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americancowgirl19 · 3 years

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Acceptance

Summary: You find the love of your life in the middle of a highway.

Warnings: violence, soulmate, fluff, angst?, implied smut

Reader: Female Reader

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Word Count: 3,680

A/n: This was requested by @fyeahtaylorp : Could you please do a Bucky Barnes x plus size female reader imagine where you see black and white until you meet your soulmate and they meet during the winter solider when he’s not really him and he’s protective of her and she works along side Steve and she has weather manipulation powers and they meet again and he’s still protective and there is smut please. - I am so freaking sorry that it took me forever to get this written and published and I didn’t get to the smut, so sorry. I also changed it just a little bit so I hope you still like it!

Masterlist

“Hey, are you Sam Wilson?” You question, standing on the man's front doorstep. He frowns his eyebrows, crosses his arms, and sizes you up. You know you don’t look like much, but your mother always said that looks were deceiving. “Can I come in?”

“And who are you?” He asks, standing tall in the doorway.

“She’s backup,” Natasha states, coming into view. You instantly send a smile her way. “We can trust her,” She reassures him. Sam presses his lips together but nods and moves to let you in.

“You look good... All things considered,” You compliment her. She looked like her naturally beautiful self with only a couple of scratches and bruises on her skin.

“It’s been a rough few days,” Natasha tells you. “We could use your help,” You smirk and cock your head to the side.

“That’s what I’m here for. Where’s Cap?” Once the question leaves your lips, the golden boy comes into the room. “Heard you were in a tight spot,” You state when he looks at you with arched eyebrows. His eyes move from you to Natasha, who gives an innocent shrug.

“We could use her help,” Natasha states. “We can trust her,” She vouches. Steve looks hesitant but nods before giving you a polite smile.

“Rough few days, huh?” You mutter, looking at Natasha, sensing that her words were a bit of an understatement. “What exactly are we up against?”

Natasha and Steve both begin to fill you and Sam in on what’s been going on. You weren’t surprised Shield had been compromised. You didn’t trust anybody outside your small group. You preferred being on your own in a secluded area.

However, Natasha is one of the select few that has your complete trust. Therefore, when she called, saying she needed help, you came without hesitation.

“So, the question is: who in Shield could launch a domestic missile strike?” Natasha questions.

“Pierce,” Steve realizes.

“Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world,” Natasha sighs.

“But he’s not working alone. Zola’s algorithm was on the Lemurian Star,”

“So was Jasper Sitwell,”

“So, the real question is: how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnap a Shield officer in broad daylight?”

“The answer is: you don’t,” Sam states, dropping a military file on the table. Natasha pulls it toward her.

“What’s this?”

“Call it a resume,”

“Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you,” Natasha states. “You didn’t say he was a para-rescue,” She mumbles, looking at Steve.

“Is this Riley?” He asks, and Sam nods.

“I heard they couldn’t bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use, a stealth chute?”

“No. These,” Sam corrects Natasha. Steve flips through the file.

“I thought you said you were a pilot,”

“I never said pilot,” Sam smirks with a hint of smugness. It’s enough to get you grinning. You decide that you like him.

“I can’t ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason,”

“Dude, Captain America needs my help. There’s no better reason to get back in,”

“So, where can we get one of those?” You wonder, peaking at the pictures. “I don’t think Walmart has those in stock,”

“The last one is at Fort Meade,” Sam answers, an amused grin on his lips. “Behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall,”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Steve assures him.

“I’m assuming you have a plan?” You ask, Steve. “Or is this a wing-it kind of mission?” Natasha grins a bit before they start laying out the plan.

Your part of the plan was to keep them from dying, basically. Nobody knew that you were involved. You were to stay in the background and only intervene if needed. Knowing Natasha, you would need to step in sooner rather than later.

You watched them from a distance. You smirked when you saw Sam flying around with his wings. They were a cool contraption; you weren’t going to lie.

Borrowing someone’s car, you followed them from a distance. You watched for anyone suspicious. Everything seemed normal until someone caught your eye.

This, someone, was dressed in black, but he stood out from everything around you. Like everyone else who had yet to meet the one they’re destined to be with, the world is dull and colorless. Only after meeting and accepting your soulmate could you see the world the way it’s supposed to be seen, full of color.

So, while his attire is completely black, his pale skin and silver arm stand out. You knew this was the man, The Winter Soldier, that Natasha and Steve had warned you about. You knew you should have warned them, but you were frozen by the revelation.

When he leaped from the car he was on and onto the one with your friends, you snapped out of your daze. Cursing, you sped up to try and get to them, but by the time you were able to weave around traffic and catch up, their car had crashed.

“Some backup you are, Y/n,” You mutter to yourself. You slam on the breaks and put the car in park before climbing out. You race down the highway and toward the men shooting at Natasha and Sam.

You stop a few paces away from the shooters and begin to conjure fog to cover their escape. Before long, Natasha can get away, and the attention is on you instead of Sam.

Able to see through your fog clearly, your search for your soulmate. When you find him, you send a powerful gust of wind in his direction. The force sends him flying back and through a car. You wince, but at least he’s not within the fog’s grasp any longer.

You move around as bullets come flying your way. You had given up your position, but it had been necessary. Once you find a safer place to stand, you begin to manipulate the fog once more. Your breath is now visible as the air around you drops rapidly in temperature.

To add to the cold, you begin to make the air thinner in their area. You see them shivering, and some drop to the ground due to the lack of oxygen.

In the corner of your eye, you notice one of the men had escaped the fog’s perimeter. He aims his gun at you but forces the fog to become thicker as you slip into its protective cover. Within the fog, you notice that more than one man has escaped.

You huff in annoyance, but at least you have eliminated a couple of the problem people. You see a few people standing at the edge of the highway shooting down where you assume Natasha, Steve, and Sam are.

Before you deal with them, you turn to the one that continues to hunt you just outside of the fog. Giving him an annoyed glare, one he doesn’t see, you point your hand at him. Like Palpatine, you release streams of lightning from your fingertips.

The man screams in pain and drops to the floor. You continue your ministrations until his screams stop. By then, however, the fog has dissipated, allowing the others to see you. Their guns turn to you, but before you can defend yourself, a stream of bullets lodge into their heads.

Your eyes snap to the source and notice the Soldier standing there. You both stare at each other before he stalks to the edge of the bridge and jobs down to the lower level. You race to the edge to watch him stomp off a crushed car and continue onward as nothing happened.

“Oh, no, you’re not getting away that easily,” You mutter. Lifting your hands, you manipulate the air around yourself. It lifts you off the ground and gently sets you down beside the car the Soldier had crushed when he landed.

You run in the direction the Soldier had gone. You see him locked in a fight with Steve. It looks like Cap finally met his match.

A groan catches your attention. Your breath catches in your throat. You jog over to Natasha and inspect her bullet wound.

“This is gonna hurt,” You warn her. She looks at you before closing her eyes. When she nods, you place your hands on either side of her wounded shoulder. You conjure enough heat to cauterize the wound.

“I hate it when you do that,” She mumbles. You smile at her.

“Well, stop getting shot, and I won’t have to do it,” You wink at her. “You’ll be alright,” You assure her before standing up. You turn back toward the Soldier and Steve. For the first time, you see him without his mask.

“Who the hell is Bucky?” He asks Steve before aiming a pistol at Steve. Your breath hitches again when Sam comes in and kicks the Soldier away from Steve. When he regains his footing, you notice Natasha aiming a grenade launcher at him.

“No!” You shout, shoving Natasha, forcing her to miss her target. When you look back, you notice the Soldier is gone. Before you can react, a collar is locked around your neck, preventing your mutation from working.

“It was him... He looked right at me like he didn’t even know me,” Steve mutters.

“How’s that even possible? It was like 70 years ago,” Sam states as Natasha stares at you intently. You avoid her gaze and continue to stare at Steve, wanting to know as much about him as possible.

“Zola. Bucky’s whole unit was captured n ‘43, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and...”

“None of that's your fault, Steve,” Natasha assures him.

“Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky,” Steve whispers.

Great, my soulmate is a ninety-something supersoldier that’s in Hydra. You think sarcastically. Although, if he doesn’t even know who he is, how can he willingly work for Hydra? He protected me from his own men. Hydra soldiers don’t do that. There’s hope for him.

“Oh, you’re on our side?” You ask when one of the masked persons beats the sit out of the other two. “Oh, hey Maria,” You greet when she takes her helmet off.

“Ah, that thing was squeezing my brain... Who’s this guy?”

After making the grand escape, you’re all lead towards a hideout. There you find Nick Fury, who’s apparently not dead. After an argument on how to go about things, you prepare to take on Shield/Hydra once again.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on, or am I going to have to start guessing?” Natasha questions. You glance up at her before looking back down at your feet.

“You’re smart, Nat... I’m sure you’ve already figured it out,” You whispers. Natasha doesn’t say anything for a minute. She then comes toward you and sits down.

“Can you stop him?” Nat asks. You meet her look.

“If I can... You won’t be seeing me for a while,” You tell her. She sends you a small smile.

“Do what you have to do... Just be careful,” She advises. You smile, bumping your shoulder with hers.

“You’re the one who should be careful... Once I find him, I’m going to get him to leave with me. You’ll be in the fight the whole time,” You remind her.

“I’ll be fine,’ Natasha whispers. “Just get him and go,” You smile and slowly nod.

With those words said, the two of you leave the room. You approach Shield with Steve and Sam. The two of them go their separate ways while you start your search for the Solider... For Bucky.

During your search, you take down as many Hydra agents as possible. You wanted to help the cause, but finding Bucky was more important.

It wasn’t long before you were officially labeled a major threat. This meant that their focus shifted toward you. Things were slowly getting out of hand, but you continue to literally take the air from their lungs and the warmth from their bodies until they died. You offered a foggy cover for the Shield agents that were your allies while shooting your enemies down with bolts of lightning.

When you began to get surrounded, someone came to your aid. He had found you before you found him. He didn’t waste ammo—a single bullet to the head of those around you.

You two shared another look. Instead of looking into sunglasses, this time, you were looking in his eyes. Everything around him would continue to be black and white until he accepted you. You wondered if he could see in color. Despite not knowing him and him working for Hydra, you accepted him. You wanted him. You hoped that he would trust you.

You got lost in the beautiful color of his eyes that you forgot what was happening around you. When he moved to leave you and continue with his mission, you shouted his name. He froze, and you moved a few steps closer.

“Look at me... please,” You whisper to him. He remains motionless. “Your name is Bucky. You were friends with Steve Rogers,” His head turns slightly to you. “I don’t know what’s happened to you, nor do I know what you’ve been through, but I can tell you that things don’t have to be like this. You don’t have to be their weapon, their machine,” You risk a few steps closer to him. “I’m your soulmate. I will never hurt you. I only want you to be happy... To keep you safe,”

He stays still for a moment. He’s so still it’s as if he’s a statue. Then, he moves forward as if the words you just said didn’t matter to him. They probably didn’t. You weren’t going to give up that easily.

“Bucky,” You say again, latching your hand around his wrist. He whips around and wraps your throat in his metallic hand. You tense but don’t move. He’s not cutting off your air; it’s a warning. Your free hand lifts and covers his metal wrist. I won’t hurt you... and I won’t ever let them hurt you again,” You promise him. “Who cares about what’s going on here? It’s not our fight,” You tell him. “Come with me,”

“They’ll find us,” He whispers. You smile brightly.

“They’ve been looking for me for over a decade and haven’t come close,” You tell him. “They couldn’t find me then, and they certainly won’t find us now,” You assure him. “Please, come with me,”

Miraculously, he listens. The two of your leave the battle fairly easily. Anybody who gets in your way ends up dead. You switch your methods between sucking the air from his lungs to overheating or sudden frostbite. Bucky, while amazed by your abilities, settles for a simple bullet to the head. You two work with each other fluently.

You both stay away from populated areas. It’s harder within the city, but once you borrow another car and head into the countryside, it gets easier. You tell Bucky to stay in the car while you quickly buy him some comfortable clothes. Then, you drive him to your home. With your abilities, it’s impossible for anybody else to find, let alone get into, your home.

There’s an intense fog almost a mile thick around your property. Within the fog are intense temperatures. Some temperatures are too high or too low for a human to survive. Outside the fog, everything is normal and up to mother nature.

“Welcome to my home,” You say before climbing out of the car. He hesitantly follows you. “Nobody can come in without my consent,” You tell him. You walk to the house before slowing and turning back to him. “If you really want to leave, let me know... You may be a super soldier, but I’d be surprised if you could survive out there,” Bucky looks at the woods. “Come on; you must be hungry,”

You and Bucky live in silence for a long time. He doesn’t want to talk, and you don’t make him. You try to fill the silence with your ramblings, but it doesn’t always work to make him relax. He has nightmares at night, during the day as well. You want to help, but it’s a complicated situation.

It doesn’t help that he continues to be the only thing in color. He hasn’t accepted you yet. It hurts, but you don’t give up on him.

It takes a month for him to start conversations. It takes him even longer to hold those conversations for more than a few seconds. At this point, he’s knows everything about you while he’s still a mystery. To be fair, he’s still a mystery to himself.

You introduce him to the internet. There he can research himself and Steve. He learns a lot, and you find him behind the screen more often than not.

Around the end of the second month, Bucky seems to be relaxing even more. He still has his nightmares, he still is trying to find himself, but at the same time, it’s like he knows he’s safe. He knows nothing can’t get to him while he’s here. Yet he still won’t let you in.

In an attempt to get him to accept you, you try to do more for him. The meals you cook get more complicated, and you try to be more romantic and supportive. He entertains you but still keeps his distance.

It isn’t until the fourth month you begin to lose hope. You’ve done everything you can to get him to accept you. You’ve given him space, you’ve set him free, you’ve protected him and supported him. You have given him clothes and home, yet still, you get nothing.

You sit on the front porch. You’re thinking through everything. You know, four months, in retrospect, isn’t that long. It’ll take years for Bucky to recover. You had just hoped that he would want you. He’s taken your help, but you wanted him to want you.

When he comes back from his midafternoon run, he pauses right before the porch. He can tell something is bothering you but hasn’t a clue what to do.

“Do you know what soulmates are?” You wonder. Bucky stares at you for a moment before slowly nodding his head. You get a bit frustrated. “Do you trust me?” He hesitates again but ultimately nods. “Do you not want me then?” You whisper. It’s subtle, but Bucky tenses. You read his posture wrong. “Alright,” You whisper, standing up.

“Wait,” He says, jumping up onto the porch. His hand grabs your wrist. You stop, look at his hand, and then up into his eyes. “You’re beautiful. You’re strong. You’re everything I could ever want,”

“Then why haven’t you accepted me?” You whisper. He sighs slowly. As if giving into a desire, he caresses your cheek with his hand.

“For decades, all I’ve known is fighting. I went from one to another. Before that, I never thought I’d see in color. Then you come out of nowhere and turn my world upside-down. As perfect as you are, that doesn’t change who I am. I’m haunted every day, and I know Hydra is hunting me. Just being here will endanger you, but I can’t find it in myself to leave. I don’t want to get to the point of no return. I don’t want you to get attached to me because one day I’ll have to leave, and I don’t know if I’ll come back,”

“That just won’t do for me,” You shake your head. “You see, Buck, I’m in this for life whether you accept me or not. If you leave, I’m just going to follow. Whether you go to Steve or Hydra or even Hell, I will follow you,” You tell him. “You distancing yourself is hurting us more than the potential of you leaving. I’m not going to let you go, Buck... You’ll realize that eventually.”

Things continued the same for a while as Bucky digested your words. Eventually, however, there was a change. It was a slow change, but it was progress nonetheless.

Bucky began to open up to you more. There were subtle touches and lingering gazes. He sat closer and spent more time with you. As the weeks passed, everything began to amplify. The subtle touches turned into handholding that eventually turned into cuddle sessions. The words exchanged turned into flirtatious whispers.

The day you could see everything in color was the day you pulled him into a kiss. You both were the happiest you’ve ever been. The kiss made you both feel as if you had been touch-starved. Neither of you could get enough of each other.

The kiss had started in the kitchen. You were making breakfast when everything turned from black and white to various vibrant colors. You whipped around to him. He had this lopsided grin on his face as he stared at you.

You marched up to him and kissed him without a second thought. He had been leaning on the wall the separated the kitchen from the living room, but he switched positions so that you were pressed between that wall and him.

“I love you,” Bucky whispers. You begin to smile even wider, your heart hammering in your chest. “You’re-”

“I love you too,” You whisper back to him before kissing him once more. Bucky smiles into the kiss and leans into you even more.

You breathe in deeply when he picks you up. He doesn’t hesitate to take you back to your room. The room he’s spent the last few nights cuddling you in. He lays you down on the bed with a tenderness that has your heart fluttering.

“I love you,” He whispers again. He would tell you that all night. He didn’t want to stop kissing you, stop touching, nor stop telling you how much you meant to him. You changed his world, and you became his world.

#soulmate au #soulmate #bucky #Bucky Barnes #bucky x reader #female!reader #x fem!reader #x female reader #Female reader #plus sized reader #mcu #request #one shot #mutant #mutant!reader #enhanced

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yn-rollcall · 3 years

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Momento: Bakugo x Reader Chapter 15

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Summary: So I was always told to look on the bright side. The bright side is that I’m finally meeting the Number One and Two pro-heroes Deku and Dynamight. The downside is that I was publicly dragged out of my job for a string of robberies that I did not commit and am being detained for questioning.

Length: 4.0k

Warnings: Oral Sex, Food Kink, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Mirror Sex, Quirk Kink (My Hero Academia), Shameless Smut, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Rough Sex, Emotional Constipation, Chocolate Syrup, Fluff, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Emotional Manipulation, Temperature Play, Hate Sex, Explicit Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Attempted Sexual Assault, Blood and Injury, Heavy Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Panty Kink, Semi-Public Sex, Creampie, Bondage, Body Worship, Light Dom/sub, Daddy Kink, Pegging, Public Masturbation, Office Sex, Wank and Tell, Polyamory, So like at the very very end there’s KatsukixReaderxKirishima, But it happens so last minute I don’t feel justified tagging it as one of the main relationships, Constructive Criticism Welcome

A03

Wattpad

A/N: Shoutout to wilykat05 on TikTok for saying what were all thinking. Denki is OP. And she pointed out that lightning is 50,000 degrees and since Denki is physically immune to lightning he should be immune to any temperatures below. Including Shoto's fire. So if you're like why isn't he using his fire? It's because they figured out during training that it just doesn't work or restrain him in any way other than obstructing vision.

I guess a little late in the game to say but this is canon divergent. Abaddon is the other maximum security prison they made specifically to break up the remnants of the LOV and AFO. Also there are slight spoilers.

I stayed conscious, but barely. None of the electricity touched me or Eijirou but the noise and blowback alone was enough to send us flying. Everything spun as the ringing in my ears drowned out the world around me. I struggled to stand up amongst the debris, helping up Eijirou who was holding his head. Sero was out cold and Todoroki was blasted back the furthest, struggling to get up behind us. Denki stood amongst the rubble, his eyes shone with unshed tears at the devastation.

I'm sure he was thinking of all the other workers who were probably milling about the agency beforehand. Their likelihood of survival. Police sirens wailed in the distance as those alive under the rubble cried out for help. People from the surrounding area started coming around to check the noise. I gritted my teeth and blasted myself forward, flinging him as hard as I could towards a hole that led to the underground training area. He landed on top of the hole before I blasted him through. I kept blasting from side to side to slow the descent and disorient him. Once we were a few feet from the ground I threw him away from me before he could hit me with another shock.

"Kats!" Eijirou yelled from the hole above.

"Get Plain Face and save the damn citizens!" I yelled back at him, not taking my eyes off Denki who was slowly getting up.

A cool blast washed from behind as Todoroki entered my peripheral to stand beside me. When Denki lifted his head, his whole face showed his devastation, tears running freely down his eyes. I gritted my teeth together. I couldn't tell if he was free of Hosei's control yet. Denki's hands gripped his hair as he fought himself. He charged up and released an attack with a strangled cry, this time both of us dodged the blast. Todoroki shot waves of ice at Denki which he easily broke with quick strikes of lightning. The whole air crackled with electricity as our hair stood on end. Any longer and we're gonna become living lightning rods. Denki kept holding his head, trying to calm down but failing. He yelled as he sent out another blast of electricity that made us fly back. My body spasmed for a moment before I could gain any semblance of control. He was breathing heavily, sobbing as his body started charging up for another big attack. If it's 1 million volts, we're not surviving another time. My eyes widened. This is a training ground. We have rubber insulation blankets specifically for Denki.

If the lightning messes with his head...

I looked over to Todoroki. "IcyHot! Distract him" I yelled at him as I dashed towards the supply closet.

Todoroki dashed towards Denki attempting to freeze him before he could properly charge up for the attack. Denki sent shot after shot of lightning into his ice, Todoroki barely able to keep up. I grabbed an insulation blanket and dashed to Todoroki who conveniently created a giant wave of ice. He looked at the blanket in my hands, eyes lighting up at my plan.

"Make a path for me." I ordered and Todoroki nodded.

He took his left hand and torched a narrow pathway pointing upward out of his ice. I bunched up the fabric in my hands to ensure I didn't accidentally burn any holes in it and blasted my way through the narrow hole. Just when I breached the ice wave, Denki blasted away all the ice. This won't work if I didn't catch him by surprise. Todoroki used ice to stabilize himself enough to throw another wave of ice at Denki quickly followed by scorching fire. The resulting steam gave me enough cover to get close enough to Denki to smother him in the blanket.

"Oi Dunce Face! Go all out!" I yelled as I blasted myself back.

Seconds later a loud crackle sounded from the blanket, ripping it to shreds. Lightning ran up and down Denki as he dropped to his knees on the floor. I held back, waiting for him to attack when I heard him sobbing as he put his head down on the ground. I guess Hosei didn't count on the lightning affecting his brain enough to break control.

"I'm so sorry." He choked out, just above the silence as his body shook. "I didn't ...I-" He sobbed.

My hands clenched as I approached him. I put a hesitant hand on his back, he shuddered and recoiled slightly from the touch.

"You don't get it." He said softly. "I really fucked up." He sobbed.

I tried to think of what he meant. Then it hit me. Y/N was in the recovery room unconscious when this whole thing started. My body hollowed out as the world spun, my hand froze. He sucked in shaky breaths trying to calm himself down enough to tell me what he meant. I could barely hear him over the sound of me beginning to hyperventilate.

No...No way...

"First, I was supposed to attack the agency. Hosei and Y/N will head to Abbadon as a backup plan in case the main one failed. Right now, they should be in a warehouse somewhere awaiting news." Denki said, his voice shaking.

She's alive. I shouldn't be relieved but she's alive. Breathing. Committing felonies sure, but alive .

Denki's hand clenched into fists on the ground. "The main plan being Deku breaks out AFO and gives him One for All."

That bubble of relief burst. If Deku hands over One for All we're doomed, more than doomed. It's pretty damn bad if the LOV get out too. Shit. I put my hand to my chin considering the options. Unlike Denki, we didn't really have a cheat code to short-circuiting Y/N or the nerd. Even if we bring Denki along, he's exhausted and can only be in one location. Which means we would have to split up and attempt to do it by force or stall until whoever brought Denki arrives at the other scene. The one with the best chance at waking up Deku is me, hands down. I looked at Denki who's still trying to calm himself down.

But Y/N...

I think about how gaunt she looked, the fear and pain in her eyes. I breathed in, stuffing down my emotions to think critically. Hands down Todoroki would be more effective against her. I glanced at Todoroki who probably wanted to sprint towards Deku. But he realized the same thing I did. I sighed, resigning myself.

"Todoroki...take care of Y/N" I said through gritted teeth. He nodded, using ice to launch himself back through the hole.

I turned toward Denki who stopped sobbing and was now silent and still. I took his arm and pulled him up. He turned his head away from me and my demeanor softened. Given that he's always been cautious about hurting people with his quirk, this was a low blow. I'm starting to think that was Hosei's specialty.

"Help me get Deku back." I said. "Please."

His head snapped up as the last word left my mouth. His eyes wide as what I said sunk in. We both know he wouldn't be much help in the rescue effort aside from extra hands. Plus even a little electricity might make waking up Deku easier. His face settled into a determined look as he wiped away his tears.

"Okay." He said, looking for me to lead the way.

I grunted in response and picked Denki up. I blasted us both out of the hole and into the parking lot. I didn't miss the way his demeanor darkened at the crumpled pile of concrete that used to be our agency. I landed in front of some pros who wanted to know what happened. Denki opened his mouth.

"Our agency got blown up as a diversion. " I said. "The person who is responsible is named Hosei. We believe that he has plans to involve the League of Villains. Keep the lines open." I barked out

I took Denki, who drudged behind me, not meeting my eyes until we got into my car.

"Why did you cover for me?" He asked softly.

"I told the truth." I replied, starting the car.

"Not that I did it." He pointed out.

"Denki." I said firmly, then looked at him. "We got a mission to do. Focus on that."

I didn't wait for his response as I sped off towards Tartarus. I turned on the sirens on my car as I weaved in and out of traffic. I had Denki check for any Deku sightings on the popular hero spotting apps. There were none. Meaning he was probably driving there. Eventually we reached the halfway checkpoint. I got out of the car to check with the guards there but found them beaten up and unconscious. I ran back to the car and sped past the gate.

Why would he knock the guards out if he already had permission?

I pushed my car to the limit trying to catch up, praying Deku hasn't reached Tartarus yet. It doesn't matter what caused it, if he touched that place it's over. His hero career would be done. I saw his car in the distance, willing my car to keep up.

"Denki, get the tires!"

Please don't die.

Denki, angled his fingers, shooting a blast of lightning to the tires of Deku's car, causing them to explode. I slowed down as his car skid and twisted around, eventually losing balance and flipping. I saw a lithe body surrounded by green lightning jump out just before the car entered it's first flip. I quickly got out of the car along with Denki. After several flips, the car lay totaled down the road as Deku landed in front of us. Denki slipped something in my back pocket. I touched my back pocket, recognizing the shape. Pretty smart for Denki. I glanced over to the once sleek vehicle that now lay in ruins.

Fuck now I gotta buy him a car.

He looked up, his eyes relieved while his body dropped to a fighting stance. Not giving us a chance to breathe, he dashed forward, leg outstretched to kick Denki. I blasted Deku, sending him flying into the concrete wall lining the steep hill beside us. I put Denki behind me and dropped to a stance. This isn't gonna be as easy especially since I'm already winded from almost getting fucking electrocuted. Deku glanced at Denki and I could see him putting the pieces together. Then he dashed off towards Tartarus.

"Deku!" I yelled, blasting my way after him.

He jumped and blasted an air shot, which I dodged then recovered. Denki didn't get as lucky. I glanced back and saw him get up, dashing after us. I gritted my teeth, sending a huge blast behind me and rocketed ahead, my knees connecting with his back. We both landed hard on the ground and I tumbled and rolled to a stop in front of him.

"Snap out of it you shitty nerd!" I yelled between heaving breaths.

Deku stood up, eyes showing his internal struggle. His body shook but regardless he kept moving forward. I glanced behind him and saw Denki was still out of range. Deku raised his leg, confusing me before I realized a little too late what he was doing. He kicked the ground, causing huge deep cracks to form, destabilizing my footing. He used that to try to dash forward. Just before he could, I grabbed his hoodie, hooking the object Denki gave me in it and slammed him back on the ground. He rolled back into a stand, carefully looking for any weak spots.

I saw sweat pouring down Deku's brow as his body trembled. That's why the fight is easy, he's using all his mental strength to hold back. It pissed me off but given the circumstances I'm grateful for it. His eyes looked horrified for a split second before he rushed forward, right fist raised. I moved my arms in front of my face to block and felt a foot connect with my chin, throwing my head back. I looked down to see his left leg lowering before he turned into his next kick. I blocked, arms crossed and palms out to block then blast him at the same time. A wicked smile crossed his features as he quickly shifted poses, grabbed my wrists, violently uncrossing my arms and kicked me in the chest. He held me in place via my arms as he kicked my face and stomach in rapid succession.

Instinctually, I shot blasts out of my palms to get him to let go but all it did was severely burn his hands. I saw the pain in his eyes and realized he wouldn't let go unless he couldn't use his hands anymore. I stopped the other blasts before they came out. I angled my hand downward to see if I could get him to raise his arms, giving me an opening. He noticed and changed tactics. He let go of one hand by pulling me close with the other and aimed a punch at my face. I ducked and he kneed my chin, this time my vision spiraled. He let go of my other hand and grabbed my shoulders, continuously kneeing me with over half his strength in the chest. Blood flew out of my mouth.

"Let go dammit..!" I heard him grunt to himself before a hard fist slammed into the side of my head, sending me flying a few feet from him.

I put my palms downward sending myself up just before Deku kicked a crater in the spot I was just in. My momentum ended and I tumbled, landing against the concrete wall. I struggled to stand, my vision still blurry. Every time I breathed it felt like a bullet was lodged in my chest. I could focus just enough to see his eyes focused on Tartarus but his body moved towards me. This didn't line up with what Denki said. I thought back to horror on his face. Then it clicked. Low blows. I dodged as a blast of air came at me, continuously moving even though my body was screaming at me. Repeated craters forming a split second after I move.

The new objective was to kill me.

The next air blast was directed ahead of me, I blasted back, then upwards, barely avoiding Deku's fist. He looked up, finger in position and my hand moved to help blast me out of the way, but I wasn't gonna make it. Suddenly I heard crackling and Deku's body shook violently with the force of lightning that struck him. The pointer I slipped in Deku's hoodie acted as a lightning rod. Deku's eyes rolled to the back of his head before he passed out and collapsed. I landed on the ground, holding my chest, every breath causing enough pain to make me want to pass out.

"Took you long enough Dunce Face." I panted.

"Sorry, I had to make sure he wasn't connected to you. And that I was close enough to make it count." He said, picking up Deku's body.

That explains the hand grabbing thing.

"Let's get in the car and head to Abaddon." I said, limping forward.

"Katsuki, I don't think you can-" Denki started, voice strained under Deku's weight.

"I have to. We have to." I grunted, willing myself to walk faster.

We got to the car and Denki rushed forward to the driver's side. Quickly shoving Deku in the back of the car. He looked at me, determined.

"You have to rest, at least during the drive." He said.

I huffed and climbed into the passenger seat, clicking on a seatbelt then tilting the chair back. I grabbed the first aid kit in my car and started administering aid on myself as Denki turned the car around. My ribs were definitely bruised. I haven't been able to see straight since I got kicked in the chin. I sucked in another deep breath, feeling massive amounts of pain. Scratch that, my ribs were probably cracked. I dug around the first aid kit and picked up a needle. Specifically, Eri's emergency needles.

She realized that if her quirk could be used to reverse the quirk gene, it could also be used to reverse damage like a potion. We found a humane way to recreate Overhaul's research. With her having the patent on both the storage and extraction method as well as the product, she was officially one of the richest teenagers in the world. As she should be after the shit he pulled. I stuck the needle in my arm and felt my body rewinding to the state it was before this battle. My breaths were no longer painful, my body wasn't as ready to give out. I briefly thought about using another one but decided against it. This shit's was expensive as hell to get.

We peeled through the highway, siren on, driving all the way back to the agency. I tried to contact Shoto but he didn't pick up, which is worrying to say the least. I heard stirring in the backseat and a groan. Deku sat up, holding his head and all the events that just happened flooded to him. He looked at me, who stared at him, waiting for his next move. He started tearing up, lower lip quivering. I rolled my eyes.

Here we go.

"Kacchan I'm so so-" Deku sputtered.

"Shut it." I cut him off, handing him the first aid kid. I pointed to the needles in the pouch. "For your hands."

Deku winced as if he just noticed his hands look like the main course of a barbecue. He stared at the first aid kit sadly and I huffed. I took one of the needles out of the bag and poked him with it, watching his hands heal themselves. His eyes still looked haunted. When his hands finished rewinding, he closed them into tight fists.

"Kacchan....I'm sorry. About everything." Deku said, his voice somber.

"How long were you under his control?" I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral.

"Since the second interview with the store owners." He said softly. "When we got there it wasn't the owners, it was Hosei. He got us then."

"Then what are you apologizing for? You didn't do anything." I grunted, looking out the window.

"I still hurt you. I still hurt her. I caused this." His voice grew sadder with each statement.

I turned around and flicked his forehead. He put a palm over the red spot and looked at me with unshed tears.

"Just like I told Dunce Face. We got a mission. Let's focus on that." I said before turning back around towards the front.

I glanced at Deku in the mirror who turned towards the window, silent. I looked over to Denki whose grip on the steering turned his knuckles white. Hosei knew how to get them where it hurt. Denki sighed, his face contorted into a sad disgusted expression.

"My direct orders were to cause as much devastation as possible." He said softly. "If a hero still stood, I was to blast them. Until I couldn't anymore." He swallowed hard.

So the more help that came, the worse things would've gotten. Seems blasting him into the training room was a good idea.

I watched Denki relive decimating the agency. Hearing the people who cried out for help. Knowing that if he wasn't stopped he'd kill every hero in the city until he was ordered to stop or died. And having to watch as the same people who looked to him for protection begin to fear him. He may be a simple guy but he was proud of what he could do for others as a hero. He always had a heart that cared for others, even during our school days. This was probably going to haunt him for a long time.

"Deku's orders were to go to Tartarus and eliminate half the people he encountered, not counting AFO." Denki continued.

I glanced at Deku. Every other person. Meaning there would be some left to say what the symbol of peace had done. Some left to bring more reinforcements to kill. The guards weren't dead but based on how sweaty Deku was when we reached him, he'd been fighting himself the entire time. Not to mention the end goal, which would result in AFO's rule. And a permanent end to hero society and to Deku's dreams of being a hero. His worst nightmare.

"I felt a shift in my head when I saw you Kacchan." Deku spoke up, still staring out the window. "The second I realized I didn't want to hurt you I felt like I had to."

His hands wrung together. His face was conflicted like he didn't want to say it. A part of me didn't want him to say it. Whatever it was.

"Kacchan. We were practice." He looked at me and I felt my heart sink. "Before it was simple orders. But about a week and a half back, he realized he could control how we felt. And how we react to those feelings after repeated sessions. He would take Y/N away for hours at a time."

Why didn't you save me?

Y/N's words played in my head again. So it wasn't her saying that. Doesn't stop the fact it hurts like hell. I squeezed my hands into fists. What's the worst thing? Her loving him? He chased her all over Japan didn't he? Her insulting me? Honestly nothing can do more psychic damage than the All Might dick jokes. I still thought about asking him (against my better judgement) everytime I visit.

What the hell would I be walking into?

"Kacchan, I just need you to be prepared. He loves hitting where it hurts." Deku said quietly. "I was supposed to report when I had the job done. We've got about an hour or two before he gets suspicious."

We rode in silence, each in our own heads as we saw the roads change from plains and ocean to large buildings. Shoto got back, telling me his location. I told Denki and we sped off. After about 15 more minutes we parked the car, rushing to the scene. Ice and fires everywhere along with haphazard concrete pieces flung every which way. Shoto was viciously fighting against Y/N trying to gain some distance but quickly realizing it wasn't working. Shoto would fire ice, Y/N shattered it with concrete and used it to reinforce her fists. He used fire to melt the ice but the concrete would still be there. She broke off a chunk of the concrete fists and separates it into pebbles, preparing to riddle Todoroki and the surrounding area with holes. At that distance, any ice he threw wouldn't be thick enough to stop it.

"Y/N!" I yelled out and she turned towards me.

That's when I realized what the worst scenario was. What would hurt me the most. It wasn't that she would forget me like I thought. Or that she was utterly and completely a mindless puppet. Or even that she was forced to love the man who hurt her so badly. It was undeniably this. The worst case scenario.

One. When she turned towards me, her eyes were so full of hate and disgust, I physically recoiled in it's gaze.

Two. She, in no way, was being mind controlled by Hosei.

#momento #bakugo x reader #bakugo katuski x reader #bakugo x y/n #bakugou x reader #bakugo smut #bakugo katsuki #bnha bakugou #mha #mha smut #bakugou smut

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petri808 · 3 years

Text

Bakudeku canon divergent, vampire quirk AU

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24

For the next several days, Bakugou stopped in towns along the train route that were in the easterly direction to see if any other strange reports had been made. He wasn’t sure if the first man’s attack had anything to do with his friend, but in the towns, he was able to confirm a sighting of a green streak, there were coinciding reports of attacks in the days preceding them. Always a similar story, late at night, didn’t see the attacker, and bite wounds on various parts of the body such as the arm, shoulder, or even neck. The other thing they had in common, were the victims were found in drunken stupors. Was it a coincidence? What was another coincidence, is after the first victim, the rest were all what police classified as problems. With or without quirks, they were bad men who had lists of crimes under their belts. That meant whatever was causing the attacks now appeared to have a specific target.

Bakugou stood in the Ena township police station, tapping his foot to release some of the pent-up energy. “Yesterday,” he questioned the desk sergeant, “are you telling me that attack was just yesterday evening?”

The man nodded. “The victim is still in the hospital being treated for low blood levels. They’ve had to keep him sedated through the IV infusions because he wouldn’t stop screaming about a man with green eyes.”

“And there’s no other incidences?” The officer shook his head. “That means the attacker could still be here.”

“Wait, do you know who it is?”

Bakugou shook his head no. He wasn’t about to tell some beat cop who he suspected it could be. “It’s just based off the pattern I’ve been tracking. There are usually a few attacks over the spans of one to three days, and then they just end. So, if this was the first, it means there will be more.”

After speaking with the cops and getting a map for the area of the latest attack, Bakugou staked out the scene. There are no traces left behind to say who or what had caused the attacks, but what he did notice of the area is it was a seedy side of town. The victim said he’d been pulled off the main street into an adjoining alley way around 1 am, too quickly to even get a scream out. He remembered the time because the bar he’d just left had hit its closing time. The alley was narrow, and empty save for a few dumpsters for neighboring shops, no doorways or lighting, perfect for hiding in.

‘Tonight, is still a new moon…’ Bakugou noted, which added to the dark cover of night. After his reconnaissance, he went back to his tiny hotel room to get a few hours of sleep. It was going to be a long night.

It was a decision he didn’t know if he would come to regret someday, but in the end, the blonde hero realized that his flashier costume would make him stand out way too easily. So, after foregoing his costume, Bakugou dressed all in black for the undercover work. He climbed to the roof of a building, dead center of the area the attacker might choose in the hopes that the green lightning seen by eyewitnesses will be the tell-tale sign he’ll be able to use to track the person. Patience wasn’t exactly his virtue, but it was the only way he was gonna catch the guy.

The first night’s stakeout yielded nothing. No sightings, no attacks. Which could mean anything or nothing. Previous attacks didn’t always take place every night in a row, but it could also mean the attacker had moved on. Did they catch-wind of him being there and fled? Damn he hoped not! This was the closest he’d come to catching up to the green lightning! Two nights later, Bakugou was growing disillusioned. Every day he checked back with the authorities to make sure no other sightings had been made in town or in surrounding cities, and with the answer being ‘no’ each time, there was a small glimmer of hope he was still in the right place at the right time.

But as he laid on a rooftop on the night of day 4, a lot of thoughts were plaguing him because there was nothing to do while waiting but think. Sometimes he would run the events of that AFO fight though his mind trying to remember any little details that may help him. Other times, it would be about Midoriya and what could have possibly made the man run off like this. Those thought’s either left him broken or wanting to strangle the guy for causing them so much pain. Midoriya better damn well be ready to do a hell of a lot of apologizing to their friends and family!

Bakugou grimaced at the last thought. Such personal emotions he would rather lock away into some box deep within the recesses of his soul than to admit the truth. He told himself he was doing this for their friends. He tried to convince himself that he was doing this for aunty Inko and to make All Might proud. These were a part of the search, yes… but not the full reason. The blonde had to admit he missed the stupid nerd. Midoriya was his childhood friend, and no matter how much shit he gave the guy, he was the one person he could count on. He was still determined to beat the mouse and become the Number one hero… but he was also proud of how far Midoriya had come in the last three years. It would be a shame for it all to be thrown away now.

Just as he was ready to call it a night, Bakugou heard a muffled scream from a nearby street. He rushed over as quickly as possible, racing into the alley way just as the unconscious victim’s body is being laid down. Bloody hell he was right all along!

“DEKU?!”

All he could see was the person’s back, but he’d know those red shoes anywhere. The mousy green hair looked even wilder than normal. Midoriya still had on his costume, but it was torn up with a raggedy cloak swaddling his upper body. Simply put, his friend looked like a homeless man off the streets. The figure froze for a second, then without turning to face off against Bakugou immediately flashed with green and took off into the sky. Green lightning!

“DEKU YOU, FUCKING ASSHOLE!!!” Bakugou blasted off after the man. Damn it, his gear would have helped with the propulsion! He couldn’t remember him being so quick before, what the hell was going on? Midoriya was streaking away, zigzagging along roof tops, and heading towards a section of industrial warehouses. If it wasn’t for the quirks electrical output to tell him where to go, he could easily lose sight in the darkness.

He gritted his teeth and pushed his quirk to its limit. There was no way Bakugou was going to screw up this opportunity. So, if he couldn’t catch up, he could knock the nerd out of the sky! “ARRGHH!!!” He sent repeated AP-Auto shots towards Midoriya at medium power, growing angrier as the man dodged the first few volleys. “THAT’S IT!!!!” In his rage, Bakugou increased the spread like buck shots of crackling fire ringing around the fleeing figure, and he kept up the pace in rapid succession.

“AHHHHH!”

The scream pierced the night and Bakugou saw several hits knock the man off course, barreling the body straight for the ground. It wasn’t his intention to hurt, but damn it, Midoriya shouldn’t have run in the first place! He turned on the turbo and reached the man just as he was trying to get back on his feet.

“Don’t fucking think about it!” Bakugou grabbed the man’s shoulder and whipped him around. “Goddamn it Deku! What the fuck is your problem?!”

“K-Kacchan, wh-wh—”

“Don’t you Kacchan me, you bastard!” He gripped tightly so that Midoriya can’t squirm away easily. “Did you think I wouldn’t come looking for you idiot!”

“Yes.”

It was as if the wind had been knocked out of him. Okay, he should be surprised by that answer. When had he ever acted like he cared when it came to Midoriya? But that didn’t mean such a quick and blunt response wouldn’t hit him like a brick to the head. And you know what, he has shown he cared in his own way. Damn it! When has he ever just left the man behind? His fist balled up and cocked back, striking Izuku hard on the chin and sending him back to the ground. “Stupid fuck!” Bakugou spat the words out before dropping to his knees on top of the man. “I ought ‘a beat the crap out of you right now for even thinking that!”

But Midoriya shoved back trying to push the man off. “What the fuck are you talking about?! You don’t give a shit about me, never have! When the hell did you start caring?!” He kicked and twisted, fighting the larger male. “Get the fuck off me! I can’t stay here!”

“You are coming home with me Deku whether you like it or not!”

“NOOOOOO!!!” Midoriya activated his quirk up to 70% and bucked Bakugou off him. “It’s too dangerous, Kacchan just get away from me!” He took a stance to spring himself back into the air, but the blonde scrambled and jumped on top of him, pushing him back to the ground. “Get off, I don’t want to hurt you!” Midoriya screamed. This was getting out of control. Exhausting so much energy on Bakugou was stirring up his hunger and if that happened, he didn’t know if he could control himself.

“What the fuck ya gonna do, drink my blood too? What the hell is going on with you Deku?! Goddamn it tell me what the fuck happened in that forest!”

“Y-You know about that?”

“How do you think I tracked your ass down?!”

The pain is his stomach was rising fast. Midoriya winced as the rush of blood sounded off in his ears and other tell-tale signs progressively made its entrance. This was not good! “Kacchan please,” his voice whined and pleaded through the aching throb in his core, “let me go before something happens.”

“I don’t care what it takes Deku, I can’t lose you again.”

“I-I’m so sorry Kacchan.”

Bakugou’s eyes widen as he saw a dark red sheen enveloping the whites of Midoriya’s eyes. Is this what happened when he’d attacked all those men?

Every last nerve was fighting against control. It was an option Midoriya didn’t want to use, but if he could control it just a little longer, all he wanted to do was give himself a head start. “Please,” he begged one more time, “just forget about me Kacchan.”

“Get it through your fucking head! I’M NOT LEAVING YOU!”

That was the last thing Bakugou remembered…

#bakudeku #katsudeku #bakudeku fan fic #bkdk #ktdk #bakudeku fan fiction #bakudeku canon divergent au #vampire quirk #decchan #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku

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valeriethepussycats · 3 years

Text

Inside Out

Chapter 10

Pairing- Loki x Reader

Warning-cursing and killing

Your thoughts and other characters are in italics. Flashbacks are in bold.

“What are you all doing? You need to get out of here! Now!” Jane said run.

“You're joking, right? That's Thor out there waving his hammer around and everything!” A Student as he uses his phone to record the battle outside; in their ensuing fight, Thor and Malekith are transported through the realms to Svartalfheim and London continuously, at the same time a fighter jet flies towards Malekith's ship.

“Confirming ship is hostile.”

“Confirm, the ship is hostile. You have permission to engage.” Pilot said into his headpiece.

“Roger. The missile's locked. The missile's on its way.” The pilot releases the missile. “Missile off target! I repeat...”

“Mayday! I'm losing control. Mayday! Mayday! I'm losing control!” The jet is then transported to Valaheim.

As they run through the library ground. “What are you doing?” Erik asked.

“My signal's lost connection.” Jane answered.

Some of the dark elves are behind them chasing after them.

“Jane! Come on!”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

As Thor and Malekith continue their battle through the realms they land in Jotunheim and are confronted by a giant beast which then is transported to London, at the same time Darcy and Ian are being ambushed by the dark elves when Ian, with the help of the anti-gravitational energy force, grabs a car and throws it at them, Darcy looks at him in shock.

“Are you alright?” Ian asked.

“You saved my life.” Darcy answered.

“Yeah. Yes, I did.”

Back at the library grounds Jane manages to make the device work again and as she uses it suddenly makes Darcy and Ian appear behind her in each others arms kissing.

“Darcy?”

“Jane!” Darcy lets go of Ian and falls to the ground.

“Ian?”

“Selvig!”

suddenly Mjolnir appears and flies past them. “Meowmeow!”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Thor and Malekith are then transported through the realms again with Malekith landing back in Greenwich but Thor ends up in Charing Cross Underground Station

“Mind the gap.” Said the Man over speakers.

Thor turns to one of the passengers on the underground train that's just arrived. “How do I get to Greenwich?”

“Take this train, three stops.” Said the Woman on Train.

“Thor steps onto the train and places his hand on the bar above him.”

“Mind the gap.” Said the Man over speakers.

As the train starts to move, the movement causes the woman to fall against Thor and she stops herself by placing her hand on his chest. “Sorry. Sorry.”

Thor smiles politely at her

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

In Greenwich the realms come closer to converging, Malekith readies the Aether within him to bring forth the darkness. Y/n walks into the courtyard, in the middle of all the Mayham and destruction. Malekith had made a sphere around himself using the Aether.

“Dark One, come forward.” Malekith announced.

“What’s going on?” Y/n mumbled to herself as she looking at where Erik and Jane is.

“We're out of time.” Jane said.

“Maybe not yet.” Erik said looking at Y/n.

Y/n walks up to sphere and walks though it to see Malekith. “I thought Thor stoped you on Svartalfheim.”

“I can not be stoped with the Aether on my side.” Malekith said smugly.

“There’s a first time for everything.” Y/n said as her eyes glow white.

The Stratus clouds in sky turns into dark Altocumulus clouds. A lightning storm in each cloud, the thunder is so loud that the ground being to shake and the cars that’s around alarms starts going off. A pair of Electric blue eyes are watching everything unfold. Lightning begins to strike the sphere relentlessly until the sphere shatter blasting Malekith yards away.

Malekith stands up and gives Y/n a hearty laugh. “You are truly extraordinary, Dark One.”

Y/n looks over at Malekith with a cocked head. “Why do you keep calling me that?”

Malekith points at Y/n’s chest. “That power inside you it comes from the universe. It’s endless,constantly growing, and......dark.”

Y/n raises her eyebrows at Malekith. “Dark.....there’s nothing dark inside me.”

“Y/n!” Jane said rushing off to Y/n

“Jane. Jane!” Erik shouted.

Thor rushes out of the station to watch the Aether taking over Malekith and Y/n is fighting him.

“Y/n, I need to tell you some.” Jane started. “Y/n, Its about Loki.”

“Not the time, Jane.” Y/n snapped.

“No...Loki wasn’t taken back to Asgard....Malekith.....killed him.” Jane said with quiet empathy.

Upon hearing those words it begins to rain hard. The sky was already dark but the sun was able to shine though but now the sun wasn’t nowhere to be found.

Something inside Y/n snapped and the whole area begins to shake like an earthquake. Y/n’s eyes turns black as vines start to slowly form all over her body.

“Oh no.” Nathan whispered from the clock tower as he rushes down.

“He....Did.....What?” Y/n snarled as her hair stand up and red lightning starts to strike down on the ground in a straight line towards Malekith. Y/n uses her powers to pick up Erik’s gadget spears and fly them over to the Dark Elves.

“Is that why I felt emptiness because you took..Him..From..Me.”

Fire starts to form around Y/n as she starts to walk over to Malekith. Everything in her path burns she’s even leaving burned marks on the ground. Y/n holds out her hand and freezes the rain drops and then flat them then shot them at Malekith.

“Y/n! You have to calm down! Y/n!” Erik called out.

“Y/n’s not here right now.” Y/n answered.

“What.”

Y/n moves her hand and picks up Malekith’s ship and move it towards him. “Now Die!!!”

Y/n drops her arm and the ship falls on Malekith. Y/n looks around at all the Dark Elves and shot water arrows at them making all Dark Elves turn drop to the ground.

Jane uses the gavemetric which makes them disappears and appears on Svartalfheim.

Breathe Y/n

Loki

It will be alright I will always be with you

Tears start to fall from Y/n’s face. She puts her hand over her mouth to stop the sobs from escaping but it was all in vain Y/n’s wail had seep through and just as it did a little green and blue colors appeared in the sky. An aurora borealis (Northern lights) starts to appear all around the area. But little did she and everybody else know it was happening all around the world.

“Y/n.” Thor called out.

Y/n looks over at Thor with eye black. “Is he really gone?”

Thor nods yes. Y/n’s face slowly turns name to normal and just as she is about to fall but Nathan catches her. Thor rushes over to catch Y/n but someone beats him to it.

“Don’t worry, I’m a friend.”

Darcy smiles and throws her arms around Ian and kisses him passionately.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

In New York

At Tony’s tower Bruce is working on something that would change the world, when he looks up out the window and see Northern lights “Tony come look at this.”

Tony walks over to Bruce and looks out the window. “Is that the Northern lights?”

“Yep.” Bruce answered.

“You don’t think it’s Y/n’s doing.”

Tony and Bruce looks at each other with an uneasy feeling crawling up their spine.

Westchester, New York

Jean and Scott is watching tv when an emergency Broadcast on to the channel there watching.

“Breaking news the Northern lights is appearing all over the country.....ok I’m just getting word that the first Sighting of the Northern lights was in the United Kingdom. Some say it’s the effects of global warming.” News reporter explained.

One of the kids run inside the mansion. “Come you have to see this” said the trying to encourage her friend to come outside.

“You want to see what’s all the fuss is about?” Scott asked Jean.

“Why not.” Jean said with a smile.

Jean and Scott get up and walk outside to and they see the Northern lights.

“This is not caused by global warming.” Charles Xavier said as he wheels up to Jean and Scott.

Jean looks over to her left and see Charles and he has a worried look on his face.

“Professor, what’s wrong?” Jean asked.

“Grief, Jean.” Charles answered. “Grief.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Couple of days later, Jane, Erik, Darcy and Ian are in her apartment sat having breakfast quietly.

“He's gonna come back. Except, you know, last time he was gone for, like, two years.” Darcy told.

“Well, it's only been two days, so...” Jane settled.

“Did he say anything before he left?” Erik wondered.

“Yeah, he had to figure some stuff out with his father. He kind of committed treason... on our way out.” Jane looks away and carries on eating her breakfast.

“Oh.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

On Asgard Thor meets with Odin at the palace.

“You once said there would never be a wiser King than me. You were wrong. The alignment has brought all the realms together. Every one of them saw you offer your life to save them. What can Asgard offer its new King in return?”

“It was not me who save them it was Y/n.” Thor stated. “Y/n’s powers took over.........Father, I cannot be King of Asgard. I will protect Asgard and all the realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. Loki, for all his grave imbalance, understood rule as I know I never will. The brutality, the sacrifice, it changes you. I'd rather be a good man than a great King.”

“Is this my son I hear, or the woman he loves?” Odin questioned.

“When you speak, do I never hear Mother's voice?”

Odin sighs.

“This is not for Jane, Father. She does not know what I came here to say. Now forbid me to see her or say she can rule at my side, it changes nothing.”

“One son who wanted the throne too much, another who will not take it. Is this my legacy?” Odin wondered.

“Loki died with honor, I shall try to live the same. Is that not legacy enough? “ Thor declared.

Odin nods his head, Thor then holds up Mjolnir to offer it back to Odin. “It belongs to you, if you are worthy of it.”

“I shall try to be.”

“I cannot give you my blessing, nor can I wish you good fortune.”

“I know.” Thor turns to leave.

“If I were proud of the man my son had become, even that I could not say. It would speak only from my heart. Go, my son.”

Thor smiles. “Thank you, father.” he turns and starts walking off, as Odin watches

Thor walk off.

Odin's form transform to reveal Loki. “No. Thank you.” Loki smiles devilishly.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Sif and Volstagg are taken to meet, The Collector Taneleer Tivan.

“I present to you, Taneleer Tivan, The Collector.” The Collector's Assistan announced.

“Woh, Oh. Asgardians, it's an honor.” The Collector said as he bows theatrically.

“You know why we're here.” Sif stated.

“Of course. But if I may ask, why not keep it secure in your own vault?” The Collector asked.

“The Tesseract is already on Asgard. It's not wise to keep two Infinity Stones so close together.” Volstagg answered.

“That's very wise.” Sif hands the Aether over to The Collector. “I can assure you it will be absolutely safe in...in my collection.”

“See that it is.” The Collector bows his head, Sif and Volstagg turn and leave.

“One down, five to go.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Weeks later

Y/n wakes in a bed and sits up fast looking around the room and she’s home her home. He rushes up to her and hold her head in his hand.

“Your here.” Y/n said with tears in her eyes as she covers Loki’s hand with hers.

“You have to let me.” Loki stated.

“No...No..No...I just got you back.” Y/n said as her chin trembling as tears roll down.

“If you don’t you will hurt a lot of people.” Loki said with a voice soft with affection.

“Please don’t make me do this.” Y/n wept.

Loki wipes away Y/n’s tears. “I love you...always.”

“I love you.” Y/n said as she grabs Loki’s face and kisses him with the want...the needed to have him.

Loki moves back and rest his forehead on Y/n. “You have to let me go. You have to let me go.”

“Goo...goodbye Loki.” Y/n uttered.

Y/n suddenly wakes up and see Nathan sitting at the foot of the bed. “Nathan.....”

“You were crying.”

Y/n sits up and touches her face and feels that it is wet, she quickly dry her face and looks over at Nathan.

“How long have you’ve been holding back your powers?” Nathan said softly.

“Couple of days.” Y/n answered.

“That was couple of days.” Nathan earnestly.

“I was calm.” Y/n started sad smile. “Queen Frigga, helped me find it and then she was murder and then I saw everyone I cared about turned to dust right in front of me, then I found out Loki is.......dead. I don’t think I could’ve hold it in anymore.” Y/n finished.

“I’m so sorry, Y/n.” Nathan said placing a Comforting hand on Y/n’s.

“The Aether told me that me that in order to stop what I saw from happening I need control over my powers and you look like you have everything together right.” Y/n said.

“Ya I do wait....you want me to teach you?” Nathan asked.

“Besides Charles Xavier you are the only person I’ve met that share powers with me. If what I saw was true then I need to get stronger and your the only person that can help me.” Y/n proclaimed.

“Y/n, you need to grieve...” Nathan disclosed.

“If I do that a lot of people will get hurt.” Y/n told Nathan. “Nathan, I have a strong feeling that the same person that’s going to kill everyone is the same person that tortured Loki.”

Nathan looks over at Y/n and can see that she’s a 100% sure about her theory. “Ok I’ll teach you.”

“What? Are you serious?” Y/a wondered.

“Yes.” Nathan said nodded.

Y/n hugs Nathan like her life depended on it.

I’ll get stronger and have control powers....I’ll stop him Loki

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

At her apartment Jane, Erik, Darcy and Ian hear the sounds of thunder, Jane looks out and smiles as she sees lightning, Jane walks out onto her balcony as Thor appears, they embrace and start kissing passionately; at the same time we see the beast transported from Jotunheim running amok outside the abandoned factory.Inside Out

Chapter 10

Pairing- Loki x Reader

Warning-cursing and killing

Your thoughts and other characters are in italics.

Flashbacks are in bold

“What are you all doing? You need to get out of here! Now!” Jane said run.

“Confirming ship is hostile.”

“Confirm, the ship is hostile. You have permission to engage.” Pilot said into his headpiece.

“Roger. The missile's locked. The missile's on its way.” The pilot releases the missile. “Missile off target! I repeat...”

“Mayday! I'm losing control. Mayday! Mayday! I'm losing control!” The jet is then transported to Valaheim.

As they run through the library ground. “What are you doing?” Erik asked.

“My signal's lost connection.” Jane answered.

Some of the dark elves are behind them chasing after them.

“Jane! Come on!”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

“Are you alright?” Ian asked.

“You saved my life.” Darcy answered.

“Yeah. Yes, I did.”

Back at the library grounds Jane manages to make the device work again and as she uses it suddenly makes Darcy and Ian appear behind her in each others arms kissing.

“Darcy?”

“Jane!” Darcy lets go of Ian and falls to the ground.

“Ian?”

“Selvig!”

suddenly Mjolnir appears and flies past them. “Meowmeow!”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Thor and Malekith are then transported through the realms again with Malekith landing back in Greenwich but Thor ends up in Charing Cross Underground Station

“Mind the gap.” Said the Man over speakers.

Thor turns to one of the passengers on the underground train that's just arrived. “How do I get to Greenwich?”

“Take this train, three stops.” Said the Woman on Train.

“Thor steps onto the train and places his hand on the bar above him.”

“Mind the gap.” Said the Man over speakers.

As the train starts to move, the movement causes the woman to fall against Thor and she stops herself by placing her hand on his chest. “Sorry. Sorry.”

Thor smiles politely at her

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

“Dark One, come forward.” Malekith announced.

“What’s going on?” Y/n mumbled to herself as she looking at where Erik and Jane is.

“We're out of time.” Jane said.

“Maybe not yet.” Erik said looking at Y/n.

Y/n walks up to sphere and walks though it to see Malekith. “I thought Thor stoped you on Svartalfheim.”

“I can not be stoped with the Aether on my side.” Malekith said smugly.

“There’s a first time for everything.” Y/n said as her eyes glow white.

Malekith stands up and gives Y/n a hearty laugh. “You are truly extraordinary, Dark One.”

Y/n looks over at Malekith with a cocked head. “Why do you keep calling me that?”

Malekith points at Y/n’s chest. “That power inside you it comes from the universe. It’s endless,constantly growing, and......dark.”

Y/n raises her eyebrows at Malekith. “Dark.....there’s nothing dark inside me.”

“Y/n!” Jane said rushing off to Y/n

“Jane. Jane!” Erik shouted.

Thor rushes out of the station to watch the Aether taking over Malekith and Y/n is fighting him.

“Y/n, I need to tell you some.” Jane started. “Y/n, Its about Loki.”

“Not the time, Jane.” Y/n snapped.

“No...Loki wasn’t taken back to Asgard....Malekith.....killed him.” Jane said with quiet empathy.

Upon hearing those words it begins to rain hard. The sky was already dark but the sun was able to shine though but now the sun wasn’t nowhere to be found.

Something inside Y/n snapped and the whole area begins to shake like an earthquake. Y/n’s eyes turns black as vines start to slowly form all over her body.

“Oh no.” Nathan whispered from the clock tower as he rushes down.

“Is that why I felt emptiness because you took..Him..From..Me.”

“Y/n! You have to calm down! Y/n!” Erik called out.

“Y/n’s not here right now.” Y/n answered.

“What.”

Y/n moves her hand and picks up Malekith’s ship and move it towards him. “Now Die!!!”

Y/n drops her arm and the ship falls on Malekith. Y/n looks around at all the Dark Elves and shot water arrows at them making all Dark Elves turn drop to the ground.

Jane uses the gavemetric which makes them disappears and appears on Svartalfheim.

Breathe Y/n

Loki

It will be alright I will always be with you

“Y/n.” Thor called out.

Y/n looks over at Thor with eye black. “Is he really gone?”

Thor nods yes. Y/n’s face slowly turns name to normal and just as she is about to fall but Nathan catches her. Thor rushes over to catch Y/n but someone beats him to it.

“Don’t worry, I’m a friend.”

Darcy smiles and throws her arms around Ian and kisses him passionately.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

In New York

At Tony’s tower Bruce is working on something that would change the world, when he looks up out the window and see Northern lights “Tony come look at this.”

Tony walks over to Bruce and looks out the window. “Is that the Northern lights?”

“Yep.” Bruce answered.

“You don’t think it’s Y/n’s doing.”

Tony and Bruce looks at each other with an uneasy feeling crawling up their spine.

Westchester, New York

Jean and Scott is watching tv when an emergency Broadcast on to the channel there watching.

One of the kids run inside the mansion. “Come you have to see this” said the trying to encourage her friend to come outside.

“You want to see what’s all the fuss is about?” Scott asked Jean.

“Why not.” Jean said with a smile.

Jean and Scott get up and walk outside to and they see the Northern lights.

“This is not caused by global warming.” Charles Xavier said as he wheels up to Jean and Scott.

Jean looks over to her left and see Charles and he has a worried look on his face.

“Professor, what’s wrong?” Jean asked.

“Grief, Jean.” Charles answered. “Grief.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Couple of days later, Jane, Erik, Darcy and Ian are in her apartment sat having breakfast quietly.

“He's gonna come back. Except, you know, last time he was gone for, like, two years.” Darcy told.

“Well, it's only been two days, so...” Jane settled.

“Did he say anything before he left?” Erik wondered.

“Yeah, he had to figure some stuff out with his father. He kind of committed treason... on our way out.” Jane looks away and carries on eating her breakfast]

“Oh.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

On Asgard Thor meets with Odin at the palace.

“It was not me who save them it was Y/n.” Thor stated. “Y/n’s powers took over..........Father, I cannot be King of Asgard. I will protect Asgard and all the realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. Loki, for all his grave imbalance, understood rule as I know I never will. The brutality, the sacrifice, it changes you. I'd rather be a good man than a great King.”

“Is this my son I hear, or the woman he loves?” Odin questioned.

“When you speak, do I never hear Mother's voice?”

Odin sighs.

“This is not for Jane, Father. She does not know what I came here to say. Now forbid me to see her or say she can rule at my side, it changes nothing.”

“One son who wanted the throne too much, another who will not take it. Is this my legacy?” Odin wondered.

“Loki died with honor, I shall try to live the same. Is that not legacy enough? “ Thor declared.

Odin nods his head, Thor then holds up Mjolnir to offer it back to Odin. “It belongs to you, if you are worthy of it.”

“I shall try to be.”

“I cannot give you my blessing, nor can I wish you good fortune.”

“I know.” Thor turns to leave.

“If I were proud of the man my son had become, even that I could not say. It would speak only from my heart. Go, my son.”

Thor smiles. “Thank you, father.” he turns and starts walking off, as Odin watches

Thor walk off.

Odin's form transform to reveal Loki. “No. Thank you.” Loki smiles devilishly.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Sif and Volstagg are taken to meet, The Collector Taneleer Tivan.

“I present to you, Taneleer Tivan, The Collector.” The Collector's Assistan announced.

“Woh, Oh. Asgardians, it's an honor.” The Collector said as he bows theatrically.

“You know why we're here.” Sif stated.

“Of course. But if I may ask, why not keep it secure in your own vault?” The Collector asked.

“The Tesseract is already on Asgard. It's not wise to keep two Infinity Stones so close together.” Volstagg answered.

“That's very wise.” Sif hands the Aether over to The Collector. “I can assure you it will be absolutely safe in...in my collection.”

“See that it is.” The Collector bows his head, Sif and Volstagg turn and leave.

“One down, five to go.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Weeks later

Y/n wakes in a bed and sits up fast looking around the room and she’s home her home. He rushes up to her and hold her head in his hand.

“Your here.” Y/n said with tears in her eyes as she covers Loki’s hand with hers.

“You have to let me.” Loki stated.

“No...No..No...I just got you back.” Y/n said as her chin trembling as tears roll down.

“If you don’t you will hurt a lot of people.” Loki said with a voice soft with affection.

“Please don’t make me do this.” Y/n wept.

Loki wipes away Y/n’s tears. “I love you...always.”

“I love you.” Y/n said as she grabs Loki’s face and kisses him with the want...the needed to have him.

Loki moves back and rest his forehead on Y/n. “You have to let me go. You have to let me go.”

“Goo...goodbye Loki.” Y/n uttered.

Y/n suddenly wakes up and see Nathan sitting at the foot of the bed. “Nathan.....”

“You were crying.”

Y/n sits up and touches her face and feels that it is wet, she quickly dry her face and looks over at Nathan.

“How long have you’ve been holding back your powers?” Nathan said softly.

“Couple of days .” Y/n answered.

“That was couple of days.” Nathan earnestly.

“I was calm.” Y/n started sad smile. “Queen Frigga, helped me find it and then she was murder and........ I saw everyone I cared about turned to dust right in front of me, then I found out Loki is.......dead. I don’t think I could’ve hold it in anymore.” Y/n finished.

“I’m so sorry, Y/n.” Nathan said placing a Comforting hand on Y/n’s.

“The Aether told me that me that in order to stop what I saw from happening I need control over my powers and you look like you have everything together right.” Y/n said.

“Ya I do wait....you want me to teach you?” Nathan asked.

“Y/n, you need to grieve...” Nathan disclosed.

“If I do that....a lot of people will get hurt.” Y/n told Nathan. “Nathan, I have a strong feeling that the same person that’s going to kill everyone is the same person that tortured Loki.”

Nathan looks over at Y/n and can see that she’s a 100% sure about her theory. “Ok I’ll teach you.”

“What? Are you serious?” Y/a wondered.

“Yes.” Nathan said nodded.

Y/n hugs Nathan like her life depended on it. “Thank you.!”

I’ll get stronger and have control over my powers....I’ll stop him Loki

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

#loki x black reader #loki x you #loki x black!reader #thor x reader #thor x jane

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emerald-amidst-gold · 3 years

Note

21, 27, and 39 for the Inquisitor ask?

Oh boy, oh boy! Guess what time it is?! FANE TIME! 🐉🐉❤️❤️

Thank you so, so, so much for the ask! Let’s talk about my boy, shall we? 🥰

21. Someone is encroaching on their love interest. How do they respond?

I’m gonna say it straight: Fane is fiercely protective of Solas. I mean, what dragon isn’t protective of something they cherish? So, if we’re talking in terms of someone interfering with their relationship, then Fane locks into ‘dragon mode’. He’ll snarl, he’ll snap, he’ll bite out barbed words towards the one that dared try to interfere with the one person he’s loved over two lifetimes. He doesn’t lash out at Solas, even if, for some reason the man would entertain a love lorn fool’s flirtations. Obviously, Solas becomes exasperated by this (on a daily basis, honestly lol), but if Fane isn’t in too bad of a mood, or god forbid, in the middle of battle when it happens, then he and Solas will have chat about the insecurities Fane could be feeling surrounding someone’s disregard and the mage’s own reason for why it happened. Otherwise, Fane tends to seclude himself to try and understand why Solas may have entertained the whole thing to begin with, and it usually ends the same way; with the two talking it out.

Ohoho, you thought I was gonna say “He destroys Skyhold and tears down the Veil himself!’, didn’t you?! ...Don’t worry. That’s reserved for when he catches Cullen touching his sister. *smiles pleasantly* ..I don’t know why, but that question was so hard for me. You challenge me! *shakes fist* ..don’t stop. I like challenges.

27. As a whole, how do they feel about tevinter + the imperium?

Surprisingly, Fane likes Tevinter as a country like the land and the architecture and the history. Eventually, I plan on writing stuff based in Tevinter as like a prelude to DA4 and I can safely say, Fane adores it. He’s obviously extremely curious about the Old Gods, and why they take the form of dragons, so it serves as both a change of scenery and a source of useful information regarding his kin. Obviously, in the major cities like Minrathrous (i spelled that wrong I know shhh), he can only stay for short periods of time because of his magical sensitivity, but Solas and he work on that for the duration of their operations in the area.

As a society, however.. Magisters and slavers beware! A dragon has set its sights on you, and you aren’t surviving. Those streets run red with slaver blood, just saying. He is also not keen on the Magisterium. The fact that mages are ruling over people, and the most corrupt are enslaving them makes Fane’s blood boil as it’s indicative to what happened to his kin and Solas’s own people.

39. If Varric gave them a nickname, what would it be?

Varric actually does give Fane a nickname! Practically when they first meet! Varric’s nickname for Fane is ‘Tempest’ due to Fane’s inclination for being completely calm the one minute, and then striking and tearing into everything like piercing rain and shocking lightning with how furious he can get. Near the end of Inquisition’s timeline, Varric does refer to Fane as ‘Dragon’ without any knowledge as to Fane’s identity. He gives him that because of the occurrences of how Fane ends up starting to protect every dragon they have to fight, actually getting injured the one time he throws himself into one of Bull’s killing blows. My boy can’t take it for much longer, I’m telling you. *sweats nervously*

I’ll be coming for everyone’s Inquisitor’s, just you wait! *laughs evilly*

#dragon age #oc: fane lavellan #asks #thank you so much for the ask!#I love them so much!#*jaws music plays as I slide into everyone's ask boxes*

14 notes · View notes

no-worshiped-roads · 3 years

Text

Mayday RtU fight

so this is for @the-nsr-family Roads to Unity au

my crack at the mayday fight

go check out their blog they got lots of fun stuff, also this is long i lost control and it’s like 11 pages

Phase 1

Zuke dodged a flash of lighting that struck the spot he used to be standing in. He skidded a little across the smooth floor since it was already completely wet from the storm Mayday summoned. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Neon J and Eve also dodging both lightning and attacks from May’s guitar.

“Mayday please just listen to us!” Zuke pleaded.

“NO! WHY SHOULD I?!”

“Because there’s something you really need to know! We know who is behind all of this!”

“Oh I’m sure you do.” May spat out sarcastically.

The guitarist jumped back onto a higher part of the platform and began to sing. “Show me how to lie, you’re getting better all the time.”

Zuke dodged a blast from her guitar and slipped in the water on the floor. He slid till he crashed into some equipment in the room. Zuke hissed from the pain and rubbed his head where he had hit it. He could hear May still singing but was more focused on the stars in his eyes. Zuke looked up just in time to see lightning heading for him and braced for impact. When he felt nothing but the rain, he opened his eyes to see that Neon J had thrown one of his weapons in front of him, making a sheild.

Zuke shakily got to his feet, trying to get a better foothold on the slick floor “Thanks.”

Neon J gave him a nod before returning his attention to the fight. “We may have no choice but to fight back like we did before.”

Zuke winced at that, as fighting these people hasn’t been easy for him. He loved these people, and hell, Mayday was practically his sister by all means but blood. But he knew Neon J was right. If they just kept dodging there was no way they were going to survive, Mayday was too angry to be holding back. Beside Zuke wanted to get through to her before she got REALLY angry. He knew what would happen if she did but his companions didn’t. And while he knew what would happen, he wasn’t sure if that would help him stand up to it.

“Alright. I’m really sorry May but we’ve really got to talk.” Zuke pulled out his drumsticks and charged forward.

“So you talk with your drumsticks now?” She sneered, before returning to singing.

“Now dance sucker dance! Man, we never had a chance. And no one even knew, it was really only you.”

Zuke flinched at the lyrics, knowing exactly what May meant by them. He could only hope he could convince her otherwise. As he continued to try and make his way to Mayday, Zuke found himself mainly dodging and just trying to keep up with her, but like Kliff said before, this girl was an acrobat. She was dancing around them and avoiding most of their attacks. So while she had gotten a good number off on them, they could count the number of hits on her on one hand.

“Well I’ll admit, this is definitely challenging~” Neon J’s auto tune singing carried over the pounding rains.

“This rain certainly isn’t helping.” Eve added, as she nearly slipped off the platform she was on.

“With a thousand lies and a good disguise, hit them right between the eyes”

“I feel like she might be saying something to you with this song choice.” Neon J muttered unhelpfully.

“When you walk away, nothing more to say.”

“Yeah I noticed.” Zuke droned out. He liked Neon J, but he had a bad habit of stating the obvious and not understanding rhetorical questions.

“Mayday please listen, none of the EDM artists had anything to do with those attacks, those were staged!”

“You call those attacks fake?! Do you even know how much damage they did?”

“He’s not saying their fake! Just that they were set up by someone who isn’t us!” Eve argued back.

Eve was using her reality warping abilities to redirect Mayday’s attacks away from her. At one point of redirecting lightning, she managed to make it strike Mayday in the back.

“Gah!” Mayday stumbled forward a bit, but quickly got her footing back and strummed an attack towards Eve. “And yet here you are, attacking all of us. Wasn’t you indeed.”

Eve jumped out of the way and landed next to Zuke. “I believe I may have just found a way for us to actually fight back.”

Zuke frowned, as he really didn;t like the idea of shocking Mayday with her own lighting but knew they had no choice. They weren’t getting anywhere going about this like a normal fight. Zuke nodded and dodged another attack by rolling out of the way. Banging his drumsticks together he sent a wave at Mayday who moved away, but left her open for Neon J to get a hit in on her.

“Nice work you did, you’re gonna go far kid, trust deceived!”

“Mayday, we don’t want to fight, But we’re also not gonna sit here and be wailed on. We really did talk to the others. I don’t know why you can’t contact them but we didn’t do anything to them, I swear!” Zuke called out again.

“Oh you swear? Yeah, like I’m supposed to trust anything you promise.”

Zuke winced. “Yeah alright I deserve that.” A dodge. “But please can we just talk, there’s a lot I have to tell you, a lot you need to know.”

“SHUT UP!”

Zuke jumped out of the way of a large bolt of lightning and counterattacked with his drumsticks. The fight continued like this for a while till Eve got one more of her lighting attacks to hit her, this one causing Mayday to slide down to her knees. Mayday huffed, whether from exhaustion or frustration was hard to say. She growled and forced herself back to her feet.

Phase 2

Mayday played a different tune on her guitar as the weather around them changed. The rains stopped, but the room turned white. A thick fog now permeated the area, reducing their field of vision to where they could barely make out their hand in front of their own face.

“SHOT THROUGH THE HEART AND YOU’RE TO BLAME! You give love a bad name.”

Guitar riffs could be heard through the fog as musical blasts were shot at the group. Everyone dodged but when Zuke looked back up, he saw that they had lost each other in the fog.

“Eve, Neon J?!”

“An angel’s smile is what you sell, promise me heaven then put me through hell.”

Zuke felt the ground beneath him being blasted away and he was flung back. He grunted as he hit the ground behind him.

“We’re alright!” Neon J’s voice called through the fog. “But we aren’t going to be able to find each other much less Mayday in this fog. GAH!” Another guitar riff sounded off, clearly hitting Neon J.

“That’s kind of the point.” May’s voice drifted through the fog somewhere ahead of him.

Zuke acted quickly and smashed his drumsticks together in the direction he heard the voice. A small grunt greeted his ears, knowing he had hit her. Zuke then had to dodge again as a blast was the returned favor in his direction.

“Mayday those attacks really weren’t caused by the EDM artists. None of them even knew about the attacks till they were on the news!”

Another guitar riff was his only answer as he rolled to the side.

“Oh, you're a loaded gun, yeah. Oh, there's nowhere to run”

“Listen to where she is to find her! Use that to try and get to her!” Zuke called out and dodged another blast.

“No one can save me, the damage is done!”

Zuke continued to use his drumsticks to attack in the general direction that he could hear Mayday, and could hear his companions doing the same as well. Wherever they were in this fog. Of course this strategy went both ways. As they attacked they also made noise, which was how Mayday was finding them. Though to be fair, she had figured out that strategy long before Zuke did.

“I played my part and you played your game! You give love a bad name! You give looovvvveee---a bad name.”

Mayday was definitely picking songs that expressed what she was feeling towards Zuke. What she thought was going on, even though it wasn’t true. They had to keep pressing through and prove to her that Grunge was the only problem here. Not the EDM artists, and not him. A louder cry interrupted Zuke’s thoughts as he looked up to see the fog slowly clearing away. As it cleared out Zuke could make out Neon J near to where Mayday was, the latter on the ground again, panting. He watched her fist clench around the neck of her guitar and she swung at Neon J, making the man fall back and off the platform when he tried to move out of its way.

Phase 3

Mayday hopped back to her feet, with a bit more struggle this time, and started playing once again. Neon J grunted as he hoisted himself up from his rather big fall, given that this platform was well off the ground. As Mayday played her guitar she backflipped up to one of her trapeze platforms. The rock girl hopped from platform to platform, doing tricks as she did, all while playing her guitar. Zuke was so focused on watching her, and trying to keep her in his sights that he didn’t notice the drop in temperature.

“Wh-why is it s-s-so c-cold?”

Eve’s stuttering brought Zuke out of his trance as he huffed and realized he could see his own breath. The air was bitingly cold, and he found himself shivering much like his companions. Though Eve had it worst of all. Her outfit was beautiful, but not exactly warm. Zuke shuddered again in a vain attempt to warm his body as snow began to fall.

“Oh p-p-perfect, as if it w-wasn’t c-cold enough-AAHH” Neon J’s biting remark was cut short as the cyborg took a step back, only to slip on the ice that had formed on the floor.

The snow picked up to be more like a flurry now. Great. So now that had to deal with snow, the cold, the ice, and that Mayday was jumping and leaping around above them. She was already a hard target before, and all of this just made it harder. Mayday glared down at them, though more specifically him. Zuke did his best to hold her gaze and not wither under that glare. It was hard to say if she learned that from her mother or Kul Fyra. A familiar tune reached his ears as the rocker began to sing again.

“I wouldn't hold my breath if I was you, 'Cause I'll forget but I'll never forgive you. Don't you know, don't you know? True friends stab you in the front!”

Zuke grimaced, it really did seem that May felt that all ties between them were cut. That he was a traitor of the worst kind. He tightened his grip on his drumsticks and got into his fighting stance. He had to convince her that she was wrong.

“Listen Mayday, We know who was really behind the attacks. She started out just sabotaging the other EDM artists.”

A rather solid blast of wind and snow pushed him back, with him sliding further due to the ice. He immediately had to dodge a guitar riff, which was harder given that the ice messed with his movements. After scrabbling in place for a bit, Zuke finally managed to skid out of the way, feeling the blast move his hair as it just missed him by inches. Zuke could see Eve and Neon J continuing to attack her, and struggling just as much as he was with all the ice and snow messing with their movement.

He watched as nearly no attacks were hitting her with her using her aerial equipment to swing around and avoid them. Zuke could feel his frustration beginning to build up and took some breaths to try and calm down.

“Mayday you have to listen to us!”

“Like hell I do!”

“Mayday! There’s an inside person at NSR! She staged those attacks, she set the EDM artists up to take the fall!”

“You got a lot of nerve, But not a lot of spine. You made your bed, When you worried about mine.”

“Gah will you just listen to me?! What is your problem?!” Zuke was losing his patience.

“MY problem?! Have you seriously not figured anything out yet?! How do you not understand?!”

The snow was beginning to pick up into something more like a blizzard, not that Zuke paid it any mind. Eve and Neon J however did notice,

“Um, Zuke?”

Zuke ignored Neon J. “Come on why are you being so stubborn? The Mayday I know would actually listen!”

The blizzard got stronger, and the air got a heavier feeling to it. “What the hell do you even know about me?! You abandoned me five years ago! You left me to deal with all of that crap on my own!”

“Zuke, this isn’t helping.” Eve hissed.

Zuke again ignored the words of his companions and continued to argue with his former friend. If she would just listen to him so things could be fixed. “For crying out loud it’s Grunge! It’s her fault all of this happened! She ruined EDM’s name, she arranged the attack on you, on everyone! She is the one to blame!”

“Seriously?! Now you’re blaming someone else! At least she stuck by our side through this, unlike you!”

Mayday blasted her guitar at him and Zuke leapt out of the way. Zuke didn’t know what came over him, but he just felt so angry, so frustrated. It was like it was with West when he just didn’t listen to his side of the story. So he brought his drumsticks together and hard. The blast was too big for May to dodge and knocked her straight off her aerial swing to the platform below. Her scream of pain definitely snapped him out of it though. The snow died down and the temperature returned to normal, with the ice starting to melt away.

Phase 4

Zuke didn’t pay any of it any mind as he could stare in horror at Mayday just lying on the platform unmoving. He could vaguely see his companions getting to their feet, having no idea how they got knocked down, but guessed it was the blizzard. The two looked up to see May’s crumpled form on the platform, her guitar laying away from her, having fallen off of her when Zuke had hit her.

“Um, what happened? The blizzard made it hard to see.” Neon J asked, unhelpfully.

Zuke could only swallow hard as his ears rang. Mayday’s body twitched, and Zuke breathed a small sigh of relief knowing she was okay. The girl slowly dragged herself into a sitting position, and hugged her sides. She was breathing hard, head down, obscuring her face. Zuke couldn’t read her expression.

“...did we win?”

“Not the time Neon J!” Eve bit back.

Mayday’s breathing got harder, harsher, till she was huffing in what Zuke had to guess was anger.

“Get away.”

Mayday’s voice was low, shaky. If Zuke had been smarter he would have picked up on what that meant. But instead he just assumed it was because of her fall. He took a step forward and Mayday stiffened.

“Go away.”

It was a lot harsher this time, though still shaky. Zuke ignored her demand again and stepped forward once more. “May please, I-”

“Don’t. Leave.”

The wind began to pick back up, a strange sound filling the room. Rains started again, but much harsher than before. Zuke paused looking around at the weather, he had to get her to stop before the weather became a problem again. He stepped forward again, ignoring the winds and rain worsening around him, even as his feet splashed in the water pooling on the floor.

Mayday’s body twitched, and her hands clenched into fists, slamming down on the platform. “I said”

“GO AWAY!” Mayday suddenly screamed, throwing her head back.

The winds were so strong now that they picked up the three companions and threw them to the back of the room. Everyone slammed into the walls and fell to the floor with a splash. Zuke pushed himself up to his knees and hands, and glanced towards Myday. Winds circled around her as the rain absolutely downpoured, reducing anything in the distance invisible. Mayday was hunched in the middle, shaking. Glancing up he saw exactly what he thought he would be forming above her.

“IS THAT A HURRICANE?!” Neon J screeched.

“Yeah maybe I should have warned you she could do that?” Zuke yelled back weakly.

“That would have been nice, yes!”

“Well we were supposed to have this taken care of before this happened.”

“We could have if it weren’t for you Zuke.”

Eve’s harsh voice made him flinch. “Hey what the hell does-”

“I may not have been able to see what happened when that blizzard picked up but I could hear it. You two arguing.”

The winds and rain continued to rage around them as Zuke stared at Eve. “She’s being stubborn! Nothing I say is getting through to her!”

“So are you Zuke.”

Zuke jolted back like he had been slapped. “I’M actually listening though!”

“Are you?”

“I’ve been helping you this entire time yes!”

“I’m not saying you’re not listening to us.”

“You just-”

“I’m saying you’re not listening to her.”

“...yes I am.”

“Are you? You seem to hear her when she argues back against us, total strangers to her. But you fail to hear the reason why she’s upset.”

“But it’s a misunderstanding!”

“Mostly yes. But she doesn’t know that, and you’re acting like she should. And like I said, mostly.”

“What does that even mean?!”

“She’s not wrong about you abandoning her.”

“Bu- hey!”

“She’s. Not. Wrong. And you have to accept that Zuke, she was attacked so badly that she apparently landed in the hospital for a week. And then, when she was recovering back at home, she finds out you’ve left NSR and are helping the people she believes attacked her. How do you think she felt in that moment?”

“...”

“And now you’re also throwing the blame all at Grunge’s feet, while not accepting your own fault in this. You could have handled how you left better. Not to mention you’ve come here and blamed her for being ‘too stubborn’ like it’s her fault she feels angry and hurt and betrayed.”

“...”

“I’m not saying you are a traitor, but you did leave her. And you need to own up to that. You can’t let your anger control you, or you’ll do things you’ll regret forever.”

“...”

Zuke thought back to the second encounter with West when he disowned him, and how they had somewhat made up in the third encounter. He wonders what would have happened had he not run into him again. Would that have been it? Would he have never seen West again? Would his brother leave the city for good? Zuke thought on it further and frowned, remembering it was Kliff who got across what Zuke couldn’t say. Wouldn’t. Too stubborn to.

Zuke sighed. “...you’re right. I’ve only made things worse. I kept thinking about how this affected you guys, and how I felt. And completely ignored what Mayday was feeling.”

“So what do we do now then?” Neon J had walked over to the two as they had argued. It was slow going given that the winds threatened to throw him again.

“I’m gonna try talking to her again, but I need to get close. Can you two cover me? I don’t think I can get to her through the hurricane and if she starts attacking again.”

“What are you going to do?”

Zuke turned to Neon J. “What I told Kliff I was going to do. What I should have done from the beginning.”

The two nodded at him and Zuke began to walk forward. He had to take precise and heavy steps, the hurricane's gale force winds threatening to throw into the wall again. As he trudged onwards, May’s head snapped up slightly. He could just make out her eye’s glaring at him in not just anger, but pure anguish.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!”

Lightning began to rain down from the hurricane above him, and as Zuke braced for impact, Neon J and Eve came to his rescue. Neon J fired off his weapons to stop the lightning before it reached him, while Eve redirected it harmlessly behind them. Zuke continued to Mayday while his friends kept him from getting hit.

“NO! GET BACK!”

May’s attacks became more erratic and frequent. Though with how wild they were, more and more of her attacks were missing. Zuke finally reached the platform Mayday was on and gripped the beams holding it up. He hoisted himself up on the first beam and began climbing up, he didn’t have time to try and find the stairs. Heck, with what Mayday could do, there probably weren’t any. At this point Zuke wasn’t being attacked at all, and he couldn’t hear lighting cracking against the ground anymore. The hurricane was still going strong, but she had stopped directly attacking them. At this point she really was just trying to make them leave her alone.

Zuke finally reached the top of the stage and forced himself up on to it. He could see Mayday’s body trembling in the middle of it. Zuke had to drag himself across the stage, knowing that if he stood up he would be blown off. He could feel himself getting even more soaked from all the water pooling on the floor but he didn’t care. He had to get to May. Finally an outreached hand touched May’s leg.

She slapped his hand off. “Go away.”

Zuke pushed himself up so he was sitting in front of Mayday on his knees. “May, I’ve not done anything right by you since that day five years ago.”

“....”

“I left without saying anything, or explaining myself. I come back after all this time and I just hurt you more, and that’s not right. I’ve been so focused on what I want I didn’t consider how you felt.”

“...”

“I know my words are probably empty coming from someone who abandoned you, but I promise you the EDM artists won’t hurt you. They were sabotaged and set up by Grunge. She wants rock to rule as the top music genre, no matter the cost And was going to ensure it by any means possible.”

“..is that all you came here for?” Mayday’s voice is quiet, quivering.

“No.” Zuke reached forward and pulled Mayday into a hug. The girl flinched, and though she didn't pull back, she didn’t reciprocate either.

“I’m sorry. For everything. For what happened to you, for what you went through afterwards. For just leaving you like that and not explaining anything. For not really trying to get a hold of you for five years. For being a coward. I’m so, so sorry May. You have every right to be mad at me, and I understand if you won’t forgive me. But I’m not going to hurt you. Not again. I promise.”

He could feel May’s body tremble against his and suddenly felt a tight grip around his back as she hugged him back. The winds began to die down and the rain stopped pouring. Mayday just sobbed into his shirt, letting out all that built up hurt she had been shoving down for five years. Zuke just held her for a long time, apologizing over and over again till she finally stopped crying. He had thought all he had to do was stop Grunge, but now realized that even when they beat her, and she was gone, there was still going to be a long road of recovery ahead of them.

Everything that had happened had left lasting marks on the artists that weren’t just going to go away like that. And for once, Zuke was really going to stay by Mayday’s side, and help her through all of it. This was a promise he wasn’t going to break.

#nsr #nsr mayday #nsr zuke #rtu #Roads to Unity #nsr au #nsr eve #nsr neon j #no straight roads #no straight roads au

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dcforts · 4 years

Text

[monday 7: thunderstorm]

Phone battery: 96%

One moment they are speeding up on the empty road with the windows rolled down and the sun shining on the side mirrors and the next is as if someone threw a blanket over the sky. In a blink of an eye, the clouds gather above them and they find themselves in the middle of a downpour.

“What the fuck?” says Dean, pushing the brakes and activating the windshield wipers.

“Something is wrong” is Castiel’s helpful contribution from the passenger seat.

“Yeah, no shit.”

The rain gets havier by the second, raindrops hit the roof with such violence that it’s like they are fired from a machine gun. Even after turning on the headlights they can barely see what’s ahead of them beyond the hood of the Impala. The sky lights up and then a thunder rumbles so loud that even Castiel flinches.

“We should stop.”

“You think it’s a spell?”

“Whatever it is I don’t think it’s safe to go on.”

Dean sighs and signals that he’s pulling over on the right as if, even if there was someone behind them, they could see the indicators through the amount of water that paints everything grey.

He brings the car to a stop and fishes out his phone.

Phone battery: 91%

“Sam? Where are you?”

“Just out of the morgue. I think it’s a witch” he says, sounding slightly out of breath as he walks. “Hey, I thought you were coming to pick me up. What did the husband say?”

“Sam? Listen to me, is it raining where you are?”

“Raining? No. The sky couldn’t be clearer.”

“Fuck.”

“Dean, where are you?”

“I don’t know. Just outside of town, I think. But there’s a thunderstorm and we had to stop.”

“What? A thunderstorm? Is it rain what I’m hearing?”

“Yeah, so it’s either the son or the husband and they are onto us. Seems like they didn’t appreciate our little visit.”

“You’re saying they cursed you?”

“That’s what we think”.

“Shit. Alright, at least we have suspects and we know for sure that they’re using witchcrafts or something. Just, don’t do anything till I get back to you.”

“Alright.”

“Stay safe.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Phone battery: 86%

The rain is torrential, incessant. There is so much of it that it’s like there’s a river flowing over the windshield.

It’s not the first time that Dean got caught in a thunderstorm while he was driving. It happened more than once when he was a kid and weather apps weren’t a thing yet. John would pull up at the nearest rest area and they would wait it out catching up on their sleep.

But this is different. The rain could go on forever if something happened to Sam or if he couldn’t find a way to reverse it. That’s what bothers him more than anything, what makes him bounce his legs and clench his jaw.

He’s gone over their last two hours again and again trying to understand when and how the culprit could have done this to them but he’s had little success so far.

They can’t listen to music because they can’t risk the car running out of battery. They can’t play on their phones or do researches on their own or they will drain out their means to communication with Sam. They have no books, no food, no water. Dean doesn’t want to think about that. He taps his fingers on the steering wheel but he gets through two and a half Metallica songs before Castiel’s intake of breath and quick look his way tells him that he’s sick of it.

He retreats his hands on his lap.

Dean knows that Castiel is bothered as much as he is by the fact that they’re trapped and unable to help, even if he’s not showing it at the moment. In fact, he looks like the picture of serenity.

“How in hell can you be so calm?”

“I’m trying to be patient. There’s little else we can do.”

Dean scoffs.

Castiel shoots a look his way, then asks conversationally: “How did it go in Missouri last week?” and in response to Dean’s confused staring he adds: “The case?”

Dean gets that he’s trying to distract him and he lets him. He shrugs “Same old. Apart from Sam spilling coke all over himself, that was fun. And I got Jack a new record for the bunker. You’ve seen it?”

“He only told me about it a hundred times.” says Castiel in a pained tone. “It was nice of you.”

“Nah. You gotta teach them young.”

“You think he could join us on our next hunt?”

“We’ll see.” says Dean making a face. “But hey, you on the other hand… are getting better at interrogations. Looked pretty convincing with the kid.”

Castiel smiles: “Thank you.”

“Or, well, at least until you left the room just so you could follow his dogs,” adds Dean, raising his eyebrows.

“You can understand a lot about the owners form their pets’ behaviour”.

“Yeah?” humours him Dean, “What did you uncover? Other than they should learn how to use a vacuum.”

Castiel ignores his mocking tone. “Nothing stood out to me. But looking back now, I should have known that witchcraft was involved. They had three black dogs and I saw figurines of frogs in the living room.”

“I thought that cats were the go-to pet for witches.”

“They are generally associated with witchcraft, yes. But witches can form deep connection with any animal. Dogs, especially, escort Hecate, the triform greek-roman Goddess of Witchcraft. And Hecate takes her name from Heqet, the Egyptian goddess, usually represented as a frog. In hindsight, it was pretty clear.”

“So do you think it’s the husband? I doubt a kid alone would be able to do all that.”

“Maybe. But he seemed sincerely aggrieved by his wife’s loss.”

Dean sighs. Without any possibility to do real work that’s as far as they can get. He squints trying to see something beyond the raindrops splattered windows.

“Maybe it’s not bad as it seems.” he tries. “It’s dangerous to drive but what if we walked?”

“The curse could be cast on the car alone but I wouldn’t -”

“I’m gonna try.” Dean cuts him off, but he gets as far as resting his hand on the handle that a lightning bolt strikes one of the trees lined up down the road. There’s a loud crack and a vamp of fire that lights it up from the inside. A part of the trunk explodes and pieces go flying all over the street.

Dean and Castiel look at each other with identical alarmed expressions.

“Yeah, better say in the car.” Dean says.

Phone battery: 79%

“Let’s play a game.”

“Alright.”

“Okay. It’s a car game. Basically you say a sentence starting with ‘Fortunately’ and based on that I have to respond with a sentence starting with ‘Unfortunately’. Like, I say ‘Unfortunately, we got cursed.’ And you say ‘Fortunately…’?”

Castiel thinks about it, then says, “Fortunately, they didn’t want us dead, only permanently incapacitated.”

Dean raises his eyebrows. “Sure, that is reassuring. Alright. Um, unfortunately, I will eventually die of starvation.”

“Fortunately, we won’t have to wait that long cause Sam is working on it.”

“Yeah but unfortunately, he’s alone against the witch.”

“Fortunately, he is prepared and the witch is not too dangerous.”

“Unfortunately, he got to us.”

“Fortunately, as long as we stay in the car we are safe.”

“Unfortunately, we are trapped.”

“Fortunately, we are together.”

Dean had his mouth already opened, ready to fire his next sentence but his brain short circuits and he is stunned. He closes it again. He meets Castiel’s eyes and under his soft expression he recognizes a little smugness that comes from having silenced him. He really can’t think of anything to say.

Castiel bats his eyelashes feigning innocence. “Did I win?”

That shakes Dean up, who rolls his eyes and he is about to protest when something heavy and dark hits the window shield with a loud thump and has him almost jumping out of his skin.

“What the fuck was that?” he shouts. Instinctively one arm flies up to cover his face, his elbow out and the other reaches towards Castiel to grab a fistful of his sleeve.

“I think it was a bird,” is Castiel’s calm reply.

Dean lets him go quickly, adverting his eyes. He still feels his heart in his throat. He clears it. “Right.” Then after a moment “Don’t mention this to Sam.”

Castiel huffs a laugh.

Phone battery: 72%

And so they wait. The rain is heavy and unrelenting. Dean has cracked open his window to feel it on his fingertips and he has retreated his hand hissing for how violently it hit him. The wind picks up at intervals, it whistles around them, pushing through every draft it can find. Above them, clouds like cotton balls chase each other endlessly and lightning bolts draw threatening patterns in the distance.

Sam has texted and they know that everything is under control so Dean is feeling better now. Figuring they are going to be there a while, he has toed off his boots and climbed over on the backseat leaving Castiel plenty of space to stretch his legs, even if the guy in question has barely adjusted his position with his back to the door and lifted a knee on the seat.

Dean on the other hand, already sprawled on the backseat, has gradually slipped into a laying position. He is more or less relaxed, or at least, as relaxed as a person could be with hell going on right outside of their car but tucked in the quiet and safe space of their car, with the soothing sound of the rain on the roof.

They had worse - that’s a fact.

He lolls his head to the side to watch Castiel, who’s got his eyes fixed on a spot beyond his window.

“So, how’s a thunderstorm from up there?”

He says: “From heaven?”

“Yeah, no, from the sky? Never seen it, planes are not my thing, you know,” he says, shifting to settle on the side.

“It’s pretty,” he says after a long moment. His keeps his voice low and adds, “but here is better.”

Dean scoffs.

“I mean it. From here you can smell the wet grass, see the trees swinging, feel the raindrops hitting you,” his voice is deep and smooth and Dean’s traitorous eyelids flutter shut. “The view from the outside may be splendid” Castiel continues, “but here things happen to you, touch you, shape you. You are the view.”

Dean mumbles what he means to be a sound of agreement but it’s basically a long exhale.

He is drowsy. He is trying to tell himself that he cannot fall asleep but it’s becoming a little difficult as they lose track of the time.

Castiel turns to look at him.

“Dean?”

“Hm?”

“You can sleep if you want.”

“Nah, I’m fine. Tell me more.”

“About what?”

“Anything. Just, no more gross facts about animals. I’ve had enough of those.”

Phone battery: 60%

Dean jerks awake. Castiel is touching his shoulder. “Sam called,” he says.

Dean blinks a few times while the past hours come back to him. A thunder booming over his head reminds him pretty quickly. So he did fall asleep in the end. And it wasn’t at all a good idea, judging by his stiff neck and his dry mouth and the fact that he has nothing to drink.

“What did he say?”

“He is going to the family. Apparently the road is clear from where he is so it seems like we are in some kind of pocket dimension.”

Dean suppresses a swear and pushes himself up on one elbow. It’s too dark to see anything beyond the windows but for a moment the wind is so strong that the car starts shaking, then the sky flashes white and booms and the sound is ear-splitting.

“It’s getting worse,” he rubs his eyes and cheeks and finds a dry spot of drool on the corner of his mouth. “You think Sam is gonna be fine?”

“I’m sure.” Castiel says. “They thought it was just the two of us, so they won’t see him coming.”

“How long was I out?”

“An hour at most.”

“You watched me all the time like a creep, didn’t you?”

“No,” says Castiel way too quickly to be entirely innocent. He also shoots him an irritated look that Dean suspects is more related to having been called creep that for the accusation itself. “I rearranged your tape collection.”

Now Dean gasps, aghast. “Oh, no. Again? Don’t tell me. Please don’t tell me it’s by year again.”

Castiel just nods and Dean becomes the image of desperation. “How could y- Really, Cas? Come on!”

Dean catches a glint of Castiel’s teeth in the dark as he smiles. “No.” he says sounding all proud “I was joking.”

Dean falls backwards on the seat with a groan. “Unfortunately, you will kill me with your terrible sense of humour.”

“Too late. We’ve already established that I won that game.”

“You know right, that if we are here for a very long time I will eventually have to eat you?”

Castiel just rolls his eyes.

Phone battery 47%

Dean is still laying down, staring at the roof. Castiel has cracked his window open, just enough to let a breath of cool air in. It chases away the condensation on the windshield and brings in the smell of wet leaves and wet asphalt.

Dean is hit with the realization that they don’t get many moments like these. For one, none of them is covered in blood, and they are not fighting or running for their life. There is no anger or regret or guilt in the air. He can’t exactly complain.

Dean fixes his gaze on what he can see of his profile when is illuminated by the lightings: his dark hair, his high left cheekbone, his faint stubble, the tip of his nose. It’s even rarer to get to watch him unobserved. He feels a smile creeping on his lips.

For his part, it looks like it’s Castiel is starting to run out of patience. Dean can hear the rustling of his trench coat from where he is probably tormenting his hands in his lap. Knowing him, he can picture his mind is working tirelessly trying to find a way to be useful. Castiel loud sigh pierce the silence in the car.

“You told me to be patient earlier and now you’re bored of me already.” Dean teases.

Castiel turns towards him and then back ahead but there is no lightning that allows Dean to see his expression.

“I was just thinking. I thought you fell asleep again.“ There is a pause then he asks: “Are you? Bored of me?”

Dean sighs and feels protected by the dark and numbed by the sound of the rain and still a little groggy from his nap so he says. “Even when I see you all the time I feel like I barely see you.”

“I can’t tell if that’s good or not.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

Phone battery: 32%

The screen lights up and it’s Sam, finally calling with news.

Dean puts him speakers.

“Sam?”

“Dean, they put something in your car,” he sounds out of breath.

“Hey, hey, how are you? What’s happening?”

“I’m fine, I can’t talk right now. They were both guilty. The mother was an accident; the spell was meant for someone else. Actually the mother was on it too. Apparently the whole family is into magic. I gotta -” a loud thunder covers his words.

“Sam? We didn’t get that.”

“They said it’s in the car. Look for hex bags, amulets, something you can destroy. I gotta go.”

“Alright. Just let us - ” but he’s already hung up.

So they get moving. They look into every corner, feel blindly in the dark, under the seats, inside the dashboard, as far as they can go behind the cushions.

Fifteen minutes later they’ve covered every surface and found nothing.

“Shit. What if it’s under the car? How are we gonna get that?”

Castiel looks at him and his expression tells Dean that nothing good is coming. In fact he says: “It can only be in the trunk.”

Dean blinks: “You are not going anywhere.”

“Dean.”

“No. No way.”

“Dean, it’s our only chance” he says it as if Dean is being unreasonable.

“No, Cas, let’s talk about it first.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I’m stronger than you. I’m the one who has to go.”

Castiel has made up his mind. He moves and Dean uselessly reaches out to grab him, but he can’t get a good grip as he is blocked by the front seat and Castiel slips away and pushes his door open.

The rain seems to get ten times worse as soon as he does that and the whole sky lights up threatening above their head. Castiel pushes through the wind to get a foot out.

“Cas! Jesus, close the goddamn door. This isn’t gonna work and you’re getting my seats all wet!” shouts Dean but Castiel doesn’t seem to hear him. Another loud thunder has Dean crouching down, and when he looks up again, Castiel is standing outside. He looks towards Dean and then shuts the door. Dean sees him struggling to get his feet one after the other, like an invisible force is keeping him from moving. His face scrunches up as he pushes himself forward with a hand on the car. He takes a step. He slips back a few feet.

Dean heart stops. “Cas! Fucking hell! Get back here!” he shouts, uselessly banging his hands against the seats. He tries to open his own door and remembers that he’s got no shoes on. He hurries to climb over on the front seat.

When he looks back again, Castiel has almost made it to the rear of the car. The sky rumbles angrily, it lights up violently. In frantic movements Dean slips his boots on and pushes himself to the right to open the passenger seat door.

He could lose him. Right there, right now, he could fucking lose him.

The rain and the wind hit him full force all at once. It’s like he’s stepped under a waterfall, he is cold and wet and struggles to breath. He battles against the wind trying to keep the car door open enough to allow him to get out and prevent it being ripped off from the car. He can barely feel his face and hands.

Towards the back of the car Castiel has reached the trunk. Dean can make out his silhouette wiping his eyes with a hand and with the other fumbling with the handle.

At last the trunk opens and covers him from Dean’s view. As he tries to move, his hair stand up all over his body and then there’s an explosion of sound so loud that he needs to cover his ears. It’s quick and violent and it takes him a few moments to realize that a lightning bolt has just hit a few yard from them. His legs start shaking.

“Cas! Come on!” he shouts terrified, knowing that’s useless, that he won’t be able to hear him above the thunders booming over their heads.

Through the rain that whips fiercely his face and blinds him, Dean watches as Castiel closes the truck and traces his steps back to the door that he holds open for him. As soon as he is within reach Dean grabs a fistful of his clothes and hauls him inside.

Phone battery 22%

Dean is yelling. He is still gripping a handful of Castiel’s clothes and he yanks and yanks at it and yells in his face. And Castiel is panting, he is soaking wet, his hair is dripping and plastered on his forehead and his eyelashes are stuck together and he lets himself being yanked and yelled at and he’s got fear in his eyes but also relief.

“I can’t believe you did that! What the fuck is wrong with you!”

Dean is angry cause his voice is not louder than the rain and it’s not louder than the thunder but he wants it to be to be able to convey just how angry he is right now.

Castiel just blinks and breathes. At last, he brings up a hand to rest on Dean’s.

“Dean,” he says trying to calm him down. I’m okay. I’m here. It’s over.

Dean feels the relief wash over his body but then it pools behind his eyes and he feels like crying.

“You fucking asshole.”

The corner of Castiel’s lips turns slightly upward.

Dean yanks once again at his clothes and he means to pull him into a hug but somehow he finds his lips pressed against Castiel’s. They are both so shocked that they freeze and quickly pull back.

For a second they breath the same air. Dean swallows and blinks and tries to regain control of himself. Castiel doesn’t look scared, he only tilts his head slightly like he does so Dean covers the distance between them once again. Castiel’s lips are full and wet and as Dean kisses them, for a second he forgets all about near death, rain, witches and curses.

Then a thunder erupts above them and they jerk apart once again. Dean lets go of Castiel and wipes a hand over his wet face. “We should –” it’s all he manages.

Castiel doesn’t know what to say either. He just nods and quickly bends down to retrieve the hex bag that he’s dropped when Dean kissed him.

Phone battery: 15%

It’s made of green silk and there’s a round symbol and a semicircle drawn on it. Castiel says they represent Hecate’s wheel and the Egyptian hieroglyphic for rain.

They don’t look at each other as they try to burn it. It takes more than one attempt as their fingers are wet and slippery and there’s nothing they can use to dry themselves with as everything else they have is also wet.

When it finally lights up it burns green. Dean winces as he sees it writhing on the floor mats of his car. “Oh Baby, I’m so sorry this is happening to you.” He says, and this is even before he realizes that they are both still dripping water all over the seats.

It’s almost instantaneous and slightly anticlimactic. The bag becomes dust and the clouds above them break, letting the sun shine through. Dean squints at the sudden change of light and when he opens his eyes again, everything is back to normal. The car is still covered in raindrops but the birds outside are chirping, there’s no tree half burned across the street and a car passes them by as if it’s just another day. Dean sighs and lets his head thump against the window while Castiel rolls down his.

They enjoy a moments of quietness, pierced only by Castiel saying “I’m sorry for scaring you”. He says it in his normal tone but it sounds loud to Dean’s ears, newly clear of rain and thunders.

He closes his eyes. “I just wish you’d stop jumping in on any occasion to get yourself killed.”

“I had to do it.”

Dean opens his eyes and shoots him a withering look. “But you almost died. Cas,” he takes a deep breath “don’t you get it? I’d rather be stuck under the downpour for the rest of my life than watch you die again.” He feels the rage take control of himself again and shake his voice and he lets it cause it’s better to ride it and let out what he wants to say than to hide in embarrassment.

He even holds his gaze.

“I can understand the sentiment.” Castiel says at last.

“Just – no more suicidal missions. If you don’t wanna do it for yourself, do it for me.”

Castiel presses his lips together and nods and Dean feels suddenly exhausted.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore.”

“Okay.” Castiel agrees. “Should we talk about - ”

“Uh, what?”

“Dean.”

“Cas,” he says, mimicking his tone.

Castiel holds his gaze for a long time. Dean says softly: “I mean, you know - right?”

“I do.” Castiel smiles. “Do you?”

“Yeah.” Dean swallows. He takes a deep breath and waits for a wave of dread to hit him but it never comes. He just feels like himself with a warm pleasant feeling in his lower belly. That’ll be time later to process it, he thinks, now they have stuff to do, places to go.

Phone battery: 5%

They are on the road again. It’s safe and quiet and sunny.

“Was it really necessary?” grumbles Castiel.

“Again, yes” Dean won’t hear no arguing. “I don’t even want to think about the damage we’ve already done.”

Sam’s phone rings once again before he picks up.

“Guys?”

“Sam? Dean is driving. Are you okay?”

“Oh, hey Cas. Yes, they went down pretty easily. Didn’t see me coming. Did you guys find the thing?”

“Yes, it was a hex bag. Everything is fine, we are almost in town.”

“Great. Should we agree on a spot so you can come pick me up?”

“Uh. We need to go back to the motel first. We are not wearing any clothes apart from our underwear.”

“You wh - ? Wait, what?”

“They were wet. Dean insisted. For the car.” Castiel says, trying to speak over Dean’s voice in the background that yells ‘Why did you tell him?’

Sam burst into laughing. “Oh my god.”

“So we will see you back at the motel?”

“Yeah, definitely, I will be there with my camera ready.”

There’s rustling and then Dean’s voice close to the microphone shouts: “Sam, I swear to God, I’ll run you ove-”

Phone battery: 0%

I am participating in the spnstayathomechallenge by @bend-me-shape-me @pray4jensen @helianthus21

#spnstayathome #monday 7: thunderstorm #deancas #destiel #deancas fanfic #4.5k #should be tagged genre? what genre?#dean says fuck in this one idk why #also can somebody just pick sam up #i need to stick to shorter stuff btw i spend so much time editing it becomes something im not even able to tell if its good or not #thank you for your lovely comments to my previous posts !! im lucky and underserving #deancas ficlet #deancas ficlets #my writing

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serararku · 3 years

Text

The Addict’s Edict Finale

Era slowed her breath and flattened her ears against her head, with her bright blue eyes twinkling in the shadows. She crawled on all fours through the foliage and beneath the cover of the bushes. Her heart pounded against her chest and temples as she scanned the area; her prey was as cunning as he was quick, and she couldn't afford the luxury of underestimating his reflexes. So she stalked him from the dark like a ghost in the fog. The time to strike was close. She could sense it.

"Scurryin' about ain’t gonna help you none!" Thalen called out, stepping into view. He balanced his magitech rifle on his shoulder as he searched for her, with pupils so dilated she could barely see the yellow of his eyes. Era lowered herself when his gaze swept across her hiding place, but she released her bated breath when he turned to the side. "Is Isenhart's youngest pupil scared a lil'ol me? You ready to yield and drop this farce?" He jerked his head in the opposite direction. "Can't hide forever, lass. Alls you gotta do is knock me on my ass with that stick. Easy peasy, aye? Come on out n'get your ass-whoopin' while it's hot!" His back was turned and his guard was lowered -- it was now or never!

Era dashed out from the foliage and raced across the pond, as silent as a shadow and as quick as a coeurl. She held her bokuto with one hand, letting the tip of the wooden blade brush against the surface of the water. She saw Thalen’s ears point in her direction just as she almost made it to the other side. The Gunslinger whipped around to fire off a shot, but was blinded by a spray of water when she flicked the sword at him. Thoomp! The burst of aether cut through mist and smoke before diving under the surface of the water.

Era reappeared from above, aiming to give this loudmouth a concussion with a downward swing. Like lightning he whipped his revolver up and pointed it over his shoulder! Thoomp! The bokuto bounced backward in Era's grasp when the aether burst ricocheted! Off balance and airborne, she grit her teeth as she tried to correct herself, but he had already stepped out of harm's way.

Her heart was pounding in her head when she landed, bringing the blade across to bounce his rifle away before he could aim at her! She whipped the bokuto back to smash against the side of his head, but he ducked and leaned back! Era stayed kept on the pressure, swinging high when she tried to knock him out, and low when she tried to throw him off balance; but the bastard was quick -- far quicker than she's ever seen him move in her life! When he spun on his heel to avoid another swing, he scraped his cupped fingers along the ground and threw a handful of dirt at her face. She closed her eyes and sputtered for a full second, and that was enough.

Thalen swung the back of his hand as hard as he could, smacking the bokuto out of her grip. Then he lunged forward, driving the butt of his rifle up and slamming her right in the stomach with a weighty thud!

"Haaugh!" Era buckled over and dropped into the dirt, gasping for air and in the fetal position. Reluctantly she opened her eyes and saw her weapon just a couple yalms away; Thalen once again had his back turned, slinging his rifle over his shoulder and basking in his victory. He was talking but she couldn’t really hear him -- she had one last trick up her sleeve. Clutching her stomach as she crawled, she hurried as fast but as quietly as she could to reach her discarded wooden blade. If she could get to her weapon before he had a chance to noti- BLAM BLAM BLAM!

Dust kicked up by her hand, stopping her dead in her tracks. Dust picked up by live rounds. She turned around to see Thalen pointing his hand cannon at her. She completely forgot about his 'pride n'joy'. "I win, princess." He sneered, spinning the sidearm on his finger before sliding it back into his holster. "I told you a swordsman ain't no match for a bastard with a clear shot."

“Woohoo! Yeah! Way to go Thalen!” Coroh cheered and clapped once it was perfectly clear victory of this duel was going to him. Mizuna on the other hand, who was here purely to ensure no one got seriously hurt, finally let out a breath she had been holding for what felt like forever.

Era rubbed dirt from her face as she sat upright, wallowing in her crushing defeat; eight moons of training under Hadriel and she still couldn’t defeat some drunkard with a spare pistol. “You cheated...”

"Cheated? Heh heh heh..." Thalen repeated, chuckling. "You think honor'll protect you when the chips are down? It won't. How did facin' your foes head on go back in Mor Dhona again? You got shot to hell, aye?"

“A real swordsman wouldn’t be beaten so easily…”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, Era.” He offered his hand to help her to her feet, his eyes still dilated with attentive excitement. “How’d you think Garlemald conquered Doma and wiped out most of them swordmasters in the first place? With bullets, that’s how. Lots n’lots a bullets.”

She was reluctant to accept his offered hand, but she didn’t want to look like a sore loser; she was definitely sore though. “Hadriel can deflect bullets… I’m sure he can.”

“Aye, I’m sure he can too.” Thalen saw the frown on her lips and heard the subtle pout in her voice -- he felt good about today despite his crippling thirst, as it was always a treat to knock a blademonger down a peg or two. A grunt and a heave later and Era was back on her feet. “But that takes a lotta focus n’strain on the body to move that fast. Even the greatest Samurai can only move so fast for so long. They’ll run outta stamina long before I run outta ammunition, I can assure you of that.”

She dusted off her backside and nodded -- she couldn’t argue with that logic. “You think you can take on Hadriel with that peashooter?” Almost immediately he threw his head back and laughed in an exaggerated fashion.

“Of course I could!” Thalen chortled, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. “And for the record… this is a ceruleum powered magitech mini railgun revolver. I could blow a squirrel’s brains out from twelve-hundred yalms with a clean shot, and at max power I could punch a hole as large as a hrothgar’s head in Garlean black steel. Course… the knockback would shatter my arm. But that’s besides the point! It’s deadly accurate and packs a wallop!”

“All that jargon is worthless against a katana wielded by a real master.” Era yawned, plucking her sword. “If you fought Hadriel, you’d be dead before you could draw your pistol…”

“Say it with me: railgun revolver.” Thalen turned to wave at Mizuna and Coroh, who were at a healthy distance. “Sure, if’n he could get me within swingin’ distance of that blade I’d be minced meat. But gunslingers like me fight at a distance, lass. And I’d be able to know where he’s at long before he can get near me.”

Coroh ran up first, still excited at that display of marksmanship. “Wow! That was really, really cool…! Can you teach me how to shoot like that?”

“Baby steps, darlin’.” He smiled, ruffling her hair. “Learn the bow n’I’ll teach you how to shoot a sidearm, aye. Plenty of folks at the estate are handy with precision guns too, so you’ll never be short a teacher.” He gestured to Era before grinning wickedly. “But show’s over. Let’s go ahead n’get outta here. I got jobs to do, gil to make, n’a thirst to quench.”

“Why don’t you take Coco along with you, S’era?” Mizuna chimed in, casually approaching the group with her hands deep in her lab coat pockets. “I need to speak with K’thalen alone.” Thalen and Era exchanged looks before the Samurai tentatively nodded, gesturing for the gushing Miqo’te girl to follow her to her chocobo Kwehzimoto.

With a lift and a plop, Coroh was in the saddle with the reins in her hands before Era climbed up to sit behind her. “Goodbyyyeee!” Coroh hollered, waving at them both as the two girls took off toward Ul’dah in a cloud of dust.

Mizuna watched them disappear along the horizon, waiting for them to be long gone before she turned to look up at him. “You can see aether.”

“Eh?” Thalen snorted, crossing his arms. “What’s this now?”

“You knew Ms. Rarku was hiding in those bushes. You knew where she would reappear when she vanished in that puff of smoke, and you dodged all of her swings perfectly.” Mizuna dressed him down with her gaze. “Half of those dodges happened when you weren’t even looking at her.”

“That’s just instinct, Doc.” He waved his hand dismissively, turning to make his way to his fenrir motorcycle. “Been sparrin’ with the hothead for moons now. She’s as predictable as the sunrise.”

Mizuna slowly blinked, before pulling a rubber stress ball from her pocket. She said nothing as she watched him wander away, halfway to his bike, before she lifted her arm and chucked it as hard as she could at him; Thalen ducked as soon as it was released from her hand, letting it soar clean over his head to bounce off into the dust and haze of the desert wastes. “I’ve made no indication I would do that. How can you call that instinct?”

He dusted off his hat before sliding it back onto his head. “Pfeh… I never let my guard down ‘round women, that’s why.”

“You can see aether. The only reason you dodged that ball is because it was in my pocket for bells. My aether had rubbed off on it, and you felt it leave my hand.” Mizuna took long strides to reach his side again. “I’ll need to run more tests to be sure you can help me with my problem…”

“A problem?” Never before had Thalen been so confused, and that’s saying something. “What kinda problem?”

“It’s confidential.” Mizuna tucked her hands back into her pockets and quickly changed the subject. “I also wanted to talk to you about your… addiction. If you have a moment to talk with me?”

“Doc, you ain’t comin’ on to me, are you?” He furrowed his brow and straightened his back. “Cause I got this rule where I nev-”

“I’m not hitting on you.” Her tone was curt and annoyed. “I’m referring to your drinking problem.”

Thalen relaxed a bit, his hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “I ain’t got no drinkin’ problem. Can’t a man enjoy a drink or two at his leisure?”

“If it was just ‘a drink or two’ we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Mizuna eyed him up and down before continuing. “You’re a grown man. I can’t force you to change your ways… I don’t know why you drink exactly, but I know you don’t drink because you like to have fun. You’re killing yourself trying to escape something… or someone. But you can’t run from whatever is haunting you forever, K’thalen. Trust me… I’ve seen what trying to drown your sorrows in alcohol can do to a man.”

Thalen wasn’t in the mood for another addiction lecture. He’s suffered through interventions before, from ‘friends’ who wouldn’t or couldn’t understand. The fact that this scaled wannabe mother of his could even suggest she has any idea of what it’s like to deal with his inner demons made his tail bristle, his face scrunch up into a snarl, and words laced with poison leap from the back of his throat. “Like who… you’re husband?”

Her faint smile vanished and she slowly blinked at him. The stone mask slipped onto her face as she slowly inhaled, but Thalen knew better than to trust a blank expression. “Yes. Like my husband.”

“Ah…” He sputtered, still more angry and irritable than embarrassed. “Sorry, Doc. I… didn’t mean it.”

“My husband tried to drown himself in liquor trying to forget the agony of losing not one, not two, but all three of our children. He became an angry, violent drunk, and although he never hit me… I could tell he wanted to. Alcohol has that effect on grief. But the pain can never stop until you face it head on.” She slowly inhaled as her gaze drifted to Ul’dah in the distance. “You’re one of the greatest shots I’ve ever seen. Maybe the fastest quickdraw in Eorzea. Alcohol is not your buddy. If you won’t cut back for your sake, think about the people around you who are concerned for your wellbeing. Their lives are affected too.”

Thalen gulped dryly, the familiar stinging thirst stabbing him in the back of the throat. Mizuna brushed past him and sat down on the backseat of the motorcycle, with the slightest scowl on her face.

“Take me home.”

---

Mentions: @hadriel-ffxiv

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theundercovermarvelfan · 4 years

Text

Whumptober 2020 - Day 27

Whumtober Challenge @whumptober2020

Day 27 Ok, Who Had Natural Disasters On Their 2020 Bingo Card? Earthquake | Extreme Weather | Power Outage

The rain came down in torrential sheets. Lightning pierced the sky about once per minute, while thunder rolled through with almost a palpable force. The wind whipped around at a staggering force, already picking up debris.

“I think it’s about time to get the hell out of here,” Clint announced over the comms.

The five Earthbound Avengers were scattered throughout the area. Bruce had remained behind in the Quinjet, Natasha and Steve had infiltrated the compound and taken out their target, Clint had been posted in a tree on a hill to provide sniper support and Tony was flying overhead for aerial support.

And then the storm had rolled in.

Clint had eyed the dark clouds warily during the mission. He didn’t like the way that they look or how quickly they had been moving. He had Bruce check the weather radar from the jet, and he had reported that a storm was indeed heading their way, but there weren’t any significant warnings associated with it. But Clint couldn’t shake the ominous feeling in his gut. After all, he had grown up in Iowa, affectionately nicknamed Tornado Alley. He had learned early only to have a healthy vigilance when it came to thunderstorms.

“The storm’s coming at me from the other side of the Quinjet,” Tony said, tension lacing his tone. “I’m not going to be able to fly toward it, I’m gonna have to land and hoof it in.”

“Yeah, you’re going to want to get your ass out of the sky and ditch the metal suit before you get fried, Stark,” Clint said as he was climbing down out of the tree he had been perched in, blinking rain water out of his eyes.

The blur of red streaked out of the sky and landed heavily not far from Clint.

“Natasha and I are heading back to the jet to regroup with Bruce,” Steve said.

“You might want to have a more stable option ready, Cap,” Clint said as he squinted at the sky, noting how the lightning was flashing much more frequently than it was just a minute ago. The storm was progressing really quickly. “Bruce, any weather alerts?”

“A tornado watch was just issued for the area just a few minutes ago,” Bruce reported.

“I always forget, which is worse, the watch or the warning?” Tony asked, his tone unusually tense.

“Warning is worse,” Clint said -- vaguely aware of how he had to talk louder in order to be heard over the roaring wind -- as he started to hurry in the direction that Tony had landed. “We’re still in the ‘could happen’ territory and haven’t crossed into the ‘probably will happen’ arena. You get rid of that armor, Stark?”

“Yeah, the armor’s on an autopilot retreat,” Tony said. There was a bright flash that emanated from Tony’s location, causing Clint to skid to a halt for a moment. “And I’m very glad I’m not getting cooked in it right now.”

Clint started moving again, hurrying until he managed to spot Tony, who was heading toward Clint.

“We need to get to lower ground,” Clint said quickly, motioning Tony to follow him down the steeper side of the hill.

“The jet is that way,” Tony said, pointing in the opposite direction.

“The jet isn’t going to be any use if a tornado comes through and throws it like a ragdoll,” Clint said, quickly crossing the distance between them and grabbing Tony by the arm. “Right now, we need low ground.”

“But, Bruce said it was only a watch--”

“Clint, Tony, we’re back at the jet with Bruce and the tornado watch just got bumped up to a tornado warning,” Steve suddenly snapped over the line.

“Get out of the jet,” Clint ordered, tugging Tony after him as they headed down the hill, Tony now hurrying along and falling into step beside him.

“We’re out and looking for a safe place to hunker down,” Natasha assured him. “You and Stark need to do the same.”

“Working on it,” Clint confirmed.

The ground under their feet was losing it’s stability by the moment with the torrential downpour and they were half running, half sliding down it in their haste. Clint’s gaze darted around as they ran, looking for something -- anything -- that they could use for shelter. The lightning was now flashing nonstop, the thunder a continuous roar that vibrated down to Clint’s bones. There was also something else behind the drone, something higher pitch that sounded like…

A freight train.

“Go, go, go!” Clint shouted as he shoved Tony in front of him and toward a small rock outcropping he had just spotted. It was too small for both of them, but anything was better than nothing at this point. “Cover your head,” Clint yelled as Tony wedged into the outcropping, Clint wedging in as close behind him as possible.

Just in time for the world to be torn apart.

Clint squeezed his eyes shut and threw his hands over his head. And then all that they could do was huddle there and pray that the incoming tornado decided to spare them. Clint could feel debris striking his exposed back, some small impacts and others large enough to send jolts of pain through him. The wind was now a defining roar, drowning out even his voice to his own ears as he tried to yell at Tony to keep still when he felt him shifting -- later finding out he had just realized that Clint was still exposed and was trying to make more room for him.

Then, it was as if he had been grabbed around the middle and ripped him violently out of the outcropping, flying through the air for a brief few months before everything suddenly went black.

XxXxX

“Clint! Clint! Where are you!?”

“Clint! Can you hear us!”

“Clint!”

“Clint… Over here! I found him!”

Clint blinked blearily as a flurry of voices slowly made their way into his consciousness. Brown, green and red blurs drifted around him dizzyingly. His whole body ached with pain, and there was a strange sensation of something falling on him. Water?

“Clint? Can you hear me? Please?”

At the sound of Natasha’s voice, Clint’s head instinctively shifted in that direction. A gentle hand put pressure on his shoulder, another hand carefully weaving into his hair. Slowly, the world began to return to focus.

“Nat?” Clint rasped.

The relief that washed over Natasha’s face was enough to knock her back on her heels. “He’s alive!” she called over her shoulder. “Bring the Quinjet around!”

“Wha’...?” Clint murmured, still not understanding what was going on.

“You got your ass kicked by a tornado, Feathers.”

Clint’s eyes wandered up at the sound of a new voice. Tony. And then it all came rushing back to him so suddenly that it took his breath away. Clint eyed Tony critically. He had some visible cuts and bruises and he looked terribly disheveled, but he was still in one piece.

“You’re going to be okay,” Natasha assured him. “I don’t see anything too serious here. You must not have gotten pulled into the tornado, just thrown by some of the outer winds.”

“Is tha’ all?” Clint said as he huffed something between a laugh and a cough.

“Steve and Bruce are on their way with the jet,” Natasha said. “They’ll be here in a minute and then we’ll get you all nice and put back together. Okay?”

“Sounds good,” Clint sighed.

It was yet another reminder that no matter what evil the Avengers were fighting… Mother Nature was going to do whatever the hell she wanted.

#whumptober2020 #no.27 #ok who had natural disasters on their 2020 bingo card?#extreme weather #Avengers #MCU #fic #tornado tw #clint barton #hawkeye #tony stark #Iron Man #Steve Rogers #captain america #natasha romanoff #Black Widow #bruce banner #fanfiction #whump

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voidcat · 4 years

Text

– Fresh Start p.2 / Pestering

Fandom: Haikyuu!!

Genre: fluff

Word Count: 1.1k

Characters: Hinata Shoyo, you

Summary: Ever since your confrontation with Hinata, his words don’t leave you alone. And him pestering you for not playing from time to time at the most unexpected moments doesn’t help either.

first part

Ever since that day something changed within you. Your view towards anything you do was improved by hundred. And it was all thanks to the one and only Hinata Shoyo.

This also meant that you’ve started to tag along with him to practice, been to some of his matches and helped Yachi around. Seeing them all play with such compassion and meaning was like entering a brand new world. Your hands would itch with the need to grab a ball yourself and play. Sometimes the ball would go to your direction during a practice match and it’d take everything in you to stop yourself from running there and receive it.

The team seemed to be aware of that too, they would offer to play with you sometimes before cooling down or ask you to throw the ball at Kageyama so he could set. It was nice to be able to hit the ball with your fingers, to receive once in a while and to run around, sure, but watching them play at their full performance... Now that was something entirely different and more thrilling.

Your teacher had just handed out your examined assignments, your grades written over the paper. You weren’t sure what to feel. You had passed and the grade wasn’t so low, but it wasn’t exactly high enough for your and your parent’s tastes either. Beginning your day with such happiness, its source unknown to you; only for it to get buried with a snap, just like that.

Hinata noticed the drastic change in your mood so first thing he did at break was to approach your desk. “Do you know what I do whenever I’m down?” You just looked at him, signaling him to proceed. “I close my eyes and try to remember one of the spikes I’d done with my eyes open. I can see the surprise and distress in the rival team’s faces again, hear how the ball goes through the hair like ‘Wooosh!’ and hits the ground with such force.”

I guess it makes sense, you think, to remember one of your happier moments for a cheer-up. But then Hinata continues: “Oh, right. Sorry I forgot, you can’t do spikes. I guess this wasn’t the best idea to give.” The wide grin on his face tells enough that he’s joking and knowing him long enough, you don’t need to see his face to know that he’s joking. Yet you won’t get let the little shrimp get away with calling you out in such a way and so you don’t speak to him until the next day. It is one of the longest days he has, trying as many ways as he can to make it up to you and to apologize. Needless to say, seeing him so miserable is a delight to Tsukki and he even pays for your meatbun after the practice.

Oh how naive of you to think that would be the only time. You realize what a powerful card you’ve granted Hinata with your shameful, in his eyes at least, history of volleyball. Having the upperhand at one thing against you is such a joyful thing, one he doesn’t use often, to keep the dramatic effect from wearing off.

You two are just walking one day, still trying to decide how to spend the day. As you keep talking and defending why going to a cafe is better than seeing a movie for that day, you trip your feet over one of the tiles. You regain your posture before you can fall, with the help of Hinata grabbing your right arm. That’s when he drops the bomb: “Maybe your walking would be more balanced and your steps more solid on he ground if you were still playing.” You just stare at him, your mouth hanging open for a full minute.

It doesn’t end with that of course. Whenever Shoyo gets a chance, he strikes. You make him pay afterwards and he seems so regretful but it doesn’t matter the next time arise.

You could be going through old photos and feeling sad that you don’t have the same muscle tissue you once had 2 years ago and he replies: “Well if you eat all these carbs and chocolate and don’t do any exercise or a sport, like volleyball; it’s only expected not to have as much muscle in your body.” At that you hit his head with the photo album, a little smile on your lips. Because somehow his stupid remarks always manage to make you smile, or make you laugh. Hence the turning your head away and refusing to look at him or hitting him, so he won’t see how he succeeds with his words.

It has been a short while since your exams and the teachers are announcing your grades. This time it’s more dreadful than usual. Your motivation had been lacking lately and being lost at what you want in life, you weren’t prepared enough. Some of the grades are as bad as you feared expected them to be. You try to keep your mind clear of negative thoughts but the situation at hand makes this difficult. And as always Shoyo senses your worries and is right besides you to comfort. “Do not feel bad for what’s in front of you right now but keep planning for what is to come. It’s just like... When you’re in a match and the opponent blockers are so tall and strong. They keep blocking you and you are at a loss for any trick to use against them, feeling more helpless than ever. Then at one point, time seems to slow down, you can see them as clear as day, the ground behind them is inviting as ever, you can spot all the empty and defenseless areas. And as time keeps on hold, waiting, you aim and hit the ball to the space between their limbs. The victory that spike gives is the most successful you can ever feel, you know. It brings hope to you and your team, getting you hyped up to do it again.” His voice softens as he tells all these, probably from memory. His eyes are filled with a burning fire of hope and ‘you can do it’.

And then he says the dreaded words, hitting his forehead with the palm of his head: “Ah, why am I even telling all these things to you when it’s clear how meaningless they must sound? After all, you didn’t even spike properly, let alone against blockers.”

Before he can do one of his trademark grins that always follow these remarks or even process what is happening, you get up from your seat like lightning bolt. Grabbing your bag with one hand and Shoyo’s with the other, just like he did all these months ago, you drag him out of the classroom.

“W-wait! Where are you taking me??” You can hear the worry in his highpitched voice. You can’t help but roll your eyes at that, your lips curving into a smirk.

“To the gym, dumbass. You’re gonna show me how to spike.”

#haikyuu #haikyuu fanfiction #hinata shoyo #reader #reader insert #hinata x reader #picking up fights #friendly banter #continuation #fanfiction #hinata fanfiction #i may change the title #pestering doesnt sit right #crossposted on ao3 #established friendship #friendship #haikyuu!!

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sharpandpointysonic · 4 years

Note

[ sacrifice ] for your muse to get hurt protecting mine

Word Prompts - Accepting

@familylightfox

[ sacrifice ] for your muse to get hurt protecting mine

Sonic knew that sting along his back. Shit. Why did this have to be happening? Seriously. All they had been trying to do was explore, enjoy the autumn atmosphere. Volt and himself never could have expected to stumble into this group of old robots, all of which seemed to be shut down at first, but quickly activated as soon as they detected movement. And by then the two were surrounded. It was as if it was some old trap left by Robotnik and forgotten. Just their luck, huh?

The blue hedgehog had done his best to be careful, but all his quick movements, twists, and jumps, were already enough to have his back throbbing. Then...getting smacked into a tree had sealed the deal. Over all he wasn’t that hurt, but the pain was excruciating, enough to make him dizzy and disoriented. Moving more only made it worse. Still, he tried, one hand grasping at the tree to try to right himself, but as he opened his eyes he saw the robot that had hit him was already poised to do so again, metallic claws glinting in the low sunlight.

Before Sonic could even attempt to dodge there was a flurry of purple and orange, he felt himself being lifted and moved. Felt Volt jerk and stumble as he carried Sonic, heard the hybrid try to bite back a pained cry. Concern spiked, even though the haze of his disoriented state, Sonic was certain that robot had hit Voltage instead. “Volt-”

In seconds Sonic was set down again, only for Volt to run back toward the remaining metal nightmares. “Volt!!” Sonic yelled after him, struggling to his feet, but had to shield his eyes as a bright flash of purple and the cracking of lightning filled the area. He was at a safe enough distance, Volt had made sure of that. The robots, of course, were not so lucky. They were successfully fried, parts falling off of them as they sparked, some even exploding. The hybrid fell to his knees amidst the destruction.

“VOLTAGE!!”

Another scream as Sonic was finally able to run to his friend, not even feeling the searing pain in his back anymore. He skidded to a stop and scrambled to get in front of his friend, catching him by the shoulders just before he would have fallen into the dirt. His heart was pounding in his ears as he tried to look Volt over, breath panicked. “Volt! Volt, are you okay?? Chaos-” Green eyes widened as they fell upon the two parallel, deep, gashes in his friend’s left side, fear striking through him. He knew Volt had advanced healing abilities, but that didn’t stop his panic. That didn’t stop him from worrying about his friend bleeding out, or how much pain he had to be in. Especially with how much energy Volt just used. “Fuck-”

Sonic shifted the hybrid, now cradling him in his lap while holding him up with one arm, the other being used to press into the bleeding wounds. He was frantic to get some response from his friend, looking at his face with tears stinging his eyes, and while Volt didn’t seem to be entirely unconscious, he was out of it. “You- you’re gonna be okay, Volt, I’ve got you, I- I’m gonna- I’m gonna get help, just- just hold on, stay with me okay? Look at me-” Sonic nudged at Volt’s face with his muzzle, desperately trying to keep his focus. The blue hedgehog was shaking, chest so tight he almost couldn’t breathe. This was his fault. Volt got hurt protecting him, he should have been more careful, faster. A strained whine escaped his throat as he held his friend tighter, tears finally spilling over.

#ask meme #Sonic Replies #drabbles #((well... that got away from me lmao ))#(( Even if this isn't as serious as Sonic is making it out to be..))#((his mind would absolutely make him panic and exaggerate reality like this))#(( thanks Infinite ))#familylightfox #blood #injury

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razorblade180 · 5 years

Text

Stormy Day

[A Cave]

It’s pouring down rain with thunder raging and lightning dancing across the sky. The Lasting Embers huntsman wait patiently for it to calm down.

Nora:Wow it’s really pouring down out there.

Ruby:You seem happy about it.

Nora:Tenzen and I always watched big storms like this together; even trained in them. *smiles* he’d always push himself to the absolute limit to the point I seemed like the calm one. “The son of the Lightning Empress should command it just as well!” That was always the excuse.

Yang:*smiles* You think if it’s storming back home he’s pushing in limits?

Nora:Oh most definitely. I’m not worried though. I left very specific instructions for stormy days.

Yang:He’ll follow them?

Nora:They weren’t for him.....

[Vale Forest]

The woods are almost flooded with the dirt turned to mud. Tenzen stands in a slightly open area drenched from head to toe in nothing but his track pants. Both arms are a little covered in smoke and red. From a distance Yujin watches her friend as he breathes raggedly. Clearly, things are getting out of hand.

Tenzen:*huff* I know you’re there Jin.....what happened to the training rule?

Yujin:I know what I said but you haven’t come home in hours so.....kinda twisting my arm here. *looks at his arm*

Tenzen:*slightly trembling* I’m fine, go back before you get sick or zapped.

Yujin:Trust me, I’m very warm and the trees should get hit before us. Unless you’re some kind of lightning rod or-

Tenzen:..........

Yujin:Oh my gods you’re attracting lightning to you!? Are you insane!!!?

Tenzen:Possibly, only way to get used to higher voltage for longer periods of time. I....I can take it.

Yujin:Do I have to remind you that there’s a difference between elemental resistance and proof? Just like I can only take so much fire, at some point your body can only handle so much voltage. Trying this is crazy!

Tenzen:But I have to try it regardless! *claps hands together*

His aura surges as he activated his semblance. A giant yellow bolt of lightning strikes down at him hard and changes to the color of his aura. Both of his hands start getting redder as he focuses all the energy towards them. Wind and rain around the immediate area sizzles from the power.

Tenzen:(That’s it....no just keep the intensity.... controlled.)

Yujin:*lilac eyes* (I thought I was intense...) at this rate you’re doing more harm than good! Take it slow and-

Tenzen:I CAN’T!!!!

Yujin:......

Tenzen:If I was any weaker than what I was during the attack then people would’ve died. My mom would’ve died! I can’t afford to be barely good enough. I need to be stronger if I wanna protect people; if I want to keep you safe.

Those words caught her off gaurd. Since when did his dream of being there to save the day start to sound like a burden? Sure his heart was in the right place but Yujin wasn’t used to this serious side of Tenzen. By know means did she hate it but his cheerful attitude is what made him different; no, better than her in Yujin’s eyes. Seeing it leave was a bit saddening to say the least. Even so, she didn’t leave or even looked upset. Instead of those things it was time to break out the instructions Nora gave her. They were super simple and apparently full proof; she walked closer.

Tenzen:What are you doing!?

Yujin:Making my best friend think for a second. I’m not moving from this spot. Not even if I guy struck by lightning, so you either make sure you can control it or stop all together.

*lightning strikes three feet away*

Yujin:*internal panic* I guess I might figure out how durable I am today.

Tenzen:Jin this isn’t something to play around with.

Yujin:*raises bracelet in the air*.....

Tenzen:Yujin!!!!!!!

Yujin:......Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. We’re friends right? I’m not gonna have you face anything alone if I can help it. Last time I checked the two of us are Sparks and Embers; only right we stick together. *smiles* That means we both take stupid risks.

Tenzen:.......*powers down*

Tenzen:Sparks and Embers is a really lame name you know? *smirking*

Yujin:Says the guy that has his stage name be two letters of his name. *bracelet sparking* I like to think the name is-*pushed*

•

Yang:You told my daughter to try to get zapped!?

Nora:It’s fine....

Yang:What!? How can you be sure?

Nora:I know my baby and he’ll never put her in needless danger. Plus I don’t think he’s realized it yet.

Yang:Realized what.....?

•

As she flew back she witnessed a bolt of lightning come down right where she was standing; where Tenzen is currently standing. Before Yujin could even scream she was left speechless as he held out his left arm and countered it with his own lightning strike. It was almost like his cut right up the middle and back into the sky. Tenzen quickly ran over to pick her up into a bridal carry.

Tenzen:Are you okay!?!?!?

Yujin:*blushing*That was.....totally badass. Like holy crap you just.....yes.

Tenzen:*shaking his head* Most people would be scared out their mind right now.

Yujin:Guess I’m not most people.

Tenzen:Tell me something I don’t know. Let’s go home.

Yujin:About time, I’m drenched.

Tenzen:*snickers*

Yujin:Get your head out the gutter!

Tenzen:You said it, not me. *starts running*

“He’s already dethroned me”

#rwby #ruby rose #yujin xiao long #yang xiao long #nora valkyrie #rwby lasting embers #sunflowyr 2.0

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jane-fucking-seymour · 5 years

Text

Deal with the Devil, Part 3

The final part of the main story, but there’s a few more fics upcoming. More on that later.

AO3 Link Right Here!

Maria, Joan, and Bessie have no idea what Maggie’s doing in the kitchen.

With the secret out, Maggie had become more overt with her potions preparations, which actually seemed to make her happier than ever. All of the burners on the stove were active, boiling a few multi-colored concoctions that Maggie refused to say its contents - “It’s a secret! And by secret, I mean you probably don’t want to know because you might have to drink it later, ha” - and various different types of vials are laid out on the counter.

“So all of this will help us defeat Henry?” Maria asks, raising an eyebrow as she copies down another symbol on to the paper she was writing on. For preparations, Maggie led the Ladies in Waiting in sigil making and helping her create potions while the queens talked strategy.

“Sigils can do a lot of things,” Maggie explained with a smile. “They can banish, cleanse, corrupt, empower, contain... a few other things. They’re also called seals for a reason.” she holds up one of Maria’s finished sigils. “This will help us contain, banish and cleanse the darkness.”

“And you said we just... throw it... onto Cathy or Jane when we see them?” Bessie asks, raising an eyebrow.

“No, we’ll need to find their weak point, but that’s on me and my preparations after this. We don’t have time to attune everyone to magicks, so that’ll be on me and Anne.” Maggie looks over at Joan’s sigil and quickly corrects a line before going back to her potions. “For the most part, we just need you all there for when Jane and Cathy are back. We need you all to get them back to safety so we can take on Henry and save Katherine.”

“Makes sense to me,” Maria says with a shrug. “What other stuff can we do? And after this is over, are you gonna teach us more of this?”

Maggie absolutely is excited at the question.

“Do you... do you want to learn?!? Oh, I’d love that! It’s been ages since I’ve had a proper pupil- here, we can start now! Did you know that a lot of potions can be made into teas? Like gingeroot and lemon can combine with...”

She goes on and on and on, and Catherine can’t help but smile at the girl’s enthusiasm. She can see Anne out of the corner of her eye smiling at her lady in waiting as well.

“She really loves this stuff, she’s been dying to share it with the other ladies for ages,” Anne says with a smile. “With her as their teacher, they could probably learn advanced potions and sigils in no time flat.”

Anna chuckles at that. “Glad someone’s having fun,” she says, though she looks back at Anne. “But we should get back to business.”

Anne sighs and nods.

“Of course. But I’m afraid a lot of your jobs will be to recover the lost. The rest I’ll try to use my Radiant energy for.”

“Radiant?” Catherine asks, raising an eyebrow.

“There’s a certain type of light-based magick that I’ve learned,” Anne replies. “I think that’s our best bet to repel the darkness.” She looks over at Aragon, giving her a gentle smile. “If it helps, Aragon... the magicks are called Blessed Magicks. They’re given by the goddess.”

Aragon frowns. “Goddess?”

Anne nods. “And only people who have the purest of intentions and want to help can even conjure it up. If you don’t have the purest of intentions at heart, it will burn you instead- or worse, abandon you altogether.”

Aragon is listening very closely.

Anne continues.

“Way back when - farther back than our previous life - there were warriors who wielded the light against the darkness. They were called the Blessed. Nowadays, though, that magick is available to everyone.”

Aragon nods.

“I promise,” Anne says gently, putting a hand on Aragon’s shoulder. “It’ll save us. I know it.”

A beat.

“... and if it doesn’t, well, that’s what the sigils are for. Could just do it the old-fashioned way, get him to hit into a sigil and trap him in a pocket universe, but that seems far less likely.”

“Why is it less likely?” Anna asks.

“Because there’s no way I can do that alone. I’d need someone else to help with the setting that up when Henry is around and I...” she sighs. “The plan is for you lot to never have to worry about Henry at all. You save the three queens, I take care of him.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Catherine asks, tilting her head.

“It is, but this is my fight. He became far more aggressive when he learned I was a witch.” she sighs. “This is my responsibility.”

“But we’re Six,” Anna presses, not caring how cliche it sounds. “We do this together, or not at all.”

“We’ll be together,” Anne replies, “but have different roles. If things go well, you lot will be safe and sound by the time I hit Henry and, possibly, Katherine. Actually, definitely Katherine, now that I’m thinking about it. He’ll likely keep her close.”

Catherine looks warily at Anne’s hands. “And you can control that, right? So it doesn’t hurt anyone else?”

Anne raises an eyebrow. “I’ve had decades of practice-”

“But you said it yourself, you didn’t use your powers a lot,” Catherine replies. “How can we be sure?”

Anne sighs.

“Do you trust me, Catherine of Aragon?”

She wants to say something, she really does, but Catherine of Aragon doesn’t really know what to do. So, she simply nods again.

“I trust you, Anne,” she says softly. “It’s just... it’s a lot to put my head around.”

“I know,” Anne replies sympathetically. “But we’ll get through this, and hopefully I’ll never have to really use these blasted magicks ever again.” A pause before she smirks. “At least, not the combat magicks. Anna already asked if I could make her taller so she could mess with Parr.”

Aragon chuckles, rolling her eyes at that, before she settles. “We’ll follow your lead, then,” Aragon decides. “Whatever you need-”

She’s cut off, though, by a tight hug from Anne.

“Thank you,” Anne says.

Aragon hugs back.

A moment later, the ladies in waiting arrive.

“We’re ready... just, uh, someone’s gonna have a really bad time doing dishes later, sorry,” Maggie says slightly apologetically.

“Alright, ladies, get ready. We’re headed to the Tower for the livestream, then we’re disrupting the livestream, then we’re taking down a champion of a god.” Anne smirks at the rest of them.

“Sound like a plan?”

The others nod in agreement.

A few hours later, they’re exactly where they need to be.

Catherine of Aragon walks around the tower, towards the area where this so-called “big announcement” was supposed to be taking place. It’s the exact place where the stage was when Anne was executed, she notes, and she can’t help but notice Anne tensing when she realizes it.

“The idiot’s got a flare for the dramatics still, I’ll give him that,” Anne mumbles. She looks at the screens that are on either side of the stage. “That’ll probably go live when the stream goes live. Anything yet, Joan?”

Joan shakes her head. “Nothing.”

“Alright.” Anne nods, moving towards the back. They’re now hidding in a corridor in the outer wall, away from the majority of prying eyes; based on what Anne’s seen, they should be safe here. “Maggie, can you set it up-?”

Just as she starts that, however, the screens flicker on.

Joan’s eyes go wide as the livestream starts on her phone. “It’s starting!”

They all look towards the stage.

Katherine is standing there, looking completely ill. She’s shaking as she stands, eyes glassed over.

Anne glares before she simply stands up.

“Alright. That’s it. Maggie, we’re going with your plan.”

“Really?!?” she says, perking up considerably. “Oh, okay!”

She suddenly rushes away from the Ladies in Waiting, digging into her bag as she does so. Maggie takes out a piece of chalk and writes on the ground, adding a few symbols and the like to a circle she’s created.

A sigil, Maria realizes. She’s making a sigil.

When she’s done, Maggie steps back to admire her handiwork for a moment, then she adds a few things to the outside of the circle - offerings of lavender, sage, a candle, something Maria doesn’t recognize - before she steps back completely.

“Whatever you’re doing, do it quick,” Maria says, looking up. “They’re about to start.”

Anne nods, stepping inside the circle without delay. She extends her hands, closing her eyes before she starts writing in the air; once again, blue magicks trail from her fingertips, forming multiple shapes in the air, until she jabs her hand through the writing.

It somehow sparks an electric current to run through her arms. With a grimace, Anne steadies herself before she quickly shoots a bolt of lightning into the air, hand remaining raised to the sky.

At first, nothing happens.

But then, quickly, the sky clouds up.

Anne, with a smirk, brings her hand down.

The heavens open and it starts to downpour, lightning striking all around the area. Katherine’s eyes slowly close and she falls backwards, landing unceremoniously onto the ground. She disappears into shadows as the rest of the crowd scatters in panic.

The feed is cut.

Henry collects Katherine, just in time to spot Anne from the crowd.

He, Jane and Cathy leave, Howard in tow.

Anne smirks.

“Let’s go.”

They move together.

Anne and Maggie are rushing forward, Anne still have lightning crackling around her arms. Joan and Maria are second up, then Anna and Catherine, then Bessie. They enter the Tower of London in all the chaos. They all look around, trying to find any indication that Katherine was nearby, but the hallways are empty.

“How do we even know if they’re here?” Maria asks, walking a bit farther than the others down the hall.

“They have to be, he wouldn’t dare leave them on their own,” Anne presses. She is about to turn to the others until she spots someone approaching Maria.

“Maria!” Catherine yells, quick to move forward, but it’s too late.

Maria yelps as she is suddenly grabbed, a blade held to her throat.

Maria tries to struggle, but her attacker holds firm. Catherine’s eyes widen.

“Cathy?”

Sure enough, Catherine Parr was standing behind Maria. The girl was shaking, eyes fully black as she pulls Maria with her down the hall.

“If you want her alive,” Parr growls out, “you’ll stay out of our way.” She glares at Anne. “You especially, witch.”

Anne narrows her eyes.

“Maggie, be ready.”

“Of course,” Maggie replies, moving behind Joan as she rustles about in her bag. “Be safe.”

Anne closes her eyes for a moment, channeling her energy...

... and then suddenly, Maria is on the floor next to Catherine of Aragon and both Parr and Anne are locked in close combat.

Parr snarls at Anne, narrowing her eyes as the tendrils of darkness that are coming from her try to thrash out. Anne winces as one hits her cheek, but she keeps going, keeps fighting.

“Catherine!” Aragon yells, “Please!”

Parr throws Anne off of her and snarls again, this time getting down on all fours before she propels herself towards her godmother, attempting to take the fight to the non-magickal one, but again, Anne manages to counter with lightning-fast speeds.

“Damn you!” Cathy yelled, quick to turn back to Anne.

Anne holds her own.

“Do you see where, Maggie?” Anne asks as she continues to fight the girl in front of her. “Come on, Cathy, need you awake now-”

“The back of her head! It’s right there!” Maggie says, quick to pull out two potions. One, she passes to Maria to drink. The other, she throws directly at the ground in front of Anne and Cathy.

Cathy yelps and stumbles backwards, trying not to get hit by the bottle, which makes her completely caught off guard for Maggie to rush forward and put some sort of paper on the back of her head. Parr yelps, then gasps, then slowly sinks to the floor as the darkness leaves her.

“Cathy?” Catherine asks, quick to grab the girl. “Catherine?”

“She’ll be okay in a moment,” Anne promises. “It needs some time to settle.” She looks over at the others. “Maria, Catherine, and Bessie, stay here. Anna, Maggie, Joan, and I will go take the fight to Seymour.”

“Are we safe here?” Maria asks, having drank the potion. She seems better already. “Are you honestly sure?”

“If you head outside - where there’s natural sunlight - you’ll be okay,” Maggie says. “IT can’t get to you or Parr there.”

Catherine of Aragon nods. “We’ll head outside, but girls...” she looks directly at Anne for this. “Be safe.”

Anne keeps her gaze for a moment before she nods, moving away.

They rush into the hallways that seem to twist and turn and take forever to go down.

“This isn’t normal,” Anna observes.

Joan nods. “This place wasn’t nearly as big.”

“It’s the magicks,” Maggie says with a sigh. “He’s bewitched this place. We may not even technically be in the Tower anymore, just connected to it through different universes.”

Anne shakes her head with a sigh before she suddenly stops. She smirks.

“Finally, it’s about damned time you showed yourself.”

Darkness starts to form around the women, creating a little dome around them.

“Don’t touch the dark,” Anne says, getting into a ready stance. She holds up a flame with a smirk. “He got to you a bit more than Cathy, didn’t he, Jane?”

Sure enough, out of the shadows, Jane Seymour makes her grand entrance.

“Parr wasn’t a willing subject,” Jane replies, voice cold as ice; so cold that it made the others shiver.

Anne raised an eyebrow. “And you were?”

“To protect them, yes.”

“Of course. Let’s get this over with, yeah?”

The darkness starts to move in, but Anne is able to fend it off slightly with her flames and light. When Jane extends a hand, the darkness surges, but Anne quickly ignites the flame into Radiant energy - a type of light energy - and it helps fend off the darkness.

Jane tilts her head. “So unwilling to die, eh, Boleyn? I thought you learned the last time-”

“Oh, my god, can you just tell me where the hell her weakspot is, Maggie?” she asks, head tilting back towards the others as she continues to hold the Radiant magic like a shield against Jane’s abilities. “She’s getting real annoying-”

“Got it!”

That’s exactly what Maggie said as she suddenly appeared from behind Jane. Maggie, having drank a potion herself, had faded into the background and snuck up on the third queen, finding the weak spot in order to save her. Jane tried to spin back around to find her, but unfortunately was too slow; instead, Maggie put the seal on Jane’s neck, causing her to collapse and the darkness to subside.

“Guess we dodged a bullet there, eh, Mags?” Anne asks with a smile. “That would have been bad.”

“Well, we’ve got the two down,” Joan says, walking over to kneel next to her mistress. She puts Jane’s head in her lap. “What next?”

“Now, we’ve got the boss battle,” Anne explains. “You lot stay here.”

“What? No!” Maggie yells, eyes wide, but Anne shakes her head.

“You know as well as I do there’s little chance to escape this place alive, let alone in the right dimension, if we’re in the room when Henry falls,” Anne says gently. “I’ll get Katherine out safe. But I can’t risk any of you going with me. And besides, Mags, you’re the only one that knows the way back. You gotta get the others to safety.”

Anne smiles brightly at the scared lady in waiting, kissing her forehead.

“I’ll be fine.”

“No, we’ll be fine.”

Anne looks over to find Anna stepping up to her. “I’m not letting you do this alone, Boleyn. Magick or no magick, you need backup. You’ve been tag-teaming with Maggie here, and without her... this could go really bad. I can get Katherine while you fight him, and we can end his tirade.”

Anne considers it.

“You... you may not be able to come back. I might be able to only pick one of us. This could be a death mission.”

“But would it or would it not increase Katherine’s chances of surviving?”

“It would.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

Anne sighs but nods, looking back at Maggie. “I trust you and Joan are able to get out of here. Meet up with the others. Explain what’s happened. And... tell them I’m sorry.”

Anna nods. “We’ll see them soon.”

“Wait!” Maggie says, moving to Anna. She gives her something - a paper? No, Anna realizes, it’s a sigil. “You’ll know when to use it.”

Anna, with a soft nod, smiles. “Make sure everyone’s good, but especially Bessie, alright?”

With that, Anne and Anna rush away, leaving the third queen in the hands of two ladies in waiting.

They get to the top of an impossibly tall staircase just in time to see the door open. It’s quiet up in this tower - wherever they are - and it causes Anne to pause.

“Last chance, Anna,” Anne says. “You can find your way back from here, you still have time-”

“Enough of this,” Anna replies. “We’re going.”

Anne, with a nod, pushes forward.

Katherine Howard was in the center of the room, body levitating in the air. She’s wearing exactly what she wore back then - back when she died. She’s still got that lifeless, mid-panic-attack look on her face, gasping for air as her eyes are blown wide.

To Anna, she’s just floating.

But to Anne, all she can see is a veil of darkness surrounding her cousin.

“Gods protect me,” she mumbles; as close to a prayer as she’ll get.

She walks inside, Anna close behind her. They reach Katherine.

The door closes immediately.

Boleyn expected that.

Darkness pulses towards her but she’s quick to turn and ward herself, protecting herself and Cleves from the attacks. Anne stands in front of Anna and Katherine, defending them as much as she is herself.

When she sees the darkness walking towards her, she cringes; it’s a gelatinous, hideous creature, half-beast and half-man.

“What even is that?” Anna asks, eyes wide.

But Anne already knows.

“You really have gone far deeper than you ever should have, Henry.”

He roars - an unnatural sound, a completely demonic sound - as he grows in size, gelatinous blob that he currently is, and attacks. He swipes at Anne, but she blocks it and Anna dodges. He continues his animalistic rampage, screaming and charging and clawing towards the other two women.

Anne gets a few good hits on him with holy fire, but she fears it won’t be enough.

“Anna, take Katherine when you can!” Anne calls, quick to make sure the girl did what she was told. Unfortunately, it was a moment too late, and now Henry had an opening.

He quickly pounces on top of her, catching her off guard, and she falls to the ground. The darkness surrounds them.

Anne’s eyes go wide and she feebily tries to move, but it’s no use; she’s been bested. She’s lost-

- or, at least, she would have, if Anna of Cleves hadn’t just pummeled the massive black blob with a nearby chair.

With strength Anna didn’t realize she truly had, she whacks the thing off of Anne and sends it sprawling towards the sigil on the wall - the sigil Maggie gave to Anna. As soon as Henry hits it, the sigil activates, a blinding light engulfing the room.

When the light fades, Henry is successfully vanquished.

Anne looks over at Anna, eyes wide.

“That... Anna of Cleves, you legend!”

Anna laughs, offering Anne a hand. “That worked, right?”

“That was brilliant!” Anne says, so incredibly hyped at the turn of events. “You might have just saved us all, babes.”

“Just another Tuesday, I suppose,” Cleves replies with a wink as Anne takes her hand to stand up. “Though I guess saving you lot from a demon rather than Jane’s wrath is a bit more notable.” Anna looks behind Boleyn. “Now I think Kitty needs your help.”

Anne looked over and instantly rushes to the girl; she’s still barely breathing, eyes wide, seemingly frozen in a mid-panic attack scenario. With a gentle prayer, her hands glow and she lays them on Katherine’s forehead.

Color returns to Katherine’s face as she suddenly gasps to life, body spasming as she finally intakes the air needed. Anna is quick to move over to hold onto her oldest friend as Anne works her maigck to heal her up a bit.

“What’s-?” Kat asks; she feels like she’s surfacing after being in water for ages.

“It’s alright, Kit,” Anne says gently. “You’re alright.”

“Mum,” Kat says. “And... oh, god, Anna, I-”

“It’s alright, it wasn’t you,” Anna says gently. “There’s a lot of things to explain. We can do that later. What matters right now is getting everyone back home and safe.”

Katherine looks down at her clothes and frowns. “I’ve... I didn’t change into these.”

“You didn’t, that’s correct,” Anne says, nodding at Anna. Cleves picks the girl up with a smile as Anne continues. “Again, lots to explain. I’ll do that later. For now, Kit, just rest.”

Katherine quickly obliges.

The door they opened to enter the room doesn’t lead to the same winding hallway that was once there; instead, it’s directly outside, right to the others.

Cathy is leaning against Maria’s shoulder as Catherine looks her over. Joan and Maggie, meanwhile, tend to Jane’s scratches.

Bessie had been guarding the door, but sighs in relief when she sees her mistress and the other two queens arrive.

“I take it everything’s been sorted?” Bessie asks.

“As much as it can be,” Anna replies with a nod. “We... kind of don’t know what’s happened, but he’s gone now, banished with that sigil you gave me, Maggie.”

“Oh! That’s my best work yet,” she says with a smile. “He’ll not be back for centuries, and when he does return, I imagine his patron will have a very, very long discussion on him about obliging terms of a contract.”

Katherine looks around and gasps when she sees the state Jane and Cathy are in.

Jane, just barely managing to get up, smiles. “Hello, Kat,” she says quietly, moving over to the girl. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks for saving us, everyone,” Cathy says, not daring to leave her godmother’s grasp. “That darkness... it was so scary.”

“It’s alright now, love,” Catherine says gently. “We’re okay.”

Jane kisses Katherine’s forehead, smiling when Kat smiles back. She looks over at Anna and mouths a quick ‘thank you’ before looking over at Anne.

“What’s next, now? Is there anything we can do?”

“Probably no, not that I know of, anyways,” Anne replies. “Maggie and I will work with some mages around the area to monitor the Tower, make sure it isn’t doing anything wonky. But beyond that, we just... go on with our normal lives.”

“Can we do that when we know about you now?” Maria asks, raising an eyebrow. “About both of you?” she nods at Maggie.

Maggie and Anne look at each other for a moment before Anne gently wraps an arm around Maggie’s shoulders. “I guess we can be a bit more covert with our practicing now, eh?” Anne says with a smile. “Finally, I don’t have to wait until all of you are out to telekenetically steal cookies from Jane and blame it on Kat.”

“What?” Jane asks.

“What?” Kat asks.

“That’s personal gain, she wouldn’t dare,” Maggie assures them. Then, with a moment and a look. “Right?”

“Look, the point is,” Anne says, changing the subject entirely, “we’re all okay, and I think I can help make our lives better with this. It’s actually... really, really nice, being able to use my powers. I don’t want to go full-on witch or anything, but... for little stuff, I wouldn’t mind using it, you know?” Anne looks over at Catherine. “If that’s alright with you, anyways.”

Catherine tilts her head in thought for a moment before she nods. “I don’t really... I don’t know what to think about it,” she admits. “But I’m willing to learn more and give it a try. I just...” she sighs, moving over to Anne now. “I’m sorry you didn’t feel comfortable with us to tell us sooner.”

“Oh, no, that wasn’t the issue, the issue was that you could have became targets if you had known,” Anne replies honestly. “Really, Catherine, it wasn’t about trusting you lot. I trust you with my life. It was for your safety.”

Catherine frowns at that. “Well... I hope you know that we’ve got each other’s back, regardless of that.” She smiles and pulls Anne in for a hug. “We love you, Anne, we want to see you happy and safe.”

Anne chuckles. “Funny, I was about to say the same thing for you lot, too.”

There’s a moment before Anne breaks away.

“Alright, everyone. We go home, I cook up dinner, and we hang out. Thank the goddess it’s our off day, I dunno how any of us could possibly do a show after this.”

Anna smiles as she picks up Katherine in a piggy back ride while Jane happily moves with Bessie and Joan. Maggie is happily chatting away with Maria while Catherine and Cathy discuss what happened.

A big, happy family, all fully aware of her abilities and not giving a damn.

Yeah, Anne thought, she could get used to this.

38 notes · View notes

moonlightreal · 4 years

Text

Let’s watch in Italian!

Let’s watch some Winx Club in Italian! I know no Italian but I can comment on the visuals and guess at what they’re saying. And I’m super impatient for more Winx and not in the mood to type my fanfic or sew more right now.

There will be real episode summaries/reactions when the English episodes come out.

Hit raiplay to watch along—at the moment season 8 has episodes 16-21 though that may change at any time.

19 La Torre Oltre le Nuvole

Italian theme song! My favorite theme is the first but season 4 and 6 are other favorites. Season 8s is fun too, not as forgettable as some.

Flying! Cowboy flying! Even Stella seems to be having fun by now. I like Bloom’s hat, it has mismatched wings on it.

The girls fly down towards some islands… and there’s Diaspro running up to Bloom! Neither is thrilled to see the other. I wish I knew what they said, I think Disa is giving a sob story-- I would expect it to be a sob story about herself but… no! Points to Diaspro, she’s told them that Sky is in danger. And there he is, running from the black unicorn who keeps zapping him with fire!

Sky trips and falls! His doom approaches!

I think the Winx direct their steeds to fly down and help sky, but they won’t. They’re scared of the black unicorn. Aisha says they should transform and fly down themselves but Flora has a better idea. She talks to the trees… it doesn’t work, too much negative energy.

Poor Sky dodges some more zaps.

Bloom’s unicorn dives down, it’s trailing rainbow colored sparkles. Then the other winx unicorns get brave enough, they kind of circle the black one trailing rainbows. I think this is unicorn positivifying magic! Heroic music plays! Bloom uses her bond with her unicorn, I think, and they glow all sparkly. All the winx unicorns fly in formation making a rainbow in the sky. Sparkles fall on the black unicorn and he lights up all rainbowy before returning to his usual color. He’s saved!

The girls land, and Bloom makes sure Sky is ok. Tecna snaps her fingers and fixes Sky’s suit, love that.

Aisha goes to say hello to the black unicorn, but even rescued he’s a little standoffish. Here come the unilumens and I think they’re telling the story of the black unicorn. I think he has a tragic past.

Diaspro joins the party and shuts Bloom down when she tries to talk, then says some Diaspro-ish things to Sky. Flora hides her face in her hat. Ooooh, I bet Diaspro just referenced how long she and Sky have been out unchaperoned. Bloom’s pissed. Diaspro snarks back. Sky is embarassed, yeah I bet you are Sky you let her lead you all over the magic dimension.

The black unicorn suddenly advances on Diaspro, who backs away in terror. then—it licks her face and crouches down to let her mount! I wish I knew what Diaspro and the lumens were saying, but it seems this unicorn has chosen Diaspro! She mounts and they fly away. Diaspro calls something back—but is it, “I’m turning over a new leaf, I’m gonna spend time with creatures who want to be around me!” or is it, “Now I’ve got unicorn power, I’ll win Sky’s heart in season nine!” Which is it? I don’t know! Will she still have a unicorn friend next time she comes to bring the couple drama to our show? Sadly, probably not, but it would be way cooler if she did!

Stella’s just glad that’s over.

Bloom gives Sky a stare. The two of them go, ‘hmmf!’ and look away from each other. I groan.

Flora tries to distract from all this and get everybody back on track for the mission and the rest of the Winx get on board, though Stella says something dumb first.

Sky and Bloom argue.

Just dump him Bloom, a guy who doesn’t have the backbone to avoid the ex he hates is about as bad as one who actually still likes the ex.

We escape from that and go flying some more!

The Trix watch from the ground. They chat a bit then go flying after the Winx.

Flying. Bloom and Sky argue. he’s flying with his suit wings, not sharing a unicorn.

Magic barrier ahead! The unicorns light their horns up in a cool visual effect and the barrier opens. Everyone flies through.

They emerge in what looks like the same place except up ahead is a floating island with a horn-shaped tower. So I guess they went to a different part of Monocerous. A purple light shines from a window at the top of the tower.

Instead of just flying there, the unicorns drop the girls off at the bottom of the tower. ‘Cause you gotta dungeon crawl, you can’t just start at the final room! The girls thank them, and the unicorns fly away.

And then the skies grow stormy! Sky and Stella have to jump back from a lightning strike.

And there’s our new favorite Trix! With the other two.

Cosmix time! The ops I love more in Italian but the transformation songs I don’t care about the language as much. Except Sirenix, because Sirenix.

Aisha makes a BIG morphix bubble around the Winx, but Darcy takes her out pretty quick so I guess she overreached herself.

Battle battle fighting fighting, we’ll get the prime star first…

Icy does the smart thing and flies towards the top of the tower. Sky confronts her and Icy… slaps him with a giant ice cube! Ahahaha!

Bloom sees her sweetie flying through the air stuck to a giant ice cube… but Sky uses his suit and unsticks himself. He and Icy grab for the prime star! They’ve both grabbed it! Purple light explodes out of the tower!

Bloom’s flying up to help when she gets whooshed into the purple and the she’s in this… rainbowy iridescent space? The background looks like the glittery cosplay fabric I buy for twenty bucks a yard, but only if I have a really good coupon.

In this magic-space Sky is flying, dodging spears of ice. Icy has some good minimal magic gestures too, she’s summoning big ice stalagmites with just a flick of her finger. I guess the animators haven’t seen Frozen. Sky is trapped. Bloom is upset!

Oh no, Bloom can either help Sky or go after the prime star, which will she choose? She looks back and forth. Sky, to his credit, is trying to escape for himself. He tells Bloom to go after the prime star.

Cool epic fight music! Bloom summons her fire dragon, we see it grow out of her hand. She sends the dragon after Icy while she grabs the prime star. Sky does something with his suit and he lights up and busts out of the ice prison. Hooray! In Italian i think Sky did the “yelling the name of your attack” thing when he lights up his suit.

The star case appears and the star tells them something, I presume about how they got the star because they trusted each other.

Icy comes back for more… but the Winx are ready. Flora blows away all three Trix with a petal storm. We’re blasting off again!

The girls congratulate themselves.

Their unicorns and the unilumens fly by overhead, and Twinkle flies down to join them.

Now would be a good time for… a concert! With only Sky as the audience. Twinkle briefly sits on Sky’s head, which is adorable, then she sits in his arms. I love that, I always felt there wasn’t enough sitting on each other when the girls had their pixies, you know? It seems like the kind of bond that would lead to snuggling, like with kittens.

The girls sing, the unicorns fly overhead, Sky nods in time to the music, then he and Bloom have a romantic moment.

Next time: Winxboards! Mielle! A giant… pokemon?

20 Il cuore verde di Lynphea

Green Heart of Lynphea, I can understand that just from being Latin-based languages.

Alfea! Grizelda is giving a lecture in some place with really big plants. isn’t there a greenhouse that’s like, a portal to another realm with giant plants? Grizelda conjures a book with old-style botanical drawings of plants inside and an oak leaf on the cover. The page it opens to has a blue flower and a pomegranate.

I want to hear more even if I can’t understand it, but the camera follows Flora to an area with normal-sized flowers.

Grizelda lectures. Aisha follows Flora. Flora’s checking out a bush with buds on it. Aisha magics the buds—but instead of blooming, they stick out their tongues at her! Hah! Grizelda comes over and tells Aisha off for using random magic, I assume.

Bloom has a great idea. Is it a concert? Every idea Bloom has this season is a concert.

Tecna touches a flower and it slaps her hand with a little vine. Flora explains… something to Tec.

Stella sings a line to a flower, then talks in a slow hypnotic voice as she tries some magic. The flower spits water at her.

Grizelda gives them a lecture about not upsetting the plant life.

Star case! We’re going to Lynphea! Flora’s happy she’ll get to see her sister.

Valtor’s asteroid! We’re going to Lynphea! Stormy lords it over her sisters that she found the prime star. Darcy has to get between her and Icy. Valtor opens a portal, but Darcy hangs back after her sisters go through, giving Valtor a significant look. Hmm.

Winxboarding! They land at Flora’s house and there’s Mielle! She’s wearing the outfit from season 6 but looks like the age from season 3. I mean, art style yeah, but I’d say she really has de-aged. She comes up about to flora’s waist. We’ll see if she transforms.

She’s still as fiesty as ever, she says she’s coming along and calls a giant ladybug. Flora tells her to stay home where it’s safe, like Flora always does. Bloom backs Flora up; the Trix are dangerous! The star case appears and its compass points the way, so the Winx summon their boards and fly off. Mielle follows on her ladybug, because she’s Mielle. This is exactly what happened in season 7, isn’t it? Mielle follows and rescues them? Flora should just let her come along!

Giant flowers! Winxboarding! A walled garden! that’s where we’re going!

Flora tells them something worrying about the garden… maybe like how you have to be in tune with nature, which the girls certainly were not back at Alfea.

Then there is some singing. Even more random than the rest of the singing, because we can’t see who is doing it!

It’s these weird flower people. They are very weird.

They open the gate into the garden, but before the Winx can run through it grows back closed again. Flora realizes it’s the dance the flower people did that made the gate open. Stella magics the girls into these adorable flower ballerina dresses. Stella’s is the best I think, she’s got orange and yellow that go well together. Musa has good colors too, the others are a bit too pastel for my taste.

Time to dance! the girls leap around—en pointe, which normal people cannot just do, you have to train your muscles like a long time. That’s about the limit of my knowledge of ballet: that it’s a serious physical discipline you have to practice every day. As they leap about the girls’ skirts twirl independently, so this episode must be to sell a doll line with twirling skirts. They dance around, leap in the air, dance on giant flowers. I like the idea that the twirling skirts make them float, that could be a fragment of an idea about clothes that give you powers. Like Mai’s bracelets in Mai-hime, they float out from her arms and she can fly with them. The visual is neat.

It works! The gate opens! The Trix arrive just a minute too late, the Winx have gone through.

Darcy summons an illusion of the dancing Winx to make the gate open. Go Darcy, that is smart! Also how did she do that? I guess they were watching the Winx dance and recreated what she saw.

The inside of this place I’ve been calling a walled garden is really neat. it’s big, it has many levels and a bridge… it reminds me of a Starcastle! That’s what it looks like. It also looks like a wedding cake with several tiers. On top is a very important heart grown with vines. that’s where the prime star will be! There are stairs and paths through the different gardens to get there.

The star case appears and disappears. The flower people, who I think are called lillin, come to guide the winx to the top.

Up one set of stairs! The lillin give the Winx seeds which sprout when they put them down.

Next garden! Lillin raking very small gardens and… aloe leaves with giggling faces? That was weird.

The girls reach the heart at the top! they’re basically walking on tiptoe even while wearing ballet flats. The heart has a door in it and Bloom is sure this is where we’ll find the prime star.

Back with Mielle, she’s caught up with the Trix! She hides behind a bush and listens to them plot. How’d Mielle get in here?

The Winx now walking flat-footed approach the heart when the ground rumbles and up sprouts a… radish pokemon. If there were a pokemon based on a radish, this would be it. This is not the radish spirit in Spirited Away. It looks friendly at first, then roars at the Winx.

Aisha is keen to try violence but Flora tries talking first. She gets nowhere. Mielle comes running up then and she and Flora say a few words.

Cosmix time! We’ll try violence after all!

Flora and Mielle argue, Mielle runs off crying.

Winx vs. radish!

The Trix see Mielle run past and Darcy realizes they can use her as a hostage to get the prime star. She knows Mielle’s name and that she’s Flora’s sister, which is creepy to me. Mielle gets zapped with Darcy-magic.

Winx vs radish! Bloom does her dragon, which goes right through the critter, which then falls to the ground as an actual radish. That fight ended fast!

But here’s Icy and Stormy! As they face the Winx, flora hears Mielle’s voice calling for help. She abandons the Winx to save her sister. Flora searches and finds Mielle passed out under a tree. She says she was attacked by Darcy.

I’m pretty sure this IS Darcy, but Flora heals her sister’s injured leg while the Winx fight the other two. Flora picks up Mielle and they fly up to the heart. The rest are still fighting and I think Mielle says Flora should get the prime star while they’re distracted. This is solid logic and Flora goes into the heart.

It’s a very leafy room with the prime star floating in its hamster ball in the center. Mielle hops out of Flora’s arms and runs to it—and grabs it and turns into Darcy. And laughs and flies off.

So Darcy can change her weight when she uses an illusion; Flora was carrying her and the real Darcy would weigh the same as Flora.

The real Mielle wakes up in the forest. She’s fine, and mad.

The Trix make a clean getaway with the prime star!

Mielle runs up and hugs Flora.

Next scene the girls are back in their space clothes sitting on the front steps of Flora’s house. Flora has guilt over being tricked. Mielle I think says it’s her fault for following, but Flora says something that makes it all right and they smile and laugh. Mielle conjures a rose that sparkles with magic.

I do kinda like that Mielle didn’t rescue them, so it wasn’t exactly the same plot as last season. But i wish She’d gotten to get a little revenge on Darcy!

Then we’re back at Alfea and the flowers from the beginning of the episode have bloomed. Flora casts a spell and sparkles come spiraling up from them. She’s wearing the flower that Mielle gave her in her hair, so I guess sisterly love gave her the magic of nature.

Next time: Melody! Musa’s dad! Riven! Darcy getting up to more stuff! Dance Dance Revolution! Some very strange outfits!

#winx club season 8 #winx club

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soong-type-toaster · 5 years

Text

Fitful Alterations

“This looks like the research outpost. Or at least, what’s left of it.”

An away mission goes tragically awry.

The fitful alternations of the rain, When the chill wind, languid as with pain Of its own heavy moisture, here and there Drives through the gray and beamless atmosphere

Percy Bysshe Shelley

“This looks like the research outpost. Or at least, what’s left of it.”

Riker frowned as he looked out over the devastated area. La Forge swept the wreckage with his tricorder, scowling at the readout, while Data kept his eyes on the sky.

“At least it was unmanned.” La Forge muttered. “Looks like an explosion of some kind, maybe a power surge.”

“It is more than likely that it was a lightning strike.” Data murmured, his gaze sweeping the horizon where a dark mass of clouds was gathering. “The electrical activity in the upper atmosphere on this planet is known to be extreme, and even more so now than in the past due to the reversal of the planets’ poles.”

The outpost hadn’t transmitted information for two weeks, and now it was clear why. It was spread out over an area of about a quarter of a mile, sheet metal and delicate electronics equally devastated. The landscape of the whole planet bore testament to the violence of the weather, barely a shred of vegetation clinging to the pock-marked surface, the sky a roiling grey blanket of cloud shot through with sickly yellow.

They had been forced to land the shuttle some distance away and walk to the site, most of the ground too scarred to provide a safe place to set the craft down. Attempting to use the transporter, O’Brien assured them, would be ‘nothing short of suicide’; the unstable atmosphere would scatter their patterns like dust on the wind. Riker suppressed a shudder as he looked across the barren landscape, apocalyptic-looking in the dim light filtering through the ever present cloud layer. The outpost had been situated in a small valley between two rocky hills, presumably in an attempt to shield it from the worst of the weather. Riker shook his head. It didn’t seem to have done much good.

“Well, I guess we’ve got what we came here for, best if we head back.” He said quietly. None of them seemed to want to raise their voices, the oppressive atmosphere deadening their words. They had only walked for about a mile to reach the site, but his uniform was clinging damply to his body with perspiration, the humidity stifling. La Forge wiped a hand across his brow with a heavy sigh.

“Yeah, not much more I can get from this.” He gestured irritably at the obliterated machinery.

“We need to find shelter, quickly.” Data’s voice was almost flat, but Riker’s head snapped towards the android at the faint note of panic underlying his words.

“Data? What is it?”

Data frowned at the horizon. “There is another front moving rapidly towards our position.” His yellow-gold eyes widened as he turned to the two humans. “We need to go, now.”

“Okay, back to the shuttle...” Riker began to move off but Data grabbed at his arm with a shake of his head.

“There is no time, the storm is moving too quickly.” He scanned the area swiftly and then pointed at a hollow barely visible in one of the rocky hills. “There is a small cave. Geordi, do you see it?”

Geordi frowned, his visor feeding him layers of optical information. “Yeah, I see it.”

“Run.” Data dropped Riker’s arm to shove Geordi’s shoulder. “Now, Geordi. Run.”

Geordi needed no further encouragement as a peal of thunder rolled over them, the sound an almost physical pressure, and he took off. Data looked briefly at Riker who nodded in understanding, and they ran as the first heavy drops of rain began to hammer into the ground around them, kicking up plumes of dust into the turgid air.

Data rapidly outpaced Riker and drew level with Geordi just in time to grab his arm as a bright flash of lightning turned their world to stark black and white and the rain became a torrential downpour. Geordi yelped in shock and stumbled as his visor cut out, and Data gripped his arm tight and all but dragged him forward, urging him on as the crack of thunder almost deafened him. They sprinted into the cave side by side and Data released Geordi’s arm.

“Are you all right?” He asked, the rain dripping from his hair. Geordi nodded, his hands on his knees, trying to steady his breathing.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” He gasped, as he took his visor off to dash the water from his face with his hand. “Wasn’t expecting my visor to cut out like that.”

“The electrical activity is ionising the atmosphere.” Data looked round the interior of the cave before turning back to the opening. “Where is Commander Riker?”

Geordi snapped his visor back on. “Damn! He must still be out there!” He made for the entrance but Data put a hand to his shoulder with a shake of his head.

“You must not go back into the storm. Your visor will cease to function.”

“You can’t be suggesting that you’ll go find him?” Geordi frowned. “It’ll affect you just the same!”

“I am better equipped to deal with the situation. There is no time to argue.”

“Alright.” Geordi clapped his hand to the android’s shoulder. “Be careful.”

Data answered with a curt nod before turning and darting back out into the storm.

Riker had taken shelter behind a sheet of twisted duranium, and Data dove into the pathetic cover it provided from the lashing rain. The man’s bearded face was pale.

“It’s my ankle, I think it’s just sprained.” Riker grimaced. Data didn’t give him the chance to say any more and simply scooped him up.

“Hold on.” was all he said before he took off at a dead run, and Riker flung his arms around his neck almost reflexively as the android pelted through the storm. The thunder was constant now, the lightning striking with alarming frequency, illuminating the whole world around them with an eerie flickering and giving the whole landscape an ethereal, unreal look. Riker buried his face in Data’s shoulder as lightning struck nearby with an earth-shattering crack, and Data stumbled and gasped before drawing himself up and putting on a last burst of speed to bring them hurtling into the cave.

Geordi moved forward to help Riker stand as Data released him, and Riker put his arm round Geordi’s shoulder gratefully as he hobbled as far from the entrance as possible before slumping to the floor.

“I’m okay, it’s my ankle, I twisted it on a loose rock.” Riker pulled his boot off with a grimace and Geordi looked over his foot, where the purple-blue of bruising was already beginning to spread under his skin.

“Not much we can do about it right now.” Geordi said with a shake of his head. “All the first aid stuff’s back in the shuttle.”

“It’s fine, if we can find something I can prop it up on...”

“Geordi.” Data’s voice was low but drew both of their attention. The android hadn’t moved since relinquishing the commander to Geordi’s care. He had one pale hand pressed to his abdomen.

“Data? What’s wrong?”

“I...” Data looked down as he drew his hand away from the slowly spreading yellow stain steadily seeping through his rain-soaked uniform around a sliver of metal sticking through his stomach. He looked up at Geordi, a frown creasing his white brow.

“It struck me from behind.” He murmured. Geordi shot to his feet, his dark face turning ashen as he hastened to the android and peered around Data’s shoulder, to see half a foot of jagged metal protruding through his jacket, yellow fluid welling up around it and trickling thickly down the android’s back, mingling with the rain water dripping to the ground.

“Okay... Okay.” Geordi drew a shuddering breath. He put his hands on Data’s shoulders. “I need you to come over here, as far away from the entrance as we can get, and then sit down. Can you do that?”

Data nodded shakily and Geordi gently drew him deeper into the cave and helped him to sit down next to Riker.

“Okay, if you lean back, I think you can rest your shoulders against the wall, but be careful not to push it in any further.” Geordi’s voice was quiet and calm as he looked over the android, who had leaned back rigidly against the rough stone of the cavern wall, his gold eyes wide, mouth a tight drawn line. Riker clenched his jaw as he saw the injury, his own pain forgotten.

“What happened?” He murmured.

“The lightning struck nearby and hit a piece of the debris.” Data shuddered as Geordi ran his fingers gently over the point of shrapnel sticking through the front of his jacket.

“Was that... while you were carrying me?” Riker’s eyes widened. “I thought you just tripped...”

“We’ve got to get your jacket and shirt off. I know it’s not gonna be easy. You want me to help?” Geordi’s face was lined with the anxiety that he was forcing not to allow to reach his voice. Data nodded and sat up with a grimace. His movements were stiff as he shrugged the jacket from his shoulders, and Geordi tore the material to ease it over the splinter in his back. Data looked down at his shirt and contemplated for a moment before simply tearing it from his body rather than having to lift his arms over his head. Geordi bundled the sodden fabric and handed it to Riker.

“Here, you might be able to bind your ankle with this.” He said quietly, and Riker nodded, taking the ruined shirt with shaking hands. He tore it into strips as best he could while Geordi examined Data’s injury.

“Looks like it’s missed your spine.” Geordi murmured, gently peeling back the bioplast to peer underneath. Data shivered and hissed through his teeth.

“It has ruptured my main fluid storage compartment.” The android’s voice was shaking. Geordi looked into his pale face and took both of his shoulders, gripping him tightly.

“Data, look at me. I can fix this. You know that, right?” Data swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay. So I need you to stay calm. It’s best if we leave it in place for now, it’s helping to stop up the hole. Try not to move too much, keep your breathing steady. I’m gonna go see if I can get a message to the Enterprise. Just stay calm, okay?” Geordi squeezed the androids shoulders and then stood, snapping his combadge off and running the tricorder over it as he paced towards the entrance of the cave. Riker finished binding his ankle, shivering at the feel of the wet fabric, chill against his injury. He glanced briefly at Data, who was staring off into the middle distance.

“It’s gonna be okay.” He said lamely, and Data nodded vaguely. With a sigh Riker pushed himself awkwardly to his feet and tested his ankle gingerly, before hobbling to where Geordi was tinkering with his combadge and staring out into the driving rain.

“Any luck?” He leaned close to Geordi to speak quietly over the ever-present thunder. Geordi shook his head irritably.

“You shouldn’t be up, your ankle needs to rest.”

“You want to tell me what’s going on?” Riker pitched his voice low.

“Well, there’s no way I can get a transmission through the atmospheric disturbance without...”

“I’m talking about Data.”

Geordi sighed and holstered his tricorder, slapping his combadge back onto his jacket. “I know.”

“I don’t mean to pry, but I need to know what’s going on. It seems like he’s... in pain.”

“Well...” Geordi looked out into the storm, unwilling to meet Riker’s eyes. “He is, in a way. Since the emotion chip fused with his neural net, he’s been experiencing things differently. When it comes to... being damaged, he’s always been aware of it, you know? I mean, he gets warnings, damage reports, stuff like that. But with the chip, those... alerts... Well, they create the, the symptoms of a pain response.”

Riker hummed. “Anything we can do?”

“No-one’s bothered to make an android anesthetic yet, and even if they had, we wouldn’t have it with us!” Geordi snapped with a scowl, before his face softened and he looked away with a sigh. “Sorry, don’t mean to be...”

“It’s okay, your friend’s hurt. I understand.” Riker put his hand on Geordi’s shoulder. “I care about him too, you know.”

Geordi grimaced. “Yeah, I know. But, Will... It’s bad. I mean, really bad.”

“Come on, Geordi, we’ve seen him worse than this. Hell, he’s been in pieces before!”

Geordi shook his head. “Not like this. When he’s disassembled there are fail-safes, specific detachment points that make sure...” He drew a trembling breath and scrubbed his cheeks with his hands. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Just tell me what we need to do.”

“There’s nothing we can do, not without tools.”

“What’s the worst case scenario?” Riker looked searchingly at the engineer. Geordi shivered and wrapped his arms around himself.

“His fluid storage tank is leaking, and fast. That’s his circulatory fluid, his blood. It powers his hydraulics, lubricates his joints, and it functions as coolant too. If it gets too low, he won’t be able to move, and he’ll overheat. Once that happens...” He shrugged irritably. “That’s it.”

“Can we... shut him down? Now? Stop that from happening?”

“Well, while he’s active, he can keep control, keep rerouting his fluidic systems away from the damage. If we deactivate him, he won’t be able to help us, plus he’ll be dead weight if we have to move him. And apart from that, he hates it. I think if you gave him the choice, which we should, he’d rather stay active.”

“Even while he’s hurt?” Riker frowned.

“Will, it-it’s not like having an anesthetic. He doesn’t just go to sleep. When he’s shut down, it’s just...” He snapped his fingers. “Nothing. Gone. And it terrifies him. He... He’s afraid he may never wake up.”

“So what now?” Riker looked at Geordi, who shook his head.

“I... I don’t... Just... just give me a minute, will ya?”

Riker patted his shoulder in sympathy and left him staring out into the rain.

Riker had settled himself down onto the packed earth floor next to Data, keeping his weight off his injured ankle. As the adrenaline had drained from his body he had begun to shake, and now his teeth were chattering as the rain-soaked clothes chilled him. Geordi paced the cave anxiously, hugging himself and stamping his feet. The rain continued to fall, the interior of their shelter illuminated only by the intermittent flashes of lightning.

“Sun’s going down.” Geordi grumbled. “Gonna need some heat.” He cast his eyes around the interior of the small cave before stalking to the entrance to peer out. He swept the immediate area swiftly before giving a small cry of triumph and darting out into the rain. Data looked up, an anxious frown creasing his pale brow.

“Geordi?” The android made as if to stand and Riker put a firm hand to his shoulder.

“He’s okay, just relax.” Almost before he got the words out Geordi was back, stumbling into the cave cradling a small boulder with some difficulty.

“I assume you have a plan?” Riker said, grinning despite his discomfort. Geordi dropped the rock in the middle of the cave and drew his phaser. He deftly tweaked the controls and aimed the beam at the boulder, which emitted a cloud of steam as the rainwater suddenly boiled away from its surface. When Geordi lowered the phaser the rock was glowing a deep red, and waves of comforting warmth were rolling from it to fill the small cave. Riker sighed in relief and stripped off his sodden jacket to hand to Geordi, who laid it out on the floor next to his own, as close to the rock as he dared.

“Neat trick.” Riker rolled his shoulders appreciatively as his shirt began to warm through.

“It’s an old one. I thought you’d read all the survival manuals out there?” Geordi sat down next to Data. “You okay?”

“No.” Data looked distracted, and that worried the engineer. The android had been disconcertingly quiet.

“I know you’d rather it was cold in here, but...”

“It is all right, Geordi. It is important for you and the commander to maintain your body temperature.”

“You know,” Riker leaned back against the wall with a small smile, “I think under the circumstances you can call me Will.”

“You are still my commanding officer.” Data’s eyes looked glassy in the dim light as he turned his head slowly towards Riker, who shrugged.

“True. But right now we’re just three friends, looking after each other. Right?”

“I understand. It is more important for us to keep morale raised with companionship than it is for us to maintain a rigid rank structure.” Data nodded vaguely. “Will.”

“Right.” Will smiled. “So, now at least we have some heat. The next thing is water. Geordi, I don’t suppose that rainwater is good to drink?”

Geordi shook his head. “It’s probably okay in small amounts, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Besides, we haven’t got anything to collect it in.”

“Okay.” Will nodded. “So if the storm lets up tomorrow, I’ll get back to the shuttle and gather some supplies, maybe see if I can move it to a closer spot. Then we can get you fixed up.” He smiled at Data. “In the meantime we should all get some rest.”

“Sounds good to me.” Geordi stretched with a yawn, the warmth seeping through to his aching muscles. He bundled up his now almost-dry jacket and used it to pillow his head as he lay down on the dirt floor. “Eh, slept in worse places.”

Riker grinned. “Better than my first quarters at the academy.” He too stretched out on the floor, and before long they were both asleep.

Data stared into the glowing heart of the rock and waited until the two humans slipped into a deep sleep state. Then he made a small adjustment to his fluidic system and disabled his vocal synthesizer. Without sound, and without tears, he wept.

“How’s it looking?” Will queried, limping to where Geordi was scowling out into the rain.

“Still pretty bad, although the electrical activity’s nowhere near as intense.”

Will sighed and set his jaw. “Well, no sense in putting it off.”

“I should go.” Geordi frowned. “With your busted ankle...”

“I’ll still get further than you, if Data’s right about your visor.”

“Which he is.” Geordi looked back into the cave at the android. Data hadn’t relaxed, his back rigidly straight, shoulders braced against the wall. Geordi shuddered at the sight of the point of shrapnel gleaming in the morning light, yellow-stained and vicious where it jutted from the android’s pale stomach. The wound was still oozing, although the flow was sluggish.

“You don’t know what tools I need.” Geordi murmured.

“Then I’ll just bring everything.” Will did his best to grin, but his mouth was so dry he feared his lips might crack if he smiled too widely. Geordi turned to him, his brow furrowed over his visor.

“Whatever you can find. Just... quickly, okay? And be careful.”

“Sure, sure. Look after him. At least you’ll be here if anything... if he... deteriorates.” Will coughed awkwardly. Geordi grimaced.

“Fat lotta good I’ll be able to do. Anyway... Good luck.”

Will threw him a half-hearted salute and hobbled out into the rain. Geordi watched his retreating form until the red and black figure was swallowed up by the heavy curtain of the storm. He sighed deeply before retreating back into the safety of the cave. Even standing in the entrance made his visor falter, his visual feet stuttering and distorting. He knew Will was right, and Data, but he hated waiting, not being able to help. Not being able to fix what was wrong.

He sat down next to Data, resting his shoulder gently against the android’s.

“You doing okay?” He said quietly. Data turned his head slowly to look at him.

“Not particularly, no.” The android’s breathing was shallow and rapid, his face drawn. Geordi gave him a soft smile of sympathy.

“Wanna give me an update?”

Data swallowed and looked away. “The fluid level has dropped past the rupture, but as I am unable to completely reroute my circulatory system to avoid the damaged area I am still experiencing fluid loss, albeit at a much reduced rate. My internal temperature has risen by fifteen-point-four degrees since you last asked...”

“How do you feel?” Geordi kept his voice low and gentle.

“I...” Data’s head swung back around to meet Geordi’s gaze. “I am in pain. I am anxious. I...” He clenched his jaw. “I am afraid.” His voice shook as he spoke and he blinked hard, sending two yellow tears rolling down his cheeks, which he brushed away irritably with the back of his hand.

“Hey, hey...” Geordi reached across to place his hand on the android’s chest. “It’s okay, you’re allowed to be frightened, that’s only natural. But try not to cry, okay? You can’t afford to lose the fluid.”

Data grimaced. “Was that remark intended to be humorous? Because I have to admit that I do not find it particularly amusing.”

“Yeah, sorry. I’m not... very good at this whole... looking after people thing.” Geordi looked away, suddenly awkward. Data’s chest was hot under his palm, rising and falling too fast in his attempts to keep his temperature down. Geordi moved his hand away, uncomfortably reminded of how dire the situation was. He sighed deeply as he looked across the cave at the entrance.

“Hopefully Will can move the shuttle a bit closer. Then we won’t have too far to walk.”

“What if...” Data’s voice cracked with his anxiety. “What if he cannot come back? What if he is injured, and cannot bring what we need? What if...”

“Data, you can’t think like that. Try and stay positive. He’ll be back before you know it, and I’ll patch you up, and then we’re out of here, you’ll see. It’ll be fine.”

“Geordi...” Data reached out and took the man’s hand. “What if you cannot fix me?”

“Not gonna happen.” He squeezed Data’s hand. “I can fix anything, you know me. I’ll have you fighting fit in no time, I promise.”

“Do not promise.” Data’s voice was almost a whisper. “You cannot promise. I... I am not sure that it is possible for you to affect the necessary repairs in time.”

“We’ve gotten out of worse scrapes than this.” Geordi looked away from Data’s anguished gaze. “Give it a week and we’ll be laughing about this over a beer in the bar.”

“I want so much to believe you.” Geordi looked back to the android at his words. Data’s luminous eyes were wide with fear, and Geordi reached out to cradle the android’s face in his palm.

“Well, believe me; I swear I will do everything in my power to get you through, you hear me? Because I love you, okay? And I-I’m not gonna give up. I’m gonna fight, and I don’t care how long it takes. Alright?”

Data gave a shuddering sigh and leaned his head on Geordi’s shoulder. “All right. I love you too.”

Will paused in the entrance of the cave and dashed the water from his bearded face with his one free hand. He peered into the gloom, the sun setting through the sheet of rain behind him dimly illuminating the interior of their shelter. The rock that Geordi had heated had cooled and no longer glowed brightly. Data and Geordi were huddled closely together, seemed to be speaking softly to each other. Will raised his hand and opened his mouth to call a greeting, but froze as he saw their chins tilt, their mouths meet.

He backed out of the cave and into the rain, waited a moment, and then kicked at a pile of loose debris and cursed loudly as if he had slipped. He stomped into the cave and wiped the rain from his face as Geordi stood and came to help divest him of the packs that he had hauled laboriously through the storm.

“Hey, glad you made it okay!” Geordi grinned. “You get everything we need?”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but I grabbed as much as I could carry.”

“Your ankle hold up?”

Will grinned back at him. “First thing I did was fix it.” He held up his foot and waggled it to prove it, and then stripped off his sodden jacket and began unpacking water and food, thermal blankets and first aid materials as Geordi began rummaging through the pack of tools.

“Nope... nope... uh-huh... yeah...” Geordi was making two piles; tools with potential use, and those unsuitable for the delicate work necessary to save the android. To his dismay, the pile of useful tools was pathetically small. He scowled at it as if it was the equipment’s fault.

“Well, we’ll just have to make do.” He grumbled. Will passed him a canteen of water and he drank gratefully before offering it to Data, who shook his head.

“There is little point in my ingesting any fluids until we are sure they will not simply go to waste.”

Geordi grunted in agreement and capped the bottle before reaching for the tools. “Best if we get started then.”

Will frowned. “Don’t you think you’d better eat something first? It’s been more than twenty-five hours since your last meal.”

“I want to get this done, there’s no time to waste.”

Data quirked an eyebrow. “Geordi. My condition is not yet so critical that I will experience significant deterioration in the time that it will take you to consume a protein bar. Please, eat something.”

Geordi sighed resignedly and took the proffered emergency ration bar from Will’s outstretched hand. It wasn’t until the first bite that he realized how hungry he was and, despite the fact that it had the texture and taste of damp cardboard, he devoured it with alacrity. When he threw the wrapper onto the dirt floor he saw Will grinning at him, and he smiled in return.

“Better?”

“Much, thanks.” Geordi’s grin slipped. “We’d better get to work.”

“Sure.” Will’s expression sobered immediately. “What do you need me to do?”

Geordi looked over at Data and frowned. “I think you’ll have to brace him while I’m working, so we can minimize movement. Data, can you move to sit side-on to the wall?”

Data nodded but gasped sharply as he straightened, his eyes squeezing shut. Geordi gathered his tools and moved to sit behind the android as Data inched himself around with a whimper. Will sat in front of him and put his hands on the android’s pale shoulders.

“Okay. Step one.” Geordi set his jaw. “We’ve got to get this out. It’s not gonna be pleasant.”

“Wait, one moment!” Data turned his head to look back over his shoulder as Geordi set his hand to the sliver of metal.

“What is it?”

Data pressed his lips together for a moment. “I do not think that I will be able to control my emotional outbursts. You will simply have to ignore me. I apologize in advance for any...”

“Data.” Will spoke quietly. “We understand, it’s okay. You say whatever you feel like, shout and swear all you want, we won’t be offended.” Geordi nodded agreement.

“You just hang on to Will, okay? I’m gonna start.”

As Geordi began to pull the shrapnel free Data’s hands shot out to grip Will’s damp shirt, bunching it into his white-gold hands tightly. The metal shrieked as Geordi pulled, grinding against the internal workings of the android with a sound that set Will’s teeth aching. Data gasped.

“Geordi, stop, please.”

“I can’t Data, you know that.”

“I-I-I know, you must excuse me, intellectually I am aware of...” There was another grinding squeal of meal on metal and Data’s voice rose in pitch. “Stop! Please, Geordi, please!”

“I’m sorry, I-I’ve got to...” Geordi ground his teeth together and pulled, and the shard of metal left Data’s body with a shrill screech and a trickle of fluid. He threw it aside viciously before bending to examine the wound.

“Lean forward.” He said gruffly, and Data slumped onto Will, resting his forehead on the man’s shoulder with a shudder as Geordi began peeling back the bioplast skin. Will shifted his grip to the android’s upper arms to support him as Geordi inserted a tool and Data whined. The android’s breath was uncomfortably hot on Will’s chest as Data gasped and pleaded, and the man turned his head away and clenched his jaw as he looked out into the ever-present storm battering the ravaged planet.

“Geordi please, please stop, please, please Geordi, stop...” Data’s voice was a whimpering drone and Geordi blocked it out, drew his focus tightly to the work that needed to be done, hardened his heart.

Just another machine. He’s just another machine.

It took him a few minutes to assess the damage, and his heart sank into his boots as it dawned on him that Data had been right. He couldn’t fix this. Not now, at least, not with these tools, in the dim light of the rapidly setting sun. He fought down his rising panic and sealed the puncture in the tank as best he could, but it was a botch job and he knew it. His hand trembled as he tried to fuse some of the tiny tubes that functioned as vessels for the circulatory system but it was hopeless. He slowly drew the tool out and looked over what he had managed with a critical eye. He had at least bought them some time.

“I need to look at the other side.” His voice was harsh and strained as he tried to keep his emotions in check. Will gently pushed Data upright and the two men traded places, Will pulling Data back to lean the android against his chest while Geordi bent over the android’s pale abdomen, slick with the sickly yellow of his hemorrhaged fluids. The wound in Data’s stomach was only about an inch long, and Geordi used every setting he could on his visor to peer inside to the android’s inner workings and guide the tools as he slowly worked his way towards the worst of the damage. It took him only a few minutes but when he finally sat back on his heels there was sweat running down his face.

Data was leaning back with his head on Will’s shoulder, staring at the uneven roof of the cave with his golden-yellow eyes wide. His pale fingers had clenched into the packed dirt of the floor, which was rapidly turning to mud under him where the fluid that had run from his body had soaked into the earth. Geordi opened his trembling mouth to speak, and then simply shook his head and stood, flinging the tools aside in anger and stalking away to glare out onto the surface of the planet, into the storm that had caused them so much pain. Behind him Will was talking quietly to Data, murmuring something that Geordi couldn’t make out over the rumbles of thunder and the crashing roar of the rain.

“Geordi.” Will was by his side, one hand on the engineer’s shoulder. “What is it?”

“I-I... I couldn’t do it, Will!” Geordi’s voice was a harsh whisper. “I couldn’t fix him, and he knows it! He told me he didn’t think I could and he was right, and I-I tried so hard but I...”

“Hey, hey...” Will’s hand tightened on his shoulder, lending him strength. “You’ve done the best you could, in a difficult situation. He knows that, I know that, and you should too.”

“I... I know, but...” Geordi breathed a trembling sigh and scrubbed his cheeks with his hands. Will looked back at Data, who had leaned once more against the wall of the cave, head low and shoulders curled in his misery.

“Go to him.” Will said quietly.

“I can’t help him, Will, don’t you understand?” Geordi cried, all pretense of control gone in his distress. Will gripped his shoulder and looked at him with his calm grey eyes.

“You can give him what he needs now. Go, please, he needs you.”

Geordi’s brow furrowed. “I don’t...”

“I know, Geordi. I know about the two of you. Go to him.”

Geordi pressed his lips together and whirled away to fling himself onto the dirt floor and gather Data into his arms, murmuring what words of comfort he could muster into the android’s ear as he rocked him and held him as tightly as he dared. Will turned his face back to the storm and tried to block out the sound of Data’s harsh sobs.

Data had managed to ingest some water but, as he informed them, he dared not use any more processing power in order to chemically convert it to the precise formula needed for his circulatory fluid. Instead he had shunted it directly into the storage tank, and was running a barely-suitable mix of water and what little lubricant he had left through his system, in a desperate attempt to keep his temperature down. His joints were stiff and his hydraulics under powered, but he judged it still sufficient for what movement was necessary, when the time came to try to make it back to the shuttle.

The men had wrapped themselves in thermal blankets as the last of the light left the sky, not daring to heat the cave for fear of pushing Data’s already over-taxed systems over the limit. And, as Data had tartly told them, he would be producing enough heat for them to warm themselves. Will found himself silently agreeing with that assessment; leaning against the android was like sitting next to a radiator.

Geordi had insisted on looting the first aid kit for bandages and wadding to bind Data’s wounds as best he could. Data had remained silent as they dressed his injuries, although they had all known that it was a pointless exercise. Now the three of them sat against the wall, watching the rain, Data in the middle and the two men leaning against his sides. The android shifted minutely.

“I am afraid that I am now obliged to limit my functions in order to reduce the strain on my processors.”

“Okay.” Geordi turned to look at him. “What’s the plan?”

“I intend to enter a hibernation state.” Data’s voice was bland and matter-of-fact. “I will disable all non-critical functions. This will of course include visual processing, all movement excepting respiration, and speech. I am afraid that you will find me rather dull company.”

Will chuckled softly. “Don’t worry about that, we’ll probably sleep soon anyway. But what if we need to wake you?”

“I intend to continue to process auditory signals, albeit without saving everything I process. This should cut down on memory usage, but will also mean that I can be aware of a specific set of code words that I will link to a sub-program to restart my main functions. Might I suggest a string of words not liable to arise during the course of a normal conversation?”

“Good idea. And something easy to remember, too.” Geordi pondered a moment. “How about ‘Sherlock Holmes’?”

Data pursed his lips. “Might you fall into a conversation about Holodeck programs?”

“Maybe.” Geordi frowned. “Okay then, what about ‘Arthur Conan Doyle’?”

Data’s eyes closed and his head slumped forward. His mouth went lax and his voice came eerily directly from his throat. “Command code set.” His body relaxed gradually until the only movement was his chest rising and falling rhythmically. The two men were silent for a time, each wrapped in their own thoughts as the rain lashed down outside. Finally Will cleared his throat.

“So. You and Data, huh?”

“Yeah.” Geordi shifted a little closer to the android’s unconscious body. “Me and Data.”

Will pondered for a moment. “If you don’t mind me asking... since when? And for that matter, how?”

“Actually, I do mind.” Geordi sighed and snapped off his visor, clutching it tightly in his hand. “But I guess we’ve got nothing better to talk about. So.” He took a deep breath before leaning his head back against the rough stone wall. “I guess it was because we were such good friends, y’know? Like, we had so much in common, and we understood each other on, like, a fundamental level, you know? Well, I guess Data figured that was enough, so he comes to me and asks if I wanted to, to be in a-a relationship, romantically I mean. So I told him no, it was stupid, a bad idea, yadda yadda yadda...” He paused for a moment. “And... and then I realized that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Like, before he put it out there it hadn’t even crossed my mind, but then I started seeing him differently. And then this one time... Well.” Geordi cleared his throat. “So I said, what the hell, let’s try it. But it was just... it all went wrong, and I-I... I needed more from a partner than he could give. Like, I wanted him to like me the way I liked him, but he couldn’t, and it didn’t feel... It didn’t feel fair to him, somehow, like I was using him or something... I dunno...” He shook his head, his milky-white blind eyes gazing sightlessly out into the storm. “So I broke it off. And he was confused, but he got over it. And then... then he got that chip. And he came to me, and he said he understood, and he loved me, and he wanted to try again...” Geordi fell silent.

“And now you’re together?” Will prompted. Geordi laughed humorlessly.

“Nah. I told him no. Said he didn’t know what it meant, to love someone, to be in a relationship. That he needed to figure himself out first, before getting involved with anyone else.” He sighed irritably and shook his head. “What a fucking idiot. I’ve wasted all this time...”

“Hey, hey...” Will’s voice was soft. “It’s perfectly understandable. Under the circumstances...”

“And now he’s dying.” Geordi didn’t seem to have heard him. “He’s gonna die, and I will have missed out on the chance to show him what he means to me, and how much I care...” His voice shook and he gasped a harsh sob before dragging his sleeve across his face and hunkering down into the blanket.

“You don’t know that.” Will tried to force conviction into his voice. “Tomorrow we’re out of here, storm or no storm. Once you’re back on the Enterprise you can fix him up, have a second chance. I’m a great believer in second chances.”

“Sure.” Geordi mumbled. “If we get outta here alive.”

“Arthur Conan Doyle.”

The android’s eyes snapped open. He blinked a couple of times as his systems came online and then groaned softly.

“We’ve got to go.” Geordi said gently, gripping Data’s shoulder. “There’s a break between two storm fronts, it’s the best chance we’re gonna get for a while. Will couldn’t move the shuttle any closer so we’ve got to go now if we’re gonna make it out before the next big storm hits.”

Data’s head wobbled on his neck in an almost-nod. “I will require assistance.”

“That’s okay, we’re here.” Will said as he reached down to grab Data’s arm, and the two men helped him to stand on his shaking legs. Geordi and Will were carrying their supplies, had tidied the cave of any evidence of their presence. As they made their way to the mouth of the cave Will turned back to sweep his gaze over the interior of their shelter one last time. No sign that they had ever been there, save for the churned up sodden dirt where Data had bled onto the floor. He shuddered.

“Let’s get out of here.” He said with feeling, before looping Data’s arm over his shoulder to support the android’s weight, and the three stumbled out into the incessant rain.

When the shuttle finally appeared through the curtain of rain Geordi could have shouted aloud from relief, but for the fact that he was gasping for breath. A mile had never seemed so far. Data had leaned on the two men more and more the further they went, and was now almost dead weight, his feet dragging along the ground with every step. His head was hanging limp, his chest heaving with effort, and Geordi tightened his grip on the android’s waist.

“Almost there.” He panted. “Not far now.” His visor stuttered again. “Storm’s closing in.”

“We’ll have to tack along the surface a way, try and stay in the gap.” Will answered, before hoisting Data a little higher on his shoulder. “Come on, nearly there.”

Data put a little more weight on his feet to help his two friends as they tried to increase the pace, and the shuttle’s door opened in welcome as they neared. Data all but fell into the little craft as they boarded, and Will let him down as gently as he could before moving swiftly into the cockpit and bringing the shuttle online, the hull thrumming as the engines fired up. Geordi slipped his arm out from under the android and gripped his pale shoulder tight.

“Geordi.” Data whispered. Geordi reached out to smooth back the android’s hair.

“Just hang on in there.” He murmured, before shoving himself up to take the co-pilot’s seat, his fingers dancing over the console as the little craft rose from the surface of the planet and began scudding along under the storm before Will bought the nose up and they made a break for the safety of space. The rain boiled away from the shuttle as they pounded through the upper atmosphere, the whole craft shuddering with effort, before breaking through into the dark, star-speckled blackness above.

“Geordi.” Data’s voice was barely a murmur.

“Just a sec, gotta...” Geordi tweaked the controls.

“I’ve got this, go, go.” Will jerked his head aft as he opened the comm. “Riker to Enterprise, come in! Enterprise, do you copy?”

Geordi stumbled wearily to where the android lay slumped on the floor, and tried to convince himself that the pool that was spreading under Data’s body was just rainwater. He dropped to his knees next to the android as Captain Picard’s voice answered their hail.

“Number One! We were beginning to worry...”

“Sir, there’s no time, patch me through to the transporter room!” The urgency in Will’s voice left no room for argument. There was a brief pause before a familiar Irish lilt floated across the ether.

“O’Brien here.”

“Chief, I need you to lock on to Geordi and Data as soon as you can, and beam them straight to engineering. Give the team a head’s up, let them know Data’s seriously hurt.”

“Aye, sir! Locking on.”

Geordi stared down at Data, barely listening to the com chatter. The android was far too hot, his respiration had stopped, his pulse no longer thrummed under his skin.

“Hang on.” He whispered as the shimmering particles of the transporter beam coalesced around them.

“Hey, get that over here, help me get him up! Optical cables here and here... Yeah, that set, great. Okay, you, ice packs, as many as you can carry. Just pack them round his chest, try and bring his temperature down. No, not that tool set... yeah, that’s the one. Okay, we’ve gotta go layer by layer through this... Yeah, that seam there... Check the database on the replicator, get us a new fluid storage tank, we’ll replace the whole unit. No-no-no, like this... that’s it. Get on replicating the fluid, should have the spec on the system... No-no, I don’t want any... actually a coffee, that’d be great. Yeah, the next layer detaches just there, at the junction... No, let me do that... Where are those ice packs? Come on, people, let’s move!”

Picard met Riker in the shuttle bay as the craft slowly powered down and the first officer made his way wearily out onto the familiar deck. Picard looked grim.

“I take it that things did not go as planned?”

Riker shook his head. “It’s bad, sir. Data’s hurt, and it’s serious. We did the best we could on the surface, but...” He frowned deeply. “I’m not sure it was enough.”

“I see.” Picard’s face was carefully composed. “I want a full report. Eat, get changed, and then meet me in my ready room.”

“Aye sir.”

He had showered and changed, wolfed down a meal and made his report to the captain before staggering back to his quarters and falling asleep, still fully clothed. It was eight hours later that he gulped down a coffee and made his way down to engineering on the request of one of the team working on Data. As he entered the department he was enveloped in the comforting thrum of the warp core, and he relaxed minutely as the sound washed over and around him in a wave of familiarity. He assessed the situation swiftly, his eyes searching each face as he walked towards the makeshift surgery where Geordi was hunched over the android. Riker was alarmed to see that, rather than bustling around the chief engineer and assisting him, the other engineers were drifting aimlessly around, or were engaged in menial tasks. He frowned.

“Hey, Geordi.”

“Will!” Geordi looked up with a tight smile. “You’re just in time! I’m about to bring him online.”

“Really? Fantastic!” The sense of relief was almost overwhelming. “I have to admit, I was worried...”

“No need to worry, everything’s gonna be fine.” Geordi turned to a console and typed a rapid string of commands, his fingers rattling over the surface. “Won’t be a moment!”

Riker heard a soft cough behind him and turned to see one of the engineers. She looked worried and tired, and her eyes darted from him to the chief engineer as she spoke.

“Sir? Might I have a moment?”

“Of course, but I don’t want to miss seeing Data...”

“Just a moment sir, I’m sure you won’t miss anything.”

“Alright.” Riker quirked his head in acknowledgement and allowed himself to be drawn aside. He recognized her as the one who had asked for him to come to the department, had assumed it was because they were bringing Data round. “What can I do for you?”

“We need you to get him to stop.” Her mouth was tightly drawn, tension in every line of her body. “He’s been at this since he came back, he hasn’t taken a break or eaten, and... Sir, it’s not working. This is the fifth time he’s said he’s ready, but it’s... he’s not...” She swallowed and Riker saw her eyes brim with tears. “We think Data is dead, sir. And Geordi won’t listen to us...” She cleared her throat and looked back over to where Geordi was frowning down at the android. Riker coughed.

“Any luck, Geordi?”

“Ah, no, but next time for sure. I must’ve made a mistake somewhere. Won’t be long!” As Geordi bent over the console again, Riker could see the forced cheerfulness slip, the engineer’s hunched shoulders and shaking hands symptoms of his exhaustion and the despair he was forcing from his mind. Riker’s heart sank as he moved over to where Data lay, cables and tubes running to and fro across his body, his closed eyes and lax face making him seem merely asleep. His wounds had been healed, the pale gold bioplast flawless where before had been a gaping wound. But his body was still and silent, no breath moved through his cooling unit, no pulse beat under his skin. Riker felt sorrow threaten to choke him, and coughed to clear the lump from his throat.

“Why don’t you take a break?” Riker said gently. Geordi shook his head irritably. Up close Riker could see that the engineer hadn’t washed or changed since their return from the planet, his uniform rumpled and still slightly damp around the seams, his face smeared with dirt. Riker reached out and put his hand on Geordi’s shoulder.

“Come on, let’s go grab something to eat. Data’s not going anywhere, he’s okay for a bit. Then you can come back with a clear head.”

Geordi frowned deeply, but his hands slowed in their frantic dance across the screen, and eventually he let his arms drop to his sides.

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess you’re right. I could do with a bit of time to work out where I’m going wrong.” He staggered as he moved away from the console, and Riker gripped him by the upper arm to steady him. “Huh, guess I’m more tired than I thought!” Geordi forced a smile to his face, and turned back to the room as Riker led him towards the turbolift.

“Don’t anyone touch him, I’ll be right back!”

The engineers mumbled a chorus of ‘aye sir’s, and then went back to their relative tasks, staunchly ignoring the deactivated android lying like a corpse in their midst.

Deanna Troi walked quietly into the almost-empty engineering department. Will had come to her, distraught, and had begged her to try and talk sense into the chief engineer. He told her what had happened, that he had managed to get Geordi to eat and had left him to rest. At the next opportunity she had checked Geordi’s location and was shocked to find that, a mere five hours later, he was back at work. She kept her face carefully bland as she moved across the room to where Geordi was glaring at a console. She reached out with her mind, assessing his emotional state, and her heart ached for him. He knew, deep down, that it was hopeless, but he had bundled up his fear and grief and shoved it to the back of his mind, had overlaid it with false optimism, wrapped his dark thoughts in denial. She sighed softly and came to where Data lay, still and quiet. She gave herself a silent moment to grieve before burying her own feelings and turning her attention to the engineer.

“Hello Geordi.”

“Hey.” Geordi frowned at the screen. “Sorry, bit busy.”

“I’m here to talk. Would you stop for a minute please?” Her voice was soft and gentle, but Geordi sighed deeply in irritation as he turned away from the screen.

“Sure. How can I help you?”

“Actually I’m here to help you.”

Geordi scowled. “I don’t need help, unless you know anything about cybernetics.”

“This isn’t about Data, it’s about you.” Despite her words she reached down to the android and smoothed his hair back affectionately. “I need you to come away. It’s time to stop.”

“Stop?” Geordi glared at her. “How can I stop? If I’m not working on him who will?”

“Geordi, no-one’s going to be working on him. Everyone has their time...”

“You want me to give up, is that it?” Geordi clenched his jaw. “You want me to just quit, after everything?”

“You’re not quitting. You’ve done everything you possibly could, and now it’s time to let him go. He’s not coming back, Geordi.”

“You’re wrong!” Geordi snarled. “He’s right there! It’s all locked away inside, I’ve just got to work out how to access it! He’s just a machine, if I can just...”

“He was never just a machine, and you know it.” Deanna looked at him searchingly with her dark eyes. “Whatever spark there was that made him more than that is gone. He’s not in there anymore. You have to let him go.”

“I-I can’t!” Geordi cried, throwing his hands up. “I... I promised him! I said I’d do everything I could...”

“And you have, Geordi. He’d understand. But it’s time to stop. Come away.”

Geordi gaped at her. “I... I can’t believe you’re saying this! After everything we’ve been through, everything he’s done for us... you want me to just stop?”

“Yes, I do. I know you understand, deep down, that he’s gone. You have to accept it.”

“You don’t really believe that.” Geordi’s face crumpled. “You don’t really think he’s dead, and-and neither do I...”

“I’m so sorry Geordi, truly I am. And I’ll miss him, we all will. But it’s time for you to give him peace.”

“I-I can’t just...” Geordi gulped. “I won’t... He’s...” His shoulders shook and his chest heaved with a convulsive sob. “I can’t just leave him...”

“He’s already gone.” Deanna’s deep sad eyes looked straight through him, piercing him straight to his soul, and the layers of blissful ignorance peeled away from his heart. With a mournful howl his knees buckled and he collapsed onto the pale immobile form. Deanna felt her heart break as Geordi’s grief rolled over her in a dark wave of despair, his wrenching sobs echoing around the room as he poured out his sorrow onto the android’s corpse. She waited until his wails had subsided before touching his back gently.

“Come on, now.”

Geordi pushed himself up on shaking arms and snatched his visor from his face to drag his sleeve across his eyes, smearing his face with tears.

“So... fucking stupid.” He mumbled through his gasping sobs. “Such a stupid... way to die.” He shoved his visor back over his face and looked down at Data’s cold face. “So... fucking...” His body shook with a fresh wave of hysteria, and Deanna moved around the table to gather him into her arms, her own tears running freely down her face as he buried his face in her shoulder and wept.

“I tried so hard!” He wailed. “I tried so, so hard!”

“I know, I know.” She rubbed his back comfortingly.

The whole crew had been stunned by the news. The ship rang with the android’s absence, conversations muted and halting as the ship’s compliment came to terms with the loss. Data had been a part of their lives for so long, had seemed almost immortal. There wasn’t a life on the Enterprise that hadn’t been touched by his presence, his willingness to assist anyone, his gentle nature and childlike curiosity.

Geordi mused over the fact as he looked down into Data’s pale motionless face. Doctor Crusher had laid the android out in state in the engineering department, and now they were preparing to load the body into an empty torpedo case, to give him an honorable burial at space. His uniform was crisp and clean, the rank pips gleaming, his hair immaculately slicked back. Geordi sighed heavily.

“So many things I meant to say.” He murmured. He had requested some time alone with the body, to say goodbye in private. But now the time was here, the words stuck in his throat. He coughed to try and clear his throat and it turned into a sob.

“I don’t know what went wrong.” He whispered brokenly, reaching out to smooth his thumb over Data’s brow, cupping the android’s face in his palm. “It should have worked. We got your temperature back down in time, your processors are functioning, neural nets intact... There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be fine.” He removed his visor to rub his eyes. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

He pushed his visor back into place to check the time on the console. Ten more minutes, and they’d be loading Data into the torpedo. He blew out a shaking breath.

“I tried, I really did. I did everything I could think of. It-It was like there was... some kind of block. Some bit of code...”

An icy shiver of anxiety swept down his spine. Some sort of block... He checked the time again before snatching up a cable. With a haste born of desperation he plugged it into Data’s temple and then into the console, stabbing at the screen with trembling fingers. His gaze swept the information rapidly. Nothing that hadn’t been there when he had tried before. Every readout said that Data should be active. But he wasn’t. Geordi’s heart thumped painfully in his chest. Could it really be that simple? He leaned over the android and whispered;

“Sherlock Holmes.”

Nothing. Not a flicker of movement, no register of neural activity. Despair swamped him as he watched the screen for any sign of Data awakening, before thumping his palm to his forehead.

“Arthur Conan Doyle!” He cried. Of course! They had changed it! Suddenly the screen lit up as reams of information scrolled up the screen, and he jerked his head around to see Data’s chest heave and his eyes snap open.

“Data?” Geordi breathed. He didn’t dare hope. Maybe it was a fluke. Any moment Data would collapse back into death. Maybe this was a hallucination, bought on by stress.

“Geordi?” Data sat up and turned his head to the engineer slowly, his eyes full of confusion. “What... How long..?” His eyes flicked from side to side as he analysed his situation before reaching up slowly to the cable jutting from his head. He explored it for a moment with his fingertips before looking at the engineer, who was regarding him with a look somewhere between terror and joy.

“Why have I been inactive for so long?” Data queried, and Geordi gasped a laugh that turned into a sob as he threw himself onto the android, wrapping his arms around him and laughing and crying, and Data regarded him in puzzlement for a moment before tentatively putting his arms around the man.

“Geordi? What is wrong?”

Geordi leaned back, clutching Data’s arms as if afraid to let him go. He gave a shaky laugh.

“Oh boy, where do I start? Put it like this... we’ve got a party to go to!”

“I’ve gotta say, this is probably the best funeral I’ve ever been to!”

Deanna grinned at Will. “I think you said the same thing about Geordi’s.”

Will laughed. “You know, I’d forgotten about that! A funeral apiece, and both still with us.” He beamed over at the bar, where Geordi and Data had been cornered by a gaggle of well-wishers, and were attempting to answer every question posed to them.

The elation that had swept through the crew at the news of Data’s reactivation had been a delight for Deanna. She sipped her drink thoughtfully as she looked out over the packed bar and then extended her senses, basking in the joy of her companions.

The Captain had made a heart-felt speech, shook hands and smiled and laughed, and then made his excuses and retired to his quarters. Will had known the real reason for his departure; Picard knew that the party wouldn’t really get going until the captain left. It saddened him a little, to think that his captain would miss out, even as he acknowledged the truth of it. He looked over at the bar again. The crowd had managed to separate Geordi and Data. Geordi was sitting on a bar stool clutching a drink and laughing. Data was surrounded by a gaggle of engineers and was obviously holding court on some technical matter. The two seemed to be happy enough although, Will mused, the looks that they were throwing each other were increasingly transparent. He grinned to himself and Deanna nudged him in the ribs.

“Now what’s that look for?” She looked at him with one eyebrow arched.

“I think Data and Geordi are looking forward to getting their second chance.” He nodded in their direction and Deanna gazed at them across the bar, tuning in to their relative emotional states.

“Hmm, I see what you mean.” She frowned minutely. “Although they won’t have much of an opportunity to talk to each other tonight.”

“I don’t think talking’s what they have in mind.” Riker graced her with his most disarming smile and she slapped him playfully on the arm.

“Just because you’re single minded doesn’t mean they are!” She flashed him a look of mock irritation, which only made his smile widen.

“Well, you’re the empath, tell me I’m wrong.” He dared her. She pursed her lips prettily.

“I’m not telling you anything about what’s going on in their heads.” She looked thoughtfully across the room. “It does seem a shame, though.” She mused.

“Well maybe something should be done about it. After all...” Will swept Deanna’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it before grinning. “I’m a great believer in second chances.”

She snatched her hand back with a laugh as he loped away from her to bound up onto the small raised stage area.

“Folks, folks, your attention please!” His voice rang melodiously through the room. “I’m delighted to welcome you all to Data’s celebration-of-life party!” He paused to allow a break for applause and cheers. “Now, I know you all have been wondering; what really happened down there on that mud-ball of a planet? Well, let me tell you, it was no walk in the park!”

Deftly he drew the attention of the crowd, and gradually the huddles around Data and Geordi broke up as people were caught and held in the first officer’s dramatic retelling of their escapades. Geordi grinned to himself as he listened to Will, who was somehow contriving to make them all sound like heroes. He started when someone touched his arm.

“Jeez, Data, I should put a bell on you!”

“My apologies. I will in future attempt to walk with a heavier tread.”

Geordi grinned up at him. “So. Enjoying the party?”

“It is... gratifying, to know that so many people were grieved by my absence. And, of course, that so many were pleased to find that the reports of my death had been greatly exaggerated.”

Geordi chuckled, although his heart ached in his chest. Just a few short hours ago, Data had been dead. He swallowed a gulp of his drink as he tried to work out what to say now. All those things that he’d wished he had said before, and now he had his chance he just... clammed up. He frowned to himself. Data glanced down at him before leaning in, and Geordi shivered, his heart beating faster.

“I think that I would like to leave.” Data murmured. Geordi glanced up at him in surprise.

“Really? It’s your party! Aren’t you having a good time?”

“At this precise moment I must admit that my thoughts are occupied with a number of options for other pursuits which, at this moment, seem preferable.”

“O-kay.” Geordi turned back to watch Will, who seemed to be acting out some part of their adventure that involved waving his arms wildly, to peals of laughter. “So, what would you rather be doing?” Geordi sipped his drink.

“You.”

Geordi choked a laugh as his beer left his mouth through his nose. He wiped his face hurriedly with his sleeve and looked up at Data with a grin. Data was not laughing. His yellow eyes were glowing with warmth, his mouth quirked in a small smile, and Geordi felt a rush of heat sweep through his body.

“Um...” Geordi’s throat suddenly felt dry, and he swallowed another swig of beer to cover his awkwardness. “Don’t you think we’ll be missed? And what if someone sees us leaving together?”

“Are you concerned that the reaction to the revelation of our romantic involvement may be negative?”

“... No...”

“Well then.” Data leaned down and kissed him, his lips soft and gentle, and Geordi felt as if he was melting. His hand came up to slip around Data’s neck, pulling him down to deepen the kiss, and Data made a small noise of pleasure in the back of his throat before pulling away to stand up, looking down on the engineer with an expression of such joy that Geordi could have wept.

“I would like to leave, now.” Data’s tone left nothing to the imagination, and Geordi trembled as he placed his glass on the bar and stood up. He swept the room with his gaze, wondering if anyone had noticed, but the only person looking in their direction was Deanna, who shook her dark curls with a smile before shooing them away with small movements of her hand. Geordi grinned at her, Data took his hand, and they crept from the room just as Riker called for the band and picked up his trombone.

It was sometime before anyone wondered where they had gone.

#Star Trek TNG #next generation #Next Gen #daforge #Data Soong #Geordi La Forge #william riker #angst #hurt/comfort #injury #mild gore #is it still gore if its an android?#all the feels

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