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nikkoliferous · 3 years

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Phase One: Avengers (Part One)

With everything being about the LOKI series right now and me dreading it, I figured I'd distract myself by finally posting my thoughts on the Phase One: Avengers novel, which I seem to recall somehow being way worse than the Thor novel? I'm not completely convinced this thing wasn't ghostwritten by Taika Waititi; that's all I'm saying. Anyways, here we go.

(Quick note: please be aware that this overview is significantly Thor-critical. If that sort of thing bothers you, I do not recommend proceeding. You've been warned. Lol)

Let's start off with a friendly reminder that SHIELD had four hours to evacuate before Loki showed up, shall we?

Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago,” Coulson was saying.

“I didn’t approve going to testing,” Fury said.

Coulson nodded. “He wasn’t testing it. He wasn’t even in the room. Spontaneous event.”

So either they're grossly incompetent or grossly negligent, but either way those deaths are on them at least as much as they're on Loki. If not more so.

“It just turned itself on?” Hill sounded skeptical. Fury, as usual, was less interested in how they’d gotten there than in what they were going to do next.

[...]

Selvig acknowledged him briefly and then returned his attention to the monitoring equipment. “Director, the Tesseract is misbehaving.”

“Is that supposed to be funny?”

“No, it’s not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she’s… behaving.”

Fury didn’t comment on the doctor characterizing the Tesseract as female. He also wasn’t interested in Selvig’s notions about its personality. It didn’t have a personality. It was a cube containing energy, and all Nick Fury wanted was to know how to control that energy. “I assume you pulled the plug.”

Fury having no intellectual curiosity explains a lot, tbh. Like how he thinks Loki "kills because it's fun", even though nothing about their prior interaction indicates that. Like, at all. Loki killed only the agents who were attacking him. Because he felt threatened. If he indeed killed for the fun of it, he would have taken them all out and been done with it. Doing so would have both entertained him and made for a much smoother getaway.

“She’s an energy source. We turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level—”

“We prepared for this, Doctor. Harnessing energy from space.”

“We’re not ready. My calculations are far from complete. And she’s throwing off interference radiation.”

Fury watched the Tesseract in its circular containment shell. Eight separate energy sensors built into a frame supporting that shell were designed to measure and conduct that energy. Those sensors in turn rested on stainless-steel support scaffolding. The whole setup sprouted cables and conduits. These were there to supply energy to the Tesseract in a controlled fashion so Dr. Selvig could analyze its reactions. Now they were all shut down, as Dr. Selvig had said, but even so, the Tesseract glowed with a fierce blue energy. It was starting to spill onto the sensors, arcing like electricity. But it wasn’t electricity. It was something much more exotic.

I also find it curious/amusing/something that Fury later accuses Loki of "stealing a force [he] can't hope to control". YOU'RE DESCRIBING YOURSELF, NICK. YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CAN'T CONTROL IT AND HAS BEEN ARROGANTLY PRETENDING YOU CAN.

The man looked up at them and smiled as he stood. He was not a large man, not remarkable in any particular way. He had long black hair and wore black leather clothing, similar to what Fury was wearing. However, he wasn’t a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Fury didn’t know where he had come from.

I beg to fucking differ lmao

Fury had the Tesseract in a steel carrying case and was taking a step toward the door when the stranger turned to him and said, “Please don’t. I still need that.”

Kudos to Loki for not forgetting his princely manners even while completely off his rocker. Lol

“This doesn’t have to get any messier,” Fury said. He glanced quickly around, trying to figure the fastest way out.

“Of course it does,” the stranger said. “I’ve come too far for anything else.”

TELL US WHAT YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH, LOKI. INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW.

“Loki?” Dr. Selvig said. He stood up from helping one of his fellow doctors, who was barely conscious. “Brother of Thor?”

“We have no quarrel with your people,” Fury said.

Loki acknowledged Selvig and then returned his attention to Fury.

By "acknowledged", the author means he rolled his eyes so hard he saw his own brain lmao

“I come with glad tidings,” Loki said. “Of a world made free.”

“Free from what?” Fury asked.

Turning back to him, Loki said simply, “Freedom. Freedom is life’s great lie. Once you accept that in your heart…” As he spoke the word “heart,” he turned and touched Selvig’s chest with the tip of his scepter, just as he had with Hawkeye. Selvig gasped, and the same change came over his face that Fury had seen in Hawkeye’s. “You will know peace.”

He's not simply deranged, you know. For Loki, this is actually true. He has never been free in his entire life, and won't be at any point after this either. Yes, there was also the torture and the mind control at play, but even underneath all that, is it any wonder he was vulnerable to the Thanos cult's brainwashing?

Hawkeye had been looking around the complex. Now he stepped up to Loki. “Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us.”

Loki looked back at Fury, who said, “Like the pharaohs of old.”

“He’s right, the portal is collapsing in on itself!” Selvig called out from the monitors. “We’ve got maybe two minutes before this goes critical.”

Friendly reminder, once again, that Loki wasn't even aware the PEGASUS facility was on the verge of collapsing—let alone the cause of it.

“Well then,” Loki said. He glanced over at Hawkeye.

Without a word, Hawkeye drew his gun and shot Nick Fury once, dead center in the chest.

Two things:

1) Every time I see this scene in gifs, all I can think of is, "Pull the lever, Kronk." 🤣

2) So how does the direct mind control of the sceptre work anyway? Because Loki never actually gives Barton a command here. So does he sometimes communicate with his minions telepathically (sort of like The Other does with him), or does Barton just intuit his intent here, or what?

Maria Hill saw Hawkeye come out of the lab into the garage with Selvig, a liaison officer, and a stranger carrying a spear. He looked more like one of the people they’d been recruiting into the Avengers Initiative than an ordinary technician or S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. “Who's that?” she asked.

*sigh* In a just MCU, this would have been foreshadowing.

She jumped into a jeep and headed after them. Other S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles followed, filled with agents. They roared along the underground access road that led up to the surface in the New Mexico desert. She was gaining on them and firing as she drove. Sooner or later, she’d be close enough to have a good shot at the stranger.

He had other ideas, though. When he saw the pursuing convoy get too close, he pointed his scepter at them. The tip of it flared bright blue, and a bolt of energy lashed out from it, striking the vehicle in front of Hill and shattering the right side of its passenger compartment. The vehicle slewed around and flipped, rolling and landing sideways across the road. They were blocked.

Interesting of Loki to go for the passenger compartment instead of the driver. Was anyone even sitting there? Just one more example in a long string of Loki being inexplicably merciful to his enemies, I guess. 🤷

They got around ahead of the truck, and Fury leaned out of the helicopter’s side door. He fired, emptying his clip. He could tell from the sparks that some of the bullets had hit, but he was too far away to see if they’d done any damage.

His real target was Loki, but he was protected by the cab of the truck. Fury couldn’t get a good shot at him.

Did Fury already forget that Loki is bulletproof, or...? I mean, I guess that's fair. Earlier, Hawkeye goes to draw his sidearm only minutes after the narration points out that the bullets already fired at Loki had bounced away harmlessly.

Leaning over the truck’s roof and keeping low, however, Loki could get a good shot at the helicopter. A blue bolt lanced out and struck the helicopter’s rotor assembly. All the control mechanisms went haywire, and the helicopter spiraled down out of the sky. The truck drove underneath them as they were about to crash, close enough that Fury could see the gloating expression on Loki’s face.

Haha, good for him.

“Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me,” she said.

“Oh, I’ve got Stark,” Coulson said. “You’ve got the big guy.”

Oh, Natasha thought. That big guy. She said something in Russian. It wasn’t polite.

This has nothing to do with Loki. It just made me laugh.

Nick Fury had called an emergency meeting of the World Security Council. They needed to know what had happened with the Tesseract, and they needed to know what he planned to do about it. He brought up holographic images of all the WSC members, with their faces and locations hidden. He did not know who they were, but S.H.I.E.L.D. reported to them.

Well, that doesn't sound problematic at all, does it?

“The Avengers Initiative was shut down.”

“This isn’t about the Avengers.” That wasn’t strictly true, but Nick Fury was no idiot. He wasn’t going to show all his cards to the World Security Council when he didn’t even know who they were.

I'm glad he at least recognizes the stupidity of working for people he doesn't know, but uh... debatable, otherwise. Lol

“This isn’t about personality profiles anymore,” Coulson said. He wasn’t giving up, and that irritated Tony even more than the fact he’d showed up right when the celebration of Stark Tower was supposed to be starting.

*cough*DIVA*cough*

Loki watched Dr. Erik Selvig work, preparing the Tesseract for the next phase of his plan. Technicians and soldiers scurried about on various errands. Loki did not know the details and did not care. They were beneath him. He had his eye solely on the greater prize. It was time to consult with the Chitauri and begin the next phase of the preparations.

Really? You expect me to believe that Loki, the master tactician with "a cunning mind far exceeding Thor and Odin’s", couldn't be bothered to know the details of his own plan? Um, how about no?

Deep space and a field of stars surrounded this rocky world. Pale blue lights glowed where the Chitauri had built their fortress. They gleamed in a set of stairs that climbed to the topmost tower. That was where Loki had made his bargain with the Chitauri: They would be his army and he would open a path to Earth for them. Once Earth was his, and Asgard as well, he would turn the Tesseract over to them.

At least that was what he had promised.

1) Who said anything about Asgard...?

2) Indicator that Loki never planned on actually turning over the Tesseract? I don't know why you'd include this line otherwise.

“Let them gird themselves,” he said. “I will lead them in glorious battle.”

“Battle?” the Chitauri warrior snorted. “Against the meager might of Earth?”

“Glorious,” Loki repeated. “Not lengthy. If your force is as formidable as you claim.”

He had intended to anger the Chitauri, and he had succeeded.

Personally, I saw this less as intending to anger and more as "Loki has no self-preservation instinct and literally cannot help himself". What's to be gained by intentionally pissing off The Other here?

“You don’t have the Tesseract yet.” The Chitauri leader rushed at Loki and stopped just short of him, claws raised. Loki did not move.

“I don’t threaten,” he said, though he was doing exactly that.

LOL

The Chitauri leader backed down but only a step. “You will have your war, Asgardian,” he growled. Then he too decided to make a threat. “If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he cannot find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain.”

Loki flashed back into his awareness of Earth. He took a deep breath. The Chitauri did not frighten him… but he would have been a fool if he had not possessed a healthy respect for their leader, the mad Titan known as Thanos. For it was Thanos who had given Loki the scepter, and Thanos who had rallied the Chitauri to Loki’s cause… and Thanos who wished to possess the Tesseract for his own monstrous ends. One did not bargain lightly with Thanos—and one certainly did not fail to meet the terms of such a bargain.

Love how this book just repeatedly glosses over the obvious fact that Loki was tortured. In the first chapter, it makes zero mention of his stumbling or other signs of being weakened. Here, it completely omits the pain WE ALL SAW The Other inflict on him. Fuck this narrator, seriously.

Steve had a moment to look around. The commanding officer appeared to be a woman with short dark hair reeling off orders from near the center of the bridge. “S.H.I.E.L.D. Emergency Protocol 193.6 in effect,” she was saying after a series of status orders and acknowledgments. Steve didn’t know what protocol that was. At the moment, all he knew was that he was on a flying aircraft carrier… and wasn’t that enough? Amazing.

[....]

The Helicarrier disappeared from view. From the inside, it didn’t look any different, but Steve saw monitors from satellite feeds, and on those, the Helicarrier had simply become invisible. He corrected himself: He wasn’t just on a flying aircraft carrier. He was on an invisible flying aircraft carrier. The future was pretty… cool, was the word everyone used now.

I'm not the biggest Steve fan, but I will admit to finding his childlike awe over the Helicarrier slightly adorable. Lol

Side note: is someone on this thing coordinating with Air Traffic Control? I... really hope so.

“What did it show you, Agent Barton?”

Barton turned to look at Loki. “My next target,” he said.

Loki nodded. “Tell me what you need.”

Barton took one his bows out of a case and snapped it into shape with a flick of his arm. “I need a distraction,” he said. “And a biometric ID.”

Why the change from "eyeball", I wonder? Seems random. Lol

Inside, Loki had been mingling with the crowd, taking on the appearance of an ordinary man with a walking stick. But as the president of the museum, one Doktor Heinrich Schäfer, began his welcoming speech, Loki decided it was time to make a dramatic entrance. He tapped the walking stick on the floor and it became his scepter. Immediately, to get the crowd’s attention, he aimed it at the nearest museum security guard and fired.

This... didn't happen?? At all??

Loki strode the rest of the way down the stairs and manhandled Schäfer over to a stone altar that was one of the museum’s prized ancient Norse relics. He slammed Schäfer onto his back, forcing a machine over his face. Schäfer cried out in pain and surprise as the machine shone blinding light into his face, holding his eyes open.

On the one hand, confirmation that Loki did not actually shred this dude's eye and he's probably fine. On the other hand, the author completely made up what just happened literally two sentences ago, so their credibility is a little suspect at the moment. Lol

A police car, alerted by the commotion, raced toward him. He blasted it with his scepter, and it spun out of control and crashed.

ACAB!

The crowd froze. Slowly the crowd knelt, and Loki reveled in their submission. “There,” he said. “Is this not simpler? Is this not your natural state? It’s the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.”

He's talking about himself here. We all get that, right?

An old man in the middle of the crowd stood. Loki paused in his speech to regard this individual. Around him, all the copies of himself also looked at this old man.

“Not to men like you,” the old man said.

“There are no men like me,” Loki said.

No lies detected.

But Loki was tougher than he looked. He struck back with the scepter, forcing Captain America to parry until Loki found an opening and slammed the butt of the scepter into Captain America’s midsection, knocking him down. Captain America threw the shield again, but this time Loki was ready. He knocked it aside. It fell ringing to the stones of the plaza, and Loki had the tip of the scepter against the back of Captain America’s neck before the soldier could get back to his feet.

Correction: If he'd actually been trying to win, he would have used the tip. (Narrator: he was not trying to win).

A sudden storm rose around the Quinjet. Natasha looked at the instrument panel. There’d been no warning of heavy weather. “Where’s this coming from?” she wondered out loud.

At first, she thought that Loki was responsible. But that didn’t appear to be the case. He looked more nervous than anyone else on the jet.

Loki has Thor-induced PTSD. Understandable, tbh.

Thor let Loki fall well before they got to the ground.

Because Thor is an asshole.

So hey, as long as we're here, let's review how each member of Loki's family responds to the realisation that he's survived his suicide attempt.

Thor- manhandles him, angrily demands to know where the Tesseract is

Odin- refuses to even use his name, implies he should have either slaughtered him as an infant or left him to die

Frigga- tells him not to make things worse (fucking rich coming from the woman who exacerbated his trauma immeasurably by thrusting the throne upon him when he was at his most vulnerable)

Wild, man. I wonder why Loki's convinced his family doesn't give a shit about him. They seem like such loving people to me.

“I remember a shadow,” Loki said bitterly. “Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I who was and should be king!”

Because you would have destroyed Asgard, Thor thought. Just to impress our father, you would have annihilated all the Nine Realms. “So you took the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights? No. The Earth is under my protection, Loki.”

1) Actually, he was trying to save Asgard... from a war that YOU started, numbnuts. He went about it all wrong because he was having a fucking mental breakdown, but at no stage did he even really endanger Asgard, let alone come close to destroying it.

2) Um, what? Where the fuck in Loki's plan was annihilating anything other than Jötunheim? I see Thor shares his friends' impressive conclusion-jumping skills. Not surprising.

3) Thor, I mean this truly and without reservation: go fuck yourself.

Loki chuckled. “And you’re doing a marvelous job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves while you idly fret. I mean to rule them, and why should I not?”

He... has a point.

“You think yourself above them?”

“Well, yes.”

At least Loki is honest about his condescension, Thor. You should try it sometime.

Suddenly furious, Loki raged at Thor. “I’ve seen worlds you’ve never known about! I have grown, Odinson, in my exile. I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it—”

“Who showed you this power?” Thor interrupted. “Who controls the would-be king?”

And he will never bring this up again. Ever.

Stepping right up to his brother, Thor shouted back. “Not here! You give up the Tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream!” Then he softened. “You come home.”

“I don’t have it,” Loki said. Furious, Thor brought Mjolnir to his hand, ready for battle.

Thor's sort of a one-solution kind of guy, huh? Somebody help me out here, because he's "changed" but his first instinct when he's not getting his way is still to react with intimidation and violence. Funny how that works.

Tony braked and skidded to a halt as the Asgardian rolled away from him, tearing up trees and brush as he went. He got to his feet and extended a warning hand. “Do not touch me again,” he said.

Oh, what's the matter, Thor? Do you not like being manhandled? That's weird because you sure do seem to enjoy doing the manhandling. 😕

“If he gives up the cube, he’s all yours. Until then…” Tony’s faceplate clamped back down. “Stay out of the way.”

He turned to walk back to a place where he could make a clean takeoff. “Tourist,” he muttered.

That was the last straw, apparently, because the next thing Tony knew, the Asgardian’s hammer had hit him about as hard as he’d ever been hit in his life. The force of the blow carried him through the trunk of a tree and laid him out flat in the dirt.

Please note that Thor was not being attacked. He once again used offensive violence against someone who hurt his feelbads. "Changed", my rear.

“Then prove it,” Cap said. “Put that hammer down.”

“Uh, no, bad call,” Iron Man said. “He loves his hammer—”

The Asgardian interrupted Tony by smashing him out of the way with a backhand swing. “You want me to put the hammer down?” he roared, and leaped high into the air, bringing his hammer down toward Captain America.

And again—not in any immediate danger, simply reacting with violence to something that made him angry.

“Oh, I’ve heard. A mindless beast. Makes play he’s still a man. How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?”

“How desperate am I?” Fury echoed. He walked slowly over the catwalk to stand in front of Loki. “You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can’t hope to control. You talk about peace, but you kill because it’s fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did.”

This is called 'projection', kids. Projection, and making up stories about your enemies so they're easier to hate. Fury needs to show his work.

Loki knew he had been heard throughout the ship. He could hear the echoes of the speakers, and even if he had not, he always knew when people were listening to him. That was part of his power, to make them listen… and to make each of them hear something just a little different. Just what he wanted them to hear.

This doesn’t mean anything, does it??

Perhaps he was in a cage right now, but he had been in cages before. Not once had one been able to hold him for long.

This... has to be a reference to his time with the Black Order, right? There's certainly no basis for such a statement pre-2011.

Or the author is just on crack. That's very possible.

Thor took a step toward Bruce. “Have a care how you speak,” he warned. “Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard… and he is my brother.”

“He killed eighty people in two days,” Natasha pointed out.

Citation needed, please.

“Well, I promise a stress-free environment. No tension, no surprises…” As he spoke, Tony walked behind Bruce and gave him a little zap with an electrical instrument.

“Ow!” Bruce said.

Tony looked closely at him. “Nothing?” He’d been testing Bruce to see how well he controlled the Hulk. The little shock hadn’t provoked any kind of unusual reaction, which Tony seemed to find a little disappointing.

Ok, but what exactly was Tony's plan if Bruce had Hulked out here? lmao

“Steve,” Bruce said, “tell me none of this smells a little funky to you.”

Cap looked back and forth between the two scientists. Bruce could tell he was struggling with something… but he also wasn’t going to share it. He was too much of a good soldier for that.

🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

“Yeah. I’ll read all about it.”

“Or you’ll be suiting up with the rest of us.”

Bruce shook his head with a regretful smile. “No, see, I don’t get a suit of armor. I’m exposed. Like a nerve. It’s a nightmare.”

Bruce has BPD. Lol

No, you guys don't understand. That's literally what it feels like.

Thor watched over Coulson’s shoulder as the agent showed him S.H.I.E.L.D.’s current files on Jane Foster. When he had learned that Loki had captured Erik Selvig, his first thought had been of Jane. Thor had destroyed the Bifrost to save the Nine Realms, but he had also cut himself off from her… or so he had thought. It was a terrible decision to make, sacrificing love for duty—yet Thor had done it. If necessary, he would do it again. He hoped it would not be necessary, though, and that was one reason why he had asked Coulson about Jane.

Oh my god, Thor. You spent like, three days with her, max. And people call Loki the dramatic one...

Thor looked out into the sky, gathering his thoughts. “When I first came to Earth,” he went on, “Loki’s rage followed me here, and your people paid the price. Now, again. In my youth, I courted war.”

“War hasn’t started yet,” Fury said.

1) Correction: when your daddy threw you to Earth like a sack of trash down a cosmic garbage chute. You were not here on vacation, bro.

2) No, Loki's rage followed your treasonous friends.

3) LAST YEAR. YOUR 'YOUTH' WAS LAST YEAR.

4) *committed mass murder over an insult

“You think you could make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is?”

This possibility hadn’t occurred to Thor. “I do not know,” he said. “Loki’s mind is far afield. It’s not just power he craves. It’s vengeance, upon me. There’s no pain that would pry that need from him.”

1) Opposing Thor = being crazy. Noted.

2) Not everything is about you, buddy. At the risk of repeating myself, this is the guy I'm supposed to believe learned humility? Really? Where?

3) Please note that Thor does not object to torturing Loki because it's immoral or because the thought of hurting Loki pains him. He objects because he doesn't believe it will work.

Thor held Fury’s gaze. It was not the first time he had looked at a one-eyed man who posed him a difficult question. “What are you asking me to do?” he asked, wanting Fury to be clear and to own his words.

“I’m asking what you are prepared to do,” Fury said quietly.

“Loki is a prisoner,” Thor said. He thought Fury was testing him, seeing if he would violate his ideals to find out something they all needed to know. But Thor would not.

"I'm okay with physically assaulting prisoners if they make me mad, but I suddenly draw the line at torture. Even though my 'ideals' didn't appear to be a concern two sentences ago."

If I feel like being generous to Thor, maybe he initially hoped Fury would back off if he just said torture wouldn't work, and then Thor wouldn't have to risk appearing... soft? Weak? I don't know.

“But you figured I’d come,” she said.

“After,” Loki said. “After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate.” It was a typical approach. Cause misery, and then let someone appear as a friendly face. The miserable person would say anything to keep this friend. Loki had seen strong men break this way, many times.

I'm not sure why the author felt the need to depersonalize this by talking about other men. Loki knows this experience intimately. It's what he's endured his entire life at the hands of his "loving" family. The torture just wasn't physical then as far as we know.

An interesting story, Loki thought. She has much to atone for. He could hear some of her memories, from before her first encounter with Barton. Little girl, he thought, you’ve done some very bad things. And now you think you owe Clint Barton your life… but there is more to it. Loki could tell there was something in her mind that he was not quite uncovering. He pushed a little more.

Is... is this text implying that Loki can read people's minds/memories even without touching them?

“Can you?” he asked. “Can you wipe out that much red?” He listed for her some of the things he knew she had done. “Dreykov’s daughter… São Paulo… the hospital fire? Barton told me everything.” This was a lie. Barton had told Loki certain things about Romanoff, but he was also guessing some others.

He... guessed the details of these very specific incidents? What? lmao

He pushed ahead. Now that he understood her, he could break her. “Your ledger is dripping, it’s gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? Pathetic. You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors, but they are part of you and they will never go away.”

He's talking about himself again. 🥺

For some reason, this book skips right over the part where Loki threatens both Barton's and Natasha's lives. Not sure why; the author clearly has no problem depicting Loki as an unhinged psychopath most of the time. Oh well, whatevs.

Loki couldn’t understand how she had gathered her composure so quickly—and then he did understand. She was a superb actress! Or not even an actress, for he could see through a conscious performance. She was something else. She had been broken down and remade so many times, with so many identities, that she could put them on and take them off at will. And Loki had gotten lost in those emotional costume changes.

He had been outwitted by a mortal. Unthinkable.

Yeah, phew, it's a good thing Natasha figured it out in time. Otherwise, something terrible might have happened—like Bruce Hulking out and rampaging through the Helicarrier. Oh, wait...

“I was wrong, Director,” Cap said. “The world hasn’t changed a bit.” He looked angry and disappointed. Captain America was a big believer in shooting straight and telling the truth. He didn’t like spies and he didn’t like lies, and now he saw he was knee-deep in both.

This novel's hero worship of Steve Rogers is going to kill me. 🙄

“I’d like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction,” Bruce finished.

“Because of him,” Fury said, pointing at Thor.

“Me?”

“Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town,” Fury said. “We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned.”

Has anyone figured out yet how this line doesn't conflict with Captain Marvel? Is Fury lying to hide her existence for some reason? Or is this just one of those things that we're supposed to shrug and pretend wasn't retconned?

“A nuclear deterrent,” Tony said. “Because that always calms everything right down.”

“Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark,” Fury said coldly.

On the one hand, yes, good point. But on the other hand, he... stopped making them? So clearly, he no longer thinks they are a good thing?

And also, not to gloss over his past sins, but wasn't Tony born rich? Lol

“I thought humans were more evolved than this,” Thor commented.

Tony turned on Thor. “Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?”

Didn't Fury say this in the movie? Why did the author give the line to Tony instead? There are all these... weird changes in the story that are so minor I have no idea why the author made them. Very confusing.

Just like that, all of them were arguing. Cap and Tony were nose to nose, while Bruce and Natasha fired remarks back and forth. Thor stood off to the side, contempt plain on his face.

'Cause he also thinks he's superior to humans. 🙃

Tony and Cap squared off over an argument that they couldn’t even remember starting. Tony was still mad about the last thing Cap had said to him… whatever it was.

In case there was any doubt about the sceptre being the reason everyone starts losing their shit with one another.

Cap stood his ground. “Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?”

Tony had an answer ready for this one. “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”

Hey Steve? You know he invented the suit, right? Like. The suit is literally him.

“Put on the suit,” Cap said. “Let’s go a few rounds.”

Steve putting out big Joe Biden, "listen, fat..." energy here lmao

Thor laughed. “You people are so petty… and tiny.”

Thor, my dude. You literally started a war over being emasculated in front of your friends. I don't think you get to judge other people for being petty.

Fury could see things were spiraling out of control. He started trying to get them all back on track. “Agent Romanoff,” he said, “would you escort Dr. Banner back to—”

“Where?” Bruce interrupted. “My room? You rented my room.”

Nobody had said it out loud, but they all knew the cell currently holding Loki was designed for the Hulk.

What was their plan for containing the Hulk if necessary after sticking Loki in his cage, anyway? Did they even have one?

“Dr. Banner,” Cap said. “Put down the scepter.”

Bruce looked down. He hadn’t even known he’d picked it up.

Why does that sound familiar...?

Even though he could see what was going on, the hostility in the air was still thick enough that Bruce didn’t know whether he could back everyone down… or whether he could back himself down. He could feel tension rising inside him. He could feel the monster trying to get loose.

And yet none of them so much as considers the idea that the sceptre might be having a similar effect on Loki? Ok then.

But even though he was now refocused on the mission, the others still bickered. Loki had gotten into their heads, sowing discord and setting them against each other.

lmao I'd just like to note that Loki didn't actually do anything. This was all them and the effects of just being near the sceptre. #ThanksLoki

“The Tesseract belongs to Asgard,” Thor said.

Why, though?

“I’ll go after it,” Tony said.

“No you don’t,” Cap said, stepping into his way. He wasn’t ready to forget the way Tony had insulted him.

Ok, first of all, you started it. But also, seriously, Steve, that's your number one priority right now? Earth's mightiest heroes, ladies and gentlemen... lol

I have apparently managed to hit the paragraph limit, so we'll return after this short break, I guess. 🙈

↪️ On to Part Two

#there is a lot of salt here please remember to drink plenty of water #loki meta #loki #thor #tony stark #steve rogers #bruce banner #natasha romanoff #clint barton #nick fury #avengers assemble #mcu #phase one: avengers #thor critical

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avversiera-writes · 3 years

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touch your heart [senju tobirama/you] - chapter 6

Summary: Hashirama might go down as the worst matchmaker in history, but he thinks he might be on to something. Tobirama sees through his brother's schemes and is determined not to fall for it. Or fall for you.

Word Count: about 4k

AO3 LINK TO TOUCH YOUR HEART

AOR SERIES LINK TO ‘TIL DEATH DO US PART

[<<<CHAPTER ONE] [CHAPTER TWO] [CHAPTER THREE] [CHAPTER FOUR] [CHAPTER FIVE]

After the fiasco the other day with you, Tobirama tries his best to avoid you, despite the fact that his brother invited you to their home for dinner tomorrow. It’s not that he hates you or anything, it’s just that his mind is currently preoccupied with a new jutsu idea that he has been working on non-stop. He knows how impossible he can get when he is busy like this, and the more he spirals, the more he becomes reclusive and irate. He is aware of this and he does not want you to see this side of him.

Honestly, he does not want to give you any more edge to see through him.

He also does not want to hear you ask him if he’s okay.

He’s okay, damn it. This happens every now and then.

It will pass.

Yes, he still thinks that you may be up to something, but at the end of the day, you are a person and he knows that you do not deserve this from him.

He tries to get through work as quickly and as efficiently as possible, and he exercises his patience more than usual because he knows decency .

He notices the little things about you, like the bags under your eyes and the sharp lines of your cheekbones. You look more gaunt these days, and your worn-out clothes look larger than you. Speaking of your clothes, he figures out that you have at least five articles of clothing, and your sandals look like they are about to fall apart in your next step. However, he notices most of all that your weapons are some of the highest quality of weapons he has ever seen.

The way you wield them is also one of the best swordsmanship he has ever encountered, maybe, maybe , even second to him, but that is kind of overestimating you because he does not know your limits. You hold it specifically, with a very practiced and calm air, each arc and swing you make is calculated and dangerous. Your footwork is superb, and your instincts are great, as if you have spent all your life hunting and thinking on your feet. Despite not having any special chakra, he is secretly impressed with the abilities you have shown him.

You are also a good teacher, something he will not admit, and the only improvement he can suggest later on (when he is of sound mind) is that you can tone down your sarcasm because sometimes, kids are impressionable and they cannot read that clearly.

Another thing that bugs him is your relationship with Madara.

For all of his life, he has never pegged Madara to take someone under his wing, especially when that someone is a stranger and could possibly be a dangerous person. What did you do to make Madara take you in like you are one of his own? What did Madara do to make you so grateful to him that you follow him everywhere? Are you two planning something?

Those are some questions that he racks his brain over when he has the time, and he can keep asking himself and keep knocking that wall but he never gets anywhere. It’s not like he would willingly interrogate Madara over that too, though that is something he may have no choice but to do later on.

Tobirama sighs, and he glances at you.

He also finds that you are a very determined person, and he delights seeing that his teaching is working. Not that he would admit to that, either. No, he does not hate you, he finally decides that, but you make him face so many things that he’d rather not think about.

He thinks about the irony in that. Here he is, designing the rules that the shinobi should follow about setting your emotions aside for the mission, but he is falling a little short trying to stick to his rules. Aside from feeling disdain towards you, he thinks–and his mind has never failed him because for all the gods’ sake he is logical –that you are a pretty good person.

He hears you leave quietly, and when you are gone, he lets out a breath he has been holding.

He just needs to be more patient, and this will all be finished. It won’t be long until he does not have to deal with you anymore.

He tries to ignore a sinking feeling in his chest with that thought.

You make it halfway through the river when your chakra flow gives up on you and you sink underneath the water again.

You stay under until you can no longer hold your breath, and you break through the surface with a gasp. You ride with the current until you notice your body getting more tired and heavy, so you make a break towards the bank and haul yourself up.

You think that was some good progress.

You shiver from the cold, but you are also too tired to move and even make it home. You crawl towards your things and grab your coat and wrap yourself with it. You lean your back on a tree and you stare at the open scroll in front of you. Under the moonlight, you stare at the silhouette of Tobirama’s handwriting on the side of the paper. Compared to his older handwriting, his recent ones look deranged, like he has been writing quickly without looking where he is writing. You do not want to ask him to clarify what he wrote because he may think that you are making fun of him again.

You shake your head and you stare towards the river, listening to the sound of its flow. It lulls you to sleep, your thoughts going to Tobirama and your tiny discoveries about him, and for once, you have a dreamless sleep. The most peaceful one yet.

When you come to, a face appears in your blurry vision.

You start and you hit your head at the bark of the tree. At the same time, your hand grabs at your wakizashi.

Your vision clears and you see Tobirama staring at you curiously.

“What is wrong with you?” You snap, and you rub the sleep off of your eyes.

Tobirama blinks, and he peers at you closer with wonder.

You lean away from him. “Okay?” You frown in confusion and you study him.

Tobirama is way too calm, and his eyes are relaxed. There is no malice in his gaze, and there are no wrinkles on his forehead. Is he drunk?

You unsheath your blade, thinking that maybe, just maybe , this is a test of sorts. This is some clone of his and he is spying on you. You know that he is on to you, despite keeping a pretty clean record in Konoha so far.

Tobirama’s eyes widen at the blade and he grabs your wrist and throws you to the side.

You yelp, and you accidentally let go of your blade. You glare at Tobirama and you charge at him and tackle him to the ground.

Tobirama fights back, but there is a look of confusion and wariness on his face. You flatten him to the ground and pin him down, but he is a lot stronger than you and he manages to flip you over on your back. He presses his big, callused hands on your wrists, pinning them to the sides of your head.

“Who are you?” Tobirama demands.

You stare at him in confusion. “What?!”

Tobirama’s eyes darken, and you sense that he really does not know you . What is going on? Is this a dream?

You clash your head to his face, hitting his nose, and this is enough for you to bring your knees up and shake Tobirama’s weight off of you. You straddle him again, and this time, you reach for a knife strapped to your leg and point it towards his neck.

“How dare you?” You drawl.

Tobirama’s eyes narrow. “Where am I?”

“Stop playing around,” you lean forward to press your arm against his neck, the tip of your knife pointing to his side, where his artery is located.

“You attacked me first,” Tobirama says.

“Why are you acting like this?” You yell.

Tobirama frowns in confusion. “I do not know,” he says in a daze. “Do I know you?”

“Tobirama,” you utter under your breath, and dread washes over you.

“Is that my name?”

You release your hold on him and you help him up. “Yes. You are Senju Tobirama. Are you fucking drunk?”

Tobirama tilts his head with curiosity. “Do you normally talk like that?”

You roll your eyes. “Haha, very funny. You got me. This is the best prank of the year, now stop.”

“I’m not kidding,” Tobirama frowns, and he seems upset.

You stare at him with disbelief. You massage your forehead and you look to the ground.

“May I know where I am?”

“What? Shouldn’t you know? You founded this village!”

Tobirama frowns. “I did?”

You scowl. It is too early for this. “Yes. You and your elder brother, Senju Hashirama.”

Tobirama nods, seeming to analyze this information.

“Do you know what today is?” You ask.

“Today?”

“Today is Friday.”

“I see.”

You step closer to him, meaning to examine his head for any injuries, but Tobirama throws a punch towards you and you block it and grab his arm, then you aim a kick to his cheek to throw him down.

“Why are you attacking me?” You shout, and you step on Tobirama’s chest.

“You were going to attack me again!”

“I was going to check if you have any injuries to the head, you bastard!”

Tobirama stops fighting you and he sits up. “Well, now I will, because of you,” he taunts sarcastically.

You huff in annoyance. “Damn it, you make my life harder.”

Tobirama raises a questioning eyebrow. "Really?"

You roll your eyes. "Whatever this is, I'd rather we find the solution as soon as possible."

Tobirama nods, his expression inquisitive. "It seems that I may be suffering from some kind of memory loss. A normal person wouldn't forget their name easily right?"

You stare at Tobirama and sigh. "You aren't exactly the most normal person," you murmur.

Tobirama peers at you. "Do we know each other?"

You roll your eyes, but then an idea pops into your head. "So you really do not know me?"

Tobirama puts his hand under his chin, thinking. "Naturally, I am starting to think that we are enemies."

You guffaw. "How come?"

"Your first reaction towards me is to stab me."

" You were staring at me while sleeping, anyone would be surprised."

"Your instinct tells you to stab someone when they look at you?"

You hum. "Sometimes. You do what you have to do to live."

Tobirama stares at you, this time with an openness you have never seen him show. "You've had it hard, haven't you?"

You stare back at him, realizing that something must have really happened to this man. He has no memory, and there is a curious youthfulness in his demeanor. It's like he's free from all what plagues him as the Hokage's younger brother, as the smartest and most innovative mind of this generation.

You figure telling him a little more about yourself wouldn't hurt.

You approach him and run your fingers on the sides and on the back of his head, searching for any bumps, bleeding, or cracks of any kind.

"Yeah, I kind of did. I came from a family who quitted being shinobi because of war, and as a result, I had to run from them…"

"Why?" Tobirama asks this question without his usual roughness and judging tone.

You smile bitterly. "Because in my family, to keep women and children out of war, you either have to die or you die trying to run from them."

Tobirama grows silent. You find no injury to his head.

"I am sorry," Tobirama finally says.

You shrug, a little amused that it takes Tobirama's memories getting erased to make him apologize to you.

"Never heard that before," you joke.

Tobirama frowns.

"Okay, well, let's wander around and search for anything to get clues on how you ended up this way."

Tobirama nods and he follows you as you begin to walk around aimlessly. You search for any disturbance on the ground to trace where Tobirama has walked, and finally, you find it, snapped sticks, smashed leaves and vague lines of a footprint.

"Tobirama, you're either the worst drunk in history, or someone got you good."

Tobirama looks around, and he looks to the branches above him.

"Which I find impossible since you claim to be the strongest shinobi, second to your brother of course."

"I sound like a pompous jerk, is what you're saying."

"Hey, you're own words, not mine!"

Tobirama smirks. "So tell me more about myself, it may ring a bell."

You ponder this. While it is fun to lead him on the wrong way, it is also dangerous. If he has been wandering around in this state, he is lucky if he has not run into anyone who would want to kill him.

"Stay close," you tell Tobirama.

You find Tobirama’s things in the same path, and you bend down to examine them. There are no signs that he struggled, in fact, his things are neatly arranged like he had planned for this.

You frown and you open his knapsack to go through it. You find his notes, hoping that he keeps some kind of record of his days. You skim through them, and then, his handwriting increasingly gets messier.

You take a deep breath, hoping that it is not as bad as you are thinking.

You read through his research notes, and while some of the information on it is advanced, you can now understand it due to the books Tobirama has made you read. You skim through it faster, realizing that Tobirama is in the process of creating a jutsu: he aims to make a jutsu that can wipe out memories. Your heart sinks as you read his last thought on paper.

Since there are no immediate test subjects, I will have to test this on myself and hope that Elder Brother will notice my absence. If it works, that is.

"Oh, it worked well alright," you mutter tersely.

Your head snaps up and you realize that Tobirama is not near you.

"That bastard," you swear.

You jump to your feet and you search for his familiar white head, when you notice him a few feet away, crouching down near a bush.

"What are you doing?" You ask as you step near him.

"Watching a snake eat a frog," Tobirama deadpans. "It’s something else."

You watch Tobirama for a few more seconds, and then you walk over to grab his arm. “Come on, we have to go see your brother.”

“Ah, to find more information, I reckon?”

You purse your lips. “That, and to fix what you did to yourself.”

Tobirama watches you curiously. “What do you mean?”

“Are you insane?” You cannot help but scold him. “Why would you erase your own memories?”

Tobirama raises an eyebrow at you. You press his notes to his chest and he brings a hand up to get them. He flips through them, his eyes lighting up in delight. He nods in amazement as his eyes move right to left to read his own handwriting.

“I seem to have a gift for experimentation.”

“You think?”

“According to myself, this is important work.”

“What?” You snap scathingly. “What part of important work is putting yourself in danger?”

He leans forward until he is only a breath apart from you. “If I did not know any better, I would think you care about me.”

You look down to his nose to avoid his gaze.

"What are we? Is there something between us?" Tobirama asks, genuinely curious. He raises an eyebrow, and he looks almost smug.

You cannot stand this Tobirama and even though you are going to regret it, you miss the grumpy one.

"Are you mad? You hate me," you snap.

Tobirama gives you a scowl. "If you claim that I hate you, then why were you the first person to be near me? I don't seem like the kind of person to just let anyone accompany me." He crosses his arms. "Even a blind person can see through your lies."

"Because you're mad, that's why." Your heart climbs up to your throat, making it hard to swallow.

Tobirama starts to walk away, but he is heading in the wrong direction.

You follow him, and try to tug him the other way, but Tobirama is stubborn and he is curious about every little thing. You need to get Tobirama to his brother as soon as possible, or the two of you may run into trouble.

“Okay, hey,” you start. “I promise that you’ll get more information if we just go back to your brother.”

Tobirama narrows his eyes distrustfully. “Nice try.”

“I am not lying,” you hissed. You step in front of him to halt his steps, and you put your hands on his shoulders. “Use your chakra to check.”

Tobirama glances down at you, and he tilts his head, thinking. Then he takes a deep breath.

“You can trust me,” you promise him.

Tobirama frowns, but you see that he believes you.

“Let’s go, please,” you plead with him.

Hashirama is not surprised that his brother decided to pull something like this. He had his brother sit on a chair and you watch as Hashirama puts his hands on the sides of Tobirama’s head and he begins to fix whatever Tobirama did to himself.

“When he was just a little boy, Tobirama was naturally like this, curious, a little rude, but he’s quiet most of the time,” Hashirama murmurs.

You smile at the thought of a young Tobirama, spending hours poring over a book and going on adventures to make discoveries about nature.

It takes a while, and when Tobirama has come to, Hashirama wastes no time to scold his brother.

The two are yelling in Hashirama’s office, and you try to make yourself invisible by making sure you do not make any sudden movements or noise. You slowly inch towards the door, but Tobirama’s eyes land on you and you freeze.

“What is she doing here?” Tobirama snaps. “This is none of her business!”

Hashirama takes a deep breath, and he glares at his brother. “Stop treating her like that, Tobirama. If it wasn’t for her, you would have probably killed yourself in some way.”

Tobirama scoffs, rolls his eyes and crosses his arms across his chest. “Oh, please.”

“I am going to leave now,” you tell them.

“No, stay,” Hashirama commands.

“Lord Hashirama,” you protest.

“Elder brother,” Tobirama says at the same time.

Tobirama narrows his eyes at you, the man you have met earlier gone. “She is not needed here.”

You roll your eyes. “Lord Hashirama, I really do not want to cause any more trouble.”

There is a minuscule change in Tobirama’s expression, but luckily for you, you are able to catch it. It looks like a hint of embarrassment. Even though he is glaring at you, he can’t quite meet your eyes.

“Yeah, you’ve done enough,” Tobirama starts.

Your mouth slightly drops open in shock. “Excuse me? Who was the one staring at me while I was sleeping like some creep?”

“You tried to stab me!”

“I was half-awake!”

“Yeah? Well it seems like your senses are not sharp enough to recognize me!”

“Who got themself in this mess anyways?”

“My memory was wiped!”

“Because you’re insane!” You shout. “Who in their right mind would do that to themself?”

“It was for science and for the shinobi world!”

“What a misguided argument.”

Tobirama opens his mouth, his eyes purely made from fire.

“Enough! Sit,” Hashirama commands, no longer entertaining the two of them. “You on the other side, and Tobirama on the other.”

“Elder brother, we are not children,” Tobirama says tersely, but he is currently moving towards his designated seat.

“Oh yeah?” Hashirama challenges. “Then quit acting like one, especially you, Tobirama.”

You stifle a snicker as you lower yourself in your seat.

Tobirama’s jaw sharpens, and his neck is starting to grow pink. Of all people to witness him getting scolded by his brother, it has to be you. Just his luck.

“No talking,” Hashirama says firmly and passes the two of you a stack of documents to read through. “And we leave together for dinner.”

Tobirama’s expression withers, and reluctantly opens the document to start.

You catch Hashirama’s apologetic look towards you and you shrug, not really taking this personally. You find it hilarious that Tobirama truly acts like a little brother. You have never seen him more triggered and animated except with his elder brother.

Another day means another interesting adventure with Tobirama.

You are not one to complain.

Tobirama’s face is stormy during the walk all the way to Hashirama’s household. There is a pout on his lips that would not go away and his glare is so severe that it wards off anyone who tries to greet them nicely.

Essentially, the walk was pretty peaceful, thanks to him.

You also stay quiet, your mind wandering to today’s events.

The only one talking your ears off is Hashirama, and you vaguely remember him bragging about his sons.

Tobirama does not say anything to interrupt his brother, and as he hears more about his nephews, his face begins to soften and you observe this and try not to make it obvious that you are studying him. Hashirama notices this and gives you a funny look, but he does not comment on it and instead continues to chat, and tries his best to include the two of you in his one-sided conversation.

When you arrive into Hashirama’s house, you are immediately greeted with warm light and five boys screaming and hurtling towards their father and uncle. Tobirama picks up the youngest one without fuss who is barely able to keep up with his older brothers, who are tackling their father with their best. The eldest greets his father and uncle calmly but cheerfully, and he leads the chaos towards the kitchen.

You begin to grow shy as the boys peer at you curiously, and you give them a small wave.

One of them gasps. “Is this uncle’s girlfriend?!”

You start, and Tobirama almost trips in on himself and almost drops his baby nephew. He looks to be around four years old.

Hashirama cackles, the sound booming throughout the house.

“Is she? Uncle always tells us about you!”

“No, I do not,” Tobirama cuts in.

You chuckle nervously. “No, I am not his girlfriend.”

His nephews let out a few sounds of disappointment.

“But she’s so pretty!”

You blush and you pat the boy who gave you the compliment on the head. “Thank you, I am glad you think so. Your uncle, however, begs to differ.”

Another gasps at this. “He’s blind!”

“He says you’re annoying,” the youngest in Tobirama’s arms says, and he lays his head on Tobirama’s shoulder. He seems mellow and paler compared to his energetic brothers.

“Ah, so he complains about me, not talks about me,” you joke.

Hashirama chuckles as he pushes his sons forward to keep them from crowding the hallway.

Tobirama puts a hand on his nephew’s forehead and he frowns. He whispers something to him, but his nephew shakes his head. It does not alleviate the frown on Tobirama’s face though.

“Ah, here we are,” Hashirama announces. “Someone tell your mother that we are here.”

“I got it,” the eldest says and he disappears out in the hallway.

With no room to sit except beside you, Tobirama sits his nephew next to you, and then sits beside him.

The two of you stay quiet, barely exchanging any words with each other. Tobirama passes you a glass of water in silence, while Hashirama and his sons fill in the silence.

After a few minutes of waiting, Mito arrives and she is followed by her son and her maids, all carrying food in their trays and vases for drinks. Mito sits beside her husband and greets you, and you greet her back with your best polite voice.

Tobirama has told you once that you sound sarcastic even though you are being friendly.

“How was Lady Anzu?” Mito directs the question to Tobirama, who glances towards you. “I received complaints that you left her behind in the street the other day in favor of another girl, who you apparently pushed down to the ground. I know you are a busy man, but please be courteous next time, Tobirama, I can only try to match you with so few ladies in Konoha and in the nearby lands. Try not to forget etiquette and send her a letter of apology.”

Tobirama gulps, and you give him a side-glance.

“I will,” Tobirama promises.

You try not to cover your face from shame.

An argument breaks out between Hashirama’s sons, but it is admonished through one strict look from their mother.

“We have a visitor, please behave accordingly,” Mito says. Her children obey her, and she directs her gaze towards you. “I hope that working with Tobirama has been fruitful.”

You nod. “It has, my lady.”

Mito gives you a funny look. “Mito is fine.”

Everyone directs their gaze to Hashirama, and he starts dinner as the head of the family. He takes the first bite, and then signals for everyone to also take their fill.

You help Tobirama’s nephew beside you, quietly handing him his utensils and wiping his mouth when he gets messy.

You notice Tobirama’s gaze on you, but you ignore it, just in case you accidentally meet his eyes and the events with Lady Anzu are revealed through your shared experience with him.

The boy sneezes beside you and you chuckle lightly, immediately putting a napkin to his nose so that he can blow his nose.

“Your sons are adorable, Lord Hashirama,” you comment.

Hashirama chuckles, his face lighting with pride. “Of course!”

Tobirama’s nephew begins to lean on you after a while, and you notice that he is getting sleepy. You pat his head, and you frown as you notice that he is very feverish.

“Hey, is he okay?” You whisper to Tobirama, not wanting to alarm his parents.

“He says he’s not feeling too well,” Tobirama replies, taking notice of the way the boy is leaning towards you. “I will get him settled in bed, then.”

You surround your arm around the kid to help him towards Tobirama, and you also touch his hand, finding it cold.

“Is something wrong?” Hashirama asks.

“He seems to have a fever,” Tobirama tries to take the boy into his arms, but a cry escapes his lips.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Tobirama soothes the boy. “I got him.”

Hashirama nods worriedly.

“I will have to go then, I wouldn’t want to extend my welcome,” you say.

Hashirama and Mito thank you for eating with them, and you get up with Tobirama and follow him out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

“You need help with him?” You offer, feeling like you should help Tobirama a little bit. You follow your instinct.

Tobirama looks at you doubtfully. “Fine.”

You walk behind him as he leads you to the boy’s room, and he kicks away the toys loitering the floor.

“I will be back,” Tobirama hands you the child and leaves the room.

You rock the child in your arms to comfort him, and you resist the tiredness settling in your arms. You are not used to carrying children.

Tobirama comes back with towels and a basin, and he directs you to lie his nephew down on his futon. In silence, the two of you coordinate to wipe the child and dress him into clean clothes, and tuck him into his futon. Tobirama presses a smaller towel on the child’s forehead, and studies him.

After a moment, his hand comes away.

“Well, the great thing about having Hashirama as your father is that you’ll be fine and dandy tomorrow,” he tells his nephew. “There is nothing your father cannot cure.”

You gaze at Tobirama, watching how gentle and kind he is towards his family. He is very attentive to the way he takes care of his nephew, and you are not going to lie, the sight is making your heart soft.

“Is it serious?” You ask.

Tobirama shakes his head. “No. Like I said, he’ll be okay tomorrow once Hashirama checks in on his son.”

You chuckle lightly.

The two of you lock gazes, and a calm washes over you, something that has not happened to you in a while. You are always moving about, running and defending yourself. At this moment, Tobirama makes you feel safe. He might be callous at times, but he has never given you any reason to fear him.

For that, you are grateful.

“I should go,” you break the silence.

Tobirama clears his throat. “I will walk you out.”

You want to decline his offer, but nothing comes out of your mouth as he is following you out.

Before you exit the gate of the household, you turn to Tobirama.

“I hope you do not do that again,” you tell him in a hushed tone and you are suddenly unable to meet his eyes. “That fucking terrified me. If you are going to go put yourself in danger, at least, include me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Tobirama stares at you, his dark red eyes swimming like blood pools, and a sigh leaves his body. “I will keep your words in mind.”

“You can trust me, you know,” you insist. “I hope we can work towards that.”

You had half a mind to ask him about what he remembers during the hours that he forgot himself, but you decide to leave it alone.

Before Tobirama can say anything else, you quickly walk away, and if he has reached for the back of your arm, you do not notice it because you do not even spare him a glance.

[CHAPTER SEVEN >>>]

#angelica writes #avversiera writes #'til death do us part #Tobirama Senju #Senju Tobirama #tobirama x reader #senju tobirama x reader #tobirama x you #senju tobirama x you #tobirama x y/n #naruto fanfiction

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postwick-palace · 4 years

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What could Hop’s arc in the Pokémon anime look like?

This is a question that I’ve been mulling over in the past couple of months, as I love the Journeys anime so far and I love Hop as a character and I’d love for his character to be given justice in the anime. The anime’s been pretty hit or miss as far as adapting game rivals goes, and the fact that Ash isn’t actually journeying through Galar makes it more difficult to establish Hop as a rival to Ash. But I still think it can be done, and with the Darkest Day arc kicking off in a few days, I think now’s a perfect time to share my thoughts on what a Hop arc done right might look like!

So, I basically plotted out a full seven-episode arc for Hop that would theoretically take place over the course of a season or so. Given how little time Journeys is spending even on its longer arcs, it’s highly unlikely that they’d actually give him this long of an arc, but hey. I’m proposing my ideal Hop arc, not necessarily the most plausible Hop arc.

The focus of my proposed arc is his struggle with being “strong” that he goes through during the middle-third of the game, after losing to Bede. Hop will be another competitor in the World Coronation Series, but when Ash meets him, he’s in the middle of a slump. Ash eventually helps him get out of this slump, and then Hop gets the opportunity to rematch Bede - the challenger who started him on the slump - and prove to Bede that he’s become stronger. Because Hop feels like he’s weak when he first meets Ash and Goh, he initially hides the fact that he’s Leon’s little brother from them. But eventually, they learn about their relationship and even get to spend time with Hop and Leon together, showing a little bit of a different side to both Trainers.

The basic purpose of each episode is as follows:

Episode 1 - Introduction: Introduces Hop; on the surface he's just another friendly WCS competitor but there are some hints that there's something deeper going on with him, like the fact that he gets really pissed off when Team Rocket calls him weak.

Episode 2 - Context: It's revealed that he's on a losing streak and he's trying to catch stronger Pokémon to break it, but he's not very close with any of his Pokémon because he doesn't think that's necessary to get stronger.

Episode 3 - Breaking Point: Hop’s lost so much that he's fallen back down to Normal Rank, and he's pretty bummed about it. Spending time with Ash & Goh helps him realize that having a strong bond with your Pokémon is important to getting stronger and he decides to add some of his older Pokémon back to his team.

Episode 4 - Lesson Learned: Continuation of the previous episode; Hop battles Ash with a team of Pokémon that he has a strong bond with and he wins. It's also strongly hinted at that he's Leon's little brother.

Episode 5 - Bede: Bede's introduced as the challenger who started Hop on his losing streak, and Ash learns that Hop is Leon's little brother.

Episode 6 - Hop vs Bede: Continuation of the previous episode; Hop rematches Bede and is able to defeat him this time, demonstrating how he's grown. Also, Goh finally learns that Hop is Leon’s little brother.

Episode 7 - Leon’s Day Off: Hop & Leon spend time together in an informal setting and Ash & Goh get to learn more about their personal life, as well as just seeing how different Leon is when he's not showing off to the public.

And because I got really into it, I wrote up essentially full synopses for each episode, going into detail about how those points I outlined up above would be demonstrated. Since this post is already pretty long as it is, the episode synopses are under the cut!

Note: Because I wrote most of this over a month ago, before we even had any clue what the Eternatus plot would look like in the anime, this proposal deliberately avoids any mention of Chairman Rose, Eternatus, the Darkest Day, or the legendary wolves. It also assumes that Ash’s Riolu and Goh’s Raboot have not evolved by the time the arc begins, but they will have evolved later on.

Episode 1: Introduction

The episode begins with Ash and Goh arriving in Turffield. They’ve heard about the hidden treasure of Turffield and that some new clues to its location have recently been discovered, so they’re gonna go on a treasure hunt to try to find it. They talk to a local who gives them the clues they need to get started, and they set out to get hunting.

Just then, Ash gets an alert on his Rotom Phone that someone’s challenging him to a World Coronation Series match. He accepts and looks around to see who the challenger is, and he discovers it’s an energetic kid with purple hair and yellow-gold eyes who introduces himself as Hop from Postwick. Ash introduces himself, and a WCS battle begins.

The match is Ash’s Riolu versus Hop’s Cramorant. At some point during the battle, there’s a gag where Cramorant uses Surf and it floods the whole area, and then Goh realizes that Ash’s Pikachu is missing – only to discover that it got gulped up by Cramorant. Ash and Goh ask Cramorant to spit Pikachu out, but Hop commands Cramorant to attack instead. Unfortunately for Hop, Cramorant has difficulty maneuvering with a Pikachu in its mouth, so none of the attacks it uses while holding Pikachu hit their target. He wonders if maybe he should just have Cramorant spit out Pikachu, but before he can make a decision Ash finally just has Riolu use Vacuum Wave on Cramorant. This causes it to spit out Pikachu right into Riolu, which deals damage and paralyzes it. Hop is relieved because that was what he was hoping for all along.

However, ever the flexible thinker, Ash is able to turn the battle around and claim victory. His rank rises while Hop’s rank falls, revealing that Hop is actually higher ranked than Ash. Hop thanks Ash for the battle – it taught him that relying on Cramorant’s Gulp Missile ability was clearly a bad strategy. He then says that Cramorant is a bust, but when Ash asks him what he means by that Hop doesn’t elaborate.

Rather, he asks Goh if Goh is a World Coronation Series competitor too. Goh introduces himself and says he isn’t, and Ash explains that they’re here looking for the treasure of Turffield. Hop gets excited because he’s looking for the treasure of Turffield, too. He challenges Ash and Goh to a competition to see who can find the treasure first.

The treasure hunt is a little more elaborate than it is in the games, with a series of clues that each tell the location of the next one. The last clue points them to the middle of a field which happens to be occupied by Wooloo. Ash reaches it first, but he can’t get the Wooloo to move. Goh joins him next and tries using the Pokédex to figure out how to move them, but it doesn’t help either.

Finally Hop reaches them, and he’s disappointed that he fell behind but perks up when he realizes that they’re stuck because of the Wooloo. He claims to know everything there is to know about Wooloo and spouts off some Wooloo facts. According to Hop, Wooloo are useless in battle, but their wool makes really strong fabric. If you want to get them to trust you, you have to scratch them right behind the ears. They’re very stubborn and aren’t prone to moving, especially in large groups, but they can be startled by loud noises. Once they start rolling, that’s your chance to herd them in the direction you want.

Ash says that he tried startling them with a loud noise already, but after they rolled away they rolled back before he could reach the spot where the treasure was buried. Hop says you need to herd them away from it and says he’ll show them how it’s done. He sends out a Raboot, much to Goh’s surprise, and Raboot runs quietly to the other side of the flock. Hop yells to startle the Wooloo and Raboot fires an Ember up into the air, drawing the Wooloo’s attention so they all move away from Hop and towards Raboot. Then Raboot runs back to Hop’s side, blocking off the Wooloo from moving back to their old spot. Hop thanks the Wooloo for their cooperation and pets one of the Wooloo on the head, getting a wistful look in his eye.

Suddenly, a net flies out and grabs Raboot and all the Wooloo. Hop is bewildered, Ash and Goh rush to his side, and Team Rocket reveal themselves and do the motto. They grab Pikachu as well for good measure and attempt to make their escape. Hop sends out a Toxel and a Silicobra, but neither of them really know ranged attacks so they can’t do much. Team Rocket laugh at their ineffectiveness and say something along the lines of him being a “weak little twerp” which makes Hop really angry, but no matter how many attacks his Pokémon use they can’t reach Team Rocket.

Goh, who still has all his Pokémon, sends out his own Raboot. Hop’s surprised that Goh also has a Raboot, and Goh’s Raboot uses Ember to break the net that Team Rocket is using to hold the Pokémon. Hop’s Raboot rescues Ash’s Pikachu, and Pikachu and the two Raboot send Team Rocket blasting off. Hop’s and Goh’s Raboot do something cute like fistbump or something to show that they’re buddies now.

Finally, they’re able to dig up the hidden treasure; it might be an Expert Belt like in the games or it could be something more useful. Hop expects Ash to take it since he was the first one to reach the Wooloo, but Ash says Hop should have it since they couldn’t have moved the Wooloo without him. Hop tries to downplay his contribution but Goh agrees with Ash, so Hop gets to take the treasure. He thanks Ash and Goh for their help rescuing Raboot and the Wooloo, and the episode ends with Hop saying goodbye to them and heading off on his own way.

Episode 2: Context

The episode begins with Goh deciding that he wants to catch more Pokémon from other regions. Ash makes some suggestions, but Goh just can’t pick a single region to go to. Professor Cerise suggests that they go to the Wild Area in Galar since it’s full of Pokémon from every region. Goh thinks that’s a great idea, and Ash is eager to join him because that means they might be able to find more wild Dynamax Pokémon. So, they set off for the Galar region once more.

They arrive at a different part of the Wild Area than the one they explored last time so they can hopefully find different Pokémon. Goh finds some Pokémon he hasn’t caught before and catches it. Ash looks around for a pillar of red light indicating the appearance of a Dynamax Pokémon, and he spots one that doesn’t look too far away. They head off to investigate it.

They’re able to see from a long way off that it’s a Dynamax Snorlax, and maybe one of them comments that it looks different from the one they encountered on their first visit. As they get closer they hear the sounds of Pokémon attacks and realize that someone is battling the Snorlax. Eventually, they’re close enough to realize that that someone is Hop. He’s battling Snorlax with Raboot, Boltund, Trevenant, and Heatmor all at the same time, and as they watch, Hop manages to weaken Snorlax enough to try to catch it. He takes out a Poke Ball and uses his Dynamax Band to supersize it before throwing it at Snorlax. It shakes three times before returning to normal size for the click.

As Hop jogs over to pick up his new catch, Ash and Goh call his name and congratulate him. Hop greets them, and Ash says he didn’t know that you could catch Dynamax Pokémon. Hop says that you can as long as you have a Dynamax Band, and wild Dynamax Pokémon are a little stronger than other Pokémon, so he’s been looking around the Wild Area for strong Dynamax Pokémon to add to his team. Goh says that they’re here to catch Pokémon too, so maybe they could catch Pokémon together. Hop points out that they can’t both catch a single Pokémon, but he thinks it’ll be fun to compete to see who can catch the Pokémon first.

A brief little montage follows in which Hop and Goh compete to catch a few Pokémon, each of them catching a couple. Eventually, Hop spots a Dreepy and is really eager to try to catch it. It runs away almost immediately, and Hop has some difficulty chasing after it, but eventually he’s able to catch up to the Dreepy and catch it. By that point, they’re all pretty tired from chasing after Dreepy, and Ash being Ash is absolutely starving. So, Hop suggests they set up camp and offers to treat them to proper Galarian curry.

They all send out their full teams and share the curry Pokémon Camp style. Ash is eager to see Hop’s Cramorant again, but to his surprise Hop doesn’t have it with him. Hop says that he sent it home to Postwick – he keeps all the Pokémon he catches that are no good in battle there. Goh observes that Hop’s Pokémon are all keeping to themselves and don’t seem very close to him, and Hop explains that they’re all recent catches so he hasn’t spent much time with them. Ash says that camping out with them like this will be a great way to bond with them, but Hop says that there’s not much point in bonding with his Pokémon if he can’t come up with good strategies to use with them. He needs to get stronger and becoming friends with his Pokémon isn’t necessary to do that. Hop then changes the subject before Ash or Goh can argue with him.

Naturally, the World Coronation Series eventually comes up in conversation. Ash shows off his ranking and asks Hop what his is. Hop doesn’t want to look at his rank though, and when pressed he explains that he was almost to Hyper Rank when he lost to another challenger and has been on a losing streak ever since. Ash encourages him not to give up and to keep training to become stronger, and Hop agrees, declaring that he’s going to become the next World Monarch.

Hop’s new Dreepy floats up to him, and Hop pets it and says Dreepy’s an integral part of his plan to get to World Monarch status. Goh is surprised because it’s such a timid-looking Pokémon, and Hop claims that it may be weak now but its final evolution, Dragapult, is one of the strongest Dragon-type Pokémon. He adds that the World Monarch himself has a Dragapult on his team that he only uses against his toughest opponents, so that’s why wanted to catch a Dreepy for himself.

However, because they can’t have nice things, Team Rocket shows up to steal all their Pokémon – a task made much easier by the fact that they’re all just sitting out in the open for them to steal. They nab all the Pokémon except Hop’s brand-new Snorlax because it’s too heavy to be sucked up by Team Rocket’s machine. Hop and Snorlax destroy Team Rocket’s machine and free all the Pokémon; Team Rocket summons the vending machine to get some Pokémon to battle with. Snorlax is able to defeat both Pokémon singlehandedly, much to Hop’s delight. He declares that Snorlax is also going to be an integral part of his championship team.

With everything packed up and put away, Hop and Ash and Goh prepare to once again go their separate ways. Hop says that with the new team members he’s acquired today, he feels like he’s finally gonna be able to break his losing streak and start climbing back up the ranks, and he promises to have a rematch with Ash the next time they meet. Ash wishes him luck, and Hop runs off.

Back at Cerise Park, Goh sets out food for his Pokémon and observes how all the new Pokémon he caught today are fitting in well. He thinks about how distant Hop’s Pokémon seemed by comparison and Hop’s words about it not being necessary to bond with his Pokémon. Ash walks up and asks Goh what he’s thinking about, and Goh says that Hop is a really strange Trainer. Ash cheerfully replies that they’re all a little strange, and Hop clearly loves Pokémon, so he doesn’t see anything wrong about him. The episode ends with Goh thinking that if Hop really loves Pokémon, he sure has a strange way of showing it.

Episode 3: Breaking Point

The episode opens with Hop walking alone through Circhester, shuffling his feet and staring at his WCS ranking on his phone – he’s back down to Normal Rank. He switches to another window on his phone that starts playing an interview with Leon. In the interview, Leon talks about his dream for the Trainers of Galar to become stronger. When the interviewer asks him about the World Coronation Series, Leon namedrops Ash as a competitor who he’s got his eye on. Hop shoves his phone back into his pocket and walks away dejectedly.

Meanwhile, Ash and Goh are visiting Circhester today because they’re investigating a wild Snom outbreak around there. They’ve barely just arrived when Ash is jumped by a bunch of WCS competitors who saw Leon’s interview and want to battle Ash because the Champion singled him out. At first, Ash is eager to fight, but he gets a bit overwhelmed by the number of people who want to battle him.

Suddenly, Hop appears and in a pretty authoritative voice tells everybody to leave Ash alone because they’re being rude and Ash isn’t here to battle. They disperse, and Ash and Goh thank Hop for the assist – they’re not used to dealing with big groups of people like that. Ash wonders why they got mobbed in the first place, and Hop’s surprised that they haven’t seen the interview yet. He describes it as an interview where “Mr. World Monarch himself said that you’re a promising Trainer that he’s got high hopes for in the World Coronation Series, Ash,” but his annoyance goes unnoticed by Ash and Goh. Hop recommends that they stay out of the city for a while until people calm down, and that works for Ash and Goh because the wild Snom they’re looking for don’t live in the city, anyways. Hop asks to go with them because Snom are really cute and who wouldn’t want to go see Snom, y’know?

While they’re looking for the Snom, however, Hop is notably more subdued than usual. When Ash asks him how the WCS is going for him, Hop avoids the question. They start to get really cold, so Hop sends out his Raboot and Goh his Cinderace to keep themselves warm. Raboot and Cinderace are buds as usual, and Hop says – kinda bitterly – that he thinks Raboot likes Cinderace more than him. Goh says that his Cinderace was the same way when it was a Raboot and that Raboot just shows how it cares in a different way.

A little later, they finally find the Snom and play around with them for a bit with their Pokémon, but the playing gets a little too rough and they accidentally cause an avalanche. Hop ends up trapped inside a cave with Raboot while Ash and Goh and their Pokémon are still outside. Hop calls out to Ash and Goh, but they can’t hear him. Next, he sends out all the rest of his Pokémon: Snorlax, Pincurchin, Drakloak, and Xatu. He tries to get them to destroy the rocks and ice from the inside, but they can’t. With the cave seemingly coming to a dead end a short way in and no way out, Hop decides that his only option is to return everyone except Raboot, for warmth, and hunker down to await rescue.

Meanwhile, Ash and Goh are trying to get to Hop from the outside. They’ve already realized that he can’t hear them, and Goh finally determines that they can’t move or destroy the avalanche without making things worse. They decide to go back to the city to get professional help – one of those Macro Cosmos subsidiaries probably specializes in stuff like this.

Back in the cave, Hop’s starting to shiver from the cold even with Raboot there; Raboot is visibly distressed despite Hop reassuring him that he’s fine. Raboot starts looking for another way out of the cave and eventually finds one by melting some ice. Hop and Raboot explore this other path, but it just leads to another exit blocked by the avalanche. Raboot doesn’t give up though and tries to destroy the ice and snow from the inside again. Through the power of determination and friendship, Raboot evolves into Cinderace and is able to melt everything with Pyro Ball.

Hop is amazed and overjoyed that Cinderace evolved, but he doesn’t understand why until Cinderace gives him a big hug to warm him up. He realizes that, like Goh said, it cares about him a lot and this is how it’s showing that. Flashing back to a battle of Ash’s and a battle of Leon’s, Hop realizes that the thing he was missing – the reason why all his strategies and picking the right Pokémon never worked – is that having a close bond with your Pokémon does help make them stronger, and maybe that’s even more important than using the “strongest” Pokémon.

Hop finds Ash and Goh to show them that he’s okay and make sure all the Snom are okay, but he doesn’t stick around for long – he sprints back to Circhester and calls home. His mom starts to ask him if he’s seen Leon’s interview, but Hop interrupts her to ask her to send over a couple of his Pokémon. After she’s sent them over, she says they missed him and Hop says, a little tearfully, that he missed them too.

Ash and Goh are back in Circhester near the Hero’s Bath, talking about their encounter with the Snom. Hop runs up to them with Cinderace, Corvisquire, and Wooloo all out of their Poké Balls and running alongside him. He introduces Ash and Goh to Wooloo, the first Pokémon he ever owned, and Corvisquire, the first Pokémon he ever caught. The episode ends with Hop challenging Ash to an official World Coronation Series match.

Episode 4: Lesson Learned

Hop and Ash battle, with Hop using Wooloo, Corvisquire, and Cinderace. Hop is noticeably more confident in making decisions and issuing commands to his Pokémon than he was in his first battle with Ash. It’s a close match, but Hop wins because he’s in sync with his Pokémon and believes in himself. [Wooloo or Corvisquire could evolve during the battle, but Cinderace just evolved last episode and I don’t want to overdo it on the evolutions.]

When Hop’s rankings update, the announcer states that the victory brings him back up to Super Rank. Ash and Goh are surprised because they didn’t even know that Hop had fallen down back to Normal Rank. Hop explains that he was feeling so bummed last episode because of that, and he was actually looking for Ash because he hoped spending time with Ash would help him figure out what he needed to do to get out of his slump – “you were endorsed by the World Monarch, after all”.

Hop is filled with new determination to become the next World Monarch and Ash is pumped to have a renewed rivalry with Hop. He promises to defeat Hop the next time they battle, but Hop says Ash won’t stand a chance because Hop’s about to start a new winning streak and reach Hyper Rank in no time. Hop says goodbye and races off to go challenge another WCS competitor.

Goh, meanwhile, is curious about the interview and calls Ash over so they can watch it together on Goh’s Rotom Phone. They watch the part that Hop saw, where Leon talks about Ash, but they don’t stop watching immediately like Hop did. And as it turns out, the next thing the interviewer asks is which Trainer from Galar Leon thinks has the most potential in the World Coronation Series. Leon’s answer is his little brother: “My little bro may only be Normal Rank now, but I’m certain that he’ll soon become a force to be reckoned with!”

Ash and Goh are surprised to learn that Leon has a little brother, and Ash wonders who the little brother is. Goh says that if he’s anything like his brother, then Ash will definitely meet Leon’s little brother in battle someday. The episode ends with them returning to Kanto to tell Professor Cerise about everything that happened in their visit to Galar.

Episode 5: Bede

Ash and Goh are in Galar again. This time, Ash is there for a battle competition in Hammerlocke, while Goh plans to explore the nearby Wild Area to catch more Pokémon. The Hammerlocke battle competition, which is simply named the Hammerlocke Challenger’s Cup, isn’t affiliated with the World Coronation Series, but Ash thinks it’ll be good practice for the competition. Plus, it’ll be a lot of fun because it’s held in Hammerlocke Stadium so the competitors can use Dynamax in the matches.

After Ash has signed up for the competition he runs into Hop, who’s chipper and enthusiastic as usual. Hop also signs up for the competition and asks where Goh is; Ash explains that he’s out catching Pokémon, but he’ll be back to watch the battles.

Just then, someone offscreen is like, “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Champion’s pathetic little brother.” Cut to Bede, who’s looking smug and arrogant as always. Hop tells him to shut up and Bede asks Hop if he really can’t handle hearing the truth. Hop says that Bede’s too full of himself to notice the truth and Bede retorts that he’s perfectly capable of telling a strong Trainer from a weak one and Hop definitely falls in the latter category.

Ash finally interrupts to ask if Bede meant Champion as in Leon, and Bede condescendingly asks what other Champion he would be referring to. Hop points out that every region has a Champion, but there’s only one World Monarch – and that’s his big bro. Ash is shocked to learn that Hop is Leon’s little brother, but Hop’s surprised that Ash didn’t know or figure that out already. Bede takes the opportunity to get in another jab at Hop, saying that Ash didn’t realize he was the Champion’s brother because he’s so weak. Hop snaps at Bede that he’s been training and gotten stronger since last time, and he’ll prove it by beating Bede in the Challenger’s Cup. Bede says that he doesn’t stand a chance, and Ash gets fired up and says that he’s gonna win the whole thing.

Bede finally asks who Ash is and he introduces himself; Bede recognizes the name and tells him that he’s not a hotshot just because the Champion has an eye on him. Hop mutters “World Monarch” under his breath as Bede strolls away to go register for the tournament, leaving Ash to wonder what the heck Bede’s problem is.

Ash then asks Hop how he knows Bede and why he never told them that he’s Leon’s little brother. Hop explains that Bede’s the WCS competitor who he lost to that set him on his losing streak, and Bede totally flattened him in their battle. After Hop lost, Bede started saying stuff like what they just heard, about Hop being weak and dragging Leon’s good name through the mud and such. Hop didn’t want to tell people that he’s Leon’s little brother because he was afraid they’d see how weak he was and think worse of Leon for it.

Ash assures him that none of that’s true and Hop says he’s figured that out, so now he just has to prove it to Bede. Ash agrees, but also says that he’s not gonna go easy on Hop or Bede if he battles against them in the cup.

A montage of scenes follows: Goh catches some Pokémon; Ash, Hop, and Bede battle in the tournament. They all dominate in their matches and make it to the semifinals. Hop beats his rando opponent and makes it to the finals, while Ash and Bede battle each other in the semifinal round. Goh comes back in time to watch their battle; he and Hop spectate together, so Hop is able to fill Goh in on who Bede is.

To their dismay, Ash loses to Bede – probably because he was using a Pokémon he had only caught recently or one with a type disadvantage or something. Bede gloats, Hop gets even more determined to defeat him, and the episode ends with Hop preparing to battle Bede.

Episode 6: Hop vs Bede

It’s time for the final match of the Hammerlocke Challenger’s Cup. Bede starts with an all-out offensive strategy using Reuniclus but Hop’s Snorlax is able to take hits really well, so Hop seems to have the advantage at first. Then Reuniclus confuses Snorlax and it starts hurting itself, allowing Bede to defeat it.

Hop sends out Dubwool next and Reuniclus confuses Dubwool as well, but Dubwool is able to break through the confusion thanks to his bond with Hop. Together they’re able to defeat Reuniclus, and then Bede sends out his Hatterene. He Gigantamaxes Hatterene right away, forcing Hop to Dynamax Dubwool as well. Dubwool is then able to defeat Hatterene and win the tournament for Hop.

The prize for winning the Challenger’s Cup is a candy basket filled with Exp. Candies and Dynamax Candies, leading to a gag where Ash tries to eat one of the candies before Hop tells him that they’re meant for Pokémon. The prize also comes with a special bonus – the Leon ball used in Pokémon Camp. Hop finds this absolutely hilarious and decides to call his brother to show it to him.

He makes the call with Ash and Goh, but Goh doesn’t know who Hop’s brother is yet, so he’s shocked when Leon answers. Leon is surprised that Ash and Goh have met Hop – he hadn’t seen Ash participating in the tournament because he’d been too busy to watch it – but he’s proud to hear that his little brother won and laughs at the merch prize. He makes a joke about autographing the ball for Hop, but then he has to go take care of some Champion thing – he promises to call Hop again soon before hanging up.

Bede makes some snide comment behind them about the Champion not making time for his little brother, and Hop gets mad at Bede for eavesdropping. Bede says he shouldn’t make phone calls in a public place if he doesn’t want people to overhear. Hop tries to get Bede to admit that he’s not weak, but Bede only acknowledges that he’s less weak than before and asserts that he’s still a better Trainer than Hop – Hop’s victory was just a fluke. He adds that since he was able to beat Ash, the Champion’s eye will be on him now. Then he strides away with smug confidence. Hop tells Ash not to listen to anything Bede says, and the episode ends with Ash declaring that he’ll beat Bede next time.

Episode 7: Leon’s Day Off

The episode opens with Leon doing boring Champion stuff: meetings, interviews, paperwork, and the like. He makes a comment to Oleana about this being his least favorite part of the job, but she’s not terribly sympathetic and tells him to get to his next meeting. When he gets lost on the way to the meeting, he declares that he needs a break from all this. Then he asks a nearby office worker if they can escort him to the meeting room he’s supposed to be in.

Later, Ash, Goh, and Hop are doing some research task in the Wild Area; Ash and Goh were asked to do it by Professor Cerise and they happened to run into Hop, who volunteered to join them. They’re just finishing up with it when Hop gets a phone call from his mum, who says she misses him and wants him to come home for dinner. Hop awkwardly tells her that he’s with friends right now, and she invites them to come for dinner, too – she’s barbecuing and there will be plenty of food for everyone. Goh says that he wouldn’t mind seeing Hop’s hometown, while Ash was hooked the moment she brought up food. So, the three of them finish what they were doing and head to Postwick together.

Hop points out some landmarks along the way like the Wooloo fields and the Slumbering Weald. They meet Hop’s mum out front of their house and she makes some remark along the lines of being happy for Ash and Goh being friends with Hop because Hop was never as good at making friends as his brother, and Hop gets all embarrassed about it. When Mum finds out that Ash and Goh have traveled here all the way from Kanto, she insists that they spend the night and tells them to go inside and pick out places to sleep.

They head into the living room and Hop invites them to look around, make themselves at home. Ash and Goh take him up on the offer and start looking around at everything. Hop says that if they don’t want to sleep on the floor, then someone will have to sleep on the couch and the other can get the guest room. Then he remembers that someone could use Leon’s room, so he says that they won’t need the couch after all.

However, someone else says that room’s already claimed. They whirl around to see Leon and Charizard standing in the entrance to the living room. He’s wearing totally casual clothes – no cap, no cape, no uniform. Hop greets him with an enthusiastic hug, and Leon says it’s good to see him again. He notes that he wasn’t expecting to see Ash and Goh here, but it’s good to see them again, too.

Ash explains that Mum invited them, and Hop says that they weren’t expecting to see Leon – “Why didn’t Mum say anything?” Leon explains that he took the day off today and decided to come home, and he asked Mum to invite Hop here so that he could surprise his little bro. Hop says that he was definitely surprised. Then he jokes that he’s more surprised that Leon made it home by himself without getting lost, and Leon ruffles his hair and says that Charizard guided him.

Goh’s attention has returned to all the trophies on the wall, and he asks whose they are. Hop sheepishly replies that they’re all Leon’s – he hasn’t won any trophies. Leon asks him what happened to the trophy Hop won at the Hammerlocke Challenger’s Cup and Hop says it’s up in his bedroom; Leon comments that all the trophies he puts up in his bedroom mysteriously migrate to the living room by the time he next comes home. It’s starting to feel a little cramped in the living room, so they all agree to head out to the backyard.

In the backyard, there’s a battlefield and beyond that a pasture where all the Pokémon Hop and Leon have caught are roaming. When Ash sees the battlefield, he gets excited and tells Leon he wants to battle again; Leon’s seriously considering it, but then Mum interrupts to chide him for thinking about battling when he’s supposed to be on vacation. Leon protests that battling is fun, but Mum is insistent that there will be no battling while Leon’s here. She sets the “no-battles” rule for the other boys as well, so Leon won’t get tempted. Ash makes a comment that it feels like something his own mom would do.

They go out to the pasture to play with the Pokémon while Mum cooks. Ash and Goh get to meet Leon’s other Pokémon; Ash and Leon bond over the fact that they both have a Charizard. All of the Pokémon that Hop uses in his in-game battle teams are here, as well as Drakloak, Xatu, and any other miscellaneous Pokémon he might have caught in earlier episodes. Ash is particularly excited to see Cramorant again after not getting to see it back in Episode 2. It’s revealed that Hop’s Cinderace and Dynamax Band were both gifts from Leon, as well as the fact that Leon had told Hop long before he met Ash about the kid from Pallet Town with a Gigantamax Pikachu. Leon and Hop mess with each other a couple of times, and Leon generally demonstrates that he has about as much maturity as the younger three. Overall, everyone’s just having a good time.

When Mum’s finished barbecuing, everyone returns to the backyard for dinner; after dinner, they all start getting ready for bed. Ash opts to sleep on the floor of the guest room while Goh takes the guest bed. As they go to bed, Goh asks Ash if he noticed that the Champion acts differently when he’s at home, but Ash has no idea what he’s talking about. Goh’s not really sure how to put it into words – the best he can describe it is that Leon seems friendlier, but Ash doesn’t get it because Leon’s always friendly. Goh sighs and tells him to forget about it.

Over in Hop’s room, Hop and Dubwool are facing the dilemma that Dubwool is too big to fit in its bed now that it’s evolved. Leon shows up in the doorway and says that Dubwool should just sleep with Hop – half the time when it was a Wooloo, it ended up in Hop’s bed by morning anyways. Hop sticks his tongue out at Leon and pulls out an extra blanket and pillow for Dubwool to sleep on. He arranges it to be comfortable for Dubwool and gets back up, only to realize that Leon is still standing in his room.

Hop asks Lee what’s up and Leon explains that he has to leave early tomorrow morning to make it back to Wyndon in time, meaning he’ll be gone before Hop wakes up. So, he thought he would say goodbye to Hop before they go to bed so he actually gets the chance to do that. Hop is disappointed that Leon has to leave again so soon and he complains about Leon being so busy, but Leon says that that’s just a consequence of being Champion and World Monarch. Hop says that he’ll just have to become the new World Monarch to take some of that burden off Leon’s shoulders, and while he says it in a lighthearted way, Leon responds very seriously that he doesn’t want Hop to be burdening himself with anything and certainly not to try to make things easier on Leon. He’s an adult, he can handle it; Hop should enjoy being a kid while he still can.

Realizing that he just killed the mood, Leon teasingly asks Hop if he’d like Leon to tuck him in and read him a bedtime story. Hop hits Leon with a pillow in response. Leon grabs the pillow from Hop and hits him back, knocking him onto his bed. The two of them share a laugh. Leon says goodbye and goodnight to Hop and gives him a hug before he leaves the room, turning off the lights as he goes.

The episode ends with a shot of the trophy collection in the living room in the morning, to which Hop’s Hammerlocke Challenger’s Cup trophy has been added.

#pokemon #pokeani #anipoke #rival hop #trainer hop #hop pokemon #champion leon #postwick bros #listen if they can't do the full-fledged arc then at the very least i'm begging them to give us something like episode 7 #the one thing that hop brings to the table that no other rival can is humanizing leon - bringing out the soft/domestic side of him #for as much as journeys focuses on leon as the ''big celebrity that everyone looks up to''#it hasn't given us much of the ''big brother to everyone in galar''#and both aspects of leon's character are important and deserve to be given weight #not that i WANT hop to be reduced to a prop for leon's character development #but honestly? i'd rather see him be a prop for leon's character development than not appear at all

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spahhzy · 3 years

Text

"Oh if your here then that must have meant...you failed, oh well I guess we can just start again"

"I can fill you in on the details I guess while we wait for the rest of the group"

"no no! sit down! We are going to be here for awhile! Look I even have it book marked! Now sit, grab a cup of coffee or whatever it is your kind drinks and relax"

"How are they doing?" Asked qrow as he took a swig from his flask. The question given to the eldest schnee, Winter.

"If by 'They' you mean the team of Oscar, Nora, Ren and your niece Ruby physically they are all healed...no long lasting damage after the mission but mentally..." Winter trailed off not looking up from her paperwork.

Qrow sighed before taking another sip from his flask, this was all one big fucked up headache.

"If you insist on drinking could you please do so away from here..." Winter said to him to which qrow just looked at her before capping the flask and walking out of the office without so much a rebuttal.

Once the door closed, Winter let out a frustrated sigh before slamming her fist onto her desk.

-WBY- Vacuo general Hospital.

The room was quiet. all three girls laid on their respective beds both thinking and reflecting on the days that had passed.

It wasn't long until Blake spoke out.

"So...now what do we do?"

Ah yes what do they do indeed.

"I...I don't know" came Weiss as she too didn't know the answer to that question.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing!" Came the frustrated voice of Yang.

"In case you forgot Yang...we got outclassed and outmatched by Salem I'm not sure their is anything we can do right now" Spoke Weiss to which Yang just grabbed her pillow in frustration.

Silence fell over them again.

"How...how is Ruby?" Weiss asked to the older sister.

Yang just looked at Weiss and Blake and just shook her head.

"She's asleep; she was taking it pretty badly"

The fall of Atlas, Ironwood's desperate actions (some would disagree), and now this...

Ruby's hospital room.

Ren, Nora and Oscar all looked like a mess.

All three were sitting in chairs bandaged and bruised but all staring at the sleeping form of one Ruby Rose.

"What changed for things to be like this?" Spoke Ren while voicing his thoughts the question was mainly for Ozpin.

Oscar remained silent.

"He started acting differently back at the Schnee manor when we rescued yiu from the whale" Ren said calmly eyes still on the sleeping Rose.

"Things came to a head in the desert after Cinders defeat" he stopped trying to relive that horrible memory.

"he was ready to carve her up and in his words 'slice her apart so he could expose her rotten innards so she can be judged for what she had become' that's not him, that's would never be him" Ren stated as Nora agreed.

Oscar remained quiet.

"Things blew apart more when I stopped him...I could feel his anger Ozpin, that hatred and when he told me to 'stand aside' that gaze he sent me..sent us?" Ren shivered at the memory.

"We got into a fight, as in fight-fight headmaster but he seemed to stop and freak out a bit before healing us and apologizing profusely" Nora said allowing Ren to follow up

"All that hate and anger...gone. as if it was never there and I realized we had our brother back"

"So if there is anything you need to say tell us now...please"

Oscar remained silent. Just staring at Ruby sleeping.

"Is that all you can do? Be silent!?"

Ren just clutched at the arm rest in anger.

"Ren please calm down maybe even headmaster doesn't know why she did what she did!"

Ren scoffed. A trait not usually found within the young man. He turned his head to face the boy.

"You know something... I can see the gears turning up their but you don't wanna say anything"

Oscar still remains silent.

"Damnit Ozpin tell us something, anything!" Ren all but pleaded to which Oscar said nothing.

Ren sighed before getting up and with Nora in tow left Ruby's room without another word.

Before leaving Nora turned and spoke "he was right not to trust you" and closed the door.

Leaving Oscar to just stare at the still form of Ruby as she slept before shifting his eyes to one object that was laying on her bed with her.

A broken Crocea Mors.

Ren punched the wall in frustration outside of the hospital leaving small cracks.

"Ren!"

" I'm fine Nora just.."

"Your mad...I know I am too, I really...really wanted to break his legs but it's Oscar legs too" Nora said before hugging him from behind.

"We'll get him back Ren" she said as Ren sighed.

"I know Nora...I just can't help-" he was interrupted by a sudden rumble in his scroll and a beep signifying a new message.

Oddly enough Nora's scroll beep as well.

With a sigh he and Nora pulled out their scrolls.

"Did you get a message as well?" Nora asked

Ren nodded.

It was a video from an unknown number.

The video being titled 'Have you heard the good news?'.

"Did you guys get a video message too?" Came the voice of Qrow as he walked towards them with his scroll out as well.

" Yes which if you got it...then I wonder if Weiss, Yang and Blake got it as well" Ren asked and Qrow rubbed his chin thinking.

"If they did then this couldn't be by random coincidence let's go to their room and find out" Qrow said to which Ren and Nora agreed.

The trio headed out to find the other three.

As the footsteps faded from the room Oscar, still looking at the sleeping form of Ruby, sighed.

'Why couldn't you tell Ren anything?'

'What would you want me to say?'

'Something just...something'

'Somethings are better left unsaid'

Oscar rolled his eyes, Ozpin was hiding something that much was clear.

His scroll went off.

He had received a video message from an unknown number.

Oscar opened the message and pressed play.

"Today....today is a wonderful day!" Oscar eyes widened at the voice it was...

"Yes its me Tyrian the ever faithful servant to our goddess!" He said dramatically hands spread out wide in stage like fashion.

"How is all of you by the way...and by you I mean those receiving this video hmm?" He asked tilting his head.

"Ah you must be fine physical wounds heal and such" Oscar just glared at the mad scorpion on the screen mocking him.

"How is Miss Rose? Hopefully not taking it too bad?" Again more mockery. What is the damn point of this video?

"Ahaha, enough I can guess your all pretty upset but why? Why be upset?...haven't you heard the good news?"

What good news can come from a psychopath who blindy follows the devil herself?

"Well before I can give the good news allow me to give you some bad news!" Suddenly a crude drawing of stick figures graced the right side of screen while one gracefully drawn person was on the left. The one on the left was undeniably Salem.

"My goddess has deemed you all , and by that I mean humanity and faunus alike,as disgusting bacteria; a bacteria that only infects and destroys!" Some of the stick figures Oscar noticed had some distinguishing features, 3 had capes, 1 had a yellow arm , 1 had a big gun, alot had animal traits and some had white hair and surrounded by money.

"So it with a heavy heart that I must tell you that you all will be released from this level of existence by the mercy of my mistress!" He said as he put a hand over his heart as if paying respects.

That was before a large crazed grin etched onto his face.

"Now with the bad news gone! It's time for the good news!" He all but squealed as he then held up another two pictures.

The one on the left was again a portrait of Salem her arms spread open, while the picture on the right was of four stick figures.

One figure with blonde hair in front of three others. The other three were on the ground defeated almost. One had black and a pink line in its hair, the other had a hammer and orange hair and the last the one closest to the blonde had a red cape.

"I knew their was a reason I found him so...interesting!" He said which made Oscar shudder.

"But did YOU know this Ozpin hmm?"

Did Ozpin know what?

" is that why you accepted him into Beacon and not the whole 'untapped potential' jargon you preached?" Tyrian question before long his face cam back to the screen.

" I've learned some very crucial information...information that makes me wonder who really is the good side in all of this" Tyrian said acting as if he was putting on his thinking cap before snapping his fingers.

"You really tried to keep him from her...and how far did you go to achieve that I wonder..."

Tyrian was rambling trying to rile Ozpin up, because Oscar could feel a slight tugging on his consciousness.

"But fate works in strange ways...you of all people should have learned that" he said before motioning to a big portrait of Salem.

"She dances and sings in the light, she lurks in the shadows and she always gets her way" the scene changes this time.

"I've berated you enough...I think I'd like a quick chat with those three closest to him"

Oscar looked away from the screen too the sleeping form of Ruby. Then back to the screen. If he got this video then possibly everyone did too.

"Too the Valkyrie, the Calm One, and to Miss Rose especially..." a dark grin marred his face.

"Your words mean nothing to him now!" He stated sinisterly before a series of pictures flashed on screen.

It was of a blonde haired man with striking deep blue eyes , his armour worn out and cracked and his shield discarded as he held a broken sword.

Another photo but this time it was a photo with a women banged up , bruised her cape in tatters and her eyes reflecting despair. She was in the background, on the ground arm outstretched trying to reach the blonde haired man in vain.

"Now he only hears...her truth"

Before finally one more photo appears and this time it makes Oscar's and in extension Ozpin's blood run cold.

It was a photo of the blonde man and a pale woman who had red eyes and black veins.

"No it can't be" this time it was Ozpin who spoke.

It was of Jaune Arc and Salem embracing.

"Now...he's home"

The video ended and remained on that image.

"This isn't right that's too far ahead! No this won't do! Stupid bookmark ugh"

"Well just have to start from the beginning my bad buddy!"

[Here we go, off to a bad start.]

#jaune arc #rwby salem #lie ren #nora valkyrie #ruby rose #oh no

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littlemisslol-fic · 3 years

Link

Summary: Eugene was raised in a world of fire and blood. He barely remembers a time before the lights went out, the Blackout, that plunged humanity into a chaotic realm of violence and desperation. It’s been ten years since the end of the world, the birth of a graveyard that wasn’t kind to those too weak to take care of themselves- and it is there that Eugene finds a kid, abandoned to the wasteland and desperately trying to return home. Varian’s unassuming, easy prey in the hard-knock world Eugene’s come to call home, so it’s with begrudging acceptance he agrees to help the kid out. Not everything is as simple as he’d believe, however, and Varian hosts a few secrets of his own. In order to survive, they’ll have to learn to trust one another- though trust is a rare commodity in a world like theirs. No one man is an island after all.

Chapter Notes: It’s the end!

Eugene hadn’t expected to wake up again.

The first thing he notices is that his mouth tastes terrible. It’s a strange thing to notice first, but really, who can blame him? There’s no real noise, but he can hear something muffled; everything sounds like it’s through a filter, or underwater. Eugene’s thoughts swim through his head, impossible to catch, it’s like trying to grab a fish with his bare hands. Infuriating.

Whatever he’s lying on is soft, warm. A bed for sure. It’s a far cry from the rough concrete he’d been splattered on before. Eugene groans, shifting and reveling in the comfort for a second, allowing himself to nearly drift off again. God, he’s tired, he could sleep for a thousand years if the pain in his left shoulder would just knock it off for a bit-

Wait.

Pain. Getting shot. Andrew.

Varian.

Brown eyes snap open as Eugene feels a sudden pulse of panic. The man shoots up into a sitting position, ignoring the twinge in his shoulder. The kid, oh shit, where’s the kid, his mind screams at him on repeat, a cacophony of thoughts piling on top of each other in a way that keeps any of them from fully making sense.

Eugene flails on the bed, his legs quickly tangling in the sheets and sending him toppling to the hardwood floor with a harsh thump. It’s agony, a fiery pain that laces from his upper shoulder and into his chest properly, but Eugene doesn’t stop to contemplate it. He’s in unknown territory, with unknown people. He’s only in his undershirt and pants- boots, gone, jacket, gone, backpack, gone.

Kid, long gone.

Shit.

Eugene’s mind brings up the image of Varian’s face, streaked with tears and blue eyes blown wide in terror, and feels himself steel. The kid needs him. Andrew’s sure to be pissed, and something tells Eugene the Saporian isn’t going to be kind about that fact. The man can’t help the feeling of anger at the brief memory of how roughly Andrew had treated Varian when he’d seen them in the same space.

Case and point, he has to get going after them, and fast.

…As soon as he figures out where the hell he is.

It’s probably not with the Saporians, Eugene can’t see them healing him after attempting to murder him. Bandits, maybe? Sometimes they liked to grab people from the wastes once they were too weak to take care of themselves, and then coerce them into repaying the kindness of saving their ass. Seems the most likely, for sure.

Eugene grumbles as he pushes himself up off the floor. He stands on shaky legs, nearly falling over from fatigue and only staying upright by clumsily grabbing at the headboard of the bed he’d been laying on. His bare feet slap against the wooden floor, making a series of loud thumps. He groans, whoever had grabbed him probably knows he’s awake now.

Eugene rolls his shoulders, wincing at the stiffness. He sends a questing hand towards the wound in shoulder, assessing. Thick, well wrapped bandages cover the wound, which stings as he touches it. It was definitely a shot at his heart, but it had hit too high. Right in the fleshy part of his shoulder sits five new stitches, expertly done from the feeling of them. He doesn’t trust it, to be honest.

A good look around the room doesn’t yield much in the way of information. He’s in a smaller room, a bedroom to be sure. It’s barren, save for the bed, a nightstand with a pitcher on it, and a table pushed against the opposite wall. There’s large windows to his left, a door to his right. Bright sunlight flows in from the window. It’s a homey enough space, warm and clean, but Eugene knows better than to trust it. A closer look at the table brings good news. Eugene grins when he catches sight of his stuff, jacket folded primly and backpack seemingly untouched from how full it still looks.

That’s… suspicious.

But not what he needs to focus on right now.

The wooden floors creak slightly as he heads towards his stuff. Eugene’s mind whirls with a million plans. First, he has to get out of the house. Second, he has to figure out where the hell he even is. Third, and the most important: he needs to find the fastest route back to Saporian territory. Andrew thinks Eugene is dead, thinks it’s safe to take Varian back to their home base, and that is an incredible advantage. Eugene knows where they’re going, knows where Varian is going to be, which makes getting the kid back leagues easier than if the Saporians had split to somewhere new out of fear of being caught.

Eugene quickly slips his boots and jacket on, ignoring the burning fire in his shoulder at the motion. Damn he’d gotten lucky, even if it meant living with an injury this bad for at least a month. The backpack follows soon enough, something of a grounding weight. Varian’s boon, he notes, is missing.

Teeth grit, Eugene turns towards the window.

If he’s a prisoner, there’s no way the door isn’t rigged. If it’s not locked, it’s a trap. Eugene cracks his knuckles, quietly moving towards the window with practiced grace. It seems whoever had bandaged him up had yet to figure out he’s still awake, another stroke of luck.

He reaches the window, a medium sized opening that’s just as well maintained as the rest of the room, and slips his hands under the wooden sill. It opens soundlessly, allowing a fresh breeze to flow through. Eugene allows himself the quick moment to let himself enjoy it, as well as the feeling of the sun on his face. It’s a warm day, probably about mid-afternoon if he’s to guess, the air crisp with the smell of apples, of all things.

It’s during this moment of reprieve, that Eugene hears growling.

A blur of grey fur comes bolting through the window and into the room, startling the man into falling backwards with a very manly shriek, thank you. His ass hits the floor with a loud thump, muffled by the sound of high-pitched snarls coming from-

“A raccoon?!” Eugene snaps, shoving the furry creature away from his face. It lands on the bed with a yowl, its beady black eyes narrowed in a glare. “What the hell-?“

The rodent snarls again, spitting and pacing on the bed. It’s weird looking, for a wild animal, its coat shiny and fluffy. It looks like it’s had baths, like it’s a pet-

Eugene’s mind suddenly makes the connection, and he throws out his hands.

“Uh, shit,” he mumbles, “What did the kid call you? R-Reggie? No, that’s stupid. Remington?”

The raccoon stops the feral act, his little head cocking as Eugene stumbles over a few more R names.

“Ruddiger!” Eugene finally shouts, snapping his fingers. At the sound of the name, the raccoon perks right up, chittering something that almost sounds like a question. Eugene sees the spark of recognition in those beady eyes though, and things quickly start to fall into place.

“You’re Ruddiger, right?” he asks, grinning when the raccoon blinks. “And you belong to Varian?”

At the kid’s name the raccoon makes an excited noise. Eugene holds out a hand, smiling when the critter pushes into his palm with a purr. The raccoon, Ruddiger, is surprisingly soft. His little eyes shut as he shoves his face into Eugene’s hand. It’s ridiculously cute. Eugene feels a small smile cross his face, scratching the animal behind his ears.

“Alright, you weird cat.” He says, “Want to tell me where the door is? I know where your human’s at.”

Ruddiger squeaks at that, eyes wide at the mention of the kid. His ringed tail perks up, swishing from side to side. Eugene also notices that one of his ears, the one towards the door perks. The raccoon looks past the man and towards the exit; Eugene only has a split second to spin around before the door to the bedroom flings open.

With a startled yell Eugene bolts backwards, putting the corner of the bed between himself and the two people who come running at him through the door. They’re two women, one holding a sword and the other swinging a frying pan like it’s a bat. All three of them scream, the women in rage and Eugene in fear.

The one with the sword gets to Eugene first, swiping at him with a fierce cry. Her dark hair swings with the motion, nearly distracting as Eugene’s forced to duck to avoid her blade. He’s made a mistake, but he only realizes that when, with a perfectly executed switch, the women reverse positions and the blond one swings her frying pan up in a wide arc. Eugene can’t avoid it, taking the hit in the chin and toppling to the floor with a grunt.

He lands hard, blood filling his mouth from a bit tongue. Before he can even move the black-haired woman has him pinned, kneeling by his head with her hands keeping him on the floor while the blond one looms over him. Eugene’s head spins, his mouth filling with the taste of copper.

Eventually his vision focuses again, snapping onto a pair of stunning green eyes. The blond woman leans over him, holding something in her hand. He blinks at it for a second, confused and probably concussed, if he’s honest, until his head finally clears.

“Where did you get this?” Blondie demands. Varian’s boon sparkles in the sunlight. When Eugene tries to get his tongue to work, she shakes it in his face and leans forward.

“I said.” Her face darkens. “Where. Did you. Get this?”

“A friend!” Eugene finally snaps, struggling against black-hair’s grip. “A friend gave it to me, okay? And he’s in trouble, so I’d really appreciate you letting me go-“

“Who.” It’s less a question and more a demand. The woman’s green eyes are stony, there’s a rage there that Eugene can’t help but fear a bit.

“A kid.” He finally relents. The blond woman is familiar, and Eugene thinks he knows where from, though he’s not stupid enough to drop Varian’s name on assumptions. “I was helping him get home, we got separated. I got shot, and the people who did it took him.”

“Was his name-” Blondie starts, but black-hair cuts her off with a hiss.

“Raps, we don’t know this guy.” She says, “He might be lying.”

That cinches it.

“It’s from Varian.” Eugene says. The two women’s heads look down at him, blondie’s- Rapunzel’s- eyes going wider than dinner plates.

“You were with Varian?!” She gasps. Before Eugene can register what’s happening, she grabs him by the shoulders and forces him to sit up, her face getting concerningly close. “Was he okay?! Where is he now?” She shakes him once; Eugene swears he can feel his brain rattle in his skull.

“I- yeah, yeah, I was with the kid!” Eugene snaps, lightly slapping at her hands. She lets go with a sheepish expression, but Eugene continues on without prompting. “He’d been running from the Saporian gang, said they’d taken him from Corona.”

“They did.” Black-hair grunts. “Right under our noses, those bastards-”

“Cass.” Rapunzel chides quietly. “Please. Let him finish.”

Eugene feels oddly self conscious under her stare, trying hard not to look into her desperate eyes. It seems that now that he’s started talking, he can’t make himself stop. The words spill out, fast and rough- though that could be the blood loss talking.

“I found Varian out in the wastes,” He says. “He’d gotten away from the Saporians, asked me to help him find his way back… well back here, I’d assume. We were close, but Andrew found us.”

“Shit.” Black-hair, Cass, hisses. “If we’d known you were coming, we could have sent help. You were only a few clicks from here.”

Eugene grunts, testing his shoulder. “They took him again,” he says. The women’s faces fall. “But I know where they’re going.”

Rapunzel perks up at that, considering. “You’d help us go get him?” She asks, and her face breaks into a smile when Eugene nods.

“I promised to get him home,” he says. “And I’m not done until I’ve kept that promise.”

Rapunzel pauses, looks Eugene over with a calculating face. “And what’s in it for you?” She asks, and he freezes. It’s like a deer trapped in headlights, Eugene being faced with the horrific reality that he might actually care. A large part of him wants to deny it, to claim profit, but… well it just wouldn’t be truthful. He thinks of the kid, of how far lying got them at the start.

“Originally it was supplies,” he finally admits. “But… I dunno, the kid’s endearing, I guess. He grew on me like a mold.”

Cass snorts, standing from the floor. “That’s our Varian.”

Rapunzel smiles, something almost sad. Her eyes focus back on Eugene, before she keeps grilling him.

“Was he okay? Did they hurt him?”

Eugene bites at his lip, not sure if the truth would help at this point, but at those pleading, green eyes, he breaks.

“He was mostly fine,” he admits. “Lot of bruises. Pale, thin. They definitely weren’t feeding him enough. I don’t know what he was like, uh, before, but the kid’s skittish. Flinches a lot, scares easily.”

Rapunzel’s face falls with every word, but Eugene can see the rage building. “They hurt him,” she hisses. Eugene nods.

“Most likely.”

He sees her jaw clench.

“They’re dead.” Cass says, placating her friend. “We find them, they’re dead. With, uh-“

“Eugene.”

“-Eugene’s help, we’ll find him. We’ll bring him home, Raps. We just have to go and get him.”

Rapunzel nods at that, looks down to Eugene again. She stands, breathing deeply, once through her nose.

“Okay.” She says, and it’s more of a war cry than Eugene’s ever heard.

She extends a hand down to him. He takes it. “They think I’m dead.” Eugene says as she pulls him to his feet. “They don’t know that I know where their base is. Or at least, close to where their base is.”

“It’s more than we had to work with before.” Cass nods. Eugene can see the way she thinks, face flipping though multiple emotions. The hand holding her sword twitches. Eugene shifts his weight on his feet looking between them.

“It’s a fair way,” He admits.

“How far?” Cass’s face is grim.

“About a week. Me and the kid have been walking at least that long, maybe a little shorter.”

Rapunzel’s face falls again, before she looks to the two of them with a fire in her eye. It’s… well it’s attractive, Eugene will admit. She’s got spunk, especially when she twirls her frying pan with a showy sense of flair and focuses on the two other people in the room.

“Well,” she says, “I guess we’d better get going.”

>>>><<<<

Varian has had… better nights.

He shudders against the cold wind of evening, back pressed firmly against a tree. It’s freezing out tonight, the last of summer’s heat slowly giving way to fall. He knows his face is set firmly into a scowl, a bitter, angry expression. Good. Varian shifts his weight a little, wincing when the thick handcuff wrapped around one of his wrists digs into his skin when the movement tugs on the thick tree root Andrew had tied him to. Varian hates that’s he’s used to it, to the feeling of iron keeping him in place like a good little pet. Varian can feel as his anger festers, sinking deeper into him.

This marks the second night since Andrew had found him, since Varian had been dragged, kicking and screaming, onto the hot air balloon he’d designed and forced to watch as the highway had disappeared over the horizon. He’d been so close to home, barely a few hours more before they would have hit Corona. If they hadn’t stopped for the night, they would have made it, and Eugene…

Varian sniffles, rubbing his sore eyes with a bare wrist. They’d taken his hoodie long ago, leaving him in nothing but a thin T-shirt. He’d thought he’d cried himself out earlier, but the thought of the man always seemed to drag more tears from him. Varian couldn’t help but feel guilty, a festering, angry thing. Eugene had helped him, had ignored what his instincts had told him in order to help Varian to get home. He’d been kind, and it killed him.

Varian feels tears drip down his cheeks. The boy blinks quickly, scrubbing at his face. He casts a worried expression towards the center of the clearing the Saporians had landed them in, where a dull fire crackles. Andrew and his cronies sit around it, unaware of their being watched. It’s late in the night, a few of them have long since gone to sleep, but Andrew and a few others stay awake to keep watch.

Varian tugs idly on the cuff, yanking it against the thick root. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t budge, the root embedded deep into the earth. He sighs, curling up under the meager safety of the tree and wiping at his red rimmed eyes. The sky above is dark, thick with clouds that hide the moon’s glow. Shadows reach towards them all with creeping fingers, choking out any light left.

Varian chances another look to the Saporians. They’re all chatting, clearly not focused on him in the slightest. They’re relaxed, easily confident that they’re safe for the evening.

Varian scowls, knowing they’re probably right.

He doesn’t have anything on him that he can use, Andrew had made sure of that, but he still had a trick or two under his belt. He manages to find a larger stick, long since split in half by the passage of time, along with a thinner twig. They’re bone dry, the summer heat sapping the moisture from the wood, so it’s in rapid succession that Varian’s able to pin the larger stick under his knee and swipe the smaller back and forth rapidly across a groove in the center. He repeats the motion as fast as he can, scraping the wood together until he can see smoke. Varian huffs out a small hah as he scoops up a few dry leaves, tipping the charred, smoking bits onto the tinder and gently blowing on it.

“C’mon,” he murmurs to himself, “C’mon.”

A small flame sparks to life. Varian nearly chokes on his gasp of excitement, dropping it to the forest floor and blowing on it again. The little fire splutters to life, catching on the dry tinder. Varian breathes a sigh of relief as it begins to grow, a tiny, flickering thing that finally offers a little heat, a little warmth. He slowly brings his hands away, intent on grabbing more fuel for the fire, when something else enters his view.

A boot comes slamming down, snuffing the fire out with a firm stomp. Varian cringes, looking up and seeing Andrew glaring down at him. The boy shrinks into himself, curling back as Andrew’s face darkens.

“Whatcha up to, buddy?” The man asks, twisting his foot firmly into the dirt. Varian feels a pulse of fear as Andrew looms over him, his back pressing against the bark of the tree. For a brief second, he finds himself longing for Eugene. He has to choke down the wave of sorrow the feeling brings right after.

“It’s cold.” Varian mumbles, refusing look up from the boot to meet Andrew’s glare. “I was-”

“Trying to escape?” Andrew asks, his face pulling down into a frown.

Varian’s breath hitches. “No!” He stutters, hands pulling up close to his chest. “No, no, I promise, I wasn’t trying to get away-”

“That’s good.” Andrew cuts him off again. Varian’s protest putters out, the boy going quiet. He tries to hide it, but his hands shake. Andrew notices, and his face splits into a smile. “You remember what happened last time you ran, don’t you? It was only a few days ago, after all.”

Varian’s breath hitches, the boy’s eyes going wide. “I…” He trails off, looking down to the earth.

Andrew’s weight shifts, the man crouching down into a squat. “Didn’t you learn anything? Fitzherbert died, because of you.” He says, and his face pulls into an exaggerated frown. “It was all your fault, Varian. Because you ran away, like a selfish little prick, a man died. Remember?”

The boy’s breath hitches, eyes going wide. “No, it’s- you’re the one who killed him!” His voice cracks, Varian’s face crumbling.

“And if you had just stayed put, I wouldn’t have done it.” Andrew shrugs like it’s an easy thing. “You dragged Fitzherbert into it, you made that choice to involve him. So yeah, bud, it’s on you.”

Varian’s face goes pale, the kid refusing to look up. Andrew reaches out, ignoring when the boy flinches away. He grabs Varian’s chin, forcing the boy to meet his eye. “I guess this was just what it took for you to learn your place,” he says, grinning when Varian’s shoulders hitch in a silent sob. “But it is what it is. So long as you do as you’re told, no one else needs to die.”

Tears run down freckled cheeks. Andrew lets go of Varian’s chin with a sigh, standing. “You’ll learn, one day. And when you do, we’re going to do great things together.”

With that, he turns and goes back to his fire. Varian covers his mouth with his hands, trying to muffle the fresh round of tears. His eyes burn from the salt, the boy blinking as his vision swims. His eyes slam shut as he lets himself be taken by another wave of despair, his whole body shaking with the force of the sorrow, the devastation.

The guilt.

In front of him, the small patch of soot quickly grows cold.

>>>><<<<

Eugene’s shoulder kills, but he refuses to let it stop him. The jostling of the horse underneath him does nothing to help, but he grits his teeth and bears it. They’d been riding for two days, hustling along the highway that Eugene had been found on, the same highway Andrew had attacked them. The horses are leagues faster than walking had been, and even Eugene knows that a hot air balloon is slow as all hell. At the rate they’re going, they’ll catch up with the Saporians sooner rather than later.

They only break for about eight hours, taking the risk of having no lookout to spend the minimum amount of time stopped before they’re off again. It’s a brutal pace, on rider and horse both, but Cassandra had made the good point that if Andrew and his crew could get the kid back to their base, rescuing Varian would be considerably more difficult. If they could catch the gang out in the wastes, it would simply be a matter of grabbing the kid and running like hell was on their heels.

Sure. Simple.

It’s been two days of riding. They’ve got to be close; they’ve already reached close to the gorge where he and Varian had almost died. They’d even stayed a night in the same farmhouse, its once cheery interior all the colder without the kid there. It’s early in the night, the sky dark and cloudy. They’d pulled off to the side of the highway to stop for the night, but Cassandra had stopped them before they could start to unpack a camp.

“Wait.” She whispers, quietly gesturing towards the forest. Eugene follows her motion, catching sight of dull light in the distance. A campfire. His eyebrow raises, a weathered hand settleing on the hilt of his sword.

“Could it be...?” Rapunzel trails off, hopeful. Cassandra shrugs, but catches Eugene’s eye. The man nods, already knowing what she’s implying.

“We should check it out,” he says. “The balloon barely caught up to us at a walking pace. I wouldn’t be surprised if we managed to overtake them on the horses.”

One of the animals, named Maximus as Eugene had learned, looks nearly smug as Eugene speaks. The man rolls his eyes, but still turns to where the fire burns in the distance.

“If there’s a chance it’s them, we have to check,” he says. Rapunzel nods, frying pan already in hand.

They creep forwards together, drawing close to the fire on quiet feet. The forest around them is alight with life, bugs and birds and small animals moving around and hiding their approach. Eugene is easily the quietest of them all, though Cassandra gets to the edge of the clearing first. She ducks into a thick bush, waving the others forwards once she confirms it’s a good spot. Eugene and Rapunzel dip in behind her, moving to either side. The thick brush is hard to see through, but it’s hidden, and for now that’s what’s important. The dirt under his knees is cold; Eugene shivers in the colder evening temperatures. From their place, kneeling in the dirt, Eugene can see the whole camp.

The first person he notices is Andrew.

“Oh, shit,” he whispers. “It’s them.”

The Saporians have a nice little camp going, to be fair. A large fire in the center of a clearing, the five of them scattered about. Three of them are asleep, the only ones awake are Andrew and the younger woman, Juniper. They relax next to the fire, relaxed and content with their places. A deflated hot air balloon sits nearby, small and chock full of odd little gadgets that must be Varian’s modifications.

Speaking of.

“Where’s Varian?” Rapunzel asks, her voice strained. “I don’t see him.”

“Me neither,” Cassandra hisses back.

Eugene scans the area near the fire. “He’s got to be around somewhere,” he mutters. “Andrew wouldn’t let the kid out of his sight, not after Varian gave him the slip once.”

“Wait- there!” Rapunzel nearly moves forwards, lurching towards the clearing. Cassandra snaps out a hand to stop her, grabbing the blonde by her arm and pulling her back down. Rapunzel struggles for a second more, but stops when Cass shakes her head. Instead the blonde points to the edge of the glen, where a large tree sits. There, handcuffed to the base of the tree…

“Varian.” Eugene whispers. Something in his chest, a knot that had been twisting in his gut for days, finally begins to unwind at the sight of Varian, though any sense of relief is cut short by the state of him. The kid looks like shit, even worse than the last time Eugene had seen him. The kid looks beat to hell; a fresh, purple bruise splays across Varian’s face, his wrist bleeds from where he’s been chained to the tree. Worst of all, however, is the obvious signs of the distress the kid’s in. Baby blue eyes are red rimmed and bloodshot. The kid’s crying, wiping at his face in a futile attempt to keep himself composed, but there’s no hiding the flush of his cheeks and the shaking of his lip.

Rapunzel makes a noise that’s close to a growl. Eugene can see the way her hand tightens around her frying pan. The sight of Varian’s distress obviously effects all three of them- Cassandra looks ready for murder, and Eugene’s sure his own expression can’t be much better. Even at the relief of seeing the kid alive, the sight of Varian in so much pain without anyone even trying to comfort him stirs a rage that Eugene rarely ever feels.

It’s not right- it was never right of course, but these bastards had ripped Varian away from his home, from his family. And now, faced with a crying kid that they had hurt, they couldn’t even be damned to give the kid a sweater or something, since they’d chained him far from the fire. Varian gets cold easily, even Eugene knows that.

The anger is like fire, spreading up from his gut and into his chest, a raging warmth that spurs the grip on his sword and the glare in his eye. It’s not right. He grits his teeth against the gnashing rage, sucking in a breath through his teeth.

“What’s the plan, blondie?” He asks, eyes never looking away from the distant figure of Varian. “Kid’s close to the edge of camp, but I don’t know how long the cuff will take to pick.”

“I can make a distraction.” Cassandra offers. “Go back to the road, make a bunch of noise. Excluding Andrew, they’re not the smartest bunch. Bang two sticks together and they’ll come running.”

Rapunzel pauses, thinking. “There’s five of them,” she says. Her eyebrows furrow together in thought, the woman biting at her lip. “I don’t think splitting up is a good idea.”

Eugene shakes his head. “We can’t take them head on. Even if we can get the kid free, it’s four against five. Varian’s not a fighter, he’s a-”

“A man of science.” Rapunzel finishes the sentence, catching Eugene’s eye. “That’s what he always says.”

Eugene’s mouth shuts with a click of teeth. Rapunzel’s face sinks into a warm smile. She puts a hand on his shoulder, leaning forward as much as she’s able. “You’re close with him?” She asks.

Eugene wants to deny it, wants to still pretend that this is all about some stupid ego-code, or revenge, or just because he wants to… but he’d be lying. He meets Rapunzel’s eye, nods.

“Varian’s… he’s a good kid.” Eugene scratches at the back of his neck. He looks away, refusing to acknowledge the heat in his cheeks. “So sue me if I got attached. He’s like a puppy, you can’t not.”

Rapunzel shakes her head, quietly laughing. “That’s exactly it,” she says. “Thank you, though. For taking care of him, I mean.”

“It was nothing-”

“No it wasn’t.”

No, it wasn’t.

Cassandra makes a small noise. Eugene looks back towards the clearing, glaring when he sees Andrew step away from the group and into the woods.

“Now?” He asks. Rapunzel pauses only for a second, weighing the options.

“Now,” she says. “Try and get Varian’s cuff unlocked without getting caught. If they spot you, Cass and I will step in.”

“Got it.” Eugene says, already moving back into the brush. He swings wide, keeping his distance from the camp as he circles around to where Varian is. His boots barely make a sound in the night, Eugene sneaking as quietly as he can. If he gets caught now, it will only end badly for Varian. They have one shot at this, and Eugene’s going to use it wisely.

He eventually gets close enough to see the kid properly, barely containing himself as the bruises, the blood, gets more pronounced against freckled skin. The kid looks worse up close, and it makes Eugene want to punch something. Specifically Andrew.

But that’s for later.

“Kid.” He hisses, trying to get Varian’s attention. The boy’s half asleep, cried out and obviously exhausted as he huddles against the tree to his back. Varian’s head looks up sharply at the whisper, staring directly at Eugene’s hiding place with wide eyes. The man takes the chance of popping out from between the trees, showing himself for a quick second.

He doesn’t get the reaction he was expecting.

Varian goes as white as a sheet, the blood draining from his face as it drops into a horrified expression. He looks like he’s seen a ghost. To be fair, though, from Varian’s perspective he probably has.

“E-Eugene?” He whispers, looking back and forth from Eugene’s hiding place and the campfire. “You’re alive?”

“Andrew’s a shitty shot,” is all Eugene says. It looks safe enough, so he chances crawling out from the brush and towards the kid. Varian’s face is still pulled in shock, baby blue eyes wide and nearly popping out of his skull. When Eugene gets close, he raises a shaking hand, looking scared to try anything more. The chain keeping him tied to the tree rattles with the movement.

With a small sigh, Eugene leans forwards and gently takes the cuffed hand. His heart aches at the shocked intake of breath the kid makes at the touch. Varian’s shaking, but not from cold.

“I thought you died…” The kid says. Eugene looks at him, sees the tears quickly springing up.

“Nah,” Eugene shrugs, trying to lighten the mood. “I’m like a cockroach. I’d love to see something actually succeed in killing me, I’m basically immortal.”

Varian laughs wetly, wiping at his face to dispel the tears. Eugene feels something in him settle as the kid’s face splits into a small, cautious smile.

“You’ll never guess who picked me up, by the way,” the man continues. Varian perks up, tilting his head. Eugene tilts his head in thought, playing it up to keep the kid laughing. “Some blonde chick and her crazy-ass friend, right. And, get this, they had a raccoon with them.”

The kid’s eyes go wide with surprise, the weak smile splitting into something closer to the wide grin Eugene’s come to know. “Rapunzel?” He asks quietly, like he can’t believe it. “And Cass? And Ruddiger?!”

“What are the odds, huh?” Is all Eugene replies with, trying not to smile as Varian grabs at his wrist.

“Are they here too?” The kid asks, nearly vibrating with excitement. “Did they-”

“Yeah, goggles. They came to help me get you home. Thought I could use the backup, this go around… but first we have to get you loose.”

Eugene looks down to the kid’s hand, more specifically the cuff around Varian’s wrist. It’s old, even in terms of the time after the blackout. The cuffs are rusted, but the metal’s still holding strong after all these years. Eugene is nothing if not resourceful, however, and he’s got just the thing.

“Hm,” he says. “Looks like an old police cuff. Should be easy enough to get you out of there.” Eugene reaches into his boot, drawing out his most valuable possession. The kid makes a confused noise, something small, but welcome.

“A paperclip?” Varian asks. “Are you serious?”

“Hey, don’t knock the paperclip.” Eugene quickly unbends the thing, shaping the little metal stick into a right angle. “This little guy’s gotten me out of more than one situation, thank you very much.”

He slips the impromptu lock pick into the keyhole of the handcuff, starting to shift it around in the mechanism. Varian watches with a keen eye, curious. Eugene catches the look, and begins to quietly explain.

“The lock has two latches on the inside,” he murmurs, barely even paying attention. “So, see, you want to bend the clip at about a ninety-degree angle and then hit both of them at the same time. Just gotta find the right spot-”

Click.

“Et voila!” He grins as the cuff falls open. Varian gawps at his freed wrist, pulling it back towards his chest as Eugene lets go. The man risks a peek over to the Saporians again, seeing Andrew still missing and the others half asleep. Good.

“Alright, kid.” He says, drawing Varian’s stunned attention back. “Let’s say you and I blow this roadshow, huh?”

The kid starts to nod, but pauses, thinking. “They’ll just follow us,” he says. Varian worries at his lip with those buck teeth, thinking hard. “We need to destroy the balloon.”

“Wha- Goggles, no, listen-” God damn it they don’t have time for this. “Your sister brought horses, we can outrun them.”

“And then what?” Varian’s voice nearly cracks. “We just wait for them to show up at Corona? Hide away for the rest of m-our lives? What happens when we can’t keep running?”

Eugene can’t even find anything to say. The protests die on his tongue, especially when Varian’s face hardens.

“If we don’t do something, they’ll keep hurting people.” The kid’s insane- “If I can stop them now, it’s my responsibility to do that.”

“It’s your respons- kid, we’re trying to survive, here!”

“What’s the point of survival without helping other people?” Varian snaps, “Without charity? Without hope?! I’ve seen the world survival brings, and I don’t want a part of it; I want to make things better, even if it’s a risk.”

“There’s no room for thinking like that out here.” Eugene’s protest is weak, and he knows it. “That kind of shit’s going to get you killed. Now, let’s get the hell out of here!” He reaches for Varian’s hand, and only feels a little hurt when the kid pulls back.

“I’m ending this.” Varian says. “For good.”

And like that, the kid’s up like a shot. Eugene makes another grab at him, hissing Varian’s name, but the teenager’s gone too quickly, off and vanishing into the darkness. The man grits his teeth- what the actual hell is the kid thinking- before getting to his feet and following.

The forest is dark all around them, but Eugene catches up with the kid quickly enough. Twigs snap underfoot, a barely-there crack in the silence of the evening. Eugene huffs for breath as he sees Varian skid to a stop in front of him, the kid crouching behind a tree.

The man follows the boy’s eyeline, sees the balloon parked near the trees. Its deflated for the evening, the garish, purple fabric laying flat on the forest floor. A large, almost ship looking platform sits nearby, connected to the balloon with a series of ropes and thick cables. It looks strong, to be honest, much sturdier than the hot air balloons Eugene thinks of from the before. If anything, it’s more of a warship that happens to be floating under balloons, than a hot air balloon in the traditional sense.

And there, bolted above the deck in the center of the ship on a pyramid of thin, metal supports, is a large burner. Or, at least, Eugene thinks that’s what it is. The way Varian stares at the balloon seems to confirm it; the kid’s glaring at it like it’s personally offended him. Eugene sees the same spark in his eye that Varian had the day they met, when the kid had refused to take no for an answer and had pushed until Eugene agreed to get him home. The man sighs, knowing exactly what that look means.

“So that’s it, then?” He asks, sidling up next to the kid and hiding behind the same tree. Varian jumps for a second at the sound of his voice, but the kid finally nods before looking back to the balloon.

“Andrew keeps the plans on the ship.” Varian whispers. “I saw them when… uh, after we were separated. They don’t understand how the ship works, so if things broke, they used the blueprints to figure it out.”

“So let me guess,” Eugene can hear the resignation in his own voice. “You want to get the plans, too.”

“Or just destroy them.” Jesus, kid, “Either way, if we don’t remove the plans from the equation, they can just build a new ship.”

“Fantastic.”

“Ha. Tell me how you really feel.”

Eugene takes the time to glare down at the little shit. Varian grins brightly back, and honestly, it’s worth the irritation to see the kid smile.

“Okay, goggles,” he says, “This is your song and dance. What’s the plan?”

Varian worries at the bottom of his lip, looking around. “I think I can get close enough without getting spotted,” he whispers, “All I have to do is destabilize the reducer bell, that would make it burn too quickly, causing the fire to be an uncontrolled burn, meaning-”

“To the point kid, please.”

Varian grins, something reveling and almost mean. “Meaning boom,” he says.

Eugene can’t help but laugh, tweaking the kid’s ear. “Boom it is, then,” he grins. “We’ll stick together, better to run in pairs.”

Varian nods. Together they slowly creep out from the woods. Eugene can’t say he’s pleased about being so exposed, but if this is what it takes to get Varian to agree to leaving… well they’d better make it quick. Varian reaches the balloon first, quickly hopping into the wooden portion and out of sight. Eugene follows, pressing his back against the wooden wall. They hold the position for a second longer, waiting, listening. Nothing happens, the Saporians still unaware of their loose prisoner. Together they breathe a sigh of relief, Varian slouching more than Eugene against the panels.

The kid’s gotta be tired, there’s no question of it. Better get this done sooner, rather than later. Thankfully, there’s a series of crates that will keep them mostly hidden, with a few odds and ends stacked on top. It’ll be more than enough to hopefully make this quick.

“Alright,” Eugene murmurs. “Tell me what to do.”

Varian peeks up pausing. “I’ve got it,” he says. “If you do it wrong, we could blow up with it.”

“Ah.”

“Yep.”

Varian flips onto his feet in a squat, quickly reaching into a nearby crate. With a grin he pulls out his hoodie, still stocked from the way that it seems to glow from the chemicals within. The kid slips it on, looking already more like himself. He also pulls out the knife Eugene had given him, still sheathed. The boy waves it with a small flourish, smiling widely at the ridiculous look Eugene shoots him.

“Andrew knows better than to chuck a good knife just because he wants to be petty.” Varian shrugs. The kid moves closer to the burner, tilting it this way and that before pulling the knife from its sheath. He uses the tip to unscrew a panel from the bottom of the machine in a precise, practiced motion. A sense of amusement makes Eugene snicker as the kid sticks his tongue out in concentration, fiddling with the guts of the burner.

“Just a little more,” Varian whispers to Eugene. The man nods, looking around. Something doesn’t feel right, like it’s too easy. It gets his hackles up, the quiet of the evening. In theory it’s good that it’s quiet, but something about it just seems too perfect. Their luck has sucked so far, so something going right sets him right on edge.

Case and point, a sudden shout comes from the other end of the glen not two seconds later.

“Where’s the kid?!”

Andrew.

Varian flinches violently, borderline dropping to the deck of the ship. Eugene follows, settling into a crouch before peeking through the top railing with a cautious eye. He sees Andrew storming into camp from where they’d chained Varian, shaking the empty handcuffs. The fury across his face is evident, a snarling, vicious anger.

Eugene hears Varian suck in a terrified breath next to him.

All the Saporians have turned to look at their leader, shock written across their faces as the man shakes the cuffs roughly.

“I said,” he spits, “Where. The hell. Is the kid?”

“I- we- he can’t have gone far!” Juniper stumbles over her words, fear written plainly across her face. “He’s just a kid, we caught him before, right?”

“We caught that little shit because we shot Fitzherbert, which scared him into listening. You want to volunteer next, Juniper?”

Oh, Andrew’s pissed. Juniper wilts immediately, shrinking down. “We’ll find him,” she says, more a pleading thing than a declaration.

The boy next to Eugene shakes at the mention of the night on the highway, flinching as the man quietly offers his hand in consolation. The kid takes his hand, clinging tightly to the illusion of safety. Varian shudders and shifts, to try and see the camp better.

Knocks into a nearby crate.

The whole thing rattles, sending a glass bottle toppling to the deck below. Eugene throws a hand out, trying to catch it, but he’s just short; his fingers graze the bottle before it passes him by, slamming into the wooden surface of the ship and breaking into a million pieces. The noise it makes rattles in Eugene’s ears, the high-pitched crack of shattered silence.

There’s a pause, Eugene and Varian staring at each other in abject horror before they hear hurried footsteps.

“Whelp,” Eugene says, already standing. “I think it’s time to go, don’t you?”

“Agreed!” Varian shouts, shooting to his feet and starting to bolt. His knife drops to the deck, abandoned in the panic. Eugene vaults over the edge of the ship first, landing in the dirt. He unthinkingly twists, already holding his arms out to catch the kid. Varian lands in his grip with a little oomph, clinging tight as Eugene softens the fall. It’s a quick second of unconscious comfort, feeling Varian safe in his arms, though it doesn’t last long.

Eugene can hear the Saporians shout behind them, angry and loud. He chances a look towards them and see all five charging towards the airship, and towards them. Varian locks up in fear for a second, but a small push from Eugene gets him moving. They run, bolting for the woods, a fierce sprint that Eugene knows he’s going to feel in his knees tomorrow. Varian easily overtakes him- damn the kid’s fast when he wants to be- but skids to a stop at the edge of the forest. Eugene finds himself running past, digging his feet in to stop before he ends up leaving the kid behind. He twists on his heel just in time to see Varian reach into the depths of the hoodie and draw out a bomb, throwing it with a practiced motion.

It explodes into a cloud of fuchsia dust, the gas spreading through the entire clearing. Eugene can hear the Saporians shout in surprise- at least one of them hits something with a loud thump and a curse- but he loses sight of Varian in the process.

“Shit, goggles!?” He shouts, looking frantically around. Eugene stumbles over a rock, unable to see his own hand in front of his face. The sword in his hand is heavy, a comforting thing, but he doesn’t dare to use it. If it’s a friendly face and he swings… it would end badly, to say the least.

“Varian!?” He yells again, hearing chaos in the thick cloud. There’s a sudden clang of metal on what’s probably a skull from the way someone screams; it’s enough to set Eugene’s hair on end as the noise was close-

Another clang, another scream. Eugene whirls around with his sword held high, caution be damned-

Rapunzel.

The blond woman pauses, her frying pan held behind her not unlike how someone would hold a bat, ready to swing. Eugene jerks to a stop, bringing his sword down. Cassandra’s close behind the blonde, her green glare scanning the smoke. Rapunzel does the same, her eyes widening when she doesn’t see the kid at Eugene’s side.

“I thought you had Varian?!” Her voice pitches higher in a way that screams frantic. “Where is he?” “I lost him!” Eugene snaps, “He threw the bomb and vanished, what do you want from me?!”

He would keep shouting, but a quick motion behind him startles him. Eugene whirls on his heels, bringing his sword up in a block. He feels, more than sees, the impact of another blade connecting with his own, a harsh weight that makes the hole in his shoulder scream. He just catches sight of grey-green eyes before Andrew snarls, pressing hard into the block before backing off. Juniper stands at her side, already moving around like a stalking predator.

He hears Rapunzel shout behind him, the shuffling of footsteps interspaced with the clang of metal on metal. He chances a small look behind him, sees Rapunzel and Cassandra backing away from Kai, the large man towering over them. Juniper starts to move to Eugene’s left, even as Andrew stands in front.

They’re trying to flank him, he realizes with a dawning horror. Distract him long enough for one of them to get an in and cut him down. It’s a dirty ploy, but one that he’s seen done even in the animal kingdom. Unsurprising that the Saporians would use such a tactic.

“Fitzherbert,” Andrew’s voice is cold. “Looks like you’re harder to kill than I thought.”

Eugene shrugs. “You shoot like a bitch,” he says. Andrew scowls, a sour look crossing his face. Eugene can’t help but smirk, shifting his weight to keep both Saporians in his line of sight.

The girls seem pre-occupied with Kai, from the sound of it, so he knows he’s on his own here. He’s never fought Juniper before, but she looks capable, especially in the way she circles him with a quiet precision. For a second there’s an almost peaceful moment between the three of them, a weird sort of stalemate.

That is, until Andrew starts to back away, disappearing into the pink smoke.

“Juniper,” he says. “Be a dear and entertain our guest, would you?”

Eugene catches the glint of her smile. She holds a silver rapier in her hand, her dark skin turning nearly white at the knuckle with how tightly she holds it. His attention flits back to Andrew; the cocky bastard’s fully turned away now, waltzing into the pink cloud without a care.

“Don’t worry, Fitzherbert,” he calls over his shoulder. “I’ll take real good care of the kid, I promise.”

Eugene’s hackles raise at that. He starts to go after Andrew- ready to tear that asshole limb from limb, how dare he threaten the kid again- but Juniper stands in his way. Her sword’s held parallel to the ground, blocking his path. Her face is nearly blank, save for a calculating gleam in her eye.

There’s only a fraction of a second that passes before Juniper lunges forwards, a loud cry leaving her as she swings her sword. Eugene only just deflects it, a pulse of adrenaline guiding his hand as he knocks her sword away and parries with a swipe of his own. She barely gets out of the way, crouching and throwing one of her legs out in a perfect arc aimed directly at Eugene’s knee.

The man manages to hop over it, landing in a solid stance as Juniper switches her weight onto her hands. The woman continues her leg’s arc around in a full circle, swinging back around to connect her foot perfectly on Eugene’s jaw. It’s a good hit, solid. Eugene’s head swirls from the impact, the man bending double as his vision goes cross eyed.

He tastes blood where he’d bitten his cheek.

Juniper somehow ends up back on her feet, directing another kick at Eugene’s undefended side. It topples him, the taste of dirt mixing with the blood. Pain flares up from his shoulder like fire, burning until it’s all he can focus on. He flips onto his back, staring up at the moonless sky as Juniper towers over him.

In the distance, he hears someone scream.

Juniper isn’t much of a talker, it seems. She simply raises her sword high, obviously gearing up for a killing blow. Eugene winces, ready for the hit like all the others before. His eyes slam shut, waiting for the agony-

Only to hear the crack of a frying pan meeting skull.

His eyes fly open as Juniper goes oddly stiff, wobbling for a second before toppling into the dirt. Behind her stands Rapunzel, haloed in the light of the fire. Her pan’s held high as her backlit figure holds itself like a queen.

Beautiful, Eugene can’t help but think.

Time slows, the two of them meeting eyes and staring at the other with a sense of magnetism Eugene can’t place. He feels drawn to her, her fire, her drive, her joy. Something in her calls to him, like a lighthouse on the coast. From the way she stares at him, he thinks she must feel it too.

“Are you okay?” She asks, lowering her pan now that Juniper is well and truly knocked out.

“Fine,” he says. The pink smoke around them is still thick and cloying, nearly impossible to see through. “Fine. Are you and Cass-”

“We’re okay too.” Cassandra. She appears through the smoke, the fuchsia swirling around her like a shawl. “But there’s no sign of the kid.”

“Andrew was going after him,” Eugene gasps out, pushing his aching body off the ground. “We have to get to Varian before he does-”

A sudden explosion of wind bursts from the edge of the haze. Eugene slaps his hands over his ears and slams his eyes shut, crouching down to protect his head as he had learned to do during the chaos after the Blackout. When he opens his eyes again the pink smoke from Varian’s bomb is mostly gone, dispersed by the shockwave. He spins, looking for-

Oh, no.

Andrew stands tall on the airship, the gust being caused by the whirling propellers on the tail end starting up. The man smiles, raising a hand to wave at them as the ship begins to raise into the air on the newly inflated balloon. Andrew’s hand lazily waves, the other holding onto a struggling figure by the wrist.

“Varian!” Eugene hears Rapunzel scream, only just registering what she says past the roaring of adrenaline in his ears. As he blinks away the last of the pink fog that’s exactly who he sees, the teenager shoving at Andrew with his free hand as the airship raises higher into the moonless sky.

“Son of a bitch, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Eugene mutters, already kicking himself into a sprint. He hears the women close behind, Rapunzel shouting insults to Andrew the whole time. The ship’s only a few meters off the ground, but they’ll never make it at their current pace. Eugene’s heart races from the exertion, from the panic, anger, and adrenaline cocktail that comes from seeing Andrew with his nasty mitts on the kid again. The rabbit’s pace of his heartbeat is wild in his ears, drowning everything out as he sprints the twenty-meter distance between them and the airship.

By the time he gets there the ship’s at least five meters off the ground, easily higher than any of them can jump. Eugene only pauses for a moment, staring up at the underbelly of the machine with a sense of dawning horror before Rapunzel sprints past him and snatches a rope that’s dangling off the side of the ship. Cassandra follows without question, grabbing a rope of her own. Seeing their plan is enough to shock Eugene to life again, the man grabbing another line; he can’t help but feel grateful for balloons having to be tied down in order to keep them in place.

Eugene grits his teeth as his feet leave the ground, tugged higher and higher by the raising ship. He doesn’t dare look down as he starts to climb towards the ship, but the way the passing trees start to seem shorter and shorter isn’t a good sign.

Rapunzel and Cassandra climb nearby, the tree of them scaling the ropes towards the main body of the ship. Eugene’s shoulder burns, the exertion of holding his body weight and having to climb causing a strange numbness in that arm. Probably not good, but he’s in it for the long haul that this point. He’ll just have to deal with it later.

Cassandra and Rapunzel are on the two ropes attached to the left side of the ship, Eugene on the right. They all swing like pendulums as they clamber upwards, the wind battering at them. Eugene breathes through his nose, gritting his teeth against the pain in his shoulder as the lower side of the ship draws close, so close-

Cassandra shouts as her rope suddenly gives way, the woman plummeting into the trees below. Eugene sees her manage to grab a hold of a branch a meter down, stopping her fall. Her line falls to the ground, the cut side of it hitting the side of the ship. Cassandra shouts in rage, quickly left behind as they continue to float away.

”Andrew!” Rapunzel barks. No prizes for guessing who’s cutting the lines, then. Eugene behind to push himself harder, climbing faster as the edge of the ship draws close. He hears Rapunzel scream, catches sight of blond hair disappearing into the trees just like Cassandra had. Her cut line swings uselessly in the wind.

“Later, princess!” He hears Andrew cackle, laughing as Rapunzel curses at him from the treeline. Eugene’s only a meter away from the railing, the stress on his shoulder burning.

The ship cracks the treeline at last, bursting from the forest in a sudden boost of speed. Eugene feels the tips of his boots skimming the tops of trees, even as he finally gets a grip on the railing. He hoists himself up with one last pull, forcing his aching arms to bring him up and over the edge.

Eugene’s boots hit the wood, already drawing his sword from the scabbard. It’s easy enough to take stock of the scenario, it’s not like the ship is overly large. The same crates and tools are scattered about the deck, obviously in a state of chaos after the hectic takeoff. The main burner still chugs away in the center, a large plume of flame spluttering from the top and heating the air in the balloon to make it fly. Varian’s knife’s still laying nearby from where the kid dropped it, the light of the burner reflecting off it. The shards from the broken bottle are long gone, scattered to the wind.

And there, on the other side of the deck, stands Andrew and Varian, locked in a scuffle.

The kid’s fighting with everything he’s got, smacking at Andrew despite the sword held in the man’s other hand. The brunet’s got a hand locked around Varian’s wrist, keeping the kid in place even as Varian struggles. Two ropes swing from the railing, obviously Cassandra and Rapunzel’s lines that Andrew had cut.

“Let go!” Varian screams, kicking at Andrew. The man grunts with each hit, though one good kick to the ankle is enough to get him to swing his sword to a stop under Varian’s chin. The kid tenses, eyes darting between the blade and Andrew.

“You,” The man hisses, “Are going to shut. Up. Are we clear?”

“Go to hell!”

“Ha, hell spat me out, try again.” Andrew shakes the kid once before shoving Varian down to the deck. “Don’t give a reason to chuck you over the edge.” He threatens, smiling as the kid flinches.

The second Varian’s out of Andrew’s grip Eugene charges.

The taller man doesn’t even have time to turn before Eugene’s on him, tackling the man to the deck of the ship. They land with a thump, the contact rough on Eugene’s injuries. His shoulder aches, even as he pins Andrew down with a hand. Something in Eugene screams for blood, for revenge, for justice for what he’s done to Varian, to countless others.

There’s something infinitely satisfying as he draws a fist back and brings it down, cracking his knuckles across Andrew’s smarmy face.

In fact, it feels so good he does it again.

Andrew yowls at each punch. Eugene feels flesh give way under his fist, a burst of crimson red blooming under the bruises he leaves. It’s good, the feeling of this bastard’s pain at Eugene’s hands, the feeling of blood and suffering for once caused to those who choose evil.

But it can’t last.

Andrew manages to get Eugene off him, a rough shove sending him backwards and onto the deck. His back hits wood with a thump. Eugene doesn’t pause to think about the aches, flipping onto his stomach and pushing himself up with a grunt. He hears the whizz of a blade through the air, and only just manages to roll out of the way before Andrew’s sword cleaves his head from his shoulders. He keeps the momentum, rolling clean across the polished wood of the deck.

He comes to a stop by a familiar pair of boots.

“Hey, kid,” he says, quickly standing and putting himself between Varian and Andrew. The boy looks dreadful, gaunt and thin in the harsh light thrown from the burner. “How’s it going?”

“Been better,” Varian responds, an exhausted look fluttering across his face even as he borderline hides behind Eugene.

“Fair enough,” Eugene shrugs. Andrew paces in front of them, spitting blood onto the deck. “Got any bright ideas, goggles?”

“I used my last bomb down there,” Varian admits. Shit.

“Hm. We’ll take care of this the old-fashioned way, then.”

“Can you stall him?” Varian whispers. “I have an idea.”

“No, just stay out of it-”

“Eugene.”

He’s forced to look back. Sees those baby blues focused on him, a fire burning deep within them. There’s a light, a determination, that he hasn’t seen in Varian before.

“Please, trust me.” Varian begs, his eyes wide and pleading.

Before Eugene can reply, Andrew makes himself known again.

“Are we doing this today, Fitzherbert?” He tone is demanding, only punctuated by the slight ting of the tip of his sword hitting the ship’s deck. “Or are we just going to stand here and glare at each other until one of us drops dead?”

Eugene’s sword is a heavy weight in his hand.

“You’d better have a plan, kid.” Eugene mutters.

And then, he strikes.

Andrew’s fast, Eugene will give him that, but it’s also easy enough to keep him distracted and away from the kid. If Varian’s got a plan, Eugene would trust him on it. It’s like pulling teeth, allowing someone else to take the reigns and control the situation while Eugene does nothing but distract and put himself in harm’s way, but…

Well the kid had done more than enough to prove his mettle.

Neither Eugene nor Andrew are in top shape at this point. It’s been a long fight, Andrew’s tired, Eugene’s injured. They’re both about as even as they’ll ever get, even as their swords clash in a shower of sparks. It’s obvious in the way that Andrew sticks to circling that he isn’t strong enough to be as offensive as he usually is, despite the fact that Eugene is just as exhausted as he is.

Doesn’t stop him from trying, though.

There’s a few more parries and dodges. Swipes of blades through the midnight air. A block here, a kick there. A splash of blood on the polished wood of the deck. Eugene catches sight of Varian, out of the way of the fighting, fiddling with the burner again. Ah, so that’s his plan, then.

Andrew makes another swing of his sword, yelling with rage. His face is shiny with sweat and blood, his hair dishevelled and wild in the wind. The Saporian looks near feral, bloodied and animalistic as he sloppily slashes at Eugene. Something in him, Eugene thinks with a pulse of fear, has snapped.

“I’m going to fillet you!” Andrew hollers over the wind, “And when I’m done? I’m gunna take that goddamn kid and I’m going to throw him off the ship!”

There’s a sudden whining noise behind Eugene, high pitched and nearly agonizing to listen to. He whirls around, seeing Varian pull his arms away from the burner with a mean smile, the boy facing the two men. His eyes glint in the light of the fire, as does the knife in his hand.

“Hey, Andrew?” He says, quiet and casual, and almost confident. The Saporian sees the knife, sees the burner. His eyes go wide, something almost like fear sparking. Varian raises the knife high, still looking at his abuser with a sudden sense of power.

“Get fucked,” The kid says.

And he brings the knife down.

From where Eugene’s standing he can’t see what exactly Varian hits, but from the resulting scream the burner makes, it must have been important. The burner immediately lights up in a way that seems uncontrolled, fire bursting from the top in a plume of light and crackling flames. They raise high into the balloon, so hot that Eugene can even feel them from three meters away.

Varian runs, leaving the knife embedded in the burner. The kid sprints for Eugene, grabbing the man’s coat and tugging. The fire puffs even larger, and then-

The fabric of the balloon catches.

Andrew lets out a panicked shout as the balloon holding them up quickly bursts into flames, bright and hungry as the canvas begins to turn to ash. The ship gives a sickening lurch, quickly beginning to lose altitude. It’s too slow to be called a drop, but it’s certainly fast enough that the trees they’d left behind quickly begin to skim the bottom of the ship, and then within the blink of an eye they’re coasting through the treeline instead of above it.

Eugene shouts as the ship gives another lurch. The purple fabric of the balloon’s nearly gone now, pockmarked with steadily growing holes as the fire claws at it. Varian screams as the deck beneath them shudders, the ship bashing into a larger tree trunk with a horrible thunk. The platform begins to spin, thrown off its trajectory by the impact. It’s nauseating, the added rotation as they fall, and before Eugene can think he’s grabbing at Varian and tugging the kid close.

On the other side of the ship, Andrew screams in fear. Eugene just catches sight of him disappearing over the edge of the ship, his section of the railing snapping away under the stress of the hit. Eugene holds Varian close, deliberately shielding the boy from seeing as Andrew plummets to the ground.

He’s not sure if the man would survive.

Part of him really doesn’t care.

They’re only a few meters from the ground at this point. One of he lines holding the ship to the balloon snaps; the whole deck begins to list, held only by one side. Varian screams again, Eugene can feel small fingers clutching tightly in his shirt. Fire crackles louder now, with the majority of the balloon eaten away. As the ground draws closer at an alarming rate, Eugene feels a sense of dawning horror.

They can’t stay on the ship.

“Kid,” he shouts, his voice nearly lost to the raging winds. “We’re gunna have to jump!”

Varian lets go of where he’d been clinging to Eugene like an octopus, staring up at the man with barely concealed fear.

“Are you insane?!” He screams. Eugene flinches at the loud voice next to his ear. He chances a look down, sees the ground only a meter away from the belly of the ship.

“Varian, you gotta trust me, okay?” Eugene’s voice is stern, but more so to stay off the rising panic. “We can’t be on here when it hits, it might explode.”

Varian looks shaken, but Eugene can tell the kid knows he’s right. “I- okay.” Varian stutters, “What are we going to do?”

Eugene doesn’t waste time, scooping Varian up. The kid shouts in protest, though Eugene’s momentarily distracted by the fact that Varian weighs about as much as a handful of grapes. The minute we’re out of here, I’m feeding him, Eugene’s thoughts grumble. With the kid secured, he peeks over the railing at the ground whizzing by. He winces, knowing this isn’t going to be pleasant by any means.

“Alright, hang on,” Eugene mutters. He feels the ship shudder again, feels Varian flinch at the harsh noise of another one of the cables snapping under the stress. He looks down once last time, sees a large set of overgrown bushes at the base of a tree. Varian shakes like a leaf in his arms, clinging tightly. Eugene grits his teeth.

And then, he jumps.

The impact is painful, a series of small aches and pains that Eugene knows he’s going to be feeling for over a week. His shoulder burns, the agony of it hitting hard. Varian shrieks as they fall, only to go frighteningly quiet on impact. The bush breaks their fall, but only just. It’s like landing… well it’s like landing on a pile of sticks and leaves. There’s no two ways about it, it sucks.

Eugene rolls with the inertia. The dirt under him is cold, but soft, so at least there’s that to be thankful for. He finds himself borderline skidding along the ground, popping out the other side of the bush with a shout. He feels his grip in the kid loosen, Varian yelping as he rolls to a stop a little ways behind him. Eugene finds himself flat on his back, staring up at the moonless sky. The stars are out now, he notices; small, twinkling lights scattered across an inky sky.

The ship crashes to the ground nearby, a large boom rattling the teeth in Eugene’s skull. It’s a fair way away, though, far enough to be safe.

Eugene takes a moment to pause, let himself breathe. He forces air into stuttering lungs, watching as the stars swim. Everything hurts, but if a limb is hurting that means it’s still attached, which is good.

There’s a rough cough to his left. Eugene rolls over, sees the kid slowly shift, flat on his back in the dirt. Varian lays closer to what used to be the airship, sprawled on his back after probably getting thrown by the force of the explosion. Eugene feels a spike of panic for a second before the kid sits up, his black hair standing straight up, and his face covered in ash. Eugene slowly forces his aching body the few feet towards the kid, already scanning for injuries.

As he draws close, he hears a small litany of shocked laughter coming from the kid as Varian watches the ship burn. The fire spreads quickly, the balloon already eaten away and the wooden structure quickly following. Plumes of white smoke fly from the burning wreckage, thick and cloying in the moonless sky.

As Eugene draws close, he can hear Varian’s laughter putter out. The boy turns to Eugene, his eyes wide with shock.

“I-I may have miscalculated how big the blast would be,” he chokes out.

Eugene can’t help but snort, flopping down onto the ground next to the kid.

“You think?” He asks. The fire burns in front of them, bright in the evening. It’s… well it’s kind of nice, to be honest. Warm, at least. Eugene throws an arm over the kid’s shoulders, drawing Varian closer. The kid leans into him, hugging tight.

“Hey, goggles.” Eugene whispers. He hugs the kid to him, taking a second to press a small kiss to the crown of Varian’s hair. “You did good up there.”

“You were okay,” Varian mumbles. “Might need some more practice.”

Eugene sighs. “Well, maybe your sister will give me some pointers.” He says, feeling the exhaustion of the day sinking into his bones. Varian pauses, pulling back and looking at Eugene with a tilted head.

“So you’ll stay?” He asks, voice laced with a feeble hope.

“For now.” Eugene shrugs, like it’s a casual thing.

Varian smiles brightly. He leans back into Eugene’s embrace, hugging tight. The man returns it, wrapping the kid up in his arms and rocking them, happy to enjoy the moment. Eugene feels himself finally settle, that tight knot in his chest finally easing knowing the kid’s safe. He lets himself breathe, taking the moment to just be content.

Above them, the moon finally peeks out from behind the clouds.

>>>><<<<

There’s something to be said about the quiet of the settlements.

Corona is quaint, simple. Calm. Eugene can walk the streets of it without needing to look over his shoulder all the time, which is a new feeling but not one he’s upset about. Corona is… different from other settlements. Be it Rapunzel’s rule keeping the peace, or the people just generally being good, Corona runs like a smoothy oiled machine.

The streets are paved still, well maintained and swept. He wanders past stores and homes with a sense of ease. Eugene’s been in Corona for a few months now, more than long enough to know where he’s going. It’s been a good amount of time, between getting to know everyone, especially Rapunzel, better, and adapting to working with others, but to Eugene it hardly feels like any time at all.

He used to fear living in a settlement. Needing the support of other people, needing to support other people- being left on his own had always been more appealing, but after being exposed to Rapunzel and her group, after helping Varian out… well he can’t say he misses it.

He comes up to a larger building near the center of the town square, probably what used to be a town hall of some kind. It’s a huge structure, plumes of fluffy white smoke splutter from the tallest chimney and into the bright blue sky. It’s a grand building, made of large stones and heavy timbers, huge even in context of before the Blackout. Eugene hops up the stone steps, taking them two at a time, before pushing the large, oak front door open.

The space within is organized chaos, a myriad of machines and chemicals taking up a lot of the open room. Thick stone walls are covered in different colour mixtures, the results of failed experiments from years gone by. Dozens of tables are scattered around the room, all of them just as cluttered as the rest of the laboratory. It’s anarchy, but obviously a laboratory, lit by a series of large windows and candles placed strategically around.

And there, sitting right at one of the tables in the middle of the room, is Varian.

Eugene smiles, waltzing over. “Hey, kid,” he calls. “How goes it?”

Varian perks up, looking up from whatever it is he’s been building. He’s wearing his goggles, giving him a hilariously bug-eyed look. The kid smiles when he sees Eugene, shoving the goggles up onto their usual place on his head. He looks… better. Great, even. The miserable little slip of a boy that Eugene remembers from months ago is gone, replaced by a heathly, perky teenager. It’s a good look on him, to be honest. Rosy cheeks and bright eyes, fluffy hair and tanned skin.

Varian looks like the kid he’s meant to be.

The boy waves Eugene over, scooting his stool over so the man can get a look at what he’s doing. It’s a mess of wires, all hooked up to a small drum and what looks almost like an engine. A small lightbulb, obviously made by Varian himself, sits in the very center, hooked up to it all.

“Hey, Eugene!” Varian grins. “You’re just in time, I’m about to run trial thirty-seven of the flynnolium, to see if it’s a viable energy source.”

Eugene raises a brow, settling onto his own stool next to the kid. “And how’s it going?” He asks, smirking when Varian blushes.

“Uh,” Varian gestures to the nearby wall, where a new, charred hole is still smoking. “It’s questionable, but this time for sure it’s going to work!”

Eugene nods, watching as Varian fiddles with his invention a little more. It’s like night and day, this new Varian and the one he’d met before. Even if he looked the same, the way Varian acts is almost an opposite of how he used to. Once Andrew was out of the picture, once he’d gotten home and cleaned up and back with his family, the kid had shown the excitement he had rarely had on their little walk.

And with the excitement came the talking.

“See, it’s a steam engine!” Varian says, “Using the flynnolium as a fuel to burn, boiling water, making steam.” He gestures to each piece as he talks. Eugene pretends to understand, nodding along. He’s just happy to see the kid excited, to be honest. Varian keeps chattering, gesturing wildly.

“And look, here,” the kid continues, “The steam turns the turbines, right? And that generates electricity.”

“Wait, like before the blackout?” Is he serious?

“Exactly!” Varian’s smile is wide. “In theory, we could get some lights going, maybe even an irrigation system!”

“Kid… That’s amazing!”

Varian blushes, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I still need to test it,” he mumbles, “So no promises yet.”

Eugene still claps him on the shoulder, encouraging him. “Let’s give it a shot, huh?”

Varian’s face lights back up, the kid pulling his goggles back down onto his face. His smile turns nearly manic as he brings a nearby match close, lighting the compound on fire. It’s controlled, a slow burn. Water suspended above quickly begins to boil, causing steam. Just like Varian had said, a little turbine over the water begins to spin.

A tiny motor made from pillaged car parts begins to whine as the turbine spins, turning the interior mechanism. The flynnolium makes a strange pop noise; Varian cringes back, flinching and waiting for another explosion, but the compound settles down slowly. Eugene steadies him on the stool with a hand to his upper back, keeping the kid upright.

Varian spares a second to smile gratefully, before going back to watching the contraption. Eugene snickers at the way he sticks his tongue out, quickly writing in a small notebook. The engine makes another noise, the whining getting a little louder.

Eugene grins, reflecting. The kid in front of him is going to do amazing things, so long as he had the support to do so. Eugene, as much as he would deny it outwardly, can’t wait to watch him succeed, to mould this new world to his whims. He’s going to do amazing things, with that big brain of his, and Eugene can’t wait to see him do it.

It feels like years ago, when he’d found that skinny, scrappy kid stealing for survival in the wasteland. Before he’d known exactly who he’d been dealing with, when they both were lost to the wasteland caused by those who came before them. When Eugene had been resigned to a life of suffering and scavenging.

It feels like a different life. Eugene smiles, a sudden surge of gratefulness for the kid to his left hitting him like a freight train. Gratefulness to Varian, for showing a bitter old asshole how to have a little hope, a little faith in humanity. A little determination to see a better future. It’s something he didn’t know he needed, but now that he has it, Eugene can’t see himself ever giving it up. Not for anything.

The machine before them makes another strange noise, the container holding the burning flynnolium rattling on the table. It looks ready to explode, to be honest, but even as Eugene’s hands tense, the kid seems confident in his invention. Varian bites at his lip, stressed but determined.

“C’mon,” he whispers. “C’mon.”

Eugene’s hand pats at his back, Varian leans into the touch, his eyes begging the machine to work. There’s a tense silence as the engine whines, only broken by the soft bubbling noises of the water.

And then, flickering in the darkness, coming from the bulb.

Light.

#tangled the series #tts #team awesome #varian #alone we have no future #adios wee ficcy #we hardly knew ye

17 notes · View notes

ryqoshay · 3 years

Text

Tri-Arame: Sleepover Night

Primary Pairing Trio: YuuAyuSetsu Words: ~3k Rating: G Time Frame: During their 2nd year in high school Story Arc: Stand Alone

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Author’s Note: My µ’s muse is rebelling against the drama I’m trying to write for my PTX set. So here’s some more fluff.

Summary: Setsuna took a rain check on watching the anime series that inspired her Koppe Pan order back in Ne, Wanna Bite? Now it’s time to cash in.

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“Uhm, Okaasan?” Nana asked trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

Why had she waited until the last possible minute to ask permission? What if she was denied? She’d have to cancel the plans to which she had looked forward all week.

“Yes, Nana?” Mrs. Nakagawa replied, looking up from her paperwork.

“Would it be alright if I stayed at a friend’s place tonight?”

“Oh? Someone from the student council?”

“No, a friend associated with the student council who is assisting with a project.” Nana explained. “There is a lot of preparation work that still needs to be done and I wasn’t the only one busy with tests this week.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. Ayumu had indeed helped her with student council work several times. So had Yuu, for that matter, as well as several other members of the idol club. Usually, their aid was reasoned away by them simply wishing to assist a friend, as well as allow her to more easily participate in club activities. This often led to her wondering if they knew how much their help was truly appreciated.

As for the mentioned project… Well, the club did have a Live coming up. And a member of the student council was participating. Granted that member was her, but…

“I see.” Mrs. Nakagawa nodded. “Very well then.”

Excitement bubbled up within Nana, but she quashed most of it, offering only a polite smile. “Thank you, Okaasan.”

Her mother offered a similar smile in return. “Have fun tonight.”

“I will.” Nana said before turning and heading to her room to pack.

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Setsuna was giddy with excitement as she undid her braids on the train. Her first sleepover with friends!

It wasn’t her first time visiting a friend’s home, but she hadn’t even done that in years. She had lost track of her childhood friends over the years, due in no small part to increasing expectations from her parents as she advanced in grades. The ban on her favored pastimes had been the final blow as she had to sneak around to continue to indulge, and that was best done alone.

Then she joined the student council and managed to become its president. Suddenly she had an excuse to stay out later or even just be out on weekends. She hated having to lie to her parents and did strive to be as truthful as possible, though she knew full well that a lie by omission was still a lie. But that had become her only way to become a school idol, to join the new club, to shop for manga and doujin and to hang out with friends.

And to spend time with those two.

Ayumu and Yuu had quickly become her closest friends after she joined the idol club. They had graciously given her an outlet through which to focus much of her enthusiasm for her hobbies. And this weekend they had agreed to marathon one of her favorite anime series with her. For the second time, Setsuna would be able have an actual conversation with friends about a beloved story, instead of just a one-sided explanation; the first being earlier that week as the three hung out together and purchased the latest book of Heavenly Life.

And she couldn’t wait.

Honestly, the train couldn’t arrive at the station quickly enough. And Setsuna knew she would have to resist the urge to run to the apartment complex where Ayumu and Yuu lived. For the sooner she arrived, the sooner they could start watching. And the sooner they finished the series, the sooner they could start talking about it.

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“Ah, Nakagawa-san.” Mrs. Uehara said upon opening the door. “Welcome. My daughters said you would be coming.”

“Daughters?” Setsuna couldn’t help repeating. Did Ayumu have a sister?

Mrs. Uehara chuckled. “I’m sorry.” She said shaking her head. “It’s a bit of a habit of mine. But Yuu is over here so often that she’s pretty much family at this point.”

A tiny flash of envy shot through Setsuna. How nice to be so close to someone. And not just them, but their family as well. Perhaps someday she could be that close to someone, or someones…? as well.

“Ah, pardon me.” Ayumu’s mother said after a slightly awkward moment. “Come in. Come in.” She opened the door fully and ushered Setsuna inside, introducing herself along the way. “Forgive my asking, but do you prefer to go by Nakagawa-san or Yuki-san?”

“Oh, uhm, actually,” She calls Yuu-san by her name, so maybe “Setsuna is fine.”

Mrs. Uehara smiled. “Setsuna it is then. I’ll go tell my daughters you’re here.” She laughed lightly again at her joke before taking a couple steps toward the hall. “Ayumu! Yuu! Setsuna is here!”

Before Setsuna could even finish removing her shoes, a twintailed girl was scampering around the corner.

“Setsuna-chan!” Yuu greeting joyously.

“I’m glad you could make it, Setsuna-chan.” Ayumu added, following at a more modest pace.

“I’ll have dinner ready soon.” Mrs. Uehara said, moving toward the kitchen. “I’ll send your father to fetch you once he’s home from work, Ayumu.”

“Thank you, Mama.” Ayumu replied.

“Thanks, Ayumama!” Yuu added, earning a blush from Ayumu and a chuckle from Mrs. Uehara. “C’mon, let’s go.” Yuu then said, grabbing both Ayumu and Setsuna’s hands before leading them down the hall.

Yuu opened a door, pulled the other two inside and…

Pink.

That was the first thought that came to Setsuna’s mind upon entering Ayumu’s room. The walls were pink. The clock and lamp on the headboard were pink. Pink curtains framed the balcony door, pink cloth decorated the shelves on the wall and a pink blanket covered something under said shelves. And what wasn’t pink was still some other light, fluffy pastel color. It was all… very Ayumu. Yes, that was the best description Setsuna could think up based on what she knew about her friend.

But beyond the cute colors, it was also very comfy, soft and warm. And welcoming. Setsuna immediately felt at home in the room.

Then her eye caught something. Or rather, a lot of somethings.

“They’re so cute…” She said, finding herself drawn to a display of plush animals.

“I know, right?” Yuu was the one to respond. “Ayumu wanted to pack them away because she thought they were too childish.”

“Y-Yuu-chan…” Ayumu protested.

“I should show you my collection sometime.” Setsuna said, resisting the urge to grab several animals and hug them, as she did not yet have such permission. “I have Kirara, Kyubey, Tamago Onsen, Dera Michimazzi, Kuroneko-sama, Sakamoto, Taroumaru, Ryo-Ohki…

Yuu started to chuckle. “Aren’t those all anime animals?”

“Yes.” Setsuna affirmed with a nod.

“I thought your parents forbid anime? I mean that’s why we’re having the marathon here, right?”

“Oh, uhm… my parents… don’t know they’re all from anime…” Setsuna admitted. “I haven’t told them, and they don’t seem to have looked into things online or anything. Posters, figures, and the like would be too obvious, so they’re the only merchandise I can display openly; I can pass them off as just being cute plushies.”

“Ah, I see.”

“And they’re not all from anime. I have Toothless as well.”

Yuu grinned. “A good choice.” She declared.

“Anyway, these are really cute too, Ayumu-san.” Setsuna turned her attention to the redhead.

“Thank you.” Ayumu replied. “You can touch them if you want, Setsuna-chan.” She added with an amused tone in her voice.

Was my desire that obvious? Setsuna wondered to herself. How embarrassing…

Setsuna swallowed down a blush and offered a smile instead. “Thank you.” She said, reaching for a pink rabbit to inspect. A pink bear had also caught her eye, but the rabbit seemed so Ayumu-like that she couldn’t help picking it over the others. It really was very cute, and she could easily tell why Ayumu liked it.

I wonder if there is one like Yuu-san here… Setsuna thought to herself as she continued to investigate the display.

“So, should we get a couple episodes in before dinner?” Yuu suggested.

“Yes.” Setsuna agreed enthusiastically, her attention reverting back to the original reason she was visiting.

“What site is the show on?” The twintailed girl asked as she sat down on a green pillow and opening what Setsuna assumed to be Ayumu’s laptop. “My parents have several accounts, so if its on one of them, I can sign in to it.”

“Actually, the series is old enough to be on the free sites.” Setsuna explained, choosing the blue pillow, and leaving the pink one for Ayumu.

“Oh, alright, uhm… here.” Yuu slid the computer over.

Setsuna started typing in the address, though as she did, she noticed both Yuu and Ayumu moving their pillows to either side of her. “Hm?” She hummed quizzically as they sat down.

“Since this is one of Setsuna-chan’s favorite series, she should have the best view of the screen.” Yuu answered before she could actually give voice to her question.

“But I’ve already seen it…” Setsuna rebutted.

“Setsuna-chan is also our guest and should have the best seat.” Ayumu added.

“Oh, uhm… alright.” Setsuna conceded. “Will we all fit?” She noted the tiny table did not have room on any one side for three people.

“It’s fine if we do this.” Yuu scooted in until her shoulder touched Setsuna’s.

So close… Eh? As Setsuna’s focus was on Yuu, Ayumu slid in from the other side, though not quite close enough to touch like Yuu. Setsuna wondered how red her face was as she quickly typed the title of the anime and found the first episode.

Setsuna was very much not used to watching anime like this. For so long she had watched alone, hiding from her parents and anyone she worried might not keep her secret. But this was simultaneously comforting and distracting.

Distractingly comfortable… Was that even a thing? While most of Setsuna wanted to pay attention to the anime on screen as the opening title began, there was no denying the part that wanted to focus on the surprisingly soothing warmth radiating from her two friends. She had only sat this way with her parents as a child, and the frequency had decreased dramatically as she grew older and her parents became busier with work.

As Setsuna felt her heartrate start to return to normal and the heat dissipate from her cheeks, she started to settle into the idea that this was a nice arrangement. She could get used to watching anime like this. She could probably even get used to Ayumu leaning in closer.

Yuu giggled, bringing Setsuna’s attention back to reality.

Ah yes, the protagonist’s introduction. Definitely a humorous moment, but there were funnier scenes yet to come, even in the first episode. What would Yuu think of those? Well, they did intend to talk about everything afterward, so perhaps she should just enjoy the show for now.

Setsuna relaxed and turned the entirety of her focus on the anime.

----------

Setsuna startled at the sound of knocking on the door. She turned her head to see said door open and a man she assumed to be Ayumu’s father poked his head into the room.

“Ayumu?” Mr. Uehara spoke. “Your mother sent me to say that dinner is ready.”

“Thank you, Papa.” Ayumu responded, starting to get up.

The man’s gaze shifted. “Hey, Yuu.” He greeted with a smile. “And… Setsuna, was it?”

“Yes.” Setsuna replied, getting up as well before bowing. “It is a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for having me tonight.”

“The pleasure is ours.” Mr. Uehara’s smile grew. “Ayumu and Yuu have told us a lot about you. It is nice to finally meet you.”

Ayumu-san and Yuu-san talked about me? Setsuna hoped it had been at least more good than bad, though judging by both Ayumu’s parents’ actions towards her thus far, that had been the case. And that realization caused warmth to spread through Setsuna’s chest.

Setsuna couldn’t help smiling as well as she followed the other three out to the Uehara dining room.

----------

The notification chime sounded on Setsuna’s phone as she got out of the bathtub. She padded one hand dry on her towel and unlocked the screen to find a message from Rina. The first-year was inviting the school idol club second-years to join a game she was playing. Well, except Ai, though Setsuna assumed she was already playing. She tapped the link so the app could download as she dried off, deciding the game might make for a fun activity to pass the time while Yuu and Ayumu took their turns bathing.

A few minutes later, Setsuna padded down the hall back to Ayumu’s room, already fully engrossed in the game’s tutorial.

“Yuu-san, Ayumu-san, this game… oh…” Setsuna cut off as the other two girls looked up from their own devices.

“It’s fun, isn’t it?” Yuu grinned as she set down her phone and stood before heading toward the door.

Ayumu had also put down her phone and traded it for a hair drier. “Come have a seat, Setsuna-chan.” She motioned to the pillow she was in the process of vacating before kneeling behind it. “I’ll dry your hair for you.”

“Oh, I can do that myself.” Setsuna declined. “Thank you for the offer though, Ayumu-san.”

“Are you sure?” Ayumu seemed confused and… disappointed? “I’d be happy to do it for you, Setsuna-chan.

“Ayumu just wants an excuse to play with your hair, Setsuna-chan.” Yuu chuckled.

Setsuna startled. She hadn’t realized Yuu was still in the room, apparently having stopped to watch. In response to the teasing, Ayumu’s cheeks flushed and Setsuna imagined her own were close to matching.

Although, why was she declining anyway? Memories of the braided bun lesson from earlier that week were still fresh in Setsuna’s mind had certainly caused her to want to accept, and yet she hadn’t. But accepting wasn’t forcing those desires on Ayumu or inconveniencing her or the like. Ayumu had made the offer.

“A-Alright…” Setsuna said after an awkward moment before taking a seat in front of Ayumu.

“Back in a few.” Yuu tossed over her shoulder as she left to head to the bath.

Ayumu flipped on the hairdryer and began running her fingers through Setsuna’s hair to spread out the strands for easier drying.

For her part, Setsuna was just about to relax into the session, when her phone pinged. She checked the screen to find Rina had sent an in-game gift. She accepted excitedly and began to play again.

“Uhm… Setsuna-chan.” Ayumu said after a moment. “I don’t mind if you play, but can you stop moving around while you do?”

“Oh… uhm… Sorry, Ayumu-san…” Setsuna replied, chastising herself for being rude while her host provided a wonderful service. Still, it would also be rude not to use Rina’s gift to the fullest, so she resumed her game, but made sure to remain still for Ayumu.

----------

Setsuna stared up at the ceiling, laying on her back on one of Ayumu’s guest futons. As sleepy as she felt, she was still buzzing a bit with lingering excitement from the events of the night. The three of them had successfully powered through the entire season with a few breaks for snacks and stretching before spending the next couple hours talking about the story. It was well past midnight, but it was the weekend so they could sleep in late in the morning before having a late breakfast, or early lunch, before Setsuna would head home to study.

Or perhaps… maybe she could study here? She had brought her books, even though she didn’t really expect to use them. And she really liked the welcoming atmosphere of Ayumu’s room, though really her apartment and family as a whole, if she was being honest. However, she didn’t want to impose by overstaying her welcome, and she certainly wasn’t going to just invite herself to stay. Still, it was a nice idea. Perhaps someday…

“Yuu-chan?” Setsuna heard Ayumu murmur, distracting her from her thoughts.

She heard the mattress shift and turned her head to see Yuu’s silhouette sliding under the duvet. She couldn’t quite understand Yuu’s response, but both girls in the bed fell silent after.

Strange. While it didn’t surprise Setsuna that a dating couple would share a bed, she couldn’t help wondering why Ayumu would bother setting out a guest futon for Yuu. Or question Yuu joining her.

Perhaps they were hiding the fact that they were dating and setting out the futon was a visual prop to convince Ayumu’s parents? No, that didn’t seem right. Neither Ayumu nor Yuu seemed the type to hide much, if anything, from their parents. Unlike Setsuna herself… Also, if Yuu’s parents were anything like Ayumu’s, Setsuna believed they wouldn’t have much of an issue with their daughters dating. The Ueharas already considered Yuu part of their family after all.

Were they, perhaps, not actually dating? That would explain Ayumu’s protest. And knowing Yuu’s casual approach to personal space, it wouldn’t surprise Setsuna in the least if she just did as she pleased. And Ayumu would let her. Still, that didn’t seem quite right either. Setsuna was fairly certain they were a couple. Their close bond was obvious to anyone who spent more than five minutes with them.

In any case, whether they were dating or not really wasn’t any of Setsuna’s business. So perhaps pondering the possibilities was inappropriate.

What was far more worth her mental energy was focusing on memories of how much fun she had this evening. For the first time, she had been able to not only watch anime together with friends, but also talk about it with them. All in person. Not over the internet. She had shared a meal with her friends’ family and gotten to know them a little. Setsuna couldn’t remember the last time she had gone to bed feeling so welcomed, accepted and… loved? Was that the right word?

Surely, she didn’t mean to imply that she went to bed at home feeling unloved. She knew her parents loved her, even if their way of showing that love was apparently very different than Ayumu’s parents. But even having only been in the Uehara home for not even half a day, she felt loved here. They were all so kind and Setsuna hoped she could come back and experience it all again.

Setsuna closed her eyes, allowing her mind to begin yet another replay of the day. Sleep would come eventually, but right now she was content just being this happy.

----------

Author’s Notes Continued in Followup Post

#YuuAyuSetsu #Takasaki Yuu #Yuki Setsuna #Uehara Ayumu #Tri-Arame #Love Live Nijigasaki #fanfic

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blossom-hwa · 4 years

Text

Arc [Drifting Apart] - MARK |Swing!|

This part contains a lot of the events of Spiderman: Homecoming, though the timeline has been changed so Civil War happens after Homecoming, not the other way around! There are spoilers for Homecoming! Read at your own risk!

Again, thanks to @deathbykpopboys for inspiring this series :)

Pairing: Mark x fem!reader

Genre: fluff, angst, Spiderman!au

Triggers: a lot of cursing, mild violence, PANIC ATTACKS IN FUTURE CHAPTERS (I in no way meant to romanticize these triggers. If you feel I did, please let me know and I will fix it.)

Word Count: 8.4k

Petty spats and overreactions threaten to tear a decade-old bond apart.

Attach >> Arc { 1 - Drifting Apart | 2 - Coming Home } >> Fall { 1 - Spiral | 2 - Rise }

NCT Masterlist | Swing!

After two months, the small earpiece wedged into your skin still feels weird and hurts if you keep it in for more than a few hours at a time. Pausing on a rooftop, you reach up to adjust it for the fifth time tonight.

“We really need to fix this thing,” you mumble under your breath.

For a few silent minutes, you swing between buildings, keeping a close eye out on the streets below. Your black hood flutters around your head with the soft breeze.

Queens is quiet at night, much quieter than the always-bustling streets of Manhattan. You love patrolling, not just because you can help people, but also because of the peaceful silence that follows you as you swing through the crisp air. It’s a quiet rhythm, one that’s comforting during the dark night.

Crackling sounds in the earpiece just as you land on a rooftop to catch your breath. Seconds later, Mark’s voice fills your ear. “Two streets down from Jaemin’s apartment.”

“Give me four minutes.” Leaping off the building, wind begins whistling again as you swing your way over to Mark.

You notice him before he sees you, the blue of his outfit visible on the roof against the black backdrop of night. His red hood pools around his shoulders, his head covered in a matching mask.

(The first time you watched him put it on, you thought you’d die of laughter. He returned the favor when you tried on yours. Even now, the sight brings a slight smile to your face as you soundlessly jog over the roof to stand by him.)

Behind his mask, you can see a faint smile of greeting as he points down. “Break-in,” he whispers.

Looking closely, you can see the vague outlines of several people, at least two holding guns. Your brain leaps into overdrive, determining the best way to end this as bloodlessly as possible.

“I’ll take out the guns and try to immobilize their hands,” you whisper. “Knock out anyone you can, and we’ll web them up afterward.”

Mark nods. The two of you drop down.

The would-be robbers barely have time to look up before you’ve descended upon them, lashing out with your legs to kick two in the head. “Did you know this neighborhood is haunted?” you taunt as they fall to the ground, groaning. “Seriously, that’s what my friends told me. Maybe you’re ghost hunters? But why would you try to shoot a corporeal being?”

One of them grabs for the gun they’ve dropped, but you quickly kick it out of the way. “I don’t think so!” you sing, flipping him over your shoulder. He lands on his head, then flops over, unconscious. His friend doesn’t get a chance to blink before a punch to the side of his temple knocks him out. “Stupid,” you mutter, webbing them to the wall.

DANGER DANGER DANGER –

You duck. A bullet flies over your head and buries itself into a nearby trash can. There’s a muffled shout at the other end of the alley. A cracking noise sounds, and the final two men drop like stones.

Success.

You pick up the gun you kicked away. You’re about to just crush it under your foot, but something about it makes you look twice. Where a bit of the gun’s paint has been scrubbed off by its encounter with the ground, there’s a subtly glowing piece of metal that doesn’t look like anything you’ve ever seen.

“Mark?” You gesture at the weapon. “What…?”

He frowns in the darkness, raising a tentative hand to touch the glowing patch. “That’s weird.”

“Where are the other guns?” you ask. Mark picks up their crumpled remains. They’re normal – you’ve seen those types before. You look back at the weapon you’re holding.

Besides the glowing metal, you detect other small differences in shape and size. This one is slightly bigger than the other two, with a smaller bullet hole (does it even shoot bullets?) and a larger trigger. The paint obviously isn’t professionally applied – you easily scratch some of it off with a fingernail.

“I think we should take this and look at it further,” you say, turning it over in your hands.

Mark nods. “You think it could be something remaining from the Battle of New York?”

It’s certainly plausible, you think. Metal doesn’t glow on this planet, not even vibranium. Vibranium shines, yeah, but glowing is something completely different. You don’t think it was one of the weapons the Chitauri used, though. Maybe someone took the space material that the aliens brought in and manufactured a weapon with it.

Your stomach sinks. What if there are more?

Your watch beeps in the silence, signaling half an hour before Johnny gets home from his late shift. “Time to go.”

Releasing a string of webbing, you quickly climb up the warehouse wall with Mark following closely behind. In fifteen minutes, you land on your apartment rooftop, where you share your thoughts with Mark.

He doesn’t look very comforted by the idea of more of these things being out there. The two of you don’t even know what it does, and you’re not keen to find out. Once you’ve swung through the window in your room, you stash the gun in an empty corner of your closet and cover it with some old clothes.

Your black and white outfit gets shoved underneath your mattress, while the web shooters go inside your underwear drawer. Despite the fact that there’s a possibly alien weapon inside your room, a wave of exhaustion crashes over you. It’s all you can do to climb into bed before you pass out.

. . . . .

A normal day goes like this. Mark will fall out of bed to his alarm, drag himself past his snoring aunt’s bedroom to the shower, and snatch an apple or some other small breakfast in the kitchen before heading down to meet you for school. The train ride will pass, he’ll greet his friends, and then walk to homeroom, where Mr. Lee takes attendance.

(Thomas isn’t his homeroom teacher this year. Even though Lee is considerably stricter, Mark still thanks his lucky stars for the change.)

After school, he’ll take the train to either Professor Tuan’s lab or home, where he’ll work or do homework for a few hours before it’s time to patrol.

The day starts mostly normally. Mei isn’t snoring when he goes to take a shower, but it’s just one of those rare mornings where she isn’t sleeping on her back. He meets up with you and his friends like usual, and besides the history pop quiz he didn’t study for, the school day passes quickly. You tell him you’ve figured out nothing about the weird glowing gun you found last week, and the two of you resolve to just destroy it.

Everything, by all accounts, should be going fine.

But despite all of this, he feels uneasy. His weird sixth sense-reflex thing keeps randomly sending subtle pulses of danger, danger, and he doesn’t know where the danger fucking is. It pops in at the most inopportune times – on the walk to the train station, during PE, even as he walks past the other offices in the university building to get to Dr. Tuan’s lab.

And yet said danger doesn’t manifest when he goes to the local deli for a sandwich. It doesn’t show itself in front of a chemical engineering lab labelled “Dr. Roberts.” It doesn’t appear when he leaps on to the rooftop to meet you for patrol, either.

He relays his irritation to you as you swing through the darkening streets of Queens. There’s a beat of silence on your end, and then you admit that you’ve felt the same. “I honestly just thought I was going fucking crazy,” you say.

The two of you swing around in silence for a while before Mark’s earpiece crackles loudly (seriously, the crackling is really annoying and he needs to get around to fixing it soon) and your voice floods his ear. “Robbery at the ATMs near Delmar’s deli.”

Mark immediately changes direction, doubling back to meet you outside the bank. Four people are inside, faces covered in Avengers masks (seriously?). Several weapons rest on the ground.

Not just any weapons, Mark realizes as he looks closer. They’re weirdly shaped and they glow.

Much like the one that you hid in your closet.

“Weird, right?” you whisper from your hiding spot.

Mark nods. “Well, let’s see what we can get from this.”

The two of you slip inside the building soundlessly. The room is kind of cramped, which will make it difficult to fight in, but destruction is almost guaranteed in a situation like this.

He looks over at you. You nod.

One man goes down quickly, stuck to the floor with Mark’s webbing. Three other Avengers masks turn around – Mark sees Thor, Iron Man, and the Hulk – and the place descends into chaos.

“Forgot your PIN?” you snark, leaping onto the ceiling. You quickly kick Thor in the face as he lurches forward, leaving Mark to pin him to the ground. A couple of web shots later, and he’s immobilized.

(Mark doesn’t know how you magically come up with comebacks and punchlines for every situation. He’d give up just about anything to be as witty as you are.)

You’ve flipped back onto the ground and are now engaged in a fistfight with Iron Man (“Why the fuck is Iron Man robbing a bank? I thought you were a billionaire?”). Mark turns around to find Hulk and is met face-to-face with the weirdest thing he’s ever seen.

“What the fuck?” is all he gets out before Hulk does something and the weird, metal, three-pronged thing starts glowing. Purple light shoots out of the prongs and engulfs Mark.

It’s the weirdest thing he’s ever felt. He still has control of his limbs – he can wiggle his fingers – it’s just that the light has more control, somehow. Mark tries to lash out and hit something – stick to the wall, grab an ATM machine, anything – but the light keeps him loose-limbed and useless.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees you still fighting Iron Man, who’s now picked up one of the weapons discarded on the floor. You dodge the first blast of purple light, then use webbing to lift yourself up to avoid another.

Webbing.

He’s so stupid.

Mark forces his arm out and shoots a string of web fluid to the far wall, yanking himself out of reach of the three-pronged light thing. His feet lash out, kicking Hulk’s mask. He lands, crouched on the door of the ATM building.

Iron Man somehow breaks out of your fight and races to the door. Mark’s eyes widen and he throws himself out of the way of the glowing thing –

And then the fake Avenger uses the light to literally carve out a section of the wall, including the whole door and the entire corner of the deli across the street.

Mark yells, narrowly avoiding another errant blast of light and kicking the guy to the floor. “Mr. Delmar!” he yells, racing across the street. Behind him, he hears some more scuffling as you keep trying to take down the last two robbers, but he’s only focused on making sure Mr. Delmar and his cat are all right.

“Mr. Delmar!” The corner of the building is burning, and there’s no water to be seen. Mark launches himself into it anyway, thankful for his sweaty mask filtering out some of the smoke. With relief so strong it burns, he spots Mr. Delmar stumbling out of the store’s back exit, his humongous cat in his arms.

“Are you all right, Mr. Delmar?” In the moment, Mark doesn’t care if the deli owner recognizes his voice. He just needs to know if he’s okay. After a few seconds of coughing, Mr. Delmar nods. “I’m all right, Spiderboy. I’m all right.”

Spiderboy? Really?

Well, you and Mark never really came up with names for your alter egos. Maybe you should have.

But not now. Someone’s called 911, and he can hear the fire trucks and police sirens starting to converge on the area. There’s no water in sight. He can’t help out anymore.

Just in time, you burst out of the ATM building carrying something in one hand. “Let’s go!” he yells, webbing himself up a tall building nearby. The thwip of your own webbing follows, and then the two of you are racing across the rooftops back home.

“Holy fuck,” Mark gasps once you’ve reached your apartment building. It’s only midnight. You usually patrol until around one thirty, but Mark feels too shaken to fight at the moment.

You repeat his sentiments, sinking to your knees. One hand burrows into the pocket of your hoodie and pulls out something purple and glowing. “This broke off from that weird glowing thing one of them used to… control you?” You look at him, unsure. He just shrugs, not wanting to remember the experience. “It’s made of the same material as the gun I destroyed earlier.”

“This is definitely not just a one-time thing,” Mark groans. His legs start to wobble and he sits down too as you crush the object in your fist. “How many people do you think are involved with this… alien weapon stuff?”

You shrug helplessly. “At least the four people we fought today, and the robbers we saw last week, maybe?” Your expression turns dark. “I think they escaped. I started fighting Hulk when the Iron Man guy just fucking tore down Delmar’s store, and then the sirens started blaring and I had to get out. When I looked back, they were gone.” An angry sigh bursts from your lips. “Hulk and Iron Man probably cut their two friends away and escaped.”

It’s a blow, but Mark takes comfort in the fact that the two of you and Mr. Delmar are alive. “Well, we’re alive. And now we know what to look out for.”

Humid air blows in the silence.

“I guess we have to figure this out?” you say.

“Wasn’t aware that we were private investigators now,” Mark teases, pulling his mask down slightly for some fresh air.

“Wasn’t aware that people wanted to make weird glow-y weapons out of alien materials either,” you snap back, doing the same.

Mark laughs a little and squeezes your hand. “Let’s just go to sleep,” he says. “I don’t think… neither of us are in a state to do much more patrolling tonight.” His weak knees and stinging throat agree.

You do too, clearly, because you get up without complaint. “See you,” you murmur, ready to climb down to your window.

He waves, wondering what the universe will throw at you both tomorrow.

. . . . .

“Are you going to homecoming?” Jihyo bounces up to you at the end of the day, eyes wide with excitement. “This year’s theme is Harry Potter!”

You blink. “Since when was the homecoming theme announced?”

Jihyo cocks her head in confusion. “Yesterday, in homeroom?”

Your brain holds no recollection of that. Then again, you weren’t paying attention to the announcements. Mark’s new design for the earpieces was taking up most of your focus at the time. They’re pretty good, you think – you can’t wait to try yours on tonight.

“Um, I don’t know.” You shrug. “When is it?”

“In exactly three weeks.” Jihyo grins widely. “I’m going with Daniel! You should come with Mark.”

Something in you curdles as memories of last year crop up, when people thought you and Mark had broken up even though you were never dating in the first place.

Mark is your best friend, nothing more. Why would you go with him?

Plus, last you heard, he had a crush on Lia, one of the girls on the Academic Decathlon team. If anything, you’ll push his cowardly ass to ask her instead.

You feel a twinge of something that doesn’t feel good when that thought runs through your mind. The fact that you can’t put a name to it just makes you feel even more irritated than you already do.

“Maybe,” you reply unconvincingly, closing your locker. “I don’t have a dress.”

If anything, that just makes Jihyo grin wider. “I can go dress shopping with you! Lia and Yeri wanted to get new dresses too, so we can all go together!”

You try to smile. “Thanks. I’ll, um, let you know if I can go sometime soon, all right?” The bell rings, and you turn away right after catching her nod.

Homecoming. As if you didn’t have enough to worry about between Wang’s lab, homework, AcaDec, and patrol, now you have to think about wasting one night to wear a fancy dress and watch the other people around you spike the punch or sneak sips of vodka in the bathroom.

You don’t even know if you have enough money for said fancy dress.

Johnny would probably tell you to go for it anyway. It’s your junior year already, so you be experiencing what Midtown High has to offer. He’d definitely find some way to afford a nice dress and shoes.

But you don’t want him to have to take more extra shifts at the office just for a dress. He’s done enough for you.

You sigh, slipping into a seat in the auditorium for AcaDec practice. Mark’s at the other end of the room, talking to Haechan and Jaemin, so you take the opportunity to put your head down and close your eyes.

It’s practice time. You will the irritation flooding your brain to subside. Even though you’re practically a shoo-in for the team, you still don’t want to run the risk of losing your spot to someone like Flash.

Mr. Harrison, the team sponsor, claps his hands and the talking dies down. You lift your head to see Mark and Lia walking over together, while Haechan and Jaemin take seats next to you.

Since when were Mark and Lia talking?

Actually, since when did Mark have the courage to talk to his crush alone without stuttering up a storm?

A slight smirk crawls onto your lips at the thought, despite the lingering irritation at the back of your mind. Mark looks over and frowns slightly. You good? he mouths.

You nod, smiling, then cock your head slightly in Lia’s direction. She’s at the head of the table now, since it’s her turn this week to read the questions. A small blush blooms on Mark’s cheeks and he starts to look uncomfortable.

Two emotions war inside of you – satisfaction at seeing your best friend flustered, and the other feeling from before that you couldn’t name. Before you can get distracted, though, Lia calls attention.

As she starts reading the first question, you push your feelings away. Emotions mean nothing in the face of AcaDec nationals.

. . . . .

Mark feels like he shouldn’t have come to this party.

It’s not just the fact that he doesn’t really like parties and feels kind of uncomfortable. It’s also that Lia only invited him, not you, and he kind of didn’t tell you the truth when he asked to call off patrolling today to be here.

He told you that he was sick.

He hasn’t been sick since the spider bite (which is a miracle in itself).

He could also hear the skepticism in your silence over the phone after he gave you that excuse.

Mark doesn’t even know why he lied. First, he’s a terrible liar. Second, you’re not stupid. Third, Lia holds really big parties, and you obviously knew that this one was happening.

All he does know is that you and Lia don’t exactly coexist peacefully in his mind. He likes Lia – definitely a bit more than as a friend – but you’re his best friend, his rock, the person who’s been there with him throughout everything.

It kind of feels like he has to choose between you two, and he really doesn’t like that.

So here he is, standing in the corner of the kitchen with a cup of (definitely spiked) punch in his hand that he’s yet to take a sip of. The noise level is a bit lower here, which is nice – he nearly got sensory overload when he walked into the living room. He mindlessly scrolls through his phone with his other hand, its light shining on the web shooters still around his wrists.

Even though he isn’t patrolling tonight, better safe than sorry.

“Mark!” Lia’s voice turns his head. She pops into the kitchen. “You made it!”

“Yeah.” He smiles as best he can, giving her a quick hug. “Thanks again for inviting me.”

Is that a blush on her cheeks? Mark can’t tell if it’s that or just the lighting leaking in from the living room. “Well, you aren’t usually at parties.” She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “I wasn’t sure if you’d actually come.”

Mark doesn’t really know how to reply to that. After a short but awkward silence, he just gives a sheepish smile and a “sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry!” Lia laughs, her infectious cheer returning immediately. “Why are you here, by the way? Let’s go to the living room, that’s where all the fun is!” And before he can stop her or stutter an excuse to stay, she’s taking his wrist and dragging him into the chaos.

Mark’s feet stop at the edge of the crowd, but Lia’s take her to the middle. She’s a really good dancer, he can tell. She actually moves to the beat, while the others mostly just hop around weirdly.

But he doesn’t really like dancing, even though it’s fun to watch. The crowd is also pressing into him, making him feel uncomfortably claustrophobic. Lia’s smiling at him, obviously trying to get him to join in, but the music is too loud and the smell of sweat and alcohol is too heavy and before he knows it, he’s holding up his phone as if that’s an excuse and racing out of the house.

Outside, the air is warm and heavy, but there’s an underlying breeze that cools Mark’s cheeks and soothes his mind. His feet don’t stop once he’s left the house, and he keeps walking until he’s reached the sidewalk just in front of the lawn.

No one’s here. Everyone’s inside, dancing or drinking or wreaking havoc. Mark takes several deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth, before he feels calm enough to think properly.

Looking back at the house, he doesn’t really want to go back. Mei gave him enough money to pay for an Uber back to the apartment, but he doesn’t feel like going home either. Instead, he memorizes where Lia’s house is and starts walking.

The quiet of Lia’s neighborhood is somehow very similar but also very different from his own. There’s the same susurrus of crickets and the wind blowing through trees that makes Mark feels somewhat like he’s at home, but it’s a much more peaceful quiet. Here, it feels like nothing while happen. Meanwhile, on his street, there’s always something ominous about the silence. Like something could very well explode any second.

And then something does explode.

It’s pretty faint. If it weren’t for his enhanced hearing, Mark probably wouldn’t have heard it. He turns around, frowning.

He’s actually walked pretty far from Lia’s house. Here, the houses are a little more run-down, and there’s a broken fence in the direction Mark heard the noise. Upon closer inspection, it doesn’t seem like he’d be trespassing if he jumped over.

Maybe he shouldn’t do it. Mark’s fingers run over his web shooters. He’s pretty sure he could make it out of a fight alive, but he only has his hoodie to cover his face. It might not be enough.

(The fact that he wore a hoodie to a party is a testament to how much he doesn’t know about parties.)

Another small explosion sounds, followed by faint voices. Mark pulls up his hood, tightens the strings so that only his eyes are visible, and leaps over the fence.

To his surprise, he’s actually wandered into the large field just outside Jaemin’s neighborhood, next to an old abandoned building that a lot of kids play in. It’s good. If he needs backup, you’ll know where to go.

Doubt strikes him. He told you he wasn’t patrolling tonight. If he calls on you, you’ll know he lied about being sick.

Well, you already know. This will just confirm it.

Suck down your pride, he thinks. If he finds that he’ll need help, he’ll take yours. Even if it means revealing that he lied to you.

Some would say he’s too worried about all of this, that he’s making a big deal of nothing. But it’s you. He’s never really held any secrets from you, and on your end, you’ve always told him everything as well.

Enough. He shoves his thoughts away and starts crossing the field. Running just makes him realize how convenient swinging is, and by the time he reaches one of the trees surrounding the field, he’s extremely disgruntled.

He leaps into the tree. Just beyond the field, purply-blue light shoots out of something and knocks out part of the abandoned building. One man crosses his arms, displeased, and asks for something more “low-key.”

This is a weapons trade. And the light from said weapons is dangerously familiar.

Fuck.

Mark calls you without really thinking. You pick up on the second ring. “Mark? What’s wrong?”

“Can you get to the field just outside of Jaemin’s neighborhood?” He leaps into another tree, closer to the explosion. “There’s… three men. And a van. And…” He sucks in a breath. “The van is full of those glowing weapons.”

There’s a beat of silence on your end. Then – “I thought you were sick?”

Mark winces. “I’ll explain later. Promise.”

You sigh. “Give me ten minutes.”

. . .

Nine minutes later, you’ve leapt into the same tree Mark’s hiding in. Your face is covered by your mask, but he can already sense the suspicion and disapproval radiating from your hidden expression. He winces again, but it disappears quickly when you see the van.

“Shit,” you mutter.

Mark likes the way you can sum up situations into one loaded word.

“Stay out of sight for a bit,” you say. “You don’t have a mask, so it’ll be easier for them to identify you if they see you.”

He nods.

“I’m going to try to take out the one in the van.” You point to one man, who’s poking around the back of the vehicle. “Wait no, the other guy has a gun. Fuck…”

“I’ll take out the gun,” Mark whispers. “You go with the guy in the van.”

You purse your lips under the mask. “Okay. You said this is a trade, right?” Mark nods. “If you can, follow the guy who’s supposed to be buying. If we don’t get answers tonight, I think we’ll have to ask him some questions later. Meet me back at the apartment roof.”

“Got it.” Mark stretches out his arm. “Ready…”

“Now.”

His aim is perfect. The gun wrenches itself from the man’s holster just as you leap from the tree, entangling your guy’s legs in webbing.

“This was a set-up!” Mark’s guy yells, rounding on the buyer. The buyer quickly raises his hands and begins denying the accusation, but the other man pulls out another gun and whips it between Mark’s tree and the buyer.

You’re still tussling with the guy in the van, who’s picked up one of those three-pronged things Mark had to deal with and is now aiming it at you. There’s no way you can turn around to help.

Mark’s just decided to jump out of his tree too when you’re thrown out of the van with a blast of purple light. You get up quickly, but by that time, his guy has jumped into the van too and is revving the engine.

Then, because you’re fucking nuts, you shoot a web into one of the open back doors. The van starts driving away, dragging you behind.

He almost yells your name before he remembers that’s not a good idea, but a gasping shout still escapes his throat. You turn back just as the van starts speeding up. The message behind your masked face is clear.

GO.

The buyer starts sprinting away. Heart in his throat, Mark follows.

. . . . .

Covered in muck and dirt, you swing onto your apartment rooftop. You must look slightly unhinged, because Mark actually takes a small step back.

“Are you… okay?” he asks tentatively.

“No, I’m not fucking okay,” you snap, ripping off your hoodie. Your shirt is just slightly damp underneath, but it still stinks. “First, my best friend lied to me about being sick for some reason I still don’t understand. Second, I got roped into a mess because said friend found some criminals when he was supposed to be sick and apparently needed my help. Third, I was actually about to beat up said fucking criminals before a flying vulture man just fucking snatched me off the top of the weapons van, tossed me around in empty fucking air, and then dropped me into a goddamn fucking dumpster.”

Silence falls on the rooftop. You’re still seething – mostly because of the stupid vulture dude, what the fuck even was that – but Mark looks so guilty and upset that you start to feel sorry for yelling at him.

“Look, Mark.” You rub a hand over your face before remembering said hand was covered in muck until a few seconds ago. Ugh. “I’m sorry. I’m just really mad about the vulture guy and losing the van, and I’m definitely still upset that you lied to me, but I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“No, I’m sorry too.” Mark shuffles his feet a little. “I… Lia invited me to her party at the last AcaDec practice. I didn’t really want to go, but she looked so hopeful that I decided to. She didn’t invite you, and it just felt like it’d be really awkward if I told you about it, so I told you I was sick.” He winces.

Irrational anger boils in your chest but you force yourself to breathe. “You shouldn’t have lied, Mark.” You cross your arms, but your voice remains steady. “You should’ve told me. Why didn’t you think I would understand?”

“I don’t know.” Mark is starting to look frustrated, which makes you even more upset. It’s mostly his fault you’re in this situation now, anyway. “It always seemed like you didn’t like Lia very much.”

Well, that much is true. But how dare he say it out loud?

“Whatever.” You know you’re being slightly (really) petty, but you’re covered in dumpster juice and you think you have the right to be angry. You also really want a shower. “You don’t need to sneak around to be with your crush. It’s fine by me. Just go.”

“Y/N, that’s not fair,” Mark protests. His face twists up in anger.

“Yeah, you know what’s not fair?” you snarl, holding up your ruined hoodie. “I had to go dumpster diving because you decided to lie about going to a party with your crush!”

“I didn’t know this would happen!” Mark snaps back. “And even if I’d told you the truth, we’d still have fought those guys anyway!”

You scoff. “Yeah, but you wouldn’t have lied.” Your lips curl. “Next time, just tell me the fucking truth. You don’t need to hide your crush around me, and you know I hate liars.”

You don’t stick around for his reply.

. . . . .

After last night, Mark doesn’t really feel like talking to you. He realizes he was wrong to lie, but he’s also pretty sure you’re overreacting. And logically, that would be sound because you were spitting mad at the vulture dude (who he kind of wants to see in person. Is he a cross between a vulture and a human? Or does he just have metal wings, like Falcon?) and you were thrown into a dumpster.

From the smell of your clothes, it wasn’t a very clean dumpster either. If such a thing even exists.

But he doesn’t feel like apologizing, not unless you decide to as well. He knows he’s being petty. And he isn’t usually petty.

Then again, he usually doesn’t fight with you either.

He still waits for you in the apartment lobby, anyway. Mark doesn’t feel so pissed at you that he’ll leave all of your traditions behind. You look a little surprised when you come down, but you nod at him in greeting anyway.

The walk to the train station is silent but filled with awkward tension. As the two of you descend belowground, Mark remembers when people asked him if you two broke up last year, when you hadn’t even actually had a fight.

He wonders if people will ask him that same question again today.

Five minutes pass in the train before Mark can’t bear the silence anymore. “I followed the buyer to his house last night,” he says abruptly. “He’s not far from us. I heard someone call him Davis.”

“Oh.” You shift awkwardly in your seat. “That’s… good.” A beat of silence. “When do you want to go and talk to him?”

God, Mark hates this so much. He almost swallows his pride and apologizes right then and there, but self-righteous anger boils in his chest again and he gladly lets it reign. “We can try and tail him Saturday afternoon?” he suggests.

You shrug. “Fine by me.”

The day is awful. The awkward tension between you two is literally palpable, especially since you sit next to each other in every class you share. At lunch, Haechan and Yeri try to keep up some conversation, but it doesn’t last longer than ten minutes before the words dwindle away.

After school, Mark makes up some excuse about wanting to visit Professor Tuan’s lab. It’s not a lie, really – he’s not required to come by today, but Mark has been wanting to pick up some scrap metal for some time. He wants to see if he can upgrade his web shooters and make them a little less bulky.

You nod and let him go without saying much. That would hurt a lot more if he didn’t know just how awkward you have to be feeling as well.

Mark sighs as he walks through the university halls. He aimlessly looks around the doors he pretty much knows by heart now – Dr. Yang’s has a chemical burn on his nameplate, while Dr. Brook’s door is marred by thumbtack scratch marks from his children – but one of them still catches his eye.

Dr. Roberts.

He narrows his eyes. Wasn’t that the same lab that set off his danger sense the day he felt jumpy for no reason?

Mark checks his phone. It’s four, and Dr. Tuan usually leaves at five.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to take a look inside Roberts’s lab.

There are security cameras here, he knows. But he won’t be doing anything wrong. And even if he gets caught by someone inside – though he can’t hear any heartbeats or breathing, so he thinks that’s unlikely – he can just pretend he was lost.

His knock on the door remains unanswered. When he turns the doorknob, it’s unlocked. He steps inside.

It’s a normal lab. Beakers of oily stuff and spare pipet tips litter the tables, while expensive-looking machines crowd the floor. It doesn’t look suspicious at all. His sixth sense isn’t going off at all, so he’s not in imminent danger.

It doesn’t make sense. His danger sense has never been wrong before.

Well, maybe it was a fluke. Something could’ve been on the verge of exploding in the lab that day, which his sense registered, but nothing actually happened. Maybe someone contained the explosion.

Something tells him that’s not the case, though.

It doesn’t matter. Mark doesn’t want to be caught snooping, so he quickly heads out, making a silent promise to come back and take a look again soon.

. . . . .

Saturday comes too slowly and too soon. You and Mark have loosened up a little, but there’s still tangible tension in the air when you two come together. So as the two of you walk to the buyer’s house – Davis, you remember Mark saying his name – the silence feels like it’s eating away at your soul.

Add that to the fact that it takes almost eight hours for this Davis guy to exit his house, and you want to die.

Okay, so maybe you did overreact a little that night.

Fine. A lot.

But in your defense, Mark knows how much you detest lying. The justice system did enough of that to your family. He also has to know how much it hurts to think that someone so close to you doesn’t trust you to know something.

Look, you might not like Lia very much. You don’t know why – maybe it’s because she always looks so perfect and poised, and the fact that she’s really smart too. Maybe it’s the fact that she’s rich and you’re still struggling along in life.

It’s probably jealousy. But you don’t have the desire to unpack all that, so you leave that thought alone.

Yet if Mark actually liked her, you wouldn’t actively discourage it. As far as you can see, Lia’s a decent person. She seems to like Mark for who he is, and not just because he can provide answers to the homework.

It hurts that he didn’t trust you enough to tell you he was going somewhere with her. The two of you are in high school, for fuck’s sake. If he wants to date, he can date. Where’s the problem in that?

As the minutes tick by, you consider apologizing to Mark over your earpiece. But that feels too much like apologizing over text, so you resolve to find a better situation at some point.

(Who knows when that point will come.)

Davis finally leaves his house at around three in the afternoon. You tell this to Mark over your earpiece, and he immediately begins following as per the plan. He’s supposed to figure out where Davis is going and clue you in. You’ll handle the questions because most criminals know your voice already (it’s a side effect of yelling awesome witticisms during fights) and because Mark has a tendency to stutter with strangers and not sound commanding.

An hour passes before Mark tells you he’s gone to a grocery store and rattles off the license plate of Davis’s car. You swing into the parking garage just as Davis walks in, and a well-placed glob of webbing sticks his hand to the car trunk.

“The fuck?” is all he gets out before you walk into view, mask on. You don’t know exactly where Mark is hiding, but you trust him to get you out if things don’t go as planned.

“Hi!” You put on an annoyingly cheery voice, flipping up to sit on the roof of the car. “I’ve got questions about your trade deal with the glow-y weapons from the other night.”

The guy pulls at the webbing. A stab of pride shoots through you when it doesn’t let him go. “What the fuck is this?” he complains, pointing at the sticky glob. “Come on, seriously?”

You shrug. “Maybe I’ll tell you how to get it off when you tell me everything you know about that group of people selling highly illegal and dangerous weapons.” You pause. “Oh, and if you know anything about a weird vulture dude working with them, that would be great as well.”

He looks up at you, eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re not very intimidating, you know that, right?”

That… kind of hurts. Underneath your mask, you pout. “If you say so. But I can stay here all day. And from the looks of it, you have ice cream in your bags.”

“How did you know?” Davis looks at you weirdly. “You smell it or something?”

You shrug again. “Don’t worry about it. Are you going to tell me what you know?”

“What’s in it for me if I do?”

A deep sigh passes your lips. Do you have to spell it out for everyone? “Those weapons literally took out the entire corner of Delmar’s deli.” You wave your hands around for emphasis. “The entire fucking corner. If stuff like that gets into more people’s hands, things are going to be a lot more dangerous than they already were.”

“The fuck would you know about dangerous?” Davis scoffs. “Where do you even live?”

“The neighborhood five streets down from you.” Your voice turns flat. “You know, the one where my parents were killed by a rich family’s drunk son, and my best friend’s uncle was shot by a thief no one managed to catch.”

That shuts him up.

“Look.” You rest your cheek on your fist. “I started doing this –” you wave a hand at your mask – “because I didn’t want other people to deal with the same shit that we did. And if you don’t tell me what I need to know, I’ll find out some other way. I don’t want those weapons in the streets. From what you said that day, I don’t think you do either.”

Davis sighs. “No, I don’t. I have a nephew in the area. Want to keep the place safe for him. The vulture guy’s a psychopath.” He looks into the eyes of your mask. “I know one of them. Charles Roberts. He’s not the vulture dude, but he’s pretty high up on the ladder.”

“Charles Roberts.” You repeat the name. Something about it feels familiar, but you’re not completely sure why. “Thanks, dude!” You flip off the car, ready to leave.

“Hey, what’s this?” Davis pulls at the webbing on his car. “You said you were gonna let me go!”

“Oh!” You turn around with your most beatific smile (even though no one can see it). “It’ll come off naturally in two hours.”

“I have ice cream!” he protests.

“I know!” You wave wildly. “Still a criminal!”

You don’t sweat it. Mark will definitely let the guy go, anyway.

. . . . .

Mark’s heart is pounding like nuts when the two of you sneak in Roberts’s lab under the cover of night. Just hours before, he’d almost had an aneurysm upon hearing “Charles Roberts” coming out of the buyer’s mouth. With a quick Internet search, he’d confirmed that Charles was indeed the first name of the professor who ran the lab that had given him the alert before.

Something makes him uneasy as you pick the lock. Sure, you’ve avoided all the security cameras as best as you can, and the lock opens quickly with a quiet snick, but there’s still a bad feeling in his stomach.

It isn’t like his danger sensor. No, there’s no imminent danger at the moment. He just feels… bad.

Thankfully, the enhanced sight that came with the spider bite allows him to see things in the dark much more easily than before. No flashlights means no increased chance of being caught. Aided by the dim glow of the emergency lights, the two of you start looking around.

Just like last time, Mark doesn’t find much at first. The beakers that littered the tables before have been cleaned and are now sitting in neat rows on a different table. Someone’s put the pipet tips into glass cabinets. A few experiments sit half-finished in incubators.

Then you find the trapdoor.

It’s underneath a huge machine that Mark doesn’t know the name for. If it hadn’t been for your increased strength, you probably wouldn’t have found it. Together, the two of you shift the device over and descend through the trapdoor.

Only to be immediately met with a blast of purple light.

Mark’s the second one in, so he doesn’t feel the full brunt of the attack. You drop like a stone, groaning, but Mark just feels slightly dazed. This light isn’t destructive, like the beam that cut through Delmar’s. It’s just… disorienting.

“Oh, it’s the spiderkids again!” someone says cheerfully. Mark rolls aside just in time for another beam of light to cut into the floor right where he was. He looks up.

A grinning man’s face meets his eyes. There are too many teeth in the smile. The eyes are cold and hard.

“You!”

Mark whips around to see you standing up slowly, clutching at your stomach like the light was something solid that actually punched your skin. “Fucking… vulture man!”

“This is the vulture dude?” Mark yelps before he can stop himself.

Mark can now see why Davis labelled this guy a psychopath. There’s no feeling in his eyes at all – just cold anger.

“And I thought I left you in the dumpster.” He lifts the weapon again. “Should I dump you there again?”

With a roar, you launch yourself at him just as two more men materialize out of the shadows. Mark immediately starts attacking, drawing their attention away as your fight begins.

Two flashes of light nearly blind him, while another nearly renders him immobile. He wrenches himself out of his daze, using his webs to pull himself onto the ceiling and drag one of the weapons away. Unsure what to do with it, he hesitates for a split second.

And in that second, the vulture guy decides to spread his wings.

You’ve got enough presence of mind to leap out of his reach, sending out jets of web fluid to trap the huge metal wings extending from a contraption on the man’s back. Mark hurls his weapon at the vulture, but he’s already crashing through the ground floor of the university, laughing loudly. Another crunch sounds faintly above and you swear. “He’s flown out of the fucking building.”

Mark turns around. The other two men have disappeared – where, he doesn’t know, because he can’t see any more openings here other than the trapdoor and the hole in the ceiling.

Something beeps ominously in the corner. Frowning, Mark looks over.

You come to the conclusion at the same time he does. “Bomb!” you yell, leaping for the trapdoor. You disappear from view, then a hand reaches down to help Mark jump out.

The beeping increases in volume and intensity as Mark jumps with all his strength. One hand grabs yours. The other releases a string of fluid, attaching to the wall just across. He scrambles out just as the bomb explodes.

His body hits a wall with a sickening crunch and he blacks out.

. . .

When Mark opens his eyes again, he’s in a darkened area just behind the university. Sirens blare, there’s a fire somewhere, and the sound of the explosion is still echoing in his brain.

“Mark?” Your face, frantic with worry, swims into his vision. He blinks, and your expression turns to one of abject relief. “Thank God!”

Air rushes past the skin of his face. Belatedly, he realizes you’ve removed his mask. “What happened?” he gasps out, trying to sit up.

“There was an explosion, and you got thrown into the wall.” You press your trembling lips together. “I got tossed away too, but I had enough time to react and sort of steady myself. I carried you out, but I couldn’t get us back home unless you woke up.”

The two of you watch in silence for a bit as a fire truck douses the flames. “Well, there goes our only lead,” Mark finally mumbles.

You sigh. “We’ll find another one.”

Doubt pushes through Mark’s muddled brain. “Should we?”

The look you give him is one full of confusion. “What?”

“I don’t know.” Mark finally sits up, resting his back against a wall. The cool night air helps clear his head, but it also makes his back feel more painful. “If we’re going to get into all of this trouble over it, should we really be the ones dealing with it? I mean, we’re only kids.”

“Mark, no one else knows about this,” you say, a note of anger entering your voice. “If we don’t figure it out, who will?” You scoff. “The Avengers? They only deal with world-scale stuff!”

“Well, maybe!” Mark snaps. “If it becomes a big enough threat, they’ll deal with it! We’re literally teenagers, Y/N – what else have we even done with this, besides make things worse?”

“What if we can make it better?” you yell. “You just want to leave it, even if there’s a chance that we could fix things?”

“Do you want to die for this shit?” Mark snarls.

Your eyes narrow to slits. “So you just want to give up.”

He doesn’t reply.

“Fine. Okay, fine.” You stand up and shove your mask back on. “Jesus. I can’t believe you. Fucking… doesn’t matter. I’ll figure this out on my own. Just stay home and do… fucking whatever.” You sigh. “Let’s go.”

Swinging back home is a nightmare. Between his slight headache, aching back, and the chill between you two, Mark thinks this whole experience might be worse than death. On the rooftop, you don’t even wait for him before climbing down the side of the building into your room.

Well, whatever. Mark stands by what he said before. All the two of you have done is fuck up – first the ATM robbers escaped, then everything got botched the night he went to Lia’s party, and now all the evidence of any wrongdoing has been exploded at the university.

Shit. Professor Wang’s and Professor Tuan’s labs are probably fucked up too.

The two of you can’t keep fucking shit up. He doesn’t want either of you to die because of a mistake. And if it takes his silence for you to realize that…

He can handle it.

49 notes · View notes

kyndaris · 3 years

Text

A Hero Lies in You

On April Fool’s Day 2019, a video was released showing the latest game in the Yakuza franchise. Many thought it was a prank. The reason why? The sudden change in combat. Gone was the brawler beat-em-up that was associated with the series. In its stead was a turn-based system reminiscent of role-playing games. Characters waiting for their turns before utilising special skills? In a franchise known for its hard gritty storylines about gangs duking it out in the streets of Japan? ‘Haha Ryu Ga Gotoku. You thought you could fool us, but we see right through you. This isn’t our first rodeo and you’re not Square Enix,’ was many a thought when the footage had been viewed by thousands online.

What gamers did not know was that this was no gag. Fast forward several months to August 2019 and it was confirmed that Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon, starring new protagonist Kasuga Ichiban, would actually incorporate turn-based battles. There would even be JOBS!

As I had just finished playing through Kiryu’s story, as well as Judgment, in 2020 I was eager to see what new protagonist Kasuga Ichiban would bring to the table. From trailers, I could already see how much livelier Ichiban would be in comparison to the more stoic Kiryu. And, in contrast to Yagami, he was definitely more of an idiot. A lovable idiot, to be sure, but an idiot nonetheless.

Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon released in a huge week for video games. While I would have preferred to play it earlier, I had other huge titans to wrestle into submission first. Once I had managed to satiate my Ubisoft open-world needs with Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, I dived head first onto the streets of Yokohama, ready to bust some heads.

The game opens on a play. For a moment, I thought I had somehow purchased the wrong game. But as the lengthy prologue progressed, it was very clear that this was most definitely a Yakuza game. It just needed to set up a little bit of the tale, starting with Arakawa Masumi - father figure and role-model for our erstwhile hero. It isn’t long before players are introduced to Kasuga Ichiban with his trademark ‘punch perm.’ Born in a soapland and raised by those that lived on the fringes of society, Ichiban, rather than being hardened by his experience, is empathetic and not afraid to show emotion. Tasked with collection, he interprets his orders in a way to benefit those that are struggling. His goofball attitude immediately makes him a character one can connect to. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s a bit of a nerd, having played Dragon Quest during his childhood and likening many of the people around him to things in the game.

It’s not long before the plot escalates and Ichiban volunteers to give himself up to the police. Sentenced to fifteen years in prison, he inadvertently extends his sentence when his Patriarch is insulted by one of the fellow inmates. After nearly two decades spent in prison for a crime that he did not commit, Ichiban is released with little fanfare and no waiting convoy. Disappointed, he takes it in stride. The first thing on his order of business: to get his signature punch perm and reconnect with his second father-figure and Patriarch of the Arakawa family.

Along the way, he is dogged by a former policeman: Adachi. At first, it isn’t made clear why Adachi seeks Ichiban for help. After all, Ichiban had supposedly killed another yakuza in Kamurocho, Tokyo. Adachi, on the other hand, was a detective in Yokohama. Why would he have any interest in uncovering the truth behind what had put Ichiban behind bars?

After a few shenanigans are had in and around Kamurocho, our protagonist is shot and left for dead - waking up in a homeless shelter in the heart of Isezaki Ijincho. Climbing his way from rock bottom, Ichiban embarks on a journey to uncover the truth, stumbling upon a series of events and unearthing a vast conspiracy in which he was to serve as a pawn.

Many of the earlier chapters felt a little contrived. In particular was the death of Nonomiya. While it served to move the narrative forward, it was most assuredly a means to an end that didn’t highlight any significant character growth. Poor Nonomiya was fridged just to bring Ichiban into conflict with the Liumang branch of the Ijin Three.

It was only in the later chapters that the story picked up steam - with the confrontations with Bleach Japan and the encroachment by the Omi Alliance. Joined by a menagerie of characters like Zhao, Saeko, Han Joon-Gi, Nanba and Eri, there was a lot to keep track on as the plot barrelled forward at a breakneck pace, connecting Ichiban’s past with his current present and all the while setting up a juicy conflict between two men that could have been brothers. And honestly, the ending with Arakawa Masato and Ichiban got to me. I loved how that Ichiban was finally able to reach his old charge by being vulnerable and finally letting out a little of his resentment at the life Masato led, despite the fact that he could not use his legs.

The characters were superbly written and their motivations were a good reflection of the human condition. The themes of family and finding a home were evident, right from the start, even though a lot of it was glossed over by Ichiban’s desire to be a hero in a video game.

(I also really liked Seong-hui and would love to see her be an actual playable character in possible future instalments. On a side note, Arakawa...you cannot simply say: ‘See you tomorrow, Ichi,’ and expect to walk away. You basically wrote your own name into the Death Note with that line!)

As far as aping Japanese role-playing games go, however, Yakuza: Like a Dragon falls woefully short. While the Tendo twist was a good one - it was pulled a little too early. Worse, there was no world-ending threat. Everyone knows that a Japanese role-playing game MUST HAVE A VILLAIN/ EVIL GOD FIGURE THAT INTENDS TO DESTROY THE WORLD. Yakuza: Like a Dragon was too focused on old childhood rivalries to extend it further afield. I mean, yes, Aoki Ryo hoped to pull the strings of the Japanese government as chair of the CLP, but WHERE WAS THE METEOR HURTLING TOWARDS EARTH?

Honestly, 1/10 for holding true to Japanese role-playing games.

Other than that, the summons with Pound Mates was amusing. As were the side stories. Honestly, there can never be enough side stories to flesh out the wacky world of the Yakuza franchise. So many old favourites made their return. From Pocket Fighter (now dubbed Dragon Fighter) and Gondawara Susumu with his baby fetish.

Also, I didn’t think I’d be so obsessed with it, but I think they cracked property management this time round. Ichiban Confections, later known as Ichiban Holdings, was a blast to manage and accrue juicy money for.

The bartender of Survive also looked very familiar. I mean...what with the huge scar across his face. My suspicions were confirmed when I searched up Kashiwagi up on the Yakuza wiki page and was awarded with the fact that HE MANAGED TO SURVIVE THE ASSAULT HELICOPTER FROM YAKUZA 3!!

Other than that, my few other gripes involved the implementation of the levelling system and the way area of effect skills were handled. In particular, the pathing for how characters moved around the battlefield proved, at least to me, a bit of a frustration. Often, characters would be blocked by a knee-high fence or a corner. Sometimes they would be able to go around, but other times the game (after several seconds of watching them fail to walk through a solid building) warp to the enemy that I had targeted to launch their attack.

And even though the combat is turn-based, most of the enemies tend to walk around the battlefield - either clumping together or distancing themselves from each other. What truly annoyed me was when there were moves that could be used as an area of effect, with the MP cost to go along with it, but were limited by their effectiveness when the enemy combatants were too far away. Yes, it makes sense, but golly gosh, how much of a pixel measurement does it have to be for it to not hit?

Besides that, the levelling was also a bit of a tedious chore. Were it not for the invested vagrants, I feel like I might have put the game down with how much grinding there was - particularly when it came to the various jobs. The biggest hill to climb was from 20-30. Without the exp (experience point) boosting items, it would have been a torturous slog. I know that in the original Japanese release of the game, the cap for jobs was level 30, but if you change it to 99, please, for the sanity of all the gamers out there, tweak the requirements to make it easier. And maybe give normal trash mobs a bit more experience points for the playable characters to munch on.

Goodness, imagine having to grind on level 55 Ornery Yakuza and receiving a paltry 1000xp for each battle (when, in order to level up a job, you needed almost a million).

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a break from the traditional formula that’s been a staple of the franchise for many years. Much like Ichiban, it’s a bit of fresh air to liven up the experience that might have gone a bit stale after I slogged through the whole Kiryu arc last year. With a few tweaks, and a few more Persona 5 CD soundtracks, I’m eager to see how the story evolves and whatever contrivances Ichiban will somehow force him into.

Although, to be fair, is it still appropriate to call this franchise Yakuza when the game literally saw the dismantling of the two biggest clans? Then again, Civilian: Like a Dragon 2 just doesn’t have the same ring to it. In any case, I hope the next one comes soon and we’ll be able to have Seong-hui in our party. I feel like she’d be wielding a gunblade.

(Did I just use a lyric from Mariah Carey? You bet I did! I had been tossing up the idea between this line and ‘I need a hero.’ Why? Well, I think that would be self-explanatory after knowing Ichiban’s proclivities. And it fits so, so, so well!)

#yakuza 7: like a dragon #yakuza #video games #i need a hero

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themattress · 3 years

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OUAT AND ME: SEASON 6

Story - Season 6 returns to the single-season story arc structure, with its story being the Savior's Fate Saga. The story deals with Emma reaching the point that all Saviors eventually reach: burnout in the lead-up to their Final Battle. And Emma's Final Battle comes courtesy of the Black Fairy, the creator of the Dark Curse who wishes to extinguish all light magic.

And yes, that is the core story of this arc. The problem is that it only constitutes about 25% of it; the rest is dedicated to subplots upon subplots: all the people who were brought in from the Land of Untold Stories, the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Evil Queen split from Regina, Regina and Zelena's sibling rivalry reigniting, Belle and Rumple's relationship growing more toxic then ever before, Aladdin the Savior of Agrabah and the Princess Jasmine who is looking for him, a new curse befalling Snow and Charming, the mystery behind how Charming's father died, a new realm being created by a genie's power which brings about the "return" of Robin Hood, a multi-realm quest undertaken by Hook, and flashbacks that have jack shit to do with anything....this season is so packed, it's insane!

If the core story was particularly strong, maybe this wouldn't matter so much. But it's not, since it relies upon yet another bullshit redefining of what it means to be "the Savior"; all of a sudden it's an ancient position that has spanned across all of time and through every realm, like a fairy tale version of the Slayer concept from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And anything empowering about being the Savior is totally gone with this new definition, as now it's a requisite that all Saviors get worn out and die in their Final Battles, doomed to never obtain their happy endings. What a cheap, lazy, miserable way for the writers to raise tension after realizing that all of the epic, mythological stakes raised last season would be hard to top.

Not helping is that in a pretentious way of subverting expectations, they have the majority of the Final Battle...not actually be a battle. Instead, it's a ham-fisted "full-circle to Season 1" situation for Emma and Henry, while everyone else is getting to do more exciting things in the Enchanted Forest. Even the actual battle part of it ends up being underwhelming. Everything does still get wrapped up in a pretty suitable ending, but it's undermined by both the infernal status quo the show's been stuck in since 3B and an intrusive sequel hook into the ill-conceived "reboot" that is Season 7 which never should have been allowed to happen.

Tl;dr: this story arc sucks.

Characters - It's the lowest point for so many of them...

* Emma is a little better in Season 6 than she was in Season 5. She's still generally treated terribly due to the very nature of the arc and has some horrifically shitty things done to her, but she is also able to catch a break every now and then rather than the misery being an uninterrupted stream. She also marries Hook by the end and even plays a decent role in the finale showing how far she's come since Season 1. It was as good a note to go out on as she was going to get, and Jennifer Morrison made the right call to make this the end of her story.

* Snow and Charming...what is there to even say about them at this point? I guess I can say that not only have Goodwin and Dallas' performances largely flatlined and not only are they still written as more parental toward Regina than to their own goddamn daughter who Regina separated them from for 28 years, but they now have retcons applied to them that are ludicrous at best, character assassinating worse than Season 4's eggnapping subplot at worst. No wonder that Goodwin and Dallas were all too glad to call it quits after this trash!

* Henry, despite all odds, is still one of the better characters in this season! Jared Gilmore continues to prove what a better actor he's become and bring a likability to Henry that sometimes is even enough to counteract less-than-ideal written material. Also, getting to see him more invested in Emma again after being hogged by Regina for so long is great.

* The Savior's Fate Saga is a tale of two Reginas. The Regina Mills of Storybrooke is still as insufferably written a Mary Sue as ever, but now we also have the Evil Queen, the dark side of her personality that split from her. With the exception of one episode, the Evil Queen is played excessively campy by Lana Parilla. Adam and Eddy's claims that this "purely evil" Evil Queen would be even worse than the previous one are laughable when we end up seeing what's actually on screen; the Evil Queen from the first two seasons was a legitimately frightening and formidable villain, whereas this Evil Queen is a clown. Sometimes she's an entertaining clown, while other times she's a cringe-inducing clown. But what she most certainly is not is a worthy adversary to the heroes, especially this late into the show.

And then there's the irony in her ultimate fate: rather than destroy her, Regina mixes her heart with hers so that they are both equal and both redeemed. On the one hand, this is a mind-boggling new level of Creator's Pet for Regina to reach, as you would think that the whole point of the Evil Queen is for Regina to suffer the karmic fatal punishment that she deserves for all her years of atrocities without actually having to kill Regina off. And yet in the end Adam and Eddy couldn't bring themselves to kill off any version of Regina, even after they gleefully killed off alternate versions of Snow and Charming a few episodes earlier. But on the other hand, the redeemed Evil Queen is honestly more likable than the redeemed Regina, actually apologizing to Snow for everything, temporarily sacrificing herself for the greater good of everyone in the finale, and getting to have a happily ever after with an alternate version of Robin Hood following a romance closer to what that relationship should have been from the very beginning. In the end, though, I'm just left wishing that the writers had done a far better job redeeming Regina so that this split Evil Queen wasn't necessary. Who knows, we might have had a better season if so many of it wasn't wasted on her.

* Rumple is awful in this season. Just...the absolute worst. After resolving the plotline that the Season 5 finale left him on in the premiere episode, he cuts his hair short and takes his Darkest Dark One shtick to a whole new level of unpleasant and abusive. He stalks and harasses Belle, attempts to take her baby away, makes out with the Evil Queen, and continues to casually threaten Storybrooke without any remorse or any repercussions. And once his new son Gideon and his mother the Black Fairy enter the picture, he dicks around in nonsensically written plotlines in both the past and the present, while Belle essentially takes him back yet again despite the horrific abuse he inflicted upon her. It's painful to watch, especially when Robert Carlyle has completely given up and is phoning it in like mad, with his regular delivery of lines being in a sleepy tone of voice that actually gets grating to listen to.

Much like in Season 5, Rumple improves in the last five episodes of the season, with Robert Carlyle regaining some energy as he declares war on the mother who abandoned him (if you know Carlyle's life story, you can understand exactly why this is) before learning the shocking truth that he was born as a Savior with his mother being his fated enemy, and that she was banished after she cut him off from that fate. Finally exhausted with it all - light, darkness, heroism, villainy, everything - after the emotions of this revelation hits him, Rumple lays his last cards down on the table, joining his mother's side for the Final Battle but with a magical contingency in case she betrays him (which she does). He then kills his mother, chooses to do the right thing for Belle and Gideon's sake even against the temptation of his dark side, and is rewarded for this one good deed by getting a do-over with the two of them as a family and even being accepted at the table with the other heroes. To quote Rumple back when his character was of the exact opposite quality as it is now: "Well, that was a bit of a letdown!"

Now, the "Rumple was born as a Savior" twist is out-of-nowhere nonsense, but it might have worked if Season 6 had been the final season. Not only would it had made him an effective foil for Emma, but it would also add more dramatic weight to his ultimate fate: his death. Yes, Rumple was in fact all set to die if either the show hadn't gotten renewed for another season or if it was and Robert Carlyle turned down returning for it as he actually was very close to doing, sacrificing his own heart in order to break the spell on Gideon's, conquering his dark side once and for all. A very similar scenario ends up being utilized for Season 7's finale, but it lacks the punch it would have had here, where it's the would-be Savior who, after having reached burnout, dies in his Final Battle, rather than the actual Savior who is able to survive thanks in part to his sacrifice. Of course, I still would have preferred Rumple's death after him being the sole Big Bad of a two-part series finale at the end of Season 5, but I digress. Bottom line: Rumple was a complete mess this season and it's sad how far he’s fallen.

* Hook starts off well enough in this season, being Emma's stalwart emotional support who accepts her offer to move in with her (a pay-off that we should have had in the Season 5 finale if it only wasn't so crappy), bonding further with Belle and Henry, resolving the hanging plot thread of his younger half-brother while gaining a new father figure, and eventually making plans to propose to Emma. But then...it happens. It's revealed to both him and us that in the most contrived situation possible, Hook was the one who killed Charming's father. This derails his entire character for most of the remaining season, initially torn between telling Emma about this and covering it up before having a break with her which causes him to go mope and dope for a while before being forcibly sent off on a multi-realm misadventure by Gideon and, once he's finally gotten back to Storybrooke, has his transgression easily forgiven by Charming and his marriage proposal re-accepted by Emma, making this entire stretch of time absolutely pointless! Hook has some good moments in both the musical episode where he and Emma's wedding happen and the finale, but they aren't enough to salvage this from being his weakest showing in any season. Dark Hook was better than this!

* Belle...nope, not even gonna talk about her. Like I said before, she's done as a character.

* Zelena is this season's screwed over regular, and in comparison to Archie, Ruby, Neal, Will Scarlet and Robin Hood, she's got it easy. Her problems have less to do with her character, which is one of the better ones in the core cast at this point, but with her material. First, she and Regina have a sudden falling out because Regina...blames her for Robin's death. OK, all of that talk about how far Regina's come for not going evil over the loss of her romantic partner in the Season 5 finale isn't really worth much anymore when she's still resorting to blaming other people who aren't the actual murderer for that loss! Zelena then goes back to living at her isolated farm house, entering an alliance with the Evil Queen where she'll help her out in small ways but also not commit to fully teaming up with her as a villainess since she has a baby to take care of, plus she rightly doesn't entirely trust her alternate sister.

After the Evil Queen betrays Zelena but Regina still doesn't forgive her for what she blames her for, Zelena is absent or in minor roles for several episodes before she ends up joining the heroes' side out of altruism and the desire to become a good example for her daughter, eventually sacrificing her magic powers to aid the cause, which finally gets Regina to forgive her (probably because it's a sacrifice she's never been able to make). And that's about it.

Oh, but she does get to hit the Black Fairy with a car. That was awesome.

* The Black Fairy / Fiona is the Big Bad of the Savior's Fate Saga. Jamie Murray does a great job portraying her, being whimsically evil like you'd expect a dark fairy to be, and the Black Fairy being the person who created the Dark Curse actually makes a lot of sense when you go back and rewatch Season 3's "Going Home", a Dark Curse-heavy episode that first talks about her, or the Blue Fairy's knowing, worried expression upon Rumple's mention of a curse back in Season 1's "The Return". Unfortunately, that's all the praise I can afford her.

The core problem with Fiona as a character is a simple one: she is too derivative of previous, better Big Bads...especially Regina and Peter Pan. Like Regina, she is a powerful, larger-than-life villainess that Emma has always been destined to face as the Savior, and who ultimately casts the Dark Curse which makes herself mayor of Storybrooke, Henry's adopted mother, and a foe that Emma can only defeat if she believes in magic. And like Peter Pan, she is a parent of Rumple who also chose power over love and abandoned him, becoming the all-powerful ruler of a dark realm who occasionally went out and kidnapped children to bring there, and who is positioned as the story's Ultimate Evil who makes her last stand casting the Dark Curse in Storybrooke and being killed by her own son. This is especially bad when we already have an evil version of Regina to contend with this season and when it's following off of Hades, who was a better successor to Peter Pan's style of villainy (ruler of a dark realm that the heroes venture into to save someone) while still being unique.

She did improve somewhat in the last few episodes, where we see that she at least has sincerely loving Rumple as a differentiator from her ex-husband, has a warped belief that eliminating light magic and wiping out all realms but one is actually the right thing to do, and plays her role in the finale well. But it's too little too late for her to be considered as belonging among the great OUAT villains, let alone the Ultimate Evil that she's billed as. She needed a lot more originality and a lot more truly heinous deeds if that was ever to work.

* There are tons of new side characters in this season, usually either well-handled or not.

Well-handled side characters include the Tremaine family (particularly Lady Tremaine) who make Cinderella's life miserable in both the past and present, Captain Nemo who serves as a father figure for Hook and his half-brother Liam II, Gabriel the Woodcutter who makes an entertaining villain in an otherwise dumb flashback, Robert the father of Charming who is well-depicted in spite of how he dies, and Roderick, Gideon's brave but ill-fated friend.

Poorly-handled side characters include the Oracle who is a plot device character if there ever was one, Edmond Dantes (the Count of Montre Cristo in name only) and his lover Charlotte, Beowulf (another in name only character), Stanum the Tin Man who is pointlessly shoved into Zelena's backstory, Tiger Lily who is an exact carbon copy of Tinker Bell, and almost all of the Wish Realm characters because, as I will discuss later, the Wish Realm episodes are awful.

Then there are the in-between side characters, the ones that are handled...well-ish.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde carry over from the Season 5 finale at the start, then are both taken out of the picture in the 4th episode. Their backstory is well written, they are both well acted, and their death contributes to the ongoing Evil Queen plotline. However, it can't help but feel disappointing - we'd only just gotten a working relationship going between Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Whale in the previous episode, and now that's rendered pointless. And Sam Witwer is such an entertaining presence as Mr. Hyde, so it's sad to see him cut down so soon.

Robin of Locksley, the Wish Realm version of Robin Hood who crosses into Storybrooke, is cool in that we get Sean Maguire back and he is allowed to play something slightly different, since this version of Robin is a selfish, sarcastic asshole instead of a noble, chivalrous hero. However, it also reinforces how badly handled Robin Hood in general has been. Much like with what I said about Regina, I would have rather him and his romance with Regina been written well from the beginning so that this "do-over version' wouldn't be necessary.

After much hyping by the network, Aladdin and Jasmine kind of suck. Aladdin has an inexplicable cockney accent that is really distracting, he's written more selfishly and immaturely than his animated counterpart, and making him a Savior in order to tie him to the main plot is stupid. Jasmine fares better, especially when she receives some development in the 15th episode that largely focuses on her, but before that she was just kind of there and didn't possess the same strength of character she was so known for in the animated film.

Jafar, the Big Bad of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, is featured too. He is now played by Oded Fehr, and while Naveen Andrews is missed, Oded is one of the best replacements possible and does a stellar job. But while he's great whenever he's on screen, that's the problem - he isn't on screen very much at all. He also doesn't accomplish anything relevant to anyone beyond Aladdin and Jasmine in the time he has - even when he is released from his bottle in the present day, all he does is have a confrontation with Jasmine before BOOM! He gets turned into a wooden staff by magic dust thrown into his face and that's it for him. This was yet another sad waste of a great character with a great actor, but then again, Jafar returning in any medium tends to elicit diminishing results compared to his initial outings.

Finally, we have Gideon, Rumple and Belle's son and Emma's direct opponent in the Final Battle. The problem with Gideon is that the writers keep changing his character on a whim. First he's a projection of Rumple and Belle's future son from within Belle's womb, who masquerades as Morpheus in order to put Rumple through a test which he fails miserably. Then, after being kidnapped by the Black Fairy and taken to the Dark Realm, he shows up as angry, Kylo Ren-esque villain who claims that he wants to kill Emma so that he can somehow absorb her power, become the Savior and defeat the Black Fairy. But then it turns out that this was an act he was forced to play - after having been raised to be a villain by Fiona, Gideon rebelled, so she ripped his heart out and has been using it to control his actions so that he could free her from the Dark Realm for good. So he's a pure innocent, then. But then, in the Final Battle, he is rewritten by Fiona's curse into a stingy, spiteful businessman before reverting back to his innocent but controlled self...and then reverting back into a baby. Gideon, you've come full circle....and I still have no idea just who the Hell you are.

Returning characters include Violet, Ashley / Cinderella, Dr. Whale / Victor Frankenstein, the Dragon, August Booth / Pinocchio, King George / Albert Spencer, Baelfire, Tinker Bell, Ariel, Blackbeard, Malcolm, and Isaac Heller. Some of these returns are successful (I always love to see Ariel, and Isaac receiving some closure as a character was fantastic to see), others not so much (Tink's cameo was contradictory and pointless, and there was no excuse bringing back Baelfire in a flashback - for God's sake, Dylan Schmid is as tall as Robert Carlyle now!)

Atmosphere - There really isn't much of one anymore for the majority of the season. There is nothing remotely special about Storybrooke or the Enchanted Forest at this point, new places like the Dark Realm are woefully underexplored, and there aren't any locations like Camelot, the Underworld, or the Land of Untold Stories from last season that make a big impact.

However, there is certainly atmosphere in the two-part season finale, "The Final Battle". Unfortunately, instead of being an epic atmosphere like you would expect, it's dark and miserable and claustrophobic up until the happy ending. Kind of sums up the show now!

Episode Quality - A few episodes in this season are so bad that they're downright unwatchable, and I was able to watch the worst of late Season 2. "Changelings" is all about Rumple taking his abuse of Belle to a new level all while the episode tries to use the Evil Queen and the Black Fairy as scapegoats so that you can feel bad for him. "Ill-Boding Patterns" continues the whitewashing of Rumple at the direct expense of his sons, completely butchering Beowulf in the process. "Page 23" is an exercise with boredom in both the flashback and present day stories and comes to a truly awful conclusion for Regina's character that doesn't even make sense for her. And "Awake" has the ugliest-looking, most ill-conceived flashback story ever: Snow and Charming actually woke up during the Dark Curse and then woke up Rumple so that he could take them to Emma, only to then choose to abandon her so that she can achieve her destiny as the Savior before everyone goes back to sleep (quite literally in Charming's case, how the fuck does that work!?) The only reason this exists is so that Adam and Eddy can say "See? Snow and Charming totally DID abandon their daughter!" whenever anyone says it's Regina's fault Emma grew up without parents.

Perhaps most insidiously, we have the two-part midseason finale, "Wish You Were Here" and "Tougher Than the Rest". Aladdin is turned into a genie and the Evil Queen takes advantage of a passing statement Emma made about sometimes wishing she wasn't the Savior by making a wish that Emma's desire was granted. Thus the Wish Realm, an alternate world where the Dark Curse was never cast, is created. And the insults just keep piling up from there: the depiction of Emma as a wimpy princess if she had been raised by her parents, Regina trying to prove to Emma that "none of this is real" by crushing Wish Snow and Wish Charming's hearts (I can vividly envision Adam and Eddy having an orgasm over this scene), Emma snapping out of it when Wish Henry tries to kill Regina and that's "everything Emma never wanted him to be" (a fucking hero who will bring down the monster who slaughtered his grandparents!?), Charming similarly being considered "dark" for trying to kill the Evil Queen, the explicitly stated notion that Emma owes Regina for ruining her life because that's what made her strong, the appearance of Wish August who is so much more boring than the real August, the appearance of Wish Hook as a fat old drunk, and Rumple and Belle getting back together due to what's going on with Gideon, with Belle asking "What have we done to each other?" (NO. There is ZERO moral equivalence between Belle and Rumple here.)

"The Savior", "A Bitter Draught", "Street Rats", "I'll Be Your Mirror", "Mother's Little Helper", "Where Bluebirds Fly" and "The Black Fairy" are all watchable, if not particularly good.

All the other episodes have their strong points. "The Other Shoe" is a fun breather episode the likes of which this show desperately needed more of. "Strange Case" features a great take on the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. "Dark Waters" has Hook and Henry at their best and introduces Captain Nemo played by the great Faran Tahir. "Heartless" is the only episode in the season where Lana Parilla plays the Evil Queen with old-school menace, with the curse she ends up placing on Snow and Charming being legitimately ingenious and diabolical. "Murder Most Foul", until its literal last minute twist, is a highly engaging story and features a (rare at this point and thus even more appreciated) explosively emotional performance from Josh Dallas in its climax. "A Wondrous Place", if you ignore the awful Storybrooke scenes, is a weird and wacky crossover between characters of various stories that reminds you why you liked this show to begin with, and features Oded Fehr's last and best performance as Jafar where he is finally able to match Naveen Andrews in raw intensity.

Then there's the musical episode, "The Song In Your Heart". This is the textbook definition of an episode that is really good and enjoyable in a bubble, but is utter nonsense when applied in context. The flashback is a total filler story about a musical curse being cast by the Blue Fairy so that its result can be used by Emma in the present, and it’s only being used by Emma in the present because the Black Fairy suddenly decides "forget casting the Dark Curse and having the Final Battle, I'll take the Savior out now!", and when she fails it's right back to casting the Dark Curse and having the Final Battle as if nothing ever happened! And Emma and Hook having their rooftop wedding where the whole town starts singing and dancing about "a Happy Beginning" despite knowing damn well that the Dark Curse's arrival is imminent is hysterical- all logic dictates this should have been saved for after the crisis is over, not before it's even begun! It's dumb as Hell, but the songs and dance moves are fun (except for the Snow and Charming vs. Regina one, that was just cringy) so it gets a pass.

Lastly, there's "The Final Battle". For all of its many, many faults, it is better than Season 5's two-part finale (and also better than Season 7's, as we'll get to in the next post), and the areas where there could have been improvement are so blatantly obvious that what could have been is easy to imagine (ex: Rumple dying, a few questionable shots from the final happy ending montage cut, and the entirety of the dumbass Season 7 lead-in framing device removed entirely). It's the closest to a decent series finale we have, even if in terms of satisfaction it pales in comparison to the likes of "A Land Without Magic", "Going Home", "There's No Place Like Home", and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland's "And They Lived..."

Overall - I need to issue a formal retraction about the statement I made in this long-ago post. Not about how Season 5 would have been better with an even stronger connection between its two arcs; I still believe that. But returning to a full-season story arc format was a terrible idea, because with Season 6 we see that Season 1 was lightning in a bottle that's never getting recaptured. Every other time Adam and Eddy are given a full-season story arc, their ADHD style of storytelling won't let them stay focused and they'll end up throwing everything but the kitchen sink into it, resulting in a disjointed, convoluted, borderline incoherent mess. This is especially bad at a point where the vast majority of their most talented scriptwriters have long since departed from the writing team. Season 6 isn't the worst season (that comes up next), but it's probably the most miserable and depressing one, especially considering the fact that it was enough to make several main cast members quit. Back in Season 3, I'd have been ecstatic if you told me that this show would be getting 3 more seasons. Now, when actually at Season 6, I was horrified when I was told that it was getting 1 more season.

#Once Upon a Time #ABC #OUAT and Me #Opinion #Analysis

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