locker to remain upright.

“Well besides all that, you’re still going to ask him out today, right?” Logan shot him an annoyed look, wondering what he had been thinking when he had shared the fact that he had had a crush on Patton with this drama queen, and sighed, doing his best to appear unaffected.

“I am unsure.” He swapped out his history textbook for his AP Calculus one.

Roman crossed his arms, and gave Logan a hard stare. Logan chose to ignore Roman’s stare and closed his locker before picking up his backpack and zipping it up.

“If you don’t ask him out today I’m going to go tell him myself.” Roman suddenly said causing Logan to drop his backpack and freeze.

“Roman, I forbid you from-”

“The only way you can stop me is by telling him yourself and asking him to be your valentine.” Roman said with a smirk, crossing his arms. 

Logan pursed his lips, looking like he wanted to strangle Roman then and there before he sighed - seemingly deflating - and bent down to pick up his bag.

“Fine, I’ll do so when an opportune moment arises.” He slipped his bag over his shoulders before adjusting his glasses, “Is that satisfactory enough for you?”

Roman looked about to contradict him before he seemed to spot something behind Logan and instead grinned and said, “Yes, that sounds perfect.” 

Logan’s brow raised slightly at Roman’s sudden agreement, but he brushed it off.

“Good.” Logan stepped away from the lockers and turned in the direction of his first class - the direction Roman had been looking.

“Than I shall be-” He cut himself off when he finally realized why Roman had suddenly grinned and conceded.

Patton had just turned the corner and was coming their way, chatting adamantly about something - and waving his hands about a ton - to Virgil who had a small, but exhausted smile on his face as well as a cup of coffee in one hand.

"Seems like your 'opportune moment' has just presented itself bookworm." Logan looked over his shoulder at Roman and shot him a glare, Roman just flashed him a s**t eating grin.

Logan cleared his throat and said quietly, his monotone tone having returned, "He is clearly in the middle of a conversation, it would be rude to-"

"Either go over to him now or I'll shout at him to come here." If looks could kill Roman would have been dead at that moment. But of course, looks could not kill in this reality, so Logan opened his mouth again to retort. 

However before he could, a loud sigh left Roman and he suddenly sprinted over to Patton and Virgil - making it look like Roman was going to them with a very important matter -, and put Logan's mind into a state of blank-minded panic.

He took in a slightly shaky breath, indirectly watching the three of them, waiting with a new sort of dread in his stomach for Patton to look over at him due to whatever foolishness Roman was surely spouting.

But instead of that happening, much to Logan’s surprise, the interaction ended with Roman walking away with - a very reluctant looking - Virgil, who was grumbling as Roman acted extremely, extra.

"Well I'm sorry Panic at the Everywhere, it's not my fault that someone stole my black eyeliner, and that I assumed you would have some on you based upon the level of shade under your eyes." Logan heard a bit of Roman’s ranting as they passed him and blinked in surprise when Roman shot him a wink and made a shoulder motion back towards Patton. 

He stood their dumbfounded for a moment before he shook his head and taking a deep breath, looked back over in the direction of Patton who was now opening his locker across the hall.

Logan, his posture stiff as a board, headed over to him and stopped precisely half a locker away from Patton before clearing his throat. Patton turned in his direction before letting out a small, adorable, squeak - Logan assumed in surprise -, cheeks reddening slightly as he smiled brightly at him.

"Why hello there Logan! Uh, how are you doing today?" Logan did his best to return Patton's smile, though it was a very professional and slightly uncomfortable one. He wasn't too surprised that Patton knew his name since he seemed to know everyone and Logan had tutored Patton for a while in the previous semester. 

"Hello Patton," Patton seemed to brighten at this, "I'm, uh, doing well." He cleared his throat again.

"You remembered my name!" Patton said, smile bigger than before.

"Yes, of course I would," Logan froze for a second, realizing his admittance, before quickly adding, "I tutored you in Physics last semester after all." Patton's smile seemed to fall slightly when he added that before Patton laughed, lightly smacking his forehead.

"Duh, silly me." Logan did his best to smile again in return. He fidgeted a bit before finally bringing his hands to rest clasped behind him.

'Natural. Common interest. Request. Dinner.' He repeated in his head. 

"Do you like food?" Logan suddenly said, tone more robotic than previously.

Patton paused - having been taking a brightly colored notebook out of his locker - and looked at him a bit confused.

"Um, I guess?" Patton smiled, a bit unsure, adding on by saying, "Cookies are my favorite food.” 

Logan chose to forgo the fact - for now - that Patton’s favorite food was a very unhealthy choice, but rather than finding a more natural bridge between that and his next question, such as stating his own favorite food, he jumped straight to his next point.

“Do you like romantic outings?” Logan asked, internally dealing with mild panic as he spoke, though his way of dealing with this was pretty much externally shut down - more than usual at least - outwardly. 

Patton opened his mouth slightly, but didn’t seem to be able to say anything at first as he looked at Logan in complete puzzlement - which didn’t help Logan in the slightest.

“Well, I, uh,” Patton stammered a bit before he laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, “Yah, I suppose I do? But why-” 

Patton was cut off by Logan somewhat frantically, but still robotically blurting out, “I can provide both of those things, so therefore would you be my date?” 

Logan actually closed his eyes as he got the last part out, internally dying. After he’d yet to get a response though, he slowly opened his eyes, expecting Patton to either look disgusted or apologetic.

Instead, he found a slow grin growing on Patton’s face - whose cheeks were quite red, though based on the heat he felt on his own cheeks Logan assumed his were slightly red himself. Patton, now bouncing a bit on his feet, laughed - a sound that Logan had come to rather like now rather than find annoying - and nodded.

“I’d love to be your valentine date, Logan.” He said brightly, “What time were you thinking?” 

Logan, who had apparently managed to fail to think this far ahead, didn’t immediately answer, his brain still reeling. He was still trying to catch up to the fact that Patton had actually said yes and that he needed to now form a coherent response in return. 

Patton seemed to catch onto this and spoke up again, wanting to help him out.

“How about, uh, 5:30?” Patton paused again before adding on with, “At that coffee shop with the sandwiches that’s a block away from the school?” 

Logan blinked at this, but after a second, cleared his throat and re-composed himself before giving a shaky nod.

“Yes, that sounds like an optimal time and place.” Patton just smiled at this and Logan adjusted his glasses.

“Okay then!” Patton said as he finished putting his notebook into his bag before zipping it up and slinging it over one shoulder “It’s a date!” 

“Yes, good.” Logan repeated again, before he noticed that quite a lot of other students had begun heading through the halls rather quickly, indicating classes were to start soon, “I will leave you to get to your classes now.” 

With that Logan quickly turned away from Patton before realizing his class was in the other direction, and turning back around to walk past Patton.

--- Extra Little Bit ---

Virgil’s hoodie was practically completely hiding his face at this point as he and Roman ducked back around the corner before Logan could see them.

“That was one of the most painful interactions I’ve ever seen.” He muttered in a low voice, pulling even tighter on his hoodie strings so that his hood scrunched around his face.

“He didn’t even use any of my advice!” Roman exclaimed quietly.

“Yah, well I bet all your advice was stupid.” Virgil muttered earning an offended scoff from Roman. “But I guess at least it worked out.” 

“True, though I still think it would have gone better if he’d actually attempted to express any emotion. There was no drama or intensity in his confession!” Virgil groaned at this as he finally pushed his hood up out of his face.

“There was literally a million ways that that could have gone smoother for him, Roman. And I doubt any of your ideas are within those possibilities.” Virgil took a sip of his coffee and sighed as he looked at it, “It’s a good thing Patton already liked him.”

Roman huffed before switching subjects and saying with crossed arms, “I still need to borrow your eyeliner by the way.” Virgil looked at him like he was crazy and turned so that his satchel was out of Roman’s reach.

“The day I let you use my makeup Princey will either be the day that I find true love or the day that Patton actually convinces me that I’m going to heaven instead of hell.” Virgil gave Roman a pointed look, taking another sip of his coffee - still looking completely exhausted and dead inside - and added with a smirk, “And that’s never going to happen.”

#sanders sides fanfic #logicality #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #ts logan #ts patton #ts roman #ts virgil #prinxiety #remus sanders #ts remus #fanfic #fan fiction #sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction

[1stunseeliefaelass]

Darksiders Arthurian Tales Revisited

Chapter 8: Closing In

Soon enough Death and Morgen's simple idle chatting turned into both of them ranting and raving together. Hyping each other up as their volume rose higher. Strife placed his ear against the door to listen in and couldn't help being proud of his big bro. War however came over to retrieve him,

"If he comes out and sees you, he'll probably kick your ass and dig your grave personally."

"Shhhchchchchch...listen." Strife urged him whilst pointing at the door.

War sighs before humoring Strife, "If I comes out I'm blaming you."

The two then listened in on the 'lovebirds' as they ranted on a bit more. Having reached their highest point of ranting nonsense.

"YEAH!!!! I WORK HARD AND FOR WHAT?! A PAT ON THE BACK AND A JOB WELL DONE?! NOT EVEN THAT IS A GUARANTEE!" Death raved.

"PREECH IT!!!!! THOSE WITHERING SAD MOUNTAINS CAN GO SHOVE IT!!! THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE AND IT'LL BE THEIR RUIN!!!" Morgen shouted in her hype.

"IF IT WASN'T FOR US THEY WOULD HAVE NOTHING! IF IT WASN'T FOR US THEY WOULD BE NOTHING!!!! WE ARE THE REASON WHY THEY'RE IN POWER, WHY ANYONE TAKES THEM SERIOUSLY!!!!" Death hollers.

"EXACTLY! YOU'RE THE TRUE FORCE BEHIND EVERYTHING THEY DO! IF ANYONE TRULY PROTECTS THE BALANCE IT'S YOU!!" Morgen replies yelling.

"EXACTLY, and people think we're nothing." Death says before simmering down and chuckling, "It was good talking to you."

Morgen takes a moment to catch her breath and tells him, "To you as well, and for what it's worth, you are indeed something to me. If not perhaps more than that."

Death sighed before replying, "Thank you, so...I've guess we've gone into the night so....should I be going now?"

"I mean if you wish. I won't force you to stay. Especially if you're tired after today. Given all that's happened I wouldn't be surprised." Morgen expresses.

"Uh...trust me today wasn't exactly that tiring. So you'll be alright alone tonight?"

"I should be, although if anything comes up I'll let you know." Morgen tells him calmly.

Death nodded before leaving and saw his brothers as he left. They'd been backing up a ways when Death indicated he'd be leaving the room. They were now fake walking up, but Death had no proof and could only suspect them of doing so, "What are you two doing?"

"Nothing, just came up here to see if you needed any assistance." Strife stated.

"Riiiiiight." Death replied sarcastically, clearly not believing the story, "Anyway, I'm heading to bed."

"Oh, seriously?" Strife questioned.

"Yes."

"Ok then....normally you don't go to bed until you pass out. Then we usually have to drag you to a bed, or a cot in your case. But ok." Strife explains before walking off with War, "I thought he was gonna do something else."

"Same here." War replied.

With that Death got to his room and after locking the door behind him, began removing his armor. Only leaving his trousers on before falling onto the bed with a groan. Fuzzball meanwhile hopped up and began snuggling him a little. Death chuckled a bit whilst stroking him. Dust began to preen on a recently placed perch nearby before falling asleep himself. Death watched this before looking at Fuzzball as he fell asleep too. Soon Death felt sleep beginning to hit him, and he let it do so, hoping that this time he'd have a decent night's sleep.

Meanwhile Vortigern had happily thanked Gregory for him bringing his wares around yet again. C of course hung back as they spoke, and soon decided to hit the hay herself. If mainly because the lack of much to do was making her sleepy. She kept hearing a voice she'd never heard before in her head. Realizing it was probably the Wendigo, she quickly got to the guestroom she was placed in until the situation had righted itself. It took time, but she soon finally fell asleep on her bed. The cushiony mattress welcoming her all the way.

Within a few hours, everyone else had gone to bed. Even Morgen finally managed, being the last one in the household to do so. As her exhaustion beat out any concerns she had. Course meanwhile, Death had begun to have a nightmare, one he hadn't had in a very long time. Tossing and turning he began muttering in his sleep as he dreamt of Lilith raping him. Fuzzball got woken up and listened in with concern as Death began to plead quietly,

"Nrgh.....arrgh.....No....please stop....nrgh....stop, no....arrrrgh ugh aahh....please.....no more, no more.....no mo-aaaaaaargh....."

Fuzzball grew ever more concerned as Death began getting louder and curling up as if he were in massive pain. As well as occasionally jolting like he once did during a seizure. Fuzzball quickly suspected that's what was happening and tried to hop onto his chest. Only for Death to start screaming now, then after a few seconds of it he jolted awake with a final screams. Throwing Fuzzball across the room by accident. He got into a defensive stance and scanned his room whilst breathing heavily before realizing he was fine. That he was safe and sound, and no one was hurting him. Sitting on the bed, he began working on calming himself. Looking down at the floor, as he felt his emotions trying to hit him like a hurricane. Then he felt something fluffy gently tapping his bare foot, and saw a worried Fuzzball pawing at him.

"Sorry about that." He said before scooping him up and petting the little rodent. Fuzzball gave off little happy purr like noises, being glad his master was indeed ok. Suddenly both were interrupted by the sounds of an infant crying. Death began ignoring it at first, figuring someone else would get to Arthur. Then he heard distorted voices and hushed whispers, that put him on edge and he finally bolted to the room Arthur was in. Upon seeing the shadow from before standing above Arthur, it suddenly fled. Death meanwhile quickly grabbed Arthur and checked him over. Silently panicking as he hasn't dealt with babies in EONS. Finally he held him like anyone should hold a baby. Whilst carrying Arthur, he checks around the room and the halls outside the room. Finding nothing off he then checked the window, and sees the light glinting off the fur of the Wendigo. Realizing what must've happened he slowly sat down in a chair near Arthur's crib. He wasn't entirely sure what to do just yet, but would try talking to him to see if it worked or not.

"Was the scary thing being mean to you?" Death asked before looking out the window again. He saw the Wendigo looking behind it's shoulder for some reason. All of a sudden it gives a shrug of annoyance before finally flying away whilst shifting into a more owl like appearance somehow. Arthur did calm somewhat but even though he wasn't screaming he was still crying. This left Death at a loss before he began thinking for a moment. He summoned forth a bit of light magic and formed it into a bear at first. This got Arthur to stop crying finally as he paid attention to the bear. But when he got a little upset again Death quickly thought of a different animal to try and make him happy. He guessed a lion might do and formed the magic into a lion shape. Turns out it was the right guess and Arthur immediately began reaching out for the shape excitedly. From there Death gained another idea, course this would require some concentration to do. It drained him quite a bit as he worked to get his job done, whilst also adding an enchantment onto the plush lion that was now forming together. After roughly a few minutes of work, Death finally sighed as the plush fell into his hands. Freshly made, with an enchantment to ward off mental attacks from anything. He then showed the little plush to Arthur,

"Now this little guy is gonna help you sleep. If the scary monster comes back again, this'll ward him off."

Arthur then hugged the plush lion happily and Death felt content at placing hi. back into his crib for now. Course as Arthur began to slowly fall asleep, he grabbed at Death's hair and tugged it. He did this a few times, much to Death's annoyance, "Hey enough of that."

Then at another tug, he got a flashback to himself when he was younger. He was holding another baby, a newborn clearly. He could hear a big fire going nearby as he gently went to touch the baby, who was crying. He could hear himself saying in an oh so tender tone, "There now Coventina, now now. She's in a better place now. I'm here now. Daddy's here, daddy's here."

Death suddenly snapped out of it breathing heavily, then looked down at Arthur. He had let go and was asleep at last. Snuggling the plush with a little smile. Death slowly began to back away, doing his best to not make any noise. Just as slowly, he closed the door to the room. Then he heard a voice behind him just as he let go of the knob.

"Is he alright?" Morgen asks.

Death jumped and looked at her, "Not the best time to do that right now."

"Sorry. How's Arthur? I heard him crying a moment ago, then a loud growl or something like that."

"That was the Wendigo, and don't worry about Arthur. I just....I made sure the Wendigo couldn't attack him. And there's something more disconcerting about the Wendigo,..." Death explained before taking her off to the side, "...it can shift forms. I saw it turn into a sort of demented owl like creature."

Morgen of course quickly goes to head to Arthur's room, wanting to be sure he was ok. But Death reassured her, "I made stuffed animal for him with a small enchantment to it. It'll ward any and all mental attacks."

"You're sure of this?"

"I used light magic to do it, would've made the thing glow if it wouldn't disrupt his sleep." Death assures her.

"Alright, I'll trust your judgment. Think you'll be heading back to sleep then?"

"Currently the plan, but plans can change. I have a lot on my mind right now." Death informed her.

"Such as?" Morgen inquired.

"Old memories that I thought were gone, old memories I thought I didn't even have, and other that I didn't even know about." Death expressed with a sigh.

"You want to elaborate on it or.....?"

"Could we do this in private later maybe? You know, late and all. Besides if anyone here needs sleep it's you."

Strife then came out yawning, "Dude you sleepwalking out here or....ooooh.....am I interrupting something? You know what, nevermind. I can see that you two are busy and doing other stuff. Pretend I wasn't even here."

Death looked his way, "Not what you think."

"Oh yeah mmhmm yeah you weren't doing anything. Wasn't here myself." Strife says shaking his head.

Death then facepalmed before telling Morgen, "Well.....sorry about him, and goodnight."

Morgen nodded, "Goodnight Death, rest easy.", as he walked away.

Once Death got back to his room he fell upon the bed again, hoping things would be better. Course Fuzzball hopped over to him again and gave a concerned, "Merph?"

"I'll be fine, it's nice to know that you're trying at least. Just get some rest, I'll be fine."

Fuzzball walked in circles for a second before stamping his little feet and finally laying down to sleep. Purring quietly as he did so. Death tossed and turned for a while, trying to get comfortable. As he finally relaxed, he began thinking about everything that had been going on. From the strange occurrences, his dreams, the twisted Wendigo, the flashbacks, all of it. His eyelids beginning to flutter as his thoughts began to melt together before he finally fell asleep. This next dream he had, was far nicer. He saw a woman, one he'd seen in dreams before. She had wavy golden brown hair with a blonde ombre to it, brilliant eyes of gold, and just overall looked truly beautiful. He wasn't sure why, but he always felt a strong sense of love and adoration when seeing her. The dream was always the same, he'd dance with her in a strangely beautiful realm. He couldn't recognize it, but he saw a permanent aurora borealis within the skies above them. It was the perfect lighting for this dance. Then as the dance ended, the woman would gain this saddened look, as if she was expecting something important from him, and didn't get it. Once the dance stopped, she began to walk away from him. He'd always try to follow but something would prevent him from moving after her. However this time, the dream deviated here. This time, he heard himself shout her name.

"WREN!"

She turned around, looking as though she was crying. But also very shocked and surprised, as if she hadn't expected to hear her name. Before things could change further however, the dream faded and he slowly woke up. Fuzzball was gently licking his face, and only after waking up more did he realize why. As Fuzzball nuzzled him, Death felt a wet spot on his pillow. His hand was wet as well, but he couldn't understand why. He rarely wept these days, even in his sleep.

"Strange. Very strange." Death expressed quietly before finally responding to Fuzzball, "I'm alright, I'm alright."

Death prepared for the morning ahead easily enough, and washed his face briefly before dressing himself. Fuzzball watched keenly, his little tail flopping against the floor. Course Death heard a knock at the door just as he'd placed the mask on.

"Who is it?"

"You alright in there dude?" Strife called out.

"Ugh....yes I'm alright. It was just a dream, nothing to worry about."

Strife looked at him funny, "Right. Just a dream. Anyway, so how you doing this morning?"

"I'm doing quite well, thank you very much. Uh....while you're right there I need to ask you something." Death expressed.

"Ask away."

"Do you remember anyone named Coventina?" Death asked.

Strife gained a concerned look on his face but told him, "Uh...nothing right now. But if I remember anything I'll you know ok?"

"Uhm....alright. You look a little concerned, is something off?" Death inquired.

"Oh nah just uh...trying to remember some stuff. Uhm....I'm gonna go see if anyone's cooking, you?"

"Uhm....I dunno know yet. May check on Morgen, may check on Arthur. I dunno, I haven't really thought of it yet." Death told him.

"Uh alright. See ya at breakfast, when you finally decide to come in."

As Death began to think to himself about everything, a certain Wendigo had a certain punishment going on. Uther hadn't been at all pleased in the SLIGHTEST when the creature attacked his baby son. This transgression would be punished most severely, and severe it indeed was. Now though, the next morning, Uther returned to the caged beast. Bringing along with him various implements that would, better improve this plan in his eyes. As this thing's approach clearly failed.

"If you had allowed me to enter their grounds, I would've had him!" The thing hissed at him.

Uther stayed silent for a moment after then told the Wendigo, "You attacked my son."

"Last I checked...you only wanted the girl! And the Horseman was DIE! You also told me I could do what I wished to anyone else! You didn't say anything about the child!" It retorted.

"Anything in your way, how did children relate to that?"

"Easy, lure them out, get them close, and break their little legs. So that they lure in the real prey, the real game. Unfortunately for you, that Huldra had a few...extra...abilities." It hissed.

"Huldra? I know no Huldrefolk, or any creatures of their ilk." Uther stated coldly.

"That little tyke.....the red head.....she was the one that stopped. Those little girls would've been perfect meat!"

Uther cocked his head, "Anna and Elaine?"

"The little girls? Is that who they were?"

"THOSE ARE MY NIECES." Uther growled.

"I wouldn't have caused that much damage. Just would've broken their little legs. If you wanted the animal, you've got it! If you wanted the humanitarian, you shouldn't have put this stupid collar on me!"

"Hmph, well I'm going to make a few adjustments to you collar. For one thing, I'm going to adjust your abilities. It was also make your more...obedient." Uther informed him.

"The minute....this collar comes off...I WILL KILL YOU!" The creature growled at him.

"No you won't. Nine times out of ten you'll just head back to your little spot, wherever it is."

The creature then attempted to swipe at Uther, only for Uther to step back. It keeps trying before Uther causes the effects of the collar to take place. The cage meanwhile electrocuted the beast, giving Uther the opportunity he needed to begin his ritual. It also numbed the Wendigo for the physical pieces of the enchantment to be placed on the collar. Mystically enhancing it to do a much better job at controlling the 'animal' under Uther's beck and call. From there the Abyssal magic Uther began to use started to twist and contort it into ways that made it writhe and shriek in pure agony. After the metamorphosis it stands up, barely speaking now.

"There, that's far better. A good 'pet'. Now, go complete your task. With far better efficiency. And you're allowed to go in the grounds this time, as long as you do so covertly. Change of orders too, bring Death to me alive, incapacitate him yes, but afterwards you can have him yourself. Or what's left of him." Uther demanded him.

The creature then walks out, slowly this time. Whatever's left inside is fighting tooth and nail, fed up with being used as a tool.

Meanwhile Morgen wonders about possibly going outside since the aura of the Wendigo has left entirely. Course she's still nervous all the same, and figures Death may have some advice on the idea. Or perhaps may want to go along with her. Besides they had other things to discuss anyway. After breakfast she came up to him, "Death, a word for a moment?"

"Uhm sure."

She then lead him to a waiting area for guests to sit down and told him, "I wanted some advice from you, and I know you wanted to wait until today to discuss what was on your mind last night. So what better time?"

"I really shouldn't have said that but alright."

"So, what was on your mind?" Morgen asks him.

He began to explain the dream about Lilith, "Well I got by woken by a nightmare, about a person I've told you of. One that did to me....what Uther did to you."

Morgen's eyes widened, "Oh dear...are...are you sure you're alright?"

"Fine for the most part, it's the one that woke me up. Which is how I heard Arthur crying."

"Ah I see. I'm guessing it still haunts you from time to time? As in, what happened to you?" Morgen inquires gently.

"As long as we remember those things, or as long as we live, those memories will haunt us. But there are other ways to deal with the problem, to treat. Talking about it helps, but not lingering on it worked in my case." Death informed her.

"I hear that for some, helping others helps distract their minds from the memories. Would you say that works?"

"Doesn't exactly distract, it gives us a way to deal with it ourselves. Bringing something positive to someone who has similar problems gives you positivity as well. It's all part of the cycle of recovery. You know, shit like that? Damn it, I'm starting to sound like my Mother." Death says chuckling at the end.

Morgen snickered a bit and told him, "It's like you said, giving positivity brings positivity back to you. Your Mother granted you positivity in your most vulnerable moment, and I'm sure she'd gain it right back if she could be part of this conversation."

"I'm a little glad that she isn't right now. Anyway, when I woke up I went to check on Arthur, and that's when I saw the shadow there. I scared it off and then tried get comfort Arthur back to sleep. While I was helping Arthur get back to sleep I uh....I had a vision...." Death states whilst explaining the vision he had.

Morgen nods upon his completion of the explanation, "It sounds less like a vision, and more like a flashback. Do you recall having children? Or could this possibly be a locked away memory for some reason?"

"Wouldn't know entirely, the only person I know who would have any clue is Aspen."

"Aspen, you mean the Elder Dryad? Nimue's sister Aspen?" Morgen inquires.

"Yes, her. She uh....practices memory magic. Well some of the time, how do I put this properly? She's one of the leading experts in it, but it's not the main magic she uses. It may also explain the other dream...." Death explained before telling Morgen about the dream. The one about the woman seemingly named Wren. How it usually went and how it went last night.

"Perhaps this woman and the baby are connected? Think for a moment, did the baby resemble her, if only a bit?" Morgen questioned him.

Death thought for a moment, "Uh...a little bit. It's hard to tell."

"Hmm, well I was going to ask for your advice about going outside today. But it seems we may have an excuse now." Morgen replies.

Death looks at her a bit funny, "You're saying you want to stay in for today?"

"No, I wanted to go outside. But I wanted to be sure of your opinion on it first. Although I'm fairly sure this flashback and dream of yours are a good enough reason. Seems you should be remembering something but can't quite do so for one reason or another. If anyone can help, it's Aspen, like you said."

"Ok then uhm.....right now I'm a little drained from last night. But if you want to go out now, we can ride out to Aspen's wood." Death expressed.

"It's probably for the best that you remember as soon as possible. And if it all turns out to be painful for you, I'll be there to help you through it. As you've aided me these past few days." Morgen replies warmly.

Death sighed, "Ok but....how good are you at holding onto a horse? Because Despair is rough."

"I can manage, after all a unicorn is my choice of mount. She, like most unicorns, often jumps more than she truly gallops."

"Wait what? A unicorn?" Death questions her.

"Yes, her name is Ataraxy. She's a lovely girl, and has quite a bit of muscle to her as well. Trust me, you'll be quite surprised."

"Ok then that's a bit....interesting to hear. Anyway, if we make there and back again we're going to have to leave around now. Let's get some food in our stomachs and we'll be on our way." Death tells her.

Morgen nods and follows Death to get some breakfast. She ate up quickly, but carefully too. As did Death across from her. War looked his way and chuckled, "And I thought I ate fast."

"Zip it." Death said simply.

Both finished their food before too long and Death summoned Despair when they were outside. Naturally he was happy to see his master, and greeted Morgen with a simple snort. "He must like you, he's being polite."

"Seems so." Morgen replied before gently scratching just under Despair's chin. He shook his head and whickered a bit.

"Huh. Anyway, where's yours?"

"Just a moment." Morgen says before pulling a whistle from her pocket and blowing into it. After a moment a pure white, female unicorn came charging forward. Sure enough she was quite the muscular female, and actually stopped right in front of Death. She stared him in the eyes briefly before tapping his chest with her horn.

Death sat still in confusion as the horn began glowing, and looked at Morgen, "Uh is this normal?"

"She's testing you, be patient and calm." Morgsn explains.

In time Ataraxy finally backed away with a high pitched snort of sorts before going to Morgen's side. Morgen then summoned everything she needed to ride Ataraxy. A specially designed saddle and reins along with a saddle blanket and side bags. Ataraxy gave a sweet sound as Morgen mounted her, "I know sweet girl, I've missed you too."

Death noted her muscular frame yet again, and knew the males were usually the heavy set ones, and territorial. The females meanwhile were usually slender and more reserved or cautious. This was something new for him to be sure.

"May I ask about the musculature of this unicorn?"

"I feed her a proper diet for one and she has plenty of exercise even when I'm away. I only occasionally give her treats in the form of candied marigolds." Morgen explains.

"Uh...ok then."

"What of Despair? What breed is he exactly, and are all of your horses the same breed?" Morgen inquires.

"Yeah uhm he's a Phantom Horse. And yes to all of em being the same breed. This one here likes bone marrow, and for the feed it's a mixture between some vegetables and some meats. Honestly enough he's strange, but I'm strange along with him." Death told her whilst gently rubbing at Despair's neck.

"Ah I see. So did you choose him or did he choose you?"

"Would say a bit of both, but he was the one that made the final step." Death says.

"Gaining an animal's trust is always a true treasure for sure. Don't you think?"

Death nodded, "Especially when one's trying to trample you."

Morgen looked shocked before saying, "I see. Well shall we get going then?"

"Yes let's."

They begin the ride normally, simply riding together. Course Morgen gets a cheeky little idea. It helps that Death tells her sarcastically to hurry up whilst he and Despair get ahead of her.

"I thought you'd go faster since this was you idea?"

"Oh that's it."

With that Morgen hurried after him, letting Ataraxy hop over logs in the path as they ride. Despair is only slightly slower than her with his jumps, giving the ladies the edge in that front. Course Death has his own idea. He starts to desummon and resummon Despair, whilst he himself jumps over obstacles in the path. Being a bit of a cheeky bastard. Morgen of course shook her head but continued in their little race of sorts. But despite it all, it ends in a draw as both steeds suddenly halt. Thus sending both their riders flying forwards. Morgen took a bit longer to recover from it than Death did.

Course he did help her up naturally, "Very well done, rarely does anyone get that close to beating me."

"Clearly, glad I could impress you for a time at least." Morgen stated dusting herself off.

"You impress me in other ways, now shall we?"

"Of course. Although, how do I impress you beyond my riding?" Morgen questions him.

"Uh well ah....your intellect for one. Your dancing skills....and your humility. You are very humble, I've never seen you try to show off, which is a little bit weird. Given the fact that you're a noble." Death manages to get out.

"Well....thank you. Though it sounds like we should take more time to learn about each other. Although I do have some things I enjoy about you too. I enjoy how straight you are, you never sugarcoat your words. At least with adults anyway. You're also surprisingly kind, as much as you deny it."

Death got a weird look, about to say something but deciding not to. Before long they reach the edge of Aspen's wood, which they know for sure because of Aspen's Podlings walking around. Course they approach Death before bouncing up and down adorably.

Morgen gushes at them, "Awwwwww....what adorable little things. Are these baby Dryads?"

"Something like that, now move!"

Course the Podlings didn't listen, only converging around him more. Much to his complete annoyance.

"Now now my little ones, don't go pesturing our guests please. Stand aside for Mama." A wizened and sultry voice called out.

Death and Morgen looked past them and saw their Mother, Aspen. A beautiful blonde haired woman with tree like skin, moss on her body, and roots for a makeshift skirt.

"It's good to see you again Aspen, been a while." Death told her.

"Indeed, it's good to see you too old friend. How's your Mother?"

"She's doing alright all things considered recently." Death explains shrugging.

"Ah, so what brings you this time perchance? Knowing you, visits for the sake of them are rare for you. Something for this lovely lady you've brought?"

A bit embarrassed he began, "Ah no but uhm maybe but I uhhhhh...."

"Take your time Horseman, I merely jest."

"Uh...anyway, why we're here is actually rather 'interesting'." Death states before explaining the flashback and dreams he'd been having.

Course Aspen sighs deeply, asking nervously, "If you want me to release these memories, I can do so. But they will be painful for you I'm sure. As for the possible memories involving, Lilith I can check if they are indeed just dreams. But there's a risk that if they are memories, that they may get unleashed. Are you sure you want this?"

"I have to know just in case. And the memories you sealed, I should be able to handle them." Death assures her.

"Very well, you know how I do this Horseman. Step into this tree here...." Aspen explains as an opening in a smaller tree opens up.

Death walks into it and stands at its center. The tree then closes up and Aspen begins the spell to look into his mind. Starting with looking for memories of Lilith his mind may have repressed that resemble his dreams. Morgen meanwhile watches curiously but notices the Podlings looking nervous and scared. One of them nuzzles her foot and she scoops it up tenderly. Aspen's grown daughters meanwhile grow on edge as well, sensing trouble in the woods through the trees and other plants. Creaking can be heard from the woods, clearly something was hunting after someone.

"Wait a moment, the amulet, where is it?" Uther's voice states in his head. He can only respond in growls and groans now though, which tip off Morgen to the danger.

She asks Aspen, "Uhm....how long will this take?"

"I can't rush it girl. It could rend his mind asunder if I do. Let's see now...ah finally let's just check his memories of Lilith and.....wait....oh....oh no...."

Aspen continues to say oh no whilst seeing that Death's fears were indeed real. The dreams were actually memories of what Lilith had done to him in full. She even got to see how Death got the scar on his inner thigh. Though she only viewed it out of curiosity, stopping only when hearing Death starting to scream. She then opened the tree to check on him, finding him on his knees and shaking,

"Death, we can stop here if needed. If you need to take a break or change your mind, we can stop."

Breathing heavily he told her, "We need....to keep going...I need to figure out everything."

"Uh now may not be the best time Death!" Morgen shouted as the Wendigo began to get closer. The Dyrads ready to attack the minute he comes into their home.

Death quickly grabs Morgen and tosses her into the tree. He's then grabbed himself and is dragged away. Then getting suddenly paralyzed by the creature staring at him with Abyssal magic cones spewing from its eyes. After this Death is then bashed into the ground, the paralysis wearing off enough for him to roll away after the first hit. He notes how this creature is now more mindless beast than the intelligent predator it had been. Death begins trying to understand why it's become so mindless, and actually starts to sense something off about it. More off than anything else that one would expect of a Wendigo. Morgen meanwhile is mortified at seeing this and backs away further into the tree. But just as Death realizes what's causing the beast's current mindset, he gets suddenly blasted backwards by a force of energy. One that seems to come off the Wendigo's now even more twisted body. This energy actually leaves him feeling sapped of much of his energy, but Death still manages to stand. Morgen upon seeing his sudden exhaustion, actually casts a spell of her own. She forms a portal over the preoccupied Wendigo and after much concentration a few swords come raining down onto the creature. Aspen then uses this opportunity to bind the Wendigo in place with her vines as best she can,

"WHATEVER PLAN YOU HAVE HORSEMAN, USE IT NOW!"

Death climbs up onto his back with an epic flip and finds the lock on the collar. From there he tries to pick it, as the Wendigo slowly starts to break free of the vines and swords.

"Death what are you doing!?" Morgen shouts to him.

He only sighs and continues on his work. Meanwhile a now free hand begins trying to grab him. Death ignores and dodges it as best he can all while still picking the lock. Finally the first part of the lock clicks open and Death hurries to work on the rest. The Wendigo nearly breaks free, but Aspen causes a branch to start holding it down. Hoping Death's crazy plan works. The second part of the lock loosens next, leaving one more left. The Wendigo tries to get up but only tangles himself further. Death tries but fails to get the third lock, giving the creature a chance to once again to try to free itself. The branch snaps and everything is uprooted, leaving it free at last. It then begins to grab at Death wildly, leaving Death trying to hang on for dear life now. Only for Death to dodge it by moving out of the way, going back to the lock. Luckily his progress wasn't reversed, leaving only the final piece in his way. He fails again, leaving to try and grab him only to cut itself on one of the blades currently stuck in him. He finally manages to unlock the collar completely and a great shift occurs. Glyphs on it glow and cause it to vibrate and it suddenly snaps wide open. Death is sent flying off but only lands a few feet away.

"Ow.....that...was unnecessarily long...." Death grumbles.

"Try unnecessarily dangerous!" Morgen yells at him.

#Darksiders Fandom #Darksiders Fanfics #Darksiders OCs #Darksiders Arthurian Tales Revisited #Death

[darks-ink]

Disinterred CH.15

Chapter 15: Clean It Up

And Amity Park… Amity Park was used to dealing with the unusual. The impossible. The non-existent. So, really. Having a ghost and a clone of said ghost testify for the crimes of another ghost… It wasn’t that far out of there.

(Tumblr hates links and I want this to appear in the tags so… for author notes/full fic summary/links to the other chapters/mirror links to AO3 and FFnet, click here)

“We need to talk to detective Payton.”

The woman behind the desk quirked an eyebrow at him, then glanced at the group behind him. “If you have a crime to report, you can speak to whichever officer is available.”

“It’s more complicated than that,” Danny insisted. “It involves a case he was working on.”

She opened her mouth again, clearly intending to shoo him away. Jazz cut her off, however. “It’s really important, please. Can you just contact him and tell him that the Fentons want to talk with him.”

The lady glared at them shortly, but complied. The call involved a brief back-and-forth, but once Payton had heard the words “Fenton” and “case” he seemed to have made up his mind.

Sighing, the woman at the desk put the phone down again. “He’ll be here in a few moments.”

“Thank you.” Danny grinned, just a little too pleased with the small victory. Hey, he would take whatever he got right now. Any distraction from the upcoming conversation was more than welcome.

When Payton appeared he looked more than a little resigned at the sight of their group of teenagers. “I thought that the Fentons wanted to talk to me?”

“We’re temporary stand-ins for his parents,” Sam said with a shrug. “They’re… occupied.”

Payton sighed but, to his credit, didn’t otherwise react. He simply led the four of them to an empty room so they could talk.

“What is this about, then? Because I’m guessing that the ‘case’ you wanted to talk about is yours?”

“Yeah,” Danny confirmed with a nod. “We… We kind of left our some details.”

“You are aware that it’s illegal to lie to the police?” Payton crossed his arms, a mild glare send towards the teens.

“We didn’t lie!” Sam exclaimed, throwing out her hands. “We just didn’t tell the entire truth.”

“Is that so?” Payton didn’t look particularly convinced. Danny didn’t really blame him. In fact, he kind of felt bad for the officer. His involvement in the case certainly made it a lot harder than it had any right to be. Ghosts, in general, made work for the police difficult.

“When we talked about my… ghostly nature,” Danny started hesitantly, “we implied that my… more ghostly appearance was just a one time thing. It’s not.”

Payton nodded, now looking slightly more believing. “Is this related to your glowing green eyes during the confrontation with your parents?”

“Uh, yeah. I can trigger the whole transformation on command, but the glowing eyes happens for all sorts of reasons. Usually when I’m using my powers or when I’m experiencing really strong emotions.” Danny shrugged. “I kind of… use my more ‘ghostly’ form as a disguise of sorts, so people don’t recognize me.”

“But what would you need a disguise for?” Payton squinted at him, suspicion clear on his face. “Nothing illegal, I hope?”

Danny snorted in response, leaning back in his chair. “Hardly,” he said, before tapping into his powers to make his eyes glow on purpose. “Come on, it can’t be that hard to figure out.”

Payton scrutinized him for a few long moments, eyes gliding over him. Then the man sat forward, arms resting on the table. “You’re saying that you are Phantom? Well, that certainly explains why you laughed when I said that if Phantom thought you were okay, it was probably safe to trust that judgment.”

“What can I say, ghost hunting runs in the family.” Danny smirked, a rather Phantom-like expression, to drive the point home.

The detective continued to eye him, then sighed. “You do realize that this isn't going to change the decisions we made last meeting, right?”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed with a shrug. “I mean, I guess I’ll try for college but if I can’t get in I’ll just work for my parents. I’m already following their footsteps as Phantom anyway, might as well give inventing a shot too.”

Then his expression fell again. “But to get back to the original topic… I’m not just telling this for fun. It’s a secret for a reason.”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” Payton agreed, sitting back again. “What is it then?”

Danny frowning, running through his options. Apparently he took too long, because Jazz spoke up. “He’s not the only one. Not the only one with a human and ghost appearance, I mean.”

“And you’re telling me this because… you don’t think they deserve their secret if you didn’t get to keep yours?” Payton queried, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“No,” Danny bit out. “I’m telling you because he’s a jackass who uses his powers for bad purposes!” The vivid green light from his eyes flickered on the desk in front of him, but he ignored it. “He hurts people, he manipulates people! And he has gone too far!”

“And who is he, then?” Payton seemed genuinely intrigued. Apparently Danny’s rant had convinced him to at least play along.

“In human form or ghost form?” Tucker piped up. “Because he looks drastically different and he has no problem flaunting that fact.”

“In his ghost form he calls himself Plasmius.” Sam crossed her arms. “But the public usually calls him the Wisconsin Ghost, I believe.”

“The blue skinned vampire ghost?” Payton frowned. “I’ve heard of him, yes. Known to cause problems, picks fights with… Phantom.” The last word he said more quietly, realization of Phantom really being a 16 year old apparently striking him.

“That’s him,” Danny confirmed. “His human form is also well-known. Old family friend of my parents, current mayor of the town…”

Payton grunted. “You’re saying that the Vlad Masters is a ghost like you?”

“How do you think he won the election?” Jazz questioned with a scoff. “He didn’t stand a chance until he overshadowed most of the voters.”

“And that’s just one of many sketchy things he has done with his powers.” Tucker’s jaw visibly tightened at the thought of everything the man had done. Of what he had tried to do to him. Danny was glad for friends like these. “Stealing money, overshadowing business rivals to take over their companies, attempted murder of Jack Fenton…”

“Kidnapping Maddie Fenton, twice. Kidnapping Danny at least that often, including trapping him in ghost-proof bindings and electrocuting him,” Sam continued. “Sending potentially dangerous ghosts to Amity Park, in the hopes to either kill Jack or hurt Danny.”

“And that’s not even to mention that he tried to clone me,” Danny joined in. Then with a grimace, he added, “And emotionally abusing the one clone that survived. Well, as far as a ghost can survive, of course.”

Payton blinked, apparently stunned by the information overload. Then the last part processed, and he frowned. “He cloned you?”

“Not very successfully, but yes.” Danny shrugged, a faux casual air about him. “She didn’t quite come out right, and she wasn’t stable. But she’s with my parents now, and we managed to save her.”

“Which is also why they’re not here,” Tucker explained, leaning on Danny’s shoulder. “Hence Sam and I as the replacement parents.”

Payton remained quiet for a few moments. Then he sighed. “You are aware of how bat-shit insane this sounds?”

“Welcome to my life,” Danny said with a snort. “Or, well, you know what I mean.”

“We can’t just take your word for all of this,” Payton insisted. “It sounds… Well, it sounds too bizarre to come up with, but that doesn’t mean that it’s true.”

“And we can provide you with whatever proof you need.” Sam glowered at him. “We just need your assurance that you’re gonna look into it, and that you’ll do your best to arrest Vlad.”

Payton sighed, looking like he was very much regretting his involvement in this case. Again. “Of course. That’s literally my job, miss Manson. Although I do wonder how you expect us to arrest and contain a ghost.”

“Inventions to restrict his powers exist,” Tucker supplied. “You can probably move to arrest him the normal way, since he won’t be expecting you to know. Use some ghost-proof cuffs and you’ll have him before he realizes.”

“Fine. It’s a deal. I’ll need all evidence you have of his crimes, including witness reports,” Payton instructed, looking like he was trying to get back in control of the situation.

Danny nodded, then pulled out his phone. “I’ll call the Red Huntress. She was one of the people Vlad manipulated, and he straight-up tried to hire her to catch the clone when she escaped.”

Looking he was going to regret asking, Payton nonetheless asked. “I thought the Red Huntress didn’t like Phantom? Or ghosts in general?”

“Misunderstanding,” Danny explained, waving Payton’s concern off with his hand. “We got everything figured out, and she knows of both my identities.”

“Of course,” Payton groaned. “And I’m guessing you know who she is, then?”

“We all do.” Sam grinned at the clearly overworked detective.

The detective only groaned, but didn’t say anything. Danny figured he had a pretty good idea of what the agent was feeling like.

But it was for a good cause.

It took a few days to gather all the evidence the police required. The witness reports alone took a considerable chunk of time, considering the sheer amount of people in Amity Park alone that knew about Vlad’s shady business. Aside from the Fentons (all five of them) and Sam and Tucker, Valerie also had to be included.

And sadly, that was easier said than done, as she needed to reveal her identity for the report to count. After all, a judge wouldn’t just accept the statement of a masked vigilante that no one knew.

Thankfully she trusted Danny’s judgment (and, of course, the judgments of his friends and Jazz) and allowed Payton and his team to know. They were… less than pleased to discover that she, too, was a teenager.

Knowing that it had been Vlad who pushed her into ghost hunting in the first place… Well, that eased their moods a little. Besides, she and Phantom now worked together – and they trusted Danny to keep the people of Amity safe. From ghosts, at least. Human crime… Well, that was their job.

Additionally, there was some trouble with Dani’s witness reports. Law wasn’t exactly made with cloning in mind. Legally, Danielle Fenton didn’t exist.

But then, neither did ghosts.

And Amity Park… Amity Park was used to dealing with the unusual. The impossible. The non-existent.

So, really. Having a ghost and a clone of said ghost testify for the crimes of another ghost… It wasn’t that far out of there.

Most of the people involved who knew enough about the case to know that three of the people involved were ghosts… Well, they were just glad that the ghosts were solving their issues like normal people. Instead of, you know, blasting each other to bits on the streets.

When Danny first heard people mention it, it had been some of the other officers of Payton’s team. People who knew he was a ghost, but who hadn’t been told about his Phantom alter-ego. He immediately thought back of all the times he and Vlad had brawled and burst into laughter.

The officers looked at him like he had gone crazy, eyebrows raised. Between giggles, Danny managed to explain himself. “You- You really don’t know the half of it.”

That hadn’t really explained anything to the cops, but Payton coaxed them back to work before they could question Danny. The detective attempted to glare the boy into behaving himself, but failed once more. Now that he knew what the boy had faced off against, he wasn’t surprised.

Finally enough evidence had been gathered. The cops set out, armed with anti-ghost weaponry and ghost-proof cuffs. A cell had been prepared beforehand, covered by a ghost shield provided by FentonWorks. A special one, they assured, which would hold even the most powerful and skilled of ghosts.

Payton double-checked his gear. Then he gave the start signal, allowing his officers to pour into the mansion.

Within minutes the team returned, guiding Vlad Masters in their middle. The man was dressed, as always, in an impeccable suit. He frowned at Payton when his guides stopped him in front of the detective.

“Sir, with all due respect, but what on Earth is happening here?”

Payton offered the man a lopsided smile. Then in one swift movement he cuffed Vlad’s wrists together, preventing his escape.

“Vlad Masters, also known as Vlad Plasmius, you are under arrest for… Well, for a lot of crimes.” His smile grew a little wider, a little more genuine. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court.”

Vlad’s eyes widened, his gaze shifting between his bound wrists and the police officers surrounding them. Payton ignored him, continuing with his whole rights speech.

“Wait, no,” Vlad pleaded. “You must be mistaken- I have never heard of a name like ‘Plasmius’ before.”

“Save it for court.” Payton shoved the man forward, towards the van that would transport him. Several officers, all armed with ectoplasmic weaponry, would ride with him. The cuffs should prevent him from using his powers to escape, but better safe than sorry.

Then he turned towards the rest of the officers still waiting. He inclined his head towards the mansion that stood before them, looming in the approaching dark.

“Well then, let’s see how many sketchy things we can find in here. Sources say that he has an underground lab hidden, like some kind of supervillain.” He grinned at the crowd of police. “First one to find and enter it without disturbing actual evidence gets a reward.”

He clapped his hands together. “Ready, set. Go!”

And then the officers were off, leaving Payton to observe. The boy had been right. Arresting Vlad had been easy, as the man hadn’t expected them in the slightest.

How clever he thought himself. What a sham.

The Summer vacation hadn’t done much to calm Casper High’s rumor mill. The turbulent arrest of ex-mayor Vlad Masters right after the start of said vacation had spurred on all rumors. Not much was known about it, but that didn’t stop the teenagers. They whittled away, discovered the smallest details. Any slip-ups were gladly accepted and brought into the rumors.

So it wasn’t much of a surprise that they discovered that Danny Fenton had been involved as well. Not as a perpetrator, oh no.

As a victim.

Which, of course, combined well with the previous rumors of him being a ghost. It didn’t take long for the first theories to emerge, suggesting that Vlad was his killer. That he had played a critical role in the death of Danny Fenton.

And so when the school year started, against all odds… The rumors hadn’t died off. Quite the opposite. Even more people than before believed that the boy, now in his final year of school, was a ghost.

So they kept their eyes open for his arrival.

Eventually, their wait was rewarded. The doors of the school opened, and in the opening he stood.

Lanky, with unbrushed but shiny black hair. Icy blue eyes that, ironically, sparkled with life. A surprisingly healthy gloss to his pale skin. A playful but kind smile on his face. For once, he looked well-rested. No bags under his eyes.

Perhaps… Perhaps Vlad Masters really had been responsible for his death. Perhaps Danny Fenton could finally rest easy, knowing that the man was finally arrested.

His outfit was much like the usual.

The girl he had his arm wrapped around… much less so.

She, unlike Danny, looked uncertain. Shaky. A red beanie sat perched on her head, but messy black hair still spilled out of it.

Her eyes, blue as the skies, glanced around the entrance hall with vigor. She looked guarded, like she was expecting someone to suddenly attack her.

She had her hands stuck in the pockets of her oversized blue hoodie. A crease in her brow suggested, however, that said hands were clenched into fists.

Standing right next to Danny Fenton, it was very very clear that she looked almost exactly like him. A little younger, perhaps, but undeniably identical.

The crowd parted the let the two through. But they remained nearby, hovering around the two. Waiting. Watching.

In the end, it was Dash Baxter who decided that he’d had enough. He stepped forward, breaking from the line and into the circle of personal space that had been granted to Danny and his… whoever she was.

“Hey Fenton,” he bit, stressing the last name of the ghostly teen. “Who’s this?”

“Oh hey Dash,” Danny greeted as he turned to face the other boy. He pulled the girl next to him a little closer to his side, drawing a displeased hiss from her. “This is Danielle, or Dani.”

“With an i,” the girl muttered under her breath, barely audible.

“Okaaay.” Dash frowned, looking between the two. “That still didn’t answer my question of who she is.”

“Oh, right.” Danny flapped his free hand. “She’s my dead sister.”

Dash froze up, and sharp intakes of breath could be heard from everywhere in the crowd. “She’s your what?”

“My dead sister,” Danny repeated, finally releasing the girl to reach towards his locker. Then he looked over his shoulder at the crowd and grinned.

And stuck his arm right through the still closed locker door.

“Funny how that works, huh?” he said, with his arm still waving through his locker. He looked like was searching for something without being able to see it.

Dani, meanwhile, seemed to have gotten over her nerves. She leaned back against the lockers, standing right next to Danny. She was still eyeing the crowd, however, a little warily.

Soft mutters could be heard from the crowd, but no one had a real response. Sure, everyone had been convinced that Danny was a ghost. Hell, Dash had even seen the boy go intangible before.

But this was undeniable proof. And it was a lot less feeble than a whiffed punch by a jock.

Finally Dash got his thoughts back in order, though. “So why’s she here now?”

“Well,” Danny hummed as he finally pulled his arm out of the locker again. Held in his hand were several books for school. “You guys all knew I was a ghost anyway, so she didn’t have to hide anymore.”

He turned back to face his once-bully with a lopsided grin on his face. Then he shrugged. “Besides, where else is a ghost going to get an education?”

#danny phantom #phanfic #dp fanfic #dp fanfiction #phanfiction #dark writes #disinterred #the last chapter! ooh #i'm drafting this on Tumblr AO3 and FFnet beforehand so i can post from mobile tomorrow #so if something screws up i blame it on that

[artistic-writer]

Between Now and Nether :: Ch 11 :: A CS AU

Title: Between Now and Nether by @artistic-writer [full res fanart]

Summary: On their way to a Nolan Charity Gala, tragedy befalls Emma and Killian who is given just seven days to set things right.  Can he make Emma believe and escape the Nether before he is lost forever?

Rating: T+

AO3 Chapters: [1] - [2] - [3] - [4] - [5] - [6] - [7] - [8] - [9] - [10] - [11] Fanart Full Resolution: [1] - [2] - [3] - [4] - [5] - [6] - [7] - [8] - [9] - [10] - [11]

A/N: Graham and Emma follow Killian’s instructions and head to the bank - what’s inside the safety deposit box?  What will they find?  How will it all tie into Killian and Liam’s murders?

Future updates will be Sundays AND Thursdays! (providing I can get the art made in time)

Forever thanks to @kmomof4 for beta’ing the shit out of this thing!  You are seriously the best!  And a massive thank you to @hollyethecurious who has been there to listen to me bitch and scream about this thing, and all the while she has had a smile on her face (i hope…there is an ocean between us - YOU’D BETTER BE SMILING!)

Taglist: @mariakov81 @rouhn @hollyethecurious @kmomof4 @resident-of-storybrooke@hookedonapirate @galadriel26 @aye-captn @the-captains-ayebrows @yayimallamaagain @i-nvr-wrote-it @officerrogerss @kiwistreetswan @wellhellotragic @depechemode75 @distant-rose@yrellow-bugs-and-pirate-ships

If you would like to be added please let me know for ch 11!

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Graham wasn’t quite sure how Emma had persuaded him to escort her to the bank. She had made very little sense, ranting about some files that Liam had on Gold and how Killian had hidden them away on his brother's death. Graham considered himself a good detective, and although still very green, he would like to think that if a colleague was undertaking some off the books investigation, he would have noticed.

Apparently not.

Emma had continued to try and convince him on the way to the bank, her eagerness to get there making her words tumble from her mouth in quick succession, her hands flailing wildly as she tried to explain. Everybody knew about the Jones murder. How could they not? A cold case where two boys were left orphaned, their lives taking them in exactly the same direction where they became cops and fought for justice in the world.

Now that Graham thought about it, the fact that both Jones brothers had been so eager to not mention their parent’s cold case should have been a red flag.

He wouldn’t have been able to do anything about Liam because he was still a beat cop when Liam was alive, but he knew them both through Emma. Graham had met Emma at the policy training academy and they had become good friends as they completed their training, even going as far as renting an apartment together. Both of them were as competitive as the other, and so they bounced off of each other constantly, using their entire training as a way to prove who was better once and for all.

As it turned out, Emma was slightly better. She always got better scores, was always faster and more adept at combat, and she had been promoted long before Graham to the role of detective. Emma had a rough start in her own life, and Graham always wondered if that was what had given her the inspiration to succeed. Failure was not in Emma Swan’s vocabulary. And when she was promoted, that was when she had met Killian Jones.

The younger Jones brother was a detective like his big brother, both of them working out of the same precinct. He was a few years older than Emma and when she had been given the paperwork explaining that she was to report to Det. Jones the next day, she had sat up all evening the night before, unloading all of her worries onto her friend. What if he was mean? She had heard stories. What if she wasn’t good enough to be a detective? What if all she was destined for what writing parking tickets and arresting drunkards from fast food restaurants?

Graham had not minded one bit, having loved Emma for as long as he had known her, but never quite having the courage to ask her if his feelings were reciprocated. He had told her that she was perfect, a great cop and she would make an even better detective. He knew it. She had passed the detective’s exam with top scores, could chase down a perp until they were out of breath before she was and could empty an entire clip into a center mass bullseyes leaving minimal spacing between bullet holes. He had meant every word and wished he had the confidence to kiss her.

As it turned out, all of his own worries were alleviated that night when, under the influence of a few glasses of red wine, Emma had in no uncertain terms told him that he was a great friend and she was glad that’s all they were. Uninhibited by her alcohol, Emma had told him that whilst he was absolutely gorgeous, he didn’t make her tingle. Graham hadn’t really understood what she had meant by that until the next evening when she had returned home, a grin plastered on her face and a spring in her step.

Like an arrow to his heart, Emma had told him that her new partner, Killian Jones, made her tingle.

The last three years had been much of a blur. He and Emma were still friends, but they had drifted apart a little. After a year of dating Killian, she had decided to move out of the apartment. Graham was supportive, helping them move with his truck and even carrying boxes into their brand new home, but he couldn’t help but wonder if everything was moving so fast for them. They had only been dating a year after all, and Graham knew Emma well enough to know that she didn’t normally rush into anything so headstrong.

Two years into their relationship, Graham was surprised they were still together. They were happy, keeping a professionalism at work that gave no indication into their private lives, but Graham couldn’t help but hope that he would be the shoulder Emma cried on when Killian finally broke her heart. Graham had heard stories of the Jones brothers, like pirates, plundering their way through the women in the precinct and despite Emma’s assurances, he hoped that the rumors were true. He had hated himself for being such a bad friend, a jealous friend, who secretly wished for the destruction of his friend’s happiness so he could muscle into her life and make it all better.

And then he had felt even worse when Liam Jones, Killian’s older brother, had been murdered whilst on duty, the case still laying cold and unsolved. He had comforted Killian, stood at his shoulder whilst he had saluted his fallen brother at a funeral full of honors. He had comforted Emma and joined the rest of the precinct in heading to the local bar to commemorate their fallen colleague, but that was when his life had taken a darker turn.

Years of pent up, unrequited love for his friend, fuelled by far too many whiskeys, had ended with him opening his mouth to tell Emma how he really felt. She had slapped him, he remembered it like it was yesterday, the sting on his cheek almost as painful as the stab to his heart. What had made his situation worse was the fact that, at Liam Jones’ wake, he had told her how Killian was no good for her. That had earned him a little more than a slap and he and Killian had to be dragged apart as they brawled, emotions raging, and Emma stepping between them and unleashing a tirade of profanity his way that he absolutely deserved.

From then on, their relationship had been strained. They only really interacted at work and as if anyone needed any more proof as to how perfect Killian was, he had walked up to Graham one day and shook his hand, telling him that despite what was going on between them, Emma didn’t have to lose her friend because of it. Graham hated Killian for his chivalry but hated himself even more.

“Emma, slow down!” Graham pleaded, narrowly avoiding traffic and offering the annoyed driver an apologetic smile as he struggled to keep up with her across the busy street. Emma had just been missed by the car and it had skidded to a stop just as Graham had tried to follow her, cutting him off from his pursuit.

Emma strode confidently forward, ignoring the honks and shouts from motorists as she stepped out into the traffic again. She clutched at the charm around her neck, letting the metal dig into her palm as she determinedly headed towards the bank, heeled boots scuffing the ground on every step.

“You know, I could write you up for jay-walking,” Graham panted, finally catching up to her across another lane.

“Go for it,” Emma huffed, her hair whipping behind her as she reached the curb and looked up at the bank. The building was huge, mammoth, the largest building on the block, and reminded Emma of a courthouse with large white stone columns at the top of round edge stone steps.

“Don’t be annoyed,” Graham implored, clutching his sides as he fought to catch his breath. It seemed Emma was still fitter than he was.

“I’m not,” Emma shrugged, not looking back at him. “Why would I be? I told my friend that I could help solve the murder of my boyfriend, possibly the murders of three other people, and he laughed it off.”

“I didn’t laugh…” Graham began but Emma spun to face him and cut him off.

“You laughed,” Emma jabbed her finger into his shoulder, pushing harder than she needed to. “I told you Killian was still with me and you laughed.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Graham relented, holding out one hand in defense while he rubbed at his shoulder with the other. “But look at it from my perspective, Emma,” Graham stepped towards her. “Listen to yourself.”

“You don’t believe me,” Emma said, hurt lacing her words.

“Emma, you told me the spirit of your dead boyfriend has possessed my body and was telling you how to solve his murder.” Graham looked at her, the words sounding even more irrational coming out of his mouth.

“I know it sounds crazy,” Emma said gruffly, rubbing her hand over her forehead.

“Crazy doesn’t cover it,” Graham sighed, resting his hands on his hips and licking his lips. “It sounds…”

“Don’t you think I know how it sounds?” Emma snapped. “But how else do you explain your lost time? The deja vu?”

Graham paused, considering her words with a frown. He had lost time, twice, and both times he had found himself inexplicably in Emma’s kitchen.

“Plus, you’d remember kissing me, right?” Emma prodded him, grabbing his attention.

“We kissed?” Graham sounded shocked and Emma nodded.

“And you would have remembered that, right Humbert?” She grinned at him and his features paled. “It’s like, the one thing you have always wanted, if I remember Liam’s wake correctly.”

“Not my finest hour,” Graham admitted dryly. “But yes, I would have remembered that.”

“And you would have definitely remembered kissing me more than twice, right? Taking me in your arms and holding me?” Emma told him.

“God, Emma, you’re killing me here,” Graham laughed nervously, shaking his head and looking back down to his feet as she relayed the information to him that he had done these things and the reason he couldn’t remember was that it wasn’t actually him.

“Which reminds me…” Emma said finally and Graham looked up at her again, his soft, curled hair falling over his forehead. “..When the hell did you start manscaping?”

Laughter erupted between them and Graham’s face flushed hot with pink. He wasn’t sure exactly how Emma would have known that, but it was true. In an attempt to make himself more appealing to the ladies, and try and forget about Emma, he had begun to shave his chest and body hair. And it had worked. If only sleeping with other women could make him stop thinking about Emma.

“How did you…?” Graham eyed her suspiciously.

“Killian,” She said simply. “Believe me now? This isn’t just grief,” Emma told him more seriously. “I know you and Killian didn’t always see eye to eye, but I am asking you to trust me, as my friend.”

“Is that what I am?” Graham narrowed his eyes.

“Of course you are,” Emma said firmly and his cheeks began to flush as he looked down at his shoes. “And I’m sorry if you ever thought of us as anything more.”

Graham looked up at her and inhaled hard, his body finally catching its breath and fulling inflating his lungs to satisfaction. He stared at her for a second and didn’t know how to respond. She could have blamed him, told him that it wasn’t her fault that she never loved him back, but she hadn’t. She could have said so many things, but she apologised, and Graham felt the desperation in her voice hit him like a truck.

“I’m sorry too,” He smiled. “For what happened. I put my feelings and jealousy above our friendship and it was selfish.”

“Yes, it was,” Emma nodded, crossing her arms.

“And I was a total arse,” Graham smirked at her, her stance and expression a reminder of the Emma Swan he had once known so well.

“Yes, you were,” Emma agreed.

“Alright, alright,” Graham rolled his eyes and waved her forward, following her as she began to ascend the steps to the bank. “Let’s see what’s in the box.”

After having to flash his badge more than once at some of the bank staff, Graham and Emma were led through a back room by the manager. The room they had ended up in was lined floor to ceiling with tiny, envelope sized slots, each one numbered with a tiny polished brass plate with a number etched into its surface. There was a huge table in the middle of the room and the bank manager offered them a seat with a gesture of his hand.

“Mrs. Jones,” he smiled but it was forced, a mixture of pity and sorrow.

Graham looked at Emma with a quizzical look, but she ignored him and nodded. “That’s right,” she agreed, clasping the charm around her neck even harder.

“Your husband left us very strict instructions with this box,” he told her matter of factly, moving around the room as he spoke. “I was only to give you access if…”

“...If he died,” she finished for him and he let out a thankful sigh at not having to have to say the words.

“Exactly,” he nodded, thrusting his key into the numbered box on the wall and turning it with a click. Graham watched him slide the long, metal box from its crevice and carry it to the table. The manager slid it down onto the surface, its weight causing it to almost fall from his hands as he did so. “I trust you have the key already?”

Emma nodded. “Thank you.”

“Then I will leave you to it,” he nodded at Graham, a little nervous as to why the police were present at all. “If you need anything, I’ll be in my office. The door will lock when I leave, but you can leave at any time from the inside.”

“We’ll be fine,” Graham told him with a fake smile and irritation in his voice and with that, he was gone, the door sliding closed with a soft click and locking itself with a sliding sound.

Emma ran her hands over the edges of the box, the metal cold under her fingertips. She was nervous. She knew what was inside, but she wasn’t sure if she was prepared to know the why behind Killian’s murder.

“Number thirteen? Are you kidding me?” Graham laughed as he read the number on the box. “If only Killian knew he would be sending us here from beyond the grave.”

Emma ignored his words, hands resting on the box in front of her with a pale stare.

“Emma, are you okay?” Graham asked with a cocked head and a frown.

“Hmm?” Emma hummed, looking at him quickly. “Oh yeah. It’s just…” She worried her bottom lip between her teeth and Graham put his hand over hers, tracing her knuckles with his thumb.

“You don’t have to be here,” he offered her an out. “I can open it if you’d like.”

“It’s just…” She said again, taking a deep breath. “...I didn’t know.”

“I know,” Graham said softly, grabbing the chair beside her and sinking down into the seat silently. The room was so quiet there was a distant hum in the air that rang in their ears. “Killian would have told you about this if he thought you’d be safe, you know that.”

Emma nodded, quickly wiping the tear that had rolled down her cheek. Graham was right. Everything Killian had ever done was with her best interests in mind and he had made sure she was safe from Gold by never telling her about this box. It made Emma turn cold, knowing that whatever was inside had actually got not one, but two Jones’ killed. She took one last deep breath and fiddled with the necklace around her neck, pulling the sword from its sheath and exposing the key.

“Huh, look at that,” Graham smirked, impressed. The tiny key slid from the charm effortlessly and the only way you would realise it was a key was the tiny teeth along one edge and the number thirteen etched into the blade in black lettering. “Jones, you sneaky son of a bitch.”

“Ready?” Emma asked, sliding the key into the keyhole and looking at Graham. “This might put you in danger, Graham. You can still leave if you want to.”

“No going back now,” Graham smiled weakly.

Emma blew out a breath and turned the key, the mechanism springing open and the lid popping loose.

#cs ff #cs fic #cs au fic #cs au #between now and nether #ch11 #artistic-writer #fanartforfanfic #angst #hurt #adventure #mystery #cs halloweek

[gaytheorist]

I Will Always Be With You (Harry Potter Fanfic) ch3

Chapter 3: Photo

A black slim figure was seen at Privet Drive that evening, walking towards a house with the number four at the door. Once in front of the house, Severus Snape knocked and waited for an answer while looking around for any signal that could tell him that the boy was being treated badly, such as drops of blood or things alike, that may not trigger someone's eye if they are not looking thoughtfully, sadly, he couldn't find any, the garden seemed perfectly taken care of, even when it had clearly snowed copiously the day before, so he would need to step inside to confirm his theory, he was hoping that there would be some clues outside, that way he would have only had to pick the child and leave.

The door was answered by Petunia Dudley, nee Evans, who Severus could recognize easily because she was Lily's sister and she hated him almost as much as he hated her. His hatred was easily shown on his face, but when he spoke he sounded much calmer and polite, that way she would not be able to deny his entry to the house, "Good evening, I hope I do not disrupt your household, but I would very much like to come in" Severus said, "I came to check on your sister's son, Harry"

Petunia paled at the sight in front of her and was very vocal about her opinion on her sister's freaky friend coming to her beautiful house "I will not allow someone like you inside my house, you freak, you snatched my sister away from me and make her a freak, you won't do the same with the boy, we are in the process to make him normal!" Severus was very much prepared for this kind of insults but, the fact that these people really thought that magic could be beaten out of someone disgusted him and made him remember about his own father.

When the woman stopped ranting he took his wand of its holster very discreetly and aimed it at her "let me in before I do something" he said and saw how Petunia opened the door fully to let him in "Vernon!" she yelled, hoping that her husband would do something with the freak and kick him out.

The big whale of a man stood up from his armchair and approached the dark and slim man in a violent manner, raising his fist and yelling no sense in which you could barely distinguish some curse words that drew Dursley's attention. Severus, in return, stunned the big man and levitated him back into the living room, of course this spell work on a muggle could be a serious problem if Vernon had not been violent but, as this was not the case, it would count as self-defense to the ministry and his memories would be enough to prove it. He left the man on the floor in the middle of the living room, scaring both, mother and son, who were occupying the sofa.

At this point, Severus Snape looked towards the eight-year-old, who look obese and spoiled, calmly, as he didn't want to scare the boy further, it would not be wise to do so, he needed answers, he asked, "where is Harry?" the boy raised his hand and pointed towards somewhere in the hallway, Severus sighed and walked towards it, then he heard it, an almost soundless thud against the cupboard under the stairs door.

Harry had been listening to the conversation from the very beginning, the man said he had come to check on him, was he going to take him away? What if the place where he is sent to is even worse? Those thoughts hunted him while the conversation was still going, suddenly everything seems calmer and he had to bend a bit further to be able to hear it properly, when he failed to do so he punched the door slightly in frustration, without knowing that this had drawn the attention of the potions master.

Severus breathed shakily trying to calm his rage at the view of a locker on the cupboard's door, Harry was kept there against his will. He opened the little door, he crouched down to see the interior better and found a kid that looked about five or six years old, dressed in oversized clothes that looked dirty and ripped, who was desperate to move as far as possible form the open door.

Lily's son was scared and confined, his best and first friend's son was being abused, he bit his lip, trying to hold back any emotion that may scare the child further, Instead, he offered a little friendly smirk, showing kindness in his eyes, a kindness that many failed to see, and then, after putting on some privacy spells to make sure the abusers didn't hear anything, he spoke "Hello Harry, I am Severus Snape, I was friends with your mum and she has asked me to take you with me to a safer place, your mum and dad loved you very much and they would like you to have a happy life" Severus stopped there, trying to see if the little child was understanding him.

He was going to speak again when he heard a small voice "aunt Petunia said that mum and dad didn't love me and they killed themselves in a car accident…" Harry said, he was confused, he wanted to believe the things that the dark, kind man was saying but he had to be sure, he needed proof of the man's connection to his parents, he didn't have to wait long before he got his reassurance, "Harry, your parents loved you so much… they would do anything for you, she lied to you but I would never do that, look, I bring this with me" Severus pulled a photo of him and Lily together the day they received their letters to Hogwarts, the picture was a magical one so you could see them both smiling and waving their letters.

Harry looked at it while tears started to fall, he noticed it moved and looked up at Severus with a question on his mouth but it was cut up by the explanation "it's magic, I will explain you later" the man said without knowing how much did mean to Harry the fact that someone was going to take the time to explain him something new, at school he was mostly ignored so he didn't have that experience.

"can… can we leave?" those were the words that broke the silence, they were shyly enunciated but it was good enough for Severus who had much more patience with little kids than with his students. Severus nodded slowly and offered his hand to harry who got outside of the little space.

Severus helped him up "take your toys and things that you want to keep, don't worry about clothes we will fix that later" when the kid handed him two broken toys Severus looked confused "this are my toys… can you keep them safe?" the little man spoke, Severus took the two soldiers and put them in one of his pockets before lifting the privacy spells and the stunning spell, then he stood in front of the living room where the abusers were, "we are leaving, but I will be back to make you pay" Severus then took Harry's hand and walked outside.

Once outside he explained briefly how were they going to travel to the kid, explaining how Severus needed to pick him up, which the boy didn't seem to mind at all, and how it would feel like a small tube, also he explained that it was completely fine to feel ill afterwards so the kid didn't feel guilty if he did throw up. When Harry was comfortable in Severus' arms, Severus thought that the kid was too light and clingy he didn't mind the clinginess but the weight concerned quite a bit, he rubbed the little's back before apparating to Hogwarts.

THIS FANFIC IS ALSO IN FANFIC.net, AO3 and Wattpad!! (Same title, same author)

Fanfic.net Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12669926/1/

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12361260/chapters/28117602

Wattpad Link: https://my.w.tt/UiNb/Aad6hhI52H

#severus snape #severitus #petunia #petunia dursley #vernon dursley #dudley #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter #abuse #abuse tw #photography #pro severus #he is a normal human #he is trying

[ramheavenandhell]

The Lines Between Ricks And Mortys – Chapter 3: Rip him limb from limb! / He's trying to kill himself!

AN: Sorry for the longer break, but if you follow my Twitter account, I said that I would have an eye surgery (eye lasering). No worries, it went okay, but let me give you advise that if you have light sensitive eyes, you should think twice about it. In my case, the light sensitivity was so extreme that I couldn't look at a screen (or anything that emits light) without wearing sunglasses and having to take rapid breaks from it, which made my job a nightmare since it consists of doing nothing else than staring at a computer screen for 8 hours straight. But it's better now so here we are with the next chapter. Warnings: more violence (aka more brutal Morty battles), homophobic behavior, attempted suicide

The Lines Between Ricks And Mortys – Chapter 3: Rip him limb from limb! / He's trying to kill himself! The C-137 team was in another dimension again. This one looked almost boringly normal – green trees that you could probably find on earth, too and green grass – if not for the fact that everything was covered by a fine blanket of powdery snow. The Mortys shivered a little from the cold, both wearing nothing more than their typical short-sleeved t-shirts while Rick pressed onward, seeming not the least bit fazed by the temperature. After trudging through the thankfully not very high snow for a while, they came eventually to a clearing. "Hey, Rick! There is a Wild Morty! Right over there!" Morty pointed down one of the paths at a scruffy looking Morty who was scavenging a trash can for food. "Nah. That one looks too normal and *urp* too weak." Rick only said after eyeing the dirty and thin Morty, taking a sip from his trusty flask and proceeding to walk the other path. "What? So, you don't want to catch him now?" Morty was a little confused. However, he did throw a glance at Morticia to gauge her reaction. After all, Rick just confessed that he caught her because he thought that she was special and strong. Only after seeing her impassive face though did Morty realize that she did indeed not catch the praise behind that sentence because she obviously did not know that she was just a Morty that Rick had caught and thought that she belonged to Rick C-137. "Morty, listen! We're only going to catch so many till our team is full and they better be some good ones, okay? I mean, sure, I would like to do this like the completionist that I am and catch every last one of them and be the very best like in Pokemon, but we hardly have the time for that. We have a plot to move along here, all right? Maybe the author finds the time to make another spinoff where we just catch all of these Mortys, but it's not gonna happen in the main story. Even the backstories of the Mortys that we do capture are told in a different fanfiction just so that the readers won't get bored with tons of unnecessary backstory. So, let's just get going." Rick rants. "O-okay. Well, I just thought-" "Yeah, that's the problem, Morty…" Rick sighed loudly as he went on ahead. Morticia patted Morty encouragingly on the back as if to say that he shouldn't take it personally. For as antagonizing as she was to him half the time, she was still a Morty and could empathize. So, ignoring the Hobo Morty, the Mortys continued to follow Rick who was keeping his eyes on his Mortytector. The device seemed to be leading them directly to a Morty that Rick C-137 deemed worthy enough to catch. It was really in this situation that his invention could truly shine. Not only did it show the position of Mortys, but it also revealed some details about them, showing their stats. That way Rick knew exactly where to go and not waste his time with weak Mortys. It didn't take them too long to finally find what they – or more specifically, Rick – had been looking for. On their way, they had only encountered two alien trainers that insisted on fighting them, which Rick didn't decline and the Mortys were also kind of glad because the battles let them warm up at least a little. As they approached their target, the Mortys looked with big eyes at 'it'. "Is-Is that really a Morty?" Morty C-137 asked, as he looked at the shadowy dark mass that was hovering back and forth on the pathway. "My Mortytectore says that it is." Rick replied and he had a grin on his face and a glint in his eyes. This was going to be a good one. He could tell that much even without his Mortytector. Time to catch this baby!

"So, tell me again, why we're doing this?" Rick P-78 asked his little companion as they made their way to Salesman Rick's store. "T-t-to help the o-other M-Mortys." Morty A-22β6 replied. "You do realize that we're only here to help C-133 find that one Morty, right?" Rick pointed out. "I don't really see the point why we have to get involved with something that has to do with an illegal Morty brothel ring…" "B-but, Rick! We have to—have to help t-those Mortys. I do-don't want them t-to suffer like I d-did." A-22β6 protested. He looked Rick dead-seriously in the eyes. The older felt actually a bit taken aback by this. His mind flashed back to Morty's nightmares that he had witnessed as well as the still solid proof of the abuse from his former Rick that littered the boy's skin in the form of nasty scars. His little Morty was right. No other Mortys should have to suffer like that. "Yeah, okay. You convinced me." The scientist gave in rather easily. He actually had to smile a little. This was the first time that he had seen his shy charge showing balls like that and even though he won't ever say it aloud, he was proud of him for that. They entered the store and both felt a little overwhelmed by all the Morty merchandise that lined the tightly packed shelves and the many rack columns that held all sorts of mostly useless items. The entire place felt overly stuffed – maybe even overcrowded although there weren't many customers in here. Aside from the duo, there was only a greenly translucent alien that looked like a blob in the store, buying some supplies like serums and manipulator chips. It was clearly one of those Morty trainers, but the three Mortys that were standing beside it would have also given it away. As soon as the alien customer left, Salesman Rick's attention was immediately focused on them – well, at least on Rick P-78. "Hello and welcome in our store. How can I help you?" he asked in such a friendly manner that it seemed odd. Rick P-78 looked briefly down at his Morty before meeting the sales clerk's eyes again, "Uh, we're just looking around for now…"

"Well, c'mon, Morty. Go and attack him." Rick C-137 ordered. "What? Me?" Morty pointed at himself. "Aw geez…" He really wasn't looking forward to the confrontation. This shadowy Morty looked creepy. What was it supposed to be anyways? Maybe a ghost or something like that? "H-hey there." He greeted his opponent nervously. Rick only rolled his eyes as he watched from a safe distance. The Shadow Morty turned around and look at his living counterpart with white glowing eyes that looked empty and void of emotion. The look made the hairs on Morty's neck stand up. He actually expected the shade to start running off as other Mortys did when they came closer to them, but this one didn't do anything. It neither moved to escape nor did a make a move to attack. It just kept staring at Morty and it clearly nerved the boy out. "Dammit, Morty. Just get to it already! Or do I have to swap you out with Morticia again?" Rick egged his grandson on. "Jeez, Rick. I'm not even sure, if I can attack him!" Morty yelled back, getting frustrated and slightly angry again. Well, how could he? If the Morty in front of him was a ghost then he couldn't even touch him, right? Though, he didn't look exactly like a ghost, judging by the way the shadows were swirling and slightly morphing its form minutely, he was pretty sure that this one lacked a physical body none the less. Morty sighed as Rick only continued to throw insults at him and braced himself. Even though he knew already that he would just embarrass himself, trying to do this, he would at least give it a shot so that his grandfather would finally shut up. Nervously he slowly approached the specter, not exactly sure, how he should go about this. Clenching his eyes shut, he swung his fist at his opponent – and not surprisingly, he just passed through and landed on the ground. Rick slapped a hand over his face at the pathetic display and groaned loudly before cursing and throwing some more insults and his grandson. Even though he just witnessed firsthand that this Morty had no physical body, he was still convinced that even this one could be caught via a manipulator chip. It would probably be tricky though… "Couldn't expect anything less from you, Morty." He spat. "Fine, Morticia. Your time to shine." Said girl looked slightly confused at Rick. Didn't he just see how Morty had passed through that shadowy form? How was she supposed to do something then? Her face shifted to one of determination quickly though as she looked at her opponent. 'Don't think about. You just have to do it somehow! Don't disappoint your Rick!!' she told herself mentally. Morty still laid on the ground, but he opened his eyes and rolled over to look up at the shade that was staring back down at him. As if the specter suddenly realized that Morty had tried to attack him, his eyes narrowed and he stared menacingly down at the boy. Morty knew that he was screwed as soon as he saw the eyes of his opponent shift and was close to peeing his pants as he weakly tried to scramble away. However, it seemed that he was saved as Shadow Morty's attention shifted to Morticia who tried to deliver a kick at it. With a quick movement, the shadows that made up its body lashed out and grabbed the girl's leg. The appendage almost resembled something like a black tentacle and effortlessly lifted its opponent up, holding her in the air. Morticia squeaked as she suddenly felt herself dangling upside down in the other's grasp. Morty's eyes widened and he tried to get up from the ground to help her somehow even if he had no idea what he could do. Apparently, Shadow Morty could manifest parts of his body so that he could touch and move objects, but he the rest of him still couldn't be touched and therefore Morty saw no real room to attack him. He clung to the shadow tendril that hoisted Morticia up in hopes that he could get the other to let go, but obviously, his efforts were very fruitless. Seeming to grow annoyed with his opponents, Shadow Morty threw both of them on the ground with one whipping motion of the tendril. Deer-caught-in-headlights-look on their faces, the duo watched as the specter slowly approached them, ready to deliver the final blow. Rick used this chance in which his target was completely distracted to press the indicator to Shadow Morty's temple, but unfortunately, he passed through the shadowy mess that made up its body and found his hand including indicator sticking inside the boy's head instead. "Shit!" Rick cursed, seeing as his plan had failed and realizing that the manipulator chip won't just stick to the boy like that. On top of that, the Morty had become aware of him, turning his head and the glowing spots that were supposed to be his eyes were staring right at him now. The scientist quickly pulled his hand back, feeling a bit grossed out from the experience and couldn't stop his facial muscles from forming a grimace. The eyes of Shadow Morty suddenly flashed in a red color and it let out an inhuman screech. Within seconds, it started to attack Rick who dodged and made a run for it, but the Morty chased after him, clearly enraged. Man, this Morty was aggressive as fuck, but it made Rick want to catch him even more now.

P-78 and A-22β6 were still loitering around in the shop, acting as if they were actually interested in the merchandise while not really looking at any of the items. "Well, you're the one you wanted to do this so just go and ask him whatever you wanted to ask." The Rick said lowly while grabbing a Morty doll from the shelf and examining it with faked interest. "Jeez, R-rick. G-give me a m-moment, o-o-okay." Morty whispered back. "I-I don't even no-know wa-what t-to ask h-him…" Well, he just couldn't go and ask directly if he had something to do with an illegal Morty brothel ring. Even if he did have something to do with it, there was no way that he would admit that to him. A-22β6 glanced towards Salesman Rick who looked with a smile that looked a little forced at Rick P-78, not letting him out of his eyesight. It seemed less like he was watching because he worried about them shoplifting, but rather like he was waiting to be addressed by them. He really looked like he wanted to be asked and it made the Morty wonder if it really was a stupid idea to just talk about the topic upfront. Steeling himself mentally, A-22β6 left his Rick's side and approached the vendor. He swallowed heavily and opened his mouth to start talking to the Rick whose eyes finally fell on him – it was probably the first time that he even recognized that Morty was here. The fact that the salesman's friendly face had faded to one that looked like a mix of confusion, annoyance and even disgust didn't make it any easier for Morty A-22β6, but before he uttered his first stuttered word, he got interrupted by new customers entering the shop. Salesman Rick immediately switched his attention to the newcomers, his demeanor instantly changing again and friendly smile back in place. "Hello and welcome in our store." His face twitched a little though and he stopped his speech, which confused A-22β6. The boy turned around to look at the customers that had just entered and found that it was another Rick and his Morty. However, they weren't just your usual grandfather and grandson duo – the two seemed to be a couple. Their hands were entwined in a way that only couples were holding hands and they were standing very close together, almost leaving no space between their bodies. Morty A-22β6 stared a little in fascination at the two. Of course it wasn't the first time that he had seen a Rick and Morty couple – he'd certainly came across a few of them on the Citadel by now – but while the concept wasn't entirely new to him, he was still very intrigued by it. Salesman Rick's face had darkened a little since the couple had walked in and his features became more strained, but it went unnoticed by anyone inside the shop…

The C-137 trio was still chased by an enraged Shadow Morty with dangerously, red-glowing eyes. Every kind of obstacle that they tried to bring between them – the occasional shrub or tree – was either just phased through or ripped out of the way by shadowy tendrils. If they would keep this up, they would never get around to catching the Shadow Morty because the specter seemed to be tireless while the C-137 team was tiring themselves out fast. "Shit! We need some kind of plan." Rick mumbled as he barely dodged another attack from the enraged shade. "M-maybe we need to find its—I mean his body." Morty suggested the only idea that came to his mind. The Shadow Morty suddenly halted in its chase, its eyes turning white again and it looked sad and lost all of a sudden. "B-body… m-my body…" Rick used this as another chance and approached it with the indicator once more. Carefully, he placed it against the temple, making sure to not push too much and end up sinking in its shadowy swirls of a body again. His tongue peeked out between his lips as he did this in complete concentration. Thinking that he got proper contact, Rick tried to attach the manipulator chip to it and surprisingly enough the chip did stick to the black cloud that resembled its head. They all watched the little light blinking and listened to the beeping sounds, minus the shade, which didn't move an inch. The LED blinked green and Rick jumped in the air with joy. It was certainly a rare sight from the old man, but considering this hard fought victory, not all that surprising. "Hell yes! Gotta try this one out right away. C'mon!" he yelled at his Morty team as he suddenly started to run ahead. The Mortys tried to catch up with their grandfather that had stormed off like a maniac. Only the Shadow Morty seemed to linger behind, watching Rick's retreating back. "W-why? Why?" it mumbled before it seemed to get determined and also followed the retreating group. Morty and Morticia both looked surprised as the Shadow Morty did not only catch up, but passed them. Maybe it was faster than them because it didn't have to run on short legs and could just float above the snow covered ground. It made both of them a little envious, but then again, they preferred to be living creatures with actual, physical bodies. Rick, still sprinting ahead like a madman, was using his Mortytector to deliberately seek out a Morty trainer that he could challenge to a battle. He really wanted to test out the strength of his newly caught Morty against someone else. Relatively quickly, he stumbled across an alien who was in company of only one Morty. "Hey, you! I challenge you to a battle!" Rick declared. Usually it had been the other trainers who were always quick to challenge him so it might have seemed a bit weird to see Rick being the challenger this time. He didn't bother thinking about that though as he immediately sent Shadow Morty into the fight. "Okay, Shadow Morty. Rip him limb from limb." He commanded. The specter looked at Rick for a moment almost as if it didn't understand the command, but then it advanced on the hapless Dog Morty that covered in fear. With the expression that the spirit had on its face, that fear was totally warranted, too. Without further warning Shadow Morty did exactly what Rick had ordered him to do. His shadowy limbs extended and grasped the furry, lifting it in the air and ripped its limbs off. As he let the poor creature drop to the ground again, he also crushed its ribcage for good measure, efficiently breaking some ribs, which punctured the Morty's lungs. Morty C-137 screamed in horror at the sight and yelled, "Oh my god! That's just overkill!" Rick meanwhile shouted, "That's what I'm talking about!" "Are you serious, Rick?!" his original Morty yelled back at his grandfather. "Oh c'mon, Morty. A visit to the Healing Center and he will be fine again." Rick replied nonchalant and took a sip from his flask. The Dog Morty didn't look like he would be fine again though, making garbled screaming sounds as his blood spewed in all directions from the wounds were his limbs got severed while his alien trainer stood shocked over him and wailed… Rick just took the trainer's money and valuables and was on his way again, not bothered by the sight at all. His trio of Mortys trudged behind him, Morty and Morticia still looking quite horrified at the wounded Morty as they passed him…

The couple was still looking around Salesman Rick's store, unaware that the focus of all other occupants was solely on them. Giggling at a comment from the other, the little Morty led his Rick over to the racks where the t-shirts hung. "What? You wanna buy another yellow t-shirt? Don't you already have enough of those?" the Rick only commented, but still smiled at his charge. "You're right." The Morty agreed. "Maybe I should go for another color." He let go of his Rick's hand to search through the various shirts that were not yellow. Rick P-78 tried to ignore the pair and continued to feign interest in some collectable Morty action figures – who bought this stuff anyways? A-22β6 still had a hard time tearing his eyes away from the duo. He still needed to find the proper words to ask Salesman Rick what he wanted to ask him so he tried to get his bearings back together. Since he hadn't been looking at the salesclerk though, he didn't notice how much his looks had darkened in the meantime. Salesman Rick had trouble keeping the fake-smile up on his face. The muscles were strained so much, that his features resembled more that of a grimace. He completely loathed the lovey-dovey display that the couple made, being completely oblivious to anyone else around them. The Morty would pick some shirts from the rack and held them up to ask his Rick's opinion. And at every joked jab that his Rick made, he would giggle. The older was either ruffling through the smaller one's hair affectionately or even hugging him as if to show that his remarks of his choice of clothes were not to be meant seriously. Then the Morty picked up black t-shirt, which had a white, frowning Morty head and the words "Aww" and "Jeez" written on it and asked as he held it in front of himself, "What about this one? You okay with me wearing this t-shirt?" "Oh, you know, I prefer you wearing nothing at all." His Rick replied seductively. The Morty blushed, but also giggled a little again. Apparently, this was the last straw because Salesman Rick suddenly saw red. He stormed up towards the couple and ripped the t-shirt out of the Morty's hands. To the surprised and questioning gazes that met his actions, he only answered in a less than friendly manner. "Get out!" "What?" The Rick asked back, his good mood clearly having vanished like the sun behind heavy rain clouds. He frowned and moved his Morty protectively behind himself as Salesman Rick jammed the t-shirt back on its hanger. "I said get out of my shop! I don't want the likes of you hanging around here!" A-22β6 flinched at the loud voice and looked with wide eyes at the seller. This behavior was completely unexpected. Even P-78 stared shocked and caught himself from gaping in surprise. Salesman Rick glowered at the couple while he pointed his finger to the outside. His gesture, body posture and the look on his face made it clear that there would be bloodshed if the duo didn't get out fast. The Rick only murmured and pushed his little lover out of the shop. "C'mon, Morty. We're leaving." His mood may had turned sour, but he wouldn't let this pull him down. Still, he couldn't help, but look back at Salesman Rick as they were halfway out and said loudly "There's always another merch-store." Salesman Rick was still seething as he watched the couple walk off, holding hands again and looking barely affected by the outburst and unfriendly throw out. 'Jeez, what had happened just now?' Morty A-22β6 wondered while still looking wide-eyed at the salesclerk. Salesman Rick took a deep breath before he turned around to face P-78, the smile from before on his face again, though it did look a bit shy as he seemed to be a little embarrassed about his outburst. "I'm sorry that you had to see that. Please continue to look around and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions." He apologized. "Uh… sure." The other Rick replied, not sure what to make of what he had just witnessed. As Salesman Rick made his way back to the cash register that he had stationed himself at, he passed A-22β6 again and frowned down at him. The boy lost the last bit of courage that he still had somewhere left inside him to approach and ask this man anything at all. That behavior rose certainly some suspicion. It seemed that Salesman Rick wasn't such a cheerful and happy person as he constantly pretended to be to the outside world. And the Morty would even dare to think that this man might even be dangerous. At least it got pretty clear that he didn't seem to be too fond of Mortys. Nope, a direct approach would not get him any results. He was sure of that now. As sure as the fact, that something was really off with this Rick. They would need to change strategies…

The C-137 quartet was meanwhile in a different dimension. This one had orange shrubs and pink, blob-like trees. It certainly looked alien in every sense of the word to the Mortys. Rick still continued to press happily on, eyes fixed like so often on his Mortytector, but he looked slightly displeased. Probably no Morty that was considered good enough and would be worth capturing in this dimension, Morty C-137 figured. In a way, it was a relief. As much as he hated fighting against his alternate selves in in those trainer battles, he disliked chasing after and trying to catch new ones even more. He wasn't even really sure why. They continued on, obediently following their grandfather in a neat row until Morty stumbled a little and started to complain. "Oh geez, Rick. I think I'm getting delusional from hunger or something because I think I just saw a big slice of pizza running behind those trees over there. Maybe we should take a break and get something to eat?" he suggested. "Oh yeah, great idea. I swear I saw something like that, too. We should really make a pause, Rick." Morticia actually backed him up. Shadow Morty didn't say anything. Rick sighed and looked back at his more-or-less-reliable trio. "Okay, fine. Let's wrap this up and then go and grab a bite at the Citadel." Rick gave in. Looking back at his Mortytector he tried to figure out where this dimensions Rick was so that they could make a beeline for him and then get out. However, this didn't mean that he was going to avoid any of those annoying trainer battles that would await them on their way. He wanted all that sweet loot after all.

After that unexpected display of rage, Rick P-78 and his Morty were outside of the shop, hiding and spying on Salesman Rick from a safe distance now. "You do realize how ridiculous this is?" Rick said, clearly not very fond of hiding in the bushes next to a Rick statue, right in front of the Council building like this.

  If the Guard Ricks found them here, they would get in trouble and he really didn't need that.

Aside from the problems that would arise and the embarrassment, he also thought that he was too old to be crouching like this behind some shrubbery.

"W-well, he seems ki-kind of du-dangerous." Morty replied, not letting his gaze stray away for even a single second from the suspect.

"'Cause of his homophobic behavior? Morty, I told you before that there are a lot of Ricks who aren't too fond of romantic Rick-Morty-relationships. I may not be one of them, but you had seen that before with that other couple. Maybe the guy went a little overboard there, but you can't expect every Rick to just keep their cool when they have to look at that sort of affectionate display…"

Morty only grumbled a little in response. He didn't understand how his Rick could side with Salesman Rick.

There was obviously something off with him and he would find out what exactly it was.

If he had anything to do with the abduction of Mortys then he refused to let up until he found some evidence.

Rick only sighed as he looked at A-22β6's determined face from the side.

It seemed that despite his usually shy behavior his little Morty could be really persistent in his pursuits.

If Rick wouldn't actually like that and wanted to help encouraging it a little, he would have probably already called this off and dragged them both somewhere more important.

After all he still needed to help C-133 and find that Morty.

He wasn't too sure how great the chances where to stumble upon him while hiding in some bushes and keeping sight on a Morty merchandise store.

But well… one could never know, right?

Unfortunately, nothing of big interest happened.

There were a few occasional Ricks or Alien Morty trainers that visited the shop, but nothing that was noteworthy.

Salesman Rick greeted his customers happily, acting like the friendliest and most cheerful Rick ever in existence.

That display actually started to disgust P-78 a little.

Ricks weren't really cheerful or happy people. Sure, they knew how to party and how to impress other people with jokes, funny catchphrases and crazy actions, but they were nothing like this Rick.

Salesman Rick seemed pathetic in a certain way even though Rick P-78 couldn't quite place his finger on it.

The spying action wasn't as fun as it always looked in movies and the duo soon became bored.

Just when even Morty was getting close to dozing off despite his determination and all that, he jerked to full awareness as someone who clearly wasn't just a normal customer entered the shop.

It was Investment Rick. Morty knew him from the occasional times that his own Rick would seek him out to talk about some financial business.

Morty perked up as the two Ricks started to talk with each other, but unfortunately, they were too far away for him to hear anything about the conversation.

The only thing that he did notice was that Salesman Rick's face fell quickly.

Whatever they were talking about it clearly wasn't good news.

As it dragged on, the discussion became more heated and both Ricks were starting to shout at each other.

Unfortunately, Morty was still not able to make out what they were yelling about.

Well, it had to be about some financial issues and he really started to wonder about the details.

Was Salesman Rick broke? Or would he have to close his shop because sales weren't going so well?

He really had no idea, but all of these examples sounded plausible.

The discussion seemed to end and the banker left the store with a scowl on his face that seemed to vanish pretty quickly again as he started to chat up another Rick that just passed him.

Morty A-22β6 noticed that Investment Rick's smile looked very different from the one that Salesman Rick always put on. It seemed… he wasn't really sure, but… more genuine, perhaps?

Looking back to the salesclerk, he noticed that his rage seemed to have ebbed off and he just looked very depressed all of a sudden.

The sullen look on his face made the Morty's heart reach out to him…

The C-137 team trickled into the fast food joint that was named McSanchez. The small restaurant was decently filled with several Ricks and Mortys and the occasional alien that would stare in wonder at its food. Since they were stuck at the Citadel, they might as well try out all the restaurants that the place had to offer even if they were cheap rip-offs from well-known earth restaurant chains. They had ate lunch at Rick's yesterday. "So, what do you want?" Rick asked his original Morty as they got in line. The Mortys looked up at the wall were all the foods and menus were shown along with pictures to provoke some appetite. "Um… I want the Morty Menu with a coke." He answered after making his choice. "'Kay. And you?" Rick turned his attention to Morticia. "Oh, I'll take the McMorty Burger with eggs and ham, big portion fries and a Morty-Choc-Milkshake." Rick then turned to the last of his Morty trio "And what do you want?" … "Fuck! Can you even eat?" the scientist added after remembering that this Morty didn't really have a physical body. The Shadow Morty only stared back at him as if the concept of food was completely foreign to him. "Guess not…" As it was finally their turn, Rick ordered what his grandkids wanted and for himself a RickMac with Bacon, McChicken Nuggets with Sanchez Sauce, small fries and a Cubra Libra (at least, unlike McDonalds, they served alcoholic beverages here). After their order was done and handed to them, they picked out an empty table and sat down to eat their food. "This "Sanchez Sauce" tastes like a weak attempt at remaking Szechuan Sauce…" Rick complained as his dipped the chicken nuggets in the mentioned condiment and ate them. "Hey, Morty? Have I ever told you about this sauce?"

 The Mortys didn't pay his ramblings any mind and ignored him as they continued to eat their own food.

Morty C-137 felt a little nerved out though as Shadow Morty kept floating next to him and stared at him as he snacked on the fries that were part of the Morty Menu.

A reluctant shadowy hand reached out to lift up one of the golden stripes so that the specter could look more closely at it.

Morty actually stopped eating for a brief moment to watch what the shade would be doing.

He wasn't quite sure if he just imagined it, but he thought that he saw something like recognition flash in the white orbs of the lifeless creature.

Shadow Morty then lifted the fry to his mouth and proceeded to eat it… only for the food to pass through his body and land on the ground.

Both Mortys looked at the potato-y snack on the floor and then lifted their heads again, looking at each other wordlessly.

Before anymore could happen, they were suddenly interrupted by a loud voice.

"I've turned my Morty into a pickle!" One Rick who sat a few tables over, yelled so loudly that he drew the attention of a few pairs of eyes on himself.

"Actually, I've turned all five of them into pickles. Pickle Mortys!!" The Rick continued to tell another Rick that he currently had a conversation with.

"Here, have a— take a look." He added as he pulled a glass jar out of his lab coat.

Inside the jar were indeed five Mortys turned pickles who looked like they were quite uncomfortable being wedged in that tight space and they seemed to be complaining, which could however only be heard after their Rick unscrewed the jar.

"C'mon, Rick!" "Cut that out!" "Change us back again!" "This isn't funny!" "It's so cramped, I'm getting claustrophobic in here!" the Pickled Mortys yelled one over the other as the other Rick, who sat at the same table, examined the glass jar with mild interest.

"Makes it a lot easier to lug these little bastards around." Said the Pickle Jar Morty owning Rick with a smirk on his face.

"I've turned my original Morty into a cucumber." Other Rick commented while looking not too impressed and pulled said Morty out of his own lab coat.

"This isn't actually so bad." Commented Cucumber Morty despite the unfortunate state that he was in. "I like cucumbers."

His three fellow Mortys gave their Rick a rather disapproving look though and they hoped that he wouldn't be getting any weird ideas of turning them into veggies.

Ironically, the Mortys were a Strawberry Morty, an Orange Morty and a Banana Morty respectively.

A Cob Morty who was following his Rick with a tray in hand steered clear of those two weirdos after noticing their discussion.

Rick C-137 decidedly started to ignore those less-than-sane Ricks and drowned their conversation out while focusing back on his burger again.

"Hey Rick, would you ever turn me into a pickle?" Morty asked, feeling a bit unnerved by witnessing the other Rick's craziness.

"Nah. No way would I ever turn anyone into a pickle." He replied absentmindedly. "Unless I really need to get out of a situation that I want to avoid at all costs…"

The voices of the two Ricks still rang loudly through the small restaurant and the Mortys also soon followed their grandpa's example and focused on their food again. Which was probably a wise decision seeing as things were starting to get even more ridiculous with that pair of apparently food-obsessed Ricks at the other table.

Talk about second-hand embarrassment…

Morty A-22β6 and his Rick were still huddled behind the bushes and kept watch on the shop. Since Investment Rick had left the building, nothing peculiar had happened again. There hadn't even been any customers anymore and the artificial sun on the Citadel's sky-screen was starting its slow descent to eventually give way to the artificial night sky. Still keeping watch and not at the immediate risk of dozing off again since Morty somehow felt more awake than ever now, the boy suddenly noticed something. It wasn't really something with the shop since no customer had entered and nothing else had happened. Salesman Rick had started to leave his post at the cash register and had begun to stock up the shelves some while ago and Morty's view had been blocked by shelves then so he didn't see him anymore. The thing that the boy noticed was more of a feeling though. A feeling that something in the shop was not quite right. He stood up from his hiding position, rousing his Rick's attention who had been bored out of his mind. "Hey. Where're you going?" he asked and also stood up his joints cracking uncomfortably for being stuck so long in the crouch. "Sum-something is not ar-alright…" Morty only replied, as he got closer to the shop. As he looked around, he couldn't find the salesclerk anywhere in the vicinity. Where could he be? He hadn't seen him leave the store. Then Morty noticed a door at the back that was slightly ajar. It led probably to a storage room. Morty wondered if he should just ignore his gut feeling and go back into hiding or if he should dare to check. For all he knew the Rick was just back there to get some more supplies to stock up the shelves… but what if he didn't. Becoming brave, Morty ventured over to the door, only paying brief attention to the sign that hang on it and stated "staff only". Carefully he opened the small crack wider and peered inside the room behind it. Flickering florescent lights lit up the backroom that was stuffed with more shelves and boxes. He couldn't see Salesman Rick anywhere and therefore stepped into the room fully now. Knowing that his Rick was right behind him made him brave enough to explore. However, he didn't have to search the storage area for long. Just as he rounded one of the shelves, he found the Rick that he was looking for. "O-o-oh my god! R-Rick! H-he's trying t-to kill h-himself!" he shouted loudly. Indeed Salesman Rick hung from the ceiling, a rope tied out of Morty cravats around his neck, which hung in a complicated looking construction that was supported by the shelves and the neon tubular lamps. The twitching of his body and slightly raspy sounds that he made were an indicator that he was still alive. Rick P-78 only stood there and looked at the hanging Rick a bit dumbfounded until his Morty urged him on. "D-do sum-something, Rick!" He followed through then, usually not one to question another Rick's decision and stepping in when one deliberately tried to off himself – even at times when it's not deliberate – and got the other down. Since untying the knots didn't work very well, he got out his handy laser cutter and burned through the cloth, which resulted in Salesman Rick dropping on the ground. The salesperson hacked and wheezed while clutching one hand around his neck where the makeshift-rope had dug in and was quickly leaving a reddish bruise. Morty was instantly at his side, kneeling beside him and hands grasping at Rick's shoulders. "A-are you o-okay?" Salesman Rick pushed him off. "Get off me! Why do you even care? You don't know me!" he yelled hoarsely after he got air back into his lungs. Morty looked taken aback at the rude gesture and words. "Why did you safe me?!" the Rick addressed P-78 now. "'Cause my Morty was worried about you." Was the factual reply. Salesman Rick stared with wide eyes at the impassable gaze of the other. It was true though. If his Morty wouldn't have told him to intervene, he probably wouldn't have moved a single muscle to get him down. Ricks were pretty impassive in the face of other Ricks' death and while they might fight for their lives in dangerous situations, they could really care less about the misfortune of their alternate selves. Ricks' self-hatred was real and of genuine nature. And P-78 was no different from that. Also, there was an unspoken non-interference codex between Ricks and quite frankly he didn't see the point to stop another Rick from ending his own misery. He sure as hell wouldn't want someone else to step in when he was trying to off himself – a thought that he had entertained certainly more than once in the past before he had gotten his new Morty. With a questioning gaze, Salesman Rick turned back to the Morty now. The Morty returned that look with an empathic one of his own. "Why d-did you d-do it?" K-57 huffed. "Not like you would understand." "Tri-try me." For a moment, there was only silence before Salesman Rick lowered his head and started to speak up again. "It just got all too much, you know. Life on the Citadel just isn't what it was promised us to be." "Well, duh." P-78 threw in. Salesman Rick just collapsed more in on himself, looking utterly lost and broken. It was a pathetic view. The Rick was surprised as he suddenly felt small arms encircle him. Morty was hugging him. The gesture seemed so strange, almost alien to him. When had been the last time that someone had hugged him or touched him in a way like this? He honestly couldn't remember. Rick K-57 relaxed into the embrace, returned it and closed his eyes from which tears silently started to stream. In that brief moment, he started to think that maybe he understood the importance of Mortys to Ricks now. Rick P-78 just watched the affectionate display silently from the side, his mouth a thin line, but he didn't dare to interrupt the moment. Maybe Salesman Rick finally deserved a break. At least the smile that he wore on his tearstained face looked truly genuine for the first time…

Morty C-137 dreaded the steps up the small flight of stairs as they approached the next "Gym Leader" Rick. No matter how often they did this, he still disliked it. Heck, he hated all of these pointless battles in general! He still didn't understand why he had to fight against alternate versions of himself in the first place. A shudder ran through his body as he saw their current opponent. This Rick looked genuinely dangerous. He wore a red headband and a red jacket, which was unbuttoned and showed his bare and much muscled chest – as well as a very prominent six pack – that was covered by some bandages but still visible enough to him. His face wore a scowl and the yellowed teeth that he showed looked sharp as if they had been filed to specifically look like that of a shark. This scary monster of a Rick was none other than Karate Rick and Morty was honestly scared that the Rick alone could kick all of their asses without even having to use his Mortys. At his side were a Karate Morty – probably his original and a pupil in this Rick's dojo – a Renegade Morty that looked almost as scary as his Rick and a Punk Morty. Yeah, Morty C-137 wasn't really looking forward to this fight. "Well, would you look at that. It's a p*uurhg*ny Rick with his puny Mortys." Karate Rick mocked. Of course, Rick C-137 wouldn't just let that sit on him. "Well, you—you're as dumb—you're the dumbest Rick I ever heard. Clearly, you have no idea who you're up against. I'm Rick C-137." "La-dee-da." Karate Rick replied with an eye roll, clearly unimpressed and uninterested in that information. "C'mon, Morty. Get up there." C-137 addressed his grandson now. "Aw geez, really? Me again, Rick?" Morty questioned. Didn't he see how dangerous and strong those other Mortys looked? You would think after all the insults he threw at him about how weak and lame he was in almost all of their previous battles on the way here that he would think twice about picking him to fight. "Of course you, Morty. And now quit your whining and get to it. I wanna see you wipe the floor with that second rate Rick's brat." If he truly wanted to see that, then he had picked out the wrong Morty for it, Morty C-137 thought. "Let's show them how it's done, Morty." The other Rick said and Karate Morty stepped forward. C-137 wasn't sure what to expect, but was certainly surprised when the other took a stiff bow. Slightly confused he tried to mirror the gesture, remembering to have seen it in some karate movies and not wanting to appear rude. After the opening courtesy was done, Karate Morty took on a fighting stance. C-137 certainly had no idea about actual fighting sports – other than the little from some action movies that he'd seen – and therefore didn't even try to get into a fancy looking stance and embarrass himself. His opponent seemed to wait for him to make the first move so he did just that and approached him, trying to land a punch. The other Morty's movements were incredibly quick though and he didn't only dodge the fist, but also spun around and put him in a stranglehold. Helplessly he squirmed in the other's professional grip, but to no avail. He had no way to get out of that again. Rick C-137 only groaned and slapped a hand on his face again. It was embarrassing to see his very own grandson fail again and again. The cackling of the other Rick didn't really help his mood at the moment. "Ah shit! Well, fine. I wanna switch him out." "No can do." Karate Rick replied. "Morty, finish him off." Following the command, Karate Morty pushed the other down on the ground and pinned him with his arms and legs that allowed C-137's body little to no movement while he strangled him. "The heck?! Is that even allowed? I'm pretty sure that's against the rules or something." Rick C-137 complained. "Since when does the Rogue Rick care about rules? But for your information, there's no saying in the rulebook that we can't do this." "Hell yeah, you're right! I don't give a fuck about rules. So Morticia, get in there!" The girl didn't waste her time with any pleasantries but dove right into the battle. With a well-placed kick, she attacked the still kneeling Karate Morty and freed her teammate. C-137 scrambled out of the way to let his much more battle seasoned alternate do the fighting. "You're always such an embarrassment." His grandfather said to him as he crawled back on the sidelines, only sparing him a brief glance before putting his attention back on Morticia again to command her through the battle. Apparently, the girl had been taught some martial arts, too, because she was on equal standing with her opponent. Each punch and kick was met with a like-for-like move and the two seemed to be at a stalemate, neither ready to give the other side the upper hand. The balance was only tipped after Rick yelled out one peculiar command. "Morticia, distract him by showing your boobs!" She whirled immediately around, her face flushed red. "WHAT?!" Karate Morty's face dropped, his eyes becoming blank as his lips hung down and resembled a 'w'.

Instead of lifting her t-shirt as she had been ordered, Morticia whirled around again and delivered a kick that hit her opponent in the head. Still in shock and having lost his defenses, Karate Morty landed on the ground and the female Morty had no trouble finishing him off afterwards. Karate Rick didn't look very pleased after the loss of his disciple. He gave his grandson a glare that had the potential to kill as said boy crawled heavily wounded back to his side. "That was a dirty move, Rogue Rick." He glowered. Rick C-137 smirked. "That coming from the right one. Well, for your information, there's no saying in the rulebook that we can't do this." The other Rick growled and sent his next Morty into the battle. Renegade Morty towered dangerously over Morticia. For a moment, she looked frightened by her enemy who looked like Rambo-rip-off. He was buff with bulky muscles, adorned by battle scars, wore a necklace of ripped off bloody ears on a string around his neck, a very mean scowl on his face and worst of all he stank like old sweat. He was truly intimidating. However, since her grandfather didn't lose a word about switching her out, it meant that he was counting on her to defeat this guy. 'Don't disappoint him.' She told herself and scowled right back at her opponent. Instantly she went to deliver a barrage of kicks to her opponent. Unfortunately, this seemed to do no damage at all, as her enemy stood as unmoving as a mountain. He didn't even try to defend himself, just letting her attacks rain on him as if they were merely a light breeze of air. Karate Rick cackled at the display. Renegade Morty was his strongest one and never lost a battle before. Morticia stopped her barrage of useless attacks, panting from the exertion. Her enemy took that as a cue that she was done and went to attack himself now. He punched the girl without holding back and with a yelp, she flew back and crashed into the ground by the force of the hit. Morty C-137 winced and even his grandfather's facial features twitched at sight. "Ha ha! That's right. Now destroy her, Renegade Morty!" Karate Rick urged his boy on. Morticia struggled to get up from the ground again, but before she was even back on her feet, another fist hit her in the face, bringing her back down again. Like a merciless monster, the bulky Morty continued to lay into the girl, landing punch after punch. Morticia wasn't even able to defend herself against all those hits and after a few painful minutes, she laid unmoving on the ground. Rick C-137 snarled angrily at the loss while his enemy had to rub it in of course. "Hell yeah! You should go and look for some better Mortys if you want to beat me, you dummy." "This isn't over yet, Rick." C-137 replied. He looked with a hint of worry on his face at Morticia as she limped back to his side, eyes cast down and looking clearly ashamed of herself for losing. 'She's going to be fine.' He assured to himself mentally. 'After this is over, we're off to the Healing Center.' "Shadow Morty, you're turn." The specter hovered forward to face his enemy, the stare on his face blank. Karate Rick huffed in amusement before he ordered his Morty to also finish off this one. Renegade Morty attacked then, but his attacks didn't hit their target because his fists always passed through his opponent. Karate Rick frowned at the sight. "So, this one doesn't has a physical form, huh? You're trying to cheat again, Rogue Rick? Even if you do send in a Morty that can't be defeated as long as you can't defeat mine you're not gonna win either. And don't think I'll give in and admit defeat. We can stand around here and do this for weeks for all I care." Rick C-137 smirked. Looks like this dumb Rick was underestimating his Shadow Morty. "I don't plan to play some stupid waiting game with you." – 'As if I had the time for that.' – "I'm gonna win by crushing your Mortys. Just watch this. Shadow Morty, attack!" The specter let out a deafening shriek that stunned his opponent before he lifted the other Morty up in the air to fling him down on the ground again. He kept up this attack pattern until it was obvious that Renegade Morty wouldn't be able to recover from it again. It actually only took a few minutes. Well, that was over fast. Seeing his best Morty lose also punched the smug attitude out of his Rick. He bit his lip in frustration, knowing that his Punk Morty wouldn't stand a chance against the shade, but he would send him in anyways. No Rick in their right mind would ever go down without fighting! Rick C-137 grinned broadly, already counting this whole battle as a victory. His opponent had nothing against him and his Shadow Morty. He knew that this one would be worth the trouble for catching it! However, just as Punk Morty reluctantly shuffled into the ring, Morty C-137 started to speak up. "Rick, please let me take him on." He may still have been a bit wounded from the fight against Karate Morty and the opponent looked mean, but he didn't seem to be as strong as his two predecessors. And Morty didn't want to look as if he was a complete loser, seeing as his comrades were both very capable of taking at least one enemy out each. Even if he didn't like these battles, he still felt like he needed to prove that he wasn't just a weak nuisance that was dragged around with this group. They were a team and he was a part of it just like the others! His Rick looked at him, seeming to think for a bit about it before giving him a nod. "Shadow Morty, get back here." Karate Rick looked shocked for a moment before he cackled again. "Why did you send in this complete loser? You could have won this round easily, but you rather wanna embarrass yourself like this?" However, Rick C-137 only grinned, looking confident. He believed in his grandson and it made Karate Rick's grin drop again to be replaced by a scowl as he ordered his Punk Morty to "Destroy the brat!" Punk Morty and Morty C-137 stood opposite of each other and each stared the other down without making a move at first. The punk looked unimpressed, but let a little grin slip as he went to attack his opponent. Morty could see the change in expression and was able to react accordingly. It was true that the boy wasn't really a strong fighter, but through all the adventures that he had been on with his grandfather he learned a thing or two. All of their troubles had also been honing his reflexes and made him good at dodging even incoming bullets or plasma shots so he didn't have much trouble evading the other's punch. Since he found that he had the upper hand – at least in velocity – Morty quickly counter attacked while his opponent was still mid-swing. Rick C-137 repressed a loud whoop at the skillful move that his grandson made, but grinned proudly while his Rick opponent only scowled more. "C'mon, Punk Morty! You can't lose against such a pushover! Hand his ass to him!!" Karate Rick yelled. The yelling did seem to serve as some motivation for the punk because on his next try he managed to hit the other Morty. Both Mortys continue to fight, not willing to give the other the upper hand. Punches and kicks were exchanged, but not for long as the tough battle finally found its victor. The final move that decided the outcome of the fight was made by C-137 who feigned a punch and then went for a kick that rendered Punk Morty unable to continue on. Even though he was sweating and panting and had several bruises and scratches Morty smiled. "You did good, Morty." His Rick praised him for the first time, broadening the boy's smile. To his opponent, Rick C-137 then said, "In your face! My Mortys are great! Now hand over the badge and shoot us a portal." Karate Rick practically seethed, but obliged and handed over the goods as well as opening a way for Team C-137 to return to the Citadel. Turning to his own team of defeated Mortys, he reprimanded them in a low and menacing voice. "Don't think that your loss here won't carry any consequences. I've warned you before what will happen if you lose. There's punishment and lots of more training waiting for you." The boys visibly shook as they picked themselves up from the ground, battered and beaten. Morty C-137, compassionate as he was, actually became scared for his alternate selves after he heard the threat and saw how frightened they looked. Karate Rick seemed to be quite a sadist. "Aw geez. I feel really bad for them." He said to his Rick after they stepped through the portal, worry clear in his tone. "Do you think they will be okay?" Rick only shrugged. "No idea. It's not really my business what that Rick does to his Mortys." With that he lifted his flask to his lips. He could really care less about the boys' fate. Besides, it was true. What a Rick did with his Morty was no one, but that Rick's business.

AN: In case you're wondering about the missing bonus content at the end, the second hand embarrassment scene is supposed to be the bonus content. It just fit better in the middle than at the end ^^' And I know I'm completely disregarding types in this story, but see how few fucks I give (I know that in an actual battle Renegade Morty would have probably won against Shadow Morty because of type advantage)… let's just say that Shadow Morty just had a much higher level than Karate Rick's Renegade Morty and pretend that this is legit. And I also know that Karate Rick is not a Boss Rick, but I like the guy and have been using him as my avatar ever since I unlocked him in the game ^_^

Part 11 of Entricked Fates

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Part 1 of Entricked Fates: Gotta Catch Me Some Morty

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Part 2 of Entricked Fates: Mortyfied and Rickfused

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Part 3 of Entricked Fates: Ricking the Routine

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Part 4 of Entricked Fates: Ricks will always be Ricks

oneshot

Part 5 of Entricked Fates: The Morty-Lover

oneshot

Part 6 of Entricked Fates: Second Chances AKA The Rick One For Me

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Part 7 of Entricked Fates: Rickvestigating the Morty Disappearances

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Part 8 of Entricked Fates: When the Morty’s away, the Rick will play

oneshot

Part 9 of Entricked Fates: It’s Not His Ricking Fault!

oneshot

Part 10 of Entricked Fates: I Ricking Hate My Life!

oneshot

Part 12 of Entricked Fates: The Mortys and their Stories

Chapter 1

#rick and morty #ram #rnm #rick #oc ricks #salesman rick #rick c137 #morty #oc mortys #morticia #shadow morty #pocket mortys #fanfic #fanfiction #hopesfanfictions #entricked fates